Absence

Well I went home for the holidays (two days). It was a good visit! I didn't eat too much, but I probably ate some things I shouldn't have. I did eat turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and deviled eggs. However, I watched my portions so that I didn't eat double what I needed to. I only allowed myself one small slice of pumpkin pie. Fiance did much better than I! He ate only turkey (dry, no gravy) and some raw veggies. He also ate a small slice of pie. That's it! Go him!

We're leaving for Hawaii soon (Sunday), and so I'll be gone from the internet world until my return, December 9. I hope to come back tan! =)

Toodles!

Wacky Weigh-In Wednesday: 11/25

I weighed myself today.

Dun dunn dunnnn!!!!

Weight: 252 (down 2.6 pounds! yay!)
Fat: 48.6% (down 1.1% yay!)
Water: 33% (up 0.8% good? bad? no idea!)
Muscle: 20.8% (up 0.5% yay!)

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

My stats last time:

Weight: 254.6
Fat: 49.7%
Water: 32.2%
Muscle: 20.3%

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I really didn't want to go to the gym this morning, but I'm glad I got up and did (and weighed myself). It motivated me! This is definitely a plus since last week I was stable. I am also glad I didn't eat that pizza last night we were thinking of getting. :)

Daily Report: 11/24

Exercise:
30 mins on the elliptical

--------------------

Breakfast:
1/4C trail mix (I forgot my other half in the car and it made me SO HUNGRY.)

Snack:
1 yogurt (not a gross flavor this time yay!)

Lunch:
2 wheat/pumpkin pancakes w/butter (I know. Weird. But they were leftover.)

Snack:
1 Rachel's Cottage Cheese

Dinner:
Jason's Deli mediterranean wrap. It was something like 350 calories. I also had some of Fiance's baked lays and I had some of the chocolate mousse.

-----------------------

Pedometer:

Steps: 9150
Calories: 457
Miles: 3.45

This is without my gym time included. I like seeing how much I walk, not including the gym.

Daily Report: 11/23

Exercise:
30 minutes on the elliptical

-------------------------

Breakfast:
1/2 C trail mix (split before and after workout)

Snack:
1 bite of yogurt (gross flavor! do not get cantaloupe....)

Lunch:
1 pulled pork sammich
Green beans

Snack:
1 Rachel's cottage cheese
Apple

Dinner:
Etouffe (chicken) & rice
(too much rice, but I was so hungry)
------------------------------------

Pedometer: I put it on after my workout. (Why do I keep leaving it on my desk??)

Steps: 9364
Calories: 492
Miles: 3.65

I got a lot of steps in today! I made a point to take a walk during my lunch break. I also walked to Fiance's work (we both work on campus) instead of having him pick me up. We also had to run some errands. Yay! With my gym time, I hav about 5.65 miles today. Woo!

Victory?

When I got out of the shower yesterday, I thought my calves looked smaller. I took a second look and they did look smaller! I even asked Fiance and he agreed with me. However, he could have been lying, haha. Men can't be trusted. ;)

I'll need to find my measuring tape to make sure. I measured myself back in June on SparkPeople and haven't since.

Also, out of sheer curiosity I hopped on the scale and I am (unofficially) down 2-3 pounds! That's exciting and I feel encouraged and motivated to keep going (since I didn't lose anything at my last weigh-in.). Hopefully my official weigh-in on Wednesday will reflect this.

I'm calling this a maybe victory. Woo!

Low-Fat, Low-Cal Chocolate Muffins

I found a recipe for low-cal/fat muffins on SparkPeople the other day and decided to make them.

They were delish and didn't last long! (I had company. I didn't eat them all by myself. Hehe.)

Here's the recipe:

Ingredients

Pumpkin, canned, without salt, 425.2 grams
Devil's Food Mix (Duncan Hines), 1 serving
Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips (GV), 20 tbsp

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Mix all the ingredients well. The batter will be thick. distribute the mixture into muffin tins lined with paper. Cook for 15-20 minutes. Mixture should make 18-24 muffins. The calorie calculations I used for this recipes is based on 18 muffins. Servings = 1 muffin. (For even less calories use less or no chocolate chips)

Number of Servings: 18


-----------------------------

I forgot to add the chocolate chips but they were still good and satisfied my 'chocolate' cravings. The chocolate chips would only make it better!

Weekend Report: 11/21-11/22

Well the weekend was semi-kind to me. I haven't posted b/c I had a friend some visit from out of state, and I have been working on a paper I need to finish before I leave for Hawaii.

Saturday:

Oatmeal, etouffe (chicken) with rice, pulled pork sandwich w/fries and a salad, 2 muffins (from SparkPeople)

Sunday:
3 pumpkin whole-wheat pancakes, FF milk, some popcorn and soda at the movies (Fiance and I shared a kid's meal thingy), spicy beans & sausage, few bites of chips & salsa, muffin (from SparkPeople)

That's the gist of what I've eaten. I may have forgotten some things.

I didn't wear my pedometer or go to the gym. Back to these things tomorrow!

Daily Report: 11/20

Exercise:

30 mins on the elliptical.

I didn't work as hard as I usually do this time--for some reason I felt a little nauseous after 5 or 10 minutes and my body temp went up. I slowed down until I felt better than proceeded at a moderate pace. I've pushed it too hard before (and forgot to eat breakfast) and nearly vomited-slashed-passed out so I didn't want any of that business.

------------------------

Breakfast:
1/2 C trail mix: split before and after workout

Snack:
1 apple
a couple bites of Yogurt (I didn't like the flavor)

Lunch:
Small side of spicy beans & sausage
chicken salad sandwich

Snack:
1/2 orange
small slice of pie

Dinner:
spicy beans & sausage
2 cornbread muffins

Dessert: two low-fat muffin thingies (recipe from SparkPeople)

----------------

Pedometer:

Steps: 8084
Calories: 424
Miles: 3.11

I forgot to wear it to the gym again and I took it off at aboug 6:30 so I actually have way more steps than that! Go me!

Daily Report: 11/19

Exercise:
30 mins on the elliptical

-----------------

Breakfast:
1/2 C of trail mix (split before and after work-out)

Snack:
1/2 of my yogurt

Lunch:
1 piece of turkey w/gravy; 2 red potatoes, green beans, (creamed?) corn, 2 deviled eggs, asparagus/proscuitto thing, cookie, and something called "sopapilla cheesecake" (delicious)

Dinner:
Home-made spicy beans w/sausage (about 1C) and 2 cornbread muffins (home-made)
-----------------------------

Pedometer:

I forgot to wear it again during the gym. This is after the gym & my shower.

Steps: 8249
Calories: 408
Miles: 3.11

---------------------------

I took that many steps not including the gym. Awesome! It's because I walked around campus for an errand I had to do at work and then walked to Fiance's office to go home instead of having him pick me up. What I'm seeing is that it doesn't actually take that much time to get the steps in that you need. I maybe walked for an hour, max. If you add my gym time in there, I've probably got 12,000 steps and 5.1 miles!

I also ate just a little too much at work. But I didn't have an afternoon snack. That corn business was delicious! I'm not sure what was in it, but I assume it was pure fat. Haha. It looked like butter/cream business. There was A LOT OF CAKE that I passed up though so yay? I didn't even eat any of the dessert I brought.

All in all, I guess it was a good day. I should have drunk just a bit more water.

Sweet delectable temptation

So today, the office is having our Thanksgiving Lunch. So they'll be the usual fare: turkey, ham, potatoes, salad, cornbread, etc. I do plan on eating this lunch, but I plan on just not eating as much as I would any other Turkey Day. After all, the turkey isn't the bad stuff--it's all the sides!

However, that lunch is not my temptation. My temptation are the home-made cinnamon rolls that are hanging out in the break room. They look so delicious! And I love cinnamon rolls. Home-made!!!!!!

So, instead of eating the cinnamon roll, I decided to eat my yogurt instead (Yoplait Light Thick & Creamy Cherry Cobbler--delish!). I really don't want to cave in and eat one, as I'll be eating the Turkey Feast for lunch.

So far so good! Lunch will be here in about two hours so I think I can handle it. ;)

Daily Report: 11/18

Breakfast:
Rachel's Sun-Dried Tomato Cottage Cheese


Snack:
chips & salsa


Lunch:
chicken salad sandwich; 3 godiva truffles (I have a chocolate problem.)


Snack:
tortilla chips.


Dinner:
Spaghetti & turkey meatballs

Snack (again!):
1 small slice of mushroom pizza

-------------------------------

I apparently can't say no to Godiva truffles and mushroom pizza. I mean seriously.

Ok, my bat-shit-crazy thinking with the chocolate was that: it keeps tempting me. I keep eating it day after day so I should just eat it all now and get rid of it. I know. Effed up, right? Oh well. It is gone now and THANKFULLY there were only 3 pieces left. :P

The pizza came out of left field. I have class on Wednesday nights and tonight, my prof brought pizza. And of course, my FAVORITE PIZZA passed by my face. Mushroom. Why are you so delish? Why do you smell like heaven? I couldn't say no. I did, however, say no to the soda. Yay?



---------------------------------



Pedometer:
Steps: 3932
Calories: 168
Miles: 1.45



I didn't go to the gym today because I had to finish this presentation that was due tonight. I regret this. One thing I've noticed is that I do not walk around a lot, overall. Most of my "steps" are from going to the gym. Today was also a bad day for steps, as I was sitting at home all day working on finishing my presentation. Not much stepping happens around your own house.

Wedding Dress Failure

So, months ago I bought a wedding dress online (non-return/refund-able).
It was supposed to fit.

It didn't.

I bought this maybe in August-ish? So I had plenty of time to buckle down and lose some weight to fit it. Maybe 20 pounds or so.

Guess what? I didn't go on a diet.

So I'm getting married in a week and a half and my dress is nowhere near fitting. I took it to be altered today and we're having to have the back as a lace-up in order for it to fit. LAME.

I'm just mad at myself because I could have avoided this extra annoyance and cost.

I have some sort of problem with success/failure. It was basically like I was intentionally sabotaging myself. WTF? I think that deep down, I'll never be where I want to be, so I've already given up before I've tried. I also think that losing weight means losing what I hide behind. I guess I blame many things on my weight/appearance and if I can't do that anymore---what will I do? I don't like where I am, but it's hard to change.

I want to change. Why must I go on this same ride over and over again?

I want to do better. I hope I can do better.

Food Review: Guiltless Gourmet Baked Unsalted Tortilla Chips

I don't think I've ever talked about these chips before (I really don't remember) but they're great! They are baked, unsalted tortilla chips! And I believe they are less than $3 a bag so price-wise they are great as well.

These chips taste like corn chips. Duh. I mean, you don't feel greasy, or get crap-tons of salt. After all, the real star of the show is what you're eating the chips with! (SALSA) They are all natural and are also made with organic corn.

A 1 oz serving is about 18 chips and has 120 calories and 2g of fat. Not bad in my opinion. 18 chips is more than you think it is. Although, if you're mindlessly eating from the bag, it's also not as much as it sounds. :P

These chips are the new fave for me and Fiance when we're eating salsa.

Wacky Weigh-In Wednesday: 11/18

I weighed in today.

My weight was basically the same: 254.6


I guess on the up, I didn't gain? Miracle considering all the junk I've eaten.

I hope to do better next week!

Daily Report: 11/17

Exercise:

30 mins of cardio (elliptical)

2 sets of 10: L, R, C crunches

2 sets of 10: leg raises

2 sets of 8: lunges

2 squats holding for 10 seconds each (I forgot how much these make my legs shake!)

2 sets of 10: lat pull

2 sets of 10: fly

2 sets of 10: triceps

2 sets of 8: chest press

-----------------------------

Breakfast:

1 slice of toast (whole wheat) with 1 tbsp apple butter (from the farmer's market!)

1 yogurt

Snack:
Turkey pepperoni slices
Rachel's cottage cheese

Lunch:
Mini Chicken Salad Sandwich: chicken salad (w/pickles) and a slice of reduced fat colby on 1 slice of bread
Apple

Snack:
Trail Mix

Dinner:

Spaghetti & Meatballs (whole wheat pasta, turkey meatballs)

----------------------

Pedometer:

I am still battling lameness and forgot to wear my pedometer when I woke up. I did not put it on until 10:30 am. I took it off at 9:30 pm. This does not include my trip to the gym.

Total steps: 3495

Total calories: 161

Distance: 1.35

---------------------------

I decided to try to use SparkPeople again. I've used it before, but I'm just so lazy in tracking this sort of thing. However, I think I'm eating more calories than I realize so it'll probably be helpful. I think I'm just going to use it for tracking food and exercise, although it has a huge community for those interested.

What's neat is that you can get this breakdown of where your calories are coming from. Here's my pie chart for the day:

I ate almost 2000 calories today! Definitely more than I thought.

Daily Report: 11/16

Breakfast:
I didn't really eat breakfast...I had some pepperoni slices. I was busy working on the wedding invites (so time consuming)

Lunch:
Jason's Deli--salad bar (italian dressing) also had hummus w/crackers, a few bites of pasta salad & cottage cheese as well as some of the chocolate mousse (one spoon) and some fruit they had mixed with yogurt

Snack:
Trail mix

Dinner:
Menu tasting for wedding reception: 1 slice of french bread w/spinach dip, 1 stuffed cherry tomato, 1 stuffed mushroom, 1 small empanada, 1 little egg quiche, 1 bite of stromboli. I also had a half glass of tea w/sweet 'n low.

----------------

I forgot to wear my pedometer. Lame. I also didn't go to the gym because of my lack of sleep over the weekend. Double Lame.

I'm proud that I passed up CHEESECAKE (one of my all time faves) today at work. Go me! I didn't really eat much today so that's good. I'm going back to the gym tomorrow. Woo!

I wasn't good on water intake today though (I usually drink 10-12 glasses). I was just so busy that I didn't have time to think.


EDIT: I also ate 2 or 3 chocolate truffles. I had forgotten. I got them as a bachelorette party gift. I plan on eating one every now and again as a treat. :)

I'm back!

Well I'm back.

My previous post mentioned that my BFF was coming into town for my Bachelorette Party Weekend Extravaganza. I did not track my food or wear my pedometer (and I forgot it again today!). However, here is a break-down of what I generally ate, and I have to say.... I didn't go as crazy as I thought I would. ;)

Friday:
Breakfast: Oatmeal
Lunch: sourdough bread w/butter, appetizer of feta & olives w/flatbread, 1/2 chicken salad sandwich, small amount of fries, a few bites of soup, 1/2 dessert of strawberry tart
Dinner: lunch leftovers
Copious amounts of alcohol (but I ordered diet if it had soda)

Saturday:
Brunch: 1 breakfast taco (pulled pork) w/sour cream & cheese; refried black beans, potatoes
Dinner: 3 slices of pizza; a few Godiva truffles
Copious amounts of alcohol

Sunday:
Brunch:
1/2 omelet (spinach, bacon, sour cream) w/homestyle potatoes; chocolate milk
Dinner: CiCi's pizza [Bad! But we were tired and had no groceries. :( ]


----


Now that I'm looking over it I feel like a pig-slash-cow-slash-whale or something. Ha! Oh well. :)

Sad. Upset. Fail?

So, for shits and giggles I decided to hop on the scale.

AND I GAINED WEIGHT.

Wtf? I mean, seriously? I was more than a little upset. I mean, I've been working out every day, eating good foods (except for that pizza), drink 10-12 glasses of water a day and I weigh more than I did on Wednesday. I do not understand.

It's a bit discouraging.

And I know next Wednesday's weigh-in is not going to be good, since my BFF is in town and today starts the Bachelorette Party Weekend Extravaganza. And Monday we're doing a menu tasting for our reception. BAH!

I also forgot to put on my pedometer.

Lamesauce.

Daily Report: 11/12

Exercise
30 mins on elliptical

* side note*

I definitely felt the bit of soreness from the strength training yesterday. I feel it in my inner thighs and in my abs. Nothing bad, just more of an 'awareness' and 'pulling' every now and again. It has been months since I've done any strength training, so that's to be expected. =)

-------------------

Breakfast:
a few bites of granola w/FF milk (we're out of bagels and I didn't care for this mixture)
1 C chocolate soy milk

Snack:
yogurt & granola

Lunch:
freaky combination of: rice, pizza sauce, mozz and turkey pepperoni

Snack:
Trail mix
3 pieces each of: strawberries, blackberries, pineapple chunks

Dinner:
Whole wheat pasta with sauteed chick peas, spinach, garlic, onions, and tomatoes. I thought it was delish! Fiance didn't like it as much. Too bad for him. I do the cooking. ;)

Dessert:
1 skinny cow dipper

---------------------------
I took this off about 6:45 pm since I was at home and not going anywhere anymore. :)

Steps (including gym): 9235
Miles (including gym): 3.86
Calories burned (including gym): 509

I actually did a little more, as the pedometer didn't record all of my mileage on the elliptical. Yay!

Non-Scale Victories (NSV)

Today, I had two little non-scale victories (victories for me at least!).


Firstly, my previous post highlighted the pizza just hanging around and calling my name. I effectively ignored said pizza and ate an apple instead. Yay! I was sorely tempted, I will not lie. It was hard to look at it when I went to get my yogurt, but I held strong! Once my tummy wasn't growling up a storm, I forgot about the pizza.


Secondly, the office had a little celebration today for a co-worker which of course included cake. I looked at the cake and didn't even have a craving for it! Amazing! I wonder if it's because it wasn't chocolate? Who knows. All I know is that I didn't even have a craving for anything sweet like cake. Instead, I ate some fruit (blackberries, strawberries, pineapple). Yay!

The Food Calls to Me....

Yesterday, when I got to work a company had provided pizza for the office. I had already eaten lunch (ironically, left over pizza from the night before) and so I didn't eat any. Score for me! (Although, I cannot guarantee I wouldn't have eaten any had they MUSHROOM PIZZA. Love it.)

Well today, I didn't really eat any breakfast (out of bagels, not much around) so I'm already kinda hungry and it's a bit early for my snack.

Needless to say, I WANT TO EAT THE LEFTOVER PIZZA RIGHT NOW. So far, I have not eaten said pizza. But it's only been an hour. My hunger will only increase and I will just keep telling myself "One slice won't hurt." I keep rationalizing saying I will just have one slice of cheese pizza. What's the harm? The harm is that I need to learn how to control these types of .... cravings? Snack-attacks? Slip-ups? TEMPTATIONS?

All I know is I'm effing hungry and there's two boxes of pizza just hanging out in the fridge. Calling my name....

I just remembered I have an apple at my desk! Yay! Hopefully that'll satisfy me until snack time.

Daily Report: 11/11

Exercise


Cardio:
30 mins on elliptical


Strength Training:
Hip abduction (outer thigh): 3/10
Hip adduction (inner thigh): 3/10
Seated Leg Press: 3/10
Quads: 3/10
Hamstrings: 3/10
Abs: 2/10 each of L, R, C crunches; 2/10 leg raises

-----------------------------------------------


Breakfast:
1/2 whole-wheat bagel, w/1tbsp of PB & drizzle of honey
1 C chocolate soy milk


Snack:
yogurt & granola


Lunch:
2 slices of pizza, leftover from last night


Snack:
Trail Mix


Dinner:
CrockPot Chicken Pot Pie--a variation found on A Year of Slow-Cooking


--------------------------------------------------


Overall steps (including gym time): 8881
Overall miles (including gym time): 3.95
Calories burned (including gym time): 529

Not bad! Two of those miles were on the elliptical. Actually, this is probably more than I would walk in a 'normal' day since today I had class, which I only have once a week.

Progress Pics: November-The Start (1)

I plan on posting pics once a month. Here's my November set.

This is me at 255 pounds. (ick!)

Man, my pants are doing some awkward bunching in that last photo, haha!

I must say, seeing myself in these pictures makes me realize how BIG I really am. I spoke in an earlier entry (my intro entry) about my body image, and how I see myself smaller than I am.

Well, clearly not.

Wacky Weigh-In Wednesday: 11/11

Yesterday, I bought a new scale.

Today is the first official weigh-in!

The scale measures: Weight, Body Fat, Water, and Muscle.

*drum roll*

Weight: 254.8

Fat: 49.7%

Water: 32.2%

Muscle: 20.3%

I guess it was a bad idea to eat pizza for dinner before a weigh-in. Oh well. I had tested the scale out earlier yesterday and I'm pretty sure I was two pounds less hahaha. Damn you pizza!

I also think I'm going to take a picture once a month to try and see any progress.

To be continued...

Quick Review: OMRON Pedometer

Yesterday I spoke of getting a new pedometer. Today I wore it for the first time (during the gym) and even though it's still morning (7 am) I must say I am impressed with it!

Fiance had a cheapo pedometer weeks ago (pendulum one) and it was not accurate at all. This OMRON pedometer is not a pendulum and it is quite accurate. I wore it while doing my cardio on the elliptical and it recorded the same distance as the machine. I'll definitely be wearing this every day (or at least I will M-F, not sure on the weekends?) and reporting the mileage on my Daily Report.

All in all, it's a great pedometer for only $18!

Daily Report: 11/10

Exercise: 45 mins of cardio

-----------------------

Breakfast:
1/2 whole wheat bagel w/1tbsp PB

Snack:
Yogurt & granola

Lunch:
Freaky combo of rice, pizza sauce, mozz, and turkey pepperoni


Snack:
Trail Mix

Dinner:
3 slices of Little Caeser's Pizza
Some broccoli & green beans
Dinner did not go as planned. I had something cooking in the crockpot that did not cook right. I was going to make a pizza for us, and then realized that we didn't have yeast. :( So we just picked up some pizza. *sigh*

Dessert:
1 Skinny Cow Dipper

Gym & Weighing In

Well I finally went back to the gym this morning, after a week of being sick. I was suprised that I wasn't as tired as I thought I'd be. I definitely didn't want to get out of bed, but I did. (Why did one dog whine at 2:30 am and the other growl? I have no idea.)

I haven't been posting anything about weight because we have a crappy scale that wasn't the most accurate. That has changed however! Today I went and bought this--the iGym body fat scale. It records different profiles, and measures your weight, body fat, water, and muscle percentages and also suggests the amount of calories you should eat per day. (Not so sure about that last one, to maintain my weight? To lose? I'll look further into it). I set up my profile and got everything ready for my first official weigh-in tomorrow. Woo!

Fiance wanted a pedometer. He picked out this one--OMRON Hip pedomter. It has good ratings on Amazon. It measures your total steps, the steps that are considered "moderate" (enough to be considered exercise) and even tracks calories.

I was interested in a heart rate monitor and got this one--a pink MIO. However after setting it up I realized that it was too much trouble for me. I liked that it tracked my HR and calories, etc but it requires that I actually count my calories to see how I did. And, you know, I'm just too lazy for that. Plus, the watch is a bit bulky for my tastes. I think I'll take it back and get the same pedometer as Fiance, since it tracks steps, distance and calories for me. I can then record this on my Daily Report.

Back to the gym

Well I am officially not sick anymore, so I can go back to the gym. Yay!

I'm sure tomorrow will be a bit tough, with a week off.

I've been feeling good. Hardly any cravings for 'junk food' or 'bad food.' I'm sure that won't last that long. ;)

This weekend is my bachelorette party so I'm sure I'll be eating horridly all weekend long. And in three weeks I'll be going to Hawaii--for a week. I'm sure food will get the best of me during these times. Not to mention Thanksgiving!

You may have read before that I made whole-wheat bread. Well, we had to take the bread maker back because the LCD screen was broken. Bummer. We opted to not replace it and instead add it to our registry to see if we get it as a wedding gift. If we do not, we'll buy another at that time (assuming the interest is still there). So this will probably curtail my bread-making interest, as I'm not sure how much I want to 'hand-knead' dough and such. :) We'll see! I might try it and see how it goes.

I'll definitely will still be making my own whole-wheat pizza crust though. Delish!

Daily Report: 11/9

Breakfast:
1 Rachel's Cucumber Dill Cottage Cheese
1 Orient Pear
1 C chocolate soy milk

Snack:
yogurt & granola
Cheese cubes

Lunch:
sandwich
1 orange

Snack:
1/2 C (home-made) trail mix
Cheese cubes (WTF the cheese at work needs to go away....It's almost gone now. Thanks in part to me hahaha)

Dinner:
Chips with salsa & hummus
Vegetable soup w/rice

Dessert:
1 Skinny Cow Dipper

Food Review: Rachel's Cucumber Dill Cottage Cheese

This morning I had Rachel's Cucumber Dill Cottage Cheese. Earlier, I had the Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto and it was SO GOOD.

I had high expectations for this flavor, since the other was so nom-a-licious.

I was a little disappointed. This flavor (to me) just is not as good as the sun-dried tomato. It was good, but something was a little off. I couldn't tell what. Too much dill? Vinegar? I'm not sure. In the end, I had to make myself finish it. Apparently there are many more flavors, but I only saw these two at my grocery store.

I probably won't buy them too often, as they are $1.75 each. But for an occasional snack, they are quite good.

Daily Report: 11/8

Breakfast:

Baked & Salt-free chips with Salsa (don't ask. I'm not sure why either)

1 piece of cheese

Lunch:
2 slices of home-made bread w/butter

Snack:
A few slices of turkey pepperoni

Dinner:
1 bowl of soup: veggies, beans, rice
1 biscuit

[EDIT 11/9]: I totally forgot that I also ate chips with hummus. Oops.

It's Bakin' Time

So, previous posts indicate that I've got somethin' baking in my oven.

Bread.

So, yesterday for breakfast I made whole-wheat biscuits. I used this recipe from AllRecipes, but used all whole-wheat flour and cut out the sugar. I also did 'drop biscuits' because I didn't feel like rolling anything out. They came out okay--they were crumbly and I'm pretty sure I know why. Firstly, I would probably add a little bit more baking power. Secondly, I didn't add the butter correctly so there wasn't an even distribution of fat. Overall though, they were yummers.

For dinner last night, I made whole-wheat pizza crust. I got the recipe here from Tammy's Recipes. I used all whole-wheat flour, cut out the sugar, and used olive oil for the oil. The crust was good--mine was really thick because I didn't have a rolling pin (oops!). However, the crust was "substantial" and soft at the same time, without being soggy. Definitely a keeper and really quick to make by hand! We topped ours with sauce, FF cheddar, spinach, and turkey pepperoni.

Yesterday we bought a bread maker. We (attempted) to make a loaf last night, but alas! It didn't happen. I guess I put the pan in the machine wrong, because nothing mixed correctly and so half-mixed bread was baked. Sad day. It did, however, smell delicious. This morning, we attempted Round 2. It worked! The bread was smelling yummy all morning, tempting me with its goodness. We made one of the whole-wheat recipes in the booklet it came with. There are others I want to try, though. However, for a first attempt--it was pretty good. It was SO DELICIOUS fresh and warm with butter on top. :) Although, unless you're good with a knife the slices will be quite thick. The machine would be good though for mixing dough in general. The one we bought was one of the lower-priced ones and it was positively rated.

Sadly, I didn't think to take pictures of any of my food.

Farmer's Market

Fiance and I went to the Farmer's Market yesterday and picked up some neat things! We got some fresh cucumbers, salsa, apple butter, orient pears (delish!) and the "crown jewel"....

A GIANT CARROT.

Seriously. It is that big. That sucker weighed one pound all on its own. The lady that sold it to us said that carrots can get that big, if you use the right variety and let it stay in the ground long enough. She also said they're sweet. Needless to say, this is going to make a lot of carrot sticks for snacks. :)

We're going to try to buy as local and natural as we can, in terms of our food. The food industry is tricky, and you really need to read labels to know what you're eating.

Fiance and I are also testing out making our own breads and dough. I'll make a separate post for that. So far, I've made: whole-wheat biscuits, whole-wheat pizza crust, and I've got whole-wheat bread baking (crossing my fingers!).

Daily Report: 11/7

I forgot to post this yesterday so the food is probably not as accurate as it could be....
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Breakfast:

2 whole wheat biscuits made from scratch

1 fried egg

1.5 gardenburger "sausage" patties

1 C chocolate soy milk


Lunch:

Almond butter & apple butter sammich on whole wheat bread
1C chocolate soy milk

Dinner:

3 slices of home-made pizza (with homemead wheat pizza crust!)
2 bites of ice cream

Snack:

some chips (baked, salt-free) & salsa

Food Review: Rachel's Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto Cottage Cheese

Ok so the picture is a little small. I saw this at our semi-health food store and I immediately had to have it. I love cottage cheese. I usually eat mine with pepper but I have never seen flavored cottage cheese before! Sun-dried tomato pesto?! Needless to say, I ate it as soon as I got home and had an orgasmic food experience. It was so effin delicious. I really don't know how else to say it was nummy. Nom-tastic. The flavor part is on the bottom and you have to stir it up. YUM.

This is a great way to liven up your cottage cheese. Although, it was a little pricey at $1.75.

I also bought another flavor, cucumber dill, to try later. maybe tomorrow.

Review: Official Food, Inc. Movie

Official Food, Inc. Movie Site - Hungry For Change?






I watched this last night with Fiance.

I would recommend it to anyone concerned with how their food is produced. In fact, I would just recommend it in general since people often DO NOT know where their food comes from (I am part of that group).

It was amazing to see how large multi-national corporations have changed how we eat for their own profit, at the expense of our health, and the environment.

It was also disconcerting to see that most of our food does not come from farms (unlike what the labels imply). Chickens never see the light of day and animals do not roam free. E-coli gets in our food from feeding animals corn (since it's 'cheaper'), as opposed to grass, like nature intended. Instead of feeding them grass to get rid of the e-coli, we put an "ammonia-washed" hamburger filler in the patties to counter-act the e-coli. GROSS. I do not know any other way of describing it....

It was very eye-opening and Fiance and I are going to try and buy local as much as possible.

Food Review: Voskos Greek Yogurt (Fig)

Today, I tried Voskos greek yogurt, exotic fig flavor. I had wanted to try greek yogurt, since I had heard it was thicker than your traditional Yoplait/Dannon variety. And I saw "fig" flavor and though, "Why not? Let's be crazy." Upon my first bite (which was mere minutes ago) I thought two things simultaneously:

"I like this thickness."

"I do not like this sour aftertaste."

Overall, I do not think I'll be buying this again. I took two bites and threw it away. I just don't like that odd (to me) sour flavor. Now, those of you that enjoy your yogurt more tart/sour, will probably enjoy this brand.

So I'm left eating dry granola. Oh well. There's always cheese.... ;)

Daily Report: 11/6

Breakfast:
Half whole wheat bagel, 1tbsp natural PB, drizzle of honey
1 C FF milk

Snack:
1 Voskos greek yogurt & 1/4 C homemade granola (Did not eat. See my review here.)
Cheese!

Lunch:
1 Sandwich: sandwich thin, deli chicken, cheese, pickles

Snack:
Trail Mix, Carrots

Dinner:
1/2 Chicken breast, marinated
~1 C green beans (cooked w/olive oil & garlic)

Snack:
Rachel's Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto Cottage Cheese

Food Review: Tofurky Kielbasa

Today the fiance and I tried out Tofurky Kielbasa. We had taken a run to the semi-health food store over the weekend and decided to try things out, like Soy Yogurt. Fiance had claimed before that he had eaten tofu dogs and proclaimed them tasty. Which is amazing, since he LOVES meat. Instead of tofu dogs, we decided to try this kielbasa. I cooked them on our little grill (like a George Foreman, but not as pricy). We put it on a bun (whole wheat) and served it up with sweet potato fries. I have to say, it was quite tasty. The texture is obviously not like meat. But the flavoring is pretty good and come on, it's supposed to be like a hot-dog. And who the eff knows what's in a hot dog.

All in all, I call this a dinner win.

Daily Report: 11/5

Breakfast:


1 C Kashi Cinnamon Harvest Cereal w/FF milk


Snack:


Cubes of various cheeses (I LOVE CHEESE)

Yogurt with 1/4 C homemade granola


Lunch:

More cheese (WTF I can't stop)
Sandwich: 1 sandwich thin, 2 slices chicken, 1 slice cheese, pickles, and 1 tbsp low-fat mayo (made w/olive oil)

Snack:
Trail mix
Grapes

Dinner:

Tofurky Kielbasa hot-dog
Sweet potato fries

Nibbles of trail mix (I can't get enough of it!)

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I'm feeling .... unproductive since I'm sick and can't go to the gym. Which I think is fueling my "snack-attacks."

Daily Report: 11/4

So, because I'm sick I've been told to not work-out.

Apparently, this (to me) also means eat like a fat-ass.



Breakfast:

* 1 sausage & cheese kolache. Why? Because that's what you do when you go to Target at 7:50 am to get medicine, but they don't open until 8 and there's a Shipley's around the corner.



Mini-meal:

Stroganoff



Snack:

Trail mix



Mini-meal:

Beans & Sausage

3 bites of ice cream

Mini-meal:
more Beans & sausage

Snack:
trail mix
piece of cheese


Overall, I'm disappointed in what I ate. I could have cut down but for some reason I found myself REALLY hungry today. Blame it on the sickness? Who knows. Hopefully tomorrow will be better.

Food Review: Soy Yogurt

The other day my fiance and I went to a semi-health food store to look around and see what they have to offer. I spoke earlier about making my own trail mix and granola and we bought all of our ingredients at this store in bulk containers (mostly fruits/nuts/seeds). Well, we also decided to try new yogurts. We each got a Soy yogurt. He got blueberry, I got black cherry. Yesterday he told me his was "disgusting" and "sour-tasting." I opened mine with trepidation today. I was suprised. Mine tasted sweet. It was not disgusting. In fact, it was quite palatable. You could taste that it wasn't "normal" (ie was made from soy) but it was a unique flavor that wasn't bad. I enjoyed my yogurt and happily ate it with the granola we made. The yogurt was not fat free (@ 2 grams) and had around 150 calories. So it's pretty comporable to other yogurts.

Not pictured was another brand I tried called Brown Cow. I tried the Boysenberry and found it to be quite delicious.

I'll keep you posted as I try more things.

Workout Regime

Since I've started going back to the gym (2 or 3 weeks ago) I've been doing strictly cardio. I started out going 30 minutes but now I've upped it to 45 minutes. I've been thinking that I will now add some strength training to that maybe 3 times a week.

Of course, now that I'm sick (Doctor said to take a break from the gym for a few days) I won't be doing any of this. Which is a bit of a downer since I've been doing well and I don't want to get lazy again. It happens so quickly. Skip a day or two and the next thing you know you haven't seen the gym in 3 months!

Maybe Mon/Wed/Fri I can do some strength training. To include:

Biceps/Triceps
Chest press
Inner/Outer thighs
Quads/Hamstrings
Back (lat pull)
Abs

I've had trainers in the past so I'm going to try and incorporate what I've learned through them. I wish I could afford to have a trainer long-term. It's the only way I really work hard and get my butt kicked. :)

Daily Report: 11/3

Morning:
* Half whole-wheat bagel and 1 tbsp peanut butter
* 45 minutes of cardio

Snack:
* yogurt (1) and 1/4 C granola (home-made)

Lunch:
* 1C beans & turkey sausage (make in crockpot)
* Trail mix nibbles

Snack:
* Some pimento cheese sandwiches I couldn't resist at work (maybe equaled 1/2 sandwich)
* Grapes/pineapple to go along with aforementioned evil sandwiches
* Home-made trail mix
* A few cubes of cheese along with grapes/carrots

Dinner:
* About 1C stroganoff & 1C beans and turkey sausage
* 1 piece of candy

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I ate too much today. I couldn't resist those snacks at work (sandwiches, cheese). Also, I've been feeling under the weather and I went to the doctor. She told me to rest up for a few days so that means no gym. Boo!

OCD about food

I am constantly looking for a snack.

Bored? Snack.
Happy? Snack.
Tired? Snack.

It doesn't matter. It's like I have to be munching on something. I reach for food even when I'm tired, hoping it will wake me up. I look in the fridge when I'm bored. I look in the fridge just as I pass by. It's a compulsion.

As part of trying to eat healthy, we've been buying healthy snacks. You know, the usual fruit and veggies. The other day, we actually made our own granola/trail mix. It was fun and easy! And tasty too. Now, the granola was made to top yogurt while the trail mix was made as a snack. Yesterday was Day 1 of granola and I must say, it was yum! What accompanied this yum was a feeling I felt at odds with: not being hungry.

I ate my yogurt and 1/4 C of granola and didn't feel hungry for hours. I felt weird. I felt like I was "missing" something. It was so unusual to not feel hungry, and furthermore not snack incessantly. I was good! I didn't eat again until my lunch. But I must say, it felt weird. It's as if food is a part of my life in ways I never thought about. My friend that is always there, tempting me and keeping me company through events and emotions that other people haven't. It's kind of weird to try and say "good-bye" to such a loyal friend.

Which is of course why I have slip-ups. More to come later.

Introductions

I've seen many people write blogs to help them with their goals and so I figured I would try one out as well.

Some Stats:

I am a 25 year old female.
I am about 5' 4".
I weigh about 260-ish and want to lose about 80 pounds.

I might add some measurements later, for tracking.

Perhaps I will add pictures later.
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I think most people, when they think about themselves and how they look, always imagine themselves fatter (or bigger) than what they really are. I seem to have the reverse. I imagine myself as smaller than I actually am. Of course, this causes a bit of dissonance when I see images of myself (photos/video, etc). I think, "Holy CRAP! I'm not that big! It must have been a bad angle..." But, unfortunately, I am that big. My fiance took some video of me the other day and it was horrible to look at. All I saw was my fat face. I couldn't help but think of the weight I've gained in the last few years. A few weeks ago I stumbled across a picture of myself from 4-5 years ago and could see the difference in my face. And believe me, I've always been overweight. You always think to yourself, "I can't possibly get any bigger." and then BAM! You are. You are at your biggest. And then a year later, a new "biggest" and so on and so forth until you realized you've gained 80 pounds since high school. WTF.

I'm trying to change. It's really hard. Luckily, my fiance is all excited about losing weight (he wants to as well) and is helping me stay motivated and going to the gym.

If things go as planned, I will post a new blog everyday, at least detailing what I ate, if nothing else.