Sunday, February 28, 2010

Spring is coming...


I can finally feel spring is on its way here. The boys are getting more and more restless which makes me think that they know something I don't. Like they can feel the impending spring and are just starting to get impatient.

After some tweaks and the addition of my running program (i'm running a race in May), things appear to be on the downhill slide! Tuesday i'm having my Mirena removed and hope that that will increase the losses even more instead of making my body think that it's pregnant! Eeeek! I think that March and April will be even more productive than February after getting into more of an active routine and now counting points.

I ordered the cutest spring jacket in begonia, a flowery umbrella and some black medallion flats on Saturday. Eddie Bauer was having a 30% off of everything sale!! I can't wait to wear everything!! This pair of flats is on my birthday list:

Finally, i'm making this dress (the short sleeved version) for my meeting in Chicago in May. I think i'll use a menswear fabric and some red pumps for impact:


Enjoy your week, hope it's successful and full of sunshine!!

Monday, February 22, 2010

Week four...


Not sure what to do now, I feel a little bit lost. Three weeks ago I was determined that I could lose 12 pounds by the end of February. It was too much and I knew it. But I put it out there. The only thing I have to show for it is 3.6 pounds lost. Where is my inner cheerleader? I'd tell anyone that 3.6 pounds is better than none. And it is certainly better than gaining. But i'm not happy. I'm not happy with myself for getting lazy about the weekends, when I don't track what I eat. I'm not happy with myself for not having a consistent workout schedule. I'm not happy with myself for being unhappy with myself. So it's time for a new plan. (Hey, i'm not one to stick with something if it doesn't seem to be working.)

-2 pounds per week. By March 29 (5 weeks from now) i'd be at 158.6
-Eat somewhere between 1200 and 1400 calories per day. Less than 1200 seems to be telling my body to do the opposite of what I want it to!
-Starting my 5K training program today and want to do Jazzercise twice a week (min.)

So there is really only one true "action" that I need to change/add (since the first is merely a goal and since i'm already eating and writing down what I eat (yes, this will include the weekends from now on), i'm just eating a bit more. The third will be the hardest. Starting a new habit is tough for me, especially since it's one that I don't particularly enjoy. Oh well, it's good for me and will eventually be worth it right?

Saturday, February 13, 2010

Catching up...

Being sick can definitely throw me off of my game. I didn't blog religiously but I DID track pretty well (with the exception of dinner on the nights I was sick) on SparkPeople. I guess rather than post everything, i'll post calories:
Monday, Feb 8: through lunch 683 calories (no dinner posted)
Tuesday, Feb 9: through lunch 420 calories (no dinner posted)
Wednesday, Feb 10: 1034 calories
Thursday, Feb 11: 942 calories (I was full, I promise!)
Friday, Feb 12: 1635

Last night I decided that I wanted a junk-food dinner! So we had McDonalds. I had one of their new Big Mac Snack Wraps. It's only 330 calories but TOTALLY tastes like a Big Mac. And I was thrilled with dinner! :) Fries (and soda) included!

That's all for now!

Monday, February 8, 2010

Week two...

Can you say slacker? I didn't write down the remainder of Friday (which consisted of dinner out with friends and drinks out with those same friends). Grownups actually. It was fantastic!! Saturday was spent at my parents. Mom always makes breakfast for us. This weekend it was pancakes and sausage, lunch was chicken strips and potato salad, dinner was Haley's birthday with sloppy joe's, chips, Debbie's crazy coleslaw salad and cake! Oh, don't forget the mocha mudslide ice cream that I ate...TWICE!

And yesterday was eggs and bacon (lots of it), frozen pizza for lunch and then the Super Bowl. BBQ wings, pigs in a blanket and tortilla chips with cheese. Horrible. And I'm trying to figure out why I didn't care. But for some reason I didn't.

Okay, I know you're waiting for it. Today I was 168.6. So all in all not too bad. Gee, what would it look like if I hadn't been weak? That's a question that won't be answered. Can't be answered. This morning i'm feeling like I might have the flu. Just typing what I ate made me a little nauseous. So we'll see how this week goes. I'm not down by any means but i'm not hyped up like I was last week. It's probably just not feeling good. The good news is that I didn't lose much ground, and I need to keep things in perspective.

Friday, February 5, 2010

Look what's keeping me company...


Look at all of the lovely yellow! My flowers are doing wonderfully well after nearly 6 days. Ryan bought them at the store for me. I love taking the inexpensive Wally-World flowers and creating a happy, beautiful arrangement. I got up to get some coffee and as I went to sit down I realized that not only are the blooms yellow, but so are both of the files/folders that i'm in this afternoon. So fresh and springlike, even when the weather outside is snowy and slushy. Oh well, i've got sunlight and flowers, beats sitting in the cube.

Have a good weekend!

Day five...

Michael Bublé! Woo hoo! Just purchased two tickets to this hot number's show. In case you're not familiar, allow me to introduce his royal-hotness to you:



But I digress...

So it happened to me this morning. The scale didn't say what I wanted it to and I was mad. And yet .1 pound is not something to obsess over and biological fluctuations like this can't be helped. I know that. I have a big brain. I'm a high-functioning individual. But I ate a good breakfast just to prove I was above this!! Take that you stupid scale! (Might have something to do with not doing a single activity yesterday no?)

Breakfast
1/2 of a nature valley crunchy peanut butter granola bar (90)
2.5 egg whites + .5 egg yolk (that was tricky) (80)
1/2 T extra virgin olive oil + 1 T blue bonnet light margarine (110)
green peppers, onions and mushrooms (33)
no cheese or toast, i've got a date tonight!
Running total 312

Back soon with more updates!

Thursday, February 4, 2010

Day four...

And have I mentioned this?
Ah yes, the perfect summery dress. For whatever, whenever, easy, breezy, beautiful...

And so to day four: 169.8 this morning even after all of that pasta last night. Isn't it funny how it's not enough? It's NEVER enough. You can lose "only" one pound in a week and yet why are we disappointed? It's a loss girlfriends! It's better than a gain. And even though we are rational beings (most of the time), if we get just a little, we always want more! More and faster...sounds like a line from a dirty movie. (Sorry!) So my thought is this, if you are given two choices, A) lose one pound or B) gain one pound, which one are you going to choose? Duh! You'll always pick A. And that, my friends, is how to look at it. Not that it's only one pound, instead that at least it's not a one pound gain.

So for today i'm eating really poorly. Lots going on and not enough time to get in an actual lunch.

Breakfast
Lean Cuisine Denver Egg Panini (new and very yummy) (270)
2T of coffee mate (70)
Running total 340

Snack/Lunch
Special K Chocolate Bar (90)
Running total 430

(by the way, 8 glasses of water before 1pm thank you very much)

Another snack
6 cups of Orville Redenbacher's 94% Fat Free Kettle Corn (90)
Running total 520

No sure i'll get time to do the treadmill tonight but we'll see! I think Ryan likes this new, focused on the prize, me!

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Day three...

I know, I know, it's water weight. But two pounds is a lot to this girl. If I can get out of the 170's i'll be catapulted into a new level of commitment. And because it's water I know that this means that now I can get down to getting rid of the bad stuff. The yuck, the gross, the unattractive. Bring it on, cuz I want to wear this:


So here's my food journal:

My cheerio breakfast, including coffee (243)
Plus an apple for a snack (81)
Running total 324

Wow, can I already be thinking about lunch? Ugh.

So here's lunch:
Omelette (one egg, two whites, peppers, onions mushrooms cooked in Olive Oil), 1/4c shredded fiesta blend cheese and a slice of toast (with ICBINB spray) (421)
Running total 745

Snack
Hunt's snack pack (130)
Running total 875

Dinner
Spaghetti feed at the VFW...really hard to estimate but I figure:
1.25 c of pasta (247)
3/4 c sauce (120)
1 slice garlic bread (150)
1 3x3 slice of white cake with white frosting (211) and TOTALLY NOT worth it
Running total 1603

Later
Yogurt (100)

Total 1703...I told ya, not a 1200 calorie day!

15 minutes of my Wii fitness coach and 15 minutes on the treadmill at 3.5mph while watching Project Runway. Whew!

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

Day two...


Woo! These babies are changing the way I look at breakfast! I actually ate before heading to work today. It was a good thing...I didn't eat a bagel for once. But I did have my usual french toast coffee. Yummm! So here's the day:

Cheerios and milk (173)
Coffee mate (140)

Express Quaker Oatmeal, Golden Brown Sugar (200)

4 oz Roast Beef (336)
3 oz Schwans Quick Bake French Fries (150)
3/4 cup corn kernels (121)

And i'll end the day with a Keurig Cocoa (60)

Total for the day 1179

And for exercise walked for 35 minutes (first 5 at 3.0, 25 at 3.5 and 5 at 3.0)...i'm exhausted and ready to watch some Dexter.

Day two seemed to be easier than day one. Here's hoping for a good day 3!

Monday, February 1, 2010

Moments of brilliance...


Mine came Saturday. Max gave us a gorgeous, hand-made 2010 calendar for Christmas. And for the past month or so it's been hanging by it's binding, from a plain nail in the kitchen. In the past my calendars have hung in a holder, kinda country but who cares? It's at least attractive. My calendars are the timeline of our family, the cute things my kiddos say or do, milestones that are met, that kind of thing. So I knew it had to go up. But the calendar was too narrow and not long enough to fill the space. On Saturday I had had enough! I headed to the basement for the scrapbooking paper. I was determined to make something beautiful out of my calendar holder to incorporate the already beautiful calendar my thoughtful and creative kindergartener had made for us. The results are fantastic!! I love it...giving each month the spotlight on a gorgeous background had me smiling all weekend. I just had to share.

Breakfast, lunch and dinner...

1 cup of chocolate cheerios (133)
1/2 cup of skim milk (43)
Running total 176
(P.S. The chocolate cheerios are new and to DIE for!!)

Gloria Jean's Hazelnut coffee for the Keurig (0)
2 T Coffee Mate, Hazelnut (70)
Running total 246

One slice of Pizza Hut Pan Pizza, Cheese (270)...had a board meeting
Running total 516

McNugget Happy Meal minus one nugget courtesy of Owen (520)
A little more coffee mate (70)

Total for the day 1106 (and I wasn't even hungry at bed time)

Exercise:
Walked for 30 minutes (first 5 at 3.0, last 25 at 3.5)

Why weight...


Why indeed? Summer isn't getting further away. Today is a Monday. Today is the first day of February. Okay, here goes...172.2. Ugh. It looks even worse in print. It's terribly embarassing. My goal? 160 by March 1. Is it too lofty? Is it doable? I suppose that there's only one way to find out. After that the goals will be smaller, maybe 5 per month. But if I know anything it's that it's easiest to lose the first 10 (or 12.2 in my case). I ate like a pig this weekend, like a girl that knew she had resigned herself to deprivation and desperation come Monday morning. I know, I know...it doesn't have to be like that. I could just eat less and not do the whole "you don't have to give up what you love" thing. But no, that's never worked for me. And when it comes to losing weight, aren't you supposed to do what works for you? Eight years ago I lost 22.4 pounds. I weighed five pounds less than I do now when I started that. I haven't settled on the tools yet. Weight Watchers worked then, but Spark People wasn't around. Suffice it to say that I will be writing it all down. Everything. Even the stuff i'm ashamed of.
I plan to do measurements later, when i'm alone in the house. When I can work up to it. And i'll be planning the exercise that simply must accompany the eating less. Wish me luck!