I don't know what day this is . . .

But this is my food log for Monday, October 4:

Breakfast:  1 oz almonds, 1/2 c grapes
Lunch:  Fajita Taco Salad from Ninfa's, tortilla chips & salsa
Snack:  Banana
Dinner:  Ground turkey cooked w/ cabbage in a little pan gravy (just ww flour & chicken stock), cooked broccoli topped w/ cheddar, pinto beans
Snack:  1/2 c cookies & cream Blue Bell ice cream (yeah, yeah, i know, i know! )

Exercise:
Strength training exercises and stretching (I did my cardio yest)

Drank 9 glasses of water.

I had a loss in my weigh-in today!  Only 8 oz, but still! 

Last week was the first time I had a gain (it was only 4 oz, thankfully), so I'm glad to have gone back down this week!  And this month was the first time I had losses in ALL my measurements!  Overall, it's not loads, but I'm feeling my clothes fitting looser.  Wahoo!

Sorry to let my logging fall by the wayside!

UGH! 

I got behind logging and one day slipped into another and then another and then a week and then a month.  Yikes!

But I didn't want to let anymore time pass before getting back on track w/ the food logging/tracking!  So, better late than never!

Don't worry, I won't back log three and a half week's worth of meals!  I'll just start from today.

Day 53
Breakfast:  Oatmeal sweetened w/ agave nectar and cooked w/ apples & cinnamon
Snack:  Orange
Lunch:  1 whole wheat toast w/ peanut butter & banana
Snack:  1/2 cup cottage cheese w/ pineapple; an apple
Dinner:  Pepperoni & mushroom Pizza Hut pizza (yeah, all that healthy food seemed too good to be true!  Lol), salad w/ spinach, carrots, celery, tomatoes & italian dressing
Snack:  Orange

Exercise:
40 mins walking during which I did the Couch to 5K Week 1, Day 2 training program (that lasts abt 30 mins)
A few strength training exercises from SparkPeople

Drank 9 glasses of water.


My eating hasn't be atrocious, but it hasn't been as good as it should be.  Life got a bit stressful and I was definitely comfort eating.  Plus I get tired of constantly cooking the same things because they're easy go-to meals.  I need to make a conscious effort to finding new quick and easy meals.

Also, I've consistently lost weight each week since starting back in August.  This week was the first week I've had a slight gain of 4 ounces.  Next week I might still have a gain since I started running two days ago and I already feel my muscles tightening up (everywhere I read says there's usually some weight gain after starting the C25K training due to building muscle).  But I'm not too discouraged because I feel a difference in my clothes and there's even some difference in my measurements.  I'll share specifics on Monday after weighing in on OWOA.

Anywho, I'll also soon share more specifics about the C25K program and SparkPeople.  And hopefully my food log will look a little lighter tomorrow!  Stupid pizza!

Day 31

Still can't believe I've been at this for a whole month!

Breakfast:  Oatmeal cooked w/ water, sweetened w/ agave nectar and topped w/ a teaspoon of light brown sugar (I just couldn't resist that indulgence!)
Snack:  Whole wheat toast w/ pb & banana
Lunch:  Leftover whole wheat lassagna & Green Bean, Tomato & Feta Salad Oreganato from Kalyn's Kitchen (YUM!)
Dinner:  Taco Salad w/ romaine, ground turkey taco meat, tomatoes, guacamole, cheddar cheese & a small amount of Italian dressing ((I didn't have salsa since my blender died :o( )); 1/2 c Mexican rice

Exercise:  3 mile walk. 
I felt so good during the walk I just kept going and going.  Then when I got home I thought I was going to die!  My head was banging and my muscles were aching.  Altho it wasn't 100 degrees it was still over 90 and fairly humid (not as bad as last few weeks/months).  I suppose I'm used to keeping cool in the pool and am not used to working so hard in the hot sun!

Drank 10-11 glasses of water (can't remember exactly).


I'm nervous that it's practically midnight and I'm still awake.  I need to get up at 5:30 and will be working until 7:30 p.m.  It's gonna be a LONG day!  I'm also a bit nervous -- it's my first day subbing.  Thankfully it's for a friend's class at a school I tutored in last semester.  They have a full-time kinder position open, so please pray the day goes well and they see that I'm a good teacher and would want me to work for them!  Lol!  Thanks!

Day 30

Holy moley, that's basically a month!  How does time fly so quickly???

Breakfast:  Whole wheat toast w/ peanut butter and banana
Lunch:  Leftover eggplant parm & whole wheat angel hair
Dinner:  Whole wheat lassagna & salad w/ romaine, tomatoes, green onions & avocado, dressed w/ Kraft Tuscan Italian Dressing

No exercise

Drank 11 glasses of water

Today I was down 1 lb from last week.  That HAS to be all the water I've been drinking 'cause Lord knows I went way off plan multiple times last week!  Plus I didn't exercise as hard as the previous weeks.  So it'll be interesting to see what happens at weigh in next week...

Labor Day Weekend: Days 27-29

Saturday, Day 27
Breakfast:  Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Pancakes, scrambled eggs, Hillshire Farms smoked turkey sausage
Snack:  Kiwi
Lunch:  Guacamole, Stacy's Simply Naked Pita Chips, pear
Dinner:  2 Turkey hot dogs on whole wheat buns, chili, cheese, onions, potato chips
Snack:  Cuppa & Black Bean Brownies

Exercise:
1 hr swimming w/ the kiddos

Drank at least 8 glasses of water


Sunday, Day 28
Breakfast:  Jennie-O turkey breakfast sausage links, toast
Lunch:  Turkey sandwich on whole wheat bread w/ mustard; a pear
Snack:  Banana
Dinner:  Ground beef & lentil tacos on whole wheat tortilla with salsa, cheese & sour cream; Mexican rice
Snack:  1 Black Bean Brownie

No exercise

Drank 10 glasses of water


Monday, Day 29
Breakfast:  Cheese toast
Lunch:  Cheese Enchiladas w/ rice & beans; tortilla chips & salsa; guacamole; menudo (Can you tell what we ate for Labor Day lunch?  So bad but so yummy!!!)
Snack:  Small Dairy Queen Oreo Blizzard (Can ya guess where where we stopped for our pit stop??)
Snack:  Pear, kiwi
Dinner:  Oatmeal cooked w/ water and sweetened w/ agave
Snack:  1/2 cup grape tomatoes (I needed to get my 5th serving of veggies in.  Lol!)

Exercise: 
SparkPeople 10 min cardio boot camp workout, Day 1
SparkPeople strength training exercises

Drank 12 glasses/3 liters of water

I didn't weigh-in this morning since I was in Waco.  You'd think since I had an extra day before I weighed in I would be extra good so I'd have a big loss.  Nope.  I stuffed my face with Mexican food instead.  And stopped for an oreo blizzard when I started getting sleepy on the road.  But I did forgo the hot dogs my dad made for dinner (I've had WWAAYYYY too many lately!) and opted for oatmeal instead. 
To be honest, I didn't intend to do any exercise tonight, but then I started watching the new Bravo show Thintervention with Jackie Warner and it motivated me to get off my butt and at least do some strength training exercises.  From there I went ahead and did 10 min of cardio while I watched the rest of the show.  I know 10 min isn't much, but it's better than the zero min I had originally planned on doing! 
Hopefully I can get back on track this week since the kiddos are gone.  It's a short week and I have a subbing assignment set up for Thrus & Fri, so that will help get me out of the house and keep from snacking!  Plus help my overall mental well-being.

YIKES!

Sorry I got so far behind with logging my food!  I went to Waco on Tuesday to pick up my nephews and niece and brought them back to Houston (the same afternoon!).  So I've had a taste of what it's like looking after 3 kids from morning to evening, all the while having to plan their meals, entertainment, settle disputes, etc.  Whew!  You mothers are amazing! 

Without further adieu, here is the good, the bad and the ugly of my eating this week:

Tuesday, Day 23
Breakfast:  Leftover lassagna & handful of carrots (odd choice, I know, but I wanted something filling so I wouldn't be tempted w/ fast food while spending 6 hrs in the car.  Did it work?  Keep reading...)
Lunch:  McDonalds McDouble (yeah, didn't help so much, but at least I didn't have fries!), Diet Coke, almonds
Snack:  Yum-Yum Mix (a trail mix my nephews, niece, and SIL put together.  It has peanuts, raisins, craisins & semi-sweet chocolate chips)
Dinner:  Sandwich & about 10 McD's fries (when we stopped for a restroom break I got some fries for the kids and took a few from each packet), 1/2 sugar cookie
Snack:  Watermelon

No exercise.

Ok, so Tuesday wasn't that great.  Stupid McDonald's and salt cravings!  One good thing is I did get 10 glasses of water down my pipe!  And had to make pit stops during each trip!


Wednesday, Day 24
Breakfast:  Whole wheat pita w/ WW cream cheese
Lunch:  Salad w/ romaine, tomatoes, carrots, chickpeas & feta; dressed w/ red wine vinegar & olive oil
Snack:  Banana
Snack:  Stacy's pita chips & hummus 
Dinner:  Turkey hot dogs on whole wheat buns w/ lentil chili, onions, relish & cheese; serving of Lay's classic potato chips (I had another moment of weakness RE salt)
Snack:  Cuppa & toast w/ peanut butter & cherry jam

Exercise:  35 min in the pool, but was hard to get consistent laps in while dodging 3 little monkeys jumping in the pool, but I did my best!

Met my water goal of 12 glasses!


Thursday, Day 25
Breakfast:  Oatmeal (sweetened w/ Splenda & a light sprinkle of light brown sugar.  Mmmm...)
Lunch:  Pho (Vietnamese rice noodle soup w/ thinly sliced round beef.  I took the kids 'cause they love learning about and trying foods from other cultures.  For an hour I forgot I was on a diet!  Lol!  But when I got home I was shocked to discover Pho doesn't have loads of calories!  Still, I would prob only eat it ever once and awhile 'cause it can be pricey!), fresh shrimp spring roll, fried egg roll
Snack:  Pear & Kiwi
Dinner:  Turkey chili, brown rice & helote (corn on the cob w/ Mexican style dip/sauce I mentioned a few wks ago - mayo, chili powder & hot sauce)
Snack:  Pita chips & mozzarella
Late Snack:  1/2 cup serving frosted mini shredded wheat w/ milk (I had a craving and it wouldn't go away!)

No exercise.

Drank 12 glasses of water!


Friday, Day 25
Breakfast:  Frosted mini shredded wheat w/ milk
Lunch:  Whole wheat pita w/ hummus, cucumbers, romaine; cherry tomatoes on the side; 10 M&M's
Snack:  Pear
Snack:  Stacy's Pita Chips & guacamole (my nephew made it and he was very excited about it!  It was yummy, too!)
Dinner:  Turkey Meatloaf, broccoli, sweet potato mash
Snack:  Watermelon
Snack:  Saltines & cheese (again w/ the salt cravings!)

No exercise

Drank 11-12 glasses of water (I lost track . . . but anything over 10 is considered goal met in my opinion!)


With the exception of Tuesday's McDonald's I managed to keep on track w/ my calories.  Again, I'm prob eating more carbs than I should and I obviously had major salt cravings this week.  Altho I haven't exercised as much as the previous weeks, I am moving around loads having to keep up w/ the kiddos.  And I'm thinking the drinking-3-liters-of-water-each-day-to-burn-75-to-100-calories thing might actually be working b/c to my shock and amazement, despite the daily indulgences and lack of movement, I'm a few ounces less than I was on Monday!  However, we'll see for sure on the official weigh in this coming Monday . . .

Do you know why drinking 3 liters of water a day helps people lose weight?

I know.

It's 'cause your stomach is so darn full of water there's no room for food!

On to week 4: Day 22

Breakfast:  Whole wheat pita & WW cream cheese
Lunch:  Banana & strawberry muffin, grapes (I was late to work so didn't have much time to grab some grub!)
Dinner:  Stuffed bell pepper, sweet potato mash (the pepper was DELISH!  I'll have to share the recipe later...)
Snack:  Pear
Snack:  Cuppa & whole wheat toast w/ pb & cherry jam

Exercise:
20 min walk (I went abt a mile.  The temp was actually in the 80s!  Altho extremely humid it was nice to get out and walk.  I would've gone farther but I started getting a blister on the back of my foot and didn't want to make it worse.  Guess I need to put more Vaseline further down on my foot next time!)
Strength training exercises from SparkPeople

I drank about 11 glasses of water today and 10 yesterday.  Still a bit shy of the 3 liters, but that's REALLY good for me!

Oh, and I was down 1.8 from my weigh-in last week!  I wonder if that means the water thing is working . . .

Day 21

Breakfast:  Whole wheat toast w/ peanut butter & banana
Lunch:  Lentil chili w/ mozzarella on top
Dinner:  Low-fat Eggplant Parmesan w/ whole wheat spaghetti (this was ok -- I had to stack the eggplant to fit it all in the baking dish so the ones on top didn't cook through as much as I like.  Plus it lost it's crispiness after adding the sauce and baking; I even intentionally used as little sauce as possible.  I didn't have the parmesan cheese and I made my own breadcrumbs w/ whole wheat toast.  When I ran the toast through the food processor I added the garlic powder and put some dried basil as well.  It still tasted really good!) & Spinach-Pear Salad w/ Mustard Vinaigrette (this was SO YUMMY!  I didn't realize I had run out of stone-ground mustard but I happened to have some mustard seed powder I've never used so I added a heaping 1/2 t of that instead.  I highly recommend this recipe!)
Snack:  Toast w/ peanut butter & cherry jam
Snack:  Cuppa & blueberry muffin

Exercise:
30 min swim

Felt I did better overall today, but still one too many carbs.  But I'm glad I didn't go way off track today.  Hopefully it'll show in the weigh-in tomorrow...

Say WHAT???

I saw a show this evening that reminded me of something that long lay dormant.  Apparently, in order to aid weight loss, we should drink almost half our weight in water.

Say what?!

Are these people aware of how much I weigh?  And that consuming that much water will keep me in the bathroom 24/7?  Besides, I'm lucky enough to get 8 full glasses a day!

Anywho, I googled how much water one should drink each day and got multiple sites to help you calculate it.  The site I found most useful to me was this one at about.com:nutrition.  It requires answering 9 questions, such as how much you weigh, how long you plan to exercise in a day, do you live in an excessively hot or cold climate, are you pregnant or breastfeeding, etc.  Altho a longer quiz than other sites had, what I like about this site is that it not only gives you the estimate of how much to drink but also a second, smaller estimate that accounts for eating a healthy diet.  For example, it told me I should drink 125 ounces of water, or 3.8 liters.  However, 20% of our water comes from the food we eat, so if I eat a healthy diet it told me I only need to drink 100 ounces, or 3 liters.

One more thing about water, a great thing you can do to aid digestion & weight loss is to squeeze some lemon juice into it.  Not only is lemon juice high in vit C, it also flushes out bacteria & toxins to help your liver produce more bile to aid digestion.  Fitness expert Jackie Warner mentioned on the show I was watching this evening that adding lemon juice to water speeds up your metabolism by 33%.  AND drinking 3 liters of water a day burns 75-100 calories!

I was recently told by my aunt that a doctor from Mexico told her the first thing she needed to drink in the morning was a glass of lukewarm water w/ the juice from 1/2 a lemon squeezed in it.  Our bodies are dehydrated from sleeping all night so we need the water, and the lemon juice can go straight to work w/ nothing else in our system to counteract it.  I've been trying it out this past week but after hearing all the facts about lemon water I'll have to make an even more conscious effort.

Drinking water w/ lemon has been a staple for me for years, so thankfully it won't be much of a stretch.  But like it or not, it seems like 3L of water is the magic number.  So, sorry if my blogging slows down.  I'll prob be in the bathroom.

Day 20

Breakfast:  Cottage Cheese & Pear
Snack:  1/2 Low Sugar Whole Wheat & Oatmeal Blueberry Muffin w/ Lemon
Lunch:  Whole wheat lasagna, salad w/ tomatoes, cucumber & Italian dressing
Snack:  1/2 whole wheat pita w/ WW cream cheese & cucumbers
Dinner:  Southwest Frittata (turkey smoked sausage, onions & eggs...didn't have salsa), refried beans, whole wheat tortilla
Snack:  Cuppa & blueberry muffin

Exercise:
25 min swim


Overall, had a better day food-wise & calorie-wise.  Could prob eat fewer carbs, tho.  But at least they were all whole grains and no junky ones today.
I had to force myself to exercise today.  Just wasn't feeling it.  Still quite emotional for some reason, so that's prob why I didn't feel like doing anything.  I was already in the pool when I realized how pleasant the weather was.  I almost wish I had gone walking instead, but I still had a nice, peaceful swim and I can feel it in my arms.
Let's hope I can stay on track Sunday & have a good weigh-in Monday!

Days 18 & 19

Thursday
Breakfast:  Whole wheat pita half w/ WW cream cheese & cucumbers; banana
Snack:  Watermelon
Lunch:  2 slices of toast - one w/ peanut butter & banana, one w/ peanut butter & cherry jam; 2% milk
Snack:  Honeydew melon
Dinner:  1 chicken thigh; salad w/ romaine, cucumber, tomatoes, & chickpeas; helote (Mexican corn on the cob w/ dip of mayo, chili powder, hot sauce & lime; sounds weird, but it's delish!)
Snack:  Cuppa & 1 of Kalyn's Kitchen Low Sugar Whole Wheat & Oatmeal Blueberry Muffins w/ Lemon (I added 1/2 t cinnamon to the recipe); 1 cranberry & banana muffin (I subbed cranberries for the strawberries in the recipe I posted the other day; ok, but not as good as the original...too dry...next time I may try it in the Kalyn's Kitchen muffin recipe...)

Exercise:
35 min swimming


Friday
Breakfast:  1/2 c. cottage cheese; banana
Lunch:  2 blueberry muffins
Snack:  Coke Zero; Popcorn; Almond Joy miniature candy bar; 1 Reese's Buttercup; 3 Musketeers miniature candy bar (Ummm...can you tell I was away from home?)
Dinner:  Lasagna; cresent rolls; Dr. Pepper
Snack:  Kiwi, pear, watermelon (Can you tell I was trying to get some fruits & veggies in and up my fiber intake?)

No exercise  *sigh*


And I was doing so well!  Can't believe I blew it today!  I went to visit my cousin who had a baby last week.  That girl has nothing but JUNK in her house.  And of course, since I was running around this a.m. I didn't fill up on good, healthy foods, so by the time I got to her place I was starving and reached for whatever was in reach!  Ugh!  I'm not stepping on the scale tomorrow a.m. cause I think it will be discouraging.  But I promise to exercise loads and stay on plan the rest of the weekend.  I can't afford anymore bad days!

Day 17

Breakfast:  1/2 small whole wheat pita w/ WW cream cheese & sliced cucumbers, banana
Lunch:  Chili lentils w/ brown rice, topped with mozzarella; iced tea
Snack:  Strawberry & banana muffin, cuppa
Dinner:  Chicken thigh, small serving brown rice, broccoli, cabbage, spicy zucchini, spoonful of pinto beans, iced tea
Snack:  Strawberries, 1/2 strawberry & banana muffin

Exercise:
Strength training exercises from SparkPeople
10-min boot camp cardio workout, day 1 from SparkPeople

Way better day w/ the eating.  Stayed on track and even ate significantly small amount of calories (for me, at least).  I wanted to swim this afternoon but got busy working around the house and chatting w/ Robbie online.  But I guess 10 mins of cardio is better than no mins of cardio!

Strawberry & Banana Muffins

So a few months ago my dear friend, Elaine, posted some pics and a recipe for Strawberry & Banana Muffins.  I followed her link to the original recipe on Words To Eat By (which seems to have some other amazing recipes I need to browse through!).  Since seeing the original recipe I've made the muffins at least twice a month.  I had some bananas to use up, so I made them again today, and oh my are they yummy!  This is my revised recipe.  Hope y'all enjoy!

Strawberry & Banana Muffins 

(revised from recipe at Words To Eat By)

Makes 12

2 large eggs

½ c. Splenda
¼ c. oil
¾ c. mashed fresh strawberries 
1 medium banana, mashed 
½ t. almond extract
1 ½ c. white whole wheat flour

2 t. baking powder
½ t. baking soda
½ t. salt
½ c. rolled oats (not quick-cooking)

Preheat oven to 350. Coat two muffin tins with non-stick spray and set aside.

In large mixing bowl whisk eggs until frothy. Whisk in sugar, Splenda, oil, strawberries, banana, and almond extract.

In separate bowl combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and oats. Stir or whisk until evenly distributed and then add to the wet mixture. Stir gently, just until combined (the advice from WTEB is "with low-fat baking you really don’t want to touch it too much or the finished product will be tough."  However, I didn't make mine low-fat -- meaning I used whole eggs instead of egg whites -- so I'm not sure if this rule completely applies.  Nonetheless, I did stir the mixture as little as possible).  

Fill each muffin cup 2/3 full. 

Bake 20-25 minutes, until tops are golden brown. Turn muffins out onto a wire rack immediately and let cool. Serve warm, or at room temperature.

I have loads more bananas to use up, so once I stock up on eggs (hopefully non-contaminated eggs!)  I'll be making more and freezing them so I'll have a nice sweet snack that's isn't full of preservatives and junk.

To track food on SparkPeople I need to enter the nutrition info as well.  The original recipe says each muffin is worth 4 WW points, but that means nothing to me.  I googled and found a new recipe calories calculator.  I don't know how reliable it is, but I used it anyway.  There's also one on SparkPeople, but you need to enter each ingredient and amount and I'm just too lazy to do that at the moment.  Anywho, below is the nutritional info from Calorie Counter.  Oh, and I added links to both Calorie Counter and SparkPeople's new recipe calorie calculators on the sidebar.

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size 60 g

Amount Per Serving

Calories 175 Calories from Fat 52

% Daily Value*

Total Fat 5.8g 9%

Saturated Fat 0.9g 5%

Trans Fat 0.0g

Cholesterol 35mg 12%

Sodium 162mg 7%

Total Carbohydrates 25.6g 9%

Dietary Fiber 1.2g 5%

Sugars 9.8g

Protein 3.3g

Vitamin A 1% • Vitamin C 10% Calcium 5% • Iron 6%

Nutrition Grade C+

* Based on a 2000 calorie diet

Is this day 16?

Breakfast:  1/2 small whole wheat pita w/ weight watchers cream cheese & sliced cucumbers
Snack:  Pear
Lunch:  1/2 serving of Balsamic bean salad (I wanted to finish it off before it went bad), 1 serving of chili lentils w/ mozzarella on top
Snack:  Cuppa & a small danish (I know, I know, I shouldn't have had the danish!  It was a rough day and I was comfort eating..)
Dinner:  5 chicken nuggets, salad, sweet potato & spoonful of green beans (they were canned and I didn't want to eat loads since they had so much sodium)
Snack:  1/2 cup sugar-free vanilla ice cream topped w/ raspberries
Snack:  1 big slice honeydew melon

No exercise

So it appears I ate a lot today, altho I was still w/in range w/ my calories -- in the lower range even!  It was a rough day.  I don't know why but I was highly emotional.  It didn't help that it took over 3 hrs to submit an online job application b/c the internet kept cutting in and out.  Thankfully, I had completed the application last night but needed to go in and add just two pieces of information.  I was so annoyed and so frustrated!  That's when I had the danish w/ my cup of tea.  I knew exactly what I was doing but didn't care.  *sigh*  Hopefully I'll have more self control tomorrow...

Day 15

Brunch:  Small whole wheat pita half w/ 1 oz cream cheese, 1 T green onions & sliced cucumbers; 1/2 cup grapes
Lunch:  1.5 servings Caldo de Pollo w/ 1/3 C brown rice
Snack:  Plum
Dinner:  2 turkey hot dogs on whole wheat bread, topped w/ mustard, mayo, onions & lentil chili (basically I just cooked some lentils, added extra water, tomato sauce and spices), 1 serving Lay's potato chips (and I actually counted out the # of chips!)

Exercise:
25 min swimming
Strength training exercises

It was a fairly uneventful day.  It was the first day of school here, but since I don't have a full-time job I didn't get to start school.  :o(  You can pray I get a job soon!  I miss having my own classroom.  It's a bit stressful, but I'm trying to stay positive.  At least I can start subbing next week, esp since I only have 4 measly hours scheduled tutoring this week!

Days 11-14

My apologies for laxing on posting!  But at least I've kept up w/ my eating and exercising at SparkPeople, which I promise to post more about soon.  In the meantime, here's my logs for the last 4 days:

Thursday
Breakfast:  Egg taquito (scrambled egg on whole wheat tortilla)
Lunch:  Portabella Pizzettas, altho I forgot the spinach 'cause I make them one at a time from memory.  Also, I added some crushed red pepper for a bit of kick.  Salad w/ tomatoes, cucumber, radishes, celery & ground flax seed.
Snack:  2 pieces fried shrimp, abt 6 fries, 1 small hush puppy, & 1.5 pieces of garlic bread (I came home late after helping my mom set up her classroom and was starving, so I just started snacking on my dad's left over seafood, before I realized what I was eating!  But even I after I realized I just didn't care.  Lol.  Thankfully there wasn't much there)
Dinner:  1/2 cup Rice Chex & 1 banana, but we were out of milk, so ate half the cereal dry but i was still hungry...  1 cup bean salad (chickpeas, black beans, cannellini beans, diced tomatoes, fresh garlic, balsamic vinegar & olive oil)
Snack:  Kiwi & plum

Exercise:  Strength training exercises from SparkPeople


Friday
Breakfast:  Egg Taquito, Fiber One peach yogurt, 1 plum
Lunch:  1/4 sandwich & 1 plum (I was gone all day following up on a job and helping my friend and then my mom set up their classrooms.  I didn't have time or $ to buy lunch, so by the time I got to my mom's school it was already after 5 but she had some stuff left over from her lunch.  Thus the small portions)
Dinner:  Taco Cabana Chicken Fajita Salad (but that thing was TINY -- the shell wasn't even half-full!), 1/2 cup bean salad, 1 serving Stacy's Simply Naked Pita Chips

No exercise


Saturday
Breakfast:  1 scrambled egg on whole wheat toast w/ sliced tomatoes, iced tea
Lunch:  2 small southwestern egg rolls, 3 mini broccoli & cheese quiches, 1/2 serving fruit salad (mostly cantaloupe & fresh pineapple), 1 small piece white cake w/ white frosting (I was at a baby shower, hence the food choices)
Snack:  Watermelon & red grapes
Dinner:  Small grilled cheese (whole wheat bread, 1 slice cheese, 2 pats butter) & Caldo de pollo (homemade Mexican chicken soup -- chicken thighs boiled in water til cooked thru, then onion, garlic, zuchinni, yellow squash & cabbage added in; served w/ brown rice)
Snack:  Kiwi

Exercise:  35 min swimming


Sunday
Breakfast:  1/2 cup bean salad
Lunch:  Pepperoni Pita Pizza (a new creation I'll have to share with you), Spinach salad w/ tomatoes, cucumbers & feta; dressed w/ red wine vinegar & olive oil
Dinner:  Low Carb angel hair pasta w/ fresh sauce (diced tomatoes, onions, mushrooms, spinach, basil) topped w/ mozzarella, salad w/ romaine lettuce, tomatoes, baby carrots & celery; dressed w/ 1 T ranch dressing

Exercise:  30 min swimming; strength training exercises from SparkPeople

Days 9 & 10

Sorry for the belated logging!  It's been an exhausting week, with the traveling back and forth, and emotionally draining w/ the memorial, funeral and catching up with long-lost extended family.  Therefore, I didn't do too well w/ my eating.  So here ya go:

Tuesday
Breakfast:  Peanut butter & banana on toast, iced tea (needed some caffeine to get me through work!)
Lunch/Snack:  Almonds, grape tomatoes, Fiber 1 Peach yogurt
Dinner:  Philly Cheesesteak & fries.  Yup, you read that right.  We went out to eat w/ some family after the memorial.  I could've ordered the grilled chicken salad, but I didn't.  I guess I was making up for all the calories I missed earlier in the day...
Snack:  Kiwi

Exercise:  None (out late after the memorial)


Wednesday:
Breakfast:  1/4 breakfast taco (scrambled egg on whole wheat tortilla.  Only had a tiny bit 'cause I was late leaving for the funeral)
Lunch:  BBQ brisket & smoked sausage, mashed potatoes, green beans (that were cooked w/ bacon, of course), cole slaw, 1/2 slice white bread, iced tea.  There was a catered lunch after the burial and it was some good TX bbq!  I ate abt 3 slices of brisket & 2-2" links of sausage.  And I did watch my portions, so that helped a bit.
Snack:  Kiwi & plum
Dinner:  Baked pasta w/ onions, zuchinni, yellow squash, mushrooms & mozzarella.  Salad w/ romaine, spinach, celery, radishes, tomatoes, carrots, cucumber & ground flax seed; dressed w/ Kraft Done Right Light Raspberry Vinaigrette.  I had a big portion of salad and small portion of pasta.

Exercise:
SparkPeople strength training exercises
SparkPeople bootcamp day 1 video x2 (20 min, total).  I'm still not brave enough to move on to day 2.  Lol.

Well, I'm over halfway through today and so far so good.  Hopefully I'll stay on track now that these big events are behind me.

On to week 2: Day 8

Brunch:  Spinach salad with boiled egg, feta, tomatoes, slivered almonds & ground flax seed; dressed w/ olive oil & red wine vinegar
Lunch:  Chick-fil-a chicken-n-strips salad along w/ the butter garlic croutons & roasted sunflower seeds; dressed w/ 1/2 packet of their buttermilk ranch; Diet Lemonade (sweetened w/ Splenda)
Dinner:  Peanut butter & banana sandwich, a red plum

Exercise:
SparkPeople bootcamp workout, Day 1 (I looked at the Day 2 vid, but after a few minutes decided to stick w/ Day 1 for a bit longer!)
SparkPeople strength training exercises

Weighed in today at OWOA and I had lost 4.6 lbs since last Monday!  Woohoo!  I'm sure I'll plateau soon, but I'm enjoying the weight loss while it lasts!

And 7 makes a week!

Breakfast:  1 slice of whole wheat toast, peanut butter & banana
Snack:  1/4 cup almonds
Lunch/Dinner:  Taco Salad (chicken fajitas, lettuce, tomatoes, monterey jack cheese, avacado, sour cream & salsa), about 1 ounce of tortilla chips (I only had abt 7 -- I broke them up so it would seem like more.  Lol!)
Snack:  Fiber One Peach Yogurt

Excercise:
30 min in pool, consisting of 37 laps (was shooting for 40 but when a tree cockroach flew into the pool, I flew out!), 350 leg lifts
Stretching before & after


I didn't eat much today (altho what I did eat had plenty of calories).  I think I was still full after the past few days of heavy foods.  Then, lunch was so late it was practically dinner and I wasn't hungry for dinner after the 3 hr car ride home from Waco.  I almost didn't exercise, but again knew I needed to after the food I've consumed recently.  So I went out around 10:30 and finished around 11.  If not for the late hr and the roach, I might've stayed longer.  I felt pretty strong and had a lot more energy when I finished.  Def an improvement from 7 days ago.

Ok, it's off to dreamland.  Tomorrow is weigh in day and I'm excited to see what number will appear . . .

Day 6

Breakfast:  2 small slices of whole wheat toast w/ peanut butter
Lunch:  1 cup of chickpeas, 1 cup of grapes, iced tea (An odd choice, I know, but I was in the car driving to Waco and didn't want to eat carbs since I had a birthday party ahead of me.  Plus I needed some extra fiber.)
Dinner:  3 slices of pepperoni pizza, 1/2 cup of fruit salad (cantalope, strawberries, blueberries, bananas), 1 slice of tiramisu cheesecake (homemade by Brandi) & one small square (seriously no bigger than 2"x2", if that) gluten-free yellow birthday cake, Pepsi One
Snack:  5 glasses of water to help dilute everything I ate and get me close the the 8 glasses/day goal. 

Excercise:  None 

It was my nephews 11th birthday party.  How did he get that old???  We celebrated at the movie theater w/ pizza, cake & presents and then went in to see Toy Story 3.  I'm glad he's still not too old to love Toy Story! 

I had 3 slices of pizza, which is way better than my normal 4 or 5.  I honestly could've stopped after the 2nd, but opted for one more.  Oh, well.  At least I wasn't stuffed full, which normally happens after I eat pizza.  I think I ate just the right amount.  And then when we had dessert I didn't even eat all the cheesecake or cake I served.  So, YAY FOR ME for being able to throw it in the trash and not try to cram it all into my mouth!  Altho, I did give it a second glass before I tossed it...

Anywho, even tho I went way off course today I think it could've been worse.  At least I'm still taking some baby steps forward . . .

Friday the 13th: Day 5

Breakfast:  2 slices whole wheat toast, peanut butter & a banana
Lunch:  Spinach salad w/ tomatoes, radishes, chickpeas & feta; dressed w/ olive oil and red wine vinegar
Snack:  Stacy's Pita Chips & hummus
Dinner:  Chile Rellenos (a stuffed, battered & fried poblano pepper . . . yeah, we needed more comfort food tonight) stuffed w/ ground turkey & mozarella and it was dipped in white wheat flour at least!; Mexican rice (made w/ brown rice), charro beans (Mexican pinto beans), string beans . . . that i dipped in the remainder batter 'cause I didn't want to waste it . . . so it was like a Mexican Vegetable Tempura! 
Snack:  1/2 cup red grapes, 1/2 kiwi -- the other half looked a bit dodgy, so I chucked it

Exercise:
None.  I was too full and lethargic after such a heavy, greasy dinner!  Lol!


I know it was a mighty heavy dinner, but I made healthier adjustments where possible.  I wanted to make something special for my dad.  His sis in law passed away this a.m. and he was gone most of the day w/ the fam.  Hence a second day of comfort food.  But I don't plan on eating fried foods again anytime soon.
I'll be in Waco tom for my nephew's bday party, so no telling what I'll be eating!  I'll try to be as good as possible. 

Pilates Hips and Thighs Workout

Don't know why I'm having issues w/ the embed feature, but oh well.   Here's the Pilates video I did twice today.  Enjoy!

Day 4

Breakfast:  1 slice Whole Wheat Toast w/ Natural Peanut Butter, 1 med banana, Fiber One peach yogurt, water
Snack:  Mini Fun Sized Twix (one of my kiddos gave it to me and I couldn't resist b/c he was so sweet about it!)
Lunch:  Hummus (about 3-4 Tbs), 2 servings Stacy's Pita Chips (simply naked flavor), 2 oz mozarella cheese
Dinner:  Beef Stroganoff (a bit heavy, but it's been a long summer and we needed some comfort food!), Quinoa Pasta, green beans
Snack:  1/2 brownie (I could no longer resist them!  But at least I was able to limit my intake!), 1/3 cup red grapes

Exercise:
SparkPeople 10-min Pilates Hips & Thighs Workout (I'll try to post it below... Didn't work again...) x2

So, as you can see I had a few no-no's, but I'm proud of myself for not completely giving in and over-indulging.  Plus it was an emotional day -- a family member isn't doing too well and doesn't have much time, so I drove my parents across town to the hospital to visit her and didn't have time to get my swim in tonight.  I did the Pilates vid once in the a.m. before work and again in the p.m. before bed.  I'm definitely feeling it, too!  How in the world are all these 10 min workouts kicking my booty??!!

SparkPeople Swimsuit Bootcamp - Day 1 Workout

 


Hmm . . . I didn't notice the Swimsuit bit of the title until it posted here from the share link in youtube . . . I guess I'll leave it even tho I didn't do the workout because of the swimsuit bit.  Just wanted to clarify.

Two observastions after 4 mins into this:
1.  Good grief, I'm way out of shape!
2.  Are my knees supposed to creak and crack like that?!?!  I guess I'm definitely not in my 20s anymore!  When did that happen and can I press the pause button???

Day 3

Breakfast:  Turkey Sandwich (Odd choice, I know, but my dad made me a sandwich for lunch and I ate it for breakfast and took a salad for lunch); Pepsi One
Snack:  Trailmix (peanuts, semi-sweet chocolate chips & Craisins)
Lunch:  Small Taco Salad serving.  No guac this time.  :o(
Dinner:  Italian pasta . . . 2 servings . . .
Snack:  Sugar-free Jello

Exercise:
30 laps in pool
200-ish leg lifts in pool (I lost count, hence the 'ish cause I did abt 50 extra)
50 psuedo-jumping jacks in pool
10 min Sparkpeople.com Boot Camp Day 1 video (posted below coming as a separate post because for some reason the embed feature from youtube isn't working in this post)

Day 2

Brunch:  Left over stuffed zucchini & salad (I got to sleep in since I didn't have to work til 11:30 & I didn't feel like breakfast food...too many eggs the day before!)
Snack:  Tangerine & 1 Rivita topped w/ 1 T peanut butter & 8 semi-sweet chocolate chips  (wow, that was very specific...)
Dinner:  Taco Salad (taco [turkey] meat, charro beans, lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, salsa & guacamole) + 3 tostadas.  Ya see, what had happened was I made the salsa and tasted it w/ a piece of tostada, which turned into one whole tostada, which turned into 2 tostadas.  Then I made the guacamole and served some on my salad and tasted it w/ a piece of tostada, which turned into 1 whole tostada . . . OK, OK, I had FOUR tostada shells!  But, in my defense I DID NOT have a brownie that was left over from the batch I made on Sunday.  That's 2 whole days w/ an ever-shrinking pan of brownies staring at me and me not eating one!   
Snack:  Sugar-free Jello

Excercise:
20 min pilates video.  And boy, am I so NOT used to doing pilates anymore!

Let's Get Started

Here's my first log!

Monday, 9 August, 2010
Breakfast:  Egg taco on whole wheat tortilla with sliced tomato; Pepsi One
Snack:  2 small sliced of mozzarella
Lunch:  Stuffed Zucchini & Salad; Iced Tea
Dinner:  3-egg Omelette stuffed with diced onions, tomatoes, jalapenos & slice of turkey lunch meat; serving of refried beans; 1 slice of whole wheat toast with butter; water
Snack:  Sugar-free Strawberry Jello

Exercise: 
40 laps in pool
300 rigorous leg lifts in pool
100 scissors in pool

Hola, Y'all!

I created this blog so I'll have a place to log what I'm eating and whether I'm exercising.  I didn't want to bombard OWOA with my daily/weekly food logs, so here ya go!

I'm basically following the principles of the South Beach Diet -- few carbs limited to whole grains, low or no sugar, healthy fats, etc.  I may adjust my diet as I go along. 

As a disclaimer:  I don't expect to lose loads of weight, because my body holds onto it with a death grip, but I want to get healthy.  But hopefully with discipline and God's healing hand my body will begin to heal little by little.