yeah... this is not so much today as this WHOLE WEEK but I've been eating like two slices of pizza for lunch and dinner every day AND cookies for dessert. And today I had a whole bag of peach rings. I guess the only positive thing to say is that at least today I only had about 500 calories BEFORE the dinner fiasco.

I think many make the misconception that they should do workout with light weights and do hundreds of repetitions, I believe that is wrong. Workouts should provide good resistance, going into strength training. Going to heavier weights will NOT make you bulky, just don't go doing workouts that max your repetitions out at just 1.

Been slacking on the exercise this week a little, I'll admit it. Tomorrow is another day and I'm going to try to do 45 minutes on my elliptical. I've eaten well all week, but at night I've been getting the snack attacks. A cookie here, a few Cheez-Its there. Nothing too damaging, but I wish I could keep the snacking down a little.

Yesterday was a highly emotional day for me. I ended up binging last night and I must confess that I felt like crap afterward and my tummy hurt and I wrote everything in my food journal and wrote some notes about how I felt and what happened to throw me over the edge. This is the first time this has happened since I started my weight loss journey. I am not going to beat myself up but I will learn from this experience and be able to take action in the future should I have such an emotionally charged day again.

diet dr. pepper
water
pear

water
diet dr. pepper
2 cups of veggie soup

water
diet dr. pepper
2 oz peanuts
2 oz almonds
2 oz potato chips
3 taco bell meximelts
1 taco bell beans with cheese
1 cup frosted flakes
2 cups milk
10 cheese crackers
1 lite yogurt
.....i think that is it and measurements are approximate

I am back on track today and I am not happy with what the scale shows this morning. I will drink extra water today which I have already started doing and I will plan much better today. I will have fruit this morning with my coffee and lunch at work is going to be a sack lunch with a sandwich, pickles and yogurt. I plan to eat a large salad for dinner and some type of light protein and I will snack on fruit and veggies today to keep me satisfied and help wash all this salt and fat out of my body.

Echo - LOVE the graphs!! I'm a big graph nerd (not too diff from my nerdy self) so I'm happy looking at graphs any day. Hehe. How'd you get your fitday graph to look so nice and big? Mine came out all teeny. I need to get a grip on imaging, really.

Good job on the calories and exercise!

Angela - Hope you feel better! I hate taking meds because of all those side effects. Ugh. Get well soon!

Impala, Hydra & Dagny - Totally get the binge moments. Had a couple this past week but I could tell I pushed myself beyond capacity cause my tummy felt stretched and when I walked afterward, I was totally uncomfortable. When I'm at home and have those urges to binge, I just remember how crappy I feel post-binge and how mad I am at that scale gain. That usually stops me. I always think "Ugh, I would probably weigh 2 lbs less if I didn't overeat/eat that crap yesterday!" Maybe journal your feelings (physical and mental) and remember it for next time? I didn't think it would work (read it somewhere else on this forum) but I tried it and what do you know? It works! :) Good job getting focused again and making a plan for today!

As for me, I can't believe I'm up! I slept around midnight last night and I woke up at 7:15. Well, I guess 7 hours isn't that bad, although it feels like less. I couldn't wait to weigh myself last night and it was 163.0. We'll see what it is this morning at my "weigh-in" time. :) I'm happy the damage isn't that bad. Usually I weigh less in the AM compared to the previous night. So at worst, I gained 3 lbs. That's not too bad...I will stay on plan the rest of this week and hopefully, it will go down to 160 quickly! ;)

D'oh! Forgot to include my confession for yesterday:

Breffix - Instant Oatmeal

Snack - 1/2 honey bran muffin (starbucks) + 1 tall hot chocolate, no whipped cream (starbucks)

Lunch - 1/2 bagel sandwich. Asiago cheese bagel with lettuce, roasted peppers, onion, parmesan cheese (1/2 tbsp), grilled chicken and caeser dressing. Really good!

Dinner - 6" chicken teriyaki sub (Subway), lettuce, tomatoes, onions, chicken, and southwest sauce.

Was SOOOO full after eating these sandwiches. Wow. We were at the airport for at least 2 hours before our flight so we ate one sandwich at lunchtime and then the other 1.5 hours later. I was so stuffed! I'm only NOW getting hungry for breffix.

Exercise confessions:

Went for a 2 mile (maybe more) walk down the strip yesterday. My thighs have been feeling sore. That's what I get for not being consistent with the exercise. :P

Yesterday wasn't to bad.
Turkey sandwich for breakfast
Chinese for lunch (buffet, usually my downfall, stuck to only one trip and watched portions)
Taco's for supper. Only had one.

I had the afternoon off, so for exercise, I spent 2 hours, emptying flower pots, and cleaning up the front yard for the winter, put the patio furniture away, picked more stuff in the garden, etc. It was also cleaning day at work, vacuum and mop the whole place in the morning.

Originally Posted by Sunnigummi:
Echo - LOVE the graphs!! I'm a big graph nerd (not too diff from my nerdy self) so I'm happy looking at graphs any day. Hehe. How'd you get your fitday graph to look so nice and big? Mine came out all teeny. I need to get a grip on imaging, really.

Good job on the calories and exercise!

aww thanks Sunni!!

haha yah im a total nerd when it comes to things like that too !! hehehe

when you're in fitday, right click on the image and select COPY IMAGE LOCATION

and when you post here, click on IMAGE ICON and paste the url of it.

Ate more than I should have last night, but stayed under 2000.

Breakfast: Honey Bunches of oats (too much but oh well), almond milk, diet OJ, fat free creamer, Morninstar veggie patty = 600 cal

Morning snackS: Fiber 1 bar with PB on it, 2 choc chips, a few PB chips
Yogurt with granola = 414 cal

Lunch: Cottage cheese and brown rice chips = 240 cal

PM snack before class: Banana with walnuts, Honey Wheat braided pretzels = 362 cal

Forecasted dinner:
I left the house w/ out it. Have a backup Slimfast here.
(Have class tonight)
May throw in another Fiber 1 bar if I'm starving = 1946 for the day.

breakfast: 1 fried egg (87 calories) (in 1 tablespoon olive oil -119 calories), 1 slice of granary bread (120 calories), with ~6g of butter (44 calories). peppermint tea - (2 calories)
= total calories -372 calories

lunch:
1 toasted granary bread (multigrain and seeded) with low fat cottage cheese (onion and chive flavour) with branton pickle. (172 calories).
2 mini crakers with mild cheddar cheese and branston pickle: (50 calories each; total calories - 100 calories).
2 orange kit kat fingers - (107 calories).
total calories for lunch = 379 calories.

dinner:
1 lamb patty (216 calories) 1/2 roti (~100 calories), 1/3 cup rice (86 calories), small fish portion (~126 calories), 1/2 cup of mock mashed potatoes made with cauliflower (72 calories), baked beans (100 calories)
desser - 20g of Trix cereal (dry). 75 calories.,
total calories for dinner = 775 calories.

total calories eaten = 1526 calories.
no exercise. calorie deficient - 474. (0.14lbs)

did no exercise today. to be honest, i was busy studying. tommorow will have to push myself double hard to make up for it.

today i made fake mashed potatoes with cauliflower! my dad didnt even realise! my parents liked them. and i have to admit, they tasted pretty damn good!! i was impressed :-)
i saw it on the biggest loser, Jillian suggested it , during the trainer tips. it was fun making it :)
i added my own little ideas to it to make it tasty.

recipe:
i cauliflower head, cut up into florets, removing majority of the white stalks.
steam in a steamer for 40 minutes, until a fork easily goes through them, but dont over cook them
at the same time, saute some onions until brown in olive oil and add some balsamic vinegar, and continue cooking for a little abit longer.
remove from steamer, add 1 teaspoon of salt. black pepper to taste, just under 1 teaspoon of garlic paste. parsley, thyme and a tiny bit of itallian herbs. a little bit of butter, and milk and the onions. and put it all in a food processer. and voila.

adjust cooking time, and adjust garlic, salt ,etc to personal taste.

Echo - that sounds like a yummy recipe! I'll have to try it the next time I have cauli in the frig.

I haven't eaten much today. I was totally thrown off by sleeping so late last night/this morning and the whole traveling thing.

Breffix - Instant oatmeal (160 cals), 2 small pieces of homemade baklava (200 cals?)

Snack - 1/2 cup of peanuts. Guess it was more than a snack, huh? :p 640 cals, dang!

Lunch - 2 slices wholegrain bread + 1 tbsp ketchup + 5 olives + sprinkling of feta cheese (325 cals)

Dinner - 3-4 slices of homemade pesto pizza. No chicken. Just olives, onions and pesto sauce. (estimating 700 cals) Can you tell we're out of groceries? :) Going shopping tomorrow.

Total cals: 2025 if I added correctly. Shoot. I also didn't exercise today, so that's not going to bode well for the scale tomorrow. I need to get my groceries so I can get back on plan!

Originally Posted by Sunnigummi:
Echo - that sounds like a yummy recipe! I'll have to try it the next time I have cauli in the frig.

hehe thanks!

wow homemade baclava? thats impressive! how'd ya make it?

oh snap on the exercise. did no exercise today!

but i've been "playing" with a deck of cards, so got in teeny bit of push ups haha.

i got the idea from the biggest loser season 7 . jillian michaels mentioned about getting a deck of card, and doing the repetions of the card you get and each suit represents a specific exercise.

i just adapted it, so that diamonds means i have to study for the number of minutes on the card. hearts means i have to do - exercise - either push ups or chair dips if its a face card for the number of repetions. jack is 11, king is 12, ace is a 1 minute wall squat.

then clubs is taking a break and watching biggest loser for the number of minutes on the card haha

and spade is a visit to the forum! in the past couple of hours, this is the first time i got a spade! haha.

so far i got loads of diamonds, (ie study) so managed to finish a task off my study list hehe which im happy about. its actually really fun! and motivating!

exercise wise. so far have done (in total) 20 knee push ups and 11 chair dips.

Originally Posted by Echo:
hehe thanks!

wow homemade baclava? thats impressive! how'd ya make it?

oh snap on the exercise. did no exercise today!

but i've been "playing" with a deck of cards, so got in teeny bit of push ups haha.

i got the idea from the biggest loser season 7 . jillian michaels mentioned about getting a deck of card, and doing the repetions of the card you get and each suit represents a specific exercise.

i just adapted it, so that diamonds means i have to study for the number of minutes on the card. hearts means i have to do - exercise - either push ups or chair dips if its a face card for the number of repetions. jack is 11, king is 12, ace is a 1 minute wall squat.

then clubs is taking a break and watching biggest loser for the number of minutes on the card haha

and spade is a visit to the forum! in the past couple of hours, this is the first time i got a spade! haha.

so far i got loads of diamonds, (ie study) so managed to finish a task off my study list hehe which im happy about. its actually really fun! and motivating!

exercise wise. so far have done (in total) 20 knee push ups and 11 chair dips.

That DOES sound like fun! It's similar to the games I played when I was in high school studying Spanish and boring crap like history :dz:. I would write the word on one side of my flashcard and the meaning of the word on the other side. Then I'd place them word side up and depending on how many I got right, I could take that many minutes as a break. I do well with "work games," so this would be right up my alley. Now I just need to get a deck of cards. :dizzy:

Baklava - really, really simple. Thaw a roll of phyllo dough (I buy mine, which is why this is really simple) for a couple of hours or until you can roll it out without it breaking.

1. Process almonds & walnuts (or pistachios, cashews, whatever) in a food processor along with 6-7 pods worth of cardamom seeds, 1 tsp of ground cinnamon and 1 tsp of ground nutmeg. Add 1 tsp of sugar. Grind the nuts & spices until it reaches the texture you like (pieces or fine powder - I let it get to a point halfway between the two).

2. Melt 1/2 stick (4 tbsp) of unsalted butter.

3. Take a 13 X 9 pan and place parchment paper so that it comes up the sides. Place two sheets of phyllo dough and gently brush the melted butter on the surface. Butter should not form pools so make sure the brush is only lightly coated with butter.

4. Place 6 sheets (2 sheets at a time) on the parchment paper brushing butter before placing the next 2 sheets. Then sprinkle 1/3 of the nut mixture on the surface. Place 2 sheets, brush with butter, then sprinkle 1/2 the remaining nut mixture on the surface. Place another 2 sheets on top, brush with butter and sprinkle the remaining nut mixture on the surface. Now place 6 sheets (2 sheets at a time) on top, brushing butter each time before placing the next 2 sheets.

5. Use the parchment paper to lift the baklava out of the pan (or cut the baklava in the pan if easier) and cut into diamond wedges (size is your preference). Place into a 350F oven for 30 - 35 minutes or until top is golden-brown.

6. While baklava is baking, heat 1 cup of water in a heavy-bottomed pot. Add 1/2 cup of sugar and heat until dissolved (no need to bring to a boil). Let the sugar syrup cool. I sometimes add ground cardamom or cinnamon to the sugar syrup right as I add the sugar. Don't add anything to the sugar syrup before it has cooled or it could bubble up and explode on you! After it has cooled, add 1/2 cup of honey (I use low-calorie maple syrup) and stir until mixed. You can also add rose water to the syrup after it has cooled. Delicious smell! (I personally find 1 cup of the syrup to be too much, so I halve the syrup recipe)

7. As soon as the baklava comes out of the oven, distribute the syrup over the baklava. I love the crackling noise it makes. :) Let it cool and soak up the syrup for about 20 - 30 minutes. Serve warm.

And THAT in a nutshell (hehehe) is how you make baklava. I thought it was the hardest thing, but it's really simple. I sometimes don't end up using all the melted butter, so 1/2 stick is optimal. I've made it once with 1/4 stick but that was only for my family and it came out a little too crunchy, but we didn't care. ;)

Today went much better and I stayed under 1,500 calories:

diet dr. pepper
coffee with creamer
water
apple

water
apple juice
ham and cheese sandwich, plain
lite peach yogurt
2 dill pickles

diet dr. pepper
water
large salad with 1/4 cup fat free cheese and 2 tbsp reduced fat ranch

plate of carrots sticks
1/4 cup of gluten free calorie free thousand island dressing
water, water, water

Walked on breaks at work and got some exercise in.

Originally Posted by Sunnigummi:
That DOES sound like fun! It's similar to the games I played when I was in high school studying Spanish and boring crap like history :dz:. I would write the word on one side of my flashcard and the meaning of the word on the other side. Then I'd place them word side up and depending on how many I got right, I could take that many minutes as a break. I do well with "work games," so this would be right up my alley. Now I just need to get a deck of cards. :dizzy:

hehe thanks and haha that's a cool idea about spanish!! i went through a phase of learning abit of spanish.

Originally Posted by :
Baklava - really, really simple. Thaw a roll of phyllo dough (I buy mine, which is why this is really simple) for a couple of hours or until you can roll it out without it breaking.

1. Process almonds & walnuts (or pistachios, cashews, whatever) in a food processor along with 6-7 pods worth of cardamom seeds, 1 tsp of ground cinnamon and 1 tsp of ground nutmeg. Add 1 tsp of sugar. Grind the nuts & spices until it reaches the texture you like (pieces or fine powder - I let it get to a point halfway between the two).

2. Melt 1/2 stick (4 tbsp) of unsalted butter.

3. Take a 13 X 9 pan and place parchment paper so that it comes up the sides. Place two sheets of phyllo dough and gently brush the melted butter on the surface. Butter should not form pools so make sure the brush is only lightly coated with butter.

4. Place 6 sheets (2 sheets at a time) on the parchment paper brushing butter before placing the next 2 sheets. Then sprinkle 1/3 of the nut mixture on the surface. Place 2 sheets, brush with butter, then sprinkle 1/2 the remaining nut mixture on the surface. Place another 2 sheets on top, brush with butter and sprinkle the remaining nut mixture on the surface. Now place 6 sheets (2 sheets at a time) on top, brushing butter each time before placing the next 2 sheets.

5. Use the parchment paper to lift the baklava out of the pan (or cut the baklava in the pan if easier) and cut into diamond wedges (size is your preference). Place into a 350F oven for 30 - 35 minutes or until top is golden-brown.

6. While baklava is baking, heat 1 cup of water in a heavy-bottomed pot. Add 1/2 cup of sugar and heat until dissolved (no need to bring to a boil). Let the sugar syrup cool. I sometimes add ground cardamom or cinnamon to the sugar syrup right as I add the sugar. Don't add anything to the sugar syrup before it has cooled or it could bubble up and explode on you! After it has cooled, add 1/2 cup of honey (I use low-calorie maple syrup) and stir until mixed. You can also add rose water to the syrup after it has cooled. Delicious smell! (I personally find 1 cup of the syrup to be too much, so I halve the syrup recipe)

7. As soon as the baklava comes out of the oven, distribute the syrup over the baklava. I love the crackling noise it makes. :) Let it cool and soak up the syrup for about 20 - 30 minutes. Serve warm.

And THAT in a nutshell (hehehe) is how you make baklava. I thought it was the hardest thing, but it's really simple. I sometimes don't end up using all the melted butter, so 1/2 stick is optimal. I've made it once with 1/4 stick but that was only for my family and it came out a little too crunchy, but we didn't care. ;)

WOW!!! that is incredible!! first of all, you're a an amazing chef!! and second of all. THANK YOU so much for detailing me the recipe. so sweet of you! bless you!! i really appreciate you giving me such details of the recipe. i have copied and pasted it into my recipe document already!!

sounds so good!!! i'm definately gonna try it!!! awesome!!! thanks so much - you're a total super star!!!:hug: