Orenda Balance Spray, Day 1

Starting Weight: 202
... I rounded up :)
I already use other Orenda products with great results, so adding in the Balance Spray to use in my weight loss journey should be effective. This morning I used my Magic Bullet to make a green smoothie for breakfast. Lots of spinach, carrot juice, flax meal, frozen blueberries and a touch of molasses...mmmm.

Normally this keeps me full till lunch, so I'm not worried about snacking. The difference today is that when I start feeling hungry around noon I'll use the Balance Spray to help with my appetite and metabolism. Waiting a half hour before eating will be easy, I'll spend the time making a healthy lunch and updating the blog. I'm so excited to be starting!

Here is my chopped salad for lunch.
Romain, arugula, cilantro tossed together with cauliflower, orange pepper & green onion. Oh, and there is a radish in there too. I use a digital scale to make sure I am only getting 1/2 oz of the nuts or seeds I add (today=pepitas) and also that I only use a serving of dressing on the days I use one I haven't made from scratch. Today's Sesame Miso is wonderful.

4pm: A little early for dinner. I used the Balance Spray to delay dinner an hour. Eating dinner too early can be a problem sometimes because thenI get hungry at bedtime, so I want to try and wait to eat until between 5 & 6 each day.

And here is dinner, left over stoup.
I made this based on a Curried Cauliflower Soup recipe from the McDougalls, and then added root vegetables and swiss chard. This may not be very pretty, but it's wonderful and filling. I know I should have a salad with this, but I don't feel like it. I'll make one later if I get hungry again. This is a common dilemma for me during the colder weather; eating salads. But this year I am more aware of the importance of getting in enough raw veggies so I will make sure to eat them.


My dinner salad. It's really nice how changing just a few details can change the character of a salad. I used the same Sesame Miso dressing, but switching the pepitas for walnuts, and the arugula for cabbage made a salad that was completely different. I try to make my salads fun and yummy; the latest addition has been cilantro. It's 'kicks it up a notch' as Emeril might say, and is just the best addition I've found in a while. Gone are the days that cilantro is only for salsa. It's great in hummus, salads and even soups.

And...I am sad, that is my last California Plum. I had picked up a large container at Costco thinking I would be making jam when I couldn't eat them fast enough. But I've been eating one everyday, they are sweet, crisp and juicy and unusually large too so they make a great dessert. I'll eat that later this evening about 7:30, I try to make that my cut off time for food.

So a good first day, nothing really different except I forgot to eat a fruit at lunch, and I used 1/4 instead 1/2 cup of garbanzo beans in my salads and I was still plenty full. I know I won't always take the time to upload pictures, but on days I am home alone it's a nice diversion and keeps me focused. I had my Tablespoon of flaxmeal, an ounce of healthy fat, cooked and raw veggies, and three servings of fruit. Perfect.