Weekend Food Blog w/Good News!

What a fabulous weekend I have had. I took the day off from work on Friday. I called in as being 'under the weather'! HA! Code for it is too dang nice outside today for me to be inside! I did have a doctors appoint on Friday to recheck my blood pressure. About a month ago I started having some problems with my blood pressure dropping too low. When I moved from laying down to standing or sitting to standing or bent over to do filing, I would start seeing stars and then things would start fading to black. I almost passed out a couple times and definitely would have fallen and hurt myself a couple other times had it not been for a co worker catching me one time and my husband catching me the other. Some of you might remember that extremely high blood pressure is what started me on this journey. Back in February, I wrote a blog about heart health and how I had lost my boss and friend to a catastrophic heart attack. That blog was the most meaningful blog I have ever written and it was my first blog award.

For over a year I have been working to get off my high blood pressure meds. In January, I was sure the doctor would take me off them, instead she took me from a 10mg tab to a 5mg tab. Darn! So, a couple weeks ago when the blacking out was getting worse and interfering with my workouts, I called the doctors office. They told me to cut my pill in half and come see the doc in two weeks. Wow! Cutting the pill in half really helped a lot. In just a few days I was able to workout without feeling faint. When I went to the doctor on Friday, my blood pressure was 99/58 !!!! I can't imagine how low it was dropping before I started cutting that tablet. The doctor said "CONGRATULATIONS!!! You did it girl!!! You are off your meds!!!!" YAY!!! She was also happy to see that I continue to lose weight at a steady, but sensible rate. It was indeed the best doctors appointment ever.

The rest of the weekend, I 'pretended' I was on vacation. I cleaned the house of Friday. You know the clean clean. Move the furniture, wash the windows clean. So, on Saturday morning I ran four miles. On the way out on my run, a neighbor called out to me and asked how far I was running this morning, I replied "Only 4 miles this morning". My husband looked at me and laughed, "A year ago could you have even imagined saying ONLY and 4 miles in the same sentence". My how things have changed this past year! We ended the run with a sprint to the gym to lift weights. Biceps, Triceps, Delts, Traps, Traps, Lats. When we got home I did my eight assisted pull ups, had a bite to eat and dove right into a bit of sorting and organizing.

In the afternoon I went swimming at a neighbors house and then to my back yard for a lawnchair nap. I spent most of the afternoon lounging around in my bikini and a beautiful white cotton crochet coverup my mom made for me when I went to the beach a couple years ago. It's a little big on me now, but I love it. I had the house to myself most of the weekend which added to my relaxed laid back take me to the beach attitude. I walked around with a glass of ice water and sunglasses on all day Saturday and Sunday! Ironically, I also had the most productive weekend. I cleaned, organized, sorted, exercised, socialized (a little), walked my dog, rode my bike, read a book, and made some yummy foods!

Let's get to the food!

Saturday was a Medium Carb Day:

Breakfast:

Steel Cut Oats + Chopped Apple + Sunflower Seed Butter

Eggs w/ salsa

Snack #1


Lunch

This was delicious! Grilled Chicken + Fresh Basil Leaves + Red Pepper + Red Onion + Balsamic Vinegar + Olive Oil + Winter Wheat Berries!!!! Give me a gold star!

Snack #2

You know how I love my afternoon chocolate protein shake with instant colombian coffee! 1/2 a choc. peanut butter Pure Protein bar


This pan seared tilapia was delicious! I made a rub of chili powder, garlic salt and red pepper flakes. The next time I will add some fresh salsa or pica de gallo! There was supposed to be grilled aspargus on this plate, but it wasn't ready yet and I was hungry!

Snack #3

Night time chocolate protein shake

Sunday Low Protein Day:


Egg Whites + 1 Egg Scrambled + Soy Sausage + Salsa

Snack # 1

Fage 0% Yogurt + 1/2 scoop choc. protein powder
1/2 scoop protein powder + instant colombian coffee
Enjoyed on my back patio while still pretending to be on vacation
Delicious day!

Lunch:

I'm very proud of this lunch! It was so yummy! I was out of grilled chicken so I grilled a Morning Star California Turkey Burger and put in on a bed of shredded cabbage with a squirt of lime, red onion and avocado and topped it with salsa! Oh, my so delish! The turkey burger is lower in protein than I would have liked, so I had 12 almonds to help balance out this plate.

Snack 2:


Dinner

Pan Seared Tilapia + Sweet Potato + Broccoli + Shredded Parmesan

Will be ending my night with a yummy chocolate shake and my 8 assisted pull ups! I am sleeping sooooo good these days. I love going to bed and waking up refreshed. I feel like a princess! Good food, good exercise, great fun and relaxation, and fabulous sleep! ahhhhhh! Healthy feels soooo good.