My eating was rather off plan for all 3 days of the weekend. No excuses, no good reason, it was bad. I'm starting anew today. The good news is that I made my exercise goal of 6 out of 7 days last week.

How was everyone else's weekend?

Monday's plan:
B - 1 c. All Bran strawberry medley cereal, 1 c. skim milk, coffee w/ 1 T. h&h
S - small banana
L - 1 slice health nut bread, egg salad - 2 lg. eggs, 1/2 T. light mayo, mustard, celery, 1 c. carrots & 1 c. cucumber
S's - 6 oz. ff yogurt, 1 c. diced pineapple, 3/4 oz. reduced fat string cheese
gym - running, shoulders
D (eat at rehearsal) - turkey eggplant casserole, large salad with light dressing
S (if needed) - hm protein muffin, hot tea
Calorie goal - 1530 cals

We're working the move, so I figure any extra calories I'm eating (and actually, I'm pretty sure I wasn't high because there is no snacking involved...only 3 relatively healthy-choiced meals per day) are being burned by incessant raking, box lifting, and general physical labor.

Today I'm at the (mostly packed, very messy) apartment, until tonight, when I go back to the house!

I've made a decision to only lift once this week and/or maybe skip altogether, due to the box lifting (can't be sore - it'd be an issue) and just lack of time. I will try not to skip my cardio, though (except Wednesday, when meetings will prevent me from doing anything...WHY did my move come in the middle of a very busy week at work??)

B - English muffin pizza
L - Tuna w/ pickles, sourdough toast, apple
S - Popcorn
D - Chicken Skewer, brown rice and lentil pilaf, broccoli
S - NSA Ice Cream Bar

E - about to go over and do 60 on the stairclimber. That and more boxes/unpacking/etc.

OK and a little SQUEE moment about the new house. My office (I work from home) has been termed the "Amanda Room" - room for my desk, my elliptical, all of my workout equipment, and a special drawer for my workout clothes. I love that I have an office/gym!

Meh (did you know this is going to be added to the dictionary?). I started out the day half good and half bad. I'll have to make up for it this evening with a good dinner.

Good~25 minutes on the NordicTrak
Bad~Breakfast consisted of 6 generous spoonfuls of leftover macaroni casserole followed by a bowl of white rice. Geez, can you get any more carbs in there?
S~nuts
L~Smart Ones Chicken Santa Fe entree, small apple
S~Activia yogurt
D~ham, eggs, toast, cantaloupe, possibly hash browns

Amanda, your new office/gym/Amanda room sounds great! Enjoy it!

POP yesterday. I was tired and only ran 2 miles at the gym, but I powerwalked quite a bit. This morning is my weekly weigh-in and I actually showed a loss for the week, woohoo!

Tuesday's plan:
B - protein pancake, 1 c. skim milk, coffee w/ 1 T. h&h
S - small banana
L - 8 grain tortilla w/ ~1/3 c. black beans, 2.5 oz bs chicken breast, salsa, lettuce, 2 cups raw veggies
S - 6 oz. ff yogurt, 1/2 oz. almonds
gym - legs heavy, elliptical
dinner (eat at rehearsal) - leftover/frozen shrimp & sausage creole, large spinach salad w/ 1 T. light dressing
S - persimmon
Goal - 1500 cals

Running like crazy...I am starting to have trouble finding time to eat. That's bad, so I'm working on fitting in all of my snacks.

B - Quaker weight control oatmeal w/ apple
S - Japanese pear
L - Leftovers - Grilled chicken skewer, couscous, steamed broccoli
S - Popcorn
S - Nonfat Greek yogurt
D - Sausage and Lentil Soup
S - NSA Ice Cream Bar

E - 60 min stairclimber.

25 minutes on the NordicTrak this morning.

B~rice (it's all gone now, thank goodness)
S~nuts
L~Smart Ones Chicken Parmesan, small apple
S~Activia yogurt
D~leftover macaroni casserole, roasted green beans
gym~45 minutes this afternoon: lifting and cardio

Did you say 60 minutes of the stairclimber???

I can do about 25 minutes - granted, I vary speed to make it like HIIT, but still, it kicks my behind. I'm awed and impressed!

Where is everyone?

Yes 60 min of stairclimber. It isn't so bad. I do a neat hill program, put on my ipod, and truck through it. Skipping today, though - absolutely no time! But hefting boxes will help for sure. My weight is down with this move...lots of physical labor, I guess.

B - English muffin pizza w/ canadian bacon
S - Apple
L - Lentil and Chicken Sausage Soup
S - Popcorn
D - Salad from salad bar (no energy for cooking, and my pots/pans/etc are spread between multiple houses)
S - NSA Ice Cream Bar

My knees would never forgive me if I got on a stairclimber!!!

E~25 minutes on NordicTrak
B~egg white egg McMuffin on ww
S~nuts
L~salad with chicken, sml apple
S~Activia yogurt
D~soup and sandwhich

Hi everyone. I am so trying to stay on track for the next week! I am going to really plan ahead for my dinners out.

Today:
Brekkie: wheat bagel with light cc

Lunch: Tuna sandwich on arnold sandwich thin, strawberries.

Snack: 2% milk latte (I make this at home), banana.

Dinner: Panera bread 1/2 cafe classic salad (150 cal), 1/2 turkey sandwich on whole grain, which should be around 300 without the mayo. Estimating on the high side, though just to be safe. I may sub the sandwich for soup, since I have had bread twice today already, but I want the protein.

Snack - 2 pieces of chocolate.

Exercise:
Strength training
3 mile jog

My PT had to teach me how to do it properly. Small steps, never more than 90 degrees on the knee bend, kneecaps behind toes. It doesn't hurt if you do it properly.

You think 60 minutes on a stairclimber is bad, my DH is training for a hiking trip to Death Valley in Feb. He goes up and down the stairs in a local 3 story medical building for 120 minutes - no ipod. Nuts, I tell you, the man is nuts! He also runs (on the treadmill these days) 5K 2-3 times a week.

Thanks, Amanda, I'll have to make sure that I'm walking properly next time I do stairmaster. Though my legs always feel fine doing it (occasionally sore, but not hurt), it's my lungs that have had enough after 20-25 minutes of HIIT. Of course I'm not very good at pushing myself when working out.

I just wrote in the weekly chat thread about how this morning I had to take a pack test - 2 miles in 30 minutes or less, walking only (no running), carrying a 25-lb. pack. I have to take it every year, and every year it amazes me that I used to carry twice that amount of weight around on me. Makes me glad that I shed it, and determined to keep it off!

Wednesday's plan:
B - protein pancake, 1 c. skim milk, coffee w/ 1 T. h&h
S - small banana
L - sushi restaurant - 1 wakame seaweed salad, 1 roll of sushi (seaweed, white rice, salmon, avocado, cucumber, soy sauce, wasabi), 1 Bit o' honey candy
S - med. apple, 1/2 oz. raw almonds, 6 oz. ff yogurt
gym - back (30 min), elliptical 30 min, abs (15 min)
D (again, brought to eat at rehearsal!) - turkey eggplant casserole, spinach salad, 2 T. light dressing
S - 1 oz. string cheese, 1 oz. beef jerky
Total - 1569

Thursday's plan:
B - protein pancake w/ 1 T. low sugar peach butter, 1 c. skim milk, coffee w/ 1 T. h&h
S - small banana
L - 8 grain tortilla w/ ~1/3 c. black beans, 2.5 oz bs chicken breast, salsa, lettuce, 2 cups raw veggies
S - 6 oz. ff yogurt, 1/2 oz. almonds, apple if needed
gym - ran 3 miles, walked 3 miles. Was having problems with nausea - I think I ate my almonds too late in the afternoon? Maybe?
D - (You guessed it, packed it to eat at dress rehearsal) - leftovers from the freezer - Spinach & Cranberry Stuffed Chicken Breast w/ Quinoa
S - medium apple w/ 1 T. almond butter
End calorie count: 1504 cals

I don't want to get all weepy on you guys, but my step dad is in the hospital and is not doing well at all. He went in for surgery on Monday to have a cancerous kidney removed and made it through the surgery well. He took a little walk on Tuesday and when he got back to his room he told my mom he couldn't get his breath. His heart stopped and the hospital team got his heart started again. He's been non responsive ever since and they did a bunch of tests early yesterday morning to see if he still has brain wave activity but they haven't shared the results with my mom yet (poor mom - how terrible to just not know). There's a chance he might have left us already and I've been on and off the phone with my mom and she knows that Tom has very clear instructions for his quality of life, so she's ready to let his body go if she has to.

I was just out there last week for my Mom's birthday (I left Sunday). When I made the reservation, we didn't know he would have to have this surgery. I wish I had extended my trip, I hate not being with my mom right now. Her sister Peggy is there now, which is better.

Sorry to write so much, it's just been on my mind.

Last night, I had several big handfuls of cashews, I don't know why I was craving them so badly. I didn't want to cook, so I had peanut butter toast for dinner. Then my boyfriend ordered pizza and I had a slice of his pizza. I guess I was just sad and munchy and I realize that I shouldn't be obsessing about what I eat right now when there are more important things going on (makes me feel shallow and obsessive).

Just venting a bit!

(I might pitch the package of cashews though, I've never dipped into them before between meals, not sure why I started last night)