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 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. :)

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 14, 2010 - Day 11

For breakfast

1 english muffin w/reduced fat margarine (180 calories; 5 points)

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

For lunch

1 serving of chicken, broccoli, cheese pasta bake (400 calories; 7 points)

Water

For dinner

1 serving of Progresso light beef pot roast soup (80 calories; 1 point)
* I still don't like soup but once I thickened up the broth it wasn't bad. Riley absolutely loved it!

Water

Snacks

1 rice cake with peanut butter (130 calories; 2 points)

A handful of animal crackers (100 calories; 2 points)

Total Calories (roughly): 960

Total WW Points: 19

Exercise
Not much. I strolled (and I do mean strolled) with Riley around the neighborhood. Although, I did have to carry her around for about half of it, so that's like doing weight training right? She's around 30 pounds!

January 13, 2010 - Day 10

It occurred to me today that this was the first time that I've really dieted. I did have a brief stint back in the day where I actively attempted to lose weight, but that certainly wasn't what you would call a diet. So, I'm proud of myself for getting this far AND for doing it in a healthy way. :)

My day -

For breakfast

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)

For lunch

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

1 tangerine (40 calories; 0 points)

Water

For dinner

1 serving of chicken, broccoli, cheese pasta bake (400 calories; 7 points)
* I think casseroles are awesome.

Water

Snacks

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

1 package of mini delights, 90 calorie pack (90 calories; 1 point)

1 rice cake with peanut butter (130 calories; 2 points)

Total Calories (roughly): 1120

Total WW Points: 18

Exercise

30 minutes on the elliptical machine

100 crunches on the ab-lounger

January 12, 2010 - Day 9

Another good day. I hope this continues! I really do think that this blog is part of the reason for my success. I know that each night I have to account for everything I eat so I can put it down here. It's crazy, as I realize that only 1 or 2 people are reading it, but if it works, it works.

My day -

For breakfast

1/2 of an english muffin w/reduced-fat margarine (100 calories; 3 points)
* I would have had the whole thing but Riley wanted the other half. And I'm a good mommmy. :)

1 serving of Total w/skim milk (140 calories; 2 points)
* This was actually good!

1/2 cup of coffee w/vanilla creamer (35 calories; 1 point)
* I upped the calories and points for my 1/2 cup because I realized that I had been putting more creamer in then I thought. Good thing I went out and got the fat-free kind. Not that it'll be completely better...

For lunch

1 Lean Cuisine Macaroni and Cheese (200 calories; 3 points)
* Not as good as the real stuff, duh! :)

Water

For dinner

1 fillet of breaded, parmesan dover sole (240 calories; 5 points)
* OMG! Was this good! I'm always on the hunt for good fish recipes, because I never can seem to make it that well. I found a recipe online and it's super easy; bread the fish w/the cheese and breadcrumbs (+ pepper and lemon zest if you wish) and put under broiler for 3-5 minutes per side depending on thickness. Awesome! Riley gobbled her initial portion right up and kept asking for more and more!

1 serving of mint peas (100 calories; 2 points)
* A big hit also with both Riley and me!

Water

Snacks

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

Bites of Riley's lunch and a cut-up pear (???; 3 points (?))

Mini Delight Chocolately Mint 90 Calorie Pack (90 calories; 1 point)

Total Calories (roughly): 1100 (I have no idea; it was 990 w/o factoring my bits of Riley's food, so I added on another 110. Seemed reasonable to me.)

Total WW Points: 21

Exercise
Nothing. Riley wouldn't leave me alone for more than 5 seconds, so going off and doing any type of exercise thing was not going to happen. I would have taken her for a walk around the neighborhood, but it was raining out all day. Yuck. :(

January 11, 2010 - Day 8

Happy birthday mom! For your birthday I decided to go to the gym! Just kidding. :) Not on the gym part, because I did go there. Turns out that I have a free membership to the university gym. Woo-hoo!

I also stepped on the scale this morning right after I woke up and it was 144.5 (-3.5 pounds off of my starting weight). Weighing myself after my delicious dinner, I see that the scale reads 146.5 (-1.5). So, my real weight is somewhere in there! Yay! I'm doing it! I'm losing weight!

Regardless, I gotta say that after a week into this New Year's resolution, I do feel better - both about myself and with myself (if that makes any sense). I have a little more energy, feel like I fit my clothes better, and just really think this is good for me (both physically and emotionally). So, I'm motivated to go on!

My day -

For breakfast

1 english muffin w/a little butter (210 calories; 5 points)
* I shouldn't have used the real butter on this.

1 orange (well not an orange, but like a tangerine small thing) (25 calories; 1 point)

1/2 cup of coffee w/vanilla creamer (20 calories; 1/2 point)

For lunch

1 chicken sandwich with fat-free mayo and romaine lettuce on multi-grain bread (235; 4 points)

Water

For dinner

2 servings of Shepard's pie (450 points; 11 points)
* I absolutely love this dinner, which is why I had that second helping. Shouldn't have, I know. I think it'll be healthier when I get reduced-fat ground beef, which is where a lot of the points came from (well, that and the real butter I used for the instant potatoes).

Water

Snacks

1/2 cup of coffee (20 calories; 1/2 point)

1 rice cake with peanut butter (130 calories; 2 points)

Total Calories (roughly): 1130

Total WW Points: 23

Exercise

35 minutes on an elliptical machine
* This was the equivalent to about 2.7 miles, and I burned a little over 300 calories.
* My goal is to visit the gym at least 3 times a week (MWF). It's easy now since school is out of session. It's going to be harder once the semester starts since it's going to be packed and the multi-purpose room isn't that big. So, I'll have to make sure and scout out the best times to go!

January 10, 2010 - Day 7

My day -

For breakfast

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

1/2 cup of coffee w/vanilla creamer (20 calories; 1/2 point)

For lunch

1 ham and cheese sandwich with mustard and romaine lettuce on multi-grain bread (220; 4 points)

Water

For dinner

Sausage and Roasted Vegetable Penne (415 calories; 10 points)
* I got this recipe from watching Food Network's Ten Dollar Dinners, and Cam and I both LOVED it! We decided though to skip the grape tomatoes next time as we both didn't like them.
* We used DreamFields Low Carb pasta which we used in Tucson, and just recently found here in Salem. If you haven't had it, it tastes really good and it only gives you 5 carbs per serving. It really does, as I had to monitor my blood sugar level when I was eating this and my levels didn't spike at all after eating some! It also has 5 grams of fiber!
* It's the sausage in this recipe that gives you all the points; it's fatty but worth it!

Water

Snacks

1/2 cup of coffee (20 calories; 1/2 point)

3 grapes (10 calories; 0 points)

1 package of Smarties (50 calories; 1 point)

Total Calories (roughly): 935 calories

Total WW Points: 20 points

Exercise

A semi-vigorous walk around my neighborhood (about 1 mile) pulling Riley in the wagon

Playing outside with Cam and Riley

January 9, 2010 - Day 6

A good day. My in-laws stopped over and Cam grilled up some delicious burgers. Man was it hard to resist those potato bread buns, but that'd be another 200 calories, not to mention the number of carbs! Actually it turned out to be tasty delicious as it was.

I was pretty proud of myself for going on a walk around the neighborhood. Cam and Riley laid down to take an afternoon nap, so I found myself with nothing to do. I thought about television, but since I did so much tv watching yesterday I just couldn't do it. Plus it was a nice day outside... nice and crisp air; perfect for a walk. I guess I could have jogged, but I hate that.

My breakdown:

For breakfast

1 bowl of high-fiber maple and brown sugar oatmeal (160 calories; 3 points)
* It's interesting when calculating the WW points. So, this actually has 10 grams of fiber, but for WW you only can count up to 4. I wonder why?

1/2 cup of coffee w/vanilla creamer (20 calories; 1/2 point)
* My staple. Can't live without it, but I am doing good and cutting down. And still no sugar, although the the creamer has enough in it to begin with.

For lunch

1 bun-less bbq cheddar cheese burger (415 calories; 11 points)
* This had a lot of fat yes, but a lot of protein too!

Water

For dinner

1 serving of teriyaki salmon (170 calories; 4 points)

1 serving of brussel sprouts (38 calories; 1 point)

Water


Snacks

1/2 cup of coffee (20 calories; 1/2 point)

About 4 animal crackers (40; 1 point)
* I don't have the package anymore for these animal crackers, but based on my other package these would be about the number [although I think that the ones that I ate are a bit healthier as the ones from the package are vanilla style and the ones are ate are just plain]

A small bite or two of kielbasa (50 calories; 1 point)
* I couldn't resist. It was on Riley's plate, and she wasn't eating it.

A serving of Cheerios w/1/4 cup skim and 1/4 cup 1% milk (150 calories; 2 points)

Total Calories (roughly): 1050. So Cam said he read something on line that said that you shouldn't consume less than 1200 calories a day. Man, this is getting hard. Now I'm supposed to consume somewhere between 1220 and 1400 calories a day? (Yeah, I've decided to go with 1400 calories a day instead of my original 1615 I said on the first day.) That's a narrow window if you ask me. I think I'll just keep eating healthy and balanced (although I do have to get more fruit into my diet).

Total WW Points: 24. That burger killed me, but at least I'm not over target.

Exercise
Yay! I got some exercise today. Not a ridiculous amount but I did much better than sitting on my butt all day watching TV. :) I think I'm going to check out how much taking a Zumba class would cost. I don't want to sign up for a year or anything. I just want to check out one at the local Y or something.

200 (!) crunches on my ab lounger

A vigorous walk around my neighborhood (about 1 mile)

A race home from my mailbox (against Cam holding Riley) and raking the yard, as well as playing with Riley outside (racing around the yard with her in the wagon and walking around the neighborhood with her)

January 8, 2010 - Day 5

So, today was a MUCH better day than yesterday. One reason that it was easier is that my husband has decided to count the calories with me as well as track Weight Watchers (WW) points. I've looked into the points, and I think I like them b/c they take into account the fat you are intaking as well as the fiber. I mean, I can consume under my daily allotted calories for the day but if all of those calories are made up of fat and thus I am at like 300% of my daily fat intake, that's not good.

I also like the points because then I don't feel bad about having 2 pieces of amazingly delicious pizza like I did tonight. :D Just like I realized yesterday, moderation, moderation, moderation.

Looking up my points I should be at like 19, BUT you get an extra 35 points a week. So, to account for those, I decided to make my daily max points be 19 + 5. I wrote it like that because the 5 is the extra points shared over a week. By doing it this way I won't feel bad if I go over my 19; it'll make me feel like I have some control over my diet which I need. If I go over my 19 but under my 5, I can add it to the next day if I wish. So that makes me feel good, although I'm going to want to keep it under the 24 each day if possible.

Here's my day:

For breakfast

1 bowl of shredded wheat in skim milk (210 calories; 3 points)
* This wasn't good, but I'll probably eat it again

1/2 cup of coffee w/vanilla creamer (20 calories; 1/2 point)
* I'm not sure there are actually 1/2 points, but since 1 cup of coffee is 1 point, I decided to make a half-cup be a 1/2 point.

For lunch

1 bbq beef burrito (290 calories; 6 points)

Water

For dinner

2 servings of Papa Murphy's Chicken, Bacon, Artichoke De-Lite pizza (450 calories; 10 points)
* This pizza is fantastic! This is up there as one my favorite pizzas. Who would of guessed, especially considering it has both artichokes and spinach on it.

Water

Snacks

1/2 cup of coffee (20 calories; 1/2 point)

1 serving of Smarties (50 calories; 1 point)
* Not the sugar candy - I hate those. These are the Canadian candies that are like (& better-tasting, IMO) than M & Ms

1 rice cake with peanut butter (130 calories; 2 points)
* This is an AWESOME snack! So tasty! I just have to make sure that I'm super careful because of Cam.

Total Calories (roughly): 1170!!! An awesome day calorie-wise! And I'm not hungry.

Total WW Points: 23. So, my fat to calorie to fiber ratio wasn't the greatest apparently. But, I'm still under my target! Woo-hoo!

Exercise
Nada. Zilch. Zero. I was going to do my ab-crunches and then didn't. All in all, a really lazy day exercise-wise as I just watched episodes of Friday Night Lights all day. I feel like I deserve it though after that marathon semester of teaching and then grading for weeks on end!