The Day of Truth - What Did You Eat Today? Day 7

And so the week comes to a close and today was the day of truth.  Did my super-OCD tracking do the trick?  Did I eat too many carbs?

I lost 3 lbs when I weighed in this morning.  THREE WHOLE POUNDS! YES!  So to answer my questions, yes, super-OCD tracking worked.  And no, it appears that if I don't eat the extra weekly points, that I can eat as many carbs as I did this week and still lose.  Of course, I still made sure to exercise and get the Good Health Guidelines checked off (except the oils, I just can't seem to get those oils in. And I can't seem to mix them with anything that hides the taste of the oil enough that I don't want to hurl.)

GAH! I am so exited! As it stands, if I lose 2.6 lbs this week, I will have lost 10 pounds.  Of course, that just motivates me even more! In part because of this success, and in part of my OCD crazy, I have set two new goals for my weight-loss progress.  And they are thus:

1. Be at goal by my birthday (29 May 2012)

To do that I have to lose 61.2 lbs.  Which leads to my next goal:

2. Losing 30.7 lbs by 1 January 2012.

This seems to be a good mile marker to mark my progress by.  I have 38 weeks to accomplish this goal because my birthday is on a Tuesday, two days before the end of week 39, I can't count week 39, but all days leading up to my birthday count.  It would mean that I have to lose about 1.6 lbs per week.  I think this is one of the first times I have set an actual, realizable goal for my weight loss. Wow.  Look at me, I'm all grown up and realistic!

Another thing that I have realized is that by posting my daily tracker here, I feel much more accountable to stay on plan than ever.  Today I was doing some baking for this weekend, and before I would eat something, I would think, "Do I want to have to put that out in cyberspace?"  It is strangely liberating to have that extra accountability.  I'm going to put some thinking in to how I'm going to continue to do that and incorporate it into the blog as well.  If I could just figure out how to make the other pages have actual posts in them, I would totally do that and just have a separate page for my daily intake.

Hmmm....

Well, anyway, here's what I ate yesterday, sorry it's so late!

Morning
3/4 cup Post Honey Bunches of Oats - 3 P+
(I got yogurt after my WW meeting, so I can have Berry-Cereal Parfaits again!)

Midday
1 Hard Roll - 4 P+
1 1/4 servings Spoke Dip - 4 P+
1 bag WW Popped Cinnamon Swirl Crisps - 2 P+
1 WW Candies - 1 P+

Evening
2 servings Onion Topped Potato Casserole - 8 P+
1/2 cup Chocolate Milk - 2 P+
1/2 cup Regular Ice Cream - 2 P+

Anytime
2 cups Carrots - 0 P+
2 cups Grapes - 0 P+
1 oz Plantars' Honey Roasted Peanuts - 4 P+
1 WW Candy - 1 P+

How about you?  How was your day? Your week?

What Did You Eat Today? Day 6

While I'm stuck on the side of the road, I might as well post about what I ate yesterday too.

Morning
3/4 cup Post Honey Bunches of Oats - 3 P+
(I forgot to get Greek Yogurt when we went grocery shopping, so I am out of yogurt and therefore, no berry-cereal parfaits.  How sad.)


Midday
1 serving Spoke Dip - 3 P+
1 Hard Roll - 4 P+
1 WW String cheese stick - 1 P+
4 big carrot sticks - 0 P+
1 serving No-Bake Cheesecake Mousse - 3 P+

Evening
1 Soup Spoon Cafe Tuna Melt - 10 P+
1/3 cup Soup Spoon Cafe Coleslaw - 3 P+
1/2 cup Kroger Chocolate/Vanilla Ice Cream - 4 P+

Anytime
1 cup Chocolate Milk - 4 P+

Daily Points Available: 32
Daily Points Used: 35

I need to add some pictures or something.  When I do day seven I'll post a picture of the Spoke Dip, it's so yummy!

How did you guys do today?

What Did You Eat Today? Day 5

Good Evening!

It's now time for me to bore you with what I ate today!  (I'll write a regular post next, promise!)

Morning
3/4 cup Post Honey Bunches of Oats with Milk - 3 P+

Midday
12 Garlic Crackers - 3 P+
1 serving Spoke Dip - 4 P+
1 serving No-Bake Cheesecake Mousse - 3 P+

Evening
1 serving Cheesy Potatoes - 3 P+
1 serving No-Bake Cheesecake Mousse - 3 P+

Anytime
1 cup Chocolate Milk - 4 P+
1 cup Grapes - 0 P+
2 Weight Watchers Candies - 2 P+
1/2 serving Spoke Dip with 1 Bun - 7 P+ (I think I over exaggerated the points, but that's how many I had left)
1 cup carrots - 0 P+

Daily Points Used: 32
Daily Points Left: 0

Are you bored yet?

......

Hello?

......

HEY YOU!

Oh, whew! Good, I thought you had fallen asleep, but I see you were just in a stupor.

I don't blame you.

Anyway, regular post forthcoming!

How was your day? Eat all your points?

What Did You Eat Today? Day 3

Apologies for not posting this last night, but yesterday was our long bike ride and I was tired.  And Back to the Future III was on.  And Titanic was on.

Whatever, here's what I ate on Saturday.

Morning
1 cup Grapes - 0 P+
3 Egg whites - 1 P+
1 Egg yolk - 1 P+
3 slices Private Selection Center Cut Bacon - 2 P+
1 cup Orange Spice Tea, black, regular - 0 P+

Midday
1 cup Spaghetti Noodles - 5 P+
0.5 cups Ragu Chunky Green Pepper and Mushroom Sauce (YUM.) - 2 P+
1 tbsp Parmesan Cheese, grated - 1 P+
1 oz Plantars' Honey Roasted Peanuts - 4 P+
1 bag Weight Watchers Popped Cinnamon Swirl Crisps (minus the few that Adam ate) - 2 P+

Evening
1 Home-made French Bread Pizza (this time no snacking on remaining bread) - 4 P+
1 oz Plantars' Honey Roasted Peanuts - 4 P+
1 Ice Pop - 1 P+

Anytime
1 cup Chocolate Milk (excellent recovery drink, just yummy!) - 4 P+
1 Stupid Cereal Bar on my Stupid Bike Ride* - 3 P+

Daily Points Used - 35
Daily Points Remaining - 0

Activity Points
4 Hour Bike Ride: 26 AP+

Activity Points Earned Saturday - 26
Activity Points Earn this Week to Date - 37

*All would be considered good that I ate on the ride, had I remembered to enter it when I got home last night from our ride.  But I didn't remember until this morning. AFTER I ATE THE PEANUTS WHEN I WASN'T HUNGRY JUST SO I WOULDN'T HAVE POINTS LEFT YESTERDAY.  So now, because of my stupidity, I went over on my daily points.  My goal this week was to not do that, because I never want to go back over that 200 lbs mark again and I am perilously close to doing that so I wanted to step it up this week.  I have not felt deprived at all so far this week, eating only my daily points.  I was happy that I was managing to only eat my daily points. GAH!  I felt like I was exercising self-control better than ever.

I was so upset when I realized that I made Adam think I had realized something really, really awful.  Of course, to me, this is awful, and to him it's not that big of a deal, or to anyone other than me, but I'm so frustrated! I was so excited to be able to come in right on target on a day that is usually over because of how we structure our rides.  We even changed the structure of our ride yesterday so we could stop in the middle and eat lunch. Frick.

Well, I guess it will just have to be a goal I pursue with a vengeance next week. I CAN DO IT.

How was your Saturday? Did you stay with in your points values or stick to your plan?

What did you eat today? Day 1

So, this week I have decided that I am going to have a daily post about what I ate, how many points each item was and my total points for the day.  While reading this, if you want to follow what I eat, keep in mind I am watching my carbohydrate intake.

Morning
1 Berry-Cereal Parfait with Maple Yogurt - 2 P+

Midday
1 can (2.5 cups) Progresso Light Chicken Noodle Soup - 5 P+
2 cups Watermelon

Evening
1 cup cooked Spaghetti Noodles - 5 P+
0.5 cups Ragu Chunky Green Pepper and Mushroom Spaghetti Sauce - 2 P+
1 tbsp grated Parmesan Cheese - 1 P+
1 oz Planters Honey Roasted Peanuts - 4 P+
1 cup Sugar Free Orange Jell-O - 0 P+

Anytime
1 Bag Weight Watchers Popped Cinnamon Swirl Crisps - 2 P+
5 cups Jolly Time Healthy Pop Butter Flavor Popcorn - 3 P+
1 Home-made baked doughnut - 4 P+
2 cups Watermelon - 0 P+
0.5 cups Cottage Cheese - 2 P+

Daily Points used = 30
Points Left = 2

Activity Points Earned
Pedometer - 2 P+

I will update when I finish my Points for today. Updated!

What did you eat today? Did you have a good day? How much did you plan in advance?

I need to come up with more creative post titles....

Because some exciting things happened this week!

First, I had an interview for a job earlier this week.  Yay!!  I think it went really well and all of the people I interviewed with (there were 5) were really friendly.  The longer it went, the more relaxed I got.  I will know tomorrow, or the beginning of next week if I got it, fingers crossed!

Second, while I was getting ready for said interview, I put on my suit pants and zipped them up aaaaaand - THEY WERE TOO BIG!  Not a lot too big, but when I first got them, I could barely sit in them and now not only can I sit in them, but I can pull them out a good 2-3 inches from my abdomen while I'm standing!  Then I put on the blouse I bought about the same time, which I needed to safety pin closed in places.  It fit.  No safety pins needed!  WOO!!!

So this all happens before I weigh in, but I don't expect a loss this week because I haven't been tracking and I ate the rest of the marshmallows we had (only 6 P+, but still, BAD JENNY). My workout schedule has been all discombobulated too, various appointments and things have been forcing us to work out at night, which, as I emulated yesterday, the days are getting shorter.  And I've had various physical issues that get in the way of my running, so infuriating.  Yesterday I tried to go and do my 5K training run and not even half way through my chest started to hurt, like a band was constricting my lungs.  Not fun, even walking made it worse after the first 5 minute run section.  I felt better after laying flat on the couch for a while.  And eating dinner... mmmm... spaghetti....

Anyway, I go into the meeting today, preparing myself to see a maintained weight (stupid marshmallows), but WAIT! I step on the scale and watch the numbers do their dance. There's no two... Omigosh! It's that a seven?!  197.8!?  WOW! Then the receptionist asks if Amy (my meeting leader) can celebrate my 5 lb loss at the end of the meeting. I MADE MY 5 LBS?! Of course she can celebrate at the end of the meeting!

I am still going to jump back on the tracking train (choooochoooo!!! Hahahahahaha! Well, at least I make myself laugh.... and no, I'm not drunk) because I know tracking works, and I'm going to do my best to work through the physical limitations my body is throwing my way. I know I can do it, I've done it before.  I'd rather avoid a trip to the doctor, but if I have to go to be able to run the best 5K/ride the best century I can, then I will.

I hope to have more good news on the weight loss front next week too!

If you are on a weight loss journey, how was your week?  What will you change next week? If you've completed your journey and are maintaining, what did you do to get there and how did you do maintaining this week?  


Have a good week!

Weekly Weigh In - 6/3/11 (Holy Crap! It's June ALREADY?!)

Starting Weight: 199.4 lbs

Ending Weight: 200.4 lbs

Total Change: + 1.0 lbs

Damn it.

Exercise Week

Monday the Fitness Center in our complex is closed.  Adam and I went for a bike ride and I did an upper body circuit.  We also planted our garden and went for a late evening walk.  It was not hard to break a sweat today, it is HOT here. 90 freaking degrees. Whew.

Tuesday was Yoga day, yay!

Wednesday I did not work out today due to the massive amount I had going on with Courtney's Bachelorette Party stuff.  And Bridal Shower.  Also, side note: if you are in the Lansing area, do NOT go down to the Saginaw Highway.  There is a ton of construction.  It is a nightmare.  If you can avoid the area, do it.  If not, take 96 to Lansing Mall to minimize the construction disaster contact.

Thursday was yoga. I love yoga.  And in the two short weeks that I have been going to classes regularly I am seeing improvements in my postures and my practice.  I love it.

Friday I didn't work out really, I jumped rope for a bit, but I was rather melancholy from my weigh in.  So I took a day to do fun work out instead.

Eating Week

Friday I ate my exact daily points.  Got all of my healthy checks in as well.  I'm kind of running out of things to put here on a normal day....

Saturday I went over on points a little, but I still got in my healthy checks.  Even a short walk to give me a one point activity check!  And Adam made his slow cooked bacon for breakfast, yuuuuuuummmmm!  

Sunday was MY BIRTHDAY!!! YAY!  Olive Garden, all around!  Their breadsticks should be against the law, they are so good.  Not that they need to be any more unhealthy (3 points a piece, yikes!) but I think they need a wee bit more garlic butter and more parmesan cheese. Nom nom nom nom!  I had the cheese ravioli for lunch/dinner  I only ate half of what came, which allowed me to eat my exact daily allowance, despite eating out.  And we ate generally later in the day which allowed me to use a majority of my points at Olive Garden.   I also need to let you know here that today starts my week of eating vegetarian on a trial basis.  But even if I make the change permanent, I will be making a new category of vegetarian, Fish, Dairy and Bacon eating vegetarian.  Fortunately, I am making this move for health reasons, not really as a statement to meat vendors or anything which allows me to keep the meat I like.  Which is really just bacon.  And we only have it once a week, on Saturday mornings.  And according to my research on the interwebs, that classifies Adam and I as vegetarian sympathizers.  We eat meat less often than others, much less than we used to and with research into the meat we buy - tend to buy local.

Monday my parents and brothers came to town and we went out to Emil's over on Michigan to celebrate my birthday. Yum yum!  I had the Fettucini Alfredo for lunch/dinner, salad and one piece of bread.  This place is a local eatery, and a great place to go.  Cheesy Alfredo sauce....... mmmmmmm......  cheesy......

Tuesday I tracked everything, went over on points a little, but not bad!

Wednesday was Courtney's Bachelorette Party, baseball and bar hopping, fun times!  I still tracked everything though. :)  I also, without even thinking, broke my week of vegetarianism.  I didn't even realize it until a couple hours later.  :(  Nicole wanted to get a hot dog at the game and I was all, "That sounds yummy!" and I got one. Damn.  I will try again next week. I will, I will, I will.

Thursday I tracked well and had three points left for the day.  I'm not sure I calculated correctly, so I am going to leave those points there.

All in all the week felt like a success, but I gained, so not really.  Huff.

Weekly Weigh In - 5/27/11

Starting Weight: 200.6 lbs
Ending Weight: 199.4 lbs
Total Change: -1.2 lbs

Exercise Week


I haven't explicitly said this during these posts, but in the sense of full disclosure, I do not go to the gym on the weekend.  Any exercise I get is an outdoor activity with my family and/or my hubby.


Monday Adam and I went to the service center of our apartment complex to fill out paperwork to be allowed to use the gym facilities on the premises.  After a long debate which involves the fact that I have to get an MSU affiliate ID to be able to use the gym, I was allowed an exception, this time, to be able to use the gym without an MSU ID.  This place is really getting on my nerves and I will write about the continuing saga that is living here later.

I worked out for an hour, ran for 10 minutes, did every machine, every way possible (there aren't many) and did 3 sets of 10 (3x10) of everything.  I also did some core work and a lower body circuit from the previous work out plan I was following.  And stretching. Stretching is important.  I was jelly by the end, and I will probably be sore on Tuesday. Ouchie.  But Tuesday is YOGA DAY! YAY!!!

Tuesday was yoga day!  At the community center here in our complex, they offer some classes, including YOGA.  YES!  Yoga is offered in the evenings from 7:30-8:30pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays.  All summer.  For $20. Excellent.  It was amazing!  The teacher is of the same teaching background as the Ombodies Studio in Mount Pleasant.  I love it.  I am so glad I get to spend two hours a week doing this!!  And I fully plan to continue to do it beyond this summer too.  Love it.  When I am in yoga class, I am so focused, everything melts away.  I wish like crazy that I had sought out a class sooner instead of doing the DVDs at home.  Love. It.

Wednesday I went to the gym again in the morning.  I'm allowed to do that for the month of June so we have time to find our marriage license which, is in a hidden box somewhere.  Why would I need my marriage license to be allow to use the gym, you might ask? Because our wedding rings, the fact that I am listed on the application for our apartment as his spouse, and the fact that I HAVE HIS LAST NAME aren't enough.  Argh.

Anyway,  I worked out and the longer I went, the better I felt.  And I was wiped by the end of the work out.  Whew. If you want to read about how I structure my work outs go here.

Thursday: yoga day again!  As you can tell from my post last night, yoga was amazing.  I love it.  I am never going without it again, ever, if I can help it.  Wonderful.  Spectacular. Awesome. I love yoga.

Friday I hit the gym in the am again.  Full Body Circuit today along with cardio, all of the machines in the fitness center and abdominal exercises/stretching.  Good work out, tired and felt like jelly by the end!

I'm going to check out a belly dancing class tonight, I'm a little nervous, but excited.  I'll let you know how it goes and if I am going to keep doing it past this week.

Eating Week


Friday, Saturday and Sunday  did not track points.  We went home to celebrate my Dad's and my birthdays.  So points wise it was an expensive weekend.  Cake all around.  Ouch.  I don't want to think about it.  But I did practice moderation, even if I didn't count the points.

Monday I tracked very well.  I am still working on getting all my veggies in every day.  Also, Gomtang noodles: Delicious.

Tuesday I did excellent with the tracking!!  I tracked everything I put in my mouth.  I got my water in, still not all my veggies though.  We really need to go grocery shopping.  Really, really need to go shopping.

Wednesday I tracked right through to the end.  And again, I failed to get all my veggies/fruits in.  But Adam and I went grocery shopping tonight and got celery (and Schuler's cheese, YUM), watermelon and light veggie dip (for carrots that we already have).  They didn't have the Fat Free Marzetti's Ranch Veggie Dip.  I had 18 points left for dinner and we went out to dinner with my momma-in-law (who is in town this week for training) at Sophia's House of Pancakes in Grand Ledge.  Yummy.  I had Apple Cinnamon French Toast.  It was SO GOOD.  If you're ever in the area and want a local eatery to go to, go there. Delicious.

Thursday: I got all of my fruits and veggies in!! YAY!  Since that is all I had for lunch, I got them all in in one meal.  Yuuuuuuuummmmmmm....  I tracked everything I ate, got all of my water in. All food groups and healthy checks here and accounted for. Wondermous!  

All in all the week was a success!  Let's hope that I continue to be successful past this week and FINALLY get out of this damn plateau.  On Wednesday I will be saving a lot of points for later in the day, because it's Courtney's Bachelorette Party, woo!!!  I have several events this week that necessitate saving points, oh dear!  Sunday is my birthday and Adam and I will be celebrating by doing various things, including a trip to Olive Garden (I love the food there, so good...) and Monday my parents and brothers are coming down to celebrate and we're going to BD's Mongolian BBQ.  That place is so amazing......  Make your own stir fry............ ooooooooohhhhh yeeeeeeeeaaaaaahhhh.......  Oh, and before you just die of curiousity, I'll be turning 24 on Sunday, weee!!!  Next year I get a new license and picture!  Which will hopefully be a picture of a fabulous at weight me. :)

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Side Note: I changed how I explain my weeks.  Here is why: I track exercise Monday-Friday because I want to post this immediately after my workouts on Friday.  Convenience is the only reason I do it that way.  I track my eating habits on here from Friday to Thursday because my weigh in day is on Friday, so my points reset on Fridays and I like continuity.  So now you know. ('Cause it's Miiiiike's super short show!  .........Sorry, couldn't resist.)

30 Days of Truth - Day 29: Something You Hope to Change About Yourself, Why?

I think it is too easy to say that I want to change my weight.  Soooo.......

I want to change my eating habits.  I want to eat healthier, consistently and I have problems getting all my veggies in!  I love a lot of vegetables (not broccoli or cauliflower or a few others) but I love bell peppers, lettuce, carrots, tomatoes (have you ever had pear tomatoes? OMG, they are like CANDY!) and many others.  So, liking them is not the problem.  Remembering to eat them is.  And I'd like to fix that!  But it's hard.  And salads get boring.

I'd also like to get into an exercise routine that happens at the same time every day.  But surprise! Since my schedule changes every 3-4 months, it's hard to find one time that can be consistent that isn't 4am.  I have a few friends who get up that early to work out and I hold great respect for those wonderful people, because I can not get up that early and only have four hours of sleep.  I get home too late from rehearsal to do that.  Even if I came home from rehearsal and went straight to bed (to get up at 4), I would only have, max, on the earliest night, 5.5 hours of sleep. No.  I can't not have 8 hours.  I get grouchy, and it's better for you to get 8 hours.

I also would like to not judge too quickly.  Sometimes I do, and several times I have come down on the wrong side of it.  I have already started working on this, and I think it's going well so far.

Otherwise, I'm pretty happy with myself, and the person I have worked so hard to become.