Sunday's semi success

I intended to eat well today and I think I did alright overall. I started off with a chocolate covered pretzel for breakfast--not the healthiest, I know. For lunch, I had half a turkey sandwich with tomato and mayonnaise. For dinner, I noshed on various snacks at the open house. I had 3 small chicken wings with dressing, a little spinach dip on toasted herb pita bread, a very small piece of cheesecake, and a piece of toasted french bread with roasted onion, prosciutto and goat cheese---that was my favorite. I came home and attempted to add up all of the calories from the snacks. I think I stayed within my 1000 calorie allowance, but I can't be sure. I came pretty close. I didn't drink any soda or alcoholic beverages, just water so I wouldn't waste calories on drinks. I figure I am going to have a couple drinks on New Year's eve since that is my splurge day. I am really going to treat myself tomorrow to celebrate all the progress I have made, even if I am above where I was a week ago when I weigh in tomorrow morning. I did exercise for a little more than 40 minutes again today.

So overall, a good day but I am not certain if all of the snack type foods will be good for the salt retention that has been going on with me. I tried to stay away from the saltier items, but I am so sensitive I can never tell what will affect me.

Either way, I wore a new shirt and bra today and when I rang the bell of my friend's house, she took one look at me and asked me where I was going. She hadn't seen me in about 2.5 weeks and she said I looked great. That is funny because the last time I saw her she said nothing. It made me feel really good and confident! I am off to the store tomorrow to buy another one of these bras because it makes me look thinner!!

What a day!

Today was one of those days when I felt like all I did was drive around. After karate this morning, we ran to the supermarket and then to the rehab center in Cranbury where my grandpa is staying right now. We brought lunch(turkey salad sandwich with fruit and pretzels-725). We stayed there for a couple of hours and came home around 3. I had some candy for snack(400). I sat down on the couch for a few minutes around 4 because I was just so wiped out. I didn't sleep well at all last night because I had a headache. I took ibuprofen around 12:30 and that allowed me to fall asleep, but I woke up at 6 and couldn't really get back to sleep because I was in pain. So between the lack of sleep and just being tired from the busy week, I decided to take my once a month nap. I slept for about 15 minutes in 5 minute clips because the kids kept coming over and talking to me. I don't know why they don't really think I am sleeping if my eyes are closed and I am laying on the couch. Anyway, I got up at 4:30 and exercised for about 42 minutes on the treadmill. That did energize me for a while. We made sesame-ginger marinated pork chops and salad with dressing for dinner(373). I had hot chocolate also(80).

I was originally supposed to have an 1800 calorie day, but I decided to make it only 1700 since I have been feeling bloated the last couple of days. I left tomorrow at 1800 since we have an open house tomorrow afternoon. I intend to eat lightly during the day so I can save some room/calories for some nice snack foods at the open house.

Filling Friday

I stayed within the my calorie allotment today(1700), but I did not exercise. It had been over a week since I took a day off and my body needed a rest. I made myself busy organizing and cleaning so at least I was moving around. I did also manage a quick trip to a couple of stores. I had to make a return in one store and I got to shop in the other store. I love shopping at Kohl's!! I got a great new shirt(XL!), a new purse, wallet and a smaller size bra for only $26. What a great deal!!

As for my eating today, I did pretty well. For breakfast I had maple and brown sugar oatmeal(160). For lunch I had a bologna and cheese sandwich on wheat bread with mustard and a small tomato with salad dresing(532). For snack I had some pieces of chocolate covered pretzels(200). For dinner I made a great sausage spaghetti sauce topped with a bit of parmasan cheese(741).

Since I woke up this morning, I have felt very swollen in my fingers. I know I must be retaining some salt, but I don't usually feel this bloated for so many days. I am hoping that when I weigh in on Monday that I will not be over due to many moderately high calorie days in a row. I just hope to break even.

Another trying day

I find that when I am home with the kids and hubby, I have less ability to be good on the plan. Even so, I stayed true to it and myself today. I had no time for breakfast so I had an early lunch that was turkey salad on wheat bread(440). For snack I had a couple chocolate covered pretzels(300). For dinner, I had a slice and a half of pizza(450) and a quarter of a sandwich(250). For the rest of my calories I had some candy flavored popcorn(460) which was yummy!!! I did treat my self to a diet soda today, but no harm done because it has zero calories.

I exercised on the treadmill but only for 32 minutes because my foot is quite achy today. We did run around like maniacs today so maybe some of the extra running I did helped shake off some calories.

Tomorrow is a lower calorie day this week, but I have already planned out my meals for breakfast and dinner so I should be alright.

A Weary Wednesday

I had a great splurge day yesterday. I ate all kinds of nice snacks during the day. For dinner, I ate mostly salad. I also had some yummy food that Mama Leone made. Thanks!! Dessert was great too with a piece of Sassy's chocolate cheesecake.

Today was a 1700 calorie day and I did a good job. Breakfast was cereal with milk(300). Lunch was sushi(400). I had a snack of baked cheddar crackers and a chocolate pretzel(200). Dinner was a Christmas Eve repeat(534). I will be having a hot chocolate and a piece of candy later to finish off my calories allowed.

I tried a new kind of exercise today. I used an exercise ball that my hubby gave me and it was really fun. It was a bit tough, but it felt good. So I did do a bit of strength training(30 min) even though I didn't want to at all!!

Hope to continue doing well this week!

Christmas Eve dinner success

When I figured out my calories for the week, I neglected to remember that we would be having something of a more caloric dinner tonight than usual. Although, when it comes down to it, the amount of calories I had for dinner was actually less than normal. I think that is because I really made a lo cal side dish to go with the other items.

I allotted 1700 calories total for today and I managed to stay close with a total of 1752. For breakfast I had egg whites on wheat toast(193). For lunch I had taquitos(465) and 2 chocolate covered pretzels(300). I had some regular pretzels in the afternoon(110). For dinner I made ham, creamed spinach( a healthy, lo carb version), parsley potatoes and pineapple(534). Then for dessert I had one more chocolate covered pretzel(150). Those things are deadly for me to have around, but at least I am being honest and counting them in my daily allotment.

As for exercise today, I didn't want to do the walking/strength tape today so I just walked for 35 minutes on the treadmill. I am going to regret all the pretzels I had today because they are full of salt. I have made sure to drink more water than normal today to try to flush some of the salt out before I feel swollen in the fingers. My other problem is that I am beginning to feel bloated because I am getting my period in the next day or two.

Tomorrow is a 2600 calorie day for me, so I am going to try to eat lighter in the morning/early afternoon so I can enjoy the wonderful dinner that Mama Leone will be making.

Merry Christmas everyone!!

A Surprise

I was stepping on my scale to balance it(we have a semi-professional scale) because the kids had bumped it by mistake and I got a surprise. I had lost another .5 pounds. So either it wasn't balanced properly Friday(which is what I think) or I lost .5 pounds since then(I doubt it) I guess it doesn't really matter. Now my total is 33 pounds lost!!!

My splurge day was excellent because Sassy made wonderful pizza and a great onion dip! Today will be relaxing and I have a 1750 calorie day ahead of me. Breakfast will be egg whites with toast (240). Dinner will be left over turkey(260) and some salad(165) so that will be pretty low calorie. I don't know what lunch will be but I am left with 1145 calories for the day so that will be plenty. I am going to exercise for about 40 minutes today on the treadmill.

This week's plan:
Monday: 1700 and cardio with strength(my walking video) & abs
Tuesday: 2600 and cardio
Wednesday: 1750 and cardio & abs
Thursday: 1900 and cardio with strength & abs
Friday: 1700 and cardio
Saturday: 1800 and cardio & abs
Sunday: 1800 and cardio

Since it is a vacation week for everyone in my house, I am trying to be a bit more generous with the calories on a daily basis instead of having a splurge day. My next splurge day will by on New Year's Eve so in the mean time I am just keeping the calories a little higher on some of the days when we have things planned. I hope it works out and that I am able to maintain my weight loss. I am not worried about losing weight this week at all, just as long as I can maintain I will be thrilled!!

Frantic Friday

Well, today I ran around like a nut and it didn't involve any holiday shopping. It was one of those days when I had a million errands to run and a short amount of time to do them in. That can be good and bad for dieting. It can be bad because I don't always drink enough while I am out for fear that I will have to use the public bathrooms a million times. It can be good because I don't carry much cash and I won't buy lunch while I am out or have a snack if I am low on cash. Today I was out between 10 and 12:15 so that is usually a non snacking time unless I am at work.

My calorie allotment for the day was 1650. I went over by 50, which isn't that bad, but I don't like it when I go over. For breakfast I had cereal with milk(285). For lunch I had peanut butter and jelly on wheat bread with chips(550). For dinner I had leftover chili topped with some cheddar cheese and a couple of garlic knots(795). What put me over was the 2 cookies I had from the neighbor who brought over a tray of homemade cookies(70). Oh well, I think it wasn't that bad of an overage.

I did walk on the treadmill for only about 30 minutes today. My foot is in terrible pain due to the weather so I had to stop. I will try tomorrow to use the bike so there is less pressure on my foot.

This morning I had time to weigh in after I exercised. I lost 2.5 pounds this week. That is a total of 32.5 pounds since I began in mid July. I have noticed a significant change in how I look and am very happy with my progress. I am only 18 pounds away from my March goal now!!!

Trying Thursday

Well, the diet was not the best today, but I stayed within my 1700 calorie allotment so not all is lost. I ate a total of 1662 calories today. For breakfast I had honey nut cheerios with milk(265). There were so many snacks around today and I decided to indulge. I had some candy(150) and chocolate(90) in the late morning. For lunch I had a frozen meal of potatoes and broccoli in cheese(220) and more chocolate(180). For dinner I had a salad, wheat toast with butter and pretzels(677). Dessert was a hot chocolate(80).

I decided to rest and not exercise today because I hadn't taken a rest in about 10 days.

Overall, not a bad day even though it wasn't the healthiest. I did eat some veggies, but no protein. At least I stayed within the calories planned.

On a clothing note, the shirt I wore today is too big which is another good feeling.

I intend to weigh in tomorrow if I get a chance or Saturday morning. I think my weekly weigh in should be before my splurge day so I get a truer measurement.

What a Wednesday!

Well, I was tired again today, but I persevered. I rode my bike for 20 minutes this morning. This evening I walked on the treadmill for a little over 30 minutes. I kept the pace higher than normal tonight also.

I kept well within my calories today and even had a special lunch. For breakfast I had Maple and brown sugar oatmeal(160). I was given some chocolate(230) as part of a gift today and I decided to eat it since I had a higher calorie day(1800 total allowed). For lunch I ordered a Greek salad from this great little place across from work. The salad is made with a spring mix, feta cheese, olives, roasted red peppers and it is topped with a great balsamic vinaigrette. I calculated the salad to be a total of 500. I think that may be high, but I have to estimate the salad dressing based on other name brands. It is a homemade dressing, but I don't know the exact measurements. I had some "eat smart" chips for 100 calories. Dinner was only tomatoes, cucumbers, olives and some salad dressing(220) since it was almost 8PM until I got to eat. I am going to have some popcorn with butter(260) for snack in a few minutes. My total for the day is 1730.

I have decided that I need to take a bit of a break and not exercise tomorrow morning. I might take a rest altogether tomorrow since I haven't taken a break in about 10 days. I am going to try to exercise tomorrow night, but if I am too tired then I will try not to feel guilty about it. I really hope that I am not getting sick for the holiday week.

A hungry day

Of course I was hungry today and my calorie allowance was moderately low at 1650. I managed to get through the day with success. For breakfast I had oatmeal and pretzels(210). For lunch I had a frozen meal and chips(680). I had pretzels and an apple for snack(260). For dinner I had homemade turkey soup and a twice baked potato with a bit of sour cream(350). For dessert, I had instant hot chocolate(80). So my food intake was great.

Today I was supposed to exercise twice, but I couldn't get up the morning. I was so tired all day today. All I did was walk on the treadmill for 40 minutes this evening before dinner. I am happy to have done that workout, but wish I could have gotten up this morning for the second workout. My body was just telling me to rest so I did. Usually I can function on about 6 hours of sleep, but after a few weeks of that I just get wiped out. Tonight I am going to be in bed by 10 so I can get 7 hours--which is my ideal amount of rest needed.

I came to a revelation today. I have been figuring out my caloric intake for the day/week/month using the calories that are for extreme fat burning. I have been succeeding with that, but realize that I am limiting myself a bit too much on my splurge days. So I have decided to add about 200-400 calories to my week so that I can have a better zig-zag effect before/after my splurge day. For example, this week I was allowed 1888 calories a day for extreme fat burning for a total of 13,216 calories for the week. If I were to use the fat burning amount, I would be allowed 2212 calories a day. This gives me a total of 15484 for the week with that amount. So this week I am going to allow myself 13450, which isn't that much above my number if I were to follow the extreme fat burning amount. I have been doing fine using the extreme calorie allotment, but I have been finding that counting on the days I splurge is getting a bit old. I would like to just abandon it for one day a week. As Sassy says, it makes the rest of the week much easier knowing that I eat whatever I want at least that one day.

So that is my new plan and I think it really won't change my success too much. If I find that I am not losing weight over the next couple of weeks I will revisit my idea to see what may need adjustment. I am open to suggestions if anyone would like to offer thoughts or ideas on my plan.
Thanks for your support!!!

My Monday

Today was a successful day! I was allowed 1900 calories today and I am almost positive I stayed within limits. Breakfast was cereal with milk(265). Lunch was 3 nuggets with a little honey mustard sauce and some fries(543). I had some chips and salsa for snack(275). Dinner was an evening out with a friend at a nice little restaurant in Moorestown called Barone's Tuscan Grill. I had pasta primavera with whole wheat penne. I ate a little over a cup of pasta and most of the squash, spinach and mushrooms,a house salad with a vinaigrette--I only at half of that--and a dinner roll(608). When I got home, I had hot chocolate(80) and popcorn(100). My total calorie intake today was 1871.

For exercise today I did Leslie Sansone's 2 mile Walk for Abs workout. I enjoy it because it is also strength training as well as cardio.

I didn't weigh myself over the weekend although I like to on a once a week basis. I weighed in today because I felt less bloated. I lost a half a pound this week even though I ate what seemed like saltier foods--at least they seemed salty to me since I felt swollen in my fingers a lot this week. Now overall, I have lost 30.5 pounds and have dropped a little more than 2 sizes in both my pants and shirts. I say a little more than 2 sizes because I can't quite buy the smaller size, but now I am in mostly XL in tops and if they are number sizes, I wear an 18/20. One of the things holding me back is my chest, which I don't think will shrink much more. As for my pants, I am now in a size 18 and could squeeze into some 16 pants, but it isn't worth the discomfort. I can also wear an XL pant in elastic waists, which hasn't happened since I had my first child. It is amazing how much more confident I feel with just this minimal weight loss and size changes.

My goal is to lose 20 more pounds by March 20th...which is the start of my spring vacation. I have already set that goal so that I know where I am headed. It is just an estimate and I will not be utterly upset if I don't quite get there. I know it gets harder to lose weight the more you lose. I am pleased that I lost my 30 pounds--which was my Christmas goal. I am so pleased with how everything is going for me and I feel so much better about my health in the future and having enough energy to keep up with my kids.

Hope everyone has a good week!

Sunday success

Today was intended to be a relaxing day for me but for some reason I didn't really rest. Between laundry, cooking, some cleaning and wrapping gifts, I was on the go today. I wasn't particularly active, but I was busy enough that the day flew by pretty quickly.

For breakfast/lunch I had 2 small slices of leftover pizza(650). I didn't snack today and I had a relatively big dinner, but I stayed safely within my allotment. For dinner, we made a turkey with crescent rolls, twice baked potatoes and brussel sprouts(955). So my total for today is 1605. I am going to have a cup of hot chocolate later and perhaps I will treat myself and make it with a little milk in place of half of the water so that will be 130 calories. So overall today, I will have had 1735 calories. My allowance was 1750 so I am safe within my amount for the day.

Today's exercise wasn't all that exciting, but it served the purpose. I walked for 17 minutes, then rode the bike for 13 minutes(I am still getting used to using those muscles), and then I walked for another 10 minutes on the treadmill. So it was a good 40 minute cardio workout. Tomorrow morning I am going to do a walking video that incorporates strength training as well.

Here are my goals for the week:
Monday: 1900 strength/cardio AM
Tuesday: 1650 cardio AM & PM
Wednesday: 1800 strength AM & cardio PM
Thursday: 1750 cardio AM
Friday: 1650 cardio AM
Saturday: 2400 cardio AM
Sunday: 1800 rest

I may change the goals one day during the week depending on how I feel about exercising. I haven't taken a rest day in a while so I will let my body decide if I need to rest one day during the week instead of on the weekend. All in all, I have hopes for a good week. I would like to maintain my 30 pound loss during this tempting holiday season.

Frantic Friday

I feel like all I did was run around yesterday but I feel accomplished. I had to switch my splurge day to yesterday because we wound up having people for dinner so there was dessert and snacking that wasn't planned. Yesterday I had a total calorie intake of 2552. S0 my splurge day was supposed to be today with 2750...and yesterday was supposed to be a 1750 calorie day. So after switching around the calories and maintaining my number for the week, I am going to allow myself 1950 today. I have a holiday party tonight, but I have already put in my order and estimate dinner to be a total of 455 for the main part and salad. I will be able to be more specific once I see what veggies are on the side plates, but that isn't a bad deal. The hard part will be going to someones house afterwards for dessert. I am going to keep it low during the day so that I can have a bit of dessert. Yesterday I had some chips after dinner and my fingers are swollen today!! I am going to have to watch the salt intake for a couple of days.

Today is karate for Adam so I won't be able to exercise until this afternoon. Which is fine because then I can do my hair properly after I shower. I don't know why I worry so much about my hair when I see these people at work and they know what I look like. Anyway, I intend to walk for 45 minutes today to help combat some of the splurging on salty foods yesterday.

I did exercise for 35 minutes yesterday on the treadmill. My strength workouts have gone a bit by the wayside this week, so I am going to have to get back into that this week.

What a day!

Well, professionally, life was stressful today. I am happy that didn't lead to me over-eating. Today was a 1630 calorie day. I had a weird assortment of food, but have managed to stay within the limits. For breakfast I had a cup of instant hot chocolate(80) and regular oatmeal(100). For lunch I had leftover chicken pot pie(491) and some pretzels(110) because I needed a crunch. I had some candy for snack(180). For dinner, I had the weirdest combo of leftovers. I had leftover bacon from yesterday(93), leftover chicken & rice from earlier in the week(150) and a root beer float(250). I still have 176 calories left, but I am not sure that I will use them. I feel really bloated in my fingers so that is usually a sign that I am retaining some fluid from salt intake. I usually weigh in on Friday mornings, but if I still feel bloated I will wait until Saturday.

As for exercise, I only did 20 minutes on the bike today, because I am getting used to it and I have another cold so my breathing is more difficult when I exercise. My energy level is a bit down today from being sick, but I am not going to give up my exercise tomorrow unless I am on my death bed--which I won't be since it is just a cold.

Overall, I am pleased with my calorie intake today.

Weird Wednesday

Today I began my day with a workout on my new recumbent bike. I could only do 20 minutes because it is a different workout than I am used to--but good for my foot. I did work up a sweat though because I used one of their programs that varied the difficulty of the peddling. I also walked for 40 minutes tonight on the treadmill. That felt good.

As for my calories today, I was allowed 1800. I stayed within the amount exactly. For breakfast I had my weekly bagel with veggie cream cheese. I also made some Chai tea before I left the house for a total of 600 calories at breakfast. For lunch I had a granola bar and Ramen noodle soup for a total of 350 calories. I had a snack at around 2 -- a yummy clementine for 35 calories. For dinner I made a BLT and had some pretzels also, which came to 425 calories. For dessert I had some candy(390). Not a particularly healthy day, but I stayed within the limit and that is the point. Not a bad day!

Trying Tuesday

It finally happened, I went over my calories for the day. I was allowed 1630 and I went over by 90 calories with a total of 1720. So in order to compensate, although it isn't even that bad of an overage, I too 50 calories away from Wednesday and 40 calories away from Saturday. The truth is that my total allowed calories for the week is 13216 and I only allotted for 13050 for the week. So even if I were to go over another day, I would be still have a bit of a buffer. I am not proud that I went over, but I am definitely not very upset because it was not that bad of an overage.

For breakfast I had regular oatmeal(100) and a granola bar(100). For lunch I had a frozen meal that was a Southwest chicken flavor(280), a clementine(35) and some Cheez-Its(220). This is the time of year when various snacks call my name and I am a sucker for butter cookies. Well, a vendor at the school sent us some and I had to have them(160). For dinner I made potato pancakes(AKA latkes) with the kids. I ate them with a bit of unsweetened applesauce for a total of 345 calories. I also had some pretzels(200). For dessert I had a cookie and a Blow Pop(280).

I did exercise this morning for about 35 minutes. I walked faster than I have been. I think in order to make up for today's slight overage, I am going to exercise a little longer in the evening tomorrow. We'll see if time allows.

I did wear a suit today that I haven't been able to fit into in several years. It was actually very comfortable and I can see it being a bit too big in the chest. Hip-Hip-Hooray!!

Monday's are tough

I felt like I could munch on food all day today. I wasn't particularly hungry, but I just felt like snacking a lot of the day. My allowance for the day was 1750. For breakfast I ate 2 pieces of wheat toast with butter(156) and a glass of apple juice(110). I had a snack of 2 Oreo cookies(140) and another glass of apple juice(110). For lunch I had sushi from the Japanese section of the Shoprite(700). For dinner, I had taco salad(225). For dessert I had one of the cookies that Steve made yesterday(260). So I am one calorie over my allotment for the day and that is alright with me.

As for exercise, I was scheduled to do it twice. I only did the strength-walking video this morning and of course my ab routine. So overall I exercised for about 40 minutes today. Instead of exercising tonight I was busy running up and down the basement stairs while we cleaned up and organized the basement a bit. We always have to do that before Christmas so we can make room for the new gifts. We also spent some time organizing the storage closet. We haven't done that in a few years so it looks better now. Even though it wasn't trashy before, it tends to get a bit unruly because no one sees it besides us. Anyway, we cleaned up instead of exercising so at least I feel accomplished.

I was shopping today and trying on pants. I didn't buy any yet, but I realized today that I am wearing pants that are 2 sizes too big. If I were to buy pants this week, I would need to buy an 18. I could squeeze into a 16, but it wouldn't be comfortable. I can't believe it. I haven't fit into a 16 since my kids were born. I hope to be in that size in the next couple of months. But, as I mentioned to Sassy, I have a lot difficulty with the excess skin from pregnancy and being overweight. So all of my hard work is paying off, but it is still going to be a long battle for my lower stomach area. I will just keep working hard and see what happens!

Today my calorie allowance was 1800. I was within my allotment with a total of 1737 calories for the day. For breakfast I had toasted wheat bread with butter. For lunch I had the remainder of my cheese steak that I didn't finish last night(550). I had a white hot chocolate(336) for a snack while I was out running a couple of errands. For dinner, Steve made a chicken pot pie and it was really yummy. I only ate one serving though(491) so I could have some of the chocolate cookie bar that he made also(260).

As for exercise, I only walked for 35 minutes today. I continue to have foot pain so it caused me to stop a few minutes early from walking. I did walk at a fast pace though so I feel accomplished.

Here are my goals for the upcoming week:
Monday: 1750 & exercise 2 times
Tuesday: 1630 & toning/strength AM
Wednesday: 1850 & exercise 2 times
Thursday: 1600 & cardio AM
Friday: 1775 & toning/strength AM
Saturday: 2800 & cardio
Sunday 1750 & cardio

My latest accomplishment

Well I know it is early in the day, but I had to write because I forgot to mention this yesterday. With my latest 2 pounds of weight loss, I have achieved my 30 pound goal. I have really begun to see the difference in my body in my clothes. I spent some time trying on various outfits and found that some clothes I thought would now fit are too big. I am putting them right in the donation pile. I am going to make a donation of clothes this month because the pile in my closet is getting in the way. I really feel bigger looking than I am in some of my clothes, but like I have mentioned before, the budget is not allowing me to buy clothes right now. So maybe by the time I can afford the clothes I will be able to buy even smaller sizes.

As for my calorie allotment today, I have 2800 calories to use. I ate maple and brown sugar oatmeal(160) for breakfast. For lunch we were at a kids roller skating party and I had one and a half pieces of pizza(450). I had a diet soda while I was there but they don't have calories, just caffeine that makes me have to go to the bathroom a million times. That leaves 2190 for dinner at my parents' tonight. We are going to order sandwiches(we are not the traditional Jewish family) after we celebrate Chanukah. (We do the gifts before we eat so the kids have time to play with the toys.) Anyway, I am thinking I will have a cheesesteak with mushrooms. I have figured out with some help from Calorie King, that a large one would be 760 calories. I can't imagine that I could eat a large one so I will estimate less at about 700 total with ketchup. I will also probably have fries(500). I know my mom is making brownies for dessert and I figure to have 2 of those(400). My other treat of the night will be to have a regular soda(without caffeine because I don't want to pee all night). That still leaves me with 390 calories. I am fine if those aren't used up because I will still have eaten 2410 calories for the day and that is plenty.

As for exercise, I did not do any formal exercise, but I spent about 1.5 hours walking back and forth on the skating rink with the kids. I couldn't put the skates on because of my foot. But the area that beginners skate on is about 10 feet by 40 feet. That is the length that I walked so I did get some activity in today.

Well, off to a celebration of lights!!

I did it!!

Today was weigh in day because I didn't know what we were having for dinner so I wanted to be careful in case I ate a really salty meal(like pizza). Anyway, I lost 2 pounds this week. I didn't expect that, but I was happy about it! I spent some time this morning trying on clothes because some of my clothes look ridiculous. I found that a few shirts I thought would fit better now are just too big. I tried on a suit that hasn't fit in about 1.5 years and it looks great. I have a real problem because I don't have any pants that fit. I have one pair of black pants that I recently bought and they are too big now. I have a pair of jeans that looks huge and some sweatpants that look okay. I will have to buy something this week or next for casual wear during the holidays.

My calorie allotment was 1750 today and I did stick to it. For breakfast I had a donut and a chocolate(250). Steve brought the donuts home yesterday, but I resisted because I didn't want to go over my calories. For lunch I had a bagel with lox spread and some chips(700). I treated myself to a coffee coolatta made with skim milk for a snack today(170). For dinner, I had Ramen noodles(400). That leaves 230 calories and I am sure that I will find time to have a treat after I take care of getting the kids ready for bed. I think it may be a hot chocolate and some pretzels. That will be 180 calories and my total for the day will be 1700. I love to eat the pretzel nubs with mustard because there aren't a lot of salt on them.

I am looking forward to my splurge day tomorrow. I am also looking forward to having a day of rest from exercise because I haven't skipped a day since I was sick a week and a half ago. I really enjoy exercise, but every now and then I need a day off. So since I have a busy day tomorrow and haven't skipped in about 11 days, I am just going to skip it.

Have a great weekend!

Today was a good plan day! This morning I walked on the treadmill for 30 minutes. My foot has been killing me for a few days now. This weather is not good for it, but I don't want to give up on the exercise since it really helps me lose weight.

The calorie goal for today was 1650. I seemed to have eaten a lot of food, but I am well within my limit. For breakfast, I ate 2 slices of wheat bread with butter(190) and a clementine(35). For lunch I had a Weight Watcher's frozen pasta dish(320) and another clementine(35). I had some pretzels for snack after work(200). For dinner I had rice with peas, carrots and chicken with a canned sauce(300) and a salad with blue cheese dressing(173). For dessert I had hot chocolate(80) with popcorn(150). That totals 1483. I am significantly under, but my stomach was slightly upset today, so I am not going to stress it by eating anymore. I might have another hot chocolate(80) but that will only total 1563. Either way, I am pleased with how I did today and I ate rather healthy. I am hoping to be able to exercise for 45 minutes on the treadmill tomorrow morning since I am not working in the morning.

Here's to another successful day!

It's already Wednesday

I can't believe that we are already halfway through the week. Well, my morning was so hectic and my afternoon at work was so slow. I was happy to leave work today and come home to my munchkins. It was so pretty to drive home in the light snow and see the trees and houses covered with a light dusting.

As for my dieting plan today, I did well. My total allotment was 1850 calories. I had a bagel with veggie cream cheese and a cup of Chai tea for breakfast(620). For lunch, I had potato, cheddar and broccoli soup(250) and a clementine(35). For snack I had pretzels with some mustard(200). For dinner I made chicken breasts that I coated very lightly with mayo, breaded and then baked(408). The mayo helps keep the chicken moist, but the key is to use only about 2-3 tablespoons of mayo for 4 chicken breasts so that the calories aren't that high. We also ate a baked sweet potato(160) and green beans(30). I will be having a snack later of hot chocolate(80) and some popcorn(100). My total for the day is 1769. I am having a 1650 day tomorrow and I hope that it is as easy to do tomorrow as it was for me today.

For exercise, today I did a cardio-strength workout from the On Demand exercise section of Comcast. That was a 23 minute workout and then I did the 7 minute abs workout. Tonight I walked for 35 minutes at a very good pace. I really enjoyed walking tonight because I haven't walked since Monday night. I am really happy that the workouts can be used with the On Demand feature of the digital cable.

Triumphant Tuesday

I don't know why it is triumphant, but I just liked the word.

I exercised this morning with a new walking video on Comcast On Demand. It was a walking and toning video led by Leslie Sansone. It was a 30 minute video. Then I did a 7 minute intense ab workout. I have been doing a short ab routine every other day and I enjoy it.

As for my calorie allotment, I was allowed 1650 calories. For breakfast I ate plain oatmeal(100). For lunch I had a Lean Cuisine panini(300) and pretzels(100). I had a granola bar(100) later on in the afternoon since I was a bit hungry. For dinner, I had a weird combo. I made pork for the kids and Steve but I don't like pork too much so I skipped it. I ate brussel sprouts with garlic and olive oil(300) and a piece of corn bread(188). I also had a banana(90). I am about to have popcorn (90). I also had 3 cookies after dinner(170). So my total for the day is 1448. I know I was supposed to get up to 1650 today, but I am just not really hungry. I think I am still getting over my stomach being upset on Sunday. I am supposed to have 1850 calories tomorrow. I am going to try to get that high so that I don't counter the idea of the zig-zag effect.

The week begins

Today was scheduled as a 1750 calorie day. I didn't have breakfast because my stomach was still a bit upset from yesterday. So for lunch I was really hungry. I had 2 hot dogs with sauerkraut and mustard. I also had potato chips. Lunch was a total of 640 calories. For snack I had 3/4 a cup of ice cream in coke zero(200). I think the kids' trip to Friendly's yesterday encouraged my ice cream craving. For dinner I intended to have ribs, eggplant and brussel sprouts. Well, I didn't have time to make the brussel sprouts today so I made ribs and eggplant. The kids and Steve ate all of the ribs so I had eggplant(150). I also ate some stuffing
(350)left over from another day. I also had 4 mini eggrolls(180). It was a mush mosh for dinner, but we are really trying to make sure we use up all of our leftovers.

I exercised 30 minutes this morning and 30 minutes tonight. I am 10 minutes short of my goal tonight, but it was a bit hectic here tonight so that is all I could do. I am going to attempt to exercise twice tomorrow as well. We'll see. I think it was a successful day overall even though I didn't eat particularly healthy. I stayed within my calories and didn't eat terribly bad. Total calories for today are 1520. If I am hungry before 9:30 I will allow myself some popcorn for 60 calories and a cup of hot chocolate for 80 calories. Snack or no snack I will be under my allotment for the day.

A relaxing day

Well, since the kids are still out, I thought I would post now while I have the time. Today was supposed to be a splurge day. I had a granola bar for breakfast(90). For lunch I treated myself to sushi--crab and cream cheese roll(617). I decided to have cheese and crackers around 2:30 this afternoon. That was worth about 1000 calories. It was yummy!! Well, I think I upset my stomach with the cheese. So I have hit 1707 calories today and I might not be able to eat any more food. I will probably have a cup of tea and try to settle my stomach. I would love to have a piece of the veggie lasagna that I just heated up for Steve, but I can't really eat without upsetting my belly so I am going to have to skip it. I guess when I eat cheese I am going to have to take a Lactaid pill since I am lactose intolerant. I have never needed to do that with cheese, only milk, but I know our bodies change as we get older.

I am a bit upset about not really being able to splurge today, but I guess I can look at it as a positive because I didn't eat that many calories and I won't have to fight to lose anything I gained. Overall though, I had a happy, restful day doing random chores when I wanted to and in peace and quiet.

Another good thing that happened today is I lost another pound. I know I only try to weigh myself once a week, but for some reason I wanted to check again today. So now I have lost 28 pounds. My goal is 30 by Christmas and I am optimistic that I can do that now. I am not going to increase my goal because it will feel good to just surpass the 30 pound mark.

I only have one social event this week(Chanukah celebration with my family) so I will have a normal schedule. Here are my goals for the upcoming week:

Monday: 1750; 30 min AM, walk 40 min. PM
Tuesday: 1650; 30 min walk AM
Wednesday: 1850; 30 min AM, 30 min PM
Thursday: 1650; 30 min AM
Friday: 1750; 45 min AM
Saturday: 2800; no exercise
Sunday: 1800; walk 45 min

Depending on Steve's schedule for the week, my evening exercise schedule may change, but the goal is to exercise twice at least 2 days this week. Here's to a great week for everyone!

Let the season begin

Today we decorated the inside and outside of our house for Christmas. It looks nice. Tonight we will decorate the tree after the kids get in their pj's. So running around was good because I only got to exercise for 30 minutes today. I did a cardio dance workout and an ab routine.

For breakfast, I tried to eat oatmeal, but it blew up in the microwave. I put it on for an extra 30 seconds because I had too much water in it--or so I thought. So instead I had a cupcake(380)--not as healthy, but it's okay. For lunch I had a PBJ sandwich on wheat bread with some potato chips(650). I had a half a cup of hot chocolate for snack(50). For dinner I had steak, a baked potato with sour cream and corn(620).

I will have dessert later but I am at 1700 calories for the day. I am going to limit it to 1750 today so I will have popcorn later. Tomorrow is going to be my splurge day. I will allow myself 2800 calories and I am sure I will be fine.

I weighed in today and got a surprise. I had my period this week and was definitely bloated. I lost a pound though this week. So for November I lost a total of 4 pounds. I have not measured the inches, but just based on bra and pants changes, I have lost 2 inches on my chest(not the bust but underneath) and 2 inches on my waist since I started. My thighs are noticeably thinner and that makes me happy. I am at a point where I really need to buy new clothes, but since it is the holiday season, I have no money to do that. My hope is that Santa and Chanukah Harry are kind to me with gift cards for clothes!! Otherwise, I am going to start looking silly in some of my things. After Christmas I will be able to afford to go shopping. At least it is a good problem to have!

Frantic Friday

Well, from the time I woke up today until now, I have been on the run. I woke at 7 this morning--no alarms on Friday's. Instead of exercising first thing, I did some chores and then showered the kids. I exercised after that for 35 minutes. I brought my speed back up to where I had been walking before I got sick and that felt great!!

I was allowed 1800 calories today and I was successful. For breakfast I had Maple and Brown Sugar oatmeal(160). I had a small cupcake for a snack(200). For lunch I had tuna and wheat crackers(300). I had 10 pretzels for snack in the afternoon(110). For dinner, the girls and I went to McDonalds while Adam and Steve went to dinner and a hockey game. I had a hamburger and fries(980) and a diet coke. It was a nice treat. My total for today is 1750.

I am supposed to have a high calorie day tomorrow(2800). I am not sure if I will get that high, so I may switch the day for Sunday's allowance which is 1750. I think I will see how it goes tomorrow and then figure out if I should let it be my indulgence day. If I go over 2000 calories, I will do that. If not, I will have to make a decision. I am also not sure if I am going to be able to exercise due to a busy morning schedule. I will try, but if not, I will most certainly exercise on Sunday.

Sorry to babble, but sometimes writing it out makes it more real for me. Hope everyone has a nice weekend!!

A trying Thursday

I had to talk myself through the whole day so I wouldn't eat everything not nailed down. I don't keep snacks at work, I pack my bag everyday so I have control over the calorie intake. But today I wanted to run to the 7-11 and buy chips. I didn't but I needed to have pretzel bites when I came home from work. I ate a lot of them so I had to juggle dinner calories. So here is how my calorie intake went today.....For breakfast I ate plain oatmeal(100). I had an oatmeal raisin granola bar(90) around 10 because I was so hungry. For lunch I had tuna on wheat bread and some cheese-its(total 605). I had some candy(130) a little while later. When I got home from work, I had pretzels with mustard(350)-- a lot of them!!!. For dinner, I had a chicken thigh, a cup of homemade creamed spinach and a piece of potato(200). I am sipping on a cup of hot chocolate now(80). So I made it through the day and managed to keep it under my allowance of 1600. I ate a total of 1565 but I did eat the pretzels and some cheese its which are a bit salty. Hopefully I won't retain water when I weigh in on Saturday.

I tried a new kind of exercise today. On our cable, we can use the on-demand feature for exercise programs. This morning I used a cardio dance program today that was 20 minutes long. Then I did a 7 minute ab routine. Tonight I walked for 40 minutes, but not at my fastest. I did walk fast, but I am still a bit tired and sick so I couldn't really go full force. In my mind though, at least I walked.

I just hope that I can get it together tomorrow and stay away from the salt...sometimes it is easier to stick to the plan when I am at home taking care of the kids because they keep me busy.

Just another day

Even though I complain that I am really busy sometimes, I think I would rather be busy than bored. I had a boring day at work. There wasn't a lot to do so I caught up on some e-mails and checked in with some teachers. It was work, but the morning dragged. The afternoon went faster.

Today was a 2000 calorie day so I treated myself to a bagel with veggie cream cheese(490) for breakfast. For snack I had some chocolate(200). For lunch I had an individual pizza(410) and I tasted a bit of some ravioli(50). I also had 2 pieces of caramel candy(100). For dinner I ate pork with gravy, green beans and a potato with butter spray(661). That is a total of 1911. I am going to make myself a cup of hot chocolate in a few minutes and that will take me to 1991 calories for the day.

I exercised for 65 minutes today. I am surprised that I was able to considering I still have some breathing problems due to congestion and my sore throat but I like exercising so I didn't want to give it up today. So it wasn't an exciting day, but it was successful for me.

Trying Tuesday

I stayed on track today with my 1600 calories. I had plain oatmeal with cinnamon for breakfast(103). While I was making cupcakes for a class party, I snuck one(240) for a quick snack. Lunch was a salad with dressing(286) and a slice of plain pizza(300). I had some low fat tortilla chips and hot chocolate for a snack(280). For dinner I had 7 mini egg rolls with Dijon mustard(325). My total for today is 1534. I am going to have 2 cups of popcorn(60) for dessert. That means I will have stayed within my allowance for the day at 1594. I felt like a lot today, but I just ate often because swallowing a lot at one time is a bit tough. So smaller meals for me today was what worked.

Since my throat and ear still hurt and I am pretty wiped out, I was only able to exercise for 35 minutes today. At least a did get to do some cardio and that made me feel a bit more energized for a while.

So overall, a tiring day, but still successful. Now I am officially wiped out between being sick and having my period so I will go to bed very soon.

Confession

I hate to admit it, but I went over my allotment after dinner last night. I was allowed 1600 and I wound up at 1750 because I had some pretzels. That isn't that bad, but since I didn't exercise the last 2 days I feel guilty. I was hungry and I decided that the pretzels were the least "harmful" treat of the ones I wanted. The salt craving must have something to do with my period coming.

So, I switched yesterday's amount with today's and now today I will have 1600. I am going to exercise soon so that will help me get back on track. I feel slightly better today, but still in some serious throat pain. I just don't want to give up the exercise again. I will aim for 30 minutes and see if I can go more. I am going to watch one of my favorite shows--Rachel Ray--so that will hopefully keep me on the treadmill a bit longer.

Plain old Monday

Well, no exercise today because I am still really under the weather. I visited the doctor today and I found out I have strep throat. That explains all the fever, aches and pains. At least now I have some medication to make me better. I get to take the day off of work tomorrow too so I can rest.

As for the calorie intake today I was allowed 1600. For breakfast I had oatmeal(160). For lunch I had 2 slices of pizza and 2 cookies(900). For dinner I am going to have Ramen Noodle Soup (380). That laves 160 calories. I don't know if I am going to be able to eat anything else because I really can't swallow well, but I may try to have a cup of hot chocolate(80) for dessert. Either way, I am under my calorie allowance for the day. I think that is fine considering I didn't exercise today. I am going to exercise tomorrow morning for at least 30 minutes. I am just so wiped out from being sick that I can't even imagine exercising now.

I hope to have another successful day tomorrow with a bit of exercise added in to the mix.

A successful day

Well, even though I didn't exercise, I did stay within my calories allowed for the day. I was allowed 1700 and I ate 1670.

For breakfast I had oatmeal and hot chocolate(240). For lunch I had pizza and 2 oatmeal cookies (850). I had a few chips with the kids for snack(200). For dinner I had Ramen noodles(380). I am going to have a cup of decaf tea but that isn't any calories added to the day.

I am going to attempt to exercise tomorrow morning because I really do miss it when I have to skip a day. I am going to walk at least 30 minutes if my body will allow it.

Here is the tentative schedule for the week--I say tentative because I don't know what is planned at work this week so I haven't figured out if I have to be out of the office for lunch any day. I don't think I do so I am going to plan for Saturday as my high calorie day.

Monday: 1600
Tuesday: 1750
Wednesday: 2000
Thursday: 1600
Friday: 1800
Saturday: 2800 and rest
Sunday: 1750

I intend to walk for 45 minutes on Wednesday, Friday, Sunday and at least 30 minutes Monday, Tuesday, Thursday with a break on Saturday because I am going to be busy. If I get a chance I will exercise, but I am not going to count on it.

I hope this is a good plan. Sometimes I question if I am zig-zagging enough, but so far it seems to be working so I must be doing something right!!

Here's to a great week!

Saturday Surprises

Well, I stayed within my allotment yesterday. I was allowed 2500 calories for Thanksgiving number 2, but I didn't eat that much. My throat is killing me and by last night I had a fever so I think I may have only eaten about 1800 calories. I wish I could have eaten more, but I couldn't swallow anything. That was surprise number two.

After I exercised for 40 minutes yesterday, I weighed myself. I am not sure why, but I did. I am expecting my period this week and I decided I wanted to weigh myself again before it started. Well, here comes the surprise...I lost another pound. Now I am up to 26 pounds lost. my goal is to lose 30 pounds by Christmas and I think I will get there.

I am not going to exercise today because I feel achy all over. I am not even sure if I will eat what I am supposed to because my throat hurts. All I want is soup and tea---that will help keep the calories low I guess. I will try to exercise tomorrow.

I am thankful for...

SUCCESS!!! This Thanksgiving I am thankful for all of my family. I have also achieved a milestone of 25 pounds lost.

I altered my calories allowed yesterday from 2400 to 2500. I decrease today to 1650 and Sunday to 1700. My total allowed for the week is 13608 and I am still at 13500 with all of these changes. So if I go over my allotment a few calories I am still safe---although I always say that and it never happens.

I am pretty confident that I stayed within the allotment for yesterday. I also did 35 minutes of walking yesterday.

Today I had half a piece of French toast with syrup(200) for breakfast. I took Adam out to lunch while the girls had a play date. I ate half of a grilled chicken sandwich with mayonnaise, a piece of lettuce and tomato. I also had fries. I had a diet coke, which is very unusual for me and it was a nice treat. The total was 700. Dinner is going to be leftover turkey and salad along with some sweet potatoes(450). I am going to allow myself to have some popcorn tonight for snack. That is about 100 calories, so I will definitely be within the allowance---at 1550. I may have a hot chocolate for 80, but that will still only be 1630. I am trying to keep it lower than 1650 today if I can. I will also be exercising for 45 minutes before dinner tonight. I am not motivated for that today, but I know I need to do it. My next weigh in will be next Friday because I think we are going out for pizza and I don't want that to affect the weekly weigh in.

Hope everyone is staying warm on this blustery day.

Wild Wednesday

I am writing before we go to a hockey game with the kids because I am already tired and not sure if I will want to post when we get home. I couldn't exercise this morning because I had irritated my skin and it hurt when I walked. I did manage to walk for about 20 minutes this afternoon, which isn't great, but at least I moved quickly for a few minutes. I will be better tomorrow so that I can walk for my 30 minutes.

Breakfast was hot chocolate(80) and oatmeal(160). Lunch was a bagel with cream cheese(400). My afternoon snack was a yogurt(110). Dinner was a hot dog(170) with mustard and sauerkraut(40). I also had some cheddar chips(300). I had a couple of bite size chocolates for 100 calories. I have left myself some calories so that I can have a soft pretzel(300) at the hockey game.

Tomorrow is a big calorie day, but I will be busy in the morning so I can save most of the calories for Thanksgiving dinner.

A Day of Celebration

I had allotted 1800 calories today and that may have been more if I had remembered that I was going out to dinner. Breakfast was oatmeal(160) and later in the morning I had a lo carb treat(110). Lunch was about 2/3 a can of Italian vegetable soup(180). I had some pretzels with mustard (275) for snack. Emily picked Friendly's for dinner, which is not one of my favorites, but since it was her birthday, we went. I had a chicken, vegetable fajita quesadilla. I have no idea how many calories that was...but after calculating the individual pieces, I think it may have been about 925. I had a few pieces of chocolate for 150 calories.

I have calculated that I ate all of my calories for the day, and I hope I am accurate. When I go to places that I can't look up the whole meal on Calorie King I get a bit worried, but I think I did it accurately today. I got to exercise for 30 minutes today. I have managed to create an irritation on my inner leg so I may not be able to walk tomorrow. Also, due to a visit I have to make to the hospital on Thursday, I am not going to be able to do Pilates, I will only be able to walk I think.

Manic Monday

What a busy day. I ran around all over the place again today. I did get to exercise 2 times today for a total of 60 minutes of cardio. For breakfast I had a bagel with cream cheese on one half and butter on the other(470). For lunch I had peanut butter on Wheat Thins and some chips(550). For dinner I had half of a turkey sandwich and mashed potatoes with sour cream(550). I had a hot chocolate with marshmallows for dessert(100). When I make hot chocolate I just use the powder and water so that I can have it more often because it is lower in calories--less taste but at least it is a chocolate flavor.

I went over my calories by 20 which isn't terribly bad, but I am slightly unhappy about that. I want to weigh in Thursday morning this week because I know I have a big calorie day allowed on Thursday. Overall, I think I did alright today and I am proud of myself for exercising tonight even though it was a bit late until I got to eat dinner.

A soggy Sunday

Well, the weather isn't really motivating for anything, but I exercised anyway. I walked for 40 minutes today. I enjoy the weekend exercising because there is less of a time restraint. I think for now I am going to increase the walking to 40 minutes if I can fit it in. If I am pressed for time, I will do at least 30 minutes. I am going to exercise at night with the hubby also so that way I can try to do pilates in the morning sometimes. Right now I feel that the walking is providing the best results so I want to keep with it. I know though that it is important to do strength training. I think it might be time to buy a few videos that incorporate both.

Yesterday was a successful 2500 calorie day. I didn't count, but I know the amount I ate for dinner was about 1000 and lunch and breakfast combined was 850(exactly). So that leaves 650 worth of chips and a glass of wine that I had. I think I fell within the range.

Today I am allowed 1800 and I am doing well so far. Breakfast was a bite of this and a bite of that for about 400 calories (that can get me in trouble if I don't watch what I am nibbling from the kids, but now I really pay attention to that) and half of a frozen individual pizza with some pretzels for lunch(200). Dinner is going to be turkey leftovers (200) and a cup of mashed potatoes(237). I am also going to have a side salad with dressing(170). I am going to have a snack in a few minutes of pretzels and mustard(200) with some hot chocolate(100). That leaves me with 293 calories for after dinner. I am sure I will find something to use them on.

Here is this week's plan:

Monday: 1650; walk--1 hour total
Tuesday: 1800; walk--30 mintes
Wednesday: 1700; walk 35 minutes
Thursday: 2400; walk & pilates
Friday: 1700; walk-45 minutes
Saturday: 2300; walk and pilates
Sunday 1750; walk -45 minutes

Frantic Friday

I feel like I have traversed the Earth the last couple of days. In between being very busy with errands and appointments, I have managed to stay on my plan. I did switch around a bit though. I ate a bit too much on Thursday because I was craving some pretzels. Thursday I ate 2000, today I am supposed to eat 1700 instead of 1800 and tomorrow I am going to keep my 2700 allotted because I am still within the range, actually under. Now I have a total amount of 13,600 for the week allotted and I am allowed 13,664. This is the first time that I even got close to that amount-usually I am about 400 calories under. I try to keep it under and I am not sure why. That is the amount I am allowed with significant loss and it seems to be working so I may increase my calories another day a week. I will consider that when I make this week's plan.

I have been walking everyday and tomorrow I am going to take the day off. I tried a new Pilates workout this week and was unsuccessful because I had restraints due to the foot problems I have been experiencing. The walking isn't affecting it as badly now though. I walked 35 minutes today and yesterday. I might take tomorrow as a day of rest since I have walked everyday since Monday, but we will see if I want to talk anyway. I would really like to walk as many days a week as possible and I don't mind not taking a day off. I am going to try to walk and do pilates tomorrow(I will most likely exercise because I enjoy it) or Sunday and then again on Thursday and Friday since there is no schedule those days. I might go to the library one day this week to check out some new pilates videos. I am really enjoying them but some poses are just too hard for my foot.

I also weighed in yesterday morning. I weighed in on Tuesday to sneak a peek and I had not gained any weight. When I weighed in on Thursday, I had lost a pound and a half I have lost a total of 23.5 pounds. If I can reach the goal of 30 pounds by Thanksgiving that would be ideal. I would like to lose 5 more pounds by Christmas. I think that is a reasonable amount, 5 pounds a month.

A boring but successful day

Today was pretty boring so I got hungry during the day. I drank my water and that helped. I already drank 8.5 glasses of water today and I will probably drink about 2 more. When I am bored I drink more water and I guess that can be good.

My allotment for today was 1700 calories. I stayed within the limits. I had oatmeal for breakfast and a hot chocolate(90). For lunch I had a grilled chicken sandwich with mayo, lettuce, and tomato(330) and I also got a small order of fries from Wendy's(332). I had an apple(60) also to quench the sweet tooth I had after the salty fries. For dinner I had a small turkey croquette with gravy, mashed potatoes and some cucumbers with a small amount of salad dressing for a total of 610 calories. I have 30 calories left and I may eat some carrots later for snack since they are a minimal amount. Otherwise I meat eat a cup of popcorn since that is 35 calories--only putting me over by 5, which I think is still fine.

I tried to exercise with a new Pilates workout this morning, but it was too hard on my foot so I had to quit after about 30 minutes. Instead, I walked the treadmill for 25 minutes this evening. My foot hurts a bit because of the rainy weather that is upon us.

I am definitely going to weigh in tomorrow to see the results. I am going to walk again in the morning but I won't be able to walk at night due to prior commitments. I have an extremely busy Friday as well, but I am going to get up early and exercise instead of waiting until mid morning to walk like I usually do.

Not such good food

Well, even though I stayed within my calories for the day, I didn't each so healthy. I had a bagel and veggie cream cheese for breakfast and a honey bran muffin with raisins around 11:30. For lunch I had a Lean Cuisine worth 260 calories. I had a snack after work that was a mix of sweet and salt--popcorn and chocolate. Dinner was salmon, creamed spinach, and a baked potato with sour cream. Dinner was early tonight so I can exercise again tonight. I walked for 35 minutes this morning and I thought I was done with that for dinner. Steve called and asked if I wanted to exercise tonight. I think he wanted to exercise but didn't want to do it by himself. I figure keeping him company was good for me so I might as well use the treadmill again. I think I will do pilates in the morning tomorrow since I will have walked twice today.

I will probably weigh in tomorrow if I feel less bloated. The cold cuts I ate on Sunday really made me retain water and I have been peeing a lot. So I hope that I have gotten rid of my water weight. I would really like to see if I have maintained my loss since I was away.

I will let you know.......

The counting begins again

After about 10 days off I got back to the routine today. I did exercise for about 35 minutes, but pilates wasn't added to that. I just had to much to do and to get the kids off to school while getting unpacked and re-organized from vacation was too much to do extra exercise.

I had a 1700 calorie day today and I stuck to it. I had oatmeal for breakfast(160). I snuck in some chocolate for snack(170). I had an individual pizza for lunch with pepperoni(610). I had a hot chocolate for snack(85). For dinner I had turkey with gravy(270), brussel sprouts(200)--I will have to share that recipe someday when I have more energy and salad with dressing(190).
So I have used all but 20 calories today. Tomorrow I will have a 2000 calorie day and I may treat myself to a bagel with cream cheese for breakfast--I have been craving one of those but they total about 450 I think so I save them for high calorie days.

I would say I had a successful day back on the plan. I think I overestimated the salad and the brussell sprouts since I had to do that on my own, but better to overestimate than to under count the calories.

Back to reality

Well, here we are back in New Jersey and I am sitting down to figure out what my calorie plan is for the week. I have a pretty easy week coming up(in relation to work), so that makes it a bit easier. I intend to weigh in either tomorrow or Tuesday to see how I did while we were away. I actually got up to exercise this morning but only got in about 20 minutes of cardio since I had a busy morning. I will return to the usual tomorrow. So here is the plan....

Monday: 1700 and cardio/pilates
Tuesday: 2000 and cardio
Wednesday: 1700 and cardio
Thursday: 1600 and pilates
Friday: 1800 and cardio
Saturday: 2700 and cardio
Sunday: 1800 and cardio/pilates

I feel successful

Well, I am tired,but have been trying to keep up with the plan. I am estimating that i uaed between abot 17OO to 2OOO cals a day while walking between 6and 1O miles a day.

I just exercised and wieghed in at my parent's gym. With clothes i was the same as when i left so i am hopeful that i have lost weight. we will see.

i am using steve's pda so capitals and spelling are difficult - please forgive me.

An early start

When I weighed in this morning, I was a pound up. I knew that even before I stepped on the scale because my fingers felt a bit bloated. Two things happened that explains this. I ate pizza last night, which always leaves me bloated the next day so it isn't a problem. The other thing that happened is that yesterday my period returned. I have not had a such a long period since I was a teenager. I have cramps again this morning and I feel bloated in my stomach. I am hoping that this disappears by the time I have to fly because flying with a bloated belly would be yucky.

I went a bit over my calories yesterday, but not by much. I hope that while I am in Disney I will be able to keep off any larger than normal amount of calories with all of the walking we do. We have even mapped out where the fruit stand is in every park so that we can have some healthy snacks.

Well, off to take some Advil for the cramps and wake up the rest of the family. Hope you have a fun, healthy, successful week!

A tough one, but I got through it

Even though I had a lot of calories today to use, it was hard to stay under. I had a breakfast meeting where I ate an omelette made from egg whites, spinach and feta cheese. I also had about half a cup of hash browns. To top it off, I had a glass of OJ for a total of 799. Even though I ate all of that, I was still hungry around lunch time so I had a yogurt for 170 calories. Dinner was leftover pasta and a bit of chicken for about 700. I used the rest of my calories, minus 1, on candy. So I hit my total easily today. I actually have a stomach ache as I write this. I will definitely be having a cup of tea later since I got a bit of a chill staying outside trick-or-treating.

I did get my exercise in this morning. I walked at a decent pace, but not as fast as I have been. I am going to attempt to do both pilates and cardio tomorrow. If I can't do that in the morning before work, I am going to do cardio in the morning and attempt to do pilates after dinner. It is so hard for me to find the hour I really want to exercise during the week. I guess I will have to be satisfied with the 30 minutes. It is better than nothing, but I still feel like i need more. I just can't up before 5:30 and function after 9 each night. Sorry to keep complaining about this.

I am going to weigh in either tomorrow or Friday now that my period is gone and I can see where I am before we go away.

Today was a 1650 calorie day and I did it. I tried plain oatmeal for breakfast and once I had 3 bites I couldn't eat anymore. So I only counted it for 40 calories. I was busy all morning and only had 15 minutes for lunch so I had a lean cuisine meal for lunch---cheese, mushrooms and a bit of steak on grilled bread(300). I also treated myself to a milky way(260)--those end of the month cravings hit today. For dinner I had a rib, some pasta and green beans(525). I had some chips after dinner(to end my cravings for the day). I ate a total of 1525 today, which is about 125 under, but I am full and can't eat anymore. I may have a hot chocolate later which would be 80 and put me at 1610, but I am not sure.

I exercised with the pilates this morning. I liked the work out and it felt good. When I got home form work though, I felt that I wanted to walk so once I played with the kids for a while I got in 30min. on the treadmill. It felt good. I will walk again tomorrow morning, but I figure a bonus round can't hurt. My foot is feeling good with this weather so I took advantage of that.

I wore my new suit today and felt good in it. Tomorrow I am going to wear another new outfit. If my cramps would go away and the little bit of bloating I have would leave also, I would feel even better. Maybe tomorrow!!

It keeps getting better and easier....

Today I had an 1800 calorie day. Breakfast was 2 slices of cranberry bread(200) and a rice krispy treat(90). Lunch was frozen pizza and grapes(500). I had a blow pop(130) after lunch and chips later on(200). Dinner was a turkey croquette with gravy(300), broccoli(50) and coleslaw(200). For dessert I will be having hot chocolate again with a bit of popcorn(170). I used 1790 calories today so I got really close to my target. I had a hungry day today because of my period so it was a good think it was an 1800 calorie day. I must say, that even though I had cramps today, it was easier because I have been more active. So instead of wanted to curl up and sleep, I decided to just keep moving to work through the pain. I had originally planned pilates for this morning, but the cramps did not allow me to get moving quickly enough this morning. So I decided to switch tomorrow and today. I did my cardio today by mowing the lawn--which takes about an hour. It is actually taking less and less time because I am walking faster these days.

The better part of my day was clothes shopping. I started at one end of the mall and walked all the way to the other end without getting foot pain or even feeling a bit tired while walking at a good speed. When I was at my heaviest, even walking the mall would be something of an effort. I bought a suit outfit today and surprised myself. I was trying on a jacket in a size 22, which is what I thought I would be and it looked a little frumpy. So out of curiosity I tried the 20---it fits!!! And it fits nicely, not tightly. I got a blouse that is size 18...the only problem I have with that is the chest pulls the buttons a bit. So speaking of the chest, I bought a new bra today. I have lost about an inch in the bra size--maybe a bit more, but definitely enough to need new bras. I have a couple that are a smaller size from before I had kids, and they fit now.

One more thing, I got a compliment today--my first one. My neighbor, who I haven't seen in about a week, told me "you look different, did you lose weight?" I said yes, she said "you look good" and I told her it is because my clothes are a little big so she couldn't tell. That is the problem I am having now. It really isn't in the budget to buy more clothes so I have only one pair of jeans that fits, and they are too baggy. I will buy a pair of jeans after my vacation. I will try to wait until after Christmas to buy some new casual shirts since I have bought a couple for work this last week. I still really don't know what size I am all the time because different companies have different styles. All I know is that I haven't fit in a size 20 anything for about 2 years so I am excited. I have a long way to go, but so far I am happy with my progress.

Another busy day and the upcoming week's plan

Well, today was a bit busy as I begin the preparations for vacation. It was actually helpful to be really busy because I have my period today and that means I get tired and hungry. Actually, I was less hungry this month than usual and I attribute that to the dieting plan. I think since I am allowed to have whatever food I want as long as I stick to my allotted calories I do not feel the need to "cheat" with salty or sweet foods in excess. I felt a bit bloated this morning in my fingers, but not that bad, considering the time of month. Even though it will be early and I may not see a significant loss, I am going to weigh in on Friday before I leave just so I know where I am when I leave on vacation.

It was so beautiful outside today that I walked the neighborhood for my exercise. I did the walk in reverse so I could try exercising different muscles as I walked. As for food today, I was successful even though I had a bit of a lopsided calorie intake. I had a piece of homemade cranberry bread that our neighbor gave to us and half of a banana for breakfast(150). For lunch I had bratwurst(230) with mustard and sauerkraut(20). I also had some Doritos(200). For dinner I had a great meal that Steve made on the smoker and in the oven. He made ribs and a beer bread-here is the recipe:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_36572,00.html) It was yummy and easy to make. I also had a half of a corn on the cob and a fried green tomato. This all totalled about 1000. I think I may have estimated high but I had to figure out the tomato and beer bread using the separate ingredients and then dividing per serving. I am full now because I had 2 pieces of beer bread. I will probably have a cup of decaf hot tea later and that will be 0 calories because I don't use sugar or milk. It will soothe me for bed, although I can't imagine that I won't be exhausted at bed time because I was very active today and slept yucky last night. So overall I had 1645 calories today--55 less than planned. That is fine with me.

Here is the plan for the week:
Monday:1800 exercise: pilates
Tuesday: 1650 exercise: cardio
Wednesday:1900 exercise: cardio
Thursday:1700 exercise: pilates


Friday, Saturday, Sunday--hopefully about 2000 each day since I will be walking and not able to measure

A great, busy day!

I am writing early so I don't forget when I get home later since we are going out.

Well, I know I weighed in yesterday, but I decided to weigh in again today, because I noticed that my scale wasn't balanced last night. When I balanced it, I had actually lost 2 pounds this week. I am now up to 22 pounds!!! My goal was to lose 25 pounds by the time I went to Disney and 30 by the time Christmas came. I am going to be close to the first goal and I am happy if I am close. I would like to lose another pound before I go away, but if I don't, I am still happy with the way my clothes are fitting.

I had a karate tournament with Adam at 9 in Philly today and then I came home to drop him off and pick up the girls. I went to Kohl's and bought another shirt. I am trying to find an outfit for the second round of interviews on Tuesday but I am having a tough time. I want to be formal and I don't have a second suit that fits. So I am going to go out tomorrow and buy a suit or at least coordinating suit pieces. I have been buying clothes in the women's section for a couple of years now. I think those clothes are getting too big because I have less to fill it out---even in my chest, if you can believe that. I went into the misses section and tried on an XL. It fit everywhere except the chest--which I can't control too much. I think soon enough I will be back in the misses section.

Today I also tried a new exercise, Pilates, which were suggested to me by Sassy(who also let me borrow some tapes--thanks!!). The Pilates have little stress on my foot. I like it because I know it will tone the areas I need. It will take time, but I am going to dedicate 2 times a week to some version of Pilates. Then I can do 3 times a week of cardio. The idea is to maybe do both together on the weekend one day and then do Pilates one time during the week when I don't feel like cardio. We will see how that works out. So all together I will exercise 5 times--hopefully. I feel good already from doing them once---Pilates is a great stretching exercise as well as toning.

As for the food intake today, I have a 2700 calorie day allotted so I counted 170 for Cinnamon Roll oatmeal this morning(I don't usually eat that one since it is high in calories) and a grilled chicken and fries sandwich for lunch totalled 820. That leaves me with 1710 calories for dinner. We are going to a steakhouse so I have already figured that I will probably have a steak with about 500 calories, a salad for about 200 calories(with dressing) and a potato(I will treat myself to regular sour cream and maybe a bit of butter) for 300. I don't know what other things I may have as an appetizer, but I have left about 700 calories to play with so I can have a drink if I like or share an appetizer with Steve. I don't do dessert too often when we are out so I don't have to worry about that.

So I will have used most of my calories--which I wanted to today so that I can fool my body tomorrow. Another interesting part of my day is that I have gotten my period today and I didn't get bloated at all. That is a good feeling and I think it is from the exercising. I might change my mind about the bloated feeling tomorrow, but so far so good.

Hope everyone has a good night!

A loss and a gain

I weighed in today and was surprised to see that I lost a pound this week. I seem to have lost whatever water weight I had been carrying for a week or so now. My fingers don't feel as swollen anymore either. I didn't get to exercise today because I had to go to the doctor in the morning for a blood vessel that popped in my eye. It is totally common, but it looks like a Halloween stunt it is so red. It should clear up in about a week the doctor said. In the mean time I look silly.

So that was my loss and my gain is a new outfit. I have no black pants or brown pants for work so I needed to check out how some new ones fit. Since I had some leftover gift certificate($40) to Macy's, I went there. I found a pair of black dress pants that are a size 20. They are a perfect fit and I think they will actually be a bit too big in a couple of months, but I have to have something. I bought a dress shirt that is adorable. It is an extra large--not a 2x. It is really cute if I do say so myself. I also bought a $5 short sleeve shirt for my upcoming trip. It is a bit big, but the size smaller was too small. For $5 I don't care if it too big come next spring. When I put the pants on with the new shirt, I am happy with how I look. I know I have a long way to go, but I do feel like the outfit is flattering and that is what matters right now. So since I had the gift card left, I only wound up paying about $20 for the outfit and shirt today. Not a bad deal for 3 items!!

As for my calories today, I was allowed 1700. For breakfast, I was in a rush so I had an oatmeal-raisin granola bar(90). For lunch I had a wheat bagel with smoked salmon cream cheese and a few Doritos(650). I had a snack with the kids when they came home from school--an apple(55). For dinner, we had brajole(380) and potato gnocchi(270). My total up until now is 1445. I am going to have dessert in a few minutes. I am going to have ice cream(150) and a hot chocolate(80). That will put me at 1675, within 25 of my goal and I think that is acceptable. Tomorrow is my splurge day and I am going to allow myself 2700 calories. I am going to dinner so I will save most of the calories for dinner and just eat normally the rest of the day.

Enjoy the weekend!

No pain and I hope no gain

Well, maybe the title is misleading. I did have extreme foot pain this morning when I tried to exercise. Instead of walking I used some weights for about 20 minutes and then did some stretching/toning type exercises including crunches and leg lifts. This wasn't what I wanted to do, but at least I did something.

As for the gain part of the week, I am going to weigh in tomorrow and see how it is going. I feel good about the loss of inches, but I am not certain what the scale will say. I would hope that I lose a pound, but we will see.

Today I was right on target with my allowed 1900 calories. I didn't get to finish my oatmeal so I only counted 100 and I ate 2 peanut butter crackers later because I was still hungry(100). I was hungry around 10:30 so I had a small apple(55). For lunch it seems like I ate a lot of food, but there weren't a lot of calories. I had a BLT sandwich on wheat bread with a tablespoon of mayo(319). I also had grapes(65) and a low carb treat(110) for dessert. For dinner I made steak with a bit of steak sauce and grilled onions, green beans, and we also had 3/4 cup of premade coleslaw for a total of 577 calories. I also had hot chocolate for snack with the kids when they got home from school(190).

So I have eaten 1631 and I intend to have a cup of of hot chocolate made with powder/water for 80 more calories in a few minutes since it is so cold out. The total for toady's intake is 1711 so I am happy with that. I know I could eat more, but I am just not hungry. Tomorrow is a 1700 day and I basically did that today. I know I have said it before, but is it wrong that I am not eating more? I just feel like I could eat all day when I have a 1900 calorie day. Maybe I should have a more extravagant lunch when I have a higher calorie day. Well, so far it isn't hurting so I guess I can stick to what I am doing.

A stressful, successful day

When I went to work today I thought it would be a boring day....boy was I wrong. Every time the phone rang it was for me. At least I was busy. That made the low calorie day a lot easier. Today I was allowed 1650 calories. I was bored with oatmeal so I had a bagel with cream cheese(450). For lunch I had left over dinner which was chicken and broccoli with a basic BBQ sauce(250) with a Rice Krispie Treat for dessert(90). I had an apple about an hour later since I was still hungry(55). For snack I had popcorn(60) with the kids. For dinner I made turkey meatballs with the kids. They love to make them. I only had one because I didn't really want any. So with the fettuccine, sauce, Parmesan cheese and meatball it totalled 485(I had a little extra fettuccine because I love it.)

So that all totaled is 1390. I am definitely having a snack tonight. I think I might treat myself to an ice cream sandwich for 150. That leaves me at a total today of 1540, which is great. I even got in an extra morning of exercise. I decided to walk outside today since it wasn't raining this morning when I woke up. I walked the same walk I have been, which has been taking me 30 minutes exactly. Today it took only 25 so I have to increase the distance. My foot is killing me from the weather, but I am so determined to exercise, that I would rather walk through the pain. If it doesn't get better soon I may call the orthopedist and ask for advice. I just don't want him to say that I have to stop walking. Hopefully the recumbent bike will help with that.

I feel great about today because I had not planned to exercise and I did anyway, even though it was only 25 minutes. I will get up tomorrow and exercise. My goal is to walk 35 minutes on the treadmill now. I know that isn't much, but it is all I can do so I feel like at least I am moving.

By the way, I wore the pants that were tight today with a shirt that was tight in the spring. The shirt looked perfect and the pants did too. I hope that they are too big in a couple of weeks!!

A great fit!

I haven't told anyone my size until now because I am embarrassed by it. I am sure that you can estimate. Officially it is 22/24--I need a larger size in the top and in some styles of pants. In shirts, I wear mostly 2x. That is so disgusting to me. My goal was to be at a size 20 before Christmas. This morning I put on a pair of tan docker type pants that had been a bit loose on me for a couple of weeks. Well today they looked like a potato sack. I had to pick the waist up all day. They are going to be washed and put in the donation pile. I am making a pile in my closet so that I can motivate myself not to fit in those clothes again. I tried on a pair of blue pants that had been tight for about a year now. They fit perfectly. So it seems that I have officially dropped at least one size--in any style. As soon as I drop one more size, I will have a few more outfits to try on. I really haven't been able to wear a size 20 in about 2 years. I am going to have to buy a new pair of black and tan pants really soon because otherwise I won't have enough work clothes.

I know it is early in the day, but I am posting now because I have dinner planned and a few minutes to myself to blog. For breakfast I had apple-cinnamon oatmeal and peanut butter crackers for a total of 360. I know that is a weird combo, but I felt the need for the peanut butter. For lunch, I made a BLT on wheat bread with a bit of mayo(448). I also had a pickle(24) and a banana(90). Now that I write it down it occurs to me that I ate a weird combination for lunch. For snack I had an apple(100) and popcorn(60). For dinner I will be eating an egg roll, chicken, broccoli, rice and a bit of sauce(for a total of 656). The broccoli will be steamed and the chicken roasted. I did get to exercise today for 35 minutes and I was able to walk faster today. I have a total of 1738 calories used. I have 162 calories left and I am not sure if I am going to have a snack later or not, but if I do, it will surely be under the 162 calories left.

Tomorrow is a 1600 day and I already have breakfast and lunch at a low amount. We will be having meatballs and spaghetti tomorrow for dinner so I have to save a bit for that.

Another busy day

I feel like I ate everything today, but I didn't really. I did get to exercise but not until about 5pm due to issues with my kids. I much prefer to exercise in the morning, but I will take it when I can get it. I walked faster for longer today and it felt great!! My kids and I exercised together. They have a mini trampoline so I had them use it for 5 minutes at a time. And when they weren't on that, they took turns on the elliptical---they wanted to do that. It is cute when they do it. They aren't getting any cardio from it, but at least they are trying new things.

My total allowed calories for today was 1600. I had regular oatmeal at breakfast(140). For lunch I had 6 mini veggie and chicken egg rolls(225) and some pasta salad(300--I think that is a high estimate, but since it is home made I always guess a bit high). I had a snack today of low fat tortilla chips with mustard(250). For dinner I had a turkey croquette(300), mac and cheese(200) and sauteed squash(30). For dessert I had a bunch of grapes(40). I am stuffed right now. It feels like I ate so much at dinner, but I really don't think I did. I am going to try to eat the majority of my calories on my next low cal day before dinner. I think that might be better for the metabolism. Either way, I stayed within the limits and I am happy about that.

A change in the plan

So today was my weigh in and I didn't lose any weight. I am a bit disappointed considering all of the hard work I did this week, but at the same time, I know that my clothes are fitting much better. So maybe it isn't always about the numbers but more about the size....I have heard that from Sassy before and I am really a believer now. Not to say that I am happy with my current size, but I can definitely see physical changes without numbers dropping.

I thought about my plan for the week and have decided to change it a bit to try to achieve maximum results. I have stuck with 1600 cals for today, but have changed the other days to try to shock my body a bit. Here is the new agenda:

Monday 1600 exercise
Tuesday 1850 exercise
Wednesday 1625
Thursday 1900 exercise
Friday 1700 exercise
Saturday 2700 exercise?
Sunday 1700 exercise

This gives me a total of 13150, which is way below my allowed total of 13776. I am worried that I am not intaking enough calories, but I am going to leave room for error. So if I go over one day by 25 I won't feel as bad. I am still going to try to eat breakfast and lunch, a snack in between lunch and dinner maybe a snack after dinner. I am going to do my best this week to keep the sodium intake low because I know that I will be unable to control that when I am away in 2 weeks. I figure if I am really good with it while I am home then it will be easier to keep off the water weight now and just shed it when I get back.

I have also decided to aim for 6 days of exercise. I am going to be really busy on Saturday from about 7:30 am so I may not be able to do that, but that still leaves me with 5 days of exercise. Last week I think I did 5 and it felt good so I would like to continue that and add about 5 minutes to my work out each day. That is all based on the foot pain and can only be judged day by day.

Okay, now that I feel better about this week's plan, it is off to do some chores and play with the kids before school. Enjoy the day!