Happy Halloween!

Also known as "the day the chocolate treaties leave the house". Haha!

So, I'm pretty proud of myself. I thought that there was no way I had time for the gym yesterday. I got up late so I couldn't go in the morning, then I had a massage appointment mid-afternoon which threw off my work day. I worked late to make up for that time, and I still wasn't done by 6:00. I had a bunch of stuff to get done, and decided that they gym was the thing that had to go.

I finished work...ran to Bulk Barn and Sobeys for last minute baking things...came home, baked off the cookies (at least I'd prepped the dough the night before), made dinner at the same time, decorated the cookies, started carving my pumpkin (cleaned and scooped)...then realized that I'd been so efficient that it was only 8:30 so I hauled my ass out the door to the gym. I only had about an hour when I got there, but I made it worthwhile.

25 minutes on the good elliptical, 15 minutes plus 1 minute cooldown on the recumbant bike. Squats, crunches, lunges, and ab twists in between. Nice. I even managed to read another few chapters of my book for book club while I was there.

Home by 10pm to finish carving my pumpkin, had a relaxing shower, and even squeaked in some TV. Whew.

I did manage to eat a few handfuls of candy corn that was leftover from the cookie decorating, but I'd missed lunch earlier in the day so I think that points-wise it all worked out. Again, not the healthiest choice, but I'm not going to dwell on it.

Today I'm trying to be careful so I can have some treats tonight. I got up super late, so I basically eliminated a meal. No gym today since it's Halloween...plus I'm taking days off in between so as to not tighten up my muscles that are trying to get better.

Eats for the day (as far as I can tell so far):

- triple grande no-fat vanilla latte

- Kashi Bar

- Honeycrisp apple

- half of a tomato & cheese sammich

- leftover pork loin chops, sauteed onions and mushrooms, steamed asparagus

- couple of Halloween cookies and maybe some wine at a friend's place tonight

- oh and you know there will be a few chocolate treaties from the treatie bowl!

Cleaning Up

I need to eat cleaner today. I still feel all lethargic from the weekend and I'm sure a lot of it has to do with my lack of fruits, veggies and water...and fresh air. I can cure the produce issue no problem, I'll force the water on myself, and if the weather stays dry I might even attempt a quick walk later today. The weather has been total shit since I got back...the pretty part of Fall is definitely over. I do need to get to the gym tonight too, plus have about a zillion things to do around the house (mainly carving my pumpkins!) so hopefully I can fit it all in.

Considering how much pain I was in when I returned from my trip, my neck/arm thing has been doing remarkably well the last couple of days. Makes me think that Massage Therapy might actually be working. Oh please let it be true! I have another session today to tide me through the weekend and I'm really hoping I only have to go once next week. This is driving me to the poorhouse (and probably the nuthouse!) fast.

Busy workday yet again, so I guess that's all I have time to say today.

Today's eats:

- water
- coffee
- water
- Liberte Muesli yogurt cup (vanilla with apple crunch) & fresh raspberries
- water
- Italian Wedding soup, multigrain toast with Becel
- carrot sticks
- water
- honeycrisp apple & marble cheddar
- water
- poin loin chops grilled on the foreman, sauteed mushrooms & onions, steamed asparagus, glass of skim milk
- tea and ONE Halloween cookie while baking
(- still points enough for a granola bar before or after the gym if needed)

Today's goals: water!, gym, no treat sized chocolate bars

Daily Post

Figured I'd better do my usual daily post in addition to my long winded Vegas menu. I'm sure most of you stopped reading a few lines into that one!

FYI: I'm posting actual trip details over on my other blog. Two days done, two more to go.

First, let me toot my horn about getting to the gym last night. Just like I said I would. Even when work ran late and I didn't want to. I put on my gym clothes and hauled myself over there for a solid and sweaty 65 minutes of cardio...broken up between the good elliptical, the treadmill on inclines, and the recumbant bike...with sets of crunches/squats/ab twists/step-ups in between. Go me.

Eating was so totally OP yesterday too...even including two rolls of rockets as my reward for the day. Of course, not eating dinner until after the gym at 9pm certainly helps curb the evening snacks.

Today has been a bit of a mish-mosh. Opted not to do the gym...only 3-4 days this week, as opposed to the 6 days I was doing before I went away. My neck/arm is doing REALLY well today and I don't want to jinx it! I didn't plan my menu today either so I've been a bit off kilter...but still OP. Need more produce, but it's already 9:30 so I'm not sure that will work out. I still have cookies to bake for Halloween!

- coffee
- PC BM bagel with natural PB and squiggle of honey
- Fibre One bar
- All-Bran bar
- deli turkey sammich on multigrain Vitality bread, with light cheese slice & tomatoes
- 4 treat sized choco bars (I knew I would regret buying the Halloween treats 2 days early!)

I think maybe I'll finish the night off with an apple and cheese....for a bit of dairy and a little more produce. And water....must drink water.

Food for Thought

So I spent a little time considering how I possibly lost weight last week. I know I shouldn't dwell on it, but honestly sometimes the human body is a mysterious thing! I decided to try to list what I ate while I was away, and it helped...turns out that over the 4 days, my calorie intake was actual pretty good. Yay me!

Wednesday:
- Kashi bar & dbl tall no-fat vanilla latte at airport
- BK sausage/egg/cheese english muffin @ Montreal airport
- roll of Mentos and mixed nuts on plane
- couple of Halloween size chocolate bars at hotel (I was starving and it was all I had)
- beef soft taco & refried beans for lunch (didn't eat the rice)
- drank only vodka/sodas at cocktail party, one big scoop of yummy dressed salad topped with big stack of fantastic, fresh crab
- out with the bosses for shared sushi (basically 1 spicy tuna roll and a couple pieces of sashimi) & one $14 cucumber vodka cocktail

Thursday:
- continental breaky spread at exhibit hall: coffee with vanilla syrup & skim milk, OJ, fresh melon & pineapple, croissant & another pastry thingy
- Bill Maher luncheon: salad with champagne vinegrette (so good!), stuffed chicken with some sort of yummy sauce, spinach, fingerling potatoes, just water to drink, about 1/2 of the chocolate mousse cake dessert, and coffee with Splenda and a splash of cream
- afternoon lemonade stand in hall - 2 glasses I think
- we had those Halloween chocolate bars on our booth table, so more than a couple of those (did you know that Americans had no idea what a Coffee Crisp was?)
- exhibit hall cocktail party: couple of vodka/sodas, fresh carved beef for a soft taco piled high with guacamole, tomatoes, cheese and salsa (best year yet for food!)
- 1 glass of champage at after-party

Friday:
- continental breaky spread again: I added a bowl of granola and skim milk to the mix because I wasn't sure when we would get lunch
- definitely a couple more of the Halloween chocolates...damn PB cups!
- late lunch - I really wanted a burger but we were outside and it convinced me to order a club salad instead - blue cheese dressing & bacon on there, but not enough to really be concerned. :)
- late dinner - the bosses took us to Smith & Wollensky - I opted to skip the appy, I ordered the smallest steak (the gorgonzola filet, and it was still 10 oz!), but it was the kind of place where you share the side dishes, so I had a couple of scoops of truffled macaroni and lots of the green beans with walnuts & goat cheese, shared the creme brule trio with my boss, 2 glasses of pinot noir
- couple more vodka/sodas when we stopped a few times while walking up the Strip after dinner (we needed the walk after all that beef!)

Saturday:
- thought I was meeting the bosses for a meal, so I only got coffee in the hotel
- turns out we were just hanging out by the pool, so I waited to eat...finally got a slice of pizza at Caesar's Palace around 2pm, with diet Pepsi (yay me!)
- then I started walking and walking and walking
- stopped around 4:30 for Starbucks - iced grande no-fat vanilla latte & an espresso brownie
- then more walking and walking and walking
- finally decided I should get water & a bag of chips around 7:00 (honestly I think I was just being too cheap to eat a real meal)
- more walking
- at the airport, there were like no options in the new terminal I was in, so I had an order of fries from the only little restaurant available (they had huge sub-sandwiches and I just couldn't face that much food at that time of night)
- then some ginger ale and that tiny little packet of bits n bites on the plane
- after that I think it was just some mixed nuts to tide me over to Halifax, and even then I didn't really eat much when I got home....of course, that's because it was now Sunday afternoon and I needed to sleep! so Sunday's food was next to nothing, which helped even out the rest of the time...so all in all, not the healthiest choices, but it all worked out...apparently. :)

Sleep Deprived

Gah, I just got up. Ya, that's 4 hours late. Guess I'll be working late again. All that lack of sleep in Vegas, combined with the red-eye flight and the 4 time zones really screwed up my sleeping. Lame. Hopefully I can get to sleep properly tonight and put an end to this.

I know you are patiently waiting the tale of my trip, and I promise I will get to it today, but probably not until tonight. Honestly, it's mostly work stuff but I'll do my best to make it interesting. I took next to no pictures, and even the one I took of myself in my dress is blurry. haha.

For now I will just regale you with my menu and plans for today...

- coffee with a bit of hot chocolate mix
- "hot" Mini Wheats (have you seen that commercial yet? they recommend using hot milk. I tried it, it's OK...sucks up the milk too fast!)
- honeycrisp apple (thanks Angie!) with cheddar cheese
- Kashi Bar
- leftover maple salmon and Asian Crunch salad
- vanilla yogurt and fresh raspberries
- maybe a Fibre One bar

I really want to get to the gym today too. I've officially had a week off and if I wait any longer I'll start going backwards! My neck and arm are stiff right now, but my massage yesterday worked great and I felt good most of the afternoon and evening (which is amazing because I was in serious pain from all the flying). I'm sitting with my heat pack right now and if it's loose enough later then I will do my HIIT and strength training. If it's too stiff I'll settle for an hour of cardio instead. Not sure when I will fit it in...I'll have to see how work plays out...but likely right before dinner.

Hello Mr Scale. May I hug you?

Well, the vacation weight reversal strikes again! Those of you that have been reading for a while may remember that somehow I managed to lose weight during my vacation in May....and also during my highly stressful move from Victoria to Halifax. Not sure how it happens, but I did it again.

Weighed in today after I got back from Massage Therapy. I'd had a granola bar and a bit of water, which is about the same as it would be if I weighed in after the gym like I usually do. The scale showed me the amazing 150.6 lbs. Nutty!

That's DOWN 1.2 pounds from last week. I'm floored. Vegas wasn't bad, but it wasn't good either. I guess it's due to my lack of actual calories for the last two days, and maybe my body's reaction to not working out for a week since I'd been working out six days a week. Who knows, but I'll take it!!

Marathon Marie

And Mousearoo makes the Weight Watchers newsletter again! They must know that she's super cool and that we all lurve her very much, so they posted her story one more time for the whole world to see. Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

Feelin' the Love!

OMG! You guys are so great and just too cute! Thanks for all the little messages! I missed you too!

I am exhausted beyond all recognition, but I promise to pull some serious zzz's so I can write you a long, detailed blog about my long, detailed week!

Food was bad, but not a disaster. The dress was a hit, and I wish I'd had a second one for the second party. There was no exercise until yesterday when I had 7 hours to kill so I walked up and down the Strip almost the entire time. Sleep was hard to come by, so I enjoyed every minute I got...which is good because I have only slept about 4 hours since I got up on Saturday morning. Now I'm going back to sleep and won't get up until I have to on Monday.

So here's the deal...

I just ate McDonald's for dinner. (Who knew how freaking HUGE a large fries is? I ate em all anyway!) Yes, I have leftovers in the fridge I could've eaten, but I was out and scrambling and the drive-thru was right there.

*sigh*

Not the start to Vegas week that I had anticipated. Oh well.

The plan for tomorrow:

- I have to be at the airport by about 4:45am, so if there's any food at all it will only be a Kashi bar (too early for food!). Water in the car on the way there (gotta hydrate early!) Maybe a juice once I'm through security and waiting at the gate.

- Layover for two hours in Montreal...so this will be where I seek out Starbucks and probably some kind of sandwich. I'll pick up some Mentos and another snack for the longer flight to Vegas. Also, more water for the flight (they never bring enough when they come around).

- There will be ginger ale. It's my "thing" when I fly.

- Once I'm in Vegas, I'm meeting the bosses for lunch. I will eat whatever I damn well please because I'll be tired and grouchy. Must put on happy face for the new honchos.

- Then I get to have a glorious nap and a glorious shower. Woooooo.

- Followed by a fun cocktail party with free drinkies and tasty appies and such....wearing my new SIZE FREAKING 4 dress and fun gold strappy shoes. :)

- Then I will fall down and sleep until having to get up at 5:30am for a 14 hour work day. Yippee.

The gym momentum continues...

I almost didn't make it to the gym last night. I had arranged for my neighbors to pop by around 7pm so I could show their daughter a few things about looking after my cat while I'm away this week, but they were running late and didn't make it over until around 8pm. I used the time to do some chores and a bit of work, but I thought that I would probably have to skip the gym because it was getting late. It was around 8:30 when they left...and I did momentarily sit on the couch, but then like a good girl I grabbed my book and my water and headed out.

The gym starts shutting things down at about 9:45 so I really only had about 45 minutes, but that was fine. I only wanted a cardio night, so I did 20 minutes on the treadmill, 20 minutes on the good elliptical, and managed to squeak in 10 minutes on the recumbant bike. Pretty happy with that. I was OP food-wise too, so that's an added bonus.

I won't be going to the gym today though. Too many last minute trip things to do, and quite a bit of work to get done today. And I want to get to bed at a good time, since I have to be out the door for the airport at 4:30am. Blech.

Today's eats involve eating whatever is left in the fridge and requires minimal clean up...

- double tall non-fat vanilla latte
- Kashi Bar
- small Ancient Grains tortilla with deli turkey, honey dijon, salad greens & cranberry sauce
- Liberte Svelt vanilla yogurt
- fresh pineapple
- butternut pasta bake, with tossed salad
- some sort of evening snacky while I finish packing

Apparently the exercise is paying off!

151.8 this morning, which is down 2.4 pounds. I truly thought it wasn't going to happen because I've been eating like crazy this week. Especially yesterday...it was a big ol' carbfest up in here. I'm so stoked that all my extra cardio efforts have paid off!

I took the day off from the gym yesterday because my neck/arm were really bugging me and I had lots of errands to take care of. I figured the back-to-back Friday night/Saturday afternoon sweatfests were good enough. I did try to go for a walk in the afternoon yesterday, but it was too cold and I wasn't dressed appropriately so I only lasted about 20 minutes. Better than a kick in the pants though. :)

Last night I made a modified version of a recipe I saw on Rachel Ray the other day. They call it Butternut Bowties, but since I made mine with rotini I guess it needs a new name. :) I had a butternut squash I needed to use up before I go away so I thought I'd give it a go. Pretty good, but as I have found lately with a lot of RR recipes, it could definitely use more seasoning. I added some cooked, crumbled hot Italian Sausage to give it something different. I also stirred most of the Parmesan into the mixture before putting it in the baking dish. It made 8 pretty decent sized servings, so I ate 2 (yikes!), kept 2 out for dinners before I go away, and froze the rest. (Oh, by the way, the ingredient list fails to mention the pasta! I used a 454g box of Catelli Smart rotini.) Next time I'll fiddle with the seasonings and maybe add sauteed garlic and onions.

I told my massage therapist that I'm going to lay off any strength training between now and my flight so that I don't have any uneccessary stiffness and he agreed that it's a good idea, so tonight I will hit up the gym for about 45 mins of cardio only. I'll see how tomorrow plays out and I might do the same.

Today's eats...cleaning out the fridge!...

- ww English Muffin with egg salad (1 boiled egg, 1 tbsp light Miracle Whip, green onion)
- coffee
- finish up the Artic Kiwis
- tossed salad with deli turkey & light Ranch dressing
- Fibre One bar (Sobey's had them on for $2, I couldn't pass them up!)
- Butternut Pasta, served with steamed brocolli & carrots
- fresh pineapple
- maybe another granola bar or something

Lots of water on the advice of my massage therapist.

Blog Girls G2G

Last night we Halifax bloggers finally got together. We've been talking about it since I moved here in January (and the local girls were probably talking about it before that!) and we've been trying to plan it for a couple of months now. Finally we made it happen!

Lynn, Angie, Roxy, Heather, and I hit up Hamachi House for the best sushi ever! We ordered up what we thought was a ton of food, and enjoyed every last bit of it. And when the bill came we were even happier! Gotta love sharing! I also learned that I actually know quite a bit about sushi. haha, I never knew that I knew anything until the girls started asking questions.

It was a fantastic time, and I can't wait to do it again. We promise not to wait 8 months this time. :)

Picture courtesy of Lynn:

Heather, Lynn, me, Angie & Roxy (haha, I look so extra tall back there!)

I opened the candy corn

Gah. I bought candy corn like two weeks ago (maybe more?) because I had an idea to use it for a decoration. I should've known better. For two weeks it's been taunting from it's little plastic container, but I was good. As long as it was closed I didn't have an issue.

So why did I open it yesterday? Cuz I was cranky and bored. Bad. Bad. Bad. And grabbing by the handful didn't help. Try counting that...not easy.

But..... you know what? I felt so crappy and guilty about it, that last night I got off my ass and went to the gym. Yup, at 8:00pm I could see that my cranky mood wasn't going away on it's own so I dragged myself out the door and to the gym. By the time I got there I only had about an hour and a half to work out, but I got in a full 45+ mins of cardio and two sets of squats, lunges, crunches, etc. Felt good and I'm proud of myself.

Still ate way too much yesterday, but sure don't feel near so guilty anymore.

And now....off to the gym again for a little cardio and my full strength training routine!

I admit it...

...I had McD's for lunch yesterday. I was in such a hurry and totally starving...my choices at the time were Tim Horton's or McDonald's. I chose McD's because I figured for the points I would rather have a cheeseburger than a bagel with crappy cream cheese. Of course, I got a small fries too though. Oh well.

I was a good girl and had salad with my dinner though. :) (I honestly think I could pass off a Smart Ones raviolli on DBF and he wouldn't know it was WW...just a thought I had.)

It's pretty grey and gloomy outside today. Too bad because I actually have time for a lunchtime walk....maybe it will clear up enough to go by noon. Crossing my fingers. If not, I'm going to make an effort to finish work early today (since I ended up working until 10:00 last night to make up for missing time for my appointments yesterday) and get to the gym before dinner. I need a good blast of cardio and sweat.

I wanted to try to set my desk up a little more ergonomic this morning (for those of you that don't know, I use a laptop and I really should have the screen up a lot higher and the keyboard a lot lower....I'm working on a plan to get a new desktop sooner rather than later) but I can't find my external keyboard. It's packed away with a lot of the stuff we haven't sorted from the move and I tried digging through some of it this morning but to no avail. Boo. Maybe I'll try looking again in a little while when I'm not so stiff from sleeping all night.

Hmmm...I'm kinda grouchy today. Maybe I'll snap out of it when I eat!

Today's eats...

- coffee
- egg salad on ww english muffin
- Arctic kiwis (has anyone tried these? they are little grape-sized fur-less kiwis...yummy)
- small Ancient Grains wrap with deli turkey, real cheddar, salad greens, tomatoes & honey dijon
- carrot sticks
- choco milk before the gym
- dinner is a freezer surprise...haha...thawing out a few containers to see what I can whip together....chicken, veggies and rice I think.
- fresh pineapple, maybe some yogurt

In a Hurry

Well, I just used up all my blogging time by reading all of your blogs, so this will have to be quick!

Had a chiro appointment this morning...things are going well, but that arm pain just isn't subsiding. Chiro set me up with the massage therapist in his office, who is sure that I have an issue with my rotator cuff (hello mousing all day and driving a stick shift!) and the muscles and muscles casing that go with it. I'm going back at 1:00 for my first session with him...I have faith that this might be the answer.

Did I mention that all of this is costing me a bloody fortune (even with the insurance I get through DBF's work)?! Lame.

Then after that I have a meeting with my financial advisor. Scary. I wonder how my investments are looking these days. Not sure I actually want to know.

Due to all of that, I'll probably be skipping the gym today since I'll have to recoup after massage plus make up all of this missed work time. Fine with me, it's only cardio day anyway. I went last night and worked my ass off.

So, my plan is totally off the cuff....I don't see any cooking in my day that's for sure!

Goal for today: lots and lots of water

Today's eats such as I can see so far:

- 1/2 serving of Arthur's Very Berry Smoothie
- triple grande vanilla non-fat latte
- Kashi granola bar
- toasted ww english muffin with real cheese & tomato
- carrot sticks
- rest of smoothie
- WW Smart Ones raviolli & huge side salad
- yogurt and whatever fruit/berries I pick up today

Vanity Sizing

Boy is my shoulder stiff today. Thankfully my chiro gave me a day off in between appointments!

I managed to squeak in a sweaty 25 minute jaunt on the elliptical at the gym last night. I went in planning on doing about 45 minutes, but I had other things to do so couldn't stay. It was a good workout for the time though. I'm really enjoying the good elliptical right now (I call it the "good" elliptical because the gym has two types and I find the stride too short on the other ones.) It has all sorts of different settings, and I usually use the variable cross-country, but last night I used the straight intervals and it was a good workout for my legs.

Does anyone else shop at RW&Co fairly regularly? Have you noticed any changes in their sizing? I have bought work clothes there on and off for years...and I used to be at least a size 10...sometimes a 12 depending on the fit of the pants/skirt. Then when I started losing weight I was more like an 8, sometimes 10. I have noticed that often I wear a small shirt there now...but not always. Anyway, I was in there on Saturday trying on every dress on the rack and I was picking up 8s, but the girl was grabbing 6s...and in the end I bought a SIZE FREAKING 4!!! Seriously, even if that's vanity sizing, it's amazing. The dress is a form fitting strapless on top, with a bit of a flaired skirt...quite simple...but I'm still having trouble believing it's a 4.

The dress pants I got are a size 8, and the pencil skirt is a size 6. I bought a size 8 straight skirt there in February and it's already sloppy big around the waist, which I found odd. My weight has maintained so I'm guessing I've lost inches around the middle. I don't notice in my jeans, etc because I wear them more around my hips. I ran into my trainer last night and asked her if she could pull my measurements from when I started the gym in March so I can get remeasured and see what the deal is.

Anyway, today's plan is for another lovely walk at lunch (it was crisp, slightly warm and gorgeous yesterday!) and then hopefully a proper cardio/strength workout after work.

Today's eats...

- Kashi Crunch with vanilla Almond Breeze
- coffeeeeeeeeee
- grapes
- toasted ww english muffin with egg salad
- carrot sticks
- mini-banana
- leftover pork loin chop, steamed brocolli, roasted spuds
- club soda cupcake

Today's goals...3 litres of water, walk, stay on plan

PS: I finally updated my other blog if you are interested...

Tuesday already?

I have three days worth of stuff to catch up on, and believe me I have a lot to say! But work is swamped due to the long weekend, so I'll post today's info now and come back later for the weekend recap.

Getting to the gym during the day is going to be tough, but I'll try. As mentioned I have a mound of work to get through, plus a call with my boss right smack in the middle of my day so I might have to wait until this evening. I'm fine with that as long as my chiropractor is fine with that....I have an appointment with him at 5:30 and I'm always leary about doing strength training right after a treatment. Either way, I can still at least do cardio....I hope! The sun is out today so I can definitely find time at lunch for a brisk walk around the neighborhood. I didn't get out for that this weekend like I had hoped, so now's a good time!

My arm/neck/shoulder is still buggered but it does definitely seem better and the radiating pain down my arm is a lot less frequent. Hopefully today's session at the chiro is the one that finally releases that muscle and starts the healing process. If not, my chiro has suggested I try massage therapy...which I'm all over because in a week I have to sit on an airplane for like 8 hours and I do not want to be this uncomfortable!

Activity this weekend was really good. Eating not so much, but I was down on the scale yesterday morning... 153.8... which is a 2.2 pound loss this week so I'm pretty stoked about that. If I can lose 2 more pounds this week I'll be happy for my business trip to Vegas. I have new clothes and want them to fit their best!

There were a few indescretions due to boredom last night...some club soda cupcakes, some candy, and a bowl of chips and dip that I soooo did not need. Yet more food waste when I crammed the rest of the chips into the garbage can. Stooooopid chips. Buh-bye! I hate wasting food...why do I even buy that shit?! Now there are no temptations left in the house, so all is well for the work week. :) Need to save myself for the GTG on Saturday!

Today's goals: walk at lunch, some sort of gym activity, 3 litres of water, stay on plan

Today's menu...

- Kashi Crunch with vanilla Almond Breeze
- coffeeeeeeeeeee
- grapes
- egg salad on toasted english muffin
- carrot sticks
- mini banana
- Wolfgang Puck Chicken Noodle Soup
- sesame rice crackers & real cheddar
- strawberries & vanilla Liberte Svelt yogurt
- club soda cupcake if I go to the gym and earn it

Who throws fresh made Rice Krispie squares in the trash?

I do! I do!

Last night I was invited over to a girlfriend's place. They do a weekly girl's night to watch Grey's Anatomy...which I don't really follow...but it's more of a social thing anyway so I thought I'd go. So I made a batch of peanut butter Rice Krispie squares to take over. But when I showed up, there was only three of us! So I ate a couple and they ate a couple, but then my friend sent me home with the rest of them....which of course called my name from the kitchen counter and convinced me I should eat a couple more. Well that was enough of that, so while finishing my dishes before bed, I pulled two small ones off the plate and wrapped them up for the weekend and then threw the remainder in the garbage. Buh-bye!

Two days of chiro treatments left me freaking stiff and sore, so I chose not to go to the gym yesterday. My body was telling me it needed a day off. Fine by me. I'll head there today for cardio, then tomorrow for a proper HIIT and strength training workout. It's gorgeous outside today, so if it stays that way I'll hopefully be mowing our lawn for the final time of the year too.

The purple cauliflower actually came from Sobey's. They had orange, green, or purple. It didn't really taste any different...maybe a bit sweeter, but that could be my mind playing tricks on me just because I expected it to maybe taste different. Either way, it was good and looked all fun mixed with the green brocolli!

Yaaieeeee....long weekend! I don't always get the Canadian long weekends because the company I work for deals with mainly American clients...but it's also Columbus Day in the US so it's a good weekend for me. No turkey dinner unfortunately because DBF is away and all that work for one person is silly...but I might pick up a turkey breast and make myself some turkey soup or something. And maybe a small apple crumble just to feel a little Fall festivity. We shall see. (Conveniently my gym is open on Sunday & Monday so if I feel like indulging I can still earn some APs!)

Today's goals: 3 litres of water, stay OP, exercise of some variety

Today's eats...

- coffee
- Red River cereal with 1/2 banana & natural pb
- grapes
- toasted cheese & tomato sammich, pickles
- apple w/ light Laughing Cow wedge
- zucchini choc bran muffin
- Smart Ones raviolli, mixed greens salad
- maybe a treat after shopping tonight....yogurt & berries?

Purple Cauliflower

Yes, you read that right...purple cauliflower was on my dinner plate last night. And boy was it tasty!

Yesterday was another great OP day. In fact, I even missed one of my snacks and it didn't even phase me...probably because of all the water I've been drinking. I thought I wasn't going to get my last 1/2 litre in, but then my Mom phoned right at bedtime so I ended up finishing up my water while chatting with her.

My workout yesterday was excellent too. I managed to get to the gym in the middle of my work afternoon, which was good because I had to do a couple hours of work last night so it was a good trade-off.

I went to the chiro again (and will go again today). I cannot wait for this thing to finally relax and release. I've had similar problems before but never anything that held on this long or caused this kind of pain. It can actually bring tears to my eyes in certain situations and it has been dragging on sooooo long I just really want it to go away. He thinks maybe two more sessions and it should let go, but of course he doesn't know that for sure. Either way, it's costing a small fortune....especially since I'll have to keep going for a while to make sure it doesn't keep happening. Stupid body.

Oh, and I asked him about my gym stuff and he says I'm not doing anything I shouldn't be so I can keep going and doing what I do. Whew.

Today I'll try to get to the gym in the afternoon for cardio day. Funny how both of my cardio days the weather has been crappy so I haven't been able to just go for a nice walk this week. It was nice yesterday but of course I didn't have the time to enjoy it. Ah well, I actually like being at the gym because I walk/workout harder than I would strolling by the lake. It's just not as pretty!

Dinner plans are for a small steak I found in the freezer with more steamed brocolli & purple cauliflower. This might change though because if I feel OK after my 5:30 chiro appointment, I'm going to head to the mall and start shopping for clothes for my business trip. (Bad thing about working from home most of the time is that I never have appropriate clothing for these trade shows!) If I do that, then either sushi or Subway will likely be for dinner.

Today's goals: 3 litres of water, 1 hour of cardio, stay OP, healthy dinner choice

Menu....

- Red River cereal with pumpkin, raisins & brown sugar

- coffee

- grapes

- homemade butternut squash soup, ww toast w/ melted marble cheddar

- apple w/ light Laughing Cow wedge

- zucchini choc chip bran muffin

- either steak & veggies or mall food fair

- Liberte Svelt vanilla yogurt with strawberries

Warm in my tummy

This morning I'm back to my Red River cereal with mushed banana and PB. The yogurt concoction from yesterday did end up keeping me full for a good long time, but it's chilly this week and I wanted something warm. I found the pumpkin a bit bitter too so I'll really have to be in the mood for it I think.

Yesterday was a good day. My friend never called to go for that walk...I'm assuming because the weather in the afternoon was cold and blustery...but that's fine because I couldn't have skipped out of work anyway. Instead I worked until 5:30 then headed off to the gym for just after 6:00. I had a FABULOUS cardio workout.

I did 20 minutes on the good elliptical, 20 minutes on the recumbent bike, and 20 minutes power walk on the treadmill with an incline. After each machine I stopped and did a set of 15 crunches, 15 step-ups with weights, and 15 squats with the 3kg medicine ball. Felt good. (Well, my screwed up shoulder/neck/arm/muscle/whatever still doesn't like it but it doesn't like anything!)

Also stayed easily OP. In fact, I had to talk myself into my muffin treat last night since I'd eaten dinner so late. But with the workout I didn't want to undereat, so I crammed it in. :) I also crammed in my last glass of water to make my full 3 litres for the day.

My cold is subsiding but now I have that lovely flemmy throat and I'm constantly clearing it. I hate that. Glad I'm home alone and no one has to listen to me. I'm a wreck, eh? Sore shoulder, stupid cold, meh. haha.

I'll be doing the gym at lunchtime today if I can manage to get my work done. Should be interesting. I'll probably have to cut my cardio time in half and maybe only 2 sets of strength training instead of 3. I should have gone this morning, but I was pooped and managed to shut my alarm off and slept in. I can't go tonight because of a poorly timed chiropractor appointment and meeting. Oh well, I'll do my best.

Today's goals: 3 litres of water, some form of gym time, stay OP

Today's eats....

- Red River cereal with 1/2 banana & 1 tsp natural PB
- coffee
- Liberte Svelt vanilla yogurt with strawberries
- leftover 1/2 Bolthouse smoothie on way home from gym
- one more turkey sammich on whole wheat with light cream cheese, tomatoes & salad greens
- grapes
- sesame rice crackers & marble cheddar (to hold me over through chiro meeting until late dinner)
- sauteed garlic shrimp with steamed brocolli & cauliflower
- pumpkin pecan bran muffin

Breakfast a la Mandy

I decided to try out Mandy's faithful breakfast today since I have a fresh batch of muffins, some leftover pumpkin, and some yummy yogurt in my fridge.

I mixed 1/3 cup of pumpkin (slightly warmed in the microwave to take the chill off) with 2/3 cup of Liberte Svelt vanilla yogurt (best yogurt ever). Then I crumbled up one of my fresh pumpkin pecan bran muffins and stirred it in. Pretty tasty. Could use maybe a little brown sugar but I decided not to use it. I'm skeptical about this keeping me full for a few hours, but only time will tell.

You'll all be happy to hear that I made it through yesterday completely OP. I came up short just 1 glass of water shy of my 3 litres, but if that's the worst of it then I call it a success. Funny how being sick makes you less hungry...I guess that's the bright side of a cold. I also kept really busy and ate my dinner a bit late so I didn't really have the opportunity to think about evening snacking. I did taste-test one muffin, but I'd planned for it so alllll goooood.

This morning I woke up late (typical!) so no cardio for me yet. I'm going to work diligently after I finish this post and get my coffee so I can hopefully go for a good long walk this afternoon. My girlfriend is off work and asked if I'd like to go walk along the local trail with her and her dog. Hopefully work allows it. (boooo, I miss my dog....) If I don't do that, then I'll hit the gym for an hour of cardio this evening. Or maybe I'll do both.

Oh, and one last thing, I have some cutie-patootie little frog stickers for my calendar and I'm looking forward to giving myself one every day between now and Vegas (Oct 22) for staying on my daily plan.

Thanks for all of the grrrrreat support yesterday girls. I just thrive on it, and I know those comments will help me drop this weight before I head off on my business trip. Love you!

Today...

- pumpkin/yogurt/muffin concoction
- coffeeeeeee
- turkey sammich...on ww bread with light cream cheese, salad greens & tomatoes
- apple with light Laughing Cow wedge
- exact same dinner as last night....leftover salad, leftover roasted buttercup squash, Nutrigrain chicken nuggets
- tea & choc zucchini bran muffin
- grapes if I feel snacky

Today's goals: stay on plan, at least 1 hour exercise, 3 litres of water

Seriously

Yes people, seriously it's time to get serious!!

The last month has truly been a free-for-all. I can't remember the last time I actually stayed OP. I think it happened once since my Mom's visit...and that was a month ago! I have no one to blame for what I saw on the scale this morning but myself. 156. Ugh. That's up another 2.2lbs from last week...and as high as I'm ever willing to go. It's so sad that I spent all of August bringing myself down to 150, only to let it go racing back up again. Well not any more dammit!

DBF left this morning for 33 days at sea. Yuck. The only good part is that now my menus and schedule are totally flexible. Funny how he was on a diet and lost 10lbs in just over two weeks, but I managed to gain. My gym time went out the window because I was staying home to spend time with him in the evenings, and my eating habits sucked because I was paying more attention to what he was eating than I was to myself. No more distractions!

I already went to the gym this morning after I dropped him off (with a full-on head cold that started yesterday...but I had a plan and I wasn't changing it just because I am sick!). HIIT on the cross-trainer, followed by my full strength training routine. Later today I will go for a walk, and then tonight I have a chiro appointment so I'll have to take it easy.

After the gym, I stopped at Sobey's and stocked up on massive amounts of produce and other healthy things. I overdid it once again, but I definitely have no excuses for good lunches or dinners for the next week. Veggies are the main ingredient, with the meat and sauces being the side dishes. Time to burn off some of those extra pounds!

I'm going to make up a split batch of bran muffins tonight for snacks. Half dozen zucchini & choc chip. Other half dozen pumpkin & pecan. Yummmmmm.

Seriously.

Today's goals: 3 litres water, stay OP

Today's eats....

- pre-gym: 1/2 Fibre Source granola bar
- post -gym: other 1/2
- Red River cereal with pumpkin & brown sugar
- 1 serving Bolthouse banana berry smoothie
- coffee
- 1/2 ww pita warmed and stuffed with ff roasted turkey, 1/2 oz real cheddar, salad greens, tomatoes & honey dijon
- apple with light Laughing Cow wedge
- roasted buttercup squash, salad, & Nutrigrain chicken nuggets
- grapes if I'm snacky
- maybe a taste-test muffin

Recipe - Rachel Ray Turkey Burgers

I got a Rachel Ray cookbook for Christmas a few years ago. I've tagged about 20 recipes I want to try, but this turkey burger recipe is the only one I've ever actually made. And it's a big hit around here. When in doubt, I always defer to this one. DBF actually requests it on occasion.

1 lb extra lean ground turkey (or chicken if that's your thing)
2-3 green onions, chopped
4 oz extra old white cheddar, crumbled (light cheddar does NOT work the same, however light Babybel did the trick)
eyeballed handful of grill seasoning (like Montreal Steak Spice)
2 tbsp horseradish
4 buns
grainy mustard
optional: mayo, tomato, lettuce, etc

Note: these have to be grilled on a Foreman or some such appliance (or in a frying pan) because if you cook them on a regular BBQ type grill, the cheese just drips through the grates and is lost.

Preheat grill.

Mix together (with your hands people!) the meat, onions, cheese, seasoning & horseradish. Divide into four even balls and form into patties.
Grill (3-4 minutes per side).

The original recipe recommends cranberry sauce and the grainy mustard. We use light mayo and the grainy mustard, and top ours with tomato slices (and lettuce if we have it).

The grainy mustard on the bun, mixed with the flavor of the cheese and the horseradish in the burger is fab. You really shouldn't leave out the grainy mustard!

That's it! So yummmm!

Babybel to the Rescue

Last night's dinner was homemade chicken burgers (Superstore was out of ground turkey again!). I have this GREAT Rachel Ray turkey burger recipe that we love, but it includes a generous portion of old white cheddar and we were worried that they wouldn't turn out without our beloved cheesy goodness. But we subbed in one light Babybel per burger and it worked like a hot damn. Nice. The cheese is chopped up and mushed right into the burger, so when they are cooked up on the Foreman grill it gets all gooey and toasty. Soooo yum. Much better than just a stinky ol cheese slice on top.

I also made some potato wedges. I parboiled some spuds, then coated the wedges with some egg whites and seasonings. Cooked on a very well sprayed baking pan at about 400 or so until they got crispy. Not too shabby.

No big plans thought up for today. I have a hair appointment for a trim after work so dinner will be late. I'd like to just grab some take-out or maybe some salads from the grocery store, but we'll see. Maybe DBF will make something...hahahahahahaha.

It's quite lovely outside today, so I'm going to try to burn through some work right now so I can go for a walk at lunch. No gym for me today so I gotta do something. In fact, the gym probably won't happen this weekend since DBF is leaving on Monday and won't be back until Hell freezes over....stooopid Navy schedule. I'll have TONS of time to hit the gym for the next month, so I don't feel bad about missing a day this weekend. Well, maybe a little bad, but not enough to give up time with my boy. :)

Hmmm....menu thoughts for today...

- coffee
- All Bran Bar
- apple
- veggie sammich...that one yesterday was super yummy! (light cream cheese is the key!)
- Knorr Rustic Veg soup (awww....an Autumn fave)
- sesame rice crackers & light Laughing Cow
- dinner TBD...maybe Subway, maybe sushi, maybe I'll get creative in the kitchen
- probably a bowl of cereal later

Edit: DBF just brought me home Subway...not a healthy sub though...but I hadn't eaten lunch yet so I scarfed it down. I guess dinner will definitely have to be vegerific now!

See...I told you the squeaky wheel gets the grease!

Ha! Thanks to all of you that showed the love and started "following" yesterday. I feel sooooo special now. hehehehe :)

So, since Karen was able to rip off her band-aid and admit to her eating mishap last night, I too will admit that for some Godforsaken reason I indulged in a massive serving of nachos last night after Blue Man Group. I agreed to share, thinking the plate wouldn't be huge and that the boys might help out...but noooooo, it was gianormous and us girls were the only two eating them. Kudos to DBF for sticking to his diet plan and enjoying his beers as his treat....and boooo to me for not sticking to my plan and shovelling that crap into my piehole.

Oh well, it's done now.

This morning I took that binge as motivation and when I hit the gym, I hit it harder than I have it a while. Interval cardio on the elliptical, including hills....followed by my ENTIRE strength training routine. Yes, ENTIRE. The whole thing. Not just the parts I felt like doing. And not just half-assing it. Nice!

I also started with my new chiropractor today, and after just one session I can already tell it's helping. I have to wait until Monday to see him again, but hopefully this weekend is a lot less painful than last weekend was.

My menu plan is totally out of whack today....I'm actually starving right now!

- pre-gym: 1/2 banana
- Starbucks double tall non-fat vanilla latte
- and that's all I've had so far!!!

- veggie sammich....high fibre ww bread, light Laughing Cow, tomatoes, cukes, spinach
- apple
- zucchini bran muffin
- dinner TBD: maybe turkey burgers....
- some sort of evening snack

(hmmm....not a very good plan...it's really only part of a plan....hmmmm)

Chiro

I hope you all saw the sarcasm in my last post!

Not a lot to report on today. No gym today because my arm is in major pain, I slept in, I have yet another conference call so I can't skip out in the middle of the day, and we are off to Blue Man Group right after dinner tonight. :)

Thank God I'm trying out a new chiropractor tomorrow morning. I'm hoping he is more like my old chiro back home...good old school cracking and twisting! The woman I have been seeing is great, but she doesn't do much in the way of manual manipulation. She uses her activator device and a lot of massage....which has helped with my jaw and headaches, and feels great...but has not solved my rib/arm/shoulder issue at all....and that's the most painful!

Oh, does anyone have luck freezing leftover canned pumpkin? I had a couple of containers in the freezer, but when I thawed one for yesterday morning it was gross....all separated and lumpy.

Today's menu....

- Red River cereal with 1/2 banana & natural PB
- coffee
- leftover spinach salad, ww pita & tzatziki
- zucchini bran muffin
- grilled tenderloin steak, corn on the cob
- a drink or a treatie at Blue Man Group

Following the Blogger

So yesterday I had 12 followers, and today I only have 11. Booooo. Someone decided I wasn't follow-worthy? Laaaame. haha.

Does anyone else feel like it's a popularity contest?

I want LOTS of followers!

Come one, lurkers....folloooooooooow me.

bwahahahahaha :)