Days 85 - 88: Positively Gluttonous

So… I had the best intentions. I brought my own food. I made my own meals. I went to the gym two days and walked my parents’ 4-mile route on Thanksgiving. I didn’t eat out one meal. But I did:

1. Drink a lot. I went out a few nights and so I ended up with lots of empty beer/vodka calories.
2. Eat M&Ms. No biggie, right? No – I ate M&Ms every day – lots! Handfuls! They were just too good to pass up!
3. Eat too much at Thanksgiving. I just went wild and ate a lot!! I even made a couple of “carb plates” later in the week with just dressing/mashed potatoes/gravy/macaroni.
4. Only weigh twice. It just wasn’t in mind or in my bathroom so I didn’t think about it and I’d eat then be like eek too late!

So let’s see… my first full day there was Wednesday and it was great! I had my usual breakfast sandwich, turkey/roast beef sandwich for lunch and citrus soy salmon for dinner. I also had several snacks as usual: laffy taffy, M&Ms, baked lays, etc. However, I drank a bit so I ended up at 1,851 calories, 51 fat grams and 225 carbs – not awful – only really over in calories and I worked out that day (3 miles at the gym and an upper body circuit) so really it was pretty good! What I ate.

For Thursday… AKA Turkey day…like I mentioned I went pretty wild… before the wildness, I did have a healthy breakfast sandwich and me and Austin walked 4 miles…. My lunch was healthy and I had a few snacks… but my Turkey day dinner was crazy (i.e. 1,253 calories!). I will say – it was so worth it. I even washed it all down with sweet tea – YUM! Because I went out I knocked myself over the 2,000-calorie mark with alcohol so I ended up at 2,473 calories, 45 fat grams and 310 carbs. –WOW. Amazingly low in fat though, huh? Haha What I ate.

So Friday was major chill day – I stayed in all day, didn’t work out and just worked on decorating my living room for the new house. Yes, I’m weird that way – LOVE IT. Anyway. I ate great for breakfast and lunch (breakfast sandwich and buffalo chicken sandwich/butternut squash fries). But for dinner….I made a carb plate…. Then I was still hungry so I ate a lean cuisine… then I ate TONS of M&Ms while I worked on creating my living room. SIGH. I ended up at 1,721 calories, 42 fat grams and 276 carbs so not awful but not great… and I didn’t do any cardio. Blah.  Here’s What I ate. 

Saturday I woke up feeling great and energized! I had cheerios and milk and headed to the gym with Austin! I walked 3 miles and did an awesome leg/abs workout and left the gym feeling great. I got home and made sweet & sour chicken/rice and it was fab. Mom and my sister wanted to head to the gym so us and my sister’s husband Z headed to the shops and hit up Pier One, Target, TJ Maxx and Barnes & Noble. FAB! I found some lamps I wan to buy at Pier One, found two cubes I want to buy at Target, bought some more tablespoons at TJ and LOVED checking out ‘home’ magazines at B&N. Great trip. I had a couple of snacks during our trek (100-calorie packs of gold fish and chips ahoy air crisps). We got home and made shrimp scampi and it was fab! The day was going great… but then I went out and had lots of beer… random… then we got home hungry so we split a lean cuisine pizza and cold cuts- BAD! Haha I ended up at 2,462 calories, 29 fat grams and 299 carbs – eek – MORE than Thanksgiving. Shame. What I Ate.

So – here I am on Sunday like WOW – 4 high days in a row…. And I haven’t done well at weighing – eek! I will say – at the end of the trip – I did have a great time, I didn’t restrict too much but was happy to get in 3 days of working out. Now I’m like hmmm it’s the end of the month, I’m due for a weigh in tomorrow and another measurement day so it should be interesting!! I hope you all had wonderful thanksgivings. I’m heading over to your blogs now to see if anything is posted! 

Happy Thanksgiving!

Day 84: Off to Alabama

Yesterday was a good day, in part for finding out about the scale – yay! I went out to lunch for a friend’s birthday, and while I had too much bread/butter – I did eat healthy with salmon and a plain baked potato. YUM! It was super filling too so I didn’t eat much more than a lean cuisine – but I DID eat a lot of M&Ms on my way to Alabama!! Me, my mom and my sister all rode down together – fun! The boys (our husbands) and the puppers are coming later tonight. It was great to get back home but I was EXHAUSTED. It’s hard to get out of Atlanta for the holidays and it took us a while to get out of town. I wasn’t able to gym it yesterday, but I did take a good bit of time planning my meals for my visit, shopping and measuring/packing everything. I’m definitely letting Thanksgiving lunch be open but for all of the other meals I planned ahead – yay! And today, me and my sister went to the gym and walked 3 miles (mixed it up with lots of incline) and did a short upper body circuit for shoulders, biceps, triceps and chest. Good stuff! At the end of yesterday I was at 1,548 calories, 177 carbs and 55 fat grams – not bad! Here’s what I ate.

On another note – my mom told me she’s worried my face is getting too thin – like it’s starting to look a little “hollowed” and I was beginning to get shadows around my cheeks. I couldn’t tell at all – but appreciated her telling me. She suggested I get to my goal weight, since I’m only a few pounds away (today I weighed 118), but to definitely not lose any more. Which is fine – because I’m really ready to start toning up more anyway with more strength training and mixing it up with stuff like spin class!! Anyway, I was glad she told me because I definitely want to look (and be) healthy. I might look into upping my calories soon and doing less cardio??? I don't know - help!

Anyway – I’m off to go make citrus soy salmon with the family (they’re all going to try it, too!). Happy Thanksgiving – talk to you tomorrow!!

Day 82 and 83: Weight Debate

So Saturday morning before I left town I weighed 121.5, and had pretty much been weighing that for the past few weeks, despite multiple good days and extra workouts at the gym. Well Sunday I couldn’t weigh because I was out of town…. And I gave in at dinner and ordered PIZZA – soooo yummy. Ended up at 1,976 calories, 58 fat grams and 300 carbs – EEK! (but totally worth it and I’d do it again – don’t get me wrong). Here’s what I ate.

Needless to say – I wasn’t expecting too much at Monday morning’s weigh in. I got on the scale and it read 118.5. What? I moved it all around the room and it came up at 118.5. I just KNEW it was wrong. The scale has been off four pounds before when it needed a new battery so I chalked it up to that and recorded my weight as 122.5 – a 1-pound gain over Saturday. Austin took out the battery and I called radio shack – they had it, I would go pick up a new one after work.

So I went to the gym, walked 3.5 miles, then weighed after lunch… 120. Hmmm. How could 122.5 be right then? I went to radio shack after work and got the battery (and went back to the gym, to the grocery store and by the mall).

This morning I put in the new battery…. And weighed 119.5 – 118.5 was RIGHT! Yes! I’m getting so close to my goal and am super excited. :) Quick note – yesterday was a good day: 1,377 calories, 46 fat grams and 182 carbs. I had a few treats (i.e. snickers fun size, reese’s boo crew, half a cookie) but I ate good other than that and walked 5.5 miles and did legs!! Here’s what I ate.

Day 79, 80 and 81: Thursday, Nov. 20; Friday, Nov. 21 & Saturday, Nov. 22

Behind again! Dang! So Thursday was a good day – clearly – because it’s the day I work from home! I ate good, got in 4 miles at lunch and had a great day! And it was only ONE day until Twilight… very exciting!! I had 1,543 calories, 26 fat grams and 232 carbs - here’s what I ate.

Friday was a good day, too! I went to the gym during lunch and knocked out 3.5 miles, then after work I met my mom, sister and sister’s friend by the movies (they were going to the 7:40 show – me the 10:35 show). We hung out at Home Goods (they crack me up) then they went to the movie and I went home. (Yes, skipped the gym). Me and Austin cooked, cleaned the house and packed for our Saturday trip to Charlotte to see Austin’s grandfather (he’s in a rehab facility). We got everything ready/good to go – then I left around 9:30 to meet the girls at Eclipse de Luna then at the movies!! We had a great time at the movies (even got to see sis and mom when they were coming out!). I personally LOVED the movie. Yes, I thought that the characters/relationships were underdeveloped, I thought Jacob was unattractive, I wished they had kept more of the book like when Bella fainted in class, I wished the other school characters (i.e. Mike, Jessica) weren’t so after school special, etc. But at the end of the day, I think they did a great job condensing the book to tell a story, I think they did a good job casting, I really did believe the romance (even though if I hadn’t read the book I would have been like uh…. You don’t even know each other), and I loved what my sister called ‘the mood’ – the music, the weather, the setting, etc. So while of course there were things I would have done differently, I’ll still purchase it and watch it often!! LOVED the book LIKED the movie. So Friday I was pretty good – had 1,573 calories, 214 carbs and 49 fat grams – all in, especially when you factor in exercise. Here’s what I ate.

Saturday we got up early (well not too early since I didn’t get home from the movie until after 1 a.m.!), got cleaned and headed out! My mom was coming over to stay the night with Reuben so everything worked out great! We drove to Charlotte each listening to our pods (him – a black iPod Touch with tons of applications listening to a Keith and the Girl podcast; me – a purple iPod Shuffle with Jane Green’s Second Chances on it). It was NICE – I’m really enjoying that audio book and think it will be great when I go work out this afternoon. Anyway, we drove over and ate healthy (Jimmy Dean’s before we left, I packed sandwiches for lunch and snacks for Saturday and Sunday). We went straight to the center and spent time with Austin’s family, then went out to eat and to the movies with his brothers to see James Bond. I’ll be the first to tell you I NEVER got to the movies. Like maybe two all year. But now two in one weekend? Unheard of! Anyway, the movie was great and we all enjoyed it. But I was TIRED – we went back to the hotel and passed out. In all, I had a good day – 1,474 calories, 194 carbs and 39 fat grams – great! Here’s what I ate.

I’m still recording Sunday’s so I’ll post it later this evening with Monday’s. I will say that I totally caved and ordered pizza last night! I know – I haven’t done that since I started this but I was like whatever, I want it and I’m tired and my throat kinda hurts- ORDER MUSHROOM PIZZA! haha

Day 78: Wednesday, Nov. 19 AKA Crazier Snack Day!!

This morning I weighed 121. Yay! Glad I’m getting closer to Yesterday was a pretty good day! I woke up kind of tired, but had my yummy breakfast sandwich – yay! I did give in and ate a brownie around 10 a.m.! haha Nice. Me and Stacy walked 3.5 miles during lunch so that was great! We even went to a different gym (our offices have access to about 3 free gyms in different office buildings). This one involved driving, which kind of sucks, but it wasn’t even a mile away and it was SO nice I’ll be returning. :) After our walk I had a smart ones, grapes and some reduced fat cheez its – yum! I was doing so good and was super busy… but then I had another one of those magic morsels bitesize brownies! Dang! They’re just SO good – one isn’t enough! After work I headed to my non-work gym and did 1.5 miles and shoulders and biceps strength training. Great workout! I ran to the grocery store and then cooked Sweet & Sour Chicken for me and Austin! Then I gave in – again – and had a chocolate turtle. DANG – that’s a lot of chocolate for one day. I squealed in at 1,538 calories, 223 carbs and 35 fat grams. So great day, but I really should have had ONE treat, not three. Here’s what I ate.

Day 77: Tuesday, Nov. 18 AKA Crazy Snack Day!

Today was a pretty good day. I definitely stayed positive, although I felt like lots of things kept cropping up that would put anyone in a bad mood… but I just didn’t let it.... er tried not to. Whatever. Instead I focused on looking forward to only having two more days in the office this week, to seeing Twilight on Friday with great friends, to getting home and seeing Austin & Puppy and cooking, to going to the gym (during lunch and after work), to going to Charlotte this weekend to see Austin’s grandfather, to going home next week for Thanksgiving, to getting the bedding in the mail for my two guest rooms I don’t own yet, to starting a new book… etc. I’ve just GOT to focus on the positive or I swear I’ll just scream like a toddler, “That’s not fair!”

Anyway, today was good as far as food! We cooked our breakfast sandwiches this morning, I had a lean cuisine for lunch and we cooked brown rice, fish and mushrooms for dinner. I did have lots of snacks though (granola bar, mini brownie, RF cheez its, FF pudding). I ended up at 1,434 calories, 199 carbs and 39 fat grams – great on all counts! I also walked 5 miles and did abs, chest and triceps – so hopefully I burned lots more calories! Here’s what I ate. And here’s to tomorrow! Good Night!

Goal Assessment

So I’m over halfway through November and thought it may be a good time to check out my goals…

1. Have 3 or less high nutrition days (1,800 – 2,100) and 6 or less medium nutrition days (1,550 – 1,799). So… this isn’t going to happen! I think it may be best to just say ‘high’ and try to keep it at 7.  I’ve already done 7 so hmmm. Maybe this needs to go up to 10… 2 out of every 3 days I’m in range? Maybe this isn’t good either. Hmm. Must think.
2. Work out at least 1 day in Vegas; work out 4 of 5 days for Thanksgiving. I had no way to work out during Vegas so that’s out… but do plan to work out during Thanksgiving and am already working on a meal plan for my trip so I can keep my food on track!
3. Get down to 120 by the end of the month (i.e. lose 2.5 pounds and keep it off!). I got down to 120… now I need to get back – and keep it off!
4. Do 60 miles of cardio. I’ve done 32 and have 12 more days so I think 60 is definitely doable!
5. Introduce 2 new, healthy Hungry Girl recipes at home, and 2 healthy snacks. I have not introduced new recipes – I have introduced two new snacks – portion controlled grapes and apples! I’ll work on one recipe instead of two…
6. Shop less! Cut back and update mint.com every day. DONE. I’m all over this one and am tracking what I spend each month and what I’m buying.
7. Read two books. This will have to happen over Thanksgiving! I’ve read nothing!! I’m going to change it to one.
8. Make a new playlist. Working on my list…
9. Work on my wedding album. Not started… am going to move to December.
10. Do my wedding wall. Not started…. Am going to move to December.

So it seems I’m not doing very good! Haha No really, I’ve been spending a lot more time on the ‘home’ stuff – I’ve even started a blog for that which I update daily. Between the Vegas trip, the Auburn trip, my upcoming trip to Charlotte this weekend and of course, Thanksgiving – I think I’m doing pretty good. Here are my updated goals based on the changes that need to be made.

1. Have 9 or less high days.
2. Work out 4/5 days over T-giving.
3. Get back to 120 and maintain it!
4. Do 60 miles of cardio.
5. Introduce 1 new recipe.
6. No shopping!
7. Read 1 book.
8. Make a new playlist.

MUCH more doable. I’m going to add these to the side!!

 

Day 75 and 76: Sunday, Nov. 16, and Monday, Nov. 17 & My Recent Thoughts on TV & Organization

A quick note on TV: Loving it! Desperate Housewives was AWESOME – wow! And Brothers & Sisters is just so cute. Gossip Girl was really great, too – I just love that show!! I will say I couldn’t even watch One Tree Hill though – I hate those flashback episodes – very random. Entourage was awesome – so glad they got Ari involved. I HATE that director though – what an ass. True Blood was, as always, WILDLY amazing. Can’t believe that chick is dead but I’m glad… SUCH a good show!!!

A quick note on organization: I have been dying to do as others have before me and keep an inventory of what’s in my fridge, freezer and pantry… I’ve heard this saves so much money because you shop at home first, and it’s great because you eat food that will spoil first. Since I’ve been eating more fruits/vegetables I often find them ‘bad’ by the time I get to them and I HATE throwing away food. The guilt! So I’m working on my inventories now. In the meantime, I cleaned out/organized the fridge last night and feel much better about it. I also took my grapes/carrots and measured out 100-calorie and 50-calorie packs! I think this will be much easier to eat grapes when they’re already cleaned, stemless and ready to go in portion-controlled packs! Yay!

1. Portion Control Snacks!



2. Grab extra closet maid drawer and put in snack-related yummies!



3. Put drawer in fridge for easy access.



So Sunday was pretty blah. I got up early but was tired. My friend made a breakfast casserole but I can’t be trusted so I ate my standard Jimmy Dean. We drove back to Atlanta and on the way split a yummy $5 subway!! So good, and healthy. I did cave though and buy my FAVORITE jelly beans – bubblegum. OH my – so good and worth it! I ate the whole bag – all 2.5 servings. Eek! I got home and passed out, did laundry, etc., and preceded to eat my way through the day (part TOM, part being tired and hungover). Sigh. I ended up at 1,660 calories, 297 carbs and 29 fat grams. So not too bad on calories and fat but whoa – that’s a lot of carbs! Dang TOM/hangover!! Here’s what I ate. I will say I had a great day as far as getting organized and planning for the house. I’m SO enjoying it! I also watched a marathon on CMT about finding the next Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders? Hilariously awesome – great to watch while you lay in bed and research HGTV while stuffing your face.

Monday me and Austin took the day off so needless to say we woke up well rested and feeling great! We bummed around the house (him playing video games; me watching HGTV) then went to the gym around 1 for us and to get out of our housekeeper’s way. We got back and the house was gloriously clean – love it! We preceded to have a great day with Reuben, get both of our cars cleaned and we put Austin’s (older) car for sale on AutoTrader.com – fabulous day!! I also got to cook lunch and dinner which makes me happy. We had muffin pizzas for lunch (I know, shocker) and citrus soy salmon again for dinner! SO GOOD – I used a bit less lime juice this time and we preferred it that way. Monday was a much better day – I came in at 1,516 calories, 210 carbs and 38 fat grams – great day! I also walked 4 miles and did chest strength training – nice! Here’s what I ate. As far as weight, like I mentioned, I was up 2.5 pounds since Friday’s weigh in – to 122.5. BLEH.

Blah

I weighed 2.5 pounds more today than Friday - sad! I did have a pretty 'whatever' weekend and it's TOM.... but STILL. Sad. haha We're off work today so i'm about to go to the gym - i'm sure i'll feel better and hopefully be back down some more tomorrow!

Day 73 and 74: Thursday, Friday and Saturday, Nov. 13 – 15, Daily Assessments

I’m all behind again! Which makes sense because I’m coming off of a super fun weekend in Auburn (yes, we lost to GA but whatever). So great to see our friends and visit and we just had a blast. It was cold, but it was pretty. And a last minute surprise happened- Austin’s brother who is a freshman at GA rode down with us unexpectedly – and ended up spending the whole weekend with us. It was great – SO FUN to have him and to have Austin get to spend so much time with his brother. Reuben also had a blast too – there must have been at least 7 other dogs at the tailgate – he’s PASSED OUT now. I’m kind of close behind him… Anyway, here are the assessments!

Thursday was a great day! I ate good, got in a good 4-mile walk at lunch and felt great! I worked from home so I made a yummy, healthy lunch & dinner – awesome! In the end I had 1,546 calories, 246 carbs and 31 fat grams – great! Here’s what I ate.

Friday wasn’t that bad – started out great at home, got in 3 miles at the gym (didn’t work that day) and felt great! We did have plans to go out to eat (not my thing, but it was a large group that wanted to go). I was disappointed because not only was the menu not diet-friendly, it was very pricey. (i.e. $30 for an entrée and it was all meat). They did have a rainbow trout, but it was fried over grits – NO! So I ordered it grilled with no sauce and asked for mashed potatoes and asparagus on the side…. They brought it in a sauce. Sigh. Oh well – other than the bad dinner, I was pretty good! But the dinner and drinks brought me up to 2,251 calories, 222 carbs and 61 fat grams – BAD! Here’s the details: what I ate.

Saturday was bad – eek! I was just SO tired and it was TOM and I was just kind of like whatever – no worries – and ate everything! Haha In the end it wasn’t AWFUL, but I did have 1,985 calories, 202 carbs and 53 fat grams – so too many calories! I will say we walked on campus A LOT and it could have been worse, but still – I’ve got to get better at not eating when I’m not hungry…. I will say I passed up LOTS of treats though! Here’s the details: what I ate.

No weigh ins this weekend. :( I SO HOPE I'm still at 120... or at least close to it... we'll see tomorrow morning. In the meantime, can't wait for the shows tonight - so glad it's Sunday and I have another vacation day to do NOTHING tomorrow. Wonderful.

New Weight and Measurements: Friday, Nov. 14

Yes, I know i'm jumping the gun here since I haven't even done yesterday's assessment, but that's because I woke up this morning and hit my next goal - 120! Yay! Now I'm only 5 pounds from my goal weight - awesome. Of course I know i'll go up again tomorrow, but I know i'll find my way back to 120 again soon so fantastic - happy Friday indeed!

I know i'm doing measurements on the 1st and 15th - but tomorrow i'll be in Auburn for the AU/GA game staying a friend's house with a bunch of peeps. I didn't want to bring my tape measure and do it there - so I did it a day early... Here goes!

Chest: 28.5

Bust: 32

Waist (smallest part): 26.5

Waist (largest part): 32

Hips: 35.5

Thigh: 21

Bicep: 10

From Nov. 1 to now, i've lost 3.5 pounds, 1.5 inches in chest, 1 inch in bust, .5 inches in smallest part of waist, 1 inch in largest part of waist and .5 inches in hips! Yay! My thighs stayed the same (of course!) and my arm got .5 inches bigger.

I'm so happy! I'm almost back into all of the clothes in my closet (of course lots are too big now... 6's look silly, 4's are pretty baggy and 2's look the best but some are still a little too small in the hip/thigh area).

Here's my weight and measurement charts... hope they continue to trend down until I get to my goal weight!!

Day 72: Wednesday, Nov. 12, Daily Assessment

Yesterday was a good day! After work I headed to the gym for three miles, chest and triceps – felt great! Then I ran home and hopped in the shower! Austin made pizza muffins – YUM- so we ate those then headed out with Reuben for me to drop him at the bar for poker then me and Reuben headed over to my sister’s to hang out with her, my mom (in town from Alabama) and her dog! Our dogs usually argue, a lot. But they were sweet last night and we had a great time! She’s looking to buy a new house soon as well so it’s fun to share ideas, look at catalogs together, etc. So it was a great day! In total, I had 1,504 calories, 183 carbs and 53 fat grams – all in REC zones! Here’s what I ate.

Day 71: Tuesday, Nov. 11, Daily Assessment

So yesterday was pretty blah. I weighed 123 again – blah – work was okay (definitely better than last week) and I was able to make it to the gym (3 miles during lunch; 2 miles and abs after work). Not bad! I also went to the grocery store – one of my least favorite things to do (the process? I hate; but I love the results). Anyway, I had my usual breakfast, a smart ones for lunch LOTS of snacks and my favorite skillet sensation for dinner! In total I had 1,518 calories, 194 carbs and 42 fat grams – good across the board! Especially since I burned lots of calories from walking 5 miles! Here’s What I Ate.

Today so far has been good – I woke up weighing 122 – yay! I had a yummy Jimmy Dean d-light for breakfast and have been having a super busy day so time is FLYING by! I’ve just had SO many meetings – argh! I had every intention of working out during lunch but some shit hit the fan so we had a meeting during lunch so not only did I not work out, I couldn’t have my lean cuisine! Eek! I did have tilapia, mashed potatoes, asparagus and a roll – not too bad… gotta go to the gym and over to my sister’s house tonight – my mom is unexpectedly in town so fun! Can’t wait to see them – just hope it doesn’t start raining right at rush hour as per usual. Dang Atlanta.

Day 67, 68, 69 and 70: Friday, Nov. 7 – Monday, Nov. 10 Daily Assessments

WOW! I’m way behind! K… time for catch up. At least I’ve been keeping Spark People up to date or this would be next to impossible!

Friday

So Friday I woke up weighing 122. Fantastic! Bad though because I was exhausted from the trip! :( I ended up going out to eat for lunch – but chose somewhere healthy (Sweet Tomatoes). However, I let myself have cheesy bread… but didn’t let myself have softserve! So it kind of worked out! I did have lots of carbs though (cold, plain noodles on my salad AND a baked potato – eek!). Think I’m going to cut myself off of the noodles next time… Other than lunch I was good – just had lots of 100-calorie snacks and a ‘smart ones’ dinner before passing out early! In the end, I had 1,504 calories, 44 fat grams and 205 carbs – all in the REC zone! Here’s the day: What I Ate.

Saturday

Saturday I got up early and felt great! I cleaned around the house, got laundry going and got online to do house stuff (i.e. find houses, find decorating stuff, etc.). We ran to West Elm and Ikea and while I looked, I did not buy! Wow! I was mildly healthy all day (honey nut cheerios, lean cuisine, sandwich/ramen) but I had forgotten about a house warming party. Dun Dun Dun… I didn’t do AWFUL, but I did have a few vodkas and even drank beer for flipcup ( you really can’t play without it). I also had some snacks – eek! Then when I got home Austin was hungry so I had more snacks – oh no! In the end, I had 1,999 calories, 52 fat grams and 202 carbs- so calories were too high! Here’s what I ate and drank.

Sunday

We got up around 10 a.m. and I weighed 121 – yessss. I cooked breakfast and prepped dinner (Greek feta chicken!). Today was the day to meet our realtor and hit the pavement. We looked at many, many houses (around 7 or 8?) and only really saw ourselves in one…. But it needed the most work, and it was too big for us…. SIGH. Back to square one we fear. Sad too because it had SO much potential, but we were really worried, too, because one side is synthetic stucco and apparently that’s BAD. So now we’re back to looking again. Blah. We ate good though – I had 1,427 calories, 37 fat grams and 217 carbs – not bad! We even got fast food! (split a Subway chicken breast and fat-free honey mustard sandwich on wheat- it was FANTASTIC – and only $5 and some change for us both to eat!). Here’s what I ate.

Monday

You may have noticed there was NO gym, cardio, strength training – NOTHING. Yes, it didn’t happen all weekend – I had not worked out since my angry 5 miles the Monday before. Yes, I walked a lot in Vegas and clearly in the airports, at the show, etc. but still… I was disappointed in myself! So Monday I was determined to go to the gym. I got on the scale – 123. BLAH. I had my usual breakfast sandwich, and then a lean cuisine. At 12:30 me and Stacy headed down for 3 miles. It felt great! I had every intention of going to the gym after work – but I was tired, and wanted to see Reuben, and had to bring work home so yeah, it didn’t happen. Instead I made the greek chicken I prepped on Sunday and cozied in with Austin and Reuben to watch Entourage and True Blood! Then I got in bed and watched Gossip Girl and One Tree Hill (with Reuben only). SO GOOD! It was a great night, and a great day. I had 1,360 calories, 28 fat grams and 192 carbs – great day! With the 3 miles of walking factored in I did even better – yay! Details: what I ate.

Day 64, 65 and 66: Tuesday, Nov. 4 - Thursday, Nov. 6, Daily Assessments

Before I start, let me preface by saying I had three ‘over/bad’ days in a row – EEK! And for pictures I dropped in some more from my trip – some of us blogging, some of the event, cars, etc. Here goes…

Tuesday

So Tuesday I went into the office for a couple of hours before heading to the airport. I had a healthy breakfast, lunch and snack…. But then things got stressful, ran late, couldn’t find a park, couldn’t find Stacy at the airport for us to check in together, eek! So I had freshens! Nice…. Our flight was 4.5 hours so I started getting HUNGRY. Which led me to eat too many snacks…. Mostly because we didn’t to a dinner table in Vegas at our hotel until 9 our time – yes, I was STARVING so I ate bad (think lots of bread, an appetizer, etc.). I did stick to fish (salmon) but still! Then, come on, I’m in Vegas, so I had a beer and a glass of wine. Not too bad! But I ended up at 2,171 calories, 70 fat grams and 247 carbs - ALL out of REC zone; here’s What I Ate.

Wednesday

I decided to stay on Eastern time so I got up at 5:30 a.m. Pacific time ready to hit the gym! I called to confirm its location (I’d already looked it all up online) and he said it didn’t open until 6:30 and it was $20/day. Hmmm. 6:30 won’t work and I don’t want to spend $20 to get on a treadmill….. so I got in the computer for an hour until 6:30 when I had to start getting ready. We had a BUSY day between doing the live blogging (uploading point/click videos; posts; taking pictures) and filming (getting interviews, working with the crew, etc.). We walked A LOT – took about an hour of back and forth walking to even get our credentials (no one knew where media passes were) and it was wild. The show was awesome though and the day went great. But I was bad… hard to be good on vaca!!! I tried (egg white omelet, salad and soup for lunch, salmon and potatoes for dinner) but things here and there (i.e. appetizers, butter) hurt me and I ended up at 2,381 calories, 109 fat grams and 180 carbs – all high except carbs – eek!! Here’s What I ate.

Thursday

Thursday I woke up exhausted! Had to meet the crew at 8 a.m. to shoot at the welcome to Las Vegas sign. Got the egg white omelet again but I fear it was just loaded in fat – sad. Had a couple of the healthy snacks I packed and was STARVING. We didn’t get to eat until we were at the airport at 1:30 p.m. (the omelet was at 7:30 a.m…. had two snacks until lunch). We passed a candy shop before security and I was RAVENOUS. I got cola gummies and sour belts…. Oh no… Now it was time to choose lunch/dinner in my terminal and my choices were down to Burger King, Pizza Hut, Nathan’s, etc., and I wasn’t going to land in Atlanta until 10 p.m. so I got two personal pan cheese pizzas. I ate one for lunch around 2 p.m. …. And had half of the other later. Those are AWFUL for you – eek! Yeah – it was BAD…. I ended up at 1,912 calories, 73 fat grams and 260 carbs…. Over, over and just under my limits. Here’s the details: What I Ate.

Assessment


So clearly I had 3 bad days in a row! Not only was I not really able to exercise, I didn’t make good choices/have the option to make good choices, etc. Clearly travel is not good for me. :( What I could have done different now that I see it on paper: (1) no appetizers. Wait for my food which is healthier. The tomato/mozzarella, bread, chips/dip and really the candy all were instant gratification but really hurt me. (2) no butter. I should have just not had the butter on my toast each morning. (3) plan ahead. I could have brought fitness DVDs or something with me but didn’t. Honestly – it was a super hectic, exhausting three days so I don’t know if I could have done anything (definitely not Thursday – I was at the event or in a plan from 8 a.m. – 10 p.m. but still). So…. Kind of sucks… but I had some days to use and they’re GONE so I’m going to get back on the working out tomorrow and already got back on the calories/carbs/fat counting today… time to get back to work!! :)

I'm back!

But i'm busy! I'm going to update later today - I missed the blog and you guys! A few quick things...

• There was no gym at my hotel/casino. Well there was, but it was $20/day and only open when I was gone! (not open for EST only Pacific time - argh). Needless to say, I didn't work out - but I DID walk A LOT at the SEMA show, at our hotel, etc.


• I tried to eat good, and didn't do AWFUL, but could have done better...


• I wasn't able to weigh, but weighed 122 today (I was shocked - thought i'd be up).


• Our roving reporter/blogging/the film crew/etc. all went great!! I'll upload some pics later - well here's one of me filming at the Welcome to Vegas sign!! :)


• I had a great time with my co-worker, Stacy, and even got to meet up with my awesome stepsister!!

Day 63: Monday, Nov. 3, Daily Assessment

So today started out odd with the whole showing up an hour early…. But I was able to leave at 4 p.m. Although I wasn’t able work out during lunch (working lunch). I went in with a positive attitude after last week’s bad days…. But of course the day got bad… then worse… and I ended up having another awful day like last week. But this time nothing could stop me. I drove straight to the gym. Yes, I’d forgotten my sports bra and I was wearing a black bra and a white shirt but whatever- I was WALKING my frustration off dang it. So I got on the treadmill, and got off five miles later… was still ticked off. I did legs, back and tricep strength training and drove home to sweet Austin and sweet puppy, a yummy dinner of buffalo chicken sandwiches and butternut squash fries (yes, husband MADE them!), a new Entourage and True Blood and chill time! I ate, watched the shows and relaxed, then hopped in the shower and packed. Now I’m cuddled in bed watching Gossip Girl and One Tree Hill…. Awww… even bad days end well when you have people (and puppies!) who love you. I hope you all had wonderful Mondays…. and took advantage of the extra hour of sleep unlike me!

All in all, I had 1,453 calories, 208 carbs and 38 fat grams – good! They even catered lunch but I ate a boca lasagna… however, I did have a little bit of pasta salad, and a mini snickers, and a chocolate chip cookie…. And some baked Doritos. But I still came in with the REC zone of calories – even before taking out the calories I burned at the gym – yay! Here’s the details: What I Ate.

Day 61 and 62: Saturday, Nov. 1, and Sunday, Nov. 2, Daily Assessments

So Saturday I woke up EXHAUSTED. Reuben hadn’t slept a wink (we slept over at the Halloween party at Mary and her boyfriend’s house!) so I was BEAT! We got up and got home and I got in bed! Austin cooked these yummy burritos.

I lounged around then started to get serious- on the blogging/house hunting! Yay! We both got to work (Austin looking more at houses; me looking more at ‘how to reface cabinets’ and ‘how much to budget for paint’, etc.). We worked up an appetite so I ate more of that yummy Thai kitchen pad Thai – sooo good! I added chicken (cooked in garlic salt) so it was much more filling.

After lunch we decided to take it to the streets! We wrote out addresses to numerous houses we wanted to see, put on Reuben’s jingle (his collar), grabbed the GPS and hopped in the convertible to ride around on a BEAUTIFUL day. We hit up a suburb looking for neighborhoods we liked and found several… but only one that may have been us. (Yes, we’re picky). We got back home HUNGRY and tired so I had some 100-calorie chips ahoy bites and made this dinner (Gorton’s Cajun fish with brown rice and mushrooms).

Then we split a beer… then we rehashed the day… and I had some pretzels…. and then we passed out! So it was a great day! While I didn’t work out (and totally meant to) – I did keep it in check with 1,354 calories, 37 fat grams and 195 carbs – all in my REC zone! Here’s the details: What I Ate. I took more pictures of what I ate, too – yay!

Sunday I woke up well rested and feeling fabulous. I immediately got in the computer and started hunting again! Then I took a break and cleaned the pantry… and under the kitchen sink… and my closet… Then we took off again for another suburb (bringing along Reuben again of course – we’d never begrudge him of a trip in Austin’s car- he LOVES it). This time we had less luck mostly because this area was HUGE so it was kind of overwhelming. We did find more specific neighborhoods we liked and feel better the more homework we do so that’s good! I didn’t take ANY food pictures (I know, shame.) But mostly it’s because I ate old favorites (i.e. jimmy deans, muffin pizzas, etc.). All in all I had 1,333 calories, 21 fat grams and 200 carbs – so fat was under but everything else was in line! And again… SHAME… I didn’t work out. Eek! Now I have LOTS to do since I leave for Vegas TOMORROW. Oh no! Here’s the details: What I Ate.

As far as weight I weighed 123.5 BOTH days…. Blah. Don’t get me wrong – I’m all for some maintaining… but I want to LOSE! :) (don’t we all?) Anyway –not a bad weekend AT ALL and I felt great!!

And today, Monday, Nov. 3, I was down a half pound to 123…. But I wasn’t aware of daylight saving time so I got to work at 7 a.m. like a big dummy. Yes, I’m going to try to leave at 4 p.m. And SAD – my meeting ran over so I couldn’t go to the gym during lunch – YIKES – now I have LOTS to do. And I have to pack… Wish me luck!

My Second Month: October 2008 Assessment

I can’t believe I’ve stuck with it so long!! Yay!!! Here we go…

By the Numbers

• Pounds Lost: 3 (125.5 on 10/1 to 122.5 on 10/31)
• Pounds left to Lose: 7.5
• Posts: 39 (14 less than October)
• Days Worked out: 23 (10 more than October)
• Miles of cardio: 67 (33 more than October)
• Great Nutrition Days: 19 (4 more than October)
• Low Nutrition Days: 0 (4 less than last month)
• High Nutrition Days: 12 (eek! 2 more than last month)
• Injuries: none! Still have pain in right foot though…
• Days out for injury: 0
• Vacations: 2
• Days out for vacation: 2

Interesting Charts

Weight

Calories

So all in all I’m mostly happy, but a tiny bit disappointed. I so hoped to lose 4 pounds and didn’t… got close – and even got down to 121! But I went right back up. SIGH. From looking at my food it seems like I eat a lot of empty calories (i.e. packaged carbs). So I end up hungry soon after eating. I’m going to try to eat more fiber and protein this month and see if it helps. One thing I am proud of is my working out – I felt great about how much cardio/strength training, etc. I did this month – yay!

Goals for November

• Have 3 or less high nutrition days (1,800 – 2,100). These are kind of 3 days a month to go crazy…. Is this a good idea? Haha I did put a cap on crazy at 2,100.
• Have 6 or less medium nutrition days (1,550 – 1,799). I think this will help if I want to have a drink or two.
• Work out at least 1 day in Vegas; work out 4 of 5 days for Thanksgiving
• Get down to 120 by the end of the month (i.e. lose 2.5 pounds and keep it off!)
• Do 60 miles of cardio
• Introduce 2 new, healthy Hungry Girl recipes at home
• Introduce 2 new, healthy snacks at home
• Shop less! We’re thinking of buying a home so I’m going to cut back and focus on that!! (no more clothes – I do no need anything.) There now I just need to repeat that over and over… that’s going to be hard for me…
• Make a new playlist
• Read two books.
• Work on my wedding album. (I had finished it and my computer’s drive corrupted and I lost it all… haven’t brought myself to start/do it again).
• Do my wedding wall – will post about this later! :)

I feel like I’m missing something in my goals… for now I’ll go with this though! I’m glad I added in some non-weight goals like Hannah Katherine and Bikini Envy – love that idea!

Today's Weigh-In & New Measurements

So today I weighed 123.5, one more pound than yesterday... So my goal was to go into November at 122…. While I got down to that weight it didn’t hold. So right now my next goal was 120 by Nov. 15… this gives me 14 days for 3.5 pounds. I don’t know if this is possible….. I’ll have to update my goals later! Also, as per my goals today was measurement day! This morning my measurements were: Chest (33”) – Waist (27”) – Hips (36”). Extra measurements: mid-hip (33”), Bicep (9.5”) and Thigh (12”). The last time I measured was Wednesday, Oct. 15. Mid-hip and thigh remained the same, but here is how the others panned out:

Chest - down .5”
Waist – up .5”
Hips – up .5”
Bicep –down .5”

So chest and bicep are down, but waist and hip are up… hmmm. I weighed 125 the last time I measured, so while I’m down 1.5 pounds I’m about the same size… Measurement question – do you measure chest at the biggest part of your chest or below your chest – like around where your bra would go?? 33” was biggest part, below was 30”. (Yes, I’m terribly flat haha) Just wondering if I’m doing it correctly!!

So clearly I need to get focused. At least I’ll be able to get away from Halloween candy!! (until Thanksgiving food… and Christmas treats… )

Day 58, 59 and 60: Wednesday, Oct. 29, Thursday, Oct. 30 and Friday, Oct. 31, Daily Assessments

Day 58: Wednesday, Oct. 29

So Today was just a bad day (like I mentioned). It started out good, weighed 123, got work done, worked out with my co-worker Stacy again (3 miles – yay!) and things were great… then some work stuff happened that was just the straw that broke the camel’s back and the floodgates opened and…. Yeah… not good. I was determined to have a good day though, so I kept my plans with my sister/Mary at the dance studio. When I left work I went to the gym (chest/triceps) and then met them at 6:30 p.m. Long story short (per my updated review on Yelp Dance 101 Review): I went today because I have 16 classes on my card (AKA $160). They inform me I have no classes left. I'm like yes, I have 16. They say no, it's expired. I thought they were kidding - I’ve been there so often, they've never told me they expired, they've never told me I have x many months left or it's expiring soon, I’ve never gotten an email. He's like yeah, it expired in August - we gave you an extra month, too but you didn't come in. I see you WOULD have had 16. (VERY rude by the way). Well how kind, I had no idea A) that it expired B) that I was given an "extra month" or C) That when you pre-pay for something at a certain point in time it just ceases to exist. I can't believe they run their studio this way. I really can't. I didn't sign anything saying I agreed to it, I wasn't told 'it expires' or sent an email. He said, "We can't keep up with all of our dancers." Um, it's 2008 - yes you can. You kept up with the $ I paid you and how many classes I have left but you can't do a mail merge and let someone know you're about to rob them of their money? Right... So, needless to say, I won't be returning. I hope I saved some of you who, like me, didn't know.”

So yes – I left the studio (and my sister and friend) in tears after the bad day this was just icing on the cake. I called Austin and he was like I’ll cancel poker (it was at our house). I said no, just let me shower, and hanging out with a bunch of dudes will get this out of mind. Not to mention, at the end of the day – it could be worse. I’m crying over dance classes when you boil it down people. So… it got better… and I’ve been better ever since.

I’m over it (kind of) and know that karma will get them (i.e. someone with the time and/or money will sue because there is no contract, they run a shady house, etc.). As far as food, the day wasn’t that bad: 1,579 calories (over), 213 carbs (in but high), and 33 fat (great!). The candy got me… and the wine. Worth it though! And I LOVED these noodles: Thai Kitchen Pad Thai. YUM…. With the miles I walked I’m definitely in though with calories! Here’s the details: What I ate.

Day 59: Thursday, Oct. 30

So Thursday was MUCH better. I still weighed 123, but yay - I worked at home so I got spend the day with Reuben! During lunch I went down to the gym and did 3.5 miles – felt great! After work I had every intention of going to the gym… but I took a nap! Until 6:30 when Austin got home! Felt awesome!! (I haven’t slept well this week – all stressed about work and the house and stuff). Then I ate dinner with Austin, got my stuff ready for the week, and went over to a friend’s house (my old work out partner – Mon!) to borrow a suit from her (thanks, Mon!) and to watch Grey’s Anatomy. I had a great time with her and her awesome roommate, and got back home at 10:30 and passed out! The day was much better – think because I was less stressed: 1,540 calories (good!), 32 fat grams (good!), 246 carbs (high). With my 3.5 miles factored in it was a great day. Here’s the details: What I Ate.

Day 60: Friday, Oct. 31

I woke up and was down a ½ pound to 122.5. However… today I said WHATEVER! I went out to lunch, I drank at a Halloween party and I had late night pizza AND brownies. Wow. It was a hard day to track… but I did it! In the end I had 2,002 calories, 232 carbs and 57 fat grams… high, high and high – eek! My first holiday… not very good. With the out for lunch, out for dinner, candy and alcohol… rough stuff. But again – worth it and hopefully the workout helped! Here’s the good, the bad and the ugly: What I ate.

On the good side: I did order my Twilight movie tickets, had a super fun lunch with my two favorite co-workers, walked 3.5 miles at the gym and did shoulders, biceps and abs, and had an awesome time at the Halloween party!!! Reuben’s little costume was a hit – he’s a doll and he did so good and was so sweet on all the ladies (he spent a lot of time with Amy Winehouse and Robin Hood).

K…. now I have even more blogging to do! I measured this morning – as it’s November 1 – can you believe it?! Also – I need to do my monthly assessment. Again, can’t believe October is over and can’t believe today is Day 61 :). Be back soon… may nap first with Reuben though…

P.S. The Food picture taking didn’t go well this week…. I’m going to try to do better!