April 1, 2010: Update

So, yeah, I definitely thought this weigh in would see me heavier than the last. But! My weight is now 130.1 lbs! Yay!

I have definitely been eating a lot more, but I think my increase in Zumba classes (I usually go around 5 times a week now) is helping balance this out. Now I just need to stop eating crap, which is kind of what I'm been doing recently. :S I did make an awesome baked ziti the other day (with peppers, chicken, and carrots mixed in). But I just haven't been as inspired to cook as much lately. Tomorrow I'm going to make chicken nuggets from scratch (as a trial run for Riley's bday party easter-egg hunt on Saturday). So, that's something, right?

March 18, 2010 - Update

So I haven't posted in a while. On my last post, I discussed how I wasn't going to calculate WW points anymore. Apparently I meant that I wasn't going to calculate points, calories, or meticulously watch/post everything I ate. :/ Which is fine - the point of stopping was to see if I could continue to (a) lose weight and, more importantly, (b) make smart choices regarding food without doing all of the extra stuff.

So, today was the (a?) moment of truth - the first time I weighed myself since stopping. And my weight is .... (drum-roll please) .... 131.7 pounds. Yay! I lost about 2 pounds in a little over a week. Only about 6.5 pounds to go until I reach my goal weight! What's even more exciting is that I think I am now officially considered to be in a healthy weight range (i.e. I am not overweight anymore!).

So, I just thought I would share that with you. I'm still going to my fitness classes - Zumba about 3 times a week; Pilates/Yoga once a week; and sporadic times at university rec center when I want to do a little something. I've cut back on the ab workout at home - I get a great ab workout at the fitness classes. So, come bathing suit season, I hope to rock an amazing swimsuit (not that I go swimming ever - it's more just that I could if I wanted to).

March 11, 2010 - Day 66

I've decided that I'm going to stop calculating WW points and calories. Well, I'll probably still put the calories down if I know them, but I'm not going to go out of my way to calculate the calories for casseroles and the like. The point of stopping now is that I want to see how I do while I'm still weighing myself pretty regularly. Since I don't want to be calculating points for the rest of my life, I want to see if I can maintain making smart choices without the push of calculating the points. If it doesn't work (i.e. I start gaining weight), then I'll go back to the tracking them. But for now, I'm done. :)

For breakfast

1/2 cup of coffee w/vanilla creamer (35 calories)

1 Nutri-Grain strawberry cereal bar (130 calories)

For lunch

Water

1 turkey ham wrap w/cheddar cheese, mixed greens, fat-free mayo, and alfalfa sprouts (215 calories)

A handful of green seedless grapes (25 calories)

A handful of mixed nuts (85 calories)

For dinner

Water

1 chicken patty burger w/remulade sauce and lettuce on a bun

1 serving of chicken caesar pasta with chicken

Snacks

1 trail mix bar (140 calories)

1 tall mocha w/skim milk

Exercise

A little over 30 minutes on an elliptical machine

March 10, 2010 - Day 65

Wow, another hungry day for me. I tried to make smart choices and eat healthy through out the day. I wonder if my increase in working out and activity in general has something to do with it. Hopefully it's that and not that I'm just needlessly eating.

For breakfast

1/2 cup of coffee w/vanilla creamer (35 calories; 1 point)

1 trail mix bar (140 calories; 2 points)

Maple and brown sugar oatmeal (160 calories; 3 points)

1/2 a banana (45 calories; 0.5 points)

For lunch

Water

1 turkey ham wrap w/cheddar cheese, mixed greens, fat-free mayo, and alfalfa sprouts (215 calories; 3.5 points)

1/2 cup of green seedless grapes (55 calories; 1 point)

A handful of mixed nuts (85 calories; 2 points)

For dinner

Water

1 serving of angel hair w/shrimp and asparagus (390 calories; 7 points)

Snacks

A handful of Kashi Crunch! cereal (50 calories; 1 point)

1 Special K strawberry cereal bar (90 calories; 2 points)

Diet hot chocolate (25 calories; 0 points)

1 dark chocolate/oatmeal cookie (100 calories; 2.5 points)

Total Calories: 1325

Total WW Points: 25.5

Total flex points left: 30.5 of 35

Days left in flex points week: 5

Exercise

Zumba!

150 ab crunches

March 9, 2010 - Day 65

***** Weight update: 133.8 lbs *****
So, my weight loss rate is down since that number represents a little less than a pound in almost 2 weeks. But, really. I couldn't be any happier - I didn't gain anything b/c of my conference travels. Yay!

For breakfast

1/2 cup of coffee w/vanilla creamer (35 calories; 1 point)

1 nutri-grain strawberry bar (130 calories; 2.5 points)

3/4 of a serving of shredded wheat w/skim milk (150 calories; 2 points)

For lunch

Water

Smart Ones 3-cheese ziti marinara (320 calories; 6 points)

For dinner

Water

1 serving of maple dijon chicken w/sweet potatoes (245 calories; 4.25 points)
* Score another for the crockpot! I love using one. It's so easy to throw something healthy together and forget about it, which is great on days that I am watching Riley. Then I can spend more time playing with her!

1 cup of steamed broccoli (54 calories; 0 points)

Snacks

1 Skinny Cow low-fat fudge bar (100 calories; 1 point)

1 Special K strawberry cereal bar (90 calories; 2 points)

A handful of Kashi Crunch! cereal (50 calories; 1 point)
* Sooo good! I love this Kashi brand. Everything so far has been yummy!

Total Calories: 1104

Total WW Points: 19.75

Total flex points left: 35 of 35

Days left in flex points week: 6

Exercise

A little over 45 minutes on an elliptical machine

150 ab crunches

March 8, 2010 - Day 64

I'm home!!! I tried to do well at the conference, and for the most part I think I succeeded. I didn't starve myself and didn't feel guilty when I ate some dessert or muffins. But I also didn't gorge myself. I'm going to the university rec center tomorrow which is where I weigh myself, so we'll see how I did. I'm not expecting to have lost weight this past week; just don't want to have put too much back on. :D

For breakfast

1/2 cup of coffee w/vanilla creamer (35 calories; 1 point)

3/4 multi-grain english muffin w/margarine (100 calories; 2 points)

1 trail mix bar (140 calories; 2 points)

1 banana (90 calories; 1 point)

For lunch

Water

1 turkey wrap w/cheddar cheese, mixed greens, fat-free mayo, and alfalfa sprouts (205 calories; 3.5 points)

For dinner

Water

1 fish fillet w/remulade sauce (150 calories; 3.75 points)

3/4 cup fried rice w/shrimp (120 calories; 2.5 points)

Snacks

Soy chocolate milk (140 calories; 2.75 points)

Mocha w/skim milk (175 calories; 3 points)

Total Calories: 1185

Total WW Points: 21.5

Exercise

Zumba!

150 ab crunches

March 7, 2010 - Day 63

Traveling day. This one's going to be tough. Sitting on the airplane all day after going out to breakfast w/my parents, who I know will not understand when I want to eat "lightly." At least tomorrow's back to normal - Zumba, healthier eating. Phew.

For breakfast

1 cup of coffee w/non-fat dairy creamer & minimal sugar

1 Kashi trail mix bar (140 calories; 2 points)

1 pancake w/sugar-free syrup

Various fruits (cantaloupe; grapes; orange)

1 sausage link

For dinner

Water

1 piece of lasagna

Mixed greens salad w/balsamic vinagrette

Snacks

Diet hot chocolate

Peanuts

Wheat thins

Oatmeal/dark chocolate cookies (2)

Exercise
Nothing

March 6, 2010 - Day 62

Conference day 3. Man they sure do pile on the food here. My weigh-in tomorrow is not going to go well I think. :D

For breakfast

1/2 cup of coffee w/non-fat dairy creamer & minimal sugar

1 Kashi trail mix bar (140 calories; 2 points)

1 clementine (40 calories; 0 points)

For lunch

3/4 of a turkey, cheese, and guacamole wrap
* I was so proud of myself - I ate most of it with the onions and tomatoes that came inside of it. For those who know me well, that's HUGE!
* I also skipped the apple pie for dessert.

Water

For dinner

1/2 of steak and black beans.

All of my rice and peppers

1/2 of flan

1/2 cup of decaf with just cream... no sugar!

Water

Snacks

1/2 of chocolate chip cookie

1 small bran muffin

1 kahluha and milk

1 Special K cereal bar

Exercise

About 35 minutes on a stationary bike

50 ab crunches

March 5, 2010 - Day 61

Conference day 2. I found the fitness center today. Can you believe that I woke up extra early (6am) to go there?! The conference started at 8:30 and went all day until 6pm. So, this was really the only time I could go if I was going to go.

For breakfast

1/2 cup of coffee w/non-fat dairy creamer & minimal sugar

1 Special K strawberry cereal bar (90 calories; 2 points)

1 Kashi trail mix bar (140 calories; 2 points)

For lunch

Water

Oh, this was a real mix. I had tofu; spinach salad w/oranges, dressing, and almonds; peppers; chicken; broccoli; and beef. This sounds like a lot and it probably was. But, there were little bits of everything. I think I was most impressed with the fact that I didn't take a roll, nor did I take dessert.

For dinner

Water

1/2 of a turkey, salami, prosciutto and cheese sandwich

1 small mocha gelato (132 calories; 3 points)
* This is compared to 280 calories and 14 g of fat in a small ice cream cone! And this was soooooo much tastier!!!

Snacks

A cup of mixed nuts

A half of banana muffin

2 bites of a banana

Guacamole and chips - probably should have skipped this one!

Exercise

About 35 minutes on an elliptical machine

Some free weights with the arms/legs

March 4, 2010 - Day 60

It's traveling day/conference day 1. This should be interesting as I'll have no idea what the caloric intake is. So, for the next few days I'll report what I ate, but not the total calories/points. I mean, I'll report the points/calories if I can, but I won't be making any guesses when I have no idea. I'm just going to try and make the best possible choices given the situation I'm in. At least I can go to the fitness center tomorrow. Yay!

For breakfast

1/2 cup of coffee w/vanilla creamer (35 calories; 1 point)

1/2 of a banana (50 calories; 1 point)

For lunch

1/4 of a sandwich with roast turkey, stuffing, cranberries, and lettuce

Water

For dinner

An assortment of hors d'oeuvres (cantaloupe, watermelon, cheese, crackers, spinach wrap, berries, a piece of quesadilla)

A few sips of a margarita

Snacks

Diet hot chocolate (25 calories; 0 points)

1 oatmeal/dark chocolate cookie (100 calories; 2.5 points)

On the plane:

Peanuts

Pretzels

1 clementine (40 calories; 0 points)

1 Kashi trail mix bar (140 calories; 2 points)

Exercise

75 ab crunches

March 3, 2010 - Day 59

Wow, for some reason I was really hungry today. Nothing seemed to satisfy me, and I just kept wanting to eat. Hmph. :/

For breakfast

1 cup of coffee w/vanilla creamer (70 calories; 2 points)

3/4 multi-grain english muffin (110 calories; 2 points)

1 Kashi trail mix bar (140 calories; 2 points)

For lunch

Water

Leftover penne w/peppers and sausage (250 calories; 5 points)
* I have to say that I love this meal more every time I eat it. So yummy!

For dinner

Water

Pasta w/marinara sauce, meatballs, peppers, and zucchini (500 calories; 9 points)
* This is a guess. I think it might be a little bit of an overestimate, but I'd rather go over in my estimates

Cabbage + 2 tsps of ceasar dressing (50 calories; 1 point)

Snacks

Diet hot chocolate (25 calories; 0 points)

1 bowl of cheerios in skim milk (140 calories; 3 points)

1 piece of dark chocolate (57 calories; 1 point)

So for today it's roughly:

Total Calories: 1342 - Wow, I sure ate a lot today. Like I said above, I was just so hungry today, and I'm not sure why.

Total WW Points: 25

Total flex points left for week: 31 of 35

Days left in flex points week (after today) : 5

Exercise

150 ab crunches

No Zumba today. :( I think this week is going to be bad (i.e. a few pounds will be added on to my weight instead of being subtracted). I'm off to a conference tomorrow until Sunday. And I'm pretty sure it's going to be difficult to eat low calories/low fat food. Oh well. At least there's a fitness room at the resort I'm going to, so that's something at least. :)

More on Sodium

Just as a follow-up to my tracking of daily sodium intake today. I came across a short article about sodium in one of my old Good Housekeeping magazines. Here's what it says:

"Nutrition guidelines say that we should get no more than 1500 to 2300 mg of sodium daily. Yet most of us consume up to double the recommended amount. Banishing the saltshaker can help, but only a little. The real villain is processed food. Here, some examples of how sodium levels can soar."

With these numbers, I definitely went over my daily sodium intake. Oops. At least I didn't double it!

The article then has a table which compares sodium levels in fresh, processed, and heavily processed foods. I can't reproduce the table here without a lot of work. But here's a link to the article: Sodium

One of the more interesting ones for me was that 2 slices of bacon had so much LESS sodium than 3 ounces of ham (370 vs 1128, respectively). Now I know that ham has a lot of sodium in it because of the curing process, but I thought 2 slices of bacon would have a lot too.

Anyway. It's an interesting read. Take a look.

March 2, 2010 - Day 58

They say sodium is the silent killer. So, ideally I should be watching out for that too (as well as the numerous other things like balancing out sugar, protein, fat, fruit/vegs, and grains). I think a person would go nuts if they tried to keep track of all of this stuff all the time. But just for today I wanted to see how much sodium I'm intaking while I watch my caloric intake. I'm not going to do this after today because I'll lose my mind if I do.

After doing some reading, it seems that we should absolutely not get more than 2400 mg of sodium per day (although there is some debate on that number). For those that have high blood pressure, it is recommended to be less than 1500 mg. For comparison, they say that average sodium consumption per person per day in the US is 3375 mg of sodium, with 75% of this coming from pre-packaged foods. So almost 1000 mg over the maximum. Yikes!

Oh, and one last thing on this subject. Table salt is not equal to sodium. Table salt is 40% sodium and 60% chloride. I should have paid more attention in chemistry class, since I had no idea!

For breakfast

1/2 cup of coffee w/vanilla creamer (35 calories; 1 point; 50 mg)

High fiber oatmeal (160 calories; 2.5 points; 290 mg)
* I decided to use half WW points. I've seen many other people do it, so I guess it's okay. I don't think I'll do it all the time, but this is so close to 2.5 (it was like 2.57) that it seemed silly to round all the way up to 3 like I have been.

For lunch

Water

Leftover penne w/peppers and sausage (250 calories; 5 points; 400 mg)
* It was the sausage in this meal that really upped the sodium. It contributed 375 mg of the 400!

For dinner

Water

1 Subway Roast Beef on 9-grain bread (310 calories; 5.5 points; 840 mg)
* #1, O_o on the sodium! Crazy!
* #2, I was so proud of myself for this dinner. We decided to go to the mall and then check out the food court. All of my favorites were there. Orange chicken, baked ziti, pretzels... but I resisted and just had a few bites of Cam's sesame chicken and rice and instead opted for the much healthier sub. I gotta give it up to Subway. Not only is their nutritional information for each sub listed prominently right as you order (which I verified on-line when I got home), they also provide you with options if you are on a low-fat, low-calorie, or low-sodium diet. Guess which one I didn't look at? :)

A couple of bites of sesame chicken and rice (125 calories; 2 points; 350 mg)
* A guess based on what I read on-line.

Snacks

Some cantaloupe (30 calories; 0 points; 14 mg)

Kashi trail mix bar (140 calories; 2 points; 105 mg)
* These are super low in sodium! Yay, because I love these soooo much! I think I'm going to have to try the cereal soon.

1/2 of WW strawberry yogurt (50 calories; 0.5 points; 55 mg)
* I didn't plan on having this, but Riley wanted yogurt sooooo badly and this was all we had in the house. She never finishes a whole yogurt, so I got half.

Diet hot chocolate (25 calories; 0 points; 140 mg)

1 oatmeal/dark chocolate cookie (100 calories; 2.5 points; 80 mg)

So for today it's roughly:

Total Sodium: 2344
* Wow, this would have been so much lower if I had cooked at home tonight as was the original plan. So, I guess that's the moral of the story. At least I'm under the 2400 maximum, albeit just barely. :/

Total Calories: 1205

Total WW Points: 21

Total flex points left for week: 35 of 35

Days left in flex points week (after today) : 6

Exercise

150 ab crunches
* This was all I could handle as my legs were like jelly today!

March 1, 2010 - Day 57

Overall today was such a satisfying food and exercise day. I felt like I got a really nice workout in at Zumba (I think knowing the routines helps me a lot), and the food I ate today was do delicious. I like days like this.

For breakfast

3/4 of a multi-grain english muffin w/smart balance (110 calories; 2 points)

1/2 cup of coffee w/vanilla creamer (35 calories; 1 point)

For lunch

1 peanut butter and jelly on multi-grain bread (215 calories; 4 points)

Water

For dinner

Penne w/turkey sausage and peppers (275 calories; 6 points)
* This was so unbelievably good! Cam stuffed himself, declaring that he wouldn't be able to eat again until next Monday. Riley gobbled hers right up. And I am still feeling satisfied and happy after eating this meal. What a great recipe. Thanks, Parents magazine!

Water

Snacks

Garden Vegetable Wheat Thins (120 calories; 2 points)

1 Kashi trail mix bar (140 calories; 2 points)
* Both the Wheat Thins (which apparently is a new variety) and the trail mix are sooooo tasty!

1/2 cup coffee w/vanilla creamer (35 calories; 1 point)

1 chocolate donut hole (52 calories; 1 point)

So for today it's roughly:

Total Calories: 982

Total WW Points: 19

Total flex points left at the end of the week: 22.5 of 35

Exercise

Zumba!

200 ab crunches
* I'm trying out some new ab exercises. In addition to the ab lounger, which I'm still using, I'm trying to work on my side abs as well as my lower abs by doing some ab exercises I found in Shape magazine. Hard, hard, hard. :)

February 28, 2010 - Day 56

I think my problem with snacking lately is that I stay up too late. Take yesterday fore example. I just looked at the amount of snacks I had, and I was like O_o! But then if I factor in that I was up until 1am, it doesn't seem as bad. Granted they weren't the healthiest of snacks yesterday (that's a different issue), but that aside, it kind of makes sense that I would eat more if I stay up later. Experts say to eat ever 3-4 hours If I'm extending my day by that amount of time (assuming a lot of people got to bed around 10), then I should get to eat more. Right? Well, that's what I'm going with anyway. :)


For breakfast

1 banana (105 calories; 2 points)

1/2 cup of coffee w/vanilla creamer (35 calories; 1 point)

For lunch

Ham and cheddar cheese on multi-grain bread (w/dijon mustard) (220 calories; 4 points)

Water

For dinner - It's leftover night again!

1.5 spinach lasagna rolls (300 calories; 6 points)

Water

Snacks

A handful of mixed nuts (140 calories; 3 points)

1 cafe mocha w/skim milk (175 calories; 3 points)

1 oatmeal/dark chocolate cookie (100 calories; 2 points)

So for today it's roughly:

Total Calories: 1085

Total WW Points: 21

Total flex points left for week: 22.5 of 35

Days left in flex points week (after today) : 1

Exercise

45 minutes on an elliptical machine

100 ab crunches

Just general housework and yardwork - Cam kept telling me to stop to sit down and rest. I was like the little energizer bunny today. :)

February 27, 2010 - Day 55

It's interesting how different instructors approach the same class. I took a pilates class at the YMCA earlier this week, which was definitely more like a yoga class. Today at the university I took a pilates/yoga fusion class and it was way more pilates than yoga. Man, those pilates push-ups are killer!

Also, since I am starting to exercise more and have lost some weight, I went and recalculated the target number of WW points that I get each day. Good thing I did, since as it seems, I am now allowed 21 points per day before going into my flex points. This is important for me to keep on checking, since as I've read, if you start exercising more and more but don't adjust points (i.e. you don't eat enough to replenish yourself) you'll actually be doing more harm than good. Not only will you not lose weight, more importantly you'll be depriving your body of the nutrition it needs to stay healthy.

For breakfast

High fiber oatmeal (160 calories; 3 points)

1/2 cup of coffee w/vanilla creamer (35 calories; 1 point)

For lunch

1 spinach lasagna roll (200 calories; 4 points)

Water

For dinner

Santa Fe chicken (300 calories; 5 points)
* I hate it when I only have the # of WW points per serving and not the # of calories as well as I did for this recipe. Then I just have to totally guess. Well, I guess I could've figured it out if I was careful, but seriously. That's too much work.

Brown rice (85 calories; 2 points)

Water

Snacks

1/2 an oatmeal/dark chocolate cookie (50 calories; 1 point)

Soy chocolate milk (150 calories; 3 points)
* I gotta say, this was really tasty! I bought a little 8 1/4 oz serving of it while shopping the other day on a whim. (I'm feeling like I'm not getting enough calcium each day. Anyway...) Wow! I was pleasantly surprised! Cam drinks the vanilla soy milk since he is lactose intolerant. I just may have to give that a try. Who knows? Maybe we'll all switch over? (That's funny for me to think about, since I have FINALLY made the switch over to fat-free milk.)

1 Skinny Cow low-fat fudge bar (100 calories; 1 point)

At Riley's day care open house tonight:

Bites of apple pie and vanilla ice cream (175 calories; 4 points)
* Another guess

1 cup of coffee w/vanilla creamer (35 calories; 1 point)

So for today it's roughly:

Total Calories: 1290 - I did a lot of reading yesterday that said everyone needs to get a minimum of 1200 calories. It's interesting that on some days I find that extremely difficult to accomplish and on others it's no problem.

Total WW Points: 25

Total flex points left for week: 22.5 of 35

Days left in flex points week (after today) : 2

Exercise

Pilates/Yoga class

100 ab crunches

February 26, 2010 - Day 54

So, I was originally going to share with you the news that I ate egg yolks today for the first time in forever. Which is really exciting, because I've missed eggs! Stupid egg intolerance due to my over-indulgence while pregnant and nursing Riley. Seriously, I ate eggs every day for abut 5 months. Now while I didn't eat the egg whites (which is where I suspect I have most of my stomach problems), I was super excited that the egg yolks seemed to agree with me.

But, the bigger news is that today I went shopping and, get this, bought a pair of 6 jeans! Yep, you read it correctly! Size 6 jeans!!!!! Granted, I'm sporting a little bit of a muffin top, but they look awesome on me. I also bought a pair of size 8 jeans that went on super comfortably and also look fabulous. Rounding out the purchase with 2 new tops, and I feel awesome! What a way to keep me motivated to do more!

For breakfast

3/4 of a multi-grain english muffin w/margarine (120 calories; 2 points)

1/2 cup of coffee w/vanilla creamer (35 calories; 1 point)

For lunch

1 peanut butter and jelly on multi-grain bread (215 calories; 4 points)

Water

For dinner

1 ground turkey enchilada (345 calories; 7 points)

Water

Snacks

2 scrambled egg yolks (108 calories; 3 points)

1 piece of dark chocolate (50 calories; 1 point)

1/2 cup of coffee w/vanilla creamer (35 calories; 1 point)

1 oatmeal/dark chocolate cookie (100 calories; 2 points)

So for today it's roughly:

Total Calories: 908

Total WW Points: 21

Total flex points left for week: 26.5 of 35

Days left in flex points week (after today) : 3

Exercise

Zumba!

100 ab crunches

February 25, 2010 - Day 53

So, the theme of the last few days has been spinach, in case you haven't noticed, heh. I bought a big bag of spinach, and when I do that, I usually end up letting it sit there until it goes bad. And I didn't want to do that! So, each night for the past few (well, not yesterday of course) I've tried to figure out how to incorporate spinach into the dinner. The perfect opportunity came yesterday when I saw that Gina's WW Recipes had a great new recipe for lasagna spinach rolls. I just knew that I had to make it!

For breakfast

High fiber blueberry muffin (160 calories; 3 points)

1/2 cup of coffee w/vanilla creamer (35 calories; 1 point)

For lunch

1 ham and cheese sandwich on multi-grain bread (160 calories; 2 points)

Water

For dinner

1 spinach lasagna roll (200 calories; 4 points)
* Quite tasty, and quite filling!

Water

Snacks

1 cafe mocha w/skim milk (175 calories; 3 points)

1 Kashi trail mix bar (140 calories; 2 points)

1/2 of an oatmeal/chocolate cookie (50 calories; 1 point)
* Riley and I made these together! :D

So for today it's roughly:

Total Calories: 920

Total WW Points: 16

Total flex points left for week: 28.5 of 35

Days left in flex points week (after today) : 4

Exercise

Pilates/Yoga class

50 ab crunches

About 30 minutes on an elliptical machine

February 24, 2010 - Day 52

So I had every intention of making spinach lasagna today but got side-tracked by going to a movie with Cam in the middle of the day. And depending on how you look at it, this was either a good or a bad thing. Diet-wise: bad; Everything-else-wise: good! The movie theater we went to serves food (pizzas/salads/burgers/etc) directly to you at your seat. Totally amazing. We've done this before at a different theater in town, but this place just opened last fall and is mere minutes away from the university. So, we had to go. Plus it was our Valentine's day gift to each other, since we didn't do anything on the actual day.

So, I ate some food at the movie theater and enjoyed myself immensely! Then I went to the gym and did about 30 minutes on an elliptical machine and some crunches. This wouldn't have been so tiring if I hadn't already done an hour Zumba class before going to the movies. :)

Oh, on a positive note, I weighed myself at the gym. I'm now at 134.7 lbs. Do you know what that means? Less than 10 pounds to go!! Woot!

For breakfast

1 multi-grain english muffin w/peanut butter (200 calories; 3 points)

1/2 cup of coffee w/vanilla creamer (35 calories; 1 point)

For lunch

1/4 of chicken ceasar salad (265 calories; 7 points)

1 slice of "Cleopatra" pizza (300 calories; 7 points)
* It was a thin-crust pizza with ceasar salad dressing, red onions, and chicken on it. I actually have no idea how many calories this slice is, so I looked around at other thin crusts pizzas and tried to make a best guess. Who knows how off I am.

Water

For dinner

1 bowl of cheerios in skim milk (140 calories; 3 points)
* My "lunch" (which really was around 2:30pm) was so filling that I couldn't have eaten a big meal if I tried.

Snacks

1 Kashi trail mix bar (140 calories; 2 points)

French Vanilla hot chocolate (80 calories; 1.5 points)

So for today it's roughly:

Total Calories: 1160

Total WW Points: 24.5

Total flex points left for week: 28.5 of 35

Days left in flex points week (after today) : 5

Exercise

Zumba!

100 ab crunches

A little over 30 minutes on an elliptical machine

February 23, 2010 - Day 51

Happy 23 months Riley! In honor of your arrival 23 months ago, I thought I would try a new breakfast. Not really, but I did try it. I didn't like it.

For breakfast

1 tablespoon of cooked quinoa w/vanilla, brown sugar, and cinnamon (50 calories; 1 point)
* I can see this being good when it is incorporated with other things, like in lieu of rice when making stuffed peppers. It just wasn't good at all by itself. Maybe I need to find a better recipe.

1 banana (90 calories; 2 points)

1/2 cup of coffee w/vanilla creamer (35 calories; 1 point)

For lunch

1 peanut butter and jelly on multi-grain bread (215 calories; 4 points)

1 clementine (40 calories; 0 points)

Water

For dinner

Pork loin with dijon herb sauce (250 calories; 5 points)

Brown rice with broccoli, spinach, and peppers (100 calories; 1 point)

Water

Snacks

1/2 cup of coffee w/vanilla creamer (35 calories; 1 point)

1 high fiber blueberry muffin (160 calories; 3 points)

Chamomile tea (0 calories; 0 points)

Little Debbie chocolate cake (100 calories; 2 points)

So for today it's roughly:

Total Calories: 1075

Total WW Points: 20

Total flex points left for week: 34 of 35

Days left in flex points week (after today) : 6

Exercise

100 ab crunches

February 22, 2010 - Day 50

So, I did it! I signed up for a month by month membership at YMCA. Now I can take all the Zumba/fitness courses I like. This is in addition to to the once per week yoga/pilates class I'm going to start taking at the University starting this Saturday. Phew! I better be in shape come the summer, that's all I gotta say.

For breakfast

High fiber oatmeal (160 calories; 3 points)

1/2 cup of coffee w/vanilla creamer (35 calories; 1 point)

For lunch

Ham and cheddar cheese on multi-grain bread (w/dijon mustard) (220 calories; 4 points)

A little more than half of WW Strawberry yogurt (60 calories; 1 point)
* This was much better than the other WW yogurt I had.

Water

For dinner

4 bean chili with low-carb pasta and spinach (350 calories; 6 points)
* My first chili. Wow, with this diet I sure am making a lot of firsts! I made this in the crockpot, and man, did my kitchen smell great all day. To make the chili a little heartier and healthier, I decided at the last minute to add in some pasta and spinach. A really, really nice addition. All 3 of us really liked this a lot!

Water

Snacks

A piece of dark chocolate (57 calories; 1 point)

Chamomile tea (0 calories; 0 points)

Skinny cow low-fat fudge bar (100 calories; 1 point)

So for today it's roughly:

Total Calories: 952

Total WW Points: 17

Total flex points left at the end of the week: 30 of 35

Exercise

Zumba class!

100 ab crunches

February 21, 2010 - Day 49

Flex points were created for days like today. Yum, yum, yum, it was pasty day! I love those days!

For breakfast

1 whole wheat english muffin w/margarine (160 calories; 3 points)

1/2 cup of coffee w/vanilla creamer (35 calories; 1 point)

For lunch

1 meat and potato pasty (500 calories; 12 points)
* The inside of a pasty (turnip, onion, lean ground beef, potato, parsnip, carrot) is actually really healthy. It was the puff pastry the inside was cooked in where the majority of calories and points came from. :)

Water

For dinner

Stir fry w/carne asada (250 calories; 5 points)

Water

Snacks

1 clementine (40 calories; 0 points)

1 high fiber blueberry muffin (160 calories; 3 points)

1 cup of tea (0 calories; 0 points)

So for today it's roughly:

Total Calories: 1145

Total WW Points: 24 - Remarkably I'm only over my daily target by 5 points!

Total flex points left for week: 30 of 35

Days left in flex points week (after today) : 1

Exercise
Nothing. On pasty day, can you really expect anything more?

February 20, 2010 - Day 48

For breakfast

High fiber blueberry muffin (160 calories; 3 points)

1/2 cup of coffee w/vanilla creamer (35 calories; 1 point)

For lunch

1/2 of a low-carb chicken ceasar wrap (250 calories; 5 points)

1 apple (80 calories; 1 point)

Water

For dinner

1 roasted chicken garlic sausage (140 calories; 3 points)

1/2 ear of corn (no butter!) (40 calories; 0 points)

Water

Snacks

Strawberry fruit and grain bar (130 calories; 2 points)

1 cafe mocha w/skim milk (175 calories; 3 points)

So for today it's roughly:

Total Calories: 1010

Total WW Points: 18

Total flex points left for week: 35 of 35

Days left in flex points week (after today) : 2

Exercise

About 30 minutes on an elliptical machine

100 ab crunches

Weeding in the back lot

February 19, 2010 - Day 47

I couldn't resist - I was intrigued to know, even though I usually go a whole week without checking. So, my weight update is 136.2 lbs.

So, now officially my weight loss exceeds the amount of weight I still want to lose. Woo-hoo! On to the size 8 jeans now!

For breakfast

Strawberry fruit and grain bar (130 calories; 2 points)

1/2 cup of coffee w/vanilla creamer (35 calories; 1 point)

For lunch

Grilled cheese on multi-grain bread w/fat-free cheese (200 calories; 3 points)

1 clementine (40 calories; 0 points)

Water

For dinner

Shrimp and Zucchini with Ziti in Light Tomato Sauce (450 calories; 8 points)
* I'm a little unsure of the points/calories here. Listed on the recipe I used, it said 440 calories (I upped a bit since I put a little cheese on) but 5.5 WW points. I have no idea how she got that. Granted I don't know the new formula for WW, but still. So, I just put it up to 8. Better to be safe then sorry.

Water

Snacks

High fiber blueberry muffin (160 calories; 3 points)

1/2 cup of coffee w/vanilla creamer (35 calories; 1 point)

A small handful of animal crackers (50 calories; 1 point)

So for today it's roughly:

Total Calories: 1100

Total WW Points: 19

Total flex points left for week: 35 of 35

Days left in flex points week (after today) : 3

Exercise

A little over 30 minutes on an elliptical machine

200 ab crunches

February 18, 2010 - Day 46

For breakfast

High fiber oatmeal (160 calories; 3 points)

1/2 cup of coffee w/vanilla creamer (35 calories; 1 point)

For lunch

2 rice cakes w/peanut butter (260 calories; 5 points)

Water

For dinner

1 salmon burger (on a roll!) w/cajun remoulade sauce (300 calories; 6 points)

Water

Snacks

A handful of mixed nuts (140 calories; 3 points)

Diet hot chocolate (25 calories; 0 points)

1 hershey kiss, dark chocolate (25 calories; 1 point)

So for today it's roughly:

Total Calories: 920

Total WW Points: 19

Total flex points left for week: 35

Days left in flex points week (after today) : 4

Exercise

A little over 30 minutes on an elliptical machine

February 17, 2010 - Day 45

Zumba again today! My friend and I are going to sign up for the Y - there is a great special just for this month in which the sign up fee is next to nothing (it's usually $100; it'll be just $14). Then, I just pay on a monthly basis.

The class was fun today. The lady who usually teaches the lunch time class had a baby, so there have been subs filling in. So, the lady I had today was not the same I had the first time I went. One wasn't better than the other; they were just different. Today I felt more like I was back in dance class which I liked.

The neat thing about signing up is that I'll now have access to any class at the Y. So, if I decide that a step class looks fun, then I can go. And since it's only on a month to month basis, I'll have no problem when I leave in June.

For breakfast

2 whole-wheat pancakes w/minimal syrup (235 calories; 5 points)
* Needed to use up the rest of the mix from yesterday. Actually, I hadn't thought t use it right away but after she got up Riley specifically asked for pancakes so I figured why not.

1/2 cup of coffee w/vanilla creamer (35 calories; 1 point)

For lunch

Smart Ones Fettucini Alfredo (240 calories; 4 points)

Water

For dinner

Roast chicken breast w/no skin (140 calories; 3 points)
* Yay! My first time roasting a chicken. It was really good too - super, super moist!

Asparagus with dijon vinagrette (30 calories; 0 points)

Water

Snacks

1/2 of a large banana (60 calories; 1 point)

1 chicken shu-mai (20 calories; 0 points)

Diet hot chocolate (25 calories; 0 points)

Quaker Mini-Delights (90 calories; 2 points)

So for today it's roughly:

Total Calories: 875

Total WW Points: 16

Total flex points left for week: 35

Days left in flex points week (after today) : 5

Exercise

Zumba class at the YMCA

200 ab crunches

February 16, 2010 - Day 44

In honor of Shrove Tuesday, which honestly I hadn't heard of until last night, I thought it would be fun if Riley and I had pancakes for lunch. Riley had hers in the shape of Mickey ears w/blackberry preserves and I had some with a little bit of syrup. I thought about going to the store to get reduced calorie/fat syrup, but honestly I couldn't be bothered. So, all in all, not the super healthiest of lunches, but at least I made them with skim milk. Plus, it was a *special* occasion. ;)

For breakfast

1 strawberry fruit and grain bar (130 calories; 2 points)

1/2 cup of coffee w/vanilla creamer (35 calories; 1 point)

For lunch

2 whole-wheat pancakes w/minimal syrup (235 calories; 5 points)

Water

For dinner

Lighter eggplant parm (300 calories; 5 points)
* I have no idea how many calories this is, but it's supposed to be 5 points. I got the recipe from Gina's WW Recipes, which is a great website with lots of yummy WW friendly recipes. Cam thought it wasn't bad, which is saying something since he doesn't like eggplant. I liked it a lot, and Riley loved it (she actually had 4 helpings!).

Water

Snacks

A small handful of pretzels (25 calories; 0 points)

1 cafe mocha w/skim milk (175 calories; 3 points)

A handful of animal crackers (50 calories; 1 point)

So for today it's roughly:

Total Calories: 950

Total WW Points: 17

Total flex points left for week: 35

Days left in flex points week (after today) : 6

Exercise

A walk around the neighborhood w/Riley and a wagon (sometimes pulling the wagon with one arm and holding Riley in the other)

About 45 minutes on an elliptical machine

200 ab crunches

February 15, 2010 - Day 43

Today Riley and I had a nice day. We went to the children's museum here in Salem with a friend of Riley's from day care (and his dad) - day care was closed today because of the holiday. Then after her nap we went food shopping where Riley got to ride on the mechanical horse that they put by the entrance. So, I was barely home today which helped me not snack too much during the day.

For breakfast

High fiber oatmeal (160 calories; 3 points)

1/2 cup of coffee w/vanilla creamer (35 calories; 1 point)

For lunch

1 ham and cheddar sandwich on multi-grain bread w/dijon mustard (160 calories; 2 points)

1 clementine (40 calories; 0 points)

Water

For dinner

1 bbq pulled pork sandwich on multi-grain bread (175 calories; 3 points)

1 ear of corn w/butter (180 calories; 4 points)
* The butter I put on contributed 3 of the 4 points! Wow! I think I'm done with putting butter on corn on the cob anyway, since I don't think it added too much in the way of flavor. I think I just did it because I always have.

Water

Snacks

A small handful of pretzels (25 calories; 0 points)

Skinny Cow low fat fudge bar (100 calories; 1 point)
* I'm all for snacks that are delicious and are only worth 1 point. This dessert has 4 grams of fiber!

1 cup of tea - no milk/sugar! (0 calories; 0 points)

So for today it's roughly:

Total Calories: 875

Total WW Points: 14

Total flex points left at the end of the week: 31 of 35

Exercise

100 ab crunches

February 14, 2010 - Day 42

Happy Valentine's Day! This morning I decided to make crepes for the family. Cam loves them, and ever since I've known him, he's wanted to make them. So I figured this would be a nice surprise and something we could all do as a family. It was fun! Riley loved helping, saying over and over again, "Help Mommy! Help Mommy!" and helped add the ingredients and whisk them all together. I manned the grill, and Cam experimented with different fillings. My favorite was honey and cinnamon; Cam liked them with butter and syrup; and Riley liked hers with honey. These were also super easy to make. Gotta love stuff like that! :)

On another note, my weight is now at 138.5 pounds. While that number represents a slower weight loss rate than previous weeks, it's still a loss of weight. So, woo-hoo there! I'm closing in on having lost more weight versus the amount I want to lose. That's my immediate goal for now. Then it's on to fitting into the size 8 jeans I bought at Goodwill today. I tried them on and I can get in them and close them, although not in a super comfy way. But I'm thrilled I could get them on b/c that hasn't happened in a long time!

For breakfast

3 crepes with cinnamon and honey (400 calories; 8 points)

1/2 cup of coffee w/vanilla creamer (35 calories; 1 point)

For lunch

1 ham and cheddar sandwich on multi-grain bread w/dijon mustard (160 calories; 2 points)

1 clementine (40 calories; 0 points)

Water

For dinner
Continuing leftover weekend, I decided to have:

A half piece of turkey meatloaf (100 calories; 2 points)

1/2 of a cauliflower fritter (60 calories; 1 point)

Water

Snacks

1 square of dark chocolate (57 calories; 1 point)

Diet hot chocolate (25 calories; 0 points)

So for today it's roughly:

Total Calories: 877

Total WW Points: 15

Total flex points left for week: 31

Days left in flex points week (after today) : 1

Exercise

A little tennis with Cam and Riley (until Riley decided she had enough of chasing balls, and wanted to go down the slides in the play area)

About 45 minutes on an elliptical machine

100 ab crunches

February 13, 2010 - Day 41

It's leftover night! Actually, with the amount I've been cooking lately, a leftover weekend won't even be enough. :)

For breakfast

1 high fiber banana nut muffin (170 calories; 3 points)

1/2 cup of coffee w/vanilla creamer (35 calories; 1 point)

For lunch

Smart Ones Pasta Primavera (250 calories; 5 points)

Water

For dinner

Shepard's pie (350 calories; 8 points)
* It's hard to know how big your serving sizes are when you're eating leftovers. I think I ate less than last time, so I tried to adjust accordingly.

Water

Snacks

Diet hot chocolate (25 calories; 0 points)

Smart Ones Mint Chocolate Chip Sundae (150 calories; 3 points)

At the birthday party Riley went to this morning:

A bite of Riley's banana (10 calories; 0 points)

A bite of Riley's zucchini/chocolate chip muffin (20 calories; 0 points)

So for today it's roughly:

Total Calories: 1010

Total WW Points: 20

Total flex points left for week: 31

Days left in flex points week (after today) : 2

Exercise
Nothing. We went to a birthday party this morning, and then I did my taxes this afternoon. Woot!

February 12, 2010 - Day 40

I came across this recipe for brownies that substituted the traditional ingredients of egg, oil, and water for black beans. I was intrigued so I needed to try it. OMG! They are delicious! You would never know that there are pureed black beans are in it. They are yummy and rich. The idea is to take a brownie mix, and instead of putting in the e/o/w, puree up a can of black beans and mix it in. When pureeing up the beans, the recipe I saw called for 1 can of water as well, but that turned out to be too much and the mix was too liquidy (and thus the cooked brownies were too spongey). So, do about a half-can of water and then eyeball it from there.

Seriously, if you like brownies, you need to try making the brownies this way. They are lower in fat and higher in protein and fiber. We are definitely going to make brownies this way from now on.

For breakfast

Before the gym:

1 strawberry fruit and grain cereal bar (130 calories; 2 points)

1/2 cup of coffee w/vanilla creamer (35 calories; 1 point)

After the gym:

2 pieces of multi-grain toast w/peanut butter (190 calories; 3 points)

1 clementine (40 calories; 0 points)

Water

For lunch

1 ham and cheddar (fat-free!) sandwich on multi-grain bread w/dijon mustard (160 calories; 2 points)

Water

For dinner

Beef stir-fry w/peppers, broccoli, and onions (350 calories; 7 points)

Water

Snacks

1 black bean brownie (120 calories; 2 points)

1 bowl of cheerios w/skim milk (140 calories; 3 points)

Diet hot chocolate (25 calories; 0 points)

So for today it's roughly:

Total Calories: 1170

Total WW Points: 20

Total flex points left for week: 32

Days left in flex points week (after today) : 3

Exercise

A little over 30 minutes on an elliptical machine

100 ab crunches

February 11, 2010 - Day 39

Today was another very blah day for me today. I didn't want to do anything - I didn't want to (and didn't) go to the gym. I didn't want to watch TV, read, go out, nothing. I'm not sure what's going on. Nothing, save a smile or giggles from Riley, would cheer me up. I did need to go food shopping so Cam, Riley, and I went together, and my mood improved. Hopefully my better mood continues on to tomorrow. We'll see.

For breakfast

High fiber oatmeal (160 calories; 3 points)

1/2 cup of coffee w/vanilla creamer (35 calories; 1 point)

For lunch

1 tuna sandwich on multi-grain bread w/fat-free mayo and cheddar cheese (185 calories; 3 points)

1 clementine (40 calories; 0 points)

Water

For dinner

2 servings of Shepard's pie (450 calories; 11 points)
* I was going to make the beef stir fry that's still marinating in my fridge, but since I was in such a mood, I decided to have a comfort food. Plus, the rest of my food choices had been smart the rest of the day, so I figured I would splurge.

Water

Snacks

Diet hot chocolate (25 calories; 0 points)

So for today it's roughly:

Total Calories: 870

Total WW Points: 18

Total flex points left for week: 33

Days left in flex points week (after today) : 4

Exercise

Lots of weeding - good for the glutes.

February 10, 2010 - Day 38

Today was a bad snack day. Tomorrow it's the gym.

So I was going to make stir-fry tonight but came across this recipe for reduced-fat mac and cheese w/broccoli. Since I wanted to use up the broccoli from yesterday, I thought why not? Plus it was a new mac and cheese recipe which is always good news! It was pretty good too - I needed to add some cayenne pepper to it to give it a little more kick but I didn't have any. So, on the grocery list for the weekend is cayenne pepper and on tap for tomorrow's dinner is stir-fry.

For breakfast

1 strawberry fruit and grain cereal bar (130 calories; 2 points)

1 clementine (40 calories; 0 points)

1/2 cup of coffee w/vanilla creamer (35 calories; 1 point)

For lunch

1 tuna sandwich on multi-grain bread w/fat-free mayo and cheddar cheese (185 calories; 3 points)

Water

For dinner

1 serving of reduced-fat mac & cheese w/broccoli (300 calories; 6 points)

Water

Snacks

1 square of dark chocolate (57 calories; 1 point)

A handful of mixed nuts (100 calories; 2 points)

1 cafe mocha w/skim milk (175 calories; 3 points)

1 high fiber banana nut muffin (170 calories; 3 points)

So for today it's roughly:

Total Calories: 1192

Total WW Points: 21

Total flex points left for week: 33

Days left in flex points week (after today) : 5

Exercise

A little over 30 minutes on an elliptical machine

100 ab crunches

February 9, 2010 - Day 37

I'm definitely on a muffin kick lately. It's just so easy - the serving size is there for you already. If I make bread, then I run the great risk of thinking, "Oh, I can just take another little sliver." Plus you can put lots of good stuff in them. Today I made zucchini muffins. They were okay, but not great. Riley loves them though, which is good since they are full of zucchini! I even made it healthier by replacing the oil in the recipe w/apple sauce which apparently is a common substitute. Who knew?

I also found that if I spend time in the kitchen cooking/baking, then I eat less. I guess if I'm just around the food then I'm happy. It also helps when I get myself out of the house, which is why I'm always outside with Riley or taking her to the library (as I did today) or to the store.

For breakfast

1 high fiber oatmeal (160 calories; 3 points)

1/2 cup of coffee w/vanilla creamer (35 calories; 1 point)

For lunch

1 bowl of cheerios w/skim milk (140 calories; 3 points)

For dinner

1 broccoli and cheese stuffed chicken (175 calories; 3 points)
* I don't really know how much this is worth calorie-wise, but it's around 3 points for the meal, so I estimated off of that.

1/2 serving of steamed broccoli (25 calories; 0 points)

Water

Snacks

1 diet hot chocolate (25 calories; 0 points)

1 Smart Ones Peanut Butter cup sundae (170 calories; 3 points)

1/2 of a zucchini muffin (60 calories; 1 point)
* I'm going to try these again with a new recipe.

So for today it's roughly:

Total Calories: 790

Total WW Points: 14

Total flex points left for week: 35

Days left in flex points week (after today) : 6

Exercise
Nothing, except for playing outside w/Riley

February 8, 2010 - Day 36

Today was very blah for me. I just didn't want to do anything. It was very hard for me not to eat badly. I'm lucky I only ate a muffin for a snack this afternoon. It could have been much, much worse.

For breakfast

1 strawberry fruit and grain cereal bar (130 calories; 2 points)

1/2 cup of coffee w/vanilla creamer (35 calories; 1 point)

For lunch

A few bites of a broiled portobello mushroom, seasoned w/rosemary, thyme, parmesan cheese, garlic, oil, and worcestershire sauces (20 calories; 0 points)
* Yeah, I didn't like this. It got rave reviews on some website, and I thought I would try it. I've always claimed I didn't like mushrooms, but I didn't think I ever gave them a fair shot. So, I figured why not. Yeah, no, not for me. So instead, I had...

1 Smart Ones 3 cheese ziti maranera (320 calories; 6 points)
* It's more calories, but definitely more my speed.

Water

For dinner

1 serving of rosemary turkey meatloaf (185 calories; 3 points)

One and a half cauliflower fritters (170 calories; 3 points)

Water

Snacks

1 high fiber banana nut muffin (170 calories; 3 points)

1 diet hot chocolate (25 calories; 0 points)

1 smarties (50 calories; 1 point)

So for today it's roughly:

Total Calories: 1105

Total WW Points: 19

Total flex points left at the end of the week: 28!!! This is the most I've ever had left over at the end of a week. Go me! :)

Exercise

A little over 30 minutes on elliptical machine

100 ab crunches

February 7, 2010 - Day 35

****** Weight update: 139.1 lbs ******
This is the first time I've been under 140 lbs in I don't know how many years! Woo-hoo!

For breakfast

1/2 of an everything bagel w/fat-free cream cheese (170 calories; 3 points)

1/2 cup of coffee w/vanilla creamer (35 calories; 1 point)

For lunch

1 bbq beef burritio (290 calories; 5 points)

1 clementine (40 calories; 0 points)

Water

For dinner

1 roasted chicken garlic sausage (140 calories; 3 point)

1 serving of 3-bean salad w/rotini pasta (230 calories; 5 points)

Water

Snacks

1 handful of chips w/refried beans, cheese, and sour cream (120 calories; 3 points)

1/2 cup of coffee w/vanilla creamer (35 calories; 1 point)

1 high fiber banana nut muffin (170 calories; 3 points)

So for today it's roughly:

Total Calories: 1235

Total WW Points: 24

Total flex points left for week: 28

Days left in flex points week (after today) : 1

Exercise

A little over 30 minutes on elliptical machine

Various weight exercises for my arms (using 5 lb weights)

100 ab crunches

February 6, 2010 - Day 34

I just realized that I'm officially over the one month mark with my diet (I started it on Jan 4). Cool.

For breakfast

1 strawberry fruit and grain cereal bar (130 calories; 2 points)

1/2 of a clementine (20 calories; 0 points)

1/2 cup of coffee w/vanilla creamer (35 calories; 1 point)

For lunch

1 rice cake w/peanut butter (130 calories; 3 points)

Water

For dinner

1 serving of carne asada (180 calories; 4 points)

1/2 serving of brown rice (85 calories; 2 points)

1 serving of asparagus (32 calories; 0 points)

Water

Snacks

1 bite of a sample of pizza [at Costco] (20 calories; 0 points)

1 bite of a sample of barbecued chicken on a bun [at Costco] (20 calories; 0 points)

1/2 cup of coffee w/vanilla creamer (35 calories; 1 point)

1 cup of WW Chocolate Fudge Brownie ice cream (140 points; 2 points)

So for today it's roughly:

Total Calories: 827

Total WW Points: 15

Total flex points left for week: 33

Days left in flex points week (after today) : 2

Exercise

Playing and a walk around the neighborhood with Riley

100 ab crunches

February 5, 2010 - Day 33

So today I made my own pasta (thanks to my mother-in-law's loan of her pasta roller). It turned out okay. I think it would have been better if I hadn't gone low fat with the recipe. I think the hardest thing was rolling out the pasta. The roller couldn't be locked down with the vice it comes with since my countertops are the wrong width. So, I had to maneuver the rolling while the roller moved around and I held on to the pasta with both hands. In this case, making the pasta was definitely a two-person job!

In any case, I was proud that I did this. :)

For breakfast

1 high fiber oatmeal (160 calories; 3 points)

1/2 cup of coffee w/vanilla creamer (35 calories; 1 point)

For lunch

1 serving of grilled garlic and herb chicken (120 calories; 3 points)

A few bites of Italian creamy garlic Rice A Roni (50 calories; 1 point)

1/2 serving of steamed brussel sprouts (20 calories; 0 points)

Water

For dinner

1 serving of low-fat "lasagna" (410 calories; 7 points)
* This lasagna wasn't a traditional lasagna because the sauce wasn't tomato based but instead made from cornmeal and skim milk. Plus, the only cheese it contained was the sprinkling of parmesan I put at the top. The mix for between the layers consisted of potatoes, peas, and onions reduced in skim milk. The lasagna noodles were made from whole-wheat flour and water.
* The verdict on this meal is "not bad." Riley and I ate our entire portion, and Cam took seconds, so it certainly was on the good side of "not bad." What we decided was that it was a little on the bland side, so if/when I make it again I need to think of what to add to this to make it have a little a more punch. I welcome any ideas!

Water

Snacks

1 small banana (90 calories; 1 point)

1 high fiber banana nut muffin (170 calories; 3 points)

1 diet hot chocolate (25 calories; 0 points)

Total Calories (roughly): 1040

Total WW Points: 19

Total "Flex Points" left for week: 33

Days left in flex points week (after today) : 3

Exercise

One hour on an elliptical machine - this is the longest I've done so far. Since I knew I was going to have some pasta tonight, I figured a little extra cardio would do me good. :)

300 ab crunches

February 4, 2010 - Day 32

I was so proud of myself today. I went in to the office since I had to teach, and I was a little nervous about keeping up my diet. I usually forget to bring lunch and thus need to go out somewhere. There's this awesome place where they sell varenikis (they're like pierogis, but smaller) and they are amazingly delicious. This summer I must have gone there about twice a week. In fact, when I walk in, the lady that runs the place knows exactly what I'm going to get and starts prepping my food even before I order! :) However, after do a rough calculation on the calories and fat, I found that the meal is about 1300 calories and about 70 grams of fat! Yikes! No wonder I put on weight! Now, I'm not saying I'll never go there again before I leave Salem. That'd be crazy! But I figure I'd like to continue losing weight a little longer before I indulge myself. So instead, as you'll see, I brought in my lunch today. Go me! (As a bonus, it saves money...)

I also did NOT give in to temptation and eat the chocolate that was offered up to passerbys on the secretary's desk. Phew!

For breakfast

1 high fiber banana nut muffin (170 calories; 3 points)

1/2 cup of coffee w/vanilla creamer (35 calories; 1 point)

For lunch

1 tuna and mayo sandwich with american cheese on multi-grain bread (230 calories; 3 points)

1 strawberry fruit and grain cereal bar (130 calories; 2 points)

Water

For dinner

1 piece of homemade white sauce pizza w/sausage and red peppers on garlic and herb dough (373 calories; 9 points)
* Wow, we sure are eating a lot of pizza lately! I do have to say that I'm liking the pizza a lot more now that we are making it ourselves. Maybe that's why we're eating it more!
* We're also eating a lot of peppers recently too. At least they're healthy, unlike the pizza they're sitting on. :)

Water

Snacks

1 clementine (40 calories; 0 points)

2 bites of WW boston creme yoguret (10 calories; 0 points)
* I didn't like this. I've had boston creme flavored yogurt before and liked it. But this wasn't good.

Total Calories (roughly): 988

Total WW Points: 18

Total "Flex Points" left for week: 33

Days left in flex points week (after today) : 4

Exercise

A little over 30 minutes on an elliptical machine

February 3, 2010 - Day 31

I so did NOT want to go to they gym today. I'm not sure why either. After I dropped off Riley at day care and trudged my way over (yes, I did go), I just kept thinking about how this was going to be torture. This trend continued while I was on the elliptical machine; I thought I was going to die. But, I got through it, thankfully. :)

For breakfast

1 high fiber banana nut muffin (170 calories; 3 points)

1 Light & Fit Strawberry yogurt (60 calories; 1 point)

1/2 cup of coffee w/vanilla creamer (35 calories; 1 point)

For lunch

1 Smart Ones Mac and Cheese (270 calories; 5 points)
* This wasn't bad. In fact I liked it better than the Lean Cuisine variety (which is surprising since LC is made by the Stouffer's co. which makes an AWESOME frozen, non-healthy m&c).

Water

For dinner

1 ground turkey enchilada (345 calories; 7 points)
* Wow! This was REALLY good. I can't believe I've never had enchiladas before, let alone made them. This is especially surprising since I lived in Tucson for 10 years, but I digress. Cam's been wanting them and since I had no other ideas for today, I figured why not? Man. I totally could have gorged myself on these. However, I was good and just limited myself to one.

1 serving of sauteed yellow and red bell peppers (30 calories; 0 points)

Water

Snacks

1 square of (78% cacao) dark chocolate (57 calories; 1 point)

1 serving of cheerios w/skim milk (140 calories; 3 points)

Total Calories (roughly): 1127

Total WW Points: 21

Total "Flex Points" left for week: 33

Days left in flex points week (after today) : 5

Exercise

A little over 30 minutes on an elliptical machine

400 crunches - Nope, this isn't a typo. I just did 4 sets of 100 at different points throughout the day.

February 2, 2010 - Day 30

All in all, a quiet day today. Tuesdays usually are.

For breakfast

1 high fiber oatmeal (160 calories; 3 points)

1 clementine (40 calories; 0 points)

1 cup of coffee w/vanilla creamer (35 calories; 1 point)

For lunch

1 tuna and mayo sandwich with american cheese on multi-grain bread (230 calories; 3 points)

Water

For dinner

1 serving of 3-bean salad w/wheat rotini pasta (230 calories; 5 points)

1 dijon crispy drumstick (200 calories; 4 points)
* This was really tasty! I removed the skin, lightly salted the chicken and then covered each in a thin layer of flour. Then I coated the drumsticks with a mix comprised of mayo (fat-free), dijon mustard, and Worcestershire sauce. Then I covered the drumsticks in rice krispies and cooked at 425 for about 30 minutes.

Water

Snacks

1/2 of Riley's clementine (20 calories; 0 points)
* This was her second one so I didn't feel bad about eating it. Plus, she kept shoving the pieces in my face saying "Mommy's turn." LOL.

1 diet hot chocolate (25 calories; 0 points)

1 high fiber banana nut muffin (170 calories; 3 points)

Total Calories (roughly): 1110

Total WW Points: 19

Total "Flex Points" left for week: 35

Days left in flex points week (after today) : 6

Exercise

150 crunches

February 1, 2010 - Day 29

So, I weighed myself today, and I've decided that my home scale is completely unreliable. At times it is 2.5 pounds less then the gym scale; other times it is only .5 pounds less. So, I've decided to only use the gym scale to measure my progress. Too bad I always weigh more on the gym scale. :) But, I figure it is more accurate.

So, as of today, my weight is 141.7 pounds. On first glance it looks like I didn't lose any weight this past week, but I need to remember that last week's weight report was done on the home scale. When I weighed myself on the gym scale last week, I weighed 142.5 pounds. So, I lost about a pound this week.

What's also important for me to remember is that since the gym scale is always more than my home scale, I probably didn't weigh 148 at the beginning of this journey, but instead more like 150-151 pounds. So, total approximate weight loss in this first month (I'm only a few days shy) is about 9-10 pounds. Woo-hoo!

For breakfast

2 pieces of multi-grain toast with peanut butter (190 calories; 3 points)

Some cantaloupe (60 calories; 1 point)

1/2 cup of coffee w/vanilla creamer (35 calories; 1 point)

For lunch

1 serving of Special K with skim milk (140 calories; 3 points)

For dinner

1 serving of garlic and peppercorn pork (150 calories; 3 points)

1 serving of onions, garlic, and peas (130 calories; 2 points)

1 serving of onions, garlic and sweet potatoes (150 calories; 3 points)

Water

Snacks

1 banana nut high fiber muffin (170 calories; 3 points)

1 diet hot chocolate (25 calories; 0 points)

Total Calories (roughly): 1050

Total WW Points: 19

Total "Flex Points" left at the end of the week: 18!

Exercise

A little over 30 minutes on an elliptical machine

100 crunches

January 31, 2010 - Day 28

Here's the justification for today's breakfast (via one of my friend's FB status): "Weekends were made for excessive carb consumption."

For breakfast

1 everything bagel with as minimal cream cheese and butter as possible (530 calories; 11 points)

1 cup of coffee w/vanilla creamer (70 calories; 2 points)

No lunch today... too busy shopping.

For dinner

2 servings of Papa Murphy's Chicken, Bacon, Artichoke De-Lite pizza (450 calories; 10 points)

Water

Snacks

1 slice of apple (20 calories; 0 points)

1 diet hot chocolate (25 calories; 0 points)

Total Calories (roughly): 1095

Total WW Points: 23

Total "Flex Points" left for week: 18

Days left in flex points week (after today) : 1

Exercise
100 crunches

January 30, 2010 - Day 27

For breakfast

2 Pop-Overs w/ 1 tbsp of honey (200 calories; 4 points)

1/2 cup of coffee w/vanilla creamer (35 calories; 1 point)

For lunch

Smart Ones Chicken Parmesan (290 calories; 5 points)

Water

For dinner

1 serving of grilled salmon (230 calories; 6 points)

Asparagus/peppers (100 calories; 2 points)

1 serving of pasta w/a lttle pesto (150 calories; 3 points)

Water

Snacks

1 glass of milk

1 ginger cookie

Total Calories (roughly): 1400

Total WW Points: 30

These numbers are complete estimates. I'm giving a lot of points/calories to my 2 snacks that I had. I was doing well... no snacks all day, but then, at the end of the day, I couldn't resist. I guess you could say I choked. :)

Total "Flex Points" left for week: 22

Days left in flex points week (after today) : 2

Exercise

A little over 30 minutes on an elliptical machine

100 crunches

January 29, 2010 - Day 26

Whoah! Today was an intense exercise day. Not only did I do my normal routine, I also tried out a Zumba class at the local Y. Man did that kick my butt! It wasn't just that I didn't know the steps (although I was able to pick them up pretty quickly); it was that we never stopped moving. Well, we did, but that was just for the song to change. So we had a 15 second break or so about every 3 minutes. And for those 3 minutes, we were going - it was definitely high impact for sure!

For breakfast

1 english muffin with peanut butter (220 calories; 5 points)

1 clementine (40 calories; 0 points)

1/2 cup of coffee w/vanilla creamer (35 calories; 1 point)

For lunch

1 grilled cheese sandwich on multi-grain bread (240 calories; 5 points)

Water

For dinner

1 serving of sauteed shrimp (190 calories; 3 points)

1 serving of brown rice and quinoa w/sauteed peppers and onions (120 calories; 3 points)

Water

This whole dinner was super yummy! Not bad for not knowing what to do with the shrimp I took out early this morning. :)

Snacks

1 serving of WW ice cream (140 calories; 2 points)

1/2 cup of coffee w/vanilla creamer (35 calories; 1 point)

Total Calories (roughly): 1010

Total WW Points: 20

Flex points left: 33

Days left in "flex points" week: 4

Exercise

About 30 minutes on an elliptical machine

100 crunches

1 hour Zumba class

More housework - I was listening to my iPod while doing this, and I *know* there was dancing around in there. :D

January 28, 2010 - Day 25

Yay! I returned to the gym for some exercise and it felt really good! I definitely needed that! Wait... did I just type that?!?

For breakfast

1/2 cup of coffee w/vanilla creamer (35 calories; 1 point)

For lunch

1 tuna and mayo sandwich with american cheese on multi-grain bread (250 calories; 4 points)

Water

For dinner

1 serving of grilled garlic and herb chicken (120 calories; 3 points)

1/2 serving of Italian creamy garlic Rice A Roni (130 calories; 3 points)

1/2 serving of steamed brussel sprouts (20 calories; 0 points)
* Wow, I knew these were good for you but I had no idea just how good they were. Here's what one site said: "This food is low in Saturated Fat, and very low in Cholesterol. It is also a good source of Thiamin, Riboflavin, Iron, Magnesium, Phosphorus and Copper, and a very good source of Dietary Fiber, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin K, Vitamin B6, Folate, Potassium and Manganese." It's a good thing I (and Riley!) like these. We have these a couple of times a month.

Water

Snacks

1 clementine (40 calories; 0 points)

1 rice cake with peanut butter (130 calories; 3 points)

1 serving of cheerios w/skim milk (140 calories; 3 points)

Total Calories (roughly): 865

Total WW Points: 17

Flex points left: 34

Exercise

About 30 minutes on an elliptical machine

200 crunches

Housework - Among other things, I scrubbed all of the floors in my house by hand... a good work out for the arms!

All in all, today was a really good day!

January 27, 2010 - Day 24

I had every intention of going to the gym today. Riley had a doctor's appt around 9:30, but I was going to drop her off at daycare after that and then head over. However, the doctor's appointment took like an hour and a half, and Riley was very upset at the end of it (she needed to take this medicine from a breathing machine for about 10 minutes which upset her GREATLY). So I took her home and we hung out for the day. We even got to go visit Cam and take him out to lunch after our story time at the library.

For breakfast

1 high-fiber muffin (130 calories; 2 points)

1/2 cup of coffee w/vanilla creamer (35 calories; 1 point)

For lunch

1/2 of a clementine (10 calories; 0 points)

1 bbq beef burrito (290 calories; 5 points)

Water

For dinner

2 tacos (350 calories; 7 points)
* I had a little dollup of sour cream and a bit of shredded cheese on each. Cam did a great job on getting whole wheat taco shells, which a bunch of fiber in each. Good stuff!

Water

Snacks

1 diet hot chocolate (25 calories; 0 points)

A handful of chips with a little bit of guacamole (150 calories; 3 points)
* These numbers are an estimate. I really didn't have much at all, especially the guacamole, but we did get them from Chipotle when Riley and I took cam for lunch. So I think these numbers are good estimates.

A handful of animal crackers (60 calories; 1 point)

A box of mini-smarties (50 calories; 1 point)

Total Calories (roughly): 1100

Total WW Points: 20

Flex points left: 34

Exercise
Nothing, except for playing outside with Riley.

January 26, 2010 - Day 23

For breakfast

3/4 of a high-fiber muffin (100 calories; 2 points)

1/2 of a clementine (10 calories; 0 points)

1/2 cup of coffee w/vanilla creamer (35 calories; 1 point)

For lunch

1 bowl of Total cereal w/skim milk (140 calories; 3 points)

A few bites of Light Progresso soup (50 calories; 1 point)
* The increase in calories comes from the cheese I put on and the cornstarch I put in to thicken it up.
* I didn't really like it, but I would have had more. However, my daughter LOVED it and ate almost the entire can.

Water

For dinner

1 breaded chicken breast w/a little gravy (200 calories; 5 points)

1/2 serving of parmesan couscous (110 calories; 2 points)

1 serving of roasted broccoli w/parmesan cheese (75 calories; 1 point)

Water

Snacks

1 diet hot chocolate (25 calories; 0 points)

1/2 box of mini-smarties (25 calories; 0 points)
* I shared this with Riley today as a treat - wow did she like this!

Total Calories (roughly): 870

Total WW Points: 15

Flex points left: 35

Exercise
Nothing, except for playing outside with Riley.

January 25, 2010 - Day 22

Yuck. I was so tired today, that I couldn't see straight! So after dropping Riley off at day care, I went right home when I should have been going to the gym. Long and short of it ... no exercise today. :(

****** WEIGHT UPDATE: 141 pounds (via home scale) *******
This means that I am down 7 pounds since starting this diet a little more than 3 weeks ago. In fact, I now weigh less than I did pre-pregnancy! Woot!

For breakfast

High fiber oatmeal (160 calories; 3 points)

1/2 cup of coffee w/vanilla creamer (35 calories; 1 point)

For lunch

1 bbq beef burrito (290 calories; 5 points)

1 Cutie (aka: Clementine) (40 calories; 0 points)

Water

For dinner

1 fillet of breaded, parmesan dover sole (240 calories; 5 points)
* Not as good as the last time I made it, but still tasty.

1 serving of cauliflower mash (40 calories; 0 points)
* I found the idea for this in a fitness magazine, and it seemed an interesting way to cook cauliflower. The result: Not bad. It probably isn't my favorite way to eat cauliflower (I think it has something to do with the texture), but I'd eat it again.

Water

Snacks

Diet hot chocolate (25 calories; 0 points)

1 Smart Ones peanut butter cup sundae (170 calories; 3 points)

Total Calories (roughly): 1000

Total WW Points (roughly): 17

Flex points left at the end of my week: 14!!!

Exercise
Nothing.

January 24, 2010 - Day 21

What a rainy day it was today. This equaled no motivation to go to the gym. I'll go tomorrow, for sure. I did make some pulled pork for the first time ever, which got my house smelling really nice! Too bad how many calories are in it, although there's also a lot of protein which is good!

For breakfast

1/2 cup of coffee w/vanilla creamer (35 calories; 1 point)

For lunch

1 turkey sandwich with fat-free mayo and romaine lettuce on multi-grain bread (160 calories; 3 points)

A few pieces of pear (20 calories; 0 points)

Water

For dinner

1 serving of pulled pork (573 calories; 12 points)
* I'm actually flabbergasted at how many points this is. And this time it pretty much all came from the calories. Jeesh. At least my pulled pork was awesome!

1 small corn on the cob (70 calories; 1 point)

Water

Snacks

Diet hot chocolate (25 calories; 0 points)

A 90 calorie snack pack (90 calories; 2 points)

1 serving of cheerios in skim milk (140 calories; 3 points)

Total Calories (roughly): 1113

Total WW Points (roughly): 22

Flex points left: 14

Exercise

100 ab crunches

January 23, 2010 - Day 20

Yikes! Cam and I decided to go out to lunch with Riley after our errands about town. This ended up being Red Robin. I thought to myself, "Okay, try to get something healthy." This, I thought, would be the salmon burger. Nope. I was wrong. Even after I ate only 1/2 the bun, I still ended up with 15 points for the meal. Stupid di'jon sauce that came on it! And then I ate too much for dinner. Oh well... it's the weekend, right, so that's allowed? :S

For breakfast

1/2 cup of coffee w/vanilla creamer (35 calories; 1 point)

For lunch

1 grilled salmon burger (800 calories; 15 points)
* Without the sauce, I would have only been looking at 9 points... still not great, yeah, but so much better!

Water

For dinner

1 serving of (leftover) tortellini w/prosciutto and peas in a cream sauce (520 calories; 11 points)

Water

Snacks

1/2 cup of coffee w/vanilla creamer (35 calories; 1 point)

Total Calories (roughly): 1390

Total WW Points (roughly): 29

Flex points left: 17

Exercise

200 ab crunches

Does weeding the back lot count? My legs hurt after crouching down for a long while...

January 22, 2010 - Day 19

Today I went food shopping after I worked out. I can't decide if that was harder or easier for me. On the one hand, it was hard because I had just burned off some calories which meant that I was a little peckish. So, in that sense I wanted to buy everything in sight. On the other hand, I was in the "weight-loss" frame of mind, so in that sense it was easier. I probably spent longer then I wanted there because I ended up reading every label looking at calories, serving size, fat, and fiber. In the end though, I did pretty well and didn't get too much junk at all. So yay for me!

For breakfast

Before working out:

1/2 English Muffin w/margarine (100 calories; 3 points)

1/2 cup of coffee w/vanilla creamer (35 calories; 1 point)

After working out:

1 serving of Total cereal w/skim milk (140 calories; 3 points)

For lunch

1 Smart Ones baked ziti (320 calories; 6 points)
* This was really tasty. I'm going to have to buy this one again.

Water

For dinner

1 serving of tortellini w/prosciutto and peas in a cream sauce (390 calories; 8 points)
* This was another WW recipe that I had copied from my friend. It is so easy to make and so darn delicious. It's only supposed to be 6 points per serving; I had a little too much. :/

Water

Snacks

1/2 cup of coffee w/vanilla creamer (35 calories; 1 point)

Total Calories (roughly): 990

Total WW Points (roughly): 22

Flex points left: 26

Exercise

A little over 30 minutes on an elliptical machine
* Another day on the weight interval setting. Woot!

100 ab crunches

Pushing Riley in the laundry basket up and down the hallway really fast. Now that's a workout for the legs!

January 21, 2010 - Day 18

I can't believe I squeezed in some exercise today. Not that it was difficult to do logistically; more that I'm just proud of myself for doing it. Another good thing is that the scale at the gym said I was 144. My home scale said I was 144 on Monday, but I think the one at the gym is more accurate. Either way, I'm definitely losing weight, which is awesome! And I can totally feel it too... my clothes are definitely fitting me better. OH! And someone at work today (who I haven't seen since before Christmas break) said I look like I've lost weight. Woo-hoo!

For breakfast

1 high-fiber blueberry muffin (130 calories; 2 points)

1/2 cup of coffee w/vanilla creamer (35 calories; 1 point)

For lunch

A serving of (leftover) sauteed ham and butternut squash (215 calories; 5 points)

Water

For dinner

1 bbq burrito (290 calories; 5 points)

Water

Snacks

1 small piece of dark chocolate (68% cacao) (40 calories; 1 point)

1 small banana (90 calories; 1 point)

1/2 cup of coffee w/vanilla creamer (35 calories; 1 point)

1 serving of animal crackers (120 calories; 2 points)

Total Calories (roughly): 955

Total WW Points (roughly): 18

Flex points left: 30

Exercise

A little over 30 minutes on an elliptical machine
* Not only am I proud of myself for going, I'm proud of myself for doing the weight training program again. At least there were soaps on the TV that I could watch - both Days and GH! I chose GH.

100 ab crunches

January 20, 2010 - Day 17

Yay! I did some exercise today. Good thing too, since I had a most delicious, but fattening, dinner. :)

For breakfast

Before working out:

1 serving of high-fiber, maple and brown sugar oatmeal (160 calories; 3 points)

1/2 cup of coffee w/vanilla creamer (35 calories; 1 point)

After working out:

1 english muffin with peanut butter (220 calories; 5 points)

1 cup of cantaloupe (90 calories; 1 point)

Water

For lunch

A bowl of cheerios with skim milk (140 calories; 2 points)

Water

For dinner

1 slice of homemade white pizza with sausage and red pepper (??? points, ??? points)
* This was bad, but oh so good.

Water

Snacks

1/2 cup of coffee w/vanilla creamer (35 calories; 1 point)

Total Calories (roughly): 685 + x

Total WW Points: Really 12 + y, but since I only had one slice, I am going to count this as 24 total points. I know 12 points for a slice of pizza is a lot, but I did have sausage on it, plus it was a thicker crust, and I made white sauce. (IT was pretty yummy, thanks for asking!) I just figured that if 2 slices of the Papa Murphy's light pizza was 10 points, then 1 slice of mine would be about the same, maybe a little more. This also puts me at the max points that I want to eat a day.

Flex points left: 30

Exercise

A little over 30 minutes on an elliptical machine
* Man, was this hard. I did the weight training program today on the machine, so it went from level 1 to level 8 every 4 minutes. Sucky!

100 ab crunches

January 19, 2010 - Day 16

Yay! Another good eating day! Tomorrow will hopefully be both a good eating and exercise day! :)

For breakfast

1 cup of coffee w/vanilla creamer (70 calories; 2 points)

For lunch

1 grilled cheese sandwich on multi-grain bread (240 calories; 5 points)

Water

For dinner

1 serving of sauteed ham steak, butternut squash, and broccoli (215 calories; 5 points)

Water

Snacks

1 slice of orange (20 calories; 0 points)

1 blueberry muffin (130 calories; 2 points)

1 cup of french vanilla hot chocolate (80 calories; 2 points)

Total Calories (roughly): 755

Total WW Points: 16

Flex points left: 35

Exercise
A walk around the neighborhood with Cam and Riley, as well as playing with Riley in the back yard. I am most definitely going to the gym tomorrow after I drop Riley off at daycare. :)

January 18, 2010 - Day 15

Today was a MUCH better day than yesterday! And I stepped on the scale this afternoon, and it registered 144 pounds. 4 pounds down! Woo-hoo!

For breakfast

1 serving of high-fiber, maple and brown sugar oatmeal (160 calories; 3 points)

1/2 of an english muffin w/reduced-fat margarine (90 calories; 3 points)

1/2 cup of coffee w/vanilla creamer (35 calories; 1 point)

For lunch

1 turkey and fat-free mayo sandwich with romaine lettuce on multi-grain bread (180 calories; 3 points)

Some cantaloupe (60 calories; 1 point)

Water

For dinner

1 serving of chicken pot pie (?? calories; 4 points)
* I don't know how many calories this is, because I got this recipe from a friend and I forgot to write down the caloric info (and I didn't feel like calculating it). This is mostly because when I wrote down the recipe I did write down the number of points it was (it was a WW recipe), so I felt that was enough.
* Oh, and this pot pie is fabulous!

Water

Snacks

1 blueberry muffin (130 calories; 2 points)
* This was amazing. I bought Fiber-One blueberry muffins, because I was looking for snacks that were not too bad for me. These are high in fiber (hence the name) and are so good! I was a little worried, because I don't like the Fiber-One cereal, but my fears were for naught!

1/2 cup of coffee w/vanilla creamer (35 calories; 1 point)

1 package of Smarties (50 calories; 1 point)

Total Calories (roughly): 755 + x

Total WW Points: 18

Exercise
Nothing. Seriously, I have to start doing something again!

January 17, 2010 - Day 14

I'm a little late in posting yesterday's events. Perhaps it's because of what happened yesterday:

My day -

For breakfast

1 banana (90 calories; 1 point)

1/2 cup of coffee w/vanilla creamer (35 calories; 1 point)

It started off well, then we went out to the Olive Garden to celebrate my father-in-law's birthday. Bad move on my part.

For lunch

1 serving of Olive Garden salad (350 calories; 8 points)
* There is 26 grams of fat in 1 serving of this salad!!! I went to their website and was flabbergasted! People go in their for the soup and salad, and probably think they are being really healthy. Holy cow!

1/2 mozzarella triangle (165 calories; 4 points)

1/4 serving of Shrimp Manicotti (260 calories; 5 points)
* This is less then 1 serving of the salad!!!

1/2 breadstick (75 calories; 1 point)

Water

For dinner

1 serving of dinty moore stew (210 calories; 5 points)

1 serving of egg noodles (210 calories; 4 points)

Water

Snacks

1 serving of Total in skim milk (140 calories; 2 points)

1/2 cup of coffee w/vanilla creamer (35 calories; 1 point)

Total Calories (roughly): 1570. Yeah, that sucked. I'm shooting for 1400 or lower. Oh well.

Total WW Points: 31. YIKES! But... I went and looked at my flex points for the week, and I'm okay. Granted I'm not sure how many points I consumed yesterday, but I'm pretty sure that my stew w/one dumpling wasn't more than 10 points. So, I'm just treating yesterday like I was on target with 19 points. So, even with today's debacle, I'm still actually under pace, meaning that I have 12 flex points left for the rest of the week (which is only 2 more days).

Exercise
Nothing. Yeah, I need to get back to working out.