Archive for July, 2009

7/30/2009

Still feeling the wrath of PMS, so I had a bit of a bad day.  I was pretty rushed and grumpy so I ended up not taking *any* pictures.  :-\

BUT tomorrow I take on my next challenge (management party), so there will be some good pics of the delicious food I’ll be enjoying.

Food Diary is below:

  • Breakfast:  Joe’s O’s with soymilk; DanActive yogurt drink
  • Lunch:  Kashi Tuscan Veggie Bake
  • Snacks:  a few grapes and a string cheese
  • Dinner:  Trader Joe’s Nicoise Salad, applesauce and Tazo Calm Tea

I am a bit low on my calories today, so I make no guarantees that I won’t have a late night bite.

Fitday is below…..

Grams Calories %-Cals
Calories
952
Fat
21.2
190
20
%
Saturated
5.9
53
6
%
Polyunsaturated
0.3
2
0
%
Monounsaturated
0.2
2
0
%
Carbohydrate
147.5
578
62
%
Dietary Fiber
19.9
Protein
40.9
163
18
%
Alcohol
0.0
0
0
%
Fat

(

20

%)

Carbs

(

62

%)

Protein

(

18

%)

Alcohol

(

0

%)

7/29/2009

OK, so I know I’ve been complaining about PMS for like 3 weeks.  But I really mean it this time.  Its bad and I’m grumpy.  In honor of my grumpiness, this post is going to be pretty short so I can go to bed early.

  • Breakfast:  coffees, danactive, joes o’s with soymilk
  • Lunch:  Amy’s Enchiladas
  • Snacks:  mini sweet peppers, 4 lifesavers and a jolly rancher
  • Dinner:  sushi rolls

Fitday entries below….

Grams Calories %-Cals
Calories
1,269
Fat
21.3
190
15
%
Saturated
3.8
34
3
%
Polyunsaturated
0.8
7
1
%
Monounsaturated
1.0
9
1
%
Carbohydrate
229.6
925
72
%
Dietary Fiber
15.4
Protein
41.2
162
13
%
Alcohol
0.0
0
0
%
Fat

(

15

%)

Carbs

(

72

%)

Protein

(

13

%)

Alcohol

(

0

%)

7/28/2009

Check out these cupcakes…..

I couldn’t say no.  So instead I said “YES PLEASE” to 2 of the minis instead of one large.  You can’t really tell by the pic, but the 2 small ones were definitely no more than half the size of the full size ones.

Challenge #1 - mission accomplished!!

Day 11 of my 100 day challenge asked that I track the time every time I eat.  The purpose of this exercise was to remember that food is largely for fuel, and that we need to eat at the right times for the best results.  Doing this did make me more cognizant of what I was eating and when; however it also felt a little bit obsessive.  It interfered with a routine that has been working well for me.  So, I probably won’t do it again.

But, since I did it I might as well share.

  • 6:20am:  1st cup of espresso with 1/4 cup milk
  • 8:50am:  Joe’s O’s with soymilk and DanActive
  • 10:00am: 2nd cup of espresso with half & half
  • 12:10pm:  handful of yellow grape tomatoes
  • 12:50pm:  pasta lunch and applesauce
  • 2:10pm:  celery
  • 6:30pm:  teeny tiny slice of pizza and salad with 2 tablespoons thousand island
  • 7:00pm:  2 teeny tiny cupcakes

2nd day in a row that I brought strawberries (all washed and cut up and ready to go) and did not eat them.  Maybe I’ll put them on my cereal tomorrow.  I think I am harboring a secret anger toward the strawberries. I bought a huge container full of strawberries at Costco this weekend, only to discover that half were so overripe that they were inedible.  :-(  So, apparently now I’m taking my anger out on the good strawberries.

Fitday Summary is Below….

Grams Calories %-Cals
Calories
1,414
Fat
42.2
377
27
%
Saturated
14.1
126
9
%
Polyunsaturated
3.3
29
2
%
Monounsaturated
5.9
52
4
%
Carbohydrate
222.4
876
62
%
Dietary Fiber
26.0
Protein
43.3
167
12
%
Alcohol
0.0
0
0
%
Fat

(

27

%)

Carbs

(

62

%)

Protein

(

12

%)

Alcohol

(

0

%)

7/27/2009

I have several challenges to face in the next 2 weeks. Normally I would allow myself to “indulge” a bit for special occasions but I can’t afford to do that with so many special occasions in just one week!  This will be a good opportunity to take what I’m learning to the next level and see how well I do “in real life”.

Challenge #1:  4-year-old nephew’s birthday dinner (pizza!) tomorrow night

Challenge #2:  My department’s team building event (cooking party, Iron Chef style, with lots of wine and champagne and delicious goodies) on Friday

Challenge #3:  4-year-old nephew’s birthday party (with cake & ice cream) Saturday afternoon

Challenge #4:  Husband’s pre-birthday dinner celebration (cocktails, steakhouse, cake & ice cream) Saturday evening

Challenge #5:  Husband’s actual birthday next Tuesday (will likely include another meal out and more desserts)

Challenge #6:  Old friend coming to town.  Our typical meetup includes lots of japanese food.

We’ll see how I do.

Today’s food:

Breakfast:  2 espressos (one with milk, the other with a small creamer); DanActive; 2 peices raisin toast with earth balance (pictured below)

Lunch:  Amy’s Tofu Scramble (pictured)

Snacks:  celery, mini sweet peppers, yellow grape tomatoes (pictured along with strawberries that I did not eat)

Dinner:  veggie sandwich & salad with delicious butter lettuce, heirloom tomatoes, olives, and Annie’s naturals dressing.  Such an amazing and easy and quick and filling and guilt-free meal.

Fitday summary is below….

Grams Calories %-Cals
Calories
1,323
Fat
38.1
340
28
%
Saturated
7.3
65
5
%
Polyunsaturated
3.9
35
3
%
Monounsaturated
6.9
61
5
%
Carbohydrate
168.5
663
54
%
Dietary Fiber
26.2
Protein
57.2
219
18
%
Alcohol
0.0
0
0
%
Fat

(

28

%)

Carbs

(

54

%)

Protein

(

18

%)

Alcohol

(

0

%)

7/26/2009

Today was full of adventure in my kitchen.

The day started off with housecleaning, followed immediately by giving my 2 cats a bath.

Although its not physically strenuous, its exhausting.  I get a major adrenaline rush out of fear of (1) being mauled; (2) having the cat run off, covered in soapy water, to hide under the bed.  My husband and I put a lot of planning into it to get it done fast and unhurt.  We fashion together all sorts of personal protective equipment (eg, wearing our old winter coats and rubber gloves to help protect us from claw-gashes).

Since I lived through it unscathed, I was super happy.  So, I tried the tuna-bean dip again.  Here’s how it went:

  1. sauteed a few tablespoons of chopped onions in 1/2 tsp olive oil
  2. used my mini food processor to blend up 1/2 cup beans with another 1/2 tsp olive oil and the onions.  The result was a more “choppy” looking bean & onion mixture, instead of a puree.
  3. stirred in the tuna chunks (used a smaller 3 oz. can of tuna), a pinch of salt, and a stalk of celery (diced)
  4. ate it on whole wheat crackers

The result was WAY tastier than last time.

I also made a skillet flatbread, which I thought was really easy and will become a staple in my healthy eating repetoir.  I can use it in place of bread, flat bread, foccaccia, pizza crust, tortillas, pita bread, crackers…..

All you need is whole wheat flour (and other flours like amaranth or soy or even cornmeal), oil, water and an oven proof skillet.

Directions

  1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
  2. Oil the pan (maybe 1-2 tsp)
  3. Put the pan in the oven.  Let it get hot for a few minutes.
  4. Mix up 1 cup each water and flour.  Use more water for a thicker, doughier flatbread.  Add pinch salt.
  5. Pour mixture into the hot skillet.
  6. Put the skillet back in the oven.
  7. Bake for 30-40 minutes, depending on desired crispiness.

I also learned how to microwave-steam spinach.  I noticed that Oh She Glows says that she sometimes lightly steams her spinach before putting it into the green monster.

For the record, I know that microwaving probably leeches some nutrients and that microwaving in plastic probably adds some carcinogens.  I’m doing the best I can ~ the mere fact that I’m adding spinach to my diet is progress.

Basic instructions…

  1. take a handful of raw spinach leaves.
  2. rinse them.
  3. put them in a microwave safe container with a cover that will vent (i use the microwave steamer from pampered chef)
  4. the water left on the leaves from rinsing should be enough moisture, so don’t add any additional water
  5. microwave for 15 seconds for a “light steam” (slightly wilted) or 1 minute for major steaming.
  6. drain the water, quickly remove from the steamer, and eat it up.

Before & After are below….  You can see microwaving wilts the leaves rather than boiling them down.

Today’s Food:

  • Breakfast:  2 cappuccinos, a DanActive, toasted sandwich thins with earth balance butter substitute
  • Lunch:  Tuna & Bean spread on crackers plus a sampling of flatbread
  • Snacks:  applesauce, string cheese, cherries
  • Dinner:  salad (lettuce, tomatoes, dressing, olives, avocado, egg whites and 1/2 egg yolk

Thanks for reading alllllll the way through my super long mega-post today.  :-)

FitDay summary below…

Grams Calories %-Cals
Calories
1,470
Fat
57.7
509
34
%
Saturated
11.8
104
7
%
Polyunsaturated
7.0
62
4
%
Monounsaturated
21.5
188
13
%
Carbohydrate
180.8
705
48
%
Dietary Fiber
33.3
Protein
66.9
264
18
%
Alcohol
0.0
0
0
%
Fat

(

34

%)

Carbs

(

48

%)

Protein

(

18

%)

Alcohol

(

0

%)

Progress Report Week 3

Starting Weight:  212.8 (7/5/2009)

Current Weight:  202.8 (7/26/2009)

Total Loss:  10 POUNDS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My wildest expectations for 3 weeks have been far exceeded.  I’m really happy!

Last post today / First post tomorrow

OK, so I’ve posted 3 times already today (although some may consider midnight tomorrow), but I’m feeling a bit needy.

So, my earlier posts have all reflected a bit of despair about whether or not the plan will stick.  I’ve decided that it will.  If I can do it for even one day, I can do it every day.  I will also remember that my focus should be on the healthy eating, not the scale.  My worries are nothing more than superstitions.

I feel better.

7/25/2009

Even though I’ve done great for the last few weeks I was really worried today about how well I would stay on my diet.

This was the first weekend that I needed to spend the day running errands with my husband.  These days are usually very rushed and stressful.  We typically eat burritos or burgers and then stop for ice cream to keep our energy up.  It also doesn’t help that the stress makes us bicker.

The other reason this weekend is a challenge is that I have a raging case of PMS and I never really know how long it will last.  This means I have all sorts of negative thought patterns, cravings, and self-doubt creeping up to possibly sabotage me.

Lastly, this will be the third week in a row that I’ve been on this plan.  I usually think that if I can do something for three weeks that I can do it forever.  I think there is a part of me that is worried that I can’t keep this up.

Breakfast:  Joe’s O’s with soymilk; DanActive

Lunch:  Rubios Fiesta Salad (switched out the chicken for mahi mahi and the cheese for black beans), pictured below….

Snacks:  String Cheese, Applesauce, Cherries

Dinner:Giant plate of veggies, including “grilled” eggplant, zucchini, onions, red peppers; spinach salad with tomatoes and Annie’s natural dressing; eggplant meatballs and sandwich thin bread.  BTW, this was WAY TOO MUCH food.  I was so full and it was way too late at night to eath this much food.

Fitday summary is below….

Grams Calories %-Cals
Calories
1,717
Fat
76.6
687
39
%
Saturated
7.9
71
4
%
Polyunsaturated
3.3
29
2
%
Monounsaturated
5.0
45
3
%
Carbohydrate
195.4
751
43
%
Dietary Fiber
39.1
Protein
78.6
303
17
%
Alcohol
0.0
0
0
%
Fat

(

39

%)

Carbs

(

43

%)

Protein

(

17

%)

Alcohol

(

0

%)

Devil on My Shoulder

I feel really discombobulated today.  I have a little devil on my shoulder telling me that I’m about to blow it (my commitment to healthy eating) forever any time  now.  I need to remind myself to ignore those voices!

I’ll be out running errands today, so we’ll see how I do with my choices while eating out.  My goal is to dine somewhere that has the nutritional info readily available.  I’ll provide an update later to let you know how it goes!

100-Day Challenge: Day 9

I haven’t been great about doing the challenge every single day.  I want to get better about it but Thursdays and Fridays are really tough for me.

Anyway….  Here is my challenge for today:  to let my support people know what I want from them.  For example, if I fall off the wagon, do I want their help getting back on?  Or, would I rather they compliment me?  Or, do I want them to just ignore it?

For me, the answers to these kinds of questions are usually going to be ignore it.  Since I haven’t really told anyone but my husband and my therapist that I’m on a new healthy eating program I don’t see a need to discuss it with anyone.

I have been trying to think of ways to explain my weight loss to people (work, friends, family) once they start noticing.  From past experience I’ve learned that once people learn you’re on a diet, they have all kinds of things to say.  Like they want to give their opinion on your plan, or they want to criticize you if you eat dessert, or they make a comment about how terrible you looked before you lost the weight.

I really prefer that people just ignore it but I don’t think that is going to happen.

Anyone got any ideas?

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