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 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 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 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

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 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. :)