Week 10!

So this week's post is a little late.  Between not feeling really well, and the kids, it has been difficult finding the time to actually type this weeks weigh in results and how my week went!  So, Here we go!
This week has been an interesting challenge, but one that I feel I have dealt with fairly well!  Financially, we are in a bit of a bind at the moment.  I haven't worked since Jack broke his leg, and so we are living off one full time income, and rent from my mom who also lives with us.  Anyway, with the boys, and us adults, we rely on food stamps for the core of our food purchase's.  The meal replacements for Take Shape for Life, are, sadly, not covered by food stamps.  So even though the price is very comparable to your grocery bill every month, we just don't have the extra money for it at this time.  Which sucks, because it has been working so so well.  HOWEVER, I am making the best of it, and eating as healthy as possible.  Lean and Greens for my meals.  With the exception of a high fiber, high protein, low carb wrap I shared with my son the other day, and a little bit of fruit here and there, I haven't really added any extra carbs to my diet!  Which means that I haven't indulged in Pasta, Potatoes, or Rice.  And honestly, I don't really even want to (Except sushi which I ALWAYS want, haha)  So overall I feel like I am doing pretty dang good without the meal replacements.  I haven't lost any weight this week, however; I have stayed at 273 all week.  I have weighed myself almost daily, to check in and make sure things are at least staying the same.  I am disappointed I am not losing weight, but I am also not suprised.  The meal replacements kind of take the guess work out of getting the right nutrition and calories you need into your body!  I am still learning a lot about all the nutrition stuff, and how the body works, so it is difficult to really get the results I am looking for at this point, without the ease of the meal replacements.  That is just one more reason I love the program, it makes it easy to eat healthy and lose weight, but it also educates as you go!  I am hoping that in the near future we are in a better financial situation and I can get right back on plan.  In the mean time, I am going to eat healthy and bump up my activity level!  I think bumping up my activity level will help also while I don't have the meal replacements, but we will see what my body does!
Now with all that being said, I want to talk about Starchy foods for a moment.  This has become a very interesting topic in my mind, and here is why.  I don't know how many of you have tried Cauliflower Pizza, instead of Bread dough pizza, or Spaghettie squash, instead of Pasta, or Cauliflower Rice, instead of White Rice, or Cauliflower Mash, instead of Mashed Potatoes, or using Zucchini instead of oatmeal or panko in your meatloaf, but, I have tried all of these things since starting this lifestyle change and I have to say, in general, I almost always like the vegetable version over the starchy version.  I could eat Cauliflower pizza everyday, Not even joking.  And the other day when I tried mashed cauliflower, I was blown away.  It tasted almost identical to mashed potatoes!  I grew up with starches being a large part of meals, as I am sure most of you did also.  I have lived most of my life indulging in starchy carb heavy foods like most people in the world, and I guess where all this is leading to is, why are we such a starch heavy, carb heavy society, when these alternatives to the carbs and starch are so dang delicious and so much healthier!?  Now, I am fully aware that you need carbs to survive, So I don't want to give the wrong idea and say NO CARBS EVER!  But I am also fully aware that if you eat your vegetables, you will get most of the carbs that your body needs.  So anyway, I challenge you all to try to replace one of those items with a vegetable alternative, and just see what you think!  I think you will be pleasantly suprised for sure!  In fact, my husband, who has always made it well known how much he hates squash, LOVED the Spaghetti sauce over Spaghetti Squash we had for dinner last night!  Now, I will stop ranting about nutrition (haha.)  I hope you've enjoyed my post this week and I look forward to next weeks weigh in.  Oh and two new recipes going up tomorrow or the next day, so I hope you will check them out!