100

That's what I did this morning. 100 crunches, 100 squats, 100 calf exercises. In between my 60 minutes of cardio. 25 mins crosstrainer, 25 mins recumb bike, 10 min walk on the treadmill. Boy was I sweaty and poopered.

This, of course, was after I got up at 6:30am to get ready and go get the dog from the overnight clinic, to bring him back to our vet for 8:00. Poor guy, still not feeling too hot at all. :(

So since I was up and in the same plaza, I hit the gym, made a dentist appointment, did my banking, and went to the post office. All before 10:30am. Oh, and stopped at Walmart to return a book that I bought in error.

I guess I should admit that I had McD's for dinner last night. I had to work late to make up for missing morning time...then had to pick the dog up to take him to the overnight clinic....so by then I was starving and the drive-thru was just the easiest way to go. I stuck with a cheeseburger and fries...with a diet Coke that I didn't drink (I hate that there are never any other diet choices...hello Sprite Zero people!). More points than I needed, but the fries were freaking awesome and it was a good comfort dinner. Plus I was hoping the dog would eat some fries, but no such luck...he's still not eating.

Anyway, I'll try to make that my take-out meal for the week instead of the one I had planned for the weekend. I suppose it will depend on how things pan out with the puppy.

Today's menu...started out eratic, but I'm under control...

- 7am Starbucks coffee (note: NOT a latte, just a coffee...NSV!)
- 10am All Bran bar (dying of hunger after gym, this was in my purse thank God)
- 11am Source Lemon ff yogurt, fresh raspberries
- 1pm leftover Chunky soup, crackers, real cheddar
- cherries
- spinach dip and cucumber slices
- dinner will be the leftovers I didn't eat last night....honey chicken, brocolli, salad
- milk & PB granola bar

Recipe: Modified Hungry Girl 'Skinny Dip'

I always make something new for our little get-togethers....this time I wanted something that didn't involve turning the oven on....and conveniently I had received a Hungry Girl email earlier in the week for this yummy Spinach Artichoke Dip.

She always uses fat-free everything, but I'm not a fan of most totally fat-free stuff (plus you can't get a lot of it here) so this is my modification.

1 pack frozen chopped spinach (10 oz), thawed and drained very well
1 can artichoke hearts (14 oz) packed in water, drained very well and roughly chopped
1/2 of 8 oz can water chestnuts, drained and chopped
1 container low-fat cream cheese (8 oz), room temp
1/4 cup light sour cream
1/4 cup light mayo
1/4 cup parmesan cheese (I used the real thing instead of the fake grated stuff she recommends....make all the difference in the world)
3 tbsp minced shallots
2 cloves minced garlic
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper (or red pepper flakes would work too)

Combine cream cheese, sour cream, mayo & 3 tbsp of the parmesan. Add salt & cayenne. Stir until smooth. Set aside.

Saute the shallots and garlic in a non-stick pan with cooking spray over medium heat until soft. (I added a splash of water to help them along.) Set aside.

To the creamy mixture add the spinach, artichokes, water chestnuts & garlic/shallot mixture. Stir well.

Taste and add extra salt or pepper if desired. It says to top the dip with the rest of the parmesan, but I just mixed it all in. :)

You can also serve this hot by transferring it to a casserole dish and baking @ 350 for 30 mins.


Carolyn: I don't know the points because I don't have a WW membership anymore. The original Hungry Girl version was 2 points for 1/3 cup. This is probably 3 points....maybe 4.

Poor Puppy

I didn't get a chance to go to the gym last night. Our dog has just not been himself at all, so by the time I finished work yesterday I decided it was time for him to go to the vet. Poor guy....he won't eat and hardly drinks. Doctor thinks it could be anything from just a bacterial bug to cancer. He's back there today for some IV fluids. Hope he perks up!

My evening was all out of whack because of the vet visit, but I still had my honey-soy chicken for dinner and it was pretty good. I didn't cook a couple of the kabobs long enough, but that was OK because it was close enough to just pull off the skewers and re-grill for tonight. Because I ate so late, I was still hungry though so ended up having a bowl of Kashi Crunch after dinner.

This morning I was in a mad rush to get some work done before taking the boy in for his IV, so all I had for breaky was a granola bar. I did however go to the gym after I dropped him off since I was right there anyway and I needed to take my mind off of the possible bad news. I worked out without my iPod and I should really do it more often. I don't know why...maybe it's because I was working out some doggy aggression... but it was a great strength training session.

Now I have a ton of work to make sure I get done. My menu is whatever is handy at the time....

- Fibre Source granola bar
- lotsa water
- Chunky Prime Rib soup, with a piece of multigrain toast spread with light Laughing Cow
- grapes
- double tall vanilla no-fat latte
- All Bran bar
- leftover honey-soy chicken, steamed brocolli, and salad with chickpeas
- cherries
- homemade artichoke & spinach dip with cucumber slices when I get snacky later on

Day Two

It's so nice out today! Sunny but not too hot or humid. Thank God! That will keep me motivated to work out after work. Of course, it makes me NOT motivated to work. hehe.

I can't believe I binged on that cake last night and buggered up my first day on track. Meh. I did get out for a quick walk with the dog, but he is sick so it didn't last too long. Oh well, today is a new day and hopefully my evening workout will keep my mind off the snacking. I threw out the last of the chips and snacks, so I don't think there is anything terribly bad left for temptation. I even cut up all of my strawberries and cleaned up all the grapes, pulled them from the stems and put them in little containers so they are all ready for snacking. I wrote out my menu plan for dinners this week and I have to say I'm pretty stoked. I planned in a dinner out, but so far I don't have anything special on the horizon so I might take that opportunity to try the lobster sub at Subway or maybe a McLobster (so ridiculous I just have to try!).

Today's big plans...

- coffeeeeee
- Bolthouse Berry Smoothie
- choco chip All Bran Bar
- strawberries with last of the yogurt
- salad (made a big bowl last night) with chickpeas and grated cheese
- pre-gym - toast with pb & honey
- dinner is a new recipe for Honey-Soy Chicken Kabobs, with steamed brocolli
- grapes & cherries for a snack

- gym after work: cardio and strength training....I'm going to start riding the recumbant bike as my cardio on strength days (instead of always using the treadmill). Maybe a walk if the dog is up to it when I get back.

Late Night GBU Edition

Good: I had a huge salad for dinner.
Bad: There was cheesecake in our fridge, leftover from our party.
Ugly: There is no longer cheesecake in our fridge, but there is lots in my tummy.


You know what's stupid. I'm not even that big of a cheesecake fan. If that box had been closed and in the freezer I never would have given it a second thought. But because DBF opened it and it was staring me in the face, I just couldn't pass it up.

Boooooo.

Smacking Myself in the Forehead

Total free-for-all, no holds barred weekend. WTF?! Sometimes you would never know that I am actually knowlegable about nutrition, portion control and mindless snacking. Sometimes you would never know that I have willpower and know how to use it. Sometimes you would never know that I have a gym membership that I usually like to use.

Well, it's over. And the scale has leaped back up to 157lbs. Up exactly the same 3.4lbs I had lost last week. WHEN WILL I LEARN?!!

So DBF left this morning for ONE MONTH at sea. Booooo. The only upside to it is that for the next four weeks I don't have to worry about planning "family" meals. I can focus on ME ME ME. I can eat more salads, I can skip red meat, I can work out every day if I feel like it. Look out world, watch me goooooooooooooo!

He had to be at work early this morning, so I ended up with extra gym time so did extra cardio to get my week off on the right foot. I'm going to change my strength days to Tues/Thurs/Sat instead of Mon/Wed/Sat just for something to do. I need to shake up my routine in order to get me motivated to go in the mornings. I will sit down tonight and write myself a weekly schedule for gym and activity, as well as work on combining my two strength training routines into one power-routine. Weeeeeeeeeeeeeee.

After the gym I stopped at the grocery store to pick up some fruit and granola bars. I found new All Bran bars....Cinnamon Oatmeal & Chocolate Chip. Same NI at the original and Honey Nut.

My menus for the next couple of days will definitely be "clean out the fridge" menus as we had a party this weekend and there are remnants that need to be eaten up. I really need to stop loading up the fridge right before DBF goes away!

So today.....

- water
- Bolthouse Berry Burst Smoothie
- coffee
- All Bran Bar (choc chip, pretty tasty!)
- lunch will be homemade spinach artichoke dip (a variation of Hungry Girl's recipe) with crackers, carrots & orange pepper strips
- blueberries & strawberries with a bit of yogurt
- dinner will involve a huge-ass salad with real cheddar
- hummus with crackers
- grapes or cherries
- tea

My workout...

- Treadmill: 5 minute incline warm-up, running 2 mins each @ 3.5, 4.5, 5, 5.5, then repeated, 5 minute cooldown
- Elliptical: interval program, 2 mins @ level 4 - 2 mins @ level 10, repeats for 20 minutes, 5 minute cooldown
- various strength exercises...calf raises, squats, side bends, planks

10K

Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! I just broke through the 10,000 visitors mark on this blog today! Thanks to all my readers and supporters. You are all extra super duper fabulous!

And now I think all of you lurkers should come on out and delurk yourselves! Say hi and tell us who you are!

Oink Oink

Why is that we can be so defiant sometimes? Yesterday I just kept playing the same tune in my head over and over...."I'm a big girl. I get to decide what I want. And today I decide that it's OK to "treat" myself." Who am I freaking kidding? I "treated" myself to death yesterday...and did nothing to earn the treats (except maybe the whole only 2 hours of sleep thing might have earned me something for being a loving girlfriend).

Just to lay it out on the table.... "Defiant Thursday" went something like this:
- large Tim's coffee (single, single)
- honey cruller
- coffee at home
- Liberte Svelt vanilla yogurt with blueberries (trying to make up for the donut)
- bowl of leftover ripple chips with onion dip (the dip was made with light sour cream but I ate at least three servings of it and probably four servings of the chips)
- bag of Mike n Ikes
- dinner started out OK....tuna sammich on BM bagel with mushroom soup made with skim milk....but I ate the whole can of soup and fell like ass afterwards.
- then the piece du resistance: DQ Blizzard. Medium. Smarties with extra Smarties.
- I know there was a couple of other things throughout the day that I'm just forgetting now too.

Remind me that I truly felt like a huge, oinky, lactose intolerant pig last night. (I'm not lactose intolerant that I know of but every time I indulge in ice cream in the evening I wind up with an upset stomach.)

Obviously today I'm trying to be less defiant. I guess it's good that I felt like shit when I went to bed because I woke up with a renewed sense of wanting to feel good.

So....today's plan is:

- OJ
- coffee
- Liberte Svelt vanilla yogurt with bananas and blueberries
- plum
- leftover tuna salad on crackers
- cukes & baby carrots with hummus
- other 1/2 of banana
- maybe a Fibre Source bar if I need it
- grilled pork loin chop with sauteed onions, some kind of spud, steamed brocolli
- grapes
- tea and Lifestyle Blueberry cookies (these are new!) if I'm so inclined

I haven't been to the gym since Monday, but I don't really have time today so I'll try to get out for a walk for sure.

Here's to not feeling like ass!

Update: I forgot we are going to the movies tonight (Batman!) so I will be bringing my trusty water bottle and maybe my grapes to the theatre with me. Go me!

Large Double Double

You know it's been a long night and an early morning when I show up with Tim Horton's at 8am. Ugh.

It was an excellent visit for DBF and his buddy, but a loooooong day and night. They laughed and talked and drank and rocked out until the weeeeee hours.

I went to bed around 1am, but read my book because they still had the stereo on. At 1:45 things got quieter so I was just dozing off when they started up again. This happened a few times until around 3:30 when DBF came to bed....and tossed and turned. Then when we'd finally both gone to sleep I swear the alarm started going off. Snooze. Alarm. Snooze. Alarm. For an hour.

And then I had to get up at 7:15 to drive him to work.

Hence, the coffee and donut.

I'll try to make up for it later today, but I'm not holding my breath!

Guests

We're having some friends of DBF's from way back overnight tonight. It was sort of funny actually because he mentioned they were stopping by about a week ago... then mentioned this weekend that they are staying over... then mentioned on like Sunday night that they have two kids. Way to give me time to prepare! Did I mention that he's been away since Monday morning? mhmmmm.

So anyway, last night I did all the laundry for the hide-a-bed and the air bed for the kids. (I wish our spare room was set up but I didn't know we'd need it before my Mom comes in September.) Plus I did the bathrooms and general tidying. Today I still need to make those beds and vacuum. This morning I skipped the gym to get a bit of work done early, then ran out to the grocery store. Now I'm getting caught up here and a bit more work before I continue on with the chores and getting a bit of dinner prepped ahead of time. We're doing burgers and corn on the cob. Easy Peasy. (Of course I make it difficult on myself by offering pre-dinner snacks and such...LOL.)

So today's menu isn't planned, aside from dinner. It's fly by the seat of my pants day! I actually hate doing this mid-week, but I also hate having a rigid plan when guests are involved. Such is life.

:)

Time to find a chiropractor...

Well, I made it seven months so that's pretty good....but this stiff neck is going to need some professional intervention I think. Haligonians: do you have a favorite Chiropractor in town? It doesn't hurt and it's not causing me any physical issues, but I've got a headache that won't quit...for the third time in a week...and I just know from experience that my neck needs adjusting. Damn.

Anyway, so I slept in BIG TIME this morning. I always seem to do that when DBF goes away. I don't notice a difference in my sleep, but there must be something because I always end up wicked tired in the morning and can't drag my ass out of bed. I'll be working late today now I'm sure.

Food plan, such as it is at the moment:

- OJ
- coffee
- Fibre Source granola bar
- spinach salad tomatoes, chickpeas, cukes, light cheddar & ff ranch dressing
- crackers with goat cheese & red pepper jelly
- grapes
- dinner is leftover steak chunk & steamed brocolli
- evening snack will be Scoops baked with light cheddar, served with salsa & light sour cream (I was craving nachos last night but didn't have the points for them)
- and lots of water, I'm crazy dehydrated for some reason

If I finish work at a reasonable time, I'll either go for a walk in the rain or to the gym for some light cardio. Wish me luck on that one!

Monday Morning Meh

The good news is that the scale is showing 153.6. Whew. Back into my comfortable zone. I wasn't sure it would stick around after the weekend I had.

Actually, now that I think about it I guess it wasn't as bad as I thought. Friday night I opted for an appetizer quesadilla instead of the salad at Jack Astors. If I'm going to eat something for 15-20 points, it's not going to be freaking salad. :) It was good and cheesy. I didn't eat anything but a handful of my friend's Nibs at the movie (Mamma Mia was excellent by the way). I only had one drink at dinner, so I didn't feel bad when we went out for another drink after the movie. Worked out not too bad afterall.

Saturday morning I had fully intended to go to the gym, but DBF didn't get the email about waking me up when he got home (he had a 24 hour duty watch), so by the time I got up it was too late. We went for our weekend breakfast at our new favorite restaurant, then had errands to run. I had bacon, eggs, toast and hashbrowns...but it was OK because we didn't really eat for the rest of the day until dinner. I did drink far too much wine over the course of the evening, but such is life.

Yesterday I wasn't feeling much like eating, so stuck with orange juice and coffee to start. DBF did make breakfast so I ate a tiny portion of lean sausage and a few hashbrowns. I took myself shopping while the boys were watching F1...I succumbed to a box of Mike & Ikes but I figured the points would have been spent on lunch anyway so no big deal. I felt better after a latte later in the afternoon, then dinner of a tiny piece of leftover steak and some homemade pasta salad. In the evening I had a bowl of cereal. So although not the healthiest day ever, I think it was still actually OP.

This morning I DRAGGED myself to the gym after dropping DBF off (he's gone for three days...booooo). I actually had to convince myself to get out of the car and go in. The McD's was truly calling me and saying they had a sausage McMuffin with my name on it. But in the end I got myself into the gym and did my full workout. I treated myself to a triple Grande vanilla no-fat latte afterwards (saved 8 points and I'm just as satisfied, plus all caffeinated up!).

I'm not doing any shopping for the next two days so food will be whatever is on hand. Which is lots of stuff!

Today's menu....

- the yummmmy latte
- PC BM bagel with light Laughing Cow & tomato
- watermelon
- tomato & cucumber salad (marinated in light sour cream, dill, salt & pepper) tossed with spinach
- crackers with goat cheese & red pepper jelly
- grapes
- leftover corn on the cob, grilled lean sausage, small serving of homemade pasta salad
- evening snack to be determined

I'm melting...

9:44am and it's already an oven in my office. Me thinks there will be some moving the laptop to the basement today. (Not that it's much cooler down there....and it's messy....hmmmm, must rethink this.)

Good news is that I peeked at the scale just now and I'm under 155. I NEVER peek at the scale. I don't think I EVER have. So you know this extra pudge has been stressing me out. I hope it sticks.

Especially considering that the bad news is that the menu at the pub was completely uninspiring so I ended up order a burger and fries. It was good, but totally not what I had planned to do. I did only have my caesar to drink (not virgin though, I wanted the boooooze!) and stuck with water for the rest of the evening. Then had a tiny freezie when I got home.

Today DBF is on duty all night and I have plans with some girlfriends to go see Mamma Mia. Dinner will be Jack Astors so I plan on a drink or two and a salad (if I can find a friendly one). I'll look at the menu later today.

It's a day off from the gym. I might try to go for a lunchtime walk, but I have to quit work a bit early today so I might not have time. We'll see how it goes for the next two hours.

The menu as it looks so far...

- water
- coffee
- water
- Liberte Muesli yogurt cup & fresh blueberries
- water
- lotsa chopped raw veggies & hummus
- chocobran
- water
- grapes if I need something to tide over to dinner
- more water if I'm not already floating away
- two drinkies and probably the Greek Chicken Salad
(what do you think? it looks the safest to me: http://www.jackastors.com/files/menus/NS/JackAstors_Dinner_en.pdf)
- cheap bitch is bringing her own Sprite Zero to the movie (the only diet options they offer are Coke and I don't like caffeine that late at night, plus it's a rip-off)
- maybe out for another drinky-poo after the movie (vodka/soda)

So. Hot.

Yesterday almost started to slip away from me, but I reeled it back in. I think I ended up over a point or two...but since I am more of an estimator I'll still call it OP for the day. It was so FREAKING hot and muggy yesterday that I was not just sticking to my car seat (black leather + Summer = ewwwwwww) but I was actually sliding off of it. This led me to a Tim Horton's Iced Cap and it was worth every extra point or calorie or whatever.

DBF decided he wanted lobster with his steak so dinner was late and I was getting cranky. I didn't want lobster...or the crazy-ass buttery wine sauce he made for it (although it did end up pretty tasty!) and was annoyed that he decided to this at the last minute. I had a chocobran to tide me over and it seemed to do the trick on the hunger front. I was still cranky because I had a work project pissing me off well after quitting time, but at least I wasn't super hungry anymore. DBF had suggested a walk, but the work thing kept me busy after dinner until about 8:45, then he didn't want to go. So I went without him. :) It was a beautiful night, with a cool magenta streak in the sky. It was only about a 20 minute walk, but it cleared my head and got rid of my crankypants.

This morning I got up and drove DBF again so figured I might as well head to the gym. Cardio day. 60 minutes split between the recumbant bike, treadmill and elliptical. Travelled over 12km today!

Tonight we are meeting some friends for dinner at a pub downtown. The pub's online menu is unavailable at the moment so that is a little scary, but as long as I can talk myself out of fish and chips then I'm sure it will be fine. I'm planning to order a virgin Caesar to drink....mmmmm!

Today's menu....

- Nuts Over Brownie Luna Bar
- coffeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
- watermelon
- last little scrape of Liberte Svelt vanilla yogurt (seriously maybe two tablespoons)
- lunch will be a huge-ass bowl of raw veggies with hummus
- grapes
- chocobran
- Coke Zero with fresh lemons to tide me over til dinner
- dinner out

Maybe a walk around the waterfront......I hope! Depends on whether we like our friend's new boyfriend or not. haha.

Recipe: Choc-o-Brans

This was originally the brainchild of someone over at WeightWatchers, but I use a modified version that was posted by a gal named Maria a couple of years ago. Her blog seems to have disappeared, so here's the recipe....

Ingredients:

3 cups All-Bran Original (not the flakes, they won't work)
2.5 cups boiling water
2 tsp baking powder
4 tsp cocoa (she recommends Ghirardelli, but I just use whatever I have on hand)
1 package Betty Crocker Low-Fat Brownie Mix
cooking spray

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 375F degrees
2. In large bowl, combine All-Bran and boiling water. All-Bran should look like soupy mush.
3. Incorporate baking powder, then cocoa.
4. Fold in brownie mix, half at a time. Stir until mixed, but don't overmix.
5. Divide batter evenly between 18 sprayed muffin tins.
6. Bake for 12-15 minutes, until muffin tops are cracked and toothpick inserted comes out clean.
7. Cool in pan until easy to handle. Completely cool on wire baking rack.

They keep well wrapped in plastic wrap in the fridge for about a week. Also freeze well.

Nutritional Info (can't guarantee accuracy), per muffin:

138 calories
1.2 grams fat
4.8 grams fibre
-> 2 points

Additions:

Things that are yummy to add (recalculate the NI of course!)...nuts of your choice, dried fruit, coconut, mashed banana, shredded zucchini, pumpkin, Cool Whip topping, Betty Crocker Whipped Milk Chocolate Icing....

Enjoy!

Here's the link to the review (with photo!) that I did when I first got the recipe.
http://bi0nicw0man.blogspot.com/2007/04/recipe-review-chocobrans.html

Too. Much. Information.

Yesterday's headache lingered most of the day. I just felt sluggish all day. Boooooo. Work was busy too so no workout for me. Lame. S'OK though cuz I was a good girl and got up this morning and repeated Monday's workout.

After dinner the headache finally went away, but in it's place I got an upset stomach. I have no idea why or what caused it, but let's just say I was spending more quality time on the toitie than I was on the couch. I felt fine otherwise but something was definitely unhappy in there. Still feels a little off....so I imagine this espresso I'm drinking probably wasn't the best idea. Guess I'll find out!

I ended up altering almost my whole menu yesterday. Still totally on track, but I just wasn't feeling what I'd planned. I skipped the peanuty chicken at lunch and opted for a huge bowl of chopped veggies with hummus instead. Then just had cottage cheese for an afternoon snack instead of the Scoops, salsa and Coke Zero. While grocery shopping I got hungry but instead of snacking or overshopping I got a bottle of that flavored water and that held me over until I got home to make dinner. (I'm sort of wondering if the sucralose in the water had something to do with my tummy....but Coke Zero doesn't do that to me....although that's aspartame....oh, who knows....I hate those chemicals but can't seem to break free of them completely.)

I did make chocobrans finally last night (I already had the oven on for dinner so figured I might as well get those going too). I made a dozen regular and a half dozen with banana added. Soooooo good with the banana. I will be making that a regular addition for sure. I want to try them with pumpkin or shredded zucchini next time. That would be freaking fantastic. (Although these could be what set off my evening spent in the can....not that I've ever had a problem with them before.)

Oh, and thanks to Amy posting about her zucchini boats again, I got a craving so made those with some chicken boobies for dinner last night and they were super yummy. I did them in the oven because it was to wet out for the BBQ. Brushed with olive oil, sprinkled with salt, pepper & a little garlic powder....topped with herbed goat cheese for serving. Fan-freaking-tastic. :) Served with a chicken boobie marinated in Newman's Own Italian dressing.

Here's how today is going down:

Exercise: got up early to drive DBF to work and hit the gym.

Treadmill: warmed up with a 4 minute incline walk...then 2 minute jogging/running intervals @ 3.5/4.5/5.5/6 repeated twice. Again I couldn't pull off the second set at 6, but I'm working on it. Cooled down for 3 minutes.

Then did my full strength training routine. There's a new exercise at the end of my routine for arms/back/abs that I'm making progress on. Monday I could only do 6 at a time...today I got through 2 sets of 12. Next time I'm hoping for 2 sets of 15....then eventually I can do 3 sets like the rest of my routine.

Menu:

- SB vanilla Doubleshot on Ice (I know, caffeine after a workout and upset tummy is stupid, but I'm an addict.)
- Liberte yogurt with blueberries
- 1/2 PC BM bagel with smidge of PB and honey
- salad with two tiny pieces of leftover peanuty chicken
- grapes
- Scoops with salsa if I'm hungry in the afternoon
- dinner is yummy BBQ steaks with sauteed mushrooms & onions, roasted baby gold potatoes, and brocolli.
- watermelon
- maybe a chocobran with a glass of skim milk if my tummy is OK

Ha, and as a side note.... I just Googled "chocobrans" to see if I could find where I had posted the recipe in the past and you guys will love this.... it only turns up 8 instances found... first 2 are Mousaroo, second 2 are me, then Amy, then Eurydice. Love it! (of course, turns out I never posted the recipe so I'll have to do that!)

Thanks for the comments...

Haha, yes I think Alli said it best...."The scale is a fickle bitch." Of course, we tend to lead her in that direction, but I like to think that it's not all my fault so let's go with it. :)

Yesterday was a good OP day. Helped that work was busy and I had two teleconferences with my current boss and my new bosses, so I wasn't stuffing my face while trying to sound professional on the phone. :) Also helped that it was warm and muggy which leaves me more thirsty than hungry (usually!).

Dinner was a concoction of peanut chicken and noodles. I found a peanut sauce recipe online that I actually had all of the ingredients on hand for, but it tasted too peanut buttery. Does anyone have a good peanut sauce recipe? DBF ate it, but I think he was just being polite. It was OK, but definitely lacking.

I woke up this morning with a headache steming from my jaw to my temples. Booooo. Hopefully a bit of stretching loosens things up. I plan to either go for a walk or to the gym for some cardio later on....depends on how much work I get done and how this headache feels. At the very least I'm going to try out the DVD that came with this ball I sit on....I'm hoping for some ab work.

Today's menu...hmmm....lemme think....

- coffeeeeeeee
- Liberte Svelt vanilla yogurt with fresh blueberries and crushed vanilla Shreddies
- maybe 1/2 banana if I need it
- leftover peanut chicken with a few noodles
- baby carrots with hummus
- cucumber slices if I'm still hungry
- Coke Zero with fresh limes
- handful Scoops with salsa
- dinner: TBD....hmmmmm.....depends on DBF's sore throat....maybe a trip to the store is in order....need veggies for sure
- still no chocobrans...so maybe a glass of skim milk & a couple of choco chip cookies

Manic Monday

Work is going to be really busy today (well, more than a usual Monday) so I'll make this speedy and to the point.

The scale is an asshole this morning. It tells me 157 lbs. Booooooooooooooooooooo. You may recall that two weeks ago I said I was at the heaviest weight I've been in at least 6 months....but then I lost almost 3 pounds to put me back to the edge of my comfortable maintenance weight. Well thanks to camping and my lack of self control around the candy and peanuts I'm now UP almost FOUR FREAKING POUNDS. That will teach me. Argh.

I did however get up for my morning sweatfest at the gym like a good little girl. I have been inspired by Carolyn and her new love of the jogging, so I'm trying again to work on my treadmilling. Started with a 4 minute incline walk warm-up, then did two minute jogging/running intervals.... 2 mins @ 3.5, 4.5, 5.5, 6.5... then repeated. I couldn't do the last set of 6.5 but I'll get there. Then a three minute cooldown. Followed up with my full strength training routine, which felt awesome but also felt obvious that I only did it ONCE last week. Bad girl.

Menu for today consists of eating up what's on hand....

- coffee is brewing right now
- already downed 1/2 litre of water at gym, another 1/2 litre on it's way in right now
- Liberte vanilla Svelt yogurt with fresh blueberries & handful crushed vanilla Shreddies
- 1/2 banana
- leftover spinach salad with cheese, bacon bits and a few croutons - with light Ranch dressing
- more water
- carrots & cauliflower with hummus
- grapes
- Coke Zero with fresh limes
- handful Scoops & salsa
- did I mention water
- dinner with be something created with chicken boobies....probably served with steamed veggies of some variety.
- glass of skim milk
- I might finally make choco-brans tonight....so either a couple of those with some tea....or a couple of SuperStore Decadent chocolate chip cookies.
- and of course there will be water

Camping = F@*K it! :)

haha, I should never have tried to even pretend that camping could be done on plan. bwahahahahaha. Who was I kidding?! peanuts, and candy, and grease, oh my!!

So totally worth it though. It was sunny and gorgeous the whole time. Just the kind of camping weekend I had hoped for. My tummy isn't really thanking me right now, but I don't care. :)

Monday is yet another new day!

Woooooo...Friday!

So, don't even ask about yesterday. Worked late, no gym, weather was ass so no walk either. Followed up all that non-activity with a little coffee date with DBF, which was great! But it ended with a quick stop at WalMart for DBF to get some ice cream...which wouldn't affect me, but did lead me back to the candy and chips. Argh. Oh well, it was fun while it lasted.

DBF has today off, so again no reason to get up and go to the gym. Mhmmmm. I wonder how I'm going to motivate myself to get up when he's gone for the whole month of August. At least then I will work out more out of boredom.

I am trying to power through work right now so we can attempt to hit up some camping. We tried to book a place yesterday, but since I last looked on Tuesday the place totally filled up...so now we are just taking a chance that the more local location will still have a spot for us when we get there. Probably a risky maneuver on a Friday, but so be it.

I have no menu plan for today... I'll stick to my usually healthy eats for breakfast and lunch, and I'm guessing it will be smokies and smores tonight. :) I am taking my good shoes and plan to do a ton of walking over the weekend. And I'm not packing any freaking candy!

Happy Friday all!

Is it Friday yet?

There may have been some candy last night....hmmmm.....but there was also a walk around the neighborhood (by myself....DBF was helping his buddy build a deck) and I had a smaller dinner than planned and no dessert. Hopefully it all evened out!

This morning DBF doesn't have to work, which led me to be a lazy sack that didn't get out of bed to go to the gym. Boooo. It is much cooler today, so maybe I'll have time to go this afternoon.

Cross your fingers that this grey weather clears up so we can go camping tomorrow!! (Although, apparently now there is a fire ban, so we are checking to see if that includes campgrounds...)

Today's plan is pretty simple...

- coffee
- vanilla Shreddies with vanilla Almond Breeze
- strawberries
- toasted PC BM bagel with hummus, greens, tomatoes, & light cheddar
- pineapple & cottage cheese
- (granola bar if I need it)
- (yogurt if I go to the gym)
- dinner is leftover pork loin chop, Splendido risotto (this stuff is really good!), and steamed veggies
- I plan to make choco-brans tonight, so one or two of those :)


Edit: DBF made lunch for us....grilled cheese sammiches...thankfully it was ff cheese slices, but unfortunately there was A LOT of butter on there.... and cream of mushroom soup made with skim milk. I think I'll be eliminating the risotto from my dinner and sticking to fruit and veggies for my snacks today. It was yum though, so worth it! :)

Too hot to cook...

Yesterday's plan got a bit buggered. Nothing drastic but enough that I'm not going to let myself count it as "on plan". It was soooo freaking hot yesterday afternoon that when DBF went out to run some errands he came back with more Starbucks....thankfully he brought me another 2 point iced bevvie! And it was too stinking hot to cook, so our pork chop & risotto dinner has been saved for tonight. I ended up eating a 100 cal pack of cookies, then made a hugeass salad with chickpeas, light cheddar, bacon bits and yummy croutons. Sooo yummy! But not filling enough because later I went for a big bowl of vanilla Shreddies, then a fudgicle and another 100 cal pack of cookies.

Today is "get lotsa water in me" day and it's cooler so I'll be back on the menu plan...

- cherries
- coffee
- All Bran bar
- pineapple
- salad with chickpeas, light cheddar, chopped deli turkey & ff ranch dressing, 1/2 PC BM bagel with light Laughing Cow & red pepper jelly
- strawberries
- Coke Zero with lime wedges
- dinner is the BBQ pork loin chops, mushroom & onions, mushroom risotto, steamed brocolli and cauliflower
- yogurt or cottage cheese with blueberries

No gym today. But a walk with the doggie (and maybe my honey!) for sure this afternoon/evening.

On Track for Tuesday

It is so much easier to stay motivated when you've been on plan for a week. Love it! I wish I knew what it was that makes it this easy sometimes, and so damn hard at other times. I guess if we knew that none of us would be here!

Got up early and drove DBF to work and hit the gym. Cardio day - so I did a total of an hour. 20 minutes on the treadmill - hill training at varying speeds, then 20 minutes on the elliptical - interval program, then I tried for 10 minutes on the stairmaster but I set it too difficult so I only made it 5 minutes...LOL....but got in a full 10 minutes on the recumbant bike, then a bit of a cooldown. I really wanted to quit almost immediately after I got on the bike, but I toughed it through!

Last night I did a bunch of chores around the house so decided to treat myself to an ice cream from McD's. About double the points of the yogurt and fruit I had planned, but totally worth it and totally within the points for the day since I hadn't counted in my APs when I planned my menu. Yum!

I'm just thinking up my menu for today now....

- Starbucks Grande Vanilla Double Shot on Ice (I finally just looked up the NI, and even with whole milk these are only 100 cals!)
- Liberte muesli yogurt cup with fresh blueberries
- fresh pineapple
- PC BM multigrain & flax bagel with light Laughing Cow, deli turkey, honey mustard & veggies
- scoop of leftover Asian slaw
- cherries
- chunk of low-fat cheddar
- dinner is BBQ'd pork loin chop with mushrooms & onions, Splendido mushroom risotto, steamed brocolli & cauliflower
- grapes & maybe a Creamsicle (but I say that all the time and never have one)

153.6

Woooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!! Today the scale is my friend! Down 2.8lbs since Wednesday. Nice. Goes to show that even with a planned cheat day, the system can work. Yaaieee for Weight Watchers and Yaaieee for me for sticking to my plans. Can you say "holy sigh of relief Batgirl!"?

Oh, and you guys won't believe this, but last night while eating dinner DBF asked me if I'd like to go for a walk around the neighborhood. Oh. My. God. I couldn't believe it! So off we went for a stroll around the area (1.2km for my goal!)....first time he's gone with me since we moved in...SEVEN months ago! Yaaaieeee some more!!

Saturday's trip to Victoria Park in Truro was really beautiful. We didn't get as much exercise as Lynn and her hubby did (funny that we were there at the same time....never saw them though) because we had Mojo the crazy dog with us, and he's not so good with walking around in the scorching sun. We still got a good trail stroll in though. (see my other blog for the photos and such).

Today is back to normal...got up early to drive DBF to work, and hit the gym. 20+ minutes on the elliptical today...ramp interval program, with sprints on the low ramp sections. Then my full strength training routine with some added oblique exercises. Good and sweaty!

I treated myself to another Doubleshot on Ice from Starbucks....cuz it's starting to get hot already....gonna be 29 degrees today (which means about 40 in my office!!). Water and fruit are high on the agenda to keep me hydrated (after my caffeine fix of course).

Monday's Menu:

- SB Doubleshot on Ice
- vanilla Shreddies with vanilla Almond Breeze
- fresh pineapple & blackberries
- deli turkey on multigrain with veggies & honey mustard, served with Asian Slaw (I'm addicted!)
- cucumber sticks, baby carrots
- cherries (and maybe a granola bar if I need it)
- dinner is leftover steak on leftover garlic toast with sauteed onions & mushrooms, probably with more Asian slaw or maybe a corn on the cob
- Liberte vanilla yogurt with fresh blueberries & strawberries

Sunny Sunday

It's sooooo beautiful outside! DBF is off running some errands, then will be home to watch some incredibly loud F1 racing, so I think I'll be heading off to run my errands and enjoy the sun. :)

Last night went pretty well. I opted for a fruit & chicken quesadilla with garden salad instead of the planned spinach salad...but amazingly the points were almost the same. I stuck with water at dinner, and (here's the HUGE NSV) even though I had planned for some DQ after dinner I decided I didn't want it! Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee. I did enjoy ONE glass of wine with my honey even though I was supposed to be "off" booze, but it was the perfect end to the day, so I'm calling it a victory.

Today is back to healthy-girl!

- coffeeeeeeeeeee
- cottage cheese with fresh fruit salad
- packing a Fibre Source granola bar with me
- Starbucks Iced Doubleshot while out shopping (and I've already filled my trusty water bottle)
- dinner is BBQ steak (I just cut a piece off DBF's for my share...) with corn on the cob and yummy salad with cheese & chick peas
- evening snack will be fresh pineapple that I just chopped up, and maybe a creamsicle

Not a lot of activity this weekend, but lots of walking so I'm all cool with it. Hope you all are having a fabulous day!!

Saturday Quickie

A bit of a planned cheat day...and so far, just as I thought! :)

Breaky out: scrambled eggs, bacon, ww toast no butter, few home fries, coffeeeeeeee (I asked for water twice, but it never arrived)

During car ride: water only! (even when tempted at the gas station convenience store...)

At the park: Cherry Slushie - so totally refreshing and fun!

Afternoon snackie: I really wanted some cookies...so opted to skip having an alcoholic bevvie on the deck so I could eat the cookies. :)

Dinner out: heading to Boston Pizza with some friends...home of a great spinach salad!

Hope everyone is having a great day!

As promised...

Another dog walk! Yup, hooray for me. :) After I got back from getting my hair done, DBF promptly fell asleep on the couch...so I decided to take the time to read my book on the deck, then ate dinner nice and late, then took the doggie for his stroll. (Well, actually he takes me, that's why it counts as a workout!). He was pulling pretty hard tonight, so I cut his route short and dropped him off at home then went back out for the long route around the block on my own. WooT!

Today's second post

Ha, only 24 minutes have passed and here I am again. I was so stoked about posting about last night I didn't think to post my usual menu and activity plan.

Well, TGIF right? It's been a long 3 day week! Usually we go out for dinner or order in or something on Fridays, but since we threw caution to the wind all last weekend we won't be doing that tonight. We also usually indulge in a couple of drinkies, but I told DBF I'm off booze for the most part so I think I'll save my drinkies for tomorrow. (of course, this is now...we'll see how I feel at 4pm!)

No gym today. I had intended to try to go, but I'm quite stiff and it really should be a day off today anyway. I'll see how I feel later, but might just sub in a dog walk for today. (Hmmm...maybe while DBF is enjoying his beers on the deck, I'll go to the gym...haha.)

So, the plan thus far is...

- coffeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
- 1 cup fruit salad (banana, plum, blackberries) with 1/2 container leftover Liberte vanilla yogurt with chocolate muesli
- maybe a fibre Eggo if I'm hungry before lunch
- lunch will be a HUGE salad....yummy tender greens, shredded carrots, chickpeas, cucumber, tomatoes, grated light cheddar, light ranch dressing, maybe a few croutons
- 1 yummy homemade cookie
- strawberries
- dinner is leftover turkey sausage on a ww hot dog bun with grainy mustard and maybe some light mayo....served with spuds for my honey and more salad for me
- probably another cookie and some tea tonight
- cottage cheese & pineapple if I'm still hungry

Map My Dog...err, Dog Walk

Last night DBF was invited out to the driving range (well, I was sort of invited too, but it was more of a boys thing and I wasn't really interested), so I thought I would enjoy my night in. Except that you all know what happens when we are left alone unexpectedly...the fridge starts calling us. So I kept busy with a tiny bit of work...then quickly realized that I wasn't interested in working on my off time. Then I thought that I would go ahead and make some cookies for DBF because I promised him I would if it wasn't too hot one night this week...but that set off some alarms for sure! Then finally my brain clicked into gear and I threw on my shoes and grabbed the dog and went for a walk. Duh! When I got back it was late enough that I wouldn't be bored for the rest of the evening AND I earned a few APs so taste-testing the cookies didn't throw me off my plan. Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.

Snack Attack - Genuine Health Bars

While I was picking out that bland coconut snack bar the other day, I also noticed a selection of Genuine Health Bars (I think they were on sale, or at least cheaper, which would be why I noticed them...haha).

They come in a variety of flavours based on the "benefit" they offer.

I chose the Satisfibre+ Express Bar in natural blueberry (actually I think this one only comes in blueberry), but there were several other versions on the shelf to chose from. I picked this one because it listed a decent calorie count (180) with a great fibre content (7gr) and a high protein count (8gr). Next time I would probably try the Protein+ Express Bars because they come in chocolate and vanilla, and would make a better post-gym snack due to their 14gr of protein.

While I wouldn't say these were a tasty treat (like a lemon Luna bar is!) I would probably try them again. It was at least good enough to make me want to try other products by Genuine Health. I found the texture to be a little dry, but I ate it with my morning water or coffee and that did the trick. It wasn't overly fruity...I could taste the nuts, and it was obviously "healthy"...haha. Worth giving a go if you are at all into these things.

Again, this one is all natural, and I think even vegan. Those things can often lead to tasteless, so while this wasn't a home run, it was definitely in the ball park. (crappy analogies end now.)

Just as a funny side-note: when I Googled "Satisfibre Express" my blog ranked higher in the findings than the actual product page...and all I had about it up until now was a mention of it in a couple of my daily menus. haha.

Challenges

Last month:

Finished up the Eight Weeks Til Summer Challenge...as mentioned before, the beginning of the challenge didn't work out too well for me, so I changed it up part way through. In the end, I was pleased to rock my distance goal by 125%....but a little disappointed in myself for dropping the ball on gym days (only 65%).

Also just completed June so it's time to evaluate my Personal Monthly Challenges. I am still getting 3 gym days per week, which is nothing to sneeze at...but since I was previously going 4-5 days per week I had set my goal at 22 days for the month. Ooops....only got 12 days, so that goal was a bust. And I was rocking my distance goal of 75km....right up until this last weekend, where I lost momentum and came up short of my goal. So close, I'm a bit bummed bout that.

Far enough off on everything that I don't think I deserve a prize. No Lulu for me just yet (although I am starting to get desparate for a couple of things, so I might have to come up with a different prize).

...........

This month:

It is a new month afterall, so a new goal is in order. Actually three goals I think...

1) I like the distance challenge, so I'm going for it again. 75km to be travelled in July...in the gym or outside.

2) Instead of a gym goal, I'm going with a workout goal. 20 sounds like a fair number. This can include trips to the gym, bike rides, and walks in the park, on a trail, with the dog as long as they are actually pumping the heart and legs for a decent distance.

3) Watch what I'm shovelling into my mouth. OP for me is not necessarily counting points specifically, but it is staying On Plan...my Plan. No crazy overeating, no boredom eating, minimal spontaneous "treats", stopping when I'm full.

And there you have it!

One day down...

Yesterday went really well, but I'm not going to jump and down and congratulate myself too much (OK, maybe a weeeeeeeee bit!) yet because one day is easy...it's keeping it going for a week or a month that is tough. But I did stay exactly on plan, drank my water, and got to bed early for once. :)

Just a side note.... instead of putting my chopped oranges in my cottage cheese yesterday I put them in my Asian Slaw and it was FREAKING FANTASTIC.

This morning we had to drop my car off for an oil change and such, so again I was up early and got my arse to the gym. Cardio day. 20 minutes treadmill random inclines, level 15 - 20 minutes elliptical glut routine setting - 20 minutes recumbant bike, random, level 8. My ass is gonna hurt later tonight! (12km travelled)

Treated myself to a double tall non-fat vanilla latte from the 'Bucks today. I needed a dairy serving anyway. :)

Today's plan...

- my yummy 3 point latte
- 1/2 of a Satisfibre natural blueberry bar
- strawberries & blackberries
- lunch is leftovers....Asian slaw, few orange segments, chunk of chicken
- 1/2 of a container of Liberte vanilla yogurt with chocolate muesli
- dinner is Sobey's sundried tomato & basil extra lean turkey sausage (so tasty!) grilled on the BBQ, with salad, and steamed brocolli...with Newman's Italian on the salad & a bit of fresh grated parmesan for the brocolli. (maybe a couple of roasted baby potatoes because I promised DBF a starch tonight)
- evening snack - either cottage cheese with pineapple, a creamsicle, or the rest of my yogurt with berries
- and a litre of water with each meal

And there you have it...

I'm officially at the heaviest I've been in at least 6 months. I just looked back through my calendar and nowhere between now and January have I ever gone over the 156lb mark (usually not over 154 if I can help it).....today I am 156.4...boooooooooooooooooo!! My maintenance is supposed to be under 155...my goal was 150, but my body is generally it's happiest at 152-153. Meh. So at least 3 pounds need to take a hike...like NOW!

We had a fun weekend, with LOTS of tasty eats and far too much wine....but today I am back on the straight and narrow. Most of the extra cheese and treats and such have vacated the building (mainly because we ate it at like 11:00 last night!) so aside from a couple of pieces of pizza there isn't too much left to taunt me. I will fit in one piece of pizza as my lunch...and honestly don't care if the rest goes to the trashcan.

I already hit the gym this morning, so that's a great motivational start! I did a sweaty power-walk with random inclines on the treadmill for 25 minutes, followed by a 10 minute random hill ride on the recumbant bike (with a 3 minute cooldown), and a complete set of my strength training routine. I really pushed myself today and was able to up the weights on two more of the exercises. My exercise was non-existant for the long weekend and I'm determined to make it up this week....shouldn't be a problem. :)

On the way home from the gym, I stopped at the grocery store and picked up some fresh produce, dairy, lean meats, etc so there are no excuses for dinners and snacks for the next few days. My friends the fresh fruits have returned and I am sooooo on them! I'll be keeping them company with lots of water....and laying off the booze until I can rehydrate and knock off at least a pound or two...sun or no sun I can drink Coke Zeros with fresh lemons and limes if I need a bevvie on the deck!

And my final hurrah for today is that I stopped for my Starbucks treat after shopping, and I only got a coffee. No latte. No Doubleshot. No tasteless baked good. Just good old coffee! Yaaieeeee!

Today's healthy, yummy, super-duper menu plan:

- 1 litre water already down
- 1/2 of a Satisfibre Express natural blueberry bar
- coffeeeeeeeeeeeee
- plum
- 1% cottage cheese with pineapple tidbits & chopped orange
- lunch will be one slice of leftover Costco pizza with another full litre of water
- last of the cherries and 1 apricot
- baby carrots if I need another snack
- dinner is chicken breasts marinated Asian style grilled on the BBQ, served with steamed asparagus with sesame oil, and that yummy Asian slaw. oh, and another litre of water.
- evening snack...either a creamsicle or blackberries with vanilla yogurt

Woooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!