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.
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
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!!
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!!
Monday, October 29, 2007
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.
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.
Sunday, October 28, 2007
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
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
Saturday, October 27, 2007
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!
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!
Friday, October 26, 2007
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!
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!
Thursday, October 25, 2007
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.
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.
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
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!!
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!!
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
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.
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.
Monday, October 22, 2007
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.
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!
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!
Sunday, October 21, 2007
Today flew by!
I started my day with exercise....today it was mowing the lawn. I like to mow because I feel accomplished and I know I am exercising. Today I walked faster than usual and actually got done in about an hour. So now the lawn looks good and I was able to exercise also.
Today I was allowed 1800 cals and I didn't eat that much. I had a glass of OJ and a couple of bites of my daughter's french toast for breakfast(total 200). For lunch I had an individual frozen pepperoni pizza(410). I like making a frozen meal every now and then. They are higher in sodium than fresh food so we try to stay away from them here for the daily lunches. While I was cooking all day I got hungry so I had some tortilla chips and cheddar cheese(300), not a lot, but enough to keep me satisfied. For dinner, it was leftover night because Steve is at the football game. I had a piece of the chicken I made earlier in the week with 2 small stuffed cubanelle peppers(rice and Parmesan cheese) for a total of 600. I think that may be a bit high because it was a small piece of chicken, but I always estimate high to be safe.
Since it is the weekend, the kids got to have a special dessert. I decided to have an ice cream sandwich along with them(150). It really cured my sweet tooth. I am still a bit hungry so I may have a piece of fruit later for 40 calories. Even if I do, that still leaves me with only 1650 cals eaten today. That is good to know because I am allotting a 1600 day tomorrow and I wasn't sure if I could do it. I know I can now because it is only 50 less than today. I think I may make some jello tomorrow for snacking this week since it is only 10 calories if I make the sugar free kind. What I might do is mix a box of sugar free with a box of regular so that I can reduce the calories but not eat as much artificial sweetener. We will see how tomorrow goes though. I was supposed to make 4 recipes today and I only made 2. I made 3 meals worth of turkey croquettes and that was a ton of work. I left one package out for this week and froze 2 other packages for future meals. I blanched and froze some squash and prepped some of the items for the meatballs I want to make tomorrow. I also want to make home made chicken nuggets since they are probably healthier and cheaper. If the kids like them I will make them more often.
So the day really went by quickly with all of the cooking, cleaning, and playing with the kids. I sat down with the kids before I started cooking and we painted our pumpkins. That was really fun!! And in between various kitchen tasks I managed to get a load of laundry done. I am tired and my feet are tired from standing all day. I think I will sleep well tonight!
Here's to a good week for everyone!
Today I was allowed 1800 cals and I didn't eat that much. I had a glass of OJ and a couple of bites of my daughter's french toast for breakfast(total 200). For lunch I had an individual frozen pepperoni pizza(410). I like making a frozen meal every now and then. They are higher in sodium than fresh food so we try to stay away from them here for the daily lunches. While I was cooking all day I got hungry so I had some tortilla chips and cheddar cheese(300), not a lot, but enough to keep me satisfied. For dinner, it was leftover night because Steve is at the football game. I had a piece of the chicken I made earlier in the week with 2 small stuffed cubanelle peppers(rice and Parmesan cheese) for a total of 600. I think that may be a bit high because it was a small piece of chicken, but I always estimate high to be safe.
Since it is the weekend, the kids got to have a special dessert. I decided to have an ice cream sandwich along with them(150). It really cured my sweet tooth. I am still a bit hungry so I may have a piece of fruit later for 40 calories. Even if I do, that still leaves me with only 1650 cals eaten today. That is good to know because I am allotting a 1600 day tomorrow and I wasn't sure if I could do it. I know I can now because it is only 50 less than today. I think I may make some jello tomorrow for snacking this week since it is only 10 calories if I make the sugar free kind. What I might do is mix a box of sugar free with a box of regular so that I can reduce the calories but not eat as much artificial sweetener. We will see how tomorrow goes though. I was supposed to make 4 recipes today and I only made 2. I made 3 meals worth of turkey croquettes and that was a ton of work. I left one package out for this week and froze 2 other packages for future meals. I blanched and froze some squash and prepped some of the items for the meatballs I want to make tomorrow. I also want to make home made chicken nuggets since they are probably healthier and cheaper. If the kids like them I will make them more often.
So the day really went by quickly with all of the cooking, cleaning, and playing with the kids. I sat down with the kids before I started cooking and we painted our pumpkins. That was really fun!! And in between various kitchen tasks I managed to get a load of laundry done. I am tired and my feet are tired from standing all day. I think I will sleep well tonight!
Here's to a good week for everyone!
This week's goals....
So I have decided to reduce my caloric intake this week to see if I can do it. I am allowed a total of 13776 calories. For extreme weight loss I am supposed to eat no more than 1968 calories a day--that is with exercise 3 times a week and I hope to exercise more than that with at least 4 times, maybe 5 depending on the foot. I saw that it is supposed to rain again this week a few days so I am just going to try to work through the pain and see what happens.
Monday: 1600
Tuesday: 1725
Wednesday: 1825
Thursday: 1700
Friday: 1600
Saturday: 2700
Sunday: 1700
I know that I have not kept the calories as low as this week, but I really think I would see more results if I did that. I am also going to try to eat a snack only between lunch and dinner---not after breakfast. I will try to drink a cup of tea(decaf) instead. I enjoy tea and it is filling. The only problem with that is it is more liquid and I already go to the bathroom enough. We'll see.
I am also going to try on some winter clothes this week. I want to try to see what I need for the winter. I probably won't need anything because I have clothes that didn't fit last year. It will be fun to try clothes on that might fit better now though.
Monday: 1600
Tuesday: 1725
Wednesday: 1825
Thursday: 1700
Friday: 1600
Saturday: 2700
Sunday: 1700
I know that I have not kept the calories as low as this week, but I really think I would see more results if I did that. I am also going to try to eat a snack only between lunch and dinner---not after breakfast. I will try to drink a cup of tea(decaf) instead. I enjoy tea and it is filling. The only problem with that is it is more liquid and I already go to the bathroom enough. We'll see.
I am also going to try on some winter clothes this week. I want to try to see what I need for the winter. I probably won't need anything because I have clothes that didn't fit last year. It will be fun to try clothes on that might fit better now though.
Saturday, October 20, 2007
Stress free Saturday
Today was a very relaxing day. I had to bring Adam to karate this morning, so I didn't get to exercise until late morning. I enjoyed my 30 minute walk. I am seriously going to look into getting a stationary bicycle though because I was told that would be less stress on my foot injury. I am going to research various bikes and them make a decision. I think they are reasonably priced.
Since I had allowed for 2500 cals today I splurged a bit. I had oatmeal for my early breakfast(150) and half a brownie(75) around 10:30. For lunch I had fries with a bit of ketchup and a grilled chicken sandwich with lettuce, tomato and mayo(990). For dinner, I went out with Becky and had a side salad with garlic chicken primavera. The menu at TGIF's said that this recipe was about 500 calories. I can't see how it was, so I am estimating that it was about 650.(I entered the various ingredients separately and estimated how much they gave me of each. I can't imagine that they would lie 150 calories worth, but I want to overestimate so I don't over eat.) The salad was about 185 with the dressing. After dinner, Becky and I sent shopping to get paints for pumpkins and she got to choose a dessert. We try not to let the kids have dessert right after dinner because we find that they will ask for food again later. So it was about 30 minutes later and she decided she wanted gummy worms. Since it was a splurge day for me, I ate them with her. They counted for 240 of my day.
So overall I consumed 2290 calories today. I was allowed 2500 so that was a great amount. I have reduced my allowed amount for tomorrow to 1800 instead of 1850 because I think I ate a lot today. I have a lot of cooking to do tomorrow for the week so I think I will be rather distracted. I usually drink a lot of water when I cook because of the heat of the oven. So tomorrow should be nice weather and not too hot.
I am also going to weigh in tomorrow and see how the scale treats me. I still feel slightly bloated from salt intake this week, but we will see how it goes after I exercise.
Since I had allowed for 2500 cals today I splurged a bit. I had oatmeal for my early breakfast(150) and half a brownie(75) around 10:30. For lunch I had fries with a bit of ketchup and a grilled chicken sandwich with lettuce, tomato and mayo(990). For dinner, I went out with Becky and had a side salad with garlic chicken primavera. The menu at TGIF's said that this recipe was about 500 calories. I can't see how it was, so I am estimating that it was about 650.(I entered the various ingredients separately and estimated how much they gave me of each. I can't imagine that they would lie 150 calories worth, but I want to overestimate so I don't over eat.) The salad was about 185 with the dressing. After dinner, Becky and I sent shopping to get paints for pumpkins and she got to choose a dessert. We try not to let the kids have dessert right after dinner because we find that they will ask for food again later. So it was about 30 minutes later and she decided she wanted gummy worms. Since it was a splurge day for me, I ate them with her. They counted for 240 of my day.
So overall I consumed 2290 calories today. I was allowed 2500 so that was a great amount. I have reduced my allowed amount for tomorrow to 1800 instead of 1850 because I think I ate a lot today. I have a lot of cooking to do tomorrow for the week so I think I will be rather distracted. I usually drink a lot of water when I cook because of the heat of the oven. So tomorrow should be nice weather and not too hot.
I am also going to weigh in tomorrow and see how the scale treats me. I still feel slightly bloated from salt intake this week, but we will see how it goes after I exercise.
Friday, October 19, 2007
Frantic Friday
So instead of exercising in the morning, I didn't get to exercise until about 1PM. I walked even though the rain affected my foot. I just knew that I wanted to walk and pushed through the pain. I didn't get a chance to eat breakfast so I just had a glass of OJ(100). I had anti pasta salad and chips for lunch(700). For dinner I had ham, stuffing and some more pasta salad(800).
It didn't seem like I would stay under my allotted amount, but I did. I drank 9 glasses of water today and I will probably drink a couple more before the night is over. I seem pretty full right now, but if I do eat something it will probably be a cup of hot chocolate made with boiling water--only 80 cals.
I didn't eat a fruit of veggie today so I will have to do better with that tomorrow. But that is a good part of this program, I stayed under my calories for the day even though it was not particularly healthy.
It didn't seem like I would stay under my allotted amount, but I did. I drank 9 glasses of water today and I will probably drink a couple more before the night is over. I seem pretty full right now, but if I do eat something it will probably be a cup of hot chocolate made with boiling water--only 80 cals.
I didn't eat a fruit of veggie today so I will have to do better with that tomorrow. But that is a good part of this program, I stayed under my calories for the day even though it was not particularly healthy.
Thursday, October 18, 2007
A strange day after all
I woke up early today and walked on the treadmill successfully for 20 minutes quickly and 5 minutes at a moderate pace. So today was my 2000 day which is practically a splurge day. I was supposed to eat a nice salad for lunch and I did. However, the Greek salad I ordered, which had roasted red peppers, feta cheese, tomato, black olives and spring mix lettuce and a balsamic vinaigrette, was only total of 315 calories. Since I knew that I was going to have so few calories at lunch I treated myself to a bagel with veggie cream cheese for breakfast(670). For dessert at lunch we had brownies(270). For dinner, I made pierogies, veggie egg rolls, and I had 2 chicken wings for a total of 640. So even though I was supposed to use a lot of my calories at lunch, I wound up having them at breakfast and dinner. I have a bit of a stomach ache now so I might not have any more food, but if I do I will stay within the 205 calories that I have left--I will probably have a piece of cheese(110) if I do have a snack. So without the snack it will be 1795 and with the snack it will be 1905 total for the day.
Tomorrow is supposed to be a 1750 day but I am changing that to a 1700 day. I think that would be better since I am supposed to have a splurge day on Saturday with 2700 cals. I might decrease Sunday also since I have had such a problem with the salt retention. I figure it can't hurt to have a few less calories and drink a bit more water. Today I drank about 11 glasses of water and had 12 oz of diet soda with caffeine. So really 1.5 cups of my water went to counteracting the soda. Overall I am happy with the way things went today.
Tomorrow is supposed to be a 1750 day but I am changing that to a 1700 day. I think that would be better since I am supposed to have a splurge day on Saturday with 2700 cals. I might decrease Sunday also since I have had such a problem with the salt retention. I figure it can't hurt to have a few less calories and drink a bit more water. Today I drank about 11 glasses of water and had 12 oz of diet soda with caffeine. So really 1.5 cups of my water went to counteracting the soda. Overall I am happy with the way things went today.
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Sticking with it
I had a successful day today and ate pretty healthy. I was allowed 1750 cals and I have had nearly that by now(7:50pm). I have eaten 1588 cals today and I think that may be it. I am very full today. I may treat myself to a diet soda, but that has no calories just caffeine. I haven't had soda in about a week so I have been thinking about it today.
I had oatmeal and frozen coffee for breakfast(300). Lunch was peanut butter and jelly on wheat bread with a brownie(575). For snack I had goldfish(140). For dinner I made a new recipe with the cubanelle peppers that I was given from a friend's garden. It is a Rachael Ray recipe....you can get it from this link http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_29019,00.html
I also made the rice at the bottom of the recipe and placed it in the cubanelle peppers as the veggie side dish. It was really yummy and not that high in calories.
I don't feel as bloated in my fingers today and my rings are looser. I didn't get to exercise this morning but I am going to wake up tomorrow as planned and do it. I have 2000 calories to play with tomorrow. We are ordering lunch out tomorrow, but I am going to order a salad because of all the salt I have had this week. I don't need salt from the cold cuts. I am going to enjoy that and then have a dessert since I will have a good main part of the meal.
I had oatmeal and frozen coffee for breakfast(300). Lunch was peanut butter and jelly on wheat bread with a brownie(575). For snack I had goldfish(140). For dinner I made a new recipe with the cubanelle peppers that I was given from a friend's garden. It is a Rachael Ray recipe....you can get it from this link http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_29019,00.html
I also made the rice at the bottom of the recipe and placed it in the cubanelle peppers as the veggie side dish. It was really yummy and not that high in calories.
I don't feel as bloated in my fingers today and my rings are looser. I didn't get to exercise this morning but I am going to wake up tomorrow as planned and do it. I have 2000 calories to play with tomorrow. We are ordering lunch out tomorrow, but I am going to order a salad because of all the salt I have had this week. I don't need salt from the cold cuts. I am going to enjoy that and then have a dessert since I will have a good main part of the meal.
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Nothing exciting
So I stayed on track with my calories today. I was allowed 1850 today and I did stay under that amount. I had oatmeal for breakfast(130). I had a snack of candy(200) in the morning because I was in a meeting and it was too tempting. At lunch I had leftover meatloaf with a bit of ketchup and 19 mini pretzels for a total of 355. I also had half of an apple but it was large so I think it counts as a regular size apple(111). I had a cup of popcorn(30) for snack when the kids came home. For dinner we had leftover smoked pork(280), half a cup of peas(60) and a very small baked potato with a tablespoon of sour cream(150). I had a brownie(112) for dessert and I am sure that I will have another brownie for 112 more calories in a little while. I have such a sweet tooth today. My total for the day will be 1529. That is excellent and I am not hungry at all.
I have reduced my calorie allotment by 50 tomorrow so I can try to get rid of some of this bloating from the weekend. I haven't weighed myself, but I can feel it in my fingers. I drank about 10 glasses of water today and I will probably drink 2 more before 9pm. I think this really helps.
Tomorrow is a long day at work so I have a tendency to be hungry on those days---here's hoping that I can do as well tomorrow as I did today. I exercised outside today. I might wake up early and exercise again tomorrow. I so enjoy it, but what I don't enjoy is the 5:30 wake up call. I much prefer 6:15 but if I want to exercise I must do it before work. At least I know it give me energy. My foot is feeling better this evening so hopefully that will continue.
I have reduced my calorie allotment by 50 tomorrow so I can try to get rid of some of this bloating from the weekend. I haven't weighed myself, but I can feel it in my fingers. I drank about 10 glasses of water today and I will probably drink 2 more before 9pm. I think this really helps.
Tomorrow is a long day at work so I have a tendency to be hungry on those days---here's hoping that I can do as well tomorrow as I did today. I exercised outside today. I might wake up early and exercise again tomorrow. I so enjoy it, but what I don't enjoy is the 5:30 wake up call. I much prefer 6:15 but if I want to exercise I must do it before work. At least I know it give me energy. My foot is feeling better this evening so hopefully that will continue.
Monday, October 15, 2007
Salt stinks!!
So I wrote this already once, but the service we unavailable when I went to post--it will be shorter now.
I had only a short exercise time today because my foot is in pain. I did mow the lawn yesterday so that gave me exercise yesterday. I will be able to walk tomorrow morning I hope.
I had a 1650 allotment today. I actually ate 1660 cals which is still fine considering I leave about 300 for bonus calories overall. I didn't get to breakfast today since I was busy with the kids. Lunch was PBJ on wheat bread and 19 pretzels(490). I had some spinach dip and wheat crackers for snack(400)---it was calling my name!! Dinner was leftovers: 1 bratwurst with mustard and sauerkraut(320) and about 1 cup of mac and cheese(320). I had half of a brownie and 2 cups of popcorn for dessert(160).
I feel very swollen in my fingers today and I am sure it is from the spinach dip because the crackers I ate with it had salt. I am so sensitive to salt these days. The beer also gave me an upset belly and a bloated feeling. I didn't even drink much and it still affected me. I drank about 12 glasses of water today and barely went to the bathroom. I imagine I will pee out all of the salt tomorrow(sorry for that statement, but it is true and I feel among friends).
Well, here's hoping that I become less bloated. Tomorrow should be alright because it is a 1700 day. I seem to do well with that number. We shall see.....
I had only a short exercise time today because my foot is in pain. I did mow the lawn yesterday so that gave me exercise yesterday. I will be able to walk tomorrow morning I hope.
I had a 1650 allotment today. I actually ate 1660 cals which is still fine considering I leave about 300 for bonus calories overall. I didn't get to breakfast today since I was busy with the kids. Lunch was PBJ on wheat bread and 19 pretzels(490). I had some spinach dip and wheat crackers for snack(400)---it was calling my name!! Dinner was leftovers: 1 bratwurst with mustard and sauerkraut(320) and about 1 cup of mac and cheese(320). I had half of a brownie and 2 cups of popcorn for dessert(160).
I feel very swollen in my fingers today and I am sure it is from the spinach dip because the crackers I ate with it had salt. I am so sensitive to salt these days. The beer also gave me an upset belly and a bloated feeling. I didn't even drink much and it still affected me. I drank about 12 glasses of water today and barely went to the bathroom. I imagine I will pee out all of the salt tomorrow(sorry for that statement, but it is true and I feel among friends).
Well, here's hoping that I become less bloated. Tomorrow should be alright because it is a 1700 day. I seem to do well with that number. We shall see.....
Sunday, October 14, 2007
A surprising day in 2 ways
So I wanted to weigh myself today because I knew I was going to drink beer. I always feel that it makes me bloated so I wanted to see how much water I retained from it. Well, to my surprise I had lost another 1 and a half pounds. I didn't intend to do that, I didn't even try. I have been more conscious lately of not over stuffing myself. For example, yesterday I was offered cake, but I didn't eat any because I was pretty full and didn't want to get sick. This program is beginning to make me aware of if I am full or actually hungry.
Today was a splurge day for me--2700 calories allowed. The other surprise is that even after calculating high, I think I only consumed about 2400 calories. I know I ate some salt in the spinach dip, but overall I did well. I had crackers and my mom's spinach dip. I love it!! I ate half a pork sandwich and a half a cup of pasta salad. I also had some beer bread and garlic dip. As for the beer, I had about 6 samples at about 4 oz. each. For snack--just finishing now, I had some more of the spinach dip and crackers----I am a sucker for that stuff. It's a good thing it is moderately healthy.
So overall I am happy about how today went.
For the upcoming week, my total allowed calories according to the website is 13776
So here is my plan:
Monday: 1650 and exercise
Tuesday: 1850 and exercise
Wednesday: 1800
Thursday: 2000 (and exercise?)
Friday: 1750 and exercise
Saturday: 2500
Sunday: 1850
This totals 13400...which is 376 less than my total allowed amount. I am going to leave that though because I think I do better knowing that I am trying to keep it under my total allowed amount. I can add a few calories to my Monday or maybe on my splurge Saturday and not feel bad. Although, I haven't had to do that yet, I know there may be a first time.
Wishing everyone a happy and healthy week!
Today was a splurge day for me--2700 calories allowed. The other surprise is that even after calculating high, I think I only consumed about 2400 calories. I know I ate some salt in the spinach dip, but overall I did well. I had crackers and my mom's spinach dip. I love it!! I ate half a pork sandwich and a half a cup of pasta salad. I also had some beer bread and garlic dip. As for the beer, I had about 6 samples at about 4 oz. each. For snack--just finishing now, I had some more of the spinach dip and crackers----I am a sucker for that stuff. It's a good thing it is moderately healthy.
So overall I am happy about how today went.
For the upcoming week, my total allowed calories according to the website is 13776
So here is my plan:
Monday: 1650 and exercise
Tuesday: 1850 and exercise
Wednesday: 1800
Thursday: 2000 (and exercise?)
Friday: 1750 and exercise
Saturday: 2500
Sunday: 1850
This totals 13400...which is 376 less than my total allowed amount. I am going to leave that though because I think I do better knowing that I am trying to keep it under my total allowed amount. I can add a few calories to my Monday or maybe on my splurge Saturday and not feel bad. Although, I haven't had to do that yet, I know there may be a first time.
Wishing everyone a happy and healthy week!
Saturday, October 13, 2007
A tasty treat
Well, Sassy, I must admit that I was so excited to see the guacamole today because I didn't have much to eat before I came---too busy running around. If I get busy, that is the only way for me not to eat snacks. So when I am home and not working I snack less. Maybe it is boredom. Well with the great guac dip and the chips I ate with it, that snack was 415 cals. I thought that would tip the amount for the day, but with my morning slice of zucchini bread(100) and a lunch of PBJ and a few chips(600) I was able to eat my 2 pieces of pizza(600) without even making it to my allowed 1900. Even if I underestimated the guacamole and added a few calories for good luck, I am still only at most at 1750 for the day. I think though that the salt has gotten to me from the pizza and the chips because my hands feel a bit swollen.
The only reason I didn't make this my splurge day is because I expect to drink some beer tomorrow and have a bit of pasta salad which I know is higher in cals. So I allowed myself 2700 for tomorrow in hopes that I can manage that with the alcohol involved. Since one beer has about 120 cals in it for 8oz. I think I will be fine. I can't really drink that much without getting drunk so I will stick to mostly water I think. I will allow myself about 2 glasses of it and that should be enough. The other side of it is if I drink I don't want to eat and I know that isn't good for me. There will be lots of yummies so I would rather snack than drink.
I will let you know how it goes tomorrow!!
The only reason I didn't make this my splurge day is because I expect to drink some beer tomorrow and have a bit of pasta salad which I know is higher in cals. So I allowed myself 2700 for tomorrow in hopes that I can manage that with the alcohol involved. Since one beer has about 120 cals in it for 8oz. I think I will be fine. I can't really drink that much without getting drunk so I will stick to mostly water I think. I will allow myself about 2 glasses of it and that should be enough. The other side of it is if I drink I don't want to eat and I know that isn't good for me. There will be lots of yummies so I would rather snack than drink.
I will let you know how it goes tomorrow!!
Friday, October 12, 2007
"Weigh" to go
So today was the big weigh in---I usually do it on Friday or Saturday. I felt confident today and since it is going to be a busy weekend I thought I would take a peek today. Well, I have lost 2.5 pounds since last week. I guess all of that drinking is working!! I was so happy. That puts me at a total of 18.5 pounds lost since I started this weight losing attempt on July 9th!! I am so happy.
So today I had a decent day all around. You can imagine that I was ecstatic at the amount of weight I had lost. So I treated myself to a special lunch. At the store where I went food shopping they sell freshly made sushi. It was about 500 calories so totally acceptable for my 1700 calorie day. It was delicious!! For breakfast I had a piece of zucchini bread for 100 cals. I had a piece of chocolate for snack this morning too. I really treated myself but still had a good day. For dinner I had meatloaf, scalloped potatoes and broccoli. I intend to have a snack later of some cheese and crackers. So over all I am going to have a total of 1660 today. I guess I kept so busy today that I didn't notice any hunger.
I was scheduled to exercise today to make it the 4th time this week, but my foot was swollen again and in pain from the rain last night so I was not able to walk. I did clean the house vigorously and dance a bit with the kids so I moved around, but not what I wanted to do. I know I keep complaining about the foot, but it so disappointing to me. I think I am angry because some of the weight I put on was when I was immobile after foot surgery. I know I am being pro-active now, but I feel a bit held back. I suppose either way I am doing well now and that is what counts!
So today I had a decent day all around. You can imagine that I was ecstatic at the amount of weight I had lost. So I treated myself to a special lunch. At the store where I went food shopping they sell freshly made sushi. It was about 500 calories so totally acceptable for my 1700 calorie day. It was delicious!! For breakfast I had a piece of zucchini bread for 100 cals. I had a piece of chocolate for snack this morning too. I really treated myself but still had a good day. For dinner I had meatloaf, scalloped potatoes and broccoli. I intend to have a snack later of some cheese and crackers. So over all I am going to have a total of 1660 today. I guess I kept so busy today that I didn't notice any hunger.
I was scheduled to exercise today to make it the 4th time this week, but my foot was swollen again and in pain from the rain last night so I was not able to walk. I did clean the house vigorously and dance a bit with the kids so I moved around, but not what I wanted to do. I know I keep complaining about the foot, but it so disappointing to me. I think I am angry because some of the weight I put on was when I was immobile after foot surgery. I know I am being pro-active now, but I feel a bit held back. I suppose either way I am doing well now and that is what counts!
Thursday, October 11, 2007
A tough day, but I did it!
So today was my lowest calories yet. I was aiming for 1650 and I made it with 16 calories to spare. It was harder than usual today because of the lower number, but not that bad.
Breakfast was oatmeal which is usually 150, but it exploded in the microwave so I only counted 100 since most of it was on the turntable of the microwave. Lunch was chicken, applesauce and Cheese-Its for a total of 514. I was hungry so I had peanuts for snack(220). Dinner was left over chicken wings that we baked on the weekend and a baked potato with a bit of sour cream for a total of 695. The last snack I had was half an ounce of cheese and 2 cups of popcorn. I bet I pay for that when I weigh in tomorrow with all of that salt. We will see though because I have been drinking at least 12 ounces of water since Monday and I have been going to the bathroom like crazy...hope that works.
I did exercise today but only for 23 minutes. My foot hurt when I woke up today, but I needed to exercise so I could get my mind going---had an interview today. I couldn't walk as fast as normal, but at least I got moving for a while. I got my new sneakers today so I hope to use them tomorrow morning to exercise. My foot still hurts from the weather so I hope I can walk faster and longer tomorrow. If not, I will still walk just to get some cardio done.
Tomorrow is a 1700 day so that will be a bit better, especially since I rarely eat breakfast on Fridays I can have some more calories for later in the day.
Breakfast was oatmeal which is usually 150, but it exploded in the microwave so I only counted 100 since most of it was on the turntable of the microwave. Lunch was chicken, applesauce and Cheese-Its for a total of 514. I was hungry so I had peanuts for snack(220). Dinner was left over chicken wings that we baked on the weekend and a baked potato with a bit of sour cream for a total of 695. The last snack I had was half an ounce of cheese and 2 cups of popcorn. I bet I pay for that when I weigh in tomorrow with all of that salt. We will see though because I have been drinking at least 12 ounces of water since Monday and I have been going to the bathroom like crazy...hope that works.
I did exercise today but only for 23 minutes. My foot hurt when I woke up today, but I needed to exercise so I could get my mind going---had an interview today. I couldn't walk as fast as normal, but at least I got moving for a while. I got my new sneakers today so I hope to use them tomorrow morning to exercise. My foot still hurts from the weather so I hope I can walk faster and longer tomorrow. If not, I will still walk just to get some cardio done.
Tomorrow is a 1700 day so that will be a bit better, especially since I rarely eat breakfast on Fridays I can have some more calories for later in the day.
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
A stressful but successful day
Well, I know this blog should really be about my diet, but I must vent. What a horrible day at work. I will spare everyone the details, but suffice it to say that my boss, who knows very little about what I do, has made a parent angry and now I am going to have to deal with it. I was hungry this morning in particular but this stress really made me want to eat a chocolate bar. So guess what I did......
At lunchtime I had to run to the store so I treated myself to a York Peppermint Patty. It only has 160 calories so I was okay with eating it. I had my normal oatmeal for breakfast(130) but today I had a different flavor--apples and cinnamon. At lunch I had PBJ sandwich on wheat bread with pretzels on the side(590) and also my chocolate!!!
I had a banana(90) for snack around 2:30. Dinner was a new recipe from Rachael Ray. It was a french onion/dip sandwich soup(650). There was bread on the bottom topped with shredded roast beef and topped with onions that were sauteed for about 30 minutes with wine and beef broth added at the end. It was yummy--a little salty even though I used half low sodium broth. No veggies except the onion today and only one fruit. I will have to do better with that tomorrow. Dessert was 1/2 cup of ice cream(200).
I have 30 cals left out of my 1850 so I was right on target with my allowed calories. No exercising today. It was my scheduled day off, but my foot also hurt. I am going to exercise tomorrow morning. I am still waiting on my new shoes---they should arrive tomorrow so I can use them Friday to exercise. Can't wait!
Tomorrow is my first 1650 day so I am a bit nervous. I have a busy day so I think it should be easy to not be preoccupied with being hungry--that is why I chose tomorrow as a low cal day because I knew I would be busy. Wish me luck!!
At lunchtime I had to run to the store so I treated myself to a York Peppermint Patty. It only has 160 calories so I was okay with eating it. I had my normal oatmeal for breakfast(130) but today I had a different flavor--apples and cinnamon. At lunch I had PBJ sandwich on wheat bread with pretzels on the side(590) and also my chocolate!!!
I had a banana(90) for snack around 2:30. Dinner was a new recipe from Rachael Ray. It was a french onion/dip sandwich soup(650). There was bread on the bottom topped with shredded roast beef and topped with onions that were sauteed for about 30 minutes with wine and beef broth added at the end. It was yummy--a little salty even though I used half low sodium broth. No veggies except the onion today and only one fruit. I will have to do better with that tomorrow. Dessert was 1/2 cup of ice cream(200).
I have 30 cals left out of my 1850 so I was right on target with my allowed calories. No exercising today. It was my scheduled day off, but my foot also hurt. I am going to exercise tomorrow morning. I am still waiting on my new shoes---they should arrive tomorrow so I can use them Friday to exercise. Can't wait!
Tomorrow is my first 1650 day so I am a bit nervous. I have a busy day so I think it should be easy to not be preoccupied with being hungry--that is why I chose tomorrow as a low cal day because I knew I would be busy. Wish me luck!!
Tuesday, October 9, 2007
One more thing....
I forgot to mention in my last post that I exercised today as well. I have been more motivated to exercise every day. I am not supposed to exercise on Wednesday, but I might anyway. I just feel so much more energized when I do. My new sneakers should be arriving any day so I hope to be able to feel more comfortable when I do walk.
I love walking on the treadmill because I see how many calories I am acutally burning. Then when I eat a snack later I can say that I actually already burned off that snack in the morning. I have a tough time falling asleep before 11pm when I exercise. I am walking at 6am, so I am not sure why I have a problem. I do know that exercising at night can cause sleeplessness, but my problem is more like an energy burst. Who knows why!
I love walking on the treadmill because I see how many calories I am acutally burning. Then when I eat a snack later I can say that I actually already burned off that snack in the morning. I have a tough time falling asleep before 11pm when I exercise. I am walking at 6am, so I am not sure why I have a problem. I do know that exercising at night can cause sleeplessness, but my problem is more like an energy burst. Who knows why!
A busy day
I thought that today might drag a bit and that might make it more difficult to not eat a lot. But my goodness I was wrong. The day flew by so much that I really didn't eat much until after I got home from work. For breakfast I treated myself to a glass of oj(120) and oatmeal(150). I had some grapes mid morning for snack(68). At lunch I had some leftover chicken(100) and also 2 cookies(106). I had a granola bar around 2(90). When I got home I had some cheese crackers(220). For dinner we had left over turkey croquettes with gravy(300), pierogies with sour cream(300) and green beans(40). Dinner was a bit heavy on the calories, but not that bad really. Pumpkin pie was desert(311) So my total for today is 1905 and I was allowed 2000 calories.
I am not sure what to do about not meeting my calorie allotment for each day. I know it isn't a real problem, but I do understand that it is better to eat and not starve myself. I know I am not starving myself because if I am hungry I eat a snack. I am just not sure how I could eat more food. I guess what I am saying is I wonder if me not eating my total allowed calories for the week is causing me a problem over all in the weight loss department. Any ideas?
I am not sure what to do about not meeting my calorie allotment for each day. I know it isn't a real problem, but I do understand that it is better to eat and not starve myself. I know I am not starving myself because if I am hungry I eat a snack. I am just not sure how I could eat more food. I guess what I am saying is I wonder if me not eating my total allowed calories for the week is causing me a problem over all in the weight loss department. Any ideas?
Monday, October 8, 2007
Got through with ease!
Today was a 1750 day. I didn't think it would be a problem but I thought I would be cutting it close by the end of the day. I was wrong!! That is probably because I didn't get to eat breakfast today since I was too busy with household chores and exercising. I walked on the treadmill for only 25 minutes today. I have a pair of sneakers that hurt me when I walk in them. I ordered new ones and they will be here in a couple of days. In the meantime I just suffer a little. Any more than 20 minutes of fast walking for me is good though since my foot still gives me pain at the end of the day sometimes.
So now on to the calorie counting. My total was1637 out of 1750. Lunch was a simply peanut butter and jelly sandwich on wheat bread with pretzels(475). For snack I was out so I had a soft pretzel(200) with the kids. For dinner I made ham steaks with pineapple and a side dish of carrots cooked with honey, orange juice and ginger(total=495). For dessert, I indulged in some home made apple pie(467) since I had so many calories left over. I imagine that if I weighed myself tomorrow I might be up because of the pie, but it is worth it. I am sure it will come off the next day or so.
Tomorrow is a 2000 calorie day but I can't imagine that I will hit that. One of the reasons I have it as 2000 is because I am defrosting the left over turkey croquettes from last week since they were such a hit. They are about 300 each so I want to make sure I have enough for the day. If I don't hit the 2000, it is fine with me. We will see how it goes because it is a long day tomorrow.
So now on to the calorie counting. My total was1637 out of 1750. Lunch was a simply peanut butter and jelly sandwich on wheat bread with pretzels(475). For snack I was out so I had a soft pretzel(200) with the kids. For dinner I made ham steaks with pineapple and a side dish of carrots cooked with honey, orange juice and ginger(total=495). For dessert, I indulged in some home made apple pie(467) since I had so many calories left over. I imagine that if I weighed myself tomorrow I might be up because of the pie, but it is worth it. I am sure it will come off the next day or so.
Tomorrow is a 2000 calorie day but I can't imagine that I will hit that. One of the reasons I have it as 2000 is because I am defrosting the left over turkey croquettes from last week since they were such a hit. They are about 300 each so I want to make sure I have enough for the day. If I don't hit the 2000, it is fine with me. We will see how it goes because it is a long day tomorrow.
Sunday, October 7, 2007
Felt good today
I had a busy day today. The exercise I chose today was mowing the lawn. It is good cardio and it had to be done--kills two birds with one stone. Breakfast was zucchini bread (100) and for some reason this morning around 10 I had 2 Oreo cookies(106). Lunch was hot dogs and sauerkraut with a few tater tots(560). I had some popcorn with light butter(180) for snack. Steve made great fried chicken thighs(200) for dinner. I know it isn't all that healthy, but we make it ourselves so at least we can make it a bit healthier. We had some left over parsley potatoes(227) and peas(70). Home made pumpkin pie is in line for dessert!(316) So today's total was 1769---31 short of allotted amount.
Last night Steve made me an Excel spreadsheet to keep track of my calories each day and each week. It allows me to see how many calories I have left over each week. This week I had a total of 396 calories left over. So that tells me that perhaps I need reduce my calorie intake by 100 or so another day of the week. Maybe that would help with weight loss, but I don't want to be too extreme so I will stick with the same basic plan this week and see how it goes since I am still having luck.
I had my weekly weigh in and I found out I lost another pound. That is a total of 16 since I started in July.
I hope to lose another 2 pounds this week.
Here's to a good week!!!
Last night Steve made me an Excel spreadsheet to keep track of my calories each day and each week. It allows me to see how many calories I have left over each week. This week I had a total of 396 calories left over. So that tells me that perhaps I need reduce my calorie intake by 100 or so another day of the week. Maybe that would help with weight loss, but I don't want to be too extreme so I will stick with the same basic plan this week and see how it goes since I am still having luck.
I had my weekly weigh in and I found out I lost another pound. That is a total of 16 since I started in July.
I hope to lose another 2 pounds this week.
Here's to a good week!!!
Goals for the week of 10/8 to 10/14
So this week I have made an effort to have less calories some days. The lowest I have ventured is 1650, but I really don't know what that is like so I don't want to make myself crazy with going any lower. I think I will try to make a lower day next week one day. My goal is to keep losing weight so as long as I do that consistently I figure I am alright with the calorie set up. I am also attempting to increase my exercise this week which will help with the weight loss also.
Monday: 1750 & exercise
Tuesday: 2000 & exercise
Wednesday: 1850
Thursday: 1650 & exercise
Friday: 1700 & exercise
Saturday: 1900 (& exercise?)
Sunday: 2700
Monday: 1750 & exercise
Tuesday: 2000 & exercise
Wednesday: 1850
Thursday: 1650 & exercise
Friday: 1700 & exercise
Saturday: 1900 (& exercise?)
Sunday: 2700
Saturday, October 6, 2007
Can't believe it!
I was allowed 2000 calories today and I didn't even hit it. I didn't try to keep it low, but I guess with a busy weekend day I wound up skipping a couple of snacks. I had oatmeal for breakfast and half of it spilled so I only used 100 calories. I decided to have a piece of my homemade zucchini bread about an hour later because I was still hungry(100). For lunch, we took the kids out for a special treat and I got a grilled chicken sandwich and fries(668). For dinner we had linguine Alfredo(500) and salad with a little dressing(100). Dessert is mint chocolate chip ice cream (300). That only totals 1768. I hope that tomorrow is as easy because it is an 1800 calorie day. I guess tomorrow I will come up with next week's plan. I am going to have to make one of the days a lesser amount I think.
The part of today that is even more shocking to me is the part about my clothes. My friend Sassy had mentioned that she might have financial hardship as she loses weight and I understand that. I said to my husband today that a lot of my underwear is too big, including my bras. My pants today could fit another half of my waist in it with me and that is only from losing 15 pounds. I have a lot of clothes that are in my closet from after my first pregnancy that haven't fit in a while...they are mostly winter clothes so as soon as the weather changes I am hoping to get into some old clothes. I didn't gain that much weight after my second pregnancy but just enough to have to get new pants. I can fit in the old pants now but they are too tight. Some of them have become less tight this past month when I tried them on so I know I am on the right track. I have one pair of black pants that are just so huge they literally fall down when I am walking. They are not flattering, but I can't see buying a lot of new clothes until I lose a lot more weight. Last winter a lot of the shirts I wore awfully tight around my bust so I hope to change that. For me though, I never seem to lose weight in my chest. I would like to but I am not sure that is int he cards. I figure if I lose some of the fat on my back that will help the shirt situation. We shall see. I know that i will have to buy new clothes next spring/summer so I guess I will be asking for gift certs to various stores for x-mas and my b-day. That is a good thing to ask for!!!
I would like to lose 10 more pounds by the time I go away at the beginning of November. We are going away then and I would like not to gain more than 3 pounds while we are away. I figure by then I will have a pretty good understanding of how many calories many foods are worth and I can estimate when we eat out. I may not have the ability to zig-zag the calories, but at least I can try to stay below my 2000 calories allotted. I can babble more about that another time.
Off to relax and put my foot up so it is ready for tomorrow's exercise.
The part of today that is even more shocking to me is the part about my clothes. My friend Sassy had mentioned that she might have financial hardship as she loses weight and I understand that. I said to my husband today that a lot of my underwear is too big, including my bras. My pants today could fit another half of my waist in it with me and that is only from losing 15 pounds. I have a lot of clothes that are in my closet from after my first pregnancy that haven't fit in a while...they are mostly winter clothes so as soon as the weather changes I am hoping to get into some old clothes. I didn't gain that much weight after my second pregnancy but just enough to have to get new pants. I can fit in the old pants now but they are too tight. Some of them have become less tight this past month when I tried them on so I know I am on the right track. I have one pair of black pants that are just so huge they literally fall down when I am walking. They are not flattering, but I can't see buying a lot of new clothes until I lose a lot more weight. Last winter a lot of the shirts I wore awfully tight around my bust so I hope to change that. For me though, I never seem to lose weight in my chest. I would like to but I am not sure that is int he cards. I figure if I lose some of the fat on my back that will help the shirt situation. We shall see. I know that i will have to buy new clothes next spring/summer so I guess I will be asking for gift certs to various stores for x-mas and my b-day. That is a good thing to ask for!!!
I would like to lose 10 more pounds by the time I go away at the beginning of November. We are going away then and I would like not to gain more than 3 pounds while we are away. I figure by then I will have a pretty good understanding of how many calories many foods are worth and I can estimate when we eat out. I may not have the ability to zig-zag the calories, but at least I can try to stay below my 2000 calories allotted. I can babble more about that another time.
Off to relax and put my foot up so it is ready for tomorrow's exercise.
Friday, October 5, 2007
Another successful day
As the week comes to an end I am feeling really good about it. I stayed under my calorie count today(1900) by about 75. I am not near my pad of paper where I keep the list so I can't write down the amounts today, but I do know that I was under and that surprises me. I felt like I ate a lot today, but I guess it was all within range.
I had a late breakfast/early lunch which was a salami cheese wrap with mustard. I also had cookies with it. For a snack I had a Rice Krispy treat. Later on I had a lollipop to cure my sweet tooth.
At dinner, we had a strange group of items. I had 6 chicken wings, 4 mini egg rolls and a baked potato with sour cream. It was like an appetizer plate for dinner. It was weird, but a really nice combination of food. We had never had the egg rolls before, but I bought them at Costco the last time I was there. There are only 180 cals in 4 egg rolls. That seems like a lot of food for such a small amount of calories.
I was even able to exercise this morning for 35 minutes which is 10 minutes more than I have been able to walk this whole week. It felt really good. Glad I exercised today though because the foods I had today were a bit on the salty side so I may pay for that on the scale this weekend. I think I may wait to weigh in until Sunday since I had all that salt today.
Tomorrow is my 2000 calorie day so that will be pretty easy I think unless we go out. Even then a salad will easily keep the count down. Looking forward to a weekend of nice weather!
I had a late breakfast/early lunch which was a salami cheese wrap with mustard. I also had cookies with it. For a snack I had a Rice Krispy treat. Later on I had a lollipop to cure my sweet tooth.
At dinner, we had a strange group of items. I had 6 chicken wings, 4 mini egg rolls and a baked potato with sour cream. It was like an appetizer plate for dinner. It was weird, but a really nice combination of food. We had never had the egg rolls before, but I bought them at Costco the last time I was there. There are only 180 cals in 4 egg rolls. That seems like a lot of food for such a small amount of calories.
I was even able to exercise this morning for 35 minutes which is 10 minutes more than I have been able to walk this whole week. It felt really good. Glad I exercised today though because the foods I had today were a bit on the salty side so I may pay for that on the scale this weekend. I think I may wait to weigh in until Sunday since I had all that salt today.
Tomorrow is my 2000 calorie day so that will be pretty easy I think unless we go out. Even then a salad will easily keep the count down. Looking forward to a weekend of nice weather!
Thursday, October 4, 2007
So I began my day with a treadmill walk. I have been doing some faster walking to see if my foot can take it. I walk for 3 minutes at about 2.7 miles an hour and then about 3.2 miles an hour for 3 minutes then 3.0 for about 3 minutes. Then I repeat the cycle. It helps me walk faster without too much stress on the foot. I enjoy walking outside too, but the problem is I don't think I walk fast enough. I am going to walk outside tomorrow morning though for a change.
My total calories allowed today was 1800. I kept it under with a total of 1797. I had oatmeal for breakfast(130) and tuna with crackers for lunch as well as some cheese crackers and grapes(382). For dinner I had meat lasagna with cream of mushroom soup and green beans(555). During the day I had a piece of zucchini bread for snack(100). We usually don't have sweets during the week for dessert, but we had some cake that needed to be used before it went bad so I had a piece for dessert(330). I think overall it was a good day. I feel better than yesterday because my cramps are gone.
Tomorrow is a 1900 day and I am thinking about limiting it to 1800 because I know I can and give myself 2100 on Saturday for a splurge. I will see how the day goes. I should be pretty busy, but some times that is harder to be careful. I am going to try to plan the food out the night before like I do when I am working a full day. Usually I just list the items that I am putting in my lunch bag and if I eat them I add the cals, otherwise I just cross them off. For example, I always bring a fruit, a granola bar and some kind of cracker or veggie(for the crunch). Today I ate the cracker and the veggie so when I got home from work I crossed off the other too. When I write them down I write out the cals so I can figure out what I have allotted for various meals. It seems to work for me.
My total calories allowed today was 1800. I kept it under with a total of 1797. I had oatmeal for breakfast(130) and tuna with crackers for lunch as well as some cheese crackers and grapes(382). For dinner I had meat lasagna with cream of mushroom soup and green beans(555). During the day I had a piece of zucchini bread for snack(100). We usually don't have sweets during the week for dessert, but we had some cake that needed to be used before it went bad so I had a piece for dessert(330). I think overall it was a good day. I feel better than yesterday because my cramps are gone.
Tomorrow is a 1900 day and I am thinking about limiting it to 1800 because I know I can and give myself 2100 on Saturday for a splurge. I will see how the day goes. I should be pretty busy, but some times that is harder to be careful. I am going to try to plan the food out the night before like I do when I am working a full day. Usually I just list the items that I am putting in my lunch bag and if I eat them I add the cals, otherwise I just cross them off. For example, I always bring a fruit, a granola bar and some kind of cracker or veggie(for the crunch). Today I ate the cracker and the veggie so when I got home from work I crossed off the other too. When I write them down I write out the cals so I can figure out what I have allotted for various meals. It seems to work for me.
Wednesday, October 3, 2007
Today I had a realization
So I know that I haven't had my dinner or snack, but I have that mostly planned out. I had my normal oatmeal for breakfast and a mid-morning snack that totaled 370. I had a lunch meeting again so I made sure to have mostly sald but I also had some fish. I skipped the dessert which looked great and I am happy that I did. The lunch total was 650. For dinner we will be having steak(300), parsley potatoes(200) and peas(70). I also had celery and salad dressing(100) for snack after work and I had a lollipop today(100). So my total for the day will be 1792 and I can still have a snack. I have only 208 cals left so I will have either popcorn or a granola bar. Either of those will leave me under my allowed limit for today(1900) so that will be fine.
Now on to my realization.....I was looking in the cabinet a few minutes ago to see if I could have a teaspoon of peanut butter for a snack. (This is a rough day for me because I got my period so I am extremely hungry for salt--peanut butter solves that for me). I looked at the calorie content of that small amount and realized it was about 90 cals. I was shocked. I can't tell you how many times in the past that I have just taken a spoon or two of peanut butter around 4:30 for snack. The amount of calories I have been consuming doing that is outrageous. I also will occassionally just eat what my kids left over for lunch instead of just making my own. Then I am hungry in an hour and eat another small meal. I can't even imagine the amount of calories I was consuming before I really started watching what I ate. I know this may seem like a silly realization to some, but it was really eye opening for me. It also helps me to realize how much I should give my kids to eat because they do not need as many calories as adults. Their portions are reasonable now when I feed them their meals. When we are at someone else's house I still try to make sure they don't eat too much. I notice that when they eat too much they get little bellies also. I am desperately trying to teach them about portion size in a kid friendly way and without saying the word diet. We teach them that we need to eat balanced--a veggie or a fruit is served at every meal. We also teach them that they don't need to eat too much. The hardest part was teaching our girls that you can't eat toast and pancakes because it is too much bread.
A new rule that I might have mentioned before is that we only eat baked goods desserts on the weekend. DUring the week they can have fruit or graham crackers or jello for dessert. It is hard for them to understand all the time, but our oldest understands that we want her to be healthy. She enjoys it actually. I don't want to seem like we are making our kids diet, we are just teaching them about nutrition on a leve they understand. With so much childhood obesity and the struggle that I have always had, I don't want them to have to suffer.
Anyway, enough rambling. I just wanted to share. Hope I didn't bore anyone!!
Now on to my realization.....I was looking in the cabinet a few minutes ago to see if I could have a teaspoon of peanut butter for a snack. (This is a rough day for me because I got my period so I am extremely hungry for salt--peanut butter solves that for me). I looked at the calorie content of that small amount and realized it was about 90 cals. I was shocked. I can't tell you how many times in the past that I have just taken a spoon or two of peanut butter around 4:30 for snack. The amount of calories I have been consuming doing that is outrageous. I also will occassionally just eat what my kids left over for lunch instead of just making my own. Then I am hungry in an hour and eat another small meal. I can't even imagine the amount of calories I was consuming before I really started watching what I ate. I know this may seem like a silly realization to some, but it was really eye opening for me. It also helps me to realize how much I should give my kids to eat because they do not need as many calories as adults. Their portions are reasonable now when I feed them their meals. When we are at someone else's house I still try to make sure they don't eat too much. I notice that when they eat too much they get little bellies also. I am desperately trying to teach them about portion size in a kid friendly way and without saying the word diet. We teach them that we need to eat balanced--a veggie or a fruit is served at every meal. We also teach them that they don't need to eat too much. The hardest part was teaching our girls that you can't eat toast and pancakes because it is too much bread.
A new rule that I might have mentioned before is that we only eat baked goods desserts on the weekend. DUring the week they can have fruit or graham crackers or jello for dessert. It is hard for them to understand all the time, but our oldest understands that we want her to be healthy. She enjoys it actually. I don't want to seem like we are making our kids diet, we are just teaching them about nutrition on a leve they understand. With so much childhood obesity and the struggle that I have always had, I don't want them to have to suffer.
Anyway, enough rambling. I just wanted to share. Hope I didn't bore anyone!!
Tuesday, October 2, 2007
A new recipe and a surprise
I am going to start by saying I have such a headache all day today. I had stress at work that was resolved, but still, enough to get my mind racing. I am also due to get my period which often is preceded by a headache. My foot also gave me a bit of pain today because it is still bothered by the yardwork I did on Sunday. So, that being said, I still had a good day.
I don't know why, but I weighed myself today. I decided to do that because I wanted to see if I gained water weight since I drank about 15 glasses of water yesterday. To my surprise I lost a pound. I was so excited!!
Today was a 1700 calorie day for me. I kept it under at a total of 1683. It was easier than I expected. I am one of those people who needs to eat every 2 hours or so in order to be successful when dieting. I wrote out the list of all the snacks that I put in my lunch bag this morning before leaving for work. When I got home, I crossed off the one I did not eat and added up the others. I had added them all before I left so I knew I still had enough for dinner---I left 895 for dinner. That method worked out for me. I will do it that everyday I think.
For breakfast, I had apple-cinnamon oatmeal. I am trying to have that often because it is good for cholesterol(150) and it is low in calories while still filling. Lunch was left over lobster ravioli and a rice krispy treat. For snack I had cheese crackers and later I had a granola bar.
I made turkey croquettes today and they turned out really great. Each croquette had a little less than 300 calories as I figured it. I always add a few calories if I am not certain. I think it was probably about 285, but since it was all ingredients that I put together and had to do calculations for, I used 300 for the intake amount. With the croquettes I had pierogies and broccoli. For snack I had popcorn--about a cup.
The recipe was from www.foodtv.com and I just searched for "turkey croquettes." My husband really loves croquettes so I wanted to make them especially good. He was so happy that he had 2 and wanted more. We froze the rest though for a second meal since it made so much.
Well, I am happy with today so hopefully I will have another great day tomorrow.
I don't know why, but I weighed myself today. I decided to do that because I wanted to see if I gained water weight since I drank about 15 glasses of water yesterday. To my surprise I lost a pound. I was so excited!!
Today was a 1700 calorie day for me. I kept it under at a total of 1683. It was easier than I expected. I am one of those people who needs to eat every 2 hours or so in order to be successful when dieting. I wrote out the list of all the snacks that I put in my lunch bag this morning before leaving for work. When I got home, I crossed off the one I did not eat and added up the others. I had added them all before I left so I knew I still had enough for dinner---I left 895 for dinner. That method worked out for me. I will do it that everyday I think.
For breakfast, I had apple-cinnamon oatmeal. I am trying to have that often because it is good for cholesterol(150) and it is low in calories while still filling. Lunch was left over lobster ravioli and a rice krispy treat. For snack I had cheese crackers and later I had a granola bar.
I made turkey croquettes today and they turned out really great. Each croquette had a little less than 300 calories as I figured it. I always add a few calories if I am not certain. I think it was probably about 285, but since it was all ingredients that I put together and had to do calculations for, I used 300 for the intake amount. With the croquettes I had pierogies and broccoli. For snack I had popcorn--about a cup.
The recipe was from www.foodtv.com and I just searched for "turkey croquettes." My husband really loves croquettes so I wanted to make them especially good. He was so happy that he had 2 and wanted more. We froze the rest though for a second meal since it made so much.
Well, I am happy with today so hopefully I will have another great day tomorrow.
Monday, October 1, 2007
I am amazed at myself!
So today was the first day that I "officially" counted calories. I allowed myself 2000 calories today because I I went out to dinner. Prior to dinner I had eaten 845 calories so that left about 1150 for dinner.
Breakfast was apple cinnamon oatmeal. Lunch was a salami sandwich with mustard on wheat bread. I also had a cup of chai latte. It was about 120 calories, but worth it. I will have to buy more of that since it was the last bit of powder. When the kids came home I made a yogurt banana milkshake. It was okay, and it totaled about 105 calories. When I make it the next time I am going to use less yogurt and more milk. I had a zucchini muffin and some grapes with that for about 150 calories. I am one of those people, in case you haven't guessed by now, that needs to eat often during the day. So after calculating dinner and estimating high on a couple of things, I think I used up about 980 calories on dinner. As I see it, the total for the day is 1825. I thought that I would easily go over today since it was my first day and I was going out to dinner. I only ate about a third of my salad and about half of my dinner. Since I didn't make the food it was harder for me to estimate. I have a calorie counting book, but it is for name brand foods so I really need to get another book for every type of food.
Anyway, I am happy with the food I ate today and how my calorie breakdown occurred. Tomorrow will be a new experience because I am going to work tomorrow and not taking my calorie book. I am going to stick with an easy food day. I am back down to 1700 tomorrow, but that won't be that terribly difficult since I am out of the office for a few hours in the morning. My downfall is after about 2PM. I am going to try to drink a glass of diet soda at that time if I need it. We'll see, sometimes I get so busy I am distracted until I get home from work.
Looking forward to another successful day!
Breakfast was apple cinnamon oatmeal. Lunch was a salami sandwich with mustard on wheat bread. I also had a cup of chai latte. It was about 120 calories, but worth it. I will have to buy more of that since it was the last bit of powder. When the kids came home I made a yogurt banana milkshake. It was okay, and it totaled about 105 calories. When I make it the next time I am going to use less yogurt and more milk. I had a zucchini muffin and some grapes with that for about 150 calories. I am one of those people, in case you haven't guessed by now, that needs to eat often during the day. So after calculating dinner and estimating high on a couple of things, I think I used up about 980 calories on dinner. As I see it, the total for the day is 1825. I thought that I would easily go over today since it was my first day and I was going out to dinner. I only ate about a third of my salad and about half of my dinner. Since I didn't make the food it was harder for me to estimate. I have a calorie counting book, but it is for name brand foods so I really need to get another book for every type of food.
Anyway, I am happy with the food I ate today and how my calorie breakdown occurred. Tomorrow will be a new experience because I am going to work tomorrow and not taking my calorie book. I am going to stick with an easy food day. I am back down to 1700 tomorrow, but that won't be that terribly difficult since I am out of the office for a few hours in the morning. My downfall is after about 2PM. I am going to try to drink a glass of diet soda at that time if I need it. We'll see, sometimes I get so busy I am distracted until I get home from work.
Looking forward to another successful day!
My plan update
So as I talked about last time I wrote, up until now I have been simply watching portions as I prepare my daily meals/snacks. I did some calorie counting this past weekend and I found it to be easier than expected and another way for me to feel more accountable. I had decided that I would begin the actual counting this week and simply stay within the limit that I am allowed. I have changed my mind since reading more about the calorie zig-zagging and now I too am going to change my daily allotment.
My daily allowance is 2024. That includes 3 times a week of exercise which I hope to increase to 4, but depending on the foot I can't always even get the 3 full sessions in so I will see what happens with that. I am giving myself 2000 calories a day. I start my weeks on Monday, but I will add in yesterday since I officially started yesterday. So for the upcoming week(10/1-10/7)
[Sunday: 1800]
Monday: 2000
Tuesday: 1700 & exercise
Wednesday: 1900
Thursday: 1800 & exercise
Friday: 1900 & exercise
Saturday: 2000
Sunday: 1800 & exercise
I really haven't veered too much from the 2000 calories because I am not sure how much I should reduce from my calorie intake so that it is realistic. This will be something of an experimental week for me. I feel that I already eat healthy foods, but now my job is to make sure my intake of them is at the right portions. This way I will know exactly how much I can afford to eat after dinner when I am dying for a snack. As I see how this method works for me, I am sure that I will decrease the amount of calories on some days and add to others. We often plan outings for the weekend at least a week in advance so I can calculate that into my schedule.
Well, now that you know the plan, hope to be able to report that I can follow it. I feel so motivated and supported that I believe I will be successful
My daily allowance is 2024. That includes 3 times a week of exercise which I hope to increase to 4, but depending on the foot I can't always even get the 3 full sessions in so I will see what happens with that. I am giving myself 2000 calories a day. I start my weeks on Monday, but I will add in yesterday since I officially started yesterday. So for the upcoming week(10/1-10/7)
[Sunday: 1800]
Monday: 2000
Tuesday: 1700 & exercise
Wednesday: 1900
Thursday: 1800 & exercise
Friday: 1900 & exercise
Saturday: 2000
Sunday: 1800 & exercise
I really haven't veered too much from the 2000 calories because I am not sure how much I should reduce from my calorie intake so that it is realistic. This will be something of an experimental week for me. I feel that I already eat healthy foods, but now my job is to make sure my intake of them is at the right portions. This way I will know exactly how much I can afford to eat after dinner when I am dying for a snack. As I see how this method works for me, I am sure that I will decrease the amount of calories on some days and add to others. We often plan outings for the weekend at least a week in advance so I can calculate that into my schedule.
Well, now that you know the plan, hope to be able to report that I can follow it. I feel so motivated and supported that I believe I will be successful
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