Accountability

I need to start writing down every bite... I don't trust myself to stay on track without that.

breakfast
2 small pieces of challah with peanut butter and pear butter: 6
coffee with whole milk

snack: banana: 2

lunch: 2 pc multigrain bread, lite mayo, mustard, roasted turkey breast, lettuce, 1/2 c veggie chips: 7

skinny cow: 2
2/3 of a yogurt w/wheat germ: 2

37 minutes on elliptical, level 9 random hills. Badge of sweat feels good. Now stretching....

1/2 c rice, 1 c turkey chili w/extra beans: 7

Now, I think maybe I'm over counting the chili. It's got 3 cans of beans, 2 lbs of ground turkey, 2 28-ounce cans of tomatoes, 2 tbsp of oil, a red pepper and three onions (and spices and stuff...). I counted it as 5 above but maybe it's only 4 for 1/2 a cup??

Anyway, I ate 1/2 of a pear and some of michael's bunny crackers... I'm still hungry at 8:15 but maybe I'm really just thirsty? I'm wishing I hadn't eaten 3 points worth of those veggie chips right now... I'm over for the day by 2. And probably I only did enough exercise to earn 3 points... not quite sure. I have to recheck that...

I'm going to try to just drink water and go to bed. I can eat again tomorrow.

+1

I was up 1 pound today. But, considering my ridiculous weekend of eating and my general lack of exercise in the last two weeks I am happy it wasn't more of a gain. We're really regressing on the sleep in this neck of the woods. Last night up at 1:00 and not back to sleep until 2:30... in our bed. And woke at 5:30 to nurse. By the time we all got up at 6:30 to get ready to leave the house I was a wreck. Since I'm working from home today I went back to bed at 7 when the boys left and slept until 9:15. We're all fighting a cold, too. What a combo....

I'll exercise today, though not sure yet what I'll do. Probably walk outside since it's so nice here.

Back on track

We're home from the long weekend at my parents'. I can't even recount the endless wrong choices or lack of exercise. But, I'm mostly back on track today. I packed a great lunch of a big salad and sliced roasted turkey with wasa. I had my usual breakfast. But, Michael woke up at 4:30 screaming and came into bed with us which means not really sleeping until 6:30 when we finally got up. Then, the boys lollygaged around and didn't leave until 7:30 which meant no exercise for me. But, with my car in the body shop I was on metro today and walked (briskly) to the metro, 1.6 miles. Better than nothing.

With the crazy sleep schedule of our changing boy I have no idea when I can get in regular exercise. Tomorrow, of course, since I'll be working from home. But the other days are a crap shoot. I'm frustrated by this but I also know that it's temporary. I've reached a nice resting point. I'm not unhappy being mildly derailed here. I'm in my old clothes. I'm getting loads of compliments (a coworker nabbed me in the hall today to say I looked "hot". I was bowled over!! But happy.).

I'm planning to make chili tomorrow which will carry us through to the end of the week (we're eating leftover chicken enchilades until then). The enchilades are a bad choice but I have been eating just one (very small portion) with a big salad to make up the rest of the meal.

Saturday morning we leave for Chicago for 4 days. Not sure what to expect there... will be hard to exercise since I'm not going to take the jogger, but the umbrella stroller... still, I will walk every day at a minimum.

Weekend away

We're at my parents' house this weekend. Temptation city. With all the
other eating I've done this week and the lack of exercise I'm in
serious danger!!!

--
Sent from my mobile device

Tackling TJ Before Lunch

I ran some errands at work today. Tried to buy fabric and a pattern for M's Halloween costume (no lucky). I also went to TJ to get some shelf stable staples that we like from there. This was all before lunch. So, 1/2 way through my TJ shopping I start thinking that maybe I'll open up a bag of something in the car (they were out of the lentil curly crisp things, drat). I was also eying stuff there that I never buy... it was the pre-lunch munchies trying to take over.

BUT, I didn't buy extra (well, maybe one or two things). More importantly, I didn't open anything in the car. I came back to my desk and ate the lunch I brought in: chicken enchillades and roasted veggies (made both yesterday). They didn't exactly go together, but that didn't matter. I don't think I'll make the enchillades again. They didn't turn out quite right... not sure why.

At any rate, I'm pleased with myself for getting through the afternoon without a snack attack!

Unbelievable: 162.5

So, I was going to blog today with the title regret to tell you about the oatmeal raisin cookies that I ate last night: 6 of them, at least. This was at the parent-teacher pot-luck at Michael's day care. I brought a big salad. I ate mostly salad. and some popcorn shrimp. Yes, I felt VERY sick on the drive home. So, regret.

Then, this morning I stepped on the scale. It's the 1st day of my period. I was expecting a gain. Instead? Down 2 pounds. That's CRAZY. I'm convinced it's a combination of the stomach bug I had last week and my lack of weights workouts in the last week. I've lost muscle mass....

I don't want to let this loss go to my head. I still have to be focused. Today I've got to get in some good exercise to make up for missing Monday-Wednesday.

Back to counting

I took a little hiaitus from counting... more than just Saturday... I was "off" on Sunday and Monday too. Not terrible, but probably going over by 5-7 points. Time to nip that in the bud. Today I'm back to writing down every bite.

I avoided a ridiculously large bowl of Halloween candy that was placed IN FRONT OF ME at a meeting today. I pointed out my 'back to normal' body and said 'don't sabotage me!' (It was a meeting with people I knew very well).

I also avoided eating the last of my dessert leftovers that for some reason were still lingering up there this morning. Another hurray. And, I didn't eat Michael's full-fat milk oatmeal that he barely touched. Victory. Still, there was no time for exercise today. I have no clue how I"ll fit it in tomorrow either. The fact of the matter is that I'm not willing to wake up any earlier and I do'nt want to exercise after M goes to sleep. There it is folks. My schedule should be

cereal, peach, milk :4.5
red snapper/tomato/olive leftovers (last of it!): 4
green beans w/pine nuts: 1
small peach/apple: 1.5
1 piece challah: 3 (no idea... that's just my guess)
bites of melon upon arriving home (.5)
1/2 large chicken breast (2.5)
small piece carrot souffle (4)
matzo ball soup (1 ball) 3
green beans: 1

That's 25 points! I'm done for the day...

measurements

New measurements taken September 21st

Waist 30
Hips 40
Upper thigh 23
Upper arm 11
Bust 36

Down 3 in the waist, 3 in the hips and .5 in the arms. Amazing. I wonder if there's a measurement error in the hips... I thought things were feeling looser!

measurements

New measurements taken September 21st

Waist 30
Hips 40
Upper thigh 23
Upper arm 11
Bust 36

Down 3 in the waist, 3 in the hips and .5 in the arms. Amazing. I wonder if there's a measurement error in the hips... I thought things were feeling looser!

Avoiding Apple Pie

Well, it's been a long few days since my last post. After I finally went to sleep, sometime after 11, Michael woke up. At 12. At 1. And at 4. Each time he screamed bloody murder. He's teething. And he had a fever. We kept him home today. He seems better now, but still not totally himself. As a result, the rest of the weekend and today were a blur. I did manage to get out of the house for a quick run to the gym on Sunday. I was very proud of myself for doing this, in the midst of sick-child care. I did a hard 30 minutes on the elliptical using the random hills setting at level 9. Then I stretched and did some weights, upper body only as my foot is still not 100%.

I really don't know what I ate yesterday. Leftovers for dinner but not much the rest of the day so hopefully it all evened out. I did eat 1/2 a chocolate cookie left from the night before. And a mini-brownie. Damn they were good.

This morning I brought the rest of the baked goods (except the apple pie) to work. Good me. Of course then I ate 1.5 brownie bites with my coffee before depositing them at the OD front office. Finally out of my reach!!

Still, I was so busy at work that I didn't have time to eat. I left the house with only a banana... I'm not counting up for the day because I'm feeling lazy. But, it cant' have been that bad. I didn't eat my usual 4.5 point breakfast. Well, whatever.

I came home at 1 to relieve Doug who had to drive out to his office in FFX for a meeting. I took M for a long walk to the park and back. That's my exercise for today. Tomorrow I'm going to have to do stairs b/c there will be no time. I have an early interview and then back to back meetings all day. Craziness!! I'm interviewing candidates for my intern slot. 9 people in 3 days. Oy. We saw two of them today. One was EXTREMELY tall. The other was on the phone so I have no idea if she was tall or not. She sounded to be of normal height.

I'm feeling pretty happy with where I am right now... my clothes fit. A few things are still a little more snug than I would like. My body is definitely different: I fill out my jeans differently. But I'm okay with that. I'm going to take the long-view to make it to 155 with Thanksgiving being my new goal timeframe. This week is going to be hard to get in exercise and I don't want to beat myself up if I can't make it work. With M getting up at night with a sore mouth it's hard to bounce out of bed and to the gym!

Tomorrow all the holiday food will be eaten. That kugel... man. So good. I'm taking the last of it to my coworker tomorrow.

Oh, did my measurements this morning. I'll upload them later.

New Year's Dinner

We hosted some friends for Rosh Hashana tonight. I did all the
cooking. The meal was amazing, if I don't say so myself... Here's the
menu:

Apples, pomegranet seeds and honey
Home made challah
Matzo ball soup
Spicey sauteed red snapper with cherry tomatoes and kalamata olives
(very easy and totally delicious!)
Noodle kugel
Carrot souffle (recipe from Emeril-- amazing. Pecan strusle topping)
Warm green beans with basil and pine nuts

Dessert was brought by our guests: apple pie, mini- brownies and chewy
chocolate cookies from whole foods that were incredible. I had 1/2 of
one and found that it was too much! So delicious. We also had fruit
salad.

I had a little of everything but didn't feel that I overate. Of
course, the kugel and carrot souffle were packed with high cal/fat
ingredients. But man were they good. And I had small portions.

I also nearly didn't eat today. I had that stomach bug that really
didn't clear up until this morning. I finally felt better today.
Still, the only other food I had was 1 whole wheat eng muffin w/pb and
pear butter, 1 small cottage cheese. 1 peach, 2 thin pieces of
prociutto.

I haven't really exercised since Wednesday. I haven't felt up to it.
I'm better now and will do something tomorrow. But, my foot still
hurts!!! I'm so aggrevated!

With all the excitement from dinner I can't sleep. We saw some old
friends and new friends. There were two 16 month olds, one 2.5 year
old, and a 5 month old. It was wild but a lot of fun.

--
Sent from my mobile device

164.5

Weighed in yesterday and was down 2 pounds. I've been more slack about recording my losses (well, I was on a plateau for about a month) so I thought it was important to make a note of this success.

Meanwhile, I have a bug. I'm dizzy and queasy and lightheaded. No, I'm not pregnant. I don't know what happened. It started with those pretzels yesterday... and now it comes and goes in waves. I just ate 3/4 of a bagel since that was the only thing that appeals to me... not sure how I'm going to eat the rest of the day. Actually... I might go in search of soup. That seems the most practical solution.

I wish I could go home but I have a lot of work to do!

Sneaking in exercise

I didn't have much time this morning. The boys didn't leave until after 7. I had to eat some breakfast. So it was 7:20 by the time I got down to the gym. I did 20 minutes of random hills on the elliptical machine and did some quick stretching before jumping in the shower. Better than nothing...

Weekend catch-up

I had a very nice weekend--cooked a lot of amazing food for a dinner party Saturday night. I really cut back on what I ate during the day so that I had plenty of points left over by dinner time. I also went on a 2 mile walk. Menu will be listed below...

Saturday morning I did 40 minutes of cardio and then 40 minutes of weights--upper body and core (at the gym with Naomi). My gym guest membership expired this week so no more jaunts with Amy or Naomi on Sunday mornings. This makes me very sad... I might consider buying day passes every once in a while. I'm sore today from the workout. But, my foot still hurts. I've decided that I need to focus on upper body and no-impact cardio for another week until I'm better. Even Jackie upper body and core are straining my foot with the cardio portions. I can't risk a more permanent injury. I'm also buying new athletic shoes. Hopefully this will all work and I'll be feeling better soon.

Sunday afternoon Doug and Michael and I went for a walk to Thomas Sweet so Doug could get an egg cream. I had water. Instead of walking uphill to get home we got on the bus. Michael LOVED it. First bus ride for him. It was very exciting.

I managed my eating quite well yesterday, though I didn't write down what I ate I calculated in my head.

I'm wearing a pencil skirt today that I think looks pretty good. It's only 10 a.m. and I've already received four or five compliments on my outfit!!

Okay, menu for Saturday:

fresh figs with gorgonzola and balsamic vinegar
proscutio wrapped melon
savory parmesan and thyme cookies

plated salads with greens, grape tomatoes, cucumbers, carmelized shallots and oil and vinegar
olive, sun-dried tomato, basil, feta, shrimp pasta--delish
fresh baguette

coffee and apple crisp for dessert

very delicious!!

Muffin top

I'm wearing some Tahari jeans today that I bought when I was about 10 pounds lighter. I wore them the night of our rehearsal dinner--5 years ago. They fit okay, a little snug. But yes, they give me a muffin top. At first I didn't really notice it. But as the day has worn on, it's become progressively worse in appearance and physiological impact!! Still, a good measure of my success thus far.

I was 166.5 on the scale yesterday morning. Going in the right direction.

I've slacked off on exercising for the past two days. Michael has been waking up screaming at 5 a.m. and I'm swamped at work. Yesterday working from home I made chicken soup for Rosh Hashanah dinner, did all the laundry, had a friend over for lunch, AND worked a full day. I was too beat to exercise. This morning I did more soup prep--skimming off all the fat and freezing it in ziploc bags, and cleaned the kitchen. That instead of JW...

My eating has strayed a bit too... last night a handful of chocolate chips and some pretzels and bites of Michael's leftover macaroni and cheese (what is wrong with that child!!). Today I've done fine so far but I've eaten 17 points already and I was planning to make salmon for dinner. I think instead I'll do veggie burgers. Not sure where I went over... banana at breakfast and pesto bean salad at lunch--those were the culprits. Not bad for me, just higher in points than my usual fare.

I feel like I've reached a milestone of not having to write down every single bite that goes into my mouth...

Sugar-Fat-Salt Devil

Feeling tempted by the newly refilled vat of peanut butter cups at the cube outside my office....

Plateau

So, I've realized that I've hit a plateau at 167. I also realize that I set a psychological barrier at this weight (my pre-pregnancy weight). I am being patient and keeping up with my good habits.

Yesterday I did 35 minutes of the elliptical machine. I hurt my foot last week doing Jackie and have been nursing it along since then...

Today I did JW upper body and 10 minutes of core (through the mountain climbers/twist).

I ate within my points yesterday. I've noticed that it's easy to low-ball my eating through the day but then I always manage to make up for it at dinner...

It's busy at work these days, which is a good distraction. The down side is that I feel guilty about getting in later on days that I workout.

Labor Day Weekend ReCap

I saved my splurge for today and boy was it worth it--pancakes in the morning with the boys (homemade with 1/2 whole wheat flour, flax meal for 1/3 of the oil, and wheat germ). I ate 2.5 small ones with some sryup (I skipped bread with my egg+egg whites so I could allow myself a piece of pie later). Lunch was left over salmon and a sweet potato. Dinner was broiled chicken (thai marinade. yum), corn on the cob and a huge salad. I ate 1 piece of amazing bread with butter. Then, I had one regular sized piece of homemade peach pie (made by me). And, a few slices of watermelon. I didn't count it up, but I think it was an okay splurge. Not too crazy.

I didn't get to exercise today, though. I walked with M to the park and back, and we ran around a lot, but that doesn't really count.

Yesterday I did 40 min cardio and lunges, squats, shoulders, chest, and arms. Eating yesterday was on-point. I also didn't count actively but felt like I was keeping track a-okay. We went out to dinner with friends. I hadn't eaten very much during the day (just busy!) and so I was STARVING by the time dinner rolled around. I nibbled at M's grilled cheese, which he didn't touch. I also had 1/2 a roll. But, since I hadn't eaten that much all day, I thought it was fine. I had a FABULOUS pasta dish with shrimp, whole cherry tomatoes, balsamic vinegar, and asparagus. I ate all the tomatoes, asparagus and shrimp and left most of the pasta. I was very proud of that.

Saturday is a blur at this point. We had swimming lessons, went to see friends and their new baby. The eating was fine. I had a long walk in the stroller with M.

All-in-all it was a nice weekend. Not as much exercise. But honestly, I'm getting a little burned out with the exercise. I needed a break.

I weighed myself on Sunday morning and I was back to 167. Not lower... but that's okay. This is my first plateau since I started 12 pounds ago. It'll be okay. I'll get to where I'm going.

End of the week

Did upper body with Jackie. Started lower and had to stop. I'm really fatigued from Wednesday and it was just too much for me. Not sure how I feel about that... I couldn't wait to recover a little and then continue. I needed to get to the office.

Relatively good day. Ate some left over cake that for some reason was really good. But just a few bites.

I'm feeling beat. My foot is still a little sore from Wednesday. I think I'll go to bed early.

cereal, berries, milk: 4.5
oatmeal, milk: 4
Moroccan chicken with lentils: 5
carrot sticks: 0
leftover cake... it was really good: 3
2 veggie burgers, 1 c wheatberry salad: 6
yogurt+ cereal: 3

Jackie makes me dizzy

Finished upper body feeling strong. Then, 1/2 way into Augustina's box
squat: dizzy, totally fatigued. My leg muscles are still sore from
Wednesday's workout. What to do? Quit and do it tomorrow? I'm pacing
the livingroom trying to bring down my heart rate.

I think that's it for me for the day. Maybe a walk later.

--
Sent from my mobile device

If it's not burning...

I worked much harder on the JW workout yesterday. I really focused on the muscles I was using and pushed myself. Today, I feel a difference. Especially in my hip flexors and my butt. This is good!!

Got more compliments today from a fellow successful Weight Watcher. She asked me how much I had lost. I said about 15 pounds, though I haven't weighed myself lately. I also reported this loss to another friend I haven't seen in a while. She was duly impressed. Nice to get feedback.

I didn't exercise yet today. I'm planning to go for a walk after work, or maybe do a quick Jackie if I get home before the boys (likely since I have to take the car to be assessed at 4:30).

Okay, so I got home early but didn't exercise... I sat on the couch, watched TV, ate a snack, and vegged out. It felt good. I'll do JW tomorrow. But... I also ate all my points, burned up a lot with my snack. But, I was hungry!! I'm eating yummy things that are a bit higher in calories... and therefore I can have less of them. Which makes me a little sad...

cereal, fruit, milk: 4.5
oatmeal, milk: 4
mex lasagna, veggies: 4
yogurt, peach: 3
watermelon, pretzels: 3
gazpacho: 0
wheatberry salad: 2
lentils & chicken: 5
1/2 peach

25

1/2 burpee

Worked from home today. Got a ton done, work and home stuff. Weather was beautiful but I didn't have time to get outside.

I made a bunch of good things to eat, wheatberry salad and moroccan chicken. I reorganized my closet a little... feeling accomplished. I also did 2 Jackies--lower body and core (2nd day in a row for core). I found that it was actually easier on the 2nd day. Still, the burpee. The HALF burpee. What is up with that? Though... I think the up-down thing with plank is maybe worse...

My ankle is a little sore at the end of the day. My back too. Jackie, I'm trying to do everything with perfect form! Why am I getting hurt, Jackie??

I didn't weigh myself this morning.

Ate within my points.

cereal, berries, milk: 4.5
bread, egg+egg white: 3
melon: 1
yellow squash: 0
small piece mex lasagna, 3/4 corn: 5
watermelon/gazpacho: 1
yogurt, cereal: 3
JW lower and core
moroccan chicken w/ 1/2 c lentils: 5
1/2 peach: .5
skinny cow: 2

Slogging through

Feeling better today. Did two JW segments--upper and core. I think that helped my mood. Also, wearing size 12 suit pants today and they are comfy/roomy in the seat (whereas before I was afraid they would split if I sat down). It's slow... but I'm not willing to exercise more/sacrifice more to make it go faster.

cereal, milk, fruit: 4.5
cottage cheese: 2
bread, turkey, lite mayo, veggies: 5
peach: 1
nuts, fruit: 4
peach: 1
mex lasagna, corn: 6
watermelon, pretzels: 3

ate 26 pts... I REALLY wanted to eat more last night. But instead, I went to bed. Small victory.