Day 53: Where are the veggies?

Pre: a few ounces of oj
Breakfast: egg, whole-wheat English muffin w/ applebutter, fruit (strawberries, blueberries & blackberries) & vanilla yogurt...and I'm still hungry!
Snack: Breakfast cookie
Lunch: pb & honey sandwich on whole-wheat bread
Snack: small V8, graham cracker
Dinner: Lasagna Rollatini w/ Chicken, salad, 3 breadsticks w/ alfredo sauce, 2 Andes mints

Exercise: 3 miles on the eliptical in 49 minutes. The gym was crazy busy today. The treadmills kept getting snatched up & there wasn't one for me to use until I'd been on the eliptical for 20 minutes, so I decided to just keep on going. I also did a few minutes of ab exercises.

My lunch definitely wasn't well rounded. I really enjoyed my dinner, but I fear the calories weren't worth it. (My date with Randy was worth it, though!) I'm so thristy after all of that & can't wait to be in the gym tomorrow morning. Too bad tommorow's my weigh & measure day...

Day 52: Oh, the soreness!!

Breakfast: 2 Breakfast Cookies, glass of milk
Lunch: the last of the Unstuffed Peppers & Lentils and Rice, 6 pb cookies
Dinner: Mexican LaZonya
Snack: apple w/ pb, 2 chocolate graham crackers

Exercise: It's my day off!

I am so incredibly sore today. I'm pretty sure it's from the rowing machine. Oh, I hurt! I also failed to mention my toe yesterday. I had toenails that needed to be trimmed, but decided not to do it at 5:30am when I thought of it. So, I went to the gym & all was well. When I got home and took off my shoe, the toe-end of my sock was drenched in blood! It turns out that one of my toe nails rubbed a blister on the toe next to it. It then proceeded to cut the blister & the skin beneath it, resulting in an insane amount of blood. It has hurt slightly today, but not too bad. I'm hoping it will feel okay tomorrow when I head back to the gym, though.

Day 51: Feeling it

Pre: a few ounces of oj
Breakfast: cheerios w/ milk, banana, 2 slices turkey bacon. (I don't normally eat much cold cereal, but I've been so starved after working out that it's the quickest thing that sounds good.)
Lunch: Lentils & Rice, raw broccoli & cauliflower in dip
Snack: Peanut butter cookies, a lot
Dinner: Mexican LaZonya
Snack: more cookies. I'm all cookied out tonight after eating more than a dozen today. Yuck!

Exercise: 2.35 miles in 38 minutes on the treadmill, 5 minutes on the rowing machine (highest resistance), 5 minutes of free weights (5 lbs) with arms & some leg stuff AND another walk w/ my girls (20 minutes this time)

I forgot to say this yesterday, but I definitely noticed a difference with how my pants felt. They seemed so baggy. I'm defninitely feeling good about where I'm at with my food choices & getting my exercise in. Yes, I'm definitely tired from waking up at 5:30am (and I've required some naps), but it feels so good. I'm so grateful to have friends to go to the gym with!

I made the cookies today because I felt hungry. I should have just eaten an apple. I ended up eating so many again. Now that it's the end of the day, I'm wondering if I was eating to supress some unpleasant feelings...

Oven-Baked Lentils & Rice

I posted the recipe for the lentils and rice at Recipe Swap. Enjoy!

Day 50

Pre: a few ounces of oj
Breakfast: egg, cheerios w/ milk, banana
Lunch: Unstuffed Peppers, apple crisp
Snack: graham cracker, a sip or two of a fruit smoothie at my neighbors--Jenna hogged the rest!
Dinner: Oven-Baked Lentils & Rice, steamed veggies, salad
Snack (I was so hungry!): pudding w/ whipped cream, chips (several handfuls) I know what I ate wasn't the greatest, but again, I'm not going to feel badly about eating when I was hungry. I'll work on making better choices, though.

Exercise: walked 2.6 miles in 42 minutes on the treadmill, then did weights for my arms for about 10 minutes. I also did the rowing machine for 2 minutes before I got on the treadmill, so my legs felt like noodles when I started walking. AND I took my girls on a 30 minute walk around the neighborhood. It was so sunny & beautiful! (By the way, I noticed my crocuses are starting to pop out of the ground...the first sign that spring is on it's way!)

Day 49: Another good one

Pre: diluted oj
Breakfast: honey-nut cheerios w/ milk, 2 slices turkey bacon
Lunch: Skillet mixed veggies w/ cheese, banana
Snack: small V8, graham cracker
Dinner: Unstuffed Peppers
Dessert: Fat-free vanilla frozen yogurt, low-fat apple crisp (using my homemade apple pie filling & I cut the butter out of the topping & used my homemade applesauce instead. It's definitely better with butter, but I might try using apple juice instead next time just to see how it turns out. Hey, I'm getting creative!)

Exercise: walked 2.6 miles in 45 minutes on the treadmill

I had another good day. Absolutely no guilt about today--the way it should be!

Day 48: My mini-triffle glasses are so cute!

Breakfast: English muffin w/ apple butter, egg, fruit & yogurt parfait (in my adorable new mini-triffle glasses)
Lunch: Veggie skillet stuff from last night
Dinner: Mexican 5-Bean Soup (except I halved it & only used 3 types of beans), crackers
Dessert: 1 1/2 servings worth of chocolate pudding & cool whip on top (again, in my new mini-triffle glasses....yes, I like them!)

Exercise: none

Had another good day today. The scale was very good to me this morning. I'm holding off posting what I was, but let's just say that I met my goal that I set last Monday or Tuesday. And I'm hoping to be out of the 130's by the time I post my weight again next Saturday. What a feeling that will be!

Day 47: Woo Hoo!!

Breakfast: 2 waffles, oj
Lunch: chili pasta stuff
Dinner: Skillet Mixed Veggies w/ Cheese, cottage cheese, peaches
Dessert: fudgesicle + 2 graham crackers...I was starving!

Exercise: Aside from taking a walk around the block, I WENT TO THE GYM!!! I hadn't been in over a year and a half! Not wanting to over do it and give myself a heart attack, I walked 2.6 miles on the treadmill in 50 minutes. Don't laugh.... I was able to keep my heart rate in a good range. I have a tendency to want to just run when I'm on the treadmill (as slow as I may be with my short legs), but I'm going to try to just build myself up to it. I don't want to kill myself by overdoing it.

It has turned out to be another great day. I can only take each day one at a time, so I'm proud of what I've accomplished today. My weight was down 1/2 a lb. It had been down a full pound earlier this week, but I had a rough day between then and now. My measurements went down, though. I'm losing, and that's what I'm seeking. Hooray for a good day!

Day 46: Up Day

Breakfast: 2 waffles (made w/ 1/2 wheat flour), oj
Lunch: southwest chili over pasta (or something like that), 2 graham crackers
Snack: apple
Dinner: 1 1/2 servings of Hot & Spicy Pizza with Sausage. It was really simple & good! I'll definitely be making it again.

Exercise: none

Last night I thought a lot about what I've been doing. There is so much good and true information out there. I believe I have the correct information to eat right and become more healthy. I've decided that another book or another program isn't what I need at this point. I just need to buckle down and do it. (Of course, will power won't always win, so I plan to re-read my Dr. Phil book, which will help with some of the other issues that drive my eating.) I will succeed!

I had a much better day today. I just got back from taking Sydney to get a free ice cream cone at Arctic Circle. Randy was surprised when I came home without anything for myself. Believe me, it was an internal battle--but I saved myself both calories and money! I've also made a decision about exercising. My neighbors, Merri and Tammy, go to the gym each morning. I've hesitated going because they go during the time Jenna wakes up to nurse in the morning. That being said, I took the plunge today and gave Jenna her first sippy cup with milk. She had absolutely no problem with liking it. So, this coming week, I'll be up early going to the gym. I wish Randy the best with waking up to give Jenna milk. Tammy & Merri, don't leave without me!

Day 45: Hesitation to post...

Breakfast: malt-o-meal w/ milk, egg
Lunch: LaZonya
Snack: LOTS of cake cookies
Dinner: veggies w/ dip
Dessert: MORE cake cookies
Snack: Randy's leftover Panda Express

Exercise: a few minutes of jump roping...Not enough to even claim, though.

My eating has been outrageous today. This is getting ridiculous! I went light on my dinner knowing that I had eaten so many cookies--and knowing I would eat the rest. It's truly embarrasing to even write this down. I have gotten lots of great advice, but I need to put it to work and change. It seems like I'm on a roller coaster...I just don't know how to get off. You think I might take some of your advice seriously??

Day 45: Boredom

Breakfast: turkey bacon, 1/2 of a grapefruit, English muffin w/ apple butter
Lunch: White beans with stuff, cornbread
Snack: 1 serving of chocolate graham crackers (2 full crackers)
Dinner: 3 mozzarella sticks w/ maranara sauce, Oriental Chicken Salad & Chocolate Mousse something or other in a glass
Snack: small V8

Exercise: I did some leg exercises lifting my girls on the floor.

I just had to get out and about this afternoon. After some shopping and a tax errand, I took the girls to Applebees. It was nice get out. My food choices were only so-so. Although I ate most of the huge salad, my portions weren't bad. The desert was actually pretty small, and I shared it with both girls. It was rich & sweet and definitely satisfied my sweet tooth.

Amy told me I should write my feelings when I'm wanting to eat, so here they are. Tonight, I have felt like I need a break. If I had cookie ingredients, they would be made. My girls are in bed, but not sleeping, and it's been a cause of stress. I'm not sure what all my emotions are, but I'll try to list them: bored, lonely, stressed & tired (not really an emotion, but hey, it causes me to be grouchy). I just have no desire to do any additional exercising today.

Day 44: More like it

Breakfast: 2 Breakfast Cookies, glass of milk (Yes, it's a Zonya recipe...great to have on hand when there's no time for breakfast.)
Lunch: White Beans with Tomato, Basil & Parmesan, corn bread, veggies w/ dip
Dinner: LaZonya
Snack: apple w/ peanut butter, 2 servings of tortilla chips

Exercise: 20+ minutes of TaeBo

I feel like I had a good day. I did over do it on the chips, but I felt like I needed something. (Hey, I ate dinner at 4:30pm!) I've kept up on my water, too. Sydney was begging me to make no-bakes tonight (she doesn't always want them when I make them). I kept having to show her that Dad hid the cocoa, and I don't know where it's at. Cookies were not a temptation for me today. On another kid note: It makes me feel so good seeing Sydney eat raw veggies like broccoli, cauliflower & cucumbers, just to name a few. She'll even eat them without dip! Jenna even tried eating an entire head of cauliflower yesterday after I had rinsed it off. Now that was a funny sight! I look forward to bettering myself & also improving the eating habits of my entire family. Oh, and one more thing...I snuck and weighed myself this morning. It was good news, but you'll have to wait until Saturday to see the results. :)

Day 43: Improvement

Breakfast: egg, English muffin w/ applebutter, peaches, cottage cheese
Lunch: skillet chicken & veggies, sweet potato
Snack: Breakfast Cookie (a Zonya recipe that can be used as a breakfast, snack or dessert. I made them today & needed to try it. It was good!)
Dinner: White Beans with Tomato, Basil & Parmesan, corn bread, raw veggies w/ dip
Snack: 9 tortilla chips (1 serving)

Exercise: 45 minutes of pilates :)

I did well with my eating today. I craved no-bakes so badly, but I withheld the temptation & didn't make any. I'm determined to lose 2 lbs. this week. My goal is to not eat cookies and to exercise 5 days.

Day 42

Breakfast: Honey-Nut Cheerios w/ milk, banana
Lunch: crackers & Miracle Soup
Dinner: Tortellini Soup, Whole-Wheat Garlic Toast
Dessert: no-bakes & milk

Exercise: none

Sundays are always busy for me. I did well on my eating aside from the cookies. I need to have Randy hide the cocoa from me tomorrow when I'm not around. Not much else to say...

Day 41: Reality Check

Breakfast: turkey bacon, English muffin w/ apple butter
Lunch: Mexican LaZonya
Snack: tall hot chocolate w/ marshmallows
Dinner: Bacon Western Cheeseburger at Carl's Jr. w/ some fries
Snack: 2 sugar cookies, a chip, a handful of Skittles

Exercise: an hour of sledding & standing around

I've started only weighing & measuring myself each Saturday. Today was a reality check. My weight has been hovering around 132.5 for about a month or so. However, my measurements were a testament of the junk I've been eating. Of course, tonight didn't help much either. I was actually a little upset when I got my cheeseburger and realized it came with NO veggies. How could that be? I seriously enjoy the veggies on my burgers! So, I just realize that I've gotta get myself into gear--going to the gym and eating better. Thank goodness for a new week & fewer cookie ingredients. I really need to pray for the strength & continual desire to better myself.

Day 40: And the good thing is...

Breakfast: egg, vanilla yogurt w/ fruit
Lunch: Mexican LaZonya
Snack: the rest of the cookies
Dinner: turkey, rice, asparagus, spinich salad, mashed potatoes & gravy (thanks, Merri)
Dessert: strawberry cheesecake type pie

Exercise: none

It was not my best day, but what day has been lately? The good thing is that my cookies are all gone, so I won't be able to make them anytime soon. I plan to have Randy hide the baking cocoa so I can't make no-bakes either. I believe that will help.

Day 39: Not so bad

Breakfast: oatmeal w/ milk (thanks again, Randy!), cottage cheese, peaches
Snack: 3 cookies
Lunch: Mexican LaZonya
Snack: more cookies...lots
Dinner: Miracle Soup, crackers (Basically a veggie soup. It's a negative calorie food, which means it provides fewer calories than it takes to actually digest it. A 1 1/2 cup serving--which fills a bowl--is only 70 calories. And I was more than filled after eating dinner! I need to eat more of this soup!)

Exercise: 1 hour, 15 minutes of HARD snow shoveling...broken up into 20 or 25 minute segments...It was that challenging!

I know, I know--the cookies. I ended up eating what was leftover from last night, and then making another small batch. And I ate them (& shared a few with my girls). However, I don't feel guilty one bit. I was WAY more active than normal today, and not just with snow shoveling. My dinner was also only 200 calories total. No evening snack, just lots of water. Go, Keri!

Day 38: Oh, glorious progress!

Breakfast: turkey bacon, malt-o-meal w/ milk (Sydney's request)
Snack: fruit & yogurt parfait (strawberries, blueberries, blackberries & bananas)
Lunch: slice of pizza, breadstick, no-bakes
Dinner: Mexican LaZonya, broccoli w/ fat-free dip

Exercise: 5-10 minutes of jumping rope

Lessons learned from jumping rope:
1. It's been a LONG time since I've seriously done it...since elementary school!
2. 11-month old babies get a thrill out of seeing their moms jump.
3. "Dora the Explorer" jump ropes hurt your feet if you step on them over and over.
4. My bladder is not strong at all. Really.
5. Jumping rope is a crazy workout. I seriously needed to stop after doing it. I was all red & out of breath. My heart needed a break! And dinner needed to be finished.

I know I didn't have a perfect day, but now that it has come to an end, I feel really good about it. I wasn't sure how dinner would be because it was basically an enchilada with tons of veggies in it. But I'm now a believer! It was so good.

Sydney really wanted cookies tonight, so I made chocolate & peanut butter chip cookies. I only baked 6 and froze the rest of the dough in ready-to-make balls. (You will be glad to hear that I'm now out of chocolate & pb chips.) And, get this...I didn't eat ANY! Not even a lick of the spoon, bowl or beater. Nada! I can't tell you how proud I am of myself. It was really hard to resist, but I did it for my health. (Yes, I even thought that!)

I also made Homemade Turkey Sausage tonight. I got all of the sausage patties made and then froze them for whenever we decide we want sausage. I'm excited. I still need to make my "Breakfast in a Cookie" so that I have them around for a quick breakfast or snack or dessert.

Okay, and the last thing, because I know I've already said a lot tonight. (Possibly an indication of my positive mood?) In Lickety-Split Meals, Zonya tells how to make your own flavored yogurt using plain yogurt. I am not a fan of plain yogurt. Yuck! However, I found some good, fat-free organic plain yogurt and decided to give it a try. I think I finally got the balance down of how much sugar I like in it (about 1/2 of what she recommends, I think), and I loved my vanilla yogurt today.

And that's all she wrote.

Day 37: Just Because

Breakfast: egg, bran muffin
Lunch: broiled orange roughy, sweet potato, steamed veggies, no-bakes
Dinner: pepperoni pizza
Dessert: part of a fudgecicle

Exercise: another 30 minute walk around the neighborhood. I'd like to do some floor exercises tonight, but I have some taxes to do, so I'm not sure.

I feel so blah about everything today. I was able to talk to my friend, Amy, about my struggles & she had some good advice. I appreciate all the input each of you have given me. It helps me a lot. I think I need to set some time aside to just think about things and get refocused. Think I'll get some time tomorrow?

Days 35 & 36: Frustrated

Monday
Breakfast: cheerios w/ milk, banana
Lunch: kickin' chicken w/ fries, green beans
Snack: lots of cookies
Dinner: Skillet Chicken & Veggies, sweet potato, salad
Dessert: more cookies. I ate at least a dozen more today.

Exercise: leisurely 35 minute walk around the neighborhood.

Sunday
Breakfast: cinnamon nut bun, turkey bacon, banana
Snack: small serving of oatmeal w/ milk
Lunch: sweet & sour stir fry w/ rice
Dinner: sweet & sour stir fry w/ rice
Dessert: lots of my chocolate & peanut butter chip cookies. Probably a dozen.

Exercise: none

I'm just really frustrated with myself. I've stalled for nearly a month in losing any weight. I struggle so much with my sweet tooth & overeating. The nutritional value of the meals I make is good...it's just the other crap I eat & continuing to eat just because it tastes good. I've just hit one of those "walls". Not sure what I need to do for myself. Any advice or suggestions? Ollie, what have you been doing that you can share?

Walls

"...There's no end to walls, to obstacles, to difficult situations. We do our best, and sometimes our best isn't good enough, and we fall back on old ways. And then, when we can, we pick ourselves up and crash through the wall that jumped into our path, and move on. Knowing other walls will come up. Walls that we'll handle as we get to them."

~Water with Lemon, Zonya Roco, RD and Stephen Moss, p. 210-211.

Day 34: Saturday is a special day...

Breakfast: Glazed Cinnamon Nut Bun (homemade & YUM!), scrambled egg, 1/2 of a grapefruit

Lunch: Turkey Bacon Guacamole sub at Quiznos (less than 500 calories...it was the best I could do at the time)

Snack: part of a cinnamon nut bun as I prepared dinner

Dinner: Guiltless Nachos Supreme, 2 more cinnamon nut buns

Exercise: none

My lesson for the day: DO NOT wait until you are too hungry to eat. I put off getting a snack in the afternoon in order to do other things, but by evening I was famished. I couldn't stop with just my dinner. Now all I want is a huge glass of water & then some.

Day 33: Is Anyone Still Reading This Blog?

Breakfast: egg, whole-wheat English muffing w/ apple butter, peaches, cottage cheese
Lunch: cheese quesadilla, no-bake cookies
Dinner: Sweet & Sour Stir Fry, brown rice
Dessert: part of a fudgesicle, after Sydney decided she didn't want it

Exercise: 30-45 minutes of snow shoveling, I forgot to check the time

My thought for the day: If any of you think what I've been eating (especially for dinner) sounds good--and so far, I've really enjoyed nearly all of it--you should check out Zonya's Lickity-Split Meals. The recipes are so simple to follow, most of them don't take much time, and they are healthy. The cookbook is also packed full of tips. I'm loving it and can't wait to plan my menu for the next 2 weeks!

Day 32: Meal Switcheroo

Breakfast: lasagna
Lunch: Honey-Nut Cheerios w/ milk & a banana
Snack: apple w/ peanut butter
Dinner: lasagna (2 servings)
Snack: 1 Hershey's kiss

Exercise: just a few minutes of floor exercises while playing with the girls. My evenings have not been conducive for me to go to the gym the past few nights. Excuses, excuses...

About my eating today...I know it was strange. (My sister, Dixie, used to always eat leftovers for breakfast, but that has never appealed to me.) For some reason, lasagna is what sounded good, so that's what I had. Of course, I did the same thing for lunch. Yeah, it's been a strange eating day.

Day 31: Finished

Breakfast: yogurt w/ granola, 1/2 of a yummy grapefruit, turkey bacon
Lunch: lasagna, no-bake cookies & milk
Dinner: Southwestern Chile & Pasta, salad

Exercise: again, NONE. I seriously intended to go to the gym tonight, but between sick kids & a tax return, I didn't make it. Disappointment, I know.

About my title "Finished"...no, I'm not finished trying to get healthy and improve my habits, are you kidding me? Actually, Randy just came up and asked me that. I finished Water with Lemon last night. I still need to make time to review it and post some good quotes. Are you seeing a pattern of procrastination here?? I'm just happy that I didn't eat anything after dinner. I haven't stuck with that good habit for a while now.

Day 30: Headache & Delicious Dinner

Breakfast: Honey-Nut Cheerios w/ milk, turkey bacon
Snack: banana
Lunch: Stir-fry w/ rice
Dinner: LaZonya, salad, Cheesy Garlic Bread...I can't believe how delicious and healthy this meal was. It took a while to prepare, but was well worth it. We still have 10 servings of it left, so I'll have some to eat for lunches this week, and some to freeze for later.
Dessert: No-bake cookies

Exercise: I didn't get any in. Pathetic, I know. I could give a myriad of excuses, but the reality is that I just didn't take the time to do it.

Not too much to report, except that I've had a headache this evening. I believe it's because I didn't drink enough water today & am likely dehydrated. I'm just glad that tomorrow I get a new day to do better...always.

Day 29: 4 weeks already!

Breakfast: oatmeal w/ milk (thanks to my wonderful husband who made it for me while I was out shoveling snow), fruit & yogurt smoothie, egg
Snack: half a dozen cookies
Lunch: leftover veggie smothered baked potato, breakfast casserole
Dinner: Salmon Burgers, steamed green beans
Snack: a bit of popcorn, an apple, and 5 chocolate graham crackers...and really, I shouldn't have eaten any of it...

Exercise: 40 minutes of snow shoveling. It really was a workout today, too. I came in all red-faced and sore.

Aside from my cookies, I had a fair day. I've only got 3 chapters of Lemon with Water left to read. I still haven't made notes and put my thoughts down on it, but I have been marking passages that I want to remember, and I'm planning on sharing those.

Day 28: Too Much

Breakfast: breakfast casserole, banana
Lunch: a few bites of leftover veggie stuffed potato, few slices of peaches w/ cottage cheese
Dinner: Turkey Veggie Stew, whole wheat roll, blueberry salad
Dessert: my delicious cookies. And I ate at least a dozen of them. Really. And it's embarassing to admit.

Exercise: nada

Cookies are my easy downfall...both no-bakes, and my Peanut Butter Chip/Chocolate Chip cookies. I need to find a happy medium with them. My head is much clearer than last week, so maybe I can make some progress with my "plans" this week. :)

Day 27: Mmm...chocolate!

Breakfast: Breakfast Casserole, English muffins w/ apple butter, a few grapes...they were too sour!
Lunch: marinated & grilled chicken, veggie pita pizza
Dinner: Veggie Stuffed Baked Potato, peaches, cottage cheese, raw veggies as I prepared dinner
Dessert: Chocolate Caramel Heaven (Love It size) at Coldstone

Exercise: none

I was going to go with a fat-free ice cream tonight, but I'm a sucker for lots of chocolate. Funny thing is, I don't regret it. It was really good. Still reading Water with Lemon & enjoying it. I've been highlighting stuff, but I'm probably 2/3 of the way through the book & want to starting writing down some of the things I'm learning to remind myself of the good habits I need to reinforce or learn. By the way, did you check out my measurements? I measure every Saturday, and, although my weight isn't dropping, my inches are. Wonderful!

Day 26: Hunger

Breakfast (9am): egg, English muffin w/ apple butter, banana
Lunch (11am): stir-fry w/ rice
Lunch (2pm): stir-fry w/ rice
Snack (3:30pm): 1/2 of a Baby Ruth
Dinner (5pm): Pita Pizza (1 1/2)
Dessert (9:30pm): no-bake cookies

Exercise: 40 minutes of snow shoveling

Can you tell I was hungry today? I was starving each time I ate, except my dessert. I'm not sure what was going on, but every few hours I got so hungry!