Losing While I Can and Must (comment away!)

[bekkiz]

I am the kind of person who has BIG ideas--but very little follow through :( This is most evident in my endeavors to be healthier and slim down. Although things do pop up to make my journey harder, it's really my inability to commit that is my downfall.

However, this time, it has to work. I have no choice.

January 8th, I am scheduled for some major back surgery. I will be on bed rest for anywhere from 2-4 months and will only be able to get up for up to an hour (at first) a day.

I need to lose at least 30 lbs between then and now. In the long run, I'll need to lose much more than that. But I think 30 is an attainable goal which will make my recovery that much easier.

Since the middle of August, I have been reasonably good about exercise. We purchased a recumbent bike, as that puts less stress on my back then walking or other things. I average 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week. I also walk the dog for 20-30 minutes when I can tolerate the pain (so around 4-5 days a week).

Now I need to focus on my eating. This is where it gets hard. I have the worst sweet tooth. But I don't think that's the issue. It's all of the extra calories that sneak in. The sweetened iced tea, the sprite when we're out, the heaping bowl of cereal. All of these things need to be taken care of.

I almost think it will be easier once I am on bed rest. I will instruct DH to only bring things that fit the healthy requirement!

For now, however, here is my plan. I happy to hear other's ideas or experiences with this. As an aside, I did see a nutritionist for a year in college, and lost 70 lbs, so I'm very familiar with what is good food and what isn't. The problem I have is following my own advice! Hence, the regaining of the weight.

Breakfast:
some sort of protean--> an egg white or cottage cheese
some sort of fruit or dairy
some small starch--> Kashi granola bar or whole wheat toast

Lunch and Dinner
Lean Cuisine with a salad or other vegetables (I do not have high blood pressure, so the sodium levels don't concern me at this moment)

Snacks of granola bars, yogurt, veggies or fruit.

Hopefully I can stay on track this time, and will use this journal to keep myself honest. Please feel free to yell at me if I'm slacking off! I'm also going to get a counter, I think. It'll be good to see the progress.

[keenercam]

Good luck and welcome to WISH!!! :welcome:

Your plan sounds very do-able. Kudos to you for getting exercise in even with back pain. :thumbsup2

Looking forward to hearing how it is going.

Your furbabies are very cute. Is the smaller one a schnauzer? :dog:

[bekkiz]

The little guy, the schanuzer, is ours. He is pretty cute, IMHO :rotfl: The German Shepard belongs to my in-laws. He and Indy were best buds until we moved. That picture was taken when Indy had been home, like, 3 days.

Thanks for the words of encouragement. I'll post again tonight with how I did!

[bekkiz]

Day 1 is done...and it was a "good day." :cool1:

Breakfast: 2 eggbeaters scrambled with a little onion and a little cheese on a tortilla

Lunch: Lean cuisine (chicken and spinach) and a big salad with snow peas and mushrooms and a sprinkle of Newmans light ceasar dressing

Dinner: Lean Pocket and salad (as above, but with tomatoes)

Snacks: Apple, kashi granola bar, slice of whole grain bread and pb


Excercise: I worked through the pain today :yay:
23 minute walk w/ the pup
30 minutes on bike

Although I felt hungry for parts of the day, I think that this first day shows it is a plan I can follow. There are things I can add here and there, like light yogurt or baby carrots, that will help any hungry spots.

Today will be slightly harder, as we're going to a concert and I'll eat dinner kind of early. I'm nervous about getting hungery during the concert. I'll throw a granola bar in my purse, and hopefully that will help me stay away from "bad" stuff!

More updates tomorrow

[eeyore25]

Hi there and welcome to WISH!!!

Your plan sounds good.....very do-able. Congrats for working out through the pain....I know it can be tough. Hang in there!!!

Your food looks good too. Great idea for keeping a granola bar in your purse for the concert. That is a great idea and will deter you from getting something that is not so good for you.

Keep up the great work!!!

Have a wonderful day :)

[eeyore25]

Hi there,

Just wanted to pop in and say hi :wave:

Have a great weekend :)

[NYcpa]

Welcmome to WISH journals.

You did great with your first day of eating. Keep up the determination and you will succeed and reach your goal.

Have a great day.

[bekkiz]

Yesterday was a reasonably good day as well, though it was heavy on the starches and I think that leads to more feelings of hungryness (is that even a word? :) ! )

Breakfast: :sunny:
1 envelope "weight control" oatmeal
1.5 cups of OJ

Lunch: :woohoo:
Lean Cuisine Pizza and big salad w/sprinkling of light ceasar (this will be a theme, as you shall see!)

Dinner: :thumbsup2
Quiznos Chicken Ceasar salad (dressing on the side, and I used the dip method--so I had some but not a lot)
It's served with a warm flatbread (delicious, but about 2 peices of bread)

Snacks: :bitelip:
Light string cheese, slice of whole grain bread w/pb, granola bar

Excercise: :sad2:
I walked the pup for about 25 minutes
No bike today, due to my schedule being off b/c of the concert.
The concert was really fun, but with my back issues, it's really hard to sit for that long and even worse to stand, so I'm feeling pretty sore/tight this morning. And no pain meds for me, because I have to go to work!

Commitments for today: Must ride the bike. I like to hit 7 miles in 30 minutes, but lately, I've only been getting 6.5. Today I want at least 7!

[traceycooper]

Welcome to wish,
good luck with your new healthy eating plan, it sounds good :)

[CJK]

Glad to hear you had fun at the concert. Here's a belated welcome to WISH! It sounds like you have a very do-able goal and the drive to follow-through. Like you, I KNOW what I should be doing, but don't always follow my own advice! Thankfully, the WISH boards have really helped keep me in check. I've lost over 35lbs now and feel great. Best wishes!! I look forward to reading more about your journey!

[bekkiz]

Thanks to everyone for their words of encouragment! :thumbsup2 When I lost 70 lbs in college, writing down everything I ate, and having accountablity with my nutritionist really helped me to stay on top of things.

I'm hoping this WISH journal will function in the same way. So, I'm counting on all of you guys for a kick in the pants here and there :rotfl:

[bekkiz]

Felt good about today. :cheer2:

I had morning practice (I coach, and the kids didn't have school today) so no pain meds this morning. That part was not fun. I was counting the minutes to get home and lay down!

Breakfast: :Pinkbounc
eggbeaters scrambled with onion and some shredded cheese (more than I needed :( )on a tortilla
1.5 cups of OJ

I like having protean in the morning. I stay full for a long time

Lunch:
Lean Cuisine Chicken, veggie and pasta bowl--you'd think with all the sodium it wouldn't be so bland, but I held back from adding anything else
Salad with light ceasar

Dinner:
I tried a Lean Pocket Sub (philly cheesesteak) but it was gross, so after a couple bites (about 1/3 of it) I threw it away and had a bowl of cinnamon toast crunch ( :sad2: ) instead. Whatever, it's fine

Snacks:
Slice of whole grain bread w/ pb AND jelly, granola bar

Excercise
25 minute pup walk
30 minutes on the bike. The stupid batteries were giving out, so the thing kept resetting. I was averaging 15 mph for the 30 minutes, so if I didn't get to 7 miles, it was at least close :cheer2:

[bekkiz]

I ate more than I would have liked today, but I made smart choices, so I think it's ok. We ate out for lunch and dinner, and that adds to the amount of food!

Breakfast: :sunny:
1 slice whole wheat bread w/ pb and jelly
1.5 cups OJ

Lunch: :teeth:
Panera-bowl of low fat chicken noodle soup, 1/4 (1/2 of a 1/2) chicken salad sandwich and a small french baguette

Dinner: :smooth:
Qdoba- 3 small soft chicken tacos w/salsa, chicken and tortilla only, a small cup of black beans

Snack: :crazy:
granola bar

Excercise: :yay:
24 minute pup walk
30 har minutes on the bike--I made it up to 7.9 miles. That's the farthest I've gone in 30 minutes :cool1: I usually do one of the built in programs and this one went up to level 7 (of 9) on the resistance, so I was working really hard!

I still feel really positive about this. I plan to weigh-in, so to speak, next Friday when I'm in the hospital for a CT myelogram. I'm sure I'll post more about that, as I'm a bit nervous. But I think the weigh me that day, so I'll see how 2 weeks on the "program" are treating me :)

[bekkiz]

Yesterday was not a great day, but not bad either.

Breakfast:
slice of whole wheat w/ pb and jelly
light cherry yogurt

Lunch:
Quiznos chicken ceasar salad (except I forgot about my "dip every 3rd bite" and found myself dipping every bite! So, I had more dressing than I should have)

Dinner:
salad w/ light ceasar
Mac and cheese--at first I wasn't sure about this, but it's the Aunt Annnie's from a box, and 1 serving has about 270 cals and about 4 gms. fat, so not any worse than a lean pocket or something. I probably had a little more than 1 serving, maybe 1 1/4, but it wasn't a terrible choice.

Snacks
granola bar

Excercise: :confused3
Bad day
15 minute walk w/pup (it was rainy, and I didn't feel like alonger one)
20 low intensity minutes on the bike. I didn't take any pain meds yesterday, thinking I was just hanging around the house and it would be good to have a dya off of them :sad2: Well, by the end of the day, when I ride the bike, I hurt SO BAD. I wanted to get off at 10 minutes, but I compromised by staying on 20, and just not pusing too hard. I went about 3.7 miles.

I'm staying positive. I'm going to take some pain meds today, so hopefully the bike won't be such a (literal!) PITA.

My birthday is this week, though between coaching and the CT thing on friday, I won't have too much time to celebrate. I'm trying to decide if having a birthday treat is good or bad. I'll have to think about it some more.

[kimwim8]

WELCOME! Sounds like you're off to a good start!

As far as your birthday goes....see how you feel about it then. You might want to have a treat, and if so...go right ahead. I think most of us would do the same thing. As long as you get right back on immediately afterwards - you're allowed a treat every now and again. :thumbsup2

Your food intake seems good. I don't know what you ate before this, but I'd say that you should definitely see a loss after 2 weeks. Especially with all of that working out too. I give you a LOT of credit for working out through the pain. You're one tough cookie! :teeth:

What kinds of beverages do you drink? Do you drink a lot of water? That's definitely the key to weight loss, I've found. My nutritionist advised a minimum of 64 ounces a day, and a maximum of 1/2 your body weight in ounces.

Take care, and keep on posting! We're here for ya! :wave:

[CJK]

Terrific job keeping up with the exercise despite the pain. Amazing! :cheer2: I don't think I'd have that dedication. I understand your birthday dilemma. My b-day is at the end of October and I'm trying to figure out what to do too. Let me know what you decide. Have a great and healthy week!

[bekkiz]

Thank you so much for checking in and keeping me encouraged! It is hard with the excercise. I've always been a really active person (was a college athlete) but I've never had an injury of this magnitude before--where it hurts to do pretty much anything! However, I know I will have at least a few months of literally laying in bed, so I think it's better to suffer a little now, and have an easier recovery later. It's good motivation :)

Today was fine, although the timing was kind of weird. I woke up really early so I had breakfast early, lunch at like 11:30 and dinner around 4:30. I had my snack at "dinner time" after I got home from practice. I did have a little treat today :blush: --it's mentioned below

Breakfast:
slice of whole wheat w/pb and jelly
low fat string cheese

Lunch:
lean pocket

Dinner:
Shrimp/avocado rolls (8 slices or one whole roll) w/soy sauce
1 cup of ginger mashed sweet potatoes (they had some cream/butter I think, but no sugar)
1 fat free gingersnap cookie--when I lost all of that weight in college, these things were my godsend. They make them at Whole Foods (where I got my dinner) and I couldn't resist. It was delicious :cloud9:

Snack:
an oversized bowl of cinnamon toast crunch. Not the best choice, but I will live with it.

In terms of hydration, I'm not as good as I could be. I don't drink anything w/ calories but I also don't drink as much as I should. Today I had about 48 oz, mostly in bubbly, sugar free, fruit flavored water. I also had a Sprite Zero (diet, no sugar). This is an area I need to improve on, and I'll try to remember to include it on my wrap ups.

Excercise: :yay:
25 minutes walking the pup
30 medium insensity on the bike. Again, I did it at the end of the day, so the pain medication was wearing off (I have to take it in the morning, b/c I can't drive for a few hours after taking it), so there was more pain while riding. I still was able to go 6.45 miles.

[eeyore25]

Hi there,

So sorry for all the pain that you are having while working out. You're tough to tough it out and contune...good for you!!!

Your eating looks really good too!!! Keep up the good work!!!

Have a great day :)

[bekkiz]

I feel good about yesterday. I did get like 5 inches cut off my hair (which I've been waiting to do FOREVER), so that may have helped my feeling good :)

Breakfast: :sunny:
1 enevlope of weight control oatmeal
an apple
1.5 cups OJ

Lunch:
Lean Cuisine Chicken and pasta in peanut sauce
Salad

Dinner:
3/4 Grilled salmon sandwich on a whole wheat bun and a little bit of tartar sauce
6 french fries ( :rotfl: I made a deal with myself to hold back on the tartar so I could have some french fries :lmao: )

Snack:
slice of whole wheat w/ pb and jelly

I drank at least 64 oz both in plain water and in the sugar free bubbly stuff.

Excercise :yay:
24 minute walk w/ the pup
30 good minutes on the bike. I went 7.06 miles :cheer2:

[CJK]

Glad to hear you like your new due! :thumbsup2

Great job on food, exercise and water intake!!!!! You'll be in great shape by the time that surgery comes around which should only help your recovery. Keep it up!! :goodvibes

[bekkiz]

Meh, a so-so day.

Breakfast:
A medium bowl of cinnamon toast crunch

Lunch:
Mac and Cheese (I had about 1.5 servings so more cals than I like to have, but eh, what can you do)

Dinner:
Strawberry/Pineapple smoothie
Blueberry/bran muffin

Snacks:
Granola bar
I also made my birthday cake yesterday, so I had some tastes of the frosting here and there :blush:

Excercise
:guilty: Only a 16 minute walk with the pup. I wasn't up for the bike. :sad2:

Today is my birthday, and I did make a pumpkin cake and I'm allowing myself a slice. The rest is going to the neighbors :rotfl:
Unfortunatly, nothing too fun for me for the next few days. Tomorrow, I'm going to the hospital for most of the day (from 11 am to maybe 8 pm) for a CT Myleogram and I'm not supposed to eat until after the test, so I'm REALLY not looking forward. The test part doesn't bother me, but I get cranky when I'm hungry :rotfl:

Then my team has a tournament all weekend, so no fun stuff!

I really need to get on the bike today, as I probably won't tomorrow. I hope I'm up for it.

[kimwim8]

party: :bday: party:


HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

Hope you have a wonderful day, and that cake sounds wonderful!! I don't think I've ever had pumpkin cake!

[goldcupmom]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!

(and a belated Welcome to WISH!!)

I'm just catching up on journals and reading how well you are doing despite the pain is AWESOME! Congrats on being so disciplined!

Hope you have a GREAT day! Post your pumpkin cake recipe sometime - sounds YUMMY!!!

[bekkiz]

Thank you all so much for the good thoughts. It's so nice to have all of the support!

It was a pretty good day, I woke up to flowers on my nightstand and my best friend sent a bucket of treats (mostly stuff that isn't too bad, like popcorn, pretzels and trail mix).

Breakfast:
Small bowl of cinnamon toast crunch
1.5 c. OJ

Lunch
Panera-cup of broc. cheese soup, small bagette and 1/4 of a chicken ceasar sandwich. I ate until I was uncomfortably full, which I hate doing. I tookt he dog for a walk right after so that helped me feel better

Dinner:
about 4 oz of chicken breast teriyaki and 1 c. rice
1 small slice of my birthday cake. I didn't make it very far as it's very rich and I knew if I ate anymore, I might feel really sick. My stomach isn't used that stuff anymore!

Here's the recipe if you're interested. I only made a 1/2 cake (so 2 layers).
http://www.rachaelraymag.com/recipe/29985/
http://www.rachaelraymag.com/images/recipe/11_06/grp_edr_pumpkin_cake_with_pecan_praline_sz2.jpg

Snack:
Non-fat Green tea latte from Starbucks (medium) and a couple handfuls of nuts and dried cranberries

Excercise:
24 minute walk w/ the pup
30 strong minutes on the bike. I went 7.13 miles!

Tomorrow will be a weird day. Because of the dye they're using for the myleogram, I can't eat after 6 am until about 3 pm, so I'm going to try and get up really early and have a pb&j or something, or I'm going to be REALLY cranky around 3 pm :rotfl:

[kimwim8]

Good luck today! I'll be thinking about you!

And, what were you thinking putting a picture of that cake in your journal?? Don't you realize I'm weak?? :rotfl: :rotfl: (just kidding). Seriously, that looks GREAT!

[eeyore25]

Happy Belated Birthday!!! That cake looks very good!!!!

Good luck today with your test

Keep up the good work, you're doing a great job :)

[bekkiz]

I just needed to brag before I head to the hospital!

I got on the scale (eek!) and I'm down 7 lbs in almost 2 weeks. I know that's faster than one really wants, but at the same time, I'm eating (as you can see :rotfl: ) enough calories to prevent any sort of starvation mode. I'm pretty sure I won't be able to sustain that kind of loss every week, but I think it's a good first weigh-in!

I even went and got a ticker.

[kimwim8]

:woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo:

CONGRATULATIONS!!! :thumbsup2

[honeymo78]

Congrats on the weight loss. It really is great to see your work paying off. I hope everything went well at the hospital.

[bekkiz]

Blah. I hate hospitals.

Yesterday wasn't awful, but now, I'm sort of messed up. The procedure went fine, but just after (when I tried to stand up) the pain in my back jumped from a 6/10 to a 15/10! :furious: Laying on my stomach puts my my spine in an unhappy position (I have a fracture in a vertabrea, and it cause it to slide around) and I had to lay on my stomach for about 25 minutes or so. When I tried to stand up, my back was VERY unhappy with me! The I got really dizzy and lightheaded etc. Not too fun.

I'm still in a lot of pain (again, not from the myleogram, but from laying on my stomach) and walking is really painful (usually isn't too bad). I feel better from yesterday, so I have a feeling another day or so, and I should be back to normal..whatever normal is :teeth:

Foodwise, I don't really care about yesterday, it was fine in terms of caloric intake. But I'm going to hold off on biking/walking until I'm feeling better.

Thanks again for the words of encouragement. It helps so much in the rough times!

[eeyore25]

Congrats on the loss...that is awesome!!!! :Pinkbounc :Pinkbounc :banana: :banana: :banana: :cheer2: :cheer2:

I am so sorry that you are in so much pain....take it easy which I am sure you are doing and then start working out when you can. You are doing a great job!!!

Keep up the good work!!!

Have a great day :)

[kimwim8]

Hey there! I'm sorry your back is hurting. But hopefully it's better soon!

Wanted to ask (and you don't have to tell)...what is your first name? Although I'm bad at remembering names, I like to put a name with a screen name, you know? Totally up to you!

Have a good day, and hopefully a less painful one!

[bekkiz]

No prob, it's just bekki :)

Unfortunatly, it was a bad weekend and an even worse monday! Icky medical stuff below, properly warned ye be!

I ended up back in the hospital today with a spinal headache (the puncture wound from the needle on friday didn't heal, and I was leaking spinal fluid) and they had to fix it (you don't want to know what that entailed) :( I seem to be recovering, but need to stay off my feet for another day or so. Walking is hard due to what they had to do to my spine.

I have to admit, this being my food journal, that this weekend was bad. I didn't eat very much ( nausea is a side effect), so when I got my appitite back this afternoon, all I wanted was Jack in the Box and a milkshake :(

Still, I can't be too hard on myself, right? I have to be good to myself :)

[bekkiz]

Trying to get back in the swing of things. I'm still having a bit of a headache, but it's not nearly as bad as it has been. Now, I'm just waiting for my back to feel better (it's pretty sore from all of the manipulation and tests)

Breakfast:
bowl of connamon toast crunch

lunch
ham and swiss sandwich (on a huge roll, so much bread!) with honey mustard
baked doritos

dinner
pineapple/strawberry smoothie
apple cinnamon pretzel

No excercise, but I did go to coach my practice/game today and that's a big step compared to the last few days!

I'm hoping to feel up to getting back on the bike by the end of the week. For the time being, I'm just going to focus on my eating and worry about the other stuff when I can :)

[kimwim8]

Hey Bekki!! You have SO much determination!! You know how many people would feel the pain you have and just be a bump on a log??? I think A LOT!!!

You've got the drive, you've got the positive outlook....and the exercise will kick in again when your body allows.

Take care!! :wave:

[bekkiz]

I'm going to channel Stephen Colbert for yesterday's wrap-up (Apologies if you're not a fan of the show :) )

Tip of the Hat:
Yeah for getting back on the bike. I was feeling good yesterday, at least compared to how I have been doing, so I did an EASY 20 minutes on the bike. And when I say easy, I mean it :) Usually I go somewhere around 5-5.5 miles in 20 minutes. Yesterday I went 2.5 :rotfl2: But that's ok, I didn't want to push myself


Wag of the finger:
My eating royally sucked yesterday. I had a salad with chicken strips (yeah, the fried kind) for lunch and :scared1: Taco Bell (a soft taco, burrito and full-cal Sprite) for dinner.

I also had a few pieces of chocolate caramel corn I had gotten for my birthday. I didn't like it very much (thank goodness) so eating just a few pieces was easy.

Today will be much better. I did another 20 minutes on the bike and I'm going to attempt a short walk with the pup.

I'm also making apple butter (basically thick, spiced applesauce) so the house smells really good. I found a recipe for a low fat applesauce cake, so I might try making that in the next few days as well!

[kimwim8]

Hey Bekki. I'm so glad your back is feeling a little bit better. Great job taking it easy on the bike. Getting in some exercise is a good idea, but not if it's going to further aggrevate your injuries.

That applesauce cake sounds good! Let me know how it is!

[bekkiz]

So, one of the biggest problems with baking is then I have stuff in the house to eat! Also, I haven't hit the store in a while, so I'm low on veggies.

Breakfast:
2 slices sourdough bread w/ marg.

Lunch:
Lean cuisine chicken pizza
apple butter/carrot muffin (made these instead of applesauce cake)

Dinner
Mac and Cheese
baby carrots

Snack
2 :sad2: more muffins. I had one after dinner as "dessert" and like 30 minutes later had another. The good news is they're not terrible (used apple butter in place of some of the real butter, so cuts back on fat) but still a lot of carbs/sugar :rolleyes1

Excercise
20 easy minutes on the bike (about 2.6 miles)
15 minute walk with the pup

[bekkiz]

Ahhhhh...finally (slowly) getting back on track.

Breakfast:
1/2 serving (about 1/4 cup) of oatmeal made with milk and with apple butter as the sweetner
1 slice sourdough toast with marg.

Lunch
Chicken ceasar salad w/flatbread (dressing on side, dip every 3rd bite)

Dinner
Thai food, which is pretty high in fat (the coconut milk!) but I ate very small portions of the curry because it was very filling. We also had stir-fried garlic shrimp and veggies (pretty healthy) and beef skewers w/ peanut sauce (ate a small amount of this as well). I had been craving Thai for a long time, and was happy I was able to limit myself to just enough to satisfy the craving.

Snacks:
1 small bag (serving size) of baked doritos
3 peanut M&Ms and 3 pieces of candy corn (when eaten together, it tastes like a snickers!) I was making littel gift bags for the nieghbor kids, and I had to have a little taste :)

Excercise
15 minute walk with the pup
20 solid minutes on the bike. I picked up the pace and went 4.5 miles. Not too much pain, so today I might try a full 30 minutes.

Hopefully, I'll have another good day!

[bekkiz]

I am giving myslef far too much leway in my choices. I need to get my act togther--today! No more of this eating whatever I want crap.

10/28
Breakfast:
Small bowl of cinnamon toast crunch
Caramel apple square (I made these for the team I coach and the excuse I gave myself was "I wanted to make sure they were ok before bringing them to other people)

Lunch
Chicken quesadilla w/ sour cream and guac-->I have no idea what I was thinking when I ordered this, other than it sounded good! That is NO excuse

Dinner:
1/2 bowl of broc. cheese soup, small salad with balsamic dressing and a small french baguette
1/2 small coconut bubble tea: I'm pretty sure this is terrible for you but who knows?

Snack
another caramel apple square (no excuse this time, except there was 1 leftover, so I should eat it :sad2: )
3 peanut M&Ms and 3 candy corn

Exercise :yay: Something good, at least
16 minute walk with the dog
30 solid minutes on the bike, 6.5 miles

I plan to weigh in again next friday, I better do a much better job with my eating until then or I'm going to have to put myself on notice!

[kimwim8]

Wow Bekki, you must be feeling better! Those are some great workouts lately!

Yes, you know what to do with the food. It'll all fall into place. Just keep journaling!

[CJK]

I've been catching up with your journal and I was sorry to hear of all the troubles you've been experiencing. I agree with the others - you have PHENOMENAL determination! I'm ashamed to admit that when I have so much as the sniffles, that's enough excuse for me not to exercise. I really need to follow your lead! AMAZING job with the exercise again. The food will come. It's a tough time of year isn't it? As I write this, I'm staring at all our Halloween candy. Oy! Have a great week!

[bekkiz]

Thank you for the cheerleading :cheer2: I need it! It's funny, while the bike and walking is painful, I'd soooo much rather do that than skip dessert. I'm doing both, but it's much easier to say yes to the bike than no to the cookie :rotfl2:

Yesterday was good in the sense that I did avoid the treats that are around. I could have made a smarter choice at lunch, but over all, it was a fine day.
10/29
Breakfast: (I woke up so early b/c of daylight savings--so a two part breakfast like 2 hours apart!)
Small bowl of cinnamon toast crunch
slice of sourdough w/marg.
1 c. OJ

Lunch:
Grilled steak burrito w/ whole beans, guac and cheese. I meant to order without cheese, but forgot. It was at a local "healthy" mexican food place, so the food is very fresh and good.
A few chips w/salsa

Dinner
1.5 servings of low-fat pancakes (made w/ heart healthy bisquick and eggbeaters) and apple butter on top (no real butter though!)
1 glass of milk

No snacks

Excercise
16 minute walk w/ the dog
30 strong minutes on the bike, 6.95 miles (almost 7!)

[kimwim8]

It's funny, while the bike and walking is painful, I'd soooo much rather do that than skip dessert. I'm doing both, but it's much easier to say yes to the bike than no to the cookie :rotfl2:

Why do you think I run?? To burn off the bad food I eat!! :rotfl:

I think we're all in that same boat!

[bekkiz]

Not a bad day, if I do say so myself. It's days like this that remind me that getting healthy isn't easy, but totally achieveable.

Breakfast
1.5 homemade apple/carrot muffins (lowish in fat, but not totally awesome)
1 cup of milk
1 cup of OJ

Lunch
Lean Cuisine (sweedish meatball)
caouple handfuls of baby carrots

Dinner
Turkey and stuffing lean cuisine

Snack
1 slice of sourdough with PB
1 bite of a chicken strip
1 M&M and 1 candy corn

Excercise
23 minute walk w/ the pup
30 great minutes on the bike. I was feeling crappy but I got on and went 7.65 miles :cheer2: I was pretty stoked :cloud9:

In other news, it got crazy cold here today. Which wasn't so bad when I was in my nice, warm house, but really sucked for my outdoor 7-9pm practice at the pool (I coach water polo). The pool covers and chairs were icy--it was about 32, but with the breeze (and it's really clear) it felt closer to 28! I had so many layers on, but I def. not used to it yet!

[bekkiz]

A good day followed by a not so good day. It doesn't take much to throw me off course--Halloween, coaching outside in 30 degree weather and waiting at the doctor's for more than 2.5 hours!

Breakfast
Bagel w/ small amount of cream cheese

Lunch
Chicken Ceasar wrap w/ about 6-8 french fries

Dinner
taco bell burrito

Snack
halloween sized butterfinger
5 m&ms/candy corn

Excercise
24 minute walk with the dog
No bike :(

It's ok though--it could have been MUCH worse :) And we have officially scheduled my surgery for January 8th. I'm happy to have some things to look forward too between now and then (T-day, our trip to WDW and going "home" for Christmas) but it is a little scary. I have moments where I feel little-no pain and I wonder if surgery is really the best option. But then I remember days of not being able to do anything, and I convince myself again!

[bekkiz]

I had such a fun day, and I was able to keep reasonably on track :) Not enough veggies, and a little carb happy, but not too bad.

I spent the day finishing the new Stephen King book, and then we went to see him speak in Seattle. Afterwards, we went to my favorite Seattle restaurant (which happened to be right across the strees) for a late dinner. This day made up for all of the bad days I had around my birthday. it was like my birthday, part 2 :rotfl:

11/1

Breakfast:
bowl of cinnamon toast crunch

Lunch
Ham and swiss w/ honey mustard
1 serving baked dorritos

Dinner
1 beef skewer
1 steamed bun w/ duck and plum sauce
1 scoop of kung pow chicken (not deep fried, stir-fried w/ peppers and onions)
1 scoop of white/brown rice mix
SO GOOD!

Snack
1 halloween size butter finger
1 peanut butter cup :)

Excercise
23 minute walk w/ pup
30 minutes on the bike (7.5 miles!)

[bekkiz]

Yeah, down 3 more pounds! Even though I haven't been great, I'm glad to still be losing.

Breakfast:
bagel and marg.
1 cup OJ

Lunch
Lean Cuisine Chicken Pannini
Couple handfuls of baby carrots

Dinner (team dinner)
Spagetti and 1 meatball (w/red sauce)
ceasar salad
2 pieces garlic bread
1 slice of peanut butter pie (the moms were goading me into it! and it was delicious)

Snack
more OJ
a few strawberries

Excercise
It was pouring, so no pup walk--he was mad
30 minutes on the bike (7.35 miles)

[bekkiz]

So, can you and I just agree that the last week didn't happen? Let's just pretend it's still last friday and I lost three pounds and I'm still happy, excited and committed to losing more.

That'll be great.

I will check back in tomorrow.

[CJK]

Okay, last week didn't happen. ;) I didn't lose weight lost week myself, so I'm right there with you. I hope this week is off to a good start for you. I know it must be scary to think about your surgery now that the day is booked, but I'm glad to know you've got a lot of fun stuff between now and then. Hopefully after your surgery you'll finally be rid of the pain. You deserve it. Have a great week!

[honeymo78]

Last week seemed to be a tough week for a lot of us. I think this week will be a great week for us all.

[bekkiz]

I'm back. I can't believe I let myself off the hook for 22 days by not posting. Obviously my commitment level was low. My short term goal is to post each day between now and next Friday (we leave for WDW on Sat.). If I can do that, then I'll be able to enjoy myself on our trip.

The great news is during my lapse in posting, I've been doing great on excercise. Biking and walking nearly everyday (And at least one of those) My eating hasn't been as fantastic :(

Today:
Breakfast:
Small bowl of lefter over butternut squash soup
english muffin w/ margerine

Lunch:
2-3 oz of left over steak
1 cup of mashed potatoes
1/2 cup of sauteed mushrooms

Dinner
Whole wheat pasta w/ turkey marinara sauce

Snack
1 slice whole wheat bread w/ pb and jelly
probably will have a small amount of apple crisp w/ low fat vanilla ice cream

Exercise
2 24 minute walks w/the dog (trying to get ready for wdw)
30 minutes on the bike

[bekkiz]

Yesterday (11/26) was interesting. We got SNOW! I haven''t lived somehwere where it snowed at my house since I was 4, so it was def. a novelty. We got about 2-3 inches from 1 pm to 7 pm. Then the power went out :( Boo, that wasn't fun and messed up my plan for a Lean Cuisine dinner, but that's ok.

Breakfast:
Medium bowl of cinnamon toast crunch

Lunch
Ham and swiss on whole wheat (bigger roll) with honey mustard and a Sierra Mist

Dinner
Chicken pesto and motzerella sandwich and potato chips
Hot chocolate

No snacks!

Excercise
15 minute walk with the pup (Caught a break in the weather and had to hurrry!)
30 strong minutes on the bike (7.7 miles)

[kimwim8]

Hi Bekki!

Sorry I haven't stopped by in a while. Looks like we've both been M.I.A. :teeth:

You're doing REALLY great with your exercise! You'll be fine at WDW. That energy kicks in from somewhere and allows you to walk all day and night there. Have a WONDERFUL trip, and I can't wait to hear about it when you get back!

[bekkiz]

Thanks for the cheerleading--we all need it!

Another snow filled day--about 8-10 inches in the last 36 hours! My pup is loving it. I'm not loving cleaning snow off his paws everytime he comes in the house :)

Breakfast
med. bowl of cinnamon toast crunch

Lunch
bowl of broccoli cheddar soup
small french baguette
blueberry muffin

Dinner
1.5 cups of mac and cheese
root beer
Not my best dinner ever, but after the power outage yesterday and my lack of wanting to drive in the snow, we were lacking other options!

Excercise :yay:
15 minute walk in the one sunbreak we had all day :rotfl2:
30 good minutes on the bike (7.6 miles)

It should be dry (but FREEZING) tomorrow, so hopefully I can get a longer walk in. I also have a ton of housework to do over the next couple of days. That counts as excercise, right? :rotfl:

[bekkiz]

More fun in the snow today! We leave for WDW on Saturday, I am so excited, but there's so much to do between now and then.

Breakfast
1.5 servings of low-fat pancakes (low fat bisquick, egg sub and milk) w/ whole berry cranberry sauce (left over from t-day and warmed up)
1 c. OJ

Lunch
a little more than 1/2 of a chicken quesadilla w/ some sour cream and guac
1/3 c. of whole pinto beans

Dinner
Grilled brie and apricot chutney on whole wheat

No snacks yet, but I may have one in a bit.

Excercise
20 minute walk in the snow with the pup, it's a LOT harder to walk in the snow. I had no idea :rotfl2:
30 minutes on the bike (7.81 miles)

ETA: I did have a handful of peanuts before bed last night!

[bekkiz]

Burrr, it's cold here. Escaping to FL is looking mighty fine!

Breakfast
1 low-sugar granola bar
1 non fat green tea latte (starbucks)
1 low-fat berry muffin

Lunch
Chicken ceasar wrap w/6-8 french fries

Dinner
Chinese food: potstickers, kung pao chicken, beef w/snow peas and combo chow mein. I took smallish servings of each (except the pot stickers!)

Excerise
I was too scared of the ice to walk outside. I'm a klutz and would have fallen :rotfl2: But I did play for a bit in the snow w/ the pup so he could run around
30 minutes on the bike (7.9 miles)

I'm hoping to find a break in the weather today to walk outside, but we'll see!

[kimwim8]

Hey Bekki!

Just wanted to say have a GREAT trip, and I can't wait to hear all about it when you get back!!

:wave:

[bekkiz]

Sort of a medicore day yesterday, but some good news this morning

Breakfast:
1 cranberry muffin
1 glass of milk

Lunch
ham and swiss on whole wheat roll w/ honey mustard
Sierra mist

Dinner! Ack!
I met a friend who was in town for a conference and who I hadn't seen in a while. We went to a fabulous Seattle restaurant and ate, ate, ate! The good news is that the portion size was inversaly porportional to the price. Our $8 tempura fried pear dessert included less than 1/2 of a pear (probably about 1/4) and a scoop of ice cream about the size of a large marshmallow. It was DELICOUS though, and I don't mind tiny portion sizes :rotfl2: Then I can eat the whole thing and not feel bad. W/ dessert I also tried their hot chocolate. It was very rich and I had maybe 3 or 4 sips.
I also a tiny priece of a brie like cheese served with an arugala salad and a tiny little apple dumpling.
For main course, it was pork loin (I ate about 3 oz of meat) served with mustard greens (a little bitter for me) and some amazing roasted Delicata squash.
Ok, so that was more like a dining review than a food journal--sorry. I'm warming for our trip :rotfl:

Excercise
20 minute walk with the dog
No bike, took a break for my back:)

Now, the good news. I finally weighed in and I'm down another 2 lbs! It's not much, but it's something. We'll see how I do on the trip. I can't believe we leave tomorrow :cheer2:

[traceycooper]

Bekki
Hope you have a fab trip :)

[kimwim8]

Congrats on the 2 pound loss! That's awesome!! :cheer2:

And I know you're having a GREAT trip! Can't wait to hear all about it!

[CJK]

Congrats on that weightloss!!!!! Hope you're having a great trip so far. You'll have to tell us all about it! :sunny:

[kimwim8]

Hi Bekki!

I hope you're having a great time and I can't wait to hear about it when you get back! :wave:

[bekkiz]

We're home! And I weight EXACTLY the same as we left. That is so weird! We were on the dining plan, so I ate all sorts of delcious but naughty things. However, I tried to leave 1/3-1/2 of the food on the plate (at least at the table service places) so I think that helped LOL! I've started posting my trip report and dining report, so feel free to check those out!

I'm feeling really sore from all of the walking, rides and uncomfortable airplanes, so I took the last 2 days off from the excercise bike. I think I'll hop back on it tomorrow. I did walk the dog today and yesterday.

I've reevaluated my goals and hope to lose at least 6 more pounds by my surgery on January 8th. Even with the holidays, I think I can do it.

Anyway, on to the food journal

Yesterday (12/12)

breakfast: orange/cranberry muffin and skim milkk

lunch: ham and swiss on whole wheat with honey mustard and baked Doritos. Also a small sprite

dinner: The best thing we ate ou our trip was the mushroom risotto from Le Cellier and they gave me the recipe card. Monday was DH's birthday and I wasn't up to cooking so I made it last night for dinner. It wasn't as good as the restaurants, but still pretty darn tasty. I ate about 3/4 of a cup (I got full pretty fast)

snack: 1/2 english muffin w/almond butter and orange marmelade

excercise:
16 minute walk w/ the pup

[traceycooper]

Welcome home bekkiz,
The mushroom risotto sounds delish, something else to try when i talk Dh into going back :)
Actually all your food listed sounds yummy, almond butter & orange/cranberry muffin mmmmm
Maybe i'm just obsessed with food!!!
Cant wait to check out your trip & dining reports :)

Well done on not gaining :)

[bekkiz]

I am a huge fan of almond butter, although I don't buy it too often--only when I'm at Whole Foods or something and they have the freshly ground.

12/13

breakfast: I call this my super protein packed breakfast treat! I mix a spoonful of low-fat riccotta cheese (you can use cottage cheese too, but it's alittle more watery) with an equal amount of almond (or peanut or whatever) buter and a bit of orange marmalade to taste. Mix until smooth and put on top of a toasted english muffin or toast. With a glass of OJ or some fruit, it is a very filling and delicious breakfast!

It is calorically dense, but I like that it keeps me full.

lunch: skirt steak burrito w/ grac and cheese. Not a great choice, but tasty

dinner: 3-4 oz roasted chicken breast and about 1/2 cup of leftover risotto
and a pear.

Snack: a piece of nougut candy from the Italy pavillion and a hard fruit candy from Japan. I always bring home those kinds of treats to remind us of our trip!

[traceycooper]

The super protein packed breakfast treat sounds great :)
I have never seen almond butter in the UK so probably wont be able to get it :( Food over here is so boring we basically have 50 brands of the same stuff!!!
Have agreat weekend
Tracey

[CJK]

Here's a little late, "welcome home"!!! Glad to hear you had a great trip AND DIDN'T GAIN WEIGHT! Woohoo! Sounds like you did it right - smaller portions but enjoyed the foods you love. I love the mushroom risotto at Le Cellier too. Congrats on getting right back on track after vacation. That can be really tough to do. Have a great week!!

[bekkiz]

Well, it's been a rough weekend--thanks for all the kind words!

We lost power for about 36 hours and my dad came up to visit, so I had quite a fun, but really unhealthy, eating weekend. For example, we went out to breakfast both mornings and I had gravy! on my biscuits. Eeek!

That's ok. I have a full week before Christmas and we head back "home." I'm going to work hard to have an awesome eating week :)

[kimwim8]

Hey Bekki. You're doing great, and I'll bet if you actually had power, you wouldn't have eaten bad. But you did, and you're allowed! :thumbsup2 You know what you gotta do and you're already doing it.

Enjoy the holidays at "home"! :wave:

[bekkiz]

Yesterday was a meh sort of day. I woke up in a LOT of pain and really just wanted to stay in bed (which I did for most of the day :rotfl: )

No breakfast, sometimes (but not nearly often enough :rotfl2: ) I don't get hungry due to back issues. I wish it was more often--I usually get more hungry if I hurt!

Lunch: Chicken ceasar salad w/ dressing on the side and a dip every 3 bites or so. A flatbread and a serving of baked doritos

Dinner: Chicken caesar wrap (spinach tortilla) and about 6-7 french fries

snack: two chocolates from Italy

No excercise--not even a short walk. I just couldn't make myself do it :rolleyes:

The good news is I'm feeling slightly better today and was able to get a last of the Christmas shopping done early this morning. I also am in the process of making homemade marshmallows for the nieghbors. Marshmallows have no fat, so that's good right? Well, of course I plan to roll them in graham cracker crumbs and dip them in chocolate too...that makes them a little less guilt free! But I guess that's why I give them away :rotfl:

[traceycooper]

Marshmallows have no fat, so that's good right? Well, of course I plan to roll them in graham cracker crumbs and dip them in chocolate too...that makes them a little less guilt free! But I guess that's why I give them away :rotfl:

:rotfl2:
I never knew marshmallows had no fat :cool1:

Glad your feeling better :)

[CJK]

Just checking in to wish you a very Happy New Year. I hope you are feeling well and are ready to take on a fantastic New Year!

[kimwim8]

Hey Beki...hope everything's going well.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Keep in touch, girl!

[goldcupmom]

Have a Happy, Healthy New Year, Bekkiz!

I hope you're enjoying the Holidays! Your weight loss is GREAT!!

Good luck with your surgery! I'll be praying!

[bekkiz]

Wow, do I suck at this journal thing. When the going gets tough (ie I get busy) I have plenty of time to Dis, but some how forget to hop over to this board.

My surgery is on Monday. I only get nervous when I'm trying to sleep. During the day it's easy to forget about it. I went to the store to stock up on frozen dinners (like lean cuisine) for my DH to microwave for me while I'm in bed. I'm not wasting my 5 minutes of walking time in the kitchen :rotfl2:! I did tell him that I get to eat whatever I want for the first week, but after, he's not allowed to bring me anything remotely unhealthy. This may be the best diet ever!

I hope everyone is having a great start to the new year. I will look forward to reading about everyone's excerise while I'm in bed :rotfl: I will keep journaling my food intake (once I'm not super loopy from the meds) just to have something to do each day other than popcorn::

[CJK]

Wow, I didn't realize your surgery was so soon! I'm sending you lots of warm thoughts :goodvibes for a successful surgery and painless (as much as possible!) recovery. Sounds like you're getting prepared. I was surprised to find how much I like some of the lean cuisines now! I may not be around next week, but please post when you can about your surgery and I'll be sure to check on you after our trip. Take care!!!!

[traceycooper]

Hi bekki
Hope the surgery goes well & make sure DH looks after you :)
Take care
Tracey

[kimwim8]

Hey Bekki - Good luck with your surgery! I'll be thinking about you on Monday. :hug:

Take care and rest, rest, rest!

[goldcupmom]

Good Luck with the surgery, Bekki. I'll be thinking about you tomorrow. Let us know when you can how you are.

[bekkiz]

Thanks everyone! You guys make me feel so loved :cloud9: :love:

If you want to check in, I think my DH will be able to update my back clog from the hospital.

brokebackbekki.vox.com

I'm hilarious, I know :rotfl: ! Hopefully, I'll be back to the boards on Wednesday or Tuesday!

[kimwim8]

hugs for today, Bekki! :hug:

[kimwim8]

Hey guys...I hope Bekki doesn't mind - but I checked out the website she listed and her DH said (at 1pm) that her surgery was successful!

Very cool website, Bekki! I liked reading about your exact back issues and what was done. After reading your DH's update today...all I can say is....

REST REST REST!!! Give it plenty of time to heal, girl! You're in my thoughts and prayers for a full recovery!

[traceycooper]

Hey Bekki
checked out your website, glad everything went well,
hope your feeling better :)
Dh is doing a great job with the updates.
Take care
Tracey

[bekkiz]

Thanks so much everyone! I came home Wednesday night. In terms of the surgery, things went well, and I have havee very tolerable pain in relation to the back issues. My whole right foot is pretty tingly and funny feeling (like it's asleep) but I can walk with the walker pretty well. The doctor says that it shoudl clear up as the nerves heal, maybe 6 weeks.

My tummy is still pretty unhappy so I'm being really careful about what I'm eating. Mostly saltenes, water and fruit smoothies. I'm going to try a pb and j in few minutes, as I'm supposed to eat more protein. But the thought of mist things makes my tummy turn :(

Anyway, thanks for all of the well wishes, I'll keep ya'll posted LOL!

[traceycooper]

Hey Bekki
Welcome 'home' :cool1: :banana: :yay: :dance3: :cheer2:
Glad your not feeling too rough!
Hope your appitite comes back soon.
Take it easy & i hope your recovery is swift :goodvibes

[kimwim8]

Hey Bekki. I'm glad you're home! I just read your brokebackbekki blog. Your DH is a funny guy! Sounds like you're progressing well!

Take care and keep us posted! :wave2:

[bekkiz]

Well, one good thing about major surgery is the weight loss! I got on the scale this morning, and I'm down 8 more lbs.

I'll be honest, the pain medicine is really screwing with my digestive system. I'm not eating very much and get full really fast (not really a bad thing) but there are some bad side effects that are really taking a toll every day (trying to be delicate and not giving TMI :rotfl: ) I hope that goes away soon, as I just finished the last of the heavy duty pain meds.

Anyway, just wanted to check in and thank everyone for their good thoughts and well wishes :) I'm getting better!

[goldcupmom]

Just got done with your Blog. Your DH was wonderful to do that!

Glad you are on the mend and the worst seems to be far behind you. Take it easy!

[goldcupmom]

Hope things are ok, Bek! Just thinking about you.

[toystoryduo]

Hi Bekki,

Thanks for stopping by my journal!:goodvibes It's always fun to have new friends stop by.:thumbsup2

I haven't had a chance to read your journal yet... I hope to get to that soon.

How are you feeling? I hope that everything is going well and that you are healing nicely. :goodvibes

Have a great day today!

[kimwim8]

Hey Bekki - how you healin? :confused3 :goodvibes I hope everything is going well for ya.

Take care!:hug:

[traceycooper]

Hi Bekki
Hang in there, sounds like your well on the way to mending :)

[bekkiz]

Well, things are going pretty well. I finally am eating like a normal person again...not that that's a good thing! But I think my stomach kind of shrunk, so I'm using that to restart my controlled eating plan. Which also means, I'm going to start journaling my food again. I can't let myself blow up like a balloon!

Monday, 2/5

Breakfast: 3/4 cup Fiber One w/ 1 cup vanilla soy milk and 1/2 of a banana

Lunch: Lean Cuisine Chicken pizza and 2 handfuls of snap peas

Dinner: Lean Cuisine Santa Fe Chicken and 2 handfuls of snap peas

Snack: 2 slices whole wheat w/ peanut butter and honey

Lots of water! :) Nothing else tastes good to me anymore, so weird.

I'm also thinking about cooking tonight. I found a really easy crockpot recipe that's really high in fiber and you can lower the fat content pretty easily. It only will take like 6 minutes to prepare, so I think I can pull it off!

Easy Chicken Santa Fe

Recipe By :lindrusso from CL board
Serving Size : 0 Preparation Time :0:00
Categories : Chicken , CrockPot


Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
1 can black beans -- (15 ounce) rinsed and drained (I'll use 2)
2 cans whole kernel corn -- (15.25 ounce) drained
1 cup bottled thick and chunky salsa
5 skinless, boneless chicken breasts halves (I'll use 4)
1 (8 ounce) brick cream cheese (I'll use low-fat)
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (I'll use reduced fat, and probably less)

1. In a 3.5 or 4-quart electric slow cooker, mix together beans, corn, and 1/2 cup salsa. Top with chicken breasts, then pour remaining salsa over chicken.

2. Cover and cook on high heat setting 2.5-3 hours or until chicken is tender and white throughout. Do not overcook or chicken will be tough. Remove chicken and cut into bite-sized pieces. Add back to slow cooker.

3. Add cream cheese (cut into cubes to melt faster) and turn cooker to high heat. Heat until cream cheese melts and blends into sauce. Serve over rice. Top with shredded cheese. Serves 4.

I think I'll serve with low-fat tortillas instead of rice (not a big rice fan!)

Thanks to everyone for checking in!

[kimwim8]

Hey Bekki! That recipe sound so good. Thanks for sharing! I'm glad you're feeling better!

[bekkiz]

Ack! I am so bummed. I sent DH to the store for all of the stuff, and he brought refried black beans instead of whole beans!

I'll have to wait on the chicken dinner for tomorrow :)

[toystoryduo]

Hi Bekki,

Glad to hear that you are feeling better!:goodvibes

That recipe sounds delicious! If you have any leftovers, can you send them my way? ;)

Have a great Wednesday!:goodvibes

[bekkiz]

Tuesday, 2/6

Breakfast: 3/4 C. Fiber One, 1 C. soy milk and 1/2 a banana

Lunch: Lean Cuisine Cheese cannelloni and 2 handfuls snap peas. A bottle of Snapple white tea.

Dinner: Bowl of broccoli cheddar soup, french bread and salad w/ balsamic on the side

Snacks: slice of whole wheat with peanut butter, banana and a little honey, 1/2 c. of trail mix

Lots of water!

Not a bad day, if I say so myself :) Walked around Target and the grocery store a bit--that's about all I can do right now. Doc's orders are to walk as much as I can, as it helps with the fusion, but the weather sucks right now, so I take whatever walking I can get!

[traceycooper]

Glad your getting lots of water in Bekki :)
Your food looks really good & yummy too :)
I'm glad life is slowly getting back to normal for you :)

[bekkiz]

Yesterday was only so-so

Breakfast: the usual (fiber one, soy milk, banana)

Lunch: ACK! Went out with a friend I hadn't seen in a while, and let myself go with a patty melt and a salad. If that wasn't enough, we split some lemon merangue pie. Not my finest moment!

Dinner: Made the crockpot recipe from above and had about 1.5 cups or so. I only used 1/2 of the cream cheese and a small sprinkle of cheddar. It says it makes 4 servings. Um...we'll probably get like 6-7. I also had one small tortilla. It was very tasty, and I'm having leftovers for dinner tonight. Also had a bottle of Snapple white tea.

Snack: 1/2 c. trail mix

[CJK]

So glad to hear you're slowly getting back to "normal" living! You've done so well. I agree with the others, your food sounds so yummy! Don't worry about your lunch with your friend. Had that been me, I would've had fries and NOT shared the dessert! Good job on getting that walk in, and listening to what your body can handle. Have a great weekend!

[bekkiz]

Thursday, 2/8

Usual breakfast (fiber one, soy milk, banana)

Lunch: Bowl of broc. cheddar soup, french bread and salad w/ balsamic on the side

Dinner: Leftover chicken santa fe (about 1.5 cups) and 2 small tortillas

Snacks: 3/4 c. trail mix, part of a bag of fruit gummies (the ones w/ real fruit juice)

I went to the mall w/ a friend and walked for about 45 minutes. I was pretty sore after, but it felt good to get around!

[traceycooper]

Lunch: ACK! Went out with a friend I hadn't seen in a while, and let myself go with a patty melt and a salad. If that wasn't enough, we split some lemon merangue pie. Not my finest moment!


At least you split the lemon merangue:rotfl:
I would have had it all to myself!!

Hope you have a great weekend :goodvibes

[bekkiz]

Ack, I just realized I didn't post for yesterday!

Fri, 2/9
Breakfast: bowl of cinnamon toast crunch w/soy milk

Lunch: 1 cup of chicken Santa Fe w/ 2 tortillas

Dinner: We went to a local steakhouse w/ family who was in town. I had 1/2 a lettuce wedge salad w/ blue cheese dressing, 7 oz sirloin and mashed potatoes

Thanks everyone for checking in! Keeps me motivated to keep posting :)

[goldcupmom]

Glad things are going well, Bek!

You did GREAT at the steakhouse - I would have done MUCH worse!

The recipe sounds very yummy - I may have to give it a try.

Hope you're having a good weekend!

Have a great week next week!

[bekkiz]

Saturday 2/10

Just have to brag a little. My cousin is in town for a track meet and I got to see her break the national high school record for pole vaulting yesterday. It was so AWESOME!

Breakfast: Bowl of cinnamon toast crunch

Lunch: Quiznos chicken ceaser salad, dressing dipped ever 2nd or 3rd bite and a flatbread

Dinner: 1 slice of veggie/pesto/feta pizza and 1/2 slice of cheese. A can on Diet Dr. Pepper

Snacks: I small package of Gushers fruit snacks (not the good kind!), 1/2 c. trail mix

[traceycooper]

Hi Bekkiz
Congrats to your cousin :banana: :banana: :banana:
Food looks much better than mine :guilty:
Hope you had a great weekend :goodvibes

[toystoryduo]

Congratulations to your cousin!:yay: :woohoo: What an awesome accomplishment!:thumbsup2

You are doing a great job! Keep up the good work!:goodvibes

Thanks for your support and encouragement!:hug:

Have a great week ahead!:cool1:

[goldcupmom]

Wow! Congrats to your cousin! That's an incredible accomplishment!

Have a great week this week! Not sure if I'll be back before I leave for FL!

[bekkiz]

Well, Sunday was a FUN DAY!

breakfast: fiber one, soy milk, banana

lunch: cheeseburger and fries (eek!)

dinner: out with friends, salad w/vinagrette, gnocchi w/ brown butter and butternut squash and apple cobbler (not a huge portion, but still a good size) w/ vanilla ice cream.

It was just one of those days LOL!

I did weigh myself yesterday and I'm right at the same, so luckily my caloric intake v.s output is balancing out! We had a constant stream of visitors the last few days so that certainly makes it harder to eat right. It'll be much quieter this week, so lean cuisines, here I come!

[toystoryduo]

Sounds like you are doing great, Bekki!:goodvibes Keep up the good work and have a great week ahead!:cheer2:

[traceycooper]

Well done on maintaining Bekki :)
Hope you enjoyed the burger & apple cobbler:)

[bekkiz]

Oops, forgot to post for Monday. It's ok--2 at once!

Monday, 2/12

Breakfast: fat free greek yogurt w/ handful of fiber one and a tbls. or so of honey

lunch: lean cuisine chicken pizza and a handful of snow peas

dinner: ramen soup and a grilled cheese sandwich

snack: a handful of trail mix

Tuesday, 2/13

breakfast: fat free greek yogurt w/ handful of fiber one and a tbls. or so of honey

lunch: 1 cup and a little of leftover chicken santa fe w/ two small tortillas

dinner: cup of tortilla soup and a chicken ceaser wrap and a strawberry/pineapple/coconut smoothie

snacks: I made rice krispy treats for the neighbors, and cut them into hearts. I admit to grabbing more than a couple of the snacks. It wasn't a huge amount, but probably 1-2 regular treats worth.

[traceycooper]

Food looks good Bekki :)
Hope you enjoyed the rice krispie treats!
Have a healthy happy week :)

[bekkiz]

Valentine's day was another "Fun" day!

Wednesday, 2/14

Breakfast: 2% greek yogurt, fiber one and honey

lunch: broc/cheddar soup, salad w/walnuts, blue cheese crumbles and ff raspberry dressing and french bread

dinner: a good sized portion of lasagna (frozen from a local deli), 2 cresant rolls and a good sized scoop of homemade chocolate mousse (man, is that stuff good...and SO SO easy, I couldn't believe it :) )

I did get a bit of a walk in, so that was fun :) I still have 1/2 bowl of mousse leftover, so I might have some tonight as well :)

[toystoryduo]

You are doing a great job, Bekki! Keep up the good work!:cheer2:

Have a great weekend!:cool1:

[bekkiz]

Friday, 2/16

B: fiber one "honey clusters" w/ soy milk

L: grilled cheese on whole wheat and a handfull of snow peas

D: Whole wheat pasta/chicken/mushrooms/swiss cheese cassarole thing that I made, last scoopful of chocolate mousse

we just went on a really long walk, so I'm too tired to post anything else LOL!

[traceycooper]

Hi Bekki
I've just come back from a long walk too!!!!
The choc mouse sounds good :)
At least you walked it off ;)
Hope you've had a great weekend

[bekkiz]

A 3 for one kind of post :)

Sat. 2/17

B: Fiber one honey clusters w/ soy milk and a homemade (small, but buttery) cranberry score

L: leftover chicken and mushroom cassarole

D: Chicken teriyaki w/rice and salad. 4 small (but fried) gyoza

Sun. 2/18

B: Homemade scone and tea w/ fat free vanilla non dairy creamer

L: Quiznos chicken ceaser salad, dressing on the side w/a flatbread

D: Chicken enchalada (had a little cheese on top) and pork tamale, black beans, 2 flour tortillas and some sweet corn mush stuff. Virgin strawberry margarita

Mon. 2/19

B: Fiber one honey clusters and soy milk

L: Hawaiian style plate lunch w/ grilled teriyaki steak, rice and :scared1: macaroni salad! Also a sierra mist

D: Bowl of broc/cheddar soup, french bread and blueberry muffin

[traceycooper]

Hi Bekki
I love reading your menus, they always look so yummy & interesting :)
Hope your fully recovered now!

[bekkiz]

See this is what I get for not posting everyday. I left out the snacks on my last entry, and now I can't remember which goes with which day. I know I had a Skinny Cow ice cream one day, a peanut butter cup and trail mix one day and a mini-Snickers one day. Just serves as a reminder to do this sooner each day!

Tuesday, 2/20

B: homemade, reduced fat banana pancakes w/ a drizzle of honey (3 pancakes, about 4 or 5 inches across) They were SO SO good, and it was national pancake day, so how could I resist. (doesn't, of course, explain why I had them again today but we'll talk about that tomorrow!)

L: Lean Cusine tomato pizza (had a fancier name, but I don't know how to spell it!)

D: chicken ceaser wrap w/ a few french fries and some melon

S: handful of trail mix

We also bought a Wii yesterday, and I played it a little last night. SO FUN! I have to be careful about which sports to play, as I'm still very restricted from bending and twisting, but bowling and golf are both fine. It's nice to have a semi-active thing to do while I'm still recouperating. Plus I walked around Target, so that was good :)

[goldcupmom]

Wii! My FAV pasttime!!!

I LOVE the bowling. Tennis is good, but I can't play with anyone else in the room. LOL!! The Smooth Moves game is good, over 200 'mini games' - no real bending , etc involved. I just got Wii Play & it's fun, too. I was disappointed in Table tennis, tho.

Sounds like you are doing well. Scones???? My absolute fav are some that DD made after finding an old recipe online - chocolate chip!!

Have a great, healthy rest of the week!

[toystoryduo]

Hi Bekki,

I still haven't had a chance to try the Wii out yet.... Hope you're enjoying yours, but don't forget to take it easy with those games...;) :hug:

Have a great Thursday!:cool1:

[traceycooper]

Hi Bekki
I want a wii too!!
Oopps just re-read that, but you know what i mean! :rotfl:
Have a great weekend :)

[bekkiz]

The Wii is SO MUCH FUN. We got the Wario Ware Smooth Moves, and it is a hoot. Between that and the Wii bowling, I'm a little sore in my shoulder LOL!

Wednesday 2/21
B: Same pancakes from Tuesday w/ honey

L: EEK, Taco Bell, burrito supreme and a crispy taco and a small sierra mist (Luckily, we walked to Taco Bell, so at least thats something positive)

D: Annie's mac and cheese and a skinny cow

Thursday, 2/22

B: Fiber one honey clusters w/soy milk

L: Chicken ceaser salad w/ flat bread

D: Meatloaf (about 5 oz. w/the leanest beef 4%) and mashed poatoes (butter and 2% milk)

Snack: handful of trail mix. I also made 2 loafs of bread (on plain, one cinnamon swirl) so I had a slice of each to test. I actually think I had 2 of the cinnamon swirl. I love baking bread, makes the house smell SO good :)

[goldcupmom]

Have you made it far enough in Smooth Moves to make it Multi-Player?? There's one Multi-Player game where you can feed your opponents to the gators. Another where you pass the remote around very quickly - kind of like 'hot potato' little ones play.

I LOVE my Wii!! Can you tell??? I get sore shoulders, too! I found a website that calculates calories burned playing, but forgot to bookmark it. When I find it I'll post it.

Taco bell is a real weakness here, too!

Have a GREAT weekend!

[bekkiz]

Friday, 2/23

B: Fiber one honey clusters w/soy milk and 2 slices of my bread (1 w/honey)

L: grilled steak burrito w/guacamole and a few chips

D: 5 cheese raviloi w/a little marg, 2 slices of my bread

[bekkiz]

Sunday 2/25 (aka a very lazy day!)

B: bowl of rice crispys sprinkled w/sugar and nf mik, 2 slices of toast, 1 w/marg.

L: Greek style grilled chicken gyro w/ feta and a piece of spinach pie, small sprite

D: bowl of ramen and some leftover meatloaf

S: serving of 2% greek yogurt and honey

We went for a long walk at the mall (it was raining the last couple of days, so I needed it!) and played with the Wii quite a bit. Smooth Moves is a blast--I giggle constantly.

[traceycooper]

Hi Bekki
Any chance of sharing the cinnamon swirl bread recipe??
I love cinnamon :)
Oh & i'm a terrible cook by the way so i need lots of clear info!!!!
Glad you got a walk to the mall, hope you didnt lighten your wallet though ;)

[bekkiz]

Sure! I love both the plain and the cinnamon (I leave out the nuts and raisins and add more orange zest and cinnamon/sugar.) It's actually really easy, just read the directions a few times before starting! I make it in my KitchenAid, but the food processor version is much faster. The big key is to add the flour just a little at a time.

Lee's Rich Loaf
From: Bernard Clayton's New Complete Book of Breads by Bernard Clayton

This white bread can be made with a grand swirl of nuts, sugar, raisins, and cinnamon through its heart or made simply as a no-frills loaf.

Naomi Lee does it both ways with a recipe that has been fine-tuned in her southern Indiana kitchen for a number of years. It began as a different recipe but she began to tailor it in response to family comments and judgments, such as using butter instead of margarine, two eggs rather than one, a bit less salt and a bit more sugar And so it went for two decades, but now she believes it is exactly as she wants it—rich in taste, well textured, and delicious.

Naomi Lee makes a 2-loaf batch of dough. Half of the dough is rolled around a nut-raisin-cinnamon mixture while the other half is left as is.



Makes two loaves

DOUGH
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, room temperature
1 1/4 cups hot water (120-130 degrees F)
1/3 cup nonfat dry milk
5 cups bread or unbleached flour, approximately
1 package dry yeast
2 eggs, room temperature

FILLING (FOR ONE LOAF)

1/4 cup chopped walnuts
1/4 cup presoaked raisins (see Notes)
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons grated orange zest
1 tablespoon butter, softened or melted

BAKING PANS: 2 medium (8 1/2 x 4 1/2-inch) loaf pans, greased or Teflon

BY HAND OR MIXER: 15 minutes

In a small saucepan measure the salt, sugar, butter, and hot water. Add the dry milk and stir together. Heat over low flame until the butter is melted, but don’t bring to a boil.

Measure 2 cups flour into a mixing or mixer bowl and pour in the liquid. Blend into a light batter. Add the yeast (the flour will have cooled the water, hence won’t hurt the yeast). Stir the eggs into the mixture, and beat by hand with 50 strong strokes or under a mixer flat beater for 2 minutes, until the batter is thoroughly mixed.

Add the balance of the flour, 1/4 cup at a time, blending first with the wooden spoon and then by hand or with the dough hook. When the dough has formed a rough, shaggy mass, place on the floured work surface or leave in the mixer to be kneaded. If the dough is sticky, add sprinkles of flour. Don’t overload the dough with flour or it will become a hard cannonball! It must be soft and elastic.

KNEADING: 10 minutes
Knead the dough with a strong push-turn-fold motion, occasionally lifting the dough off the work surface and sending it crashing back. Or place under the dough hook of an electric mixer. If the dough remains slack and moisture pushes its way through the surface, add small quantities of flour. When sufficient flour has been added, the dough under the hook will clean the sides of the bowl and not stick. The dough kneaded by hand will be soft and elastic. Knead for 10 minutes.

BY PROCESSOR: 4 minutes

Insert the short plastic blade.

Heat the water-butter mixture, as above. Measure 2 cups flour and yeast into the work bowl. Pulse to blend. Pour in the liquid and pulse several times to make a thin batter. Add the eggs. Pulse.

Remove the cover to add 1 cup flour. Pulse. With the machine running, add the balance of the flour, 1/4 cup at a time, through the feed tube.

KNEADING: 50 seconds
When the dough has formed a ball and is riding on the blade and cleaning the sides of the bowl, knead with the machine running for 50 seconds.

FIRST RISING: 1 hour

Place the dough in a greased bowl, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and set aside at room temperature to double in volume, about 1 hour.

SHAPING: 15 minutes

Turn back the plastic wrap and punch down the dough. Lift to the work surface and divide the dough into 2 pieces.

For a plain loaf, form the dough into a ball. Let it rest for 3 or 4 minutes and then press into an oval roughly the length of the bread pan. Fold lengthwise, pinch the seam tightly to close, and drop in the prepared pan, seam under.

For a swirl loaf, form the dough into a ball and let rest for a few minutes. Meanwhile, in a small bowl mix together the nuts, raisins, cinnamon, sugar, and orange zest. With the fingers and rolling pin, push, stretch, and roll the dough into a rectangle slightly larger than the width of the pan and about 14-inches long. The dough will be about 1/2-inch thick.

Spread the butter over the dough with a brush or your fingers—taking care not to butter the narrow top edge where the seam will be made. Spread the nut mixture over the butter. Carefully roll to the top, and pinch the edge into the body. Tuck under the ends, and place the loaf in the prepared pan.

SECOND RISING: 50—60 minutes

Cover the 2 pans with wax paper and put aside until doubled in volume, to the edge of the baking pan, about 50 minutes to 1 hour.

PREHEAT

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F 20 minutes before baking.

BAKING: 400 degrees F 35-40 minutes

Bake on the lower shelf of the oven for 35 to 40 minutes or until the loaves test done when the bottom crust is tapped with the forefinger. (If using a convection oven, bake at 350 degrees F.)

FINAL STEP

Remove from the oven and place on a metal rack to cool before serving.

Notes:

Beforehand soak the raisins in water or, if you wish, rum, brandy, or wine for about 1 hour. Drain and press dry on paper towels.

For a delicious and colorful alternative, frost the loaves with confectioners’ sugar, a few drops of vanilla, and just enough milk to make a smooth mixture.

[goldcupmom]

Oh My GOSH that sounds WONDERFUL!!! I think I'd have to eat ALL of BOTH loaves if I made it!

Hope you're having a good Monday!

[toystoryduo]

Oh My GOSH that sounds WONDERFUL!!! I think I'd have to eat ALL of BOTH loaves if I made it!

Hope you're having a good Monday!

I agree Julie!:goodvibes It sounds delicious! If you have any leftovers Bekki, please feel free to send them my way. ;)

Hope you have a great day today!:goodvibes

[traceycooper]

Thankyou sooo much Bekki, it must have took you ages to type all that, i really appreciate it :)
Hopefully i will give it a try soon :)

[bekkiz]

So, my laptop died this past week--big time, so my computer access is limited :)

I will say that last week, foodwise, wasn't terrific, wasn't awful either, but I could do better.

I woke up Monday with something I read on these boards in my head: "Nothing tastes as good as being healthy feels." I've repeated that over and over for the last few days, esp. when I'm really craving something naughty (like a McFlurry!). And it's worked! I snack on healthy things and have avoided the bad. That makes me feel good.

I wish I could do more active stuff. I tried riding my bike for 5 minutes. It was ok, but I was in a lot of pain the rest of the day. I walk when it's nice out..maybe I need to walk even when it's not.

Anyway, I hope everyone is well. I'll check in and update as I can.

[goldcupmom]

Glad things are going ok! I was wondering where you were. Aren't computer problems the PITS????

Hope you have a good rest of the week!

[bekkiz]

OK, a whole month since I checked in. I'm ready to recommit right now, and I have loads to share!

1. I got a job, only 15 hours a week, doing private teaching (imagine homeschooling, but with a real teacher aka me). It's for a company a friend used to work for, and although it's a bit tougher going one-on-one than I thought, it's still kind of neat. We'll see if I can keep up the positive attitude:rotfl:

2. I had my 3 month post surgery check up yesterday. The doctor was SO SO happy with my recovery. He says I'm about 90% healed, which is great after only 90 days. All of my walking really paid off. He also gave me the go ahead for.....

3. I've made it my goal to walk the Disney 1/2 marathon in January. Although I'm just getting started right now, I think I have plenty of time to be able to do it. I went on a 3 mile walk on Thursday and my goal was to finish in under an hour. I made it in about 52 minutes! I still have a loooooonnnnnggggg way to go before a 15 min/mile pace for 13 miles, but I'm excited and more important determined, to do this. I loaded all kinds of Disney music on my mp3 player. It's so fun to walk to parade music :thumbsup2 although I do use real music too.

4. In addition to "real walking," I also bought the Walk Away The Pounds DVD that has the 1 and 2 miles on it. I've been doing them for about 3 weeks or so, every day. It's a nice, and fast way, to bump up the cardio. It also helps with the upper body by adding light weights. So I plan to keep doing them at least a few times a week in addition to the walking.

So, I think that's about it. I haven't gotten on the scale in a while, mostly because I was not being great about my eating. However, the last 2 weeks have been ok, and I think I'm learning to stop myself from eating things I shouldn't by allowing myself a treat a day (like a Skinny Cow or something around 100-150 cals...hostess just started making 100 cal. packs of their cupcakes. Yum!). I will do much better about keeping this journal, only because I think it's the best way to be accountable for everything!

thanks again for reading :)

[bekkiz]

Food for yesterday:
B: Banana Panckaes (3 medium sized, made w/ low fat bisquick and soy milk) topped with 2 tbls. honey. 1.5 c. OJ

L: Panera 1/2 chicken and pesto sandwich and a cup of broc. cheddar soup, peice of french baguette

Snack: Raspeberry smoothie (all fruit and juice, no dairy..16 oz)

D: Vietnamese food. We went on an adventure b/c we'd never had it before. Meh, not super impressed. We shared a few apps (a spring roll, a beef skewer and 2 mini egg rolls), shared a bowl of beef and noodle soup. I didn't eat a ton and 1/2 of a pork sandwich.

Movement: 2 walks. 1 23 minute w/dog (1.2 miles) and 1 67 minute w/ DH (3.4 miles)

Have nothing planned ofr today, except perhaps another couple of walks to take advantage of the sun and lesson plan for next week. Now that we don't live enar family, holidays are a lot more boring. No easter basket for me LOL!

[toystoryduo]

Hi Bekki,

Sounds like things are going well for you.... That is great!:goodvibes You've gotten a wonderful report from your doctor, you're walking the Disney 1/2 in January, you're doing the WATP DVDs, and you are making healthier food choices. Great job, Bekki!:cheer2: Keep up the good work!:thumbsup2

Hope you have a wonderful week ahead!:hug:

[traceycooper]

Hi Bekki
Its great to hear from you :)
Especially when everything is going so well for you!
Congrats on the job :)
You are doing amazing with all that walking, i'm sure you will manage the disney 1/2 marathon no problem ;)
Glad the doc gave you an all clear on your check up :)

[bekkiz]

Aww, you guys have no idea how much your encouragment helps me (or maybe you do!) Thank you so much for putting a huge smile on my face

4/8
Breakfast: PB and J on whole wheat bread and OJ (I haven't been to the store in a while, so we're running out of food :rotfl: )

Lunch: Quiznos chicken caesar salad w/ dressing on the side using the dip method. Also a piece of flat bread

Snack: 100 cal pack of cereal/peanut butter chips (called a reeces pack?) and a handfull of baked lays

Dinner: 4-5 oz (it was about 5 oz of turkey before cooking) of turkey meatloaf, 1 cup of mashed poatoes made w/ ff 1/2 and 1/2 and marg and about 1 cup of steamed broccoli w/ a smidge of marg.

movement: I really wanted to take advantage of the sun before the rain came, so we went out on another long walk. 4.25 miles in 80 minutes! I was so excited, and my legs aren't that sore this morning. I also took the dog for a 1.2 mile walk. Yeah for lots of movement.

Plan for today:
I work for about 2 hours and need to also go to the grocery store. It's wet, so I think the 2 mile WATP video is on tap. Hopefully it clears up enough to take the poor dog out :rotfl2:

[traceycooper]

wow Bekki
Your doing fantastic with the walking :)
Keep up the great work!

[tbstein]

Hello Bekki.

I notice you say hello to the same WISHers I do. So, I thought I would log on and say Hello to you!

I see you are walker as I am. Movement is good!

Have a great week.

Wendy

[bekkiz]

Good Gracious, I went on an eating tear yesterday! One good thing came about--I'm noticing that afternoons are bad triggers for me to chow down on snacks. As the weather gets better, I'll plan my workouts for 2 or 3 in the afternoon to avoid these crazy binges.

breakfast: PB and J on whole wheat and 1.5 c. OJ

Lunch: 1.5 cups of homemade broccoli cheese soup (made w/ ff 1/2 and 1/2 and tons of broccoli), a handful of baked lays and a mini quesadilla (on 1 6in. corn tortilla and a small sprinkle of cheddar)

Snacks: Yikes! Another handful and a half of baked lays. 2 slices of chocolate banana bread I had made. I feel like there was something else, but I can't remember right now.

Dinner: 3 homemade shrimp and corn enchalads (on 6 in. corn tortillas, and made with reduced fat cream cheese and monterey jack) ANOTHER slice of banana bread---3 for the day, that might be some kind of record. And I had a root beer (I almost never drink soda, but it sounded so good with the spicy dinner)

Well, I'm getting the rest of that banana bread the heck out of the house and giving it to the neighbors. I have no self-control for baked goods AT ALL!

Movement: Walk Away the Pounds 1 mile w/weights (18 minutes), 10 minutes on the recumbant bike (medium effort, 2.5 miles) and a 21 minute walk with the dog (21 minutes).

Plan for the day:
Work for 3 hours, then this afternoon, I have a 3 mile walk planned. My goal is to keep a 19 minute/mile pace for the three miles. I also walked the dog this morning at a very relaxed pace (24 minutes) to stretch out. Also....eat better!

[toystoryduo]

Hi Bekki,

You are doing a great job getting your walks/ exercise in! Keep up the good work!:cheer2:

Have a great day!:cool1:

[traceycooper]

Hi Bekki
It must be the holls, we all seem to be falling off the wagon!!!!!
Good that you are noticing when you are craving. I like your plan to exercise in the afternoons.
I'm sure all that walking will have burnt off any damage ;)

[bekkiz]

I took on a new student yesterday, and had to drive out to meet her. It was sort of a suprise, and it's only another 2 hours a week, but it did make my day feel that much more jam packed than I had expected.

I have to say, I felt pretty good about yesterday as a whole--both eating and movement wise. I also got on the scale, and I'm down a total of 15 pounds from back in October (but I had been down 19 in the period after surgery when I didn't eat anything for 2 weeks :) ). So even though my eating hasn't been great, I don't think it's really made a huge negative impact on my weight. Just a small negative one LOL!

B: small bowl of Fiber One w/soy milk and a slice of whole grain bread w/ a egg in the middle (sometimes called a egg in a basket) made w/ the oil spray

L: 2 leftover enchaladas from dinner the night before

Snacks: A dried fruit and walnut bar and a fat free green tea latte from starbucks, a thin slice of chocolate banana bread (much better than the 3 thick slice from yesterday!)

D: 2 cups of homemade corn chowder (fat free 1/2&1/2 and chicken stock base) w/ 2 smallish peices of foccacia and a chocolate skinny cow.

Movement: I was so proud of myself. I went on a 3 mile walk and completed it in 53 minutes, which is about 17:40 min/mile pace. I'm aiming for June 5K (or 3.11 miles) at a 16 min/mile pace, so I think I can do it! I also took the pup on a leisurly walk of 1.2 miles in 24 minutes.

Today:
Work for 4 hours. I should rest for the longer walk yesterday, but this might be the last sunny day we have for a while. I'm thinking of doing a power 1 mile (only walk one mile, but try to get as close to 16 minutes as possible) for a little bit of speed work. DH is out tonight for a concert, so I also need to plan something healthy for myself for dinner.

Hope everyone has an awesome day!

[traceycooper]

Bekki
15 lb's is an amazing amount to lose since October :)
You should be..& i'm sure you are, very proud
Hope you managed to do the power mile & get a healthy dinner :)

[kimwim8]

Hey Bekki! Sounds like you're really doing great! The 1/2 marathon will be no problem with all the walking you're already doing. :thumbsup2

You're a busy lady these days!! Make sure you still listen to the doctor for whatever restrictions you may still have. Take care!! :hug:

Oh, and CONGRATS on the 15 pounds! :yay: With all you've been through these past few months....that's AWESOME!!! :cool1:

[bekkiz]

Thanks Tracy, Kim and toystoryduo for the cheerleading. It's so so helpful! I am happy about the 15. Of course it could be more...but then again it could be less!

Yesterday, foodwise, was fine...until 9:30 pm. I suppose I could blame it on PMS or something, but I went on a tear for about 30 minutes, having 2 slices of banana bread and a handful of chocolate chips. DH was out, and I guess I must have a harder time controlling myself if he's not around. Bad, bad me :)

B: Another 2 breakfast day. I've been waking up a full hour or hour and a half before my alarm (why, I have NO idea), so I've been having 2 smallish breakfasts the last couple days to help keep me unhungry. I had a small bow of fiber one w/soy milk and a egg in toast plus a glass of OJ

L: Broke this up over a couple hours, as I was working over lunch time. 1 kashi granola bar and a light yogurt smoothie (one of the 90 cal ones). A couple hours later, I had 1.5 c of leftover corn chowder.

D: 1.5 c. of steamed rice and maybe 4-5 oz of grilled chicken w/teriyaki sacuse and a small salad. Also a root beer

Snack: And then I went nuts LOL, in addition to the stuff above, I had a small glass of ff. milk.

Movement: Another great day! Took the pup for a nice slooowww walk, about 24 minutes (1.2 miles). Then I went and did the power mile. I totally surprised myself. I expected a time of 15-16 minutes....I did it in 13:40! I even threw a little jogging in. It took me 19 minutes to walk the mile back. Although my legs feel a little sore, they don't feel bad. It made me feel awesome. The best part was I was listening to the parade music from the Animal Kingdom (which is about 18:30 minutes long). I knew I wanted to finish the mile before Mickey cam3 on (which is around 16:30 or 17). I was super stoked when the end was in sight, and Donald hadn't even come on yet LOL. I am SUCH a Disney geek. DH laughed so hard when I told him that. On my sllloowww walk home, I listened to the calming music from around the Tree of Life. It was nice :)

On tap for today:
Work for 2 hours, then head out to a real running store for new shoes, b/c mine just aren't cutting it.
The weather looks good for today (but bad for the rest of the week), so I'm planning a 3 miler this afternoon. I probably won't push myself too hard, but try to maintain a steady pace.

have a great day everyone :)

[toystoryduo]

Bekki,

What a great idea to walk to Disney music!:thumbsup2 I never thought of that..... Of course, if I had the Illuminations soundtrack or the Wishes soundtrack in my CD player, I'd be crying the whole way. ;) :rotfl: ( I love both and I'm such a "softie" when it comes to Disney.... I cry at the Lion King, Beauty and the Beast, Tower of Terror (although for a totally different reason!:scared1: :lmao: ), and of course, the morning we have to leave WDW.)That is such a great idea! Thanks for sharing it!:goodvibes

Hope you have a great day tomorrow!:goodvibes

[bekkiz]

toystoryduo Yeah, I get choked up when I listen to wishes too! I don't listen to that one on my walks :)

Yesterday was not a bad day at all. Picked up some real running shoes (I got fitted and everything!) and my new GPS training watch came in the mail. It keeps track of how far you've gone using GPS signals and it's really cool.

B: Small bowl of fiber one/ skim milk (this stuff does not taste good unless it's w/vanilla soy milk! But I ran out :( )
L: 1.5 cups of left over corn chowder and 2 small pieces of focaccia
D: Grilled steak burrito w/ whole beans and a little cheese and guac. A few chips w/ pineapple salsa and a diet 7-Up
Snacks: Slice of whole grain bread w/PB on it, glass of skim milk, 8 chocolate chips, chocolate skinny cow (this was not all at once!)

Movement: After buying my new shoes, I hopped right over to a nearby trail and did a 3 mile walk in 50 minutes on the dot. (16:40 min/mile). That's a great time for me, and I didn't even feel like I was working THAT hard (I mean I was bright red, as usual, and a little sweaty, but I could breathe). But I was so so tired last night. I think between work and the workouts, my poor body is in shock!

Today: Work for 4 hours and it's my rest day. I already took the pup for a slow 1.2 mile to stretch out, but other than that, I'm relaxing. I have some baking and cleaning to do as well (I've been neglecting the kitchen :eek: ), so maybe I'll do that today

[bekkiz]

Friday, 4/13 ( :eek: !)

B: Slice of whole grain bread w/ pb and a glass of skim milk

L: I'm in the middle of a China unit w/ one of my students, so we took a field trip out for dim sum and a trip to an asian grocery store. Dim Sum was great, and I didn't eat as much as I usually would if had gone w/ my family LOL! An assortment of things including shrimp dumplings and BBQ pork pastry. One bad thing: a deep fried sesame ball w/red bean paste (my favorite!). We had 3, but I let my student eat 2 so I wouldn't be tempted :)

D: Barilla+ twisty pasta (it has extra protein and fiber) w/ ground turkey and marinara sauce. A little bit of parmesan and 3 small slices of focaccia. A glass of milk.

Snack: Non-fat green tea latte, 5 chocolate chips and a slice of banana bread

Movement: today was my rest day, so all I did was a 24 minute walk w/ my sog. Very relaxed. I discovered this morning that it's only a 1.1 mile walk--I had thought it was 1.2. My new GPS thing helped me with that one :)


A totally bizzaare thing happened today too. I went to a really small private school for high school, and so it's easy to sort of hear through the grapevine what everyone is up to. I had heard a girl who I was good friends with throughout high school and college had moved to WA last year, but I didn't have her email address or anything. I got an email from our class secretary reminding us about our entries to the alumnae magazine, and I asked her for this girl's email. it turns out, my friend lives less than 3 miles from me! I hadn't seen or talked to her since 2003, and now we're practically neighbors :) So we met up for coffee yesterday afternoon. It was awesome to catch up. I'm super stoked to have another friend up here (it's hard to make friend when you don't have a real job). It totally made my day!

Today: DH is going to a BBQ for his car club (not my thing) but I am sending him w/ some apple spice bars. We're going to a friend's house for dinner tomorrow, and I'm bringing dessert so I need to make that too. As well as bake some cookies for our new neighbors who are moving in this weekend.

I'm hoping the weather clears up (radio says it should) so I can get a walk in w/ my new GPS thingy.

Have a great weekend everyone!

[bekkiz]

Saturday, 4/14

You know that saying, The road to hell is paved with good intentions, well, that was sort of me yesterday LOL!

I had mentioned all sorts of baking that needed to be done. I got my applesauce spice bars out of the oven to cool. Then I made the glaze exactly according to the recipe and poured it on the bars (Which broke in half as I pulled them out of the pan--but that's an easy fix). Instead of a nice, soft, syrupy glaze....I got hard chewy caramel which made it a) impossible to cut the bars and b) close to impossible to eat them. Into the trash they went (Although I did take some of the cake part, it was amazingly delicious and such a shame I had to throw it away)

No matter, I have a batch of cookie dough in the fridge, I'll send those w/ DH to his BBQ. So I turn the oven back on and cut the cookies for the baking sheet. 20 minutes later, not only is the oven still not preheated...it's not even warm! I determine that the broiler and the burners still work (it's a gas stove/oven) and post a rant on the Community Board. Oven broken and no cookies or cake for DH.

No oven means I also can't bring baked goods to the dinner we're going with tonight, so now I need to figure out what delicious thing I can make instead (I'm thinking banana pudding). And we went out for dinner (Panera) because I had planned turkey shepards pie, which is hard to do with no oven. It was a CRAZY day!

B: Egg in toast and bits and peices of the failed baked goods from the morning

L: grilled tuna sandwich w/cheddar cheese on whole grain

D: Panera 1/2 chicken pesto sandwhich on pesto focaccia and most of a cup of broccoli cheddar soup. Also a piece of french baguette.

Movement: 1.2 mile walk w/ the dog (23 minutes). 3.11 miles (a 5K!) in just under 50 minutes. That's a 15:53 pace, and what my goal was for a 5K June! I was so pleased with myself, and now I need to set a new goal for the 5K..maybe 15 min/mile? We'll see :)

For today:
Make the dessert for friends, hopefully go on a nice long relaxed walk and then go to our friend's house. At some point figure out what the heck I'm doing with my students this next week :)

[traceycooper]

Hi Bekki
Wow you are doing great with all the walking :)
Food looks great too!
It must have been so nice to meet up with your friend :)
Hope the oven gets fixed quick!!
I love wishes too, i play the music in my car in the morning when i do the school run, puts me in a good mood for the day ;)

[bekkiz]

Pretty good day yesterday: Sunday, 4/14

B: Egg in toast and OJ

L: Quiznos chicken caesar salad w/ dressing on the side and a flatbread

D: At a friends, salad w/vinagrette, asparagus, 1 turkey sausage and a small piece of grilled chicken, a scoop of angel hair w/pesto and 2 servings of the banana pudding I made for dessert (it was a hit :) )

Movement: Took the dog for a walk, 24 minutes. It was a beautiful day, so DH went on a 5 mile walk (longest one for me yet) at a very slllooooowwww pace. It took about 97 minutes to complete. But ny goal was to simply finish and not worry about time or anything.

For toady:
Work for 3 hours, clean the kitchen (it's a total disaster), work on lessons for the week. I think I'll take the dog for a walk, but no real walking for me today, need to rest. But I think the Walk Away the Pounds video might be in store for me :)

Have a fabulous day!

[tbstein]

Bekki, you are doing great on your diet! :banana:

I also walk to Disney Music. I like the one Music in the Streets. The parade sound tracks. Very up beat!

Have a great week

Wendy

[eeyore25]

Hi there,

You are doing great with your walking!!!! Keep it up :)

Sorry to hear of all the trouble that you are having with the oven....you never really realize how much you use something until it breaks. At least its that way for me! Awesome news that you were able to connect with an old friend...that is great!

Keep up the great work!

Have a wonderful day :)

[bekkiz]

Monday, 4/16

B: Bowl of Fiber one w/ vanilla soy milk and a glass of OJ

L: Egg salad sandwich (made w/ 2 eggs, reduced fat mayo and dijon) on a small roll, a handful of baked Ruffle's

D: "naked" burrito (aka burrito stuff, beans, chicken, cheese and salsa in a bowl w/no tortilla) but eaten with some tortilla chips. A small helping of leftover banana pudding

Snack: a small helping of banana pudding :rolleyes1

Movement: Only did the 2 mile WATP dvd (30 minutes). The dog was mad, but it was too rainy to go for a walk :lmao:

For today:
Work for 4 hours, finish cleaning the kitchen (someday I'll get around to it!), hit the library for some stuff for this week. I already got a walk/jog in with the dog this morning, which is good b/c the weather is supposed to be a little crazy this afternoon :)

Hvae a wonderful day!

[dabute]

I'm really impressed with your 3 miles in 50 minutes. That's awesome!:banana:

You are right about the fiber one cereal. Vanilla soymilk is the only way to go. Fiber one does make some great tasting bars. They have 9 grams of fiber per bar and they are delicious.

Keep up the good work. :cheer2:

[toystoryduo]

Hi Bekki,

You are doing a great job with your walking! Keep up the good work!:cheer2:

I'm sorry to hear about your oven. :( If you lived closer, I'd let you have my oven because I don't use it nearly enough. ;) :rotfl: Cooking is not a strong suit of mine. :blush:

That's great about your friend! :goodvibes Where I used to teach is about 45 minutes from my house. All of my friends live out that way and we hardly ever get a chance to see each other. I'm glad to hear that you have a friend who lives close by who you can talk to and hang out with.:goodvibes

Hope you have a great week!:cool1:

[eeyore25]

Hi there,

Way to go on getting the work out in. Your food looks good. You have made me hungry with the naked burrito!!!! That sounds so yummy!

Keep up the good work

Have a great day :)

[traceycooper]

Hi Bekki
Did you get the oven fixed??
Have a great week :)

[bekkiz]

Aw, thanks for keeping me going guys :) Oven is still broken, and DH left for a work related trip this morning, so probably won't get fixed for a few more days yet.

Tuesday, 4/17
B: Bowl of Fiber one w/soy milk
L: Cheeseburger and a 1/2 order of fries :eek: A moment of weekness, I promise :lmao: Also a diet coke
D: Chicken caesar wrap and a cup of tortilla soup.
Snack: 7 or 8 chocolate chips and a smal coke/cherry slurpie (I have not had one of those in a looonnnggg time, but it was good!)

Movement: Took the dog for a walk/jog (1.5 miles) in 25 minutes. Also snuck in another 1.5 mile walk/jog for 21 minutes (plus about 5 minutes of cool down.) My mile pace for the 2nd workout was 14:09--I'm so stoked. I need to work to be able to hold that pace for 3 miles. That's my goal for june! I also did not feel too bad at all with the short jogging segments. For 1/2 of the 2nd workout, I walked 2 minutes, jogged 1. It was a good balence I think.

Today:
Work for 4 hours. DH is now gone, so who knows what I'll do for meals. It's raining now, but hopefully it'll clear up so I can get in a 2 or 3 miler this afternoon. If not, WATP 2 mile is on tap!

Thanks again everyone for keeping tabs on me :)

[eeyore25]

Wow you rock!!!! All that exericise is great!!!!

Hopefully the rain will go away and you can head out!!!

Keep up the great work

Have a wonderful day :)

[bekkiz]

Wednesday, 4/18

B: 2 eggs in toast and OJ (I hid to get up super early to see DH off, and I was hungry!)

L: :eek: Another bad moment. I worked over lunch and just had a small granola bar. On my way home, I was STARVING and there's a Jack in the Box on my way home. I had a Spicy Crispy chicken sandwich and got a mint milk shake for later! Bad bad bekki.

D: Horrifed by my lunch choices the last 2 days, I stuck w/ a Lean Cuisine chicken garlic pizza.

Snack: granola bar, a handful of chocolate chips and a mint milkshake.

Movement: I had been planning a 2 mile walk, but after the horror that was lunch, I decided 3 might be a better choice. I didn't jog that much (3 minutes total) because it was hurting my back, but I did have a solid pace for the 3 miles, finishing in just over 45 minutes. I also had an 8 minute cool down for a total of 53 minutes.

For today:
Work for 2 hours, sushi for lunch w/a friend. So much TV to catch up on LOL! I also need to figure out my lesson plan for my four hour session tomorrow. Always the hardest! I should get out for another 2-3 miles again.

Have a great day!

[toystoryduo]

You are doing great getting your workouts in, Bekki.:thumbsup2 Keep up the good work!:cheer2:

Hope you and your friend have plenty of time to catch up today.:goodvibes Have a great day!:cool1:

[tbstein]

Wow Bekki! 3 miles in 45 minutes. I can do 1.75 miles in 45 minutes on average. I think I can do it faster with the dog--although I think I am being pulled more!

Sorry the oven isn't working! lol

Have a great rest of the week

Wendy

[bekkiz]

Thanks you guys. Luckily I am super committed to exercise right now, or else there'd be trouble. I've made such bad food choices the past couple of days. And I know why 1)I have little self control 2)I haven't been to the grocery store in a while, so there's no "good" food to eat 3)my kitchen is still messy and I don't want to be in there. Someone needs to kick me in the butt :)

Thursday:
B: bowl of fiber one w/vanilla soymilk
L: Sushi w/friend (including a couple of pieces of veggie tempura) and about 1.5 cupcakes :eek:
D: Taco Bell (it was 8:45, and I was starving and Taco Bell is the closest thing. Not a great reason to choose it, but I did anyway). I also had a sprite.
S: Slice of whole grain w/ PB

Such a bad bad bad day.

Movement: Took the pup for a 24 minutes walk and then did 2 miles in 30 minutes (plus about 5 or 6 minutes of cool down). So at least I have that going for me.

I'm putting it all behind me though, and today is a new day--one w/ the potential to be awesome!

[traceycooper]

Hi bekki
You are a walking machine right now, you must be feeling great!
I think its harder to eat well when your exercising as you feel more hungry!
Thats my experience! I'm tempted to think i can eat what i want *** i'm exercising, but after not losing for 3 months its finally hitting home i still need to watch my food :(
Have a lovely weekend :)

[bekkiz]

Thanks Tracey, I think you're right. I just need to keep better choices in the house so I don't do those late night taco bell runs.

Friday, 4/20
B: Big bowl of fober one w/soy milk
L: I picked DH from the airport, and he wanted Del Taco (can you see how fast food mexican is sort of my downfall :lmao:), so I had a chicken burrito and a taco. And diet coke
D: Another night where is was 9 pm and I was starving. This time, I had a bowl of hot cereal (cream of rye w/raisins, milk and a spoonful of brown sugar) and 6 of Amy's Organic spinach pockets (like a pizza roll, but w/spinach and tofu instead of pizza stuff). That was a much better choice than the alternative of fast food.
S: A bowl of cut up pineapple and papaya and a granola bar

Movement: Only a 25 minute walk w/ the dog (1.4 miles or so)

Hope everyone is having a good weekend!

[tbstein]

Bekki--my problem on outside lures is ice cream. The local shops are now all open for the summer! 2 of them even have drive thru. Just as long as I don't keep cash in the house, I should be ok! :lmao: Yeah, right, I believe that! The ATM machine is on the way!

Have a great week end

Wendy

[escape]

Bekki,

This is my first visit to your journal and I must say that I am impressed, kiddo! You are doing fantastic. :cool1:

As for the eating, don't fret too much! We all slip every now and then. As long as you keep moving forward, you'll do great. Look how far you've come since last year. Somedays I do well on my new lifestyle and other days I just break down and eat that darn cheese dip, my weekness. It's ok though....as long as I jump back on the right path afterwards. :laughing:

As for your exercising... Well, you are way ahead of where I was this time last year. I couldn't walk an 18 minute mile let alone a 15 min mile. And, I didn't have a spinal fusion. :rolleyes: Keep up the good work. You are going to be awesome! Let me reprase that....you are AWESOME!

Good going!

[dabute]

Wow, 3 miles in 45 minutes is so awesome. :banana: Your doing so great!:banana:

[bekkiz]

You guys are awesome! Thank you all for helping me feel better about myself. WISH is the best thing ever! I also weighed myself this morning, and I'm down 1.5 lbs since the last time I checked. Thank goodness for all of the exercise! It's working :)

Sat. 4/21
B: PB and J on whole grain
L: We were at a street fair (so fun!) and I had a roast beef sandwich w. a little cheese and veggies but no mayo or anything. Also a strawberry lemonade. I saw a booth called "ShishkaBerries," (chocolate covered stawberries on a stick). Thank goodness there was a long line, or else I just might have gotten some :)
D: Outback, small steak, mashed potatoes and a caesar salad.
Snack: Skinny Cow, a little wine and cheese at a wine tasting (I bought some super yummy fruit wines, very sweet and right up my alley :) )

Movement: Took the pup on a 2 mile walk in 38 minutes. We also walked quite a bit at the street fair and tulip fesitval.

Today:
Woo Hoo! I got up this morning and ACTUALLY cleaned my kitchen. I've only been putting it off for like 3 days :lmao: . I may meet up with a friend to take the pups to a dog park, and DH and I might go on a walk (I want to do about 4 miles).

Best wishes for a great Sunday!

[toystoryduo]

Congrats on your weight loss, Bekki!:cheer2: You are doing a great job! Keep up the good work!:cheer2:

Hope you have a wonderful week ahead!:hug:

[eeyore25]

HI there,

Wow...you are doing a great job with all the exericise. Keep it up!!!! Awesome job on the loss too :)

You're doing a great job!!!

Have a great day :)

[bekkiz]

I am still SO tired from this weekend. We were so busy, lots of walking and I'm exhausted!

Sunday, 4/22
B: I woke up at like 5:45 and I was starving, so I had 2 breakfasts. 1st: small bowl of cream of rye w/ raisins and a little brown sugar. 2nd (around 9:45) 2 sunnyside up eggs and a piece of whole grain toast
L: Grilled chicken and swiss sandwich w/honey mustard
D: Chicken caesar wrap and about 8 french fries, 2 sprites
S: A handfull of chocolate chips

Movement: I went to the dog park w/a friend. We were there for about an hour and 45 minutes--I was on my feet the whole time. A couple hours later, DH and I went on a 4.05 mile walk w/ and ave pace of 16:50. I came home from that walk and conked out on the couch for an hour and a half. I was so tired!

Today:
Work for 3 hours and grocery shop. I need to cook again this week so I stop eating crap. Hopefully DH will look at the oven soon (this weekend, he did all of the yardwork, so it's ok that the oven is still broken). And rest more LOL!

[kimwim8]

Keep up the great work, Bekki! YOU ROCK!! :cool1: Congrats also on the loss! :woohoo: Your dog must be in tip top shape too, with all those walks!! :goodvibes

[bekkiz]

Thanks Kim, yeah, he's pretty happy now :)

B: Bowl of Fiber one w/soy milk and 1/2 of a protein "Perfect Food" bar

L: Panera, 1/2 chicken pesto sandwich and a salad w/ ff raspberry dressing (salad had a little cheese and walnuts) and a piece of french baguette

D: Homemade turkey chili w/kidney and white beans. I stired in a spoonful of sour cream and some shredded cheddar cheese. Also a root beer.

Snack: Handful of chocolate chips, a 110 cal. Pria bar

Movement: Pup got a 23 minute walk. In the afternoon, I headed out for 2 miles, but decided I felt good enough for 3 (plus it's supposed to rain today, so I knew I wouldn't walk today). Time for the 3 miles: 46 minutes. I'm pretty sore right now, in my quads mostly, so I'm taking today as a rest day, for sure!

Today: Work for 4 hours and well...chill :) I did make it to the gorcery store yesterday, so I'm all stocked up with Lean Cuisines, so that's the plan for lunch. Other than that, an easy day!

[traceycooper]

Hi bekki
It sounds like you are really enjoying the walking :thumbsup2
You are doing fantastic!
No wonder your so hungry, you must be burning loads of calories :goodvibes
Hope you enjoyed your well earned rest!

[traceycooper]

Your dog must be in tip top shape too, with all those walks!! :goodvibes

lol :lmao:
Never though about the dog!! :rotfl:

[eeyore25]

HI there bekkiz...

You are doing great with all the walking!!! I didn't even think about your dog being in shape with all the walking!!!! I bet he is though!

Keep up the great work! You are doing wonderful,

Have a agreat day :)

[bekkiz]

Thank you all :) The pup didn't get a walk yesterday, he was pretty mad :lmao:

B: Bowl of fiber one w/soy milk and 1/2 protein raw bar
L: Lean Cuisine Butternut Squash Ravioli (holy cow, was this good! Lots of yummy veggies and the pasta was delicious. A little on the high side for fat grams w/9, but probably the best frozen meal I've ever had!).
D: Serving of Barilla Plus pasta (extra fiber and protein) w/ homemade marinara sauce and ground turkey. I sprinkled a little parmesan on top. Also 1.5 pieces of foccacia. Also a root beer

Snacks: I was on a bit of a snacking frenzy! 1 slice of whole grain bread w/PB, a 1.5 oz piece of cheddar cheese, a handful of chocolate chips

Movement: Nothing! I really needed a rest day, my muscles and joints were being overworked. It was worth it, because they feel greaet this morning :)

Today: Taking my student to the aquarium and hoping the weather holds so I can get a walk in this afternoon.

Hope everyone is having a great day :)

[bekkiz]

Ugh, what's that saying about the best laid plans? My aquarium visit was less than spectacular. Lame, but what can you do?

Ok, and here's my big news! If you (or someone in your family) gets Sports Illustrated, my cousin is in this week's (April 30th--Nfl draft on the cover) issue. She's an amazing pole vaulter and #1 in the country right now. I still haven't seen the article (going to pick it up today) but I need to brag about her :lmao:

B: Small bowl of fiber one and soy milk, a slice of whole grain bread w/ PB
L: Leftover pasta and sauce from the night before + a little parmasean
D: Homemade broc. cheese soup and 2 slices of foccacia, root beer
S: 100 cal Reeses Pack and ff chocolate pudding

Movement: Pup got a 23 minute walk (1.1 miles) and I took myself for a walk :rotfl2: 2 miles in 32 minutes. My knees have been a little upset with me since sunday, so I was taking it kind of easy. Still breathing hard, but not totally pushing myself. I'm probably going to try and swim this afternoon instead of walk so I can take a little pressure off the limbs, but still get a workout

Today: See above RE: swim:) Also, work for 2 hours and probably dinner with a cousin (not the pole vaulter :laughing: who is in town)

[toystoryduo]

Hi Bekki,
You are doing a great job getting your walks in! :thumbsup2

That is so cool about your cousin.:goodvibes I have a couple of friends who I graduated with who are in the NBA and the NFL. Not sure if they have been in Sports Illustrated or not, but both have been on TV and in the playoffs.:goodvibes

Hope you have a great day today!:cool1:

[eeyore25]

Hi there,

Great job on getting your walks in!!! That is great.

That is great news about your cousin.....how cool is that to be #1???

Keep up the great work!

You are doing a great job :)

[traceycooper]

Hi Bekki
Great news about your cousin :goodvibes
My knees are aching too, thats a good idea to swim instead :thumbsup2
Great exercise & food :thumbsup2
Have a good weekend

[bekkiz]

I found a link online for the article:
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/highschool/04/25/anthony0430/index.html?eref=si_highschool

But not the actual magazine yet :lmao: I need to call and ask her for her autograph!

Thursday:
B: Small bowl fiber one w/soy milk and a slice of whole grain bread w/PB. Also, glass of OJ
L: 1.5 c. of leftover broc. cheese soup and a slice of focaccia
D: salad w/balsamic vinagrette and part of a flatbread 2 cheese pizza thing (from Panera), a couple bites of a french baguette
S: 1 oz cheese, 100 cal reeses pack and :eek: 2 chocolate chip cookies (It's sort of my one splurge for the week, and man, were they GOOD!) w/ a glass of skim milk

Movement: Did go for a swim, only went for about 30 minutes. It's sort of sad what a shadow of my former self I am now, at least in terms of swimming. (I was a water polo player). I used to do 800 yards as a warm up. I think in 30 minutes, I barely went 1000 yards yesterday! But then again, I haven't swam in like 6 months. Thursdays are $1 days at the local pool, so I might try and make Thursdays swimming days.

Have a wonderful day everyone :)

[dabute]

We all need a splurge now and then. But you had skim milk, so that's a healthly snack right? :lmao:

[bekkiz]

Fun Friday! I finally found a hard copy of the SI. Yippie! We also went to see The 300. It was my first trip to the movie theater since December--I had to wait until I could be sure I could sit through a whole movie. I was a little tight towards the end, but no real problems! I also ignored all the bad movie theater food, which I was pretty excited about. I wanted those Jr. Mints pretty bad :lmao:

B: 2 eggs in toast
L: 1.5 c. of broc. cheese soup and leftover flatbread pizza
D: Grilled chicken, swiss and pesto sandwich, a few potato chips
S: 1 oz piece of cheese and a GIANT diet coke after my walk (I forgot to bring water, and a Mc.D's is right by the parking lot for the trail. I did not get a McFlurry. I really wanted one, but I stuck with the diet coke)

Movement: Pup got a 24 minute walk (1.1 miles) and I did 3 miles in the afternoon. I was trying to maintain a strong pace for the whole three (I have a habit of taking the last .5-.75 miles easy), and I was able to finish in 44:45. That's under a 15 minute mile--yippie! I have done it before, but I didn't feel like passing out after this one, which must mean I'm getting more in shape :)

I also reminded myself that for the Disney 1/2 marathon, I don't need to go faster than that...I just need to be able to hold that pace for all 13 miles. I was starting to worry that I couldn't make myself walk any faster. It's sort of a relief to remember I just want to finish...I don't need to get some crazy awesome time. So, I'll slowly add milage over the summer and see what I can do to hold that pace for longer distances.

[kimwim8]

Hey Bekki....you're still doing GREAT. 15 mpm walking is AWESOME!! You'll do wonderfully at the 1/2 marathon, without a problem.

GREAT job on resisting the mcflurry and the movie theatre food. (I have a major weakness for popcorn popcorn:: ).

Take care, and keep up the great work!! :thumbsup2

[bekkiz]

Saturday 4/28

B: 2 eggs in toast and an apple
L: 1/2 of a chicken burrito and tater tots
D: Cheeseburger and 1/2 order of fries (:eek:)
S: 1/2 c. light cookie dough ice cream

Movement: 4 miles w/ DH in 69 minutes. It was rough, my legs were tired from Friday's walk! Plus it was a gravel trail, and I kept getting rocks in my shoes. But 4 miles is 4 miles, and I'm glad I did it.

Wish I had something exciting to say. I don't :lmao:

[tbstein]

Hi Bekki!

Read the SI article. Wonderful! I feel proud and I am not even related! :)

Wow--no movie food! I still do popcorn. I share, so it is easier. Althoug I have only been to the movies once since Thanksgiving. We saw...I forgot. It was something for DD (10) and her friend. It was live action tho.

How was the 300. Ever since I saw Phantom (from 2004) I have had this 'thing' for Gerard Butler. Speech impediment and Irish accent included. :rotfl: Just don't let Brad Pitt know he's been knocked out of the front runners place! :rotfl2:

Great job on maintaining your 15 min mile. I too start out fast, and slow up the last 5-8 minutes. Even on the treadmill I will cut it back to 22.5 min mile.

Well, off to see what is happening upstairs. Strange sounds, like hammering.

Have a great week

Wendy

[toystoryduo]

You're doing great, Bekki! Keep up the good work!:cool1:

That is so cool about your cousin being in SI! Thanks for posting the link to the article. I was a gymnast in high school too.:goodvibes

Hope you have a great week!:cool1:

[eeyore25]

Hi there!!!

Congrats on making it through the movie without movie food!!! That is great. I still have to have the popcorn....it's a must. Plus DH has to have popcorn...so I eat it!!! But good for you!!!

You are doing a great job!!! Keep it up!!! You're a walking queen!!!!
I read the article on your cousin...that is great!!!!
Have a great day :)

[bekkiz]

Ladies, thank you all for checking in on me :)

Wendy I liked the 300 a lot, but I also am a history teacher, and have taught the Greek/Persian wars, so I have a lot of background. I knew going in that it was going to be very stylized (kind of comic booky) and I didn't let it distract me. The story is quite inspiring, considering how close they got it!

Anywho, Sunday 4/29

B: A 60 cal yogurt smoothie, a piece of cheese and an apple cinnamon muffin
L: Quiznos honey mustard chicken sandwich (grill chicken, swiss and honey mustard)
D: 1/2 of a "Naked" chicken burrito (aka burrito in a bowl) w/ some tortilla chips. 1/2 cup of light cookie dough ice cream

Movement: Not much, just a 24 minute walk w/the dog. I wanted to give my legs a little bit of a rest from the two days before. Planning a 3 miler this afternoon!

[traceycooper]

Hi Bekki
Well done for resisting the goodies (or should i say baddies!!) at the movies!!
I loved 300, especially those men in the leather undies ;)

Sounds a good idea to swim on Thursdays, mix things up a bit!
Keep up the great work!

[tbstein]

Ok Bekki. I will go and see it. I have always enjoyed history. Always thought I never had enough in school. I heard the cinematography was a bit unique.

Thanks!

Wendy

[bekkiz]

Don't you just love days that just work? I mena, everything goes right...I don't have them very often, but I'm happy to say that yesterday was one of those.

B: Bowl of fiber one w/soy milk
L: salad w/ dried cherries, pears, almonds and blue cheese and homemade balsamic/raspberry dressing (just a tiny bit of oil+balsamic+raspberry jam)
D: Broiled chicken bites w/homemade peanut mango sauce, steamed rice and steam broc (w/ a little marg)
S: Handful of pita chips w/hummus, 3/4 c. of light cookie dough ice cream

Movement: Pup got a 24 minute walk. My walk was AWESOME. I didn't go super fast, but I was at a really good pace and I felt so happy and comfortable. I went 5K (3.11 miles) in 47:50 (a 15:24 mpm). I can go faster, but I really wanted just a strong and consistent pace w/o feeling like I was straining.

Today is a "rest" day, so I took Indy for a walk and will probably do a walk away the pounds video. Plus I have to work :( I think the appeal of working is completly lost on me. :lamo:

Have a great day everyone!

[dabute]

I love those days too. Here's hoping there will be many more for you. :wizard:

Jennifer

[bekkiz]

Not as fantastic of a day as Monday, but it was fine

Tuesday 5/1
B: bowl of fiber one w/soy milk
L: Panera 1/2 Chicken Pesto sandwich and salad w/ff raspberry dressing, a peice of whole grain bread
D: at home turkey burrito (beans, ground turkey, onions, a little cheese and sour cream)
S: handful of pita chips and hummus; 100 cal reeses pack

Movement: only a 23 minute walk w/ the dog. It was kind of a rest day

See you all soon!

[eeyore25]

Hi bekki,

Way to go on the workout!!! I love having days when everything goes the way is should!!! Hopefully you have more that way!

Keep up the great work!

Have a great day :)

[bekkiz]

I was Snacky McSnackerson yesterday! I blame it on doing my walk in the morning. Left my afternoon free to stuff my face :lmao:

B: 2 over easy eggs, 1 peice of whole grain toast and a glass og OJ
L: Broken in two parts 1)balence bar and 60 cal yogurt smoothie and 2)cheese ravioli lean cuisine
D: Barilla pasta+ with marinara sauce and sausage. 2 glasses of skim milk
S: 1 piece of cheese, handful of pita chips w/ hummus, a small piece of dark chocolate. Maybe some other stuff I can't remember

Movement: 22 minute walk w/ the pup. Right after I went on a 5K walk in 47:46 (a 15:22 mpm). I felt pretty crappy b/c it was morning and I hadn't eaten yet, but I went at a good speed, so it was ok.

Today: Work for only 2 hours (yippie, my favorite day of the week!) and got for a swim (30-40 minutes, we'll see how I feel).

Thanks everyone for checking in :)

[eeyore25]

Hi there,

Your eating does not look too bad....I think you are doing a great job!

Keep up the good work!

Have a great day :)

[tbstein]

I was Snacky McSnackerson yesterday! I blame it on doing my walk in the morning. Left my afternoon free to stuff my face :lmao:

Thanks everyone for checking in :)

LOL! What a cool nick name! You are right, it is easier if you are at work, and with your routine! Can't eat if to the lake (we have a wonderful park there--I live by Lake Michigan, Muskegon Lake and Bear Lake) and read. Otherwise, I will snack all day. Worse yet! I will bake! Yikes! We know what happens when the oven gets going! WOnderful smells, yummy cookies (hmmm....I could be bragging, but someone has to tell me how great my cookies are!) and then the diet is shot. I do read more but the library is on the way to the park!

Have a great day, and a snack-free one!

Wendy

[bekkiz]

I totally agree, routine is KEY! I do so much better if I don't have to think so much :lmao:

Thursday, 5/3
B: Bowl of Fiber one w/soy milk and a piece of cheese
L: Turkey, stuffing and apple Lean Cusine
D: Chicken caesar wrap and about 6 french fries
S: Handful (ok, maybe 2 handfuls :rotfl:) of pita chips and a root beer

Movement: 22 minute walk w/ the pup and a 38 minute swim. I didn't really get my heart rate up too much, but I did keep moving for basically the whole 38 minutes, so that's good.

Today: Blech, long work block and hopefully the weather holds so I can get 2 miles in this afternoon. Not much other than that.

[eeyore25]

Hi there,

Hopefully the weather holds out for you. We are suppose to get some rain and icky weather here the next few days. That should limit my walking outdoors!

Keep up the great work!

Have a great day :)

[traceycooper]

Hi Bekki
Wow a good day on a Monday!!!
I hate Mondays!!
Keep up the great work :)

[tbstein]

Hello Bekki

Our weather here is wonderful, that is until next week when the rains are to come. But that is ok, the rain is much needed. Went to the beech to see what we could see and it is amazing how much sand/beach there is compared to 10 years ago. Lake Michigan is not as deep and as large as it used to be. It is still beautiful tho!


Hope you are able to get outside and enjoy a walk!

Wendy

[bekkiz]

Thanks everyone for the good weather thoughts! It worked and I was able to go walk in the afternoon. Plus the weekend is turning out to be quite nice as well!

Fri, 5/4

B: 2 over easy eggs and a slice of whole grain toast
L: Broken in two parts 1)balence bar and 60 cal yogurt smoothie 2) Lean Cuisine Chicken pannini
D: Grilled steak burrito w/beans and a little cheese, sour cream and guac. Didn't really eat the tortilla, but did have chips and pineapple salsa (YUM!). Also a glass of Sangria (I was celebrating Cinco De Mayo a day early :lmao: )
S: I was on a little bit of a chocolate craving, and all we had was some cookie dough that I made before the oven broke. It's really amazing stuff (no eggs, so I won't get sick) w/lots of chocolate and butter. So I had a couple chunks of that :lmao:

Movement: Pup got a 22 minute walk. I had a fantastic walk where I went 2.07 miles in 28:55. My second mile.07 was in 14:02 which is almost a life time best, and certainly a great time for being the second mile. I was so excited!

[dabute]

Way to go on your walk!! That's so awesome. :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana: I hope I can be as fast as you one day. :worship:

[tbstein]

Hello Bekki!

SO glad the weather was agreeable for you. And GREAT JOB on the speed! WOW! I am usually happy with my 20 minute miles. I think the first one is 17, and the second one, 20 and the last one is 23! :rotfl2:

May the weather angels keep smiling on you!

Wendy

[toystoryduo]

Great job on your walks, Bekki! Keep up the good work!:cheer2:

I'm glad to hear that the weather has improved for you. It's been nice and sunny here lately.:goodvibes

Have a great Sunday!:cool1:

[bekkiz]

Thanks you guys :) You sure do know how make a girl feel good about herself:cloud9:

I have to tell you, using the GPS wristwatch (I have a Garmin 205) is making all the difference. When I first started, I had a vague notion of how far to go on the trail, but no way to gauge how fast I was moving (and I CAN'T do math in my head :lmao: ). The Garmin has this cool feature called a Virtual Training buddy (I call him Esteban) that you set with your pace and distance. Then there's a little screen that tells you if you're ahead, behind or even with your buddy. I always want to beat him, so I set it for the slowest time I would be OK with. For me, at least, having that visual is super helpful for either pushing myself or letting myself know it's ok to slow down a bit.

I'm also realizing I take a LONG time to warm up, almost a whole mile. It's so weird, because I was the exact same way when I was playing water polo. I'd have to warm up for 20 minutes longer then everyone else on the team!

Anywho: Saturday 5/5 (by the way, BOO on the Sharks loosing, I was sad)

B: Apple cinnamon raisin muffin
L: Greek food: chicken on pita w/feta and a spinach pie thing.
D: I was at a bridal shower at dinner time, but there was only snacky kinds of things, like mini quiches and cheese and crackers. I ate a little here and there, but the festivities were so fun, I skipped a lot. I also had a piece of cake (scraped of the frosting-too much!) and a glass of champagne. When I got home I had a couple crackers and a piece of toast w/PB on it.


Movement: Pup got a 20 minute walk and I did 25 minutes on the recumbant bike (6.15 miles at a resistance between 3-5/9)

I'm planning a longer walk today (I'm thinking 4.5 miles) and just hanging out. Nothing too fun :)

[toystoryduo]

Your Garmin thing sounds pretty cool, Bekki!:cool1: What a great way to keep you motivated to beat Esteban!:thumbsup2 :woohoo:

Hope you have a great week ahead!:cool1:

[dabute]

Hi Bekki,

Your GPS sounds great. What a great tool to keep you focused. :thumbsup2

Your doing so awesome with you’re walking. You are an inspiration to me. :goodvibes

[eeyore25]

Hi there,

You have a great idea with beating the GPS...I think that is great. It gives you a little bit of a challenge.

You did great at the shower, way to go on the cake! Sometime they put way too much of that sweet frosting on top, so I a with you on scraping it off!!!

Keep up the great work!

Have a great day :)

[bekkiz]

Sunday was a very, very good day. I have no idea why, but DH was being SO nice to me. I mean, he's great to me all of the time, but he was especially great this weekend. I came home from the shower on Saturday, and he had put together a bookcase in my "office" (aka the room we put everything that doesn't go somewhere else) AND put all of the books in it.

Then yesterday, he said it would be cool if I got a new, smaller mp3 player (ours is a little clunky and tends to get mad on long walks). AND THEN he took me to PF Changs for dinner (which never, ever happens because he says its a place we should go with lots of people). The best part? He didn't bug me all weekend about cleaning the house (even though I have been slacking BIG time, while he does his 1/2). I'm not sure what I did to deserve it, but ti was awfully nice :)

B: about 10-12 crackers and a handful of cheddar cubes
L: small Quiznos sandwich (chicken, swiss and honey mustard) and a sprite
D: Yum, PF changs. We had potstickers, crispy honey shrimp, kung pao chicken and the spicy green beans (and rice). We didn't come close to finishing most of it, so leftovers for lunch today! I also had some sort of drink called a Nutty Uncle, a sort of pina colada/strawberry thing. It was delicious.

Movement: 22 minute walk w/ the pup. We did 4 miles in 1:00:47 in the afternoon. It felt great, and each mile was a bit faster than the one before (15:29, 15:11, 15:07, 14:56). The ave was 15:11. I was really happy with that :)

I realized that the next 2.5 months are going to be so crazy busy I can't even believe it. I'm gone EVERY weekend between now and July 9 except May 19th and June 9th (my first 5K is that weekend though). I'm going to really have to figure my workout schedule. Hopefully, most of the hotels will have a treadmill or something. I've been working too hard to slack off now.

[kimwim8]

I have to tell you, using the GPS wristwatch (I have a Garmin 205) is making all the difference. When I first started, I had a vague notion of how far to go on the trail, but no way to gauge how fast I was moving (and I CAN'T do math in my head :lmao: ). The Garmin has this cool feature called a Virtual Training buddy (I call him Esteban) that you set with your pace and distance. Then there's a little screen that tells you if you're ahead, behind or even with your buddy. I always want to beat him, so I set it for the slowest time I would be OK with. For me, at least, having that visual is super helpful for either pushing myself or letting myself know it's ok to slow down a bit.

Hey Bekki, you walking MACHINE!! :banana: You're doing great! Don'tcha just love that Garmin? :goodvibes Gotta tell ya, I didn't know about the virtual Esteban thing. Can you PM me with how to get to that? That sounds really cool!! One question though...can I switch back to another screen to show how my time is going & mileage & stuff? Right now I have the screen split in 3....time, distance and pace. A little help for the technologically challenged? :confused3 :rolleyes1

Keep on rockin' it, girl! :thumbsup2

[goldcupmom]

I"ve been lurking, Bek, and finally have a chance to post. You're walking is GREAT! I have the 205, too, but haven't figured out anything but the basic 'turn it on & let it do it's basic thing'.

Hope you have an AWESOME rest of the week!

[bekkiz]

Welcome back Julie! Yeah, I have too much free time to mess around with the Garmin. If you'd like I PMed the directions to kim, and I can send them on to you.

Monday, 5/7

B: Starbucks green tea latte (w/NF milk) and a reduced fat coffee cake, a couple crackers and cheese cubes
L: Leftover PF changs (chicken and green beans) and a root beer
D: Chicken teriyaki and rice

Movement: 22 minute walk w/ the dog. I knew my legs would be tired from Sunday's walk so I went on a time based, slower walk to recouperate. I went 48 minutes a pace that's a bit faster than, say, walking at the mall, but not so fast I was breathing really hard. I went right aorund 3 miles in the 48 minutes. So my pace was somewhere between 16 mpm and 16:30. It was SO nice out, I walked in a tanktop and got a little color on my shoulders.

Also I actually cleaned the kitchen, even the floor and everything. DH was pleased LOL Now I attack the bathrooms!

[traceycooper]

Sunday was a very, very good day. I have no idea why, but DH was being SO nice to me.

He's proberbly worried about Esteban :rotfl:
Have a great week Bekki :goodvibes

[bekkiz]

He's proberbly worried about Esteban :rotfl:

Hadn't thought about that, but you very well may be right!! :lmao:

Tuesday, 5/7

B: Small bowl of Smart Start cereal w/raisins and soymilk, a few cheddar cubes
L: Lean Cuisine butternut squash ravioli and a diet dr. pepper
D: Barilla+ pasta w/ marinara and sausage and small sprinkle of parmesan. A glass of 2% milk. A skinny cow ice cream cone
S: Fiber one breakfast bar

Movement: my rest day for the week, only took the pup for a walk (23 minutes)

Today: I've got my 4 hour block (blech), but I'll go for a nice long walk in the afternoon. My summer job is just kicking into gear and I'm in the middle of making all sorts of travel arrangements for the team that I coach. So many forms to fill out!

Have a great day everyone!

[traceycooper]

Hi Bekki
Hope you managed to get your walk in with Esteban ;)
Have a good week!

[bekkiz]

So, I apoloigize for sucking at checking in w/ everyone's journals. I think I should have a bit of free time this afternoon, and I'll get right on that :)

Wedensday, 5/9
B: Big bowl of Smart Start cinnamon raisin w/soy milk and a few cheddar cubes
L: 90 cal yogurt smoothie and Lean Cuisine chicken pizza. A few crackers.
D: Turkey and swiss on whole grain w/ reduced fat mayo and mustard. A skinny cow ice cream cone
S: A piece of cookie dough and a 100 cal pack of hostess muffins.

Movement: Pups got a 23 minute walk. I went a 5K (3.11 miles) in right around 48 minutes (maybe 48:25 or something?), it was a 15:30 mpm (if I'm remembering). Yuck, I felt awful the whole time, my legs didn't want to move, I was super tired. I almost stopped at 3 miles, but I got myself to buck up and finish. I have no idea what was going on, but it was lame. Hopefully my swim today will be much better!

Have a great day everyone!

[toystoryduo]

You're doing a great job on getting your walks in Bekki! Keep up the good work!:cheer2:

I know what you mean about busy schedules.... May is so busy for us right now that sometimes I feel like I don't have time to breathe.:eek:

Hope you have a great evening!:hug:

[tbstein]

Hello Bekki!

You what what I miss, now I am just going off on an tangent, is ceral. I used to love frosted cheerios. Now that I eat as gluten free as possible, I haven't had ceral in over 15 months. It used to be a great lunch and all that jazz. Seeing your meals included Smart Start (DH enjoys that) I had a longing for some!

Keep up the great job!

Wendy

[bekkiz]

Wendy I love cereal. I think I could eat for every meal. I try to stick to the "healthier" ones, but whenever I'm in the cereal aisle, I really want the Cocoa Puffs :lmao:

Thursday, 5/10
B: Big bowl of Smart Start w/ soy milk
L: Panera 1/2 pesto and chicken sandwich, 1/2 bowl of chicken noodle soup and a piece of french bread
D: broiled chicken w/peanut sauce, brown rice and steamed broccoli (w/a little marg.), Skinny Cow ice cream sandwich
S: 100 cal pack of hostess cupcakes, a few crackers and cheddar cubes

Movement: 23 minute walk w/ the pup. I swam for 36 minutes. Didn't really get my heart rate up too much, but I kept moving for the whole time and I think it's really good cross training for my muscles. :)

Today: I got my walk in early already (and apparently one of the America Idol contestents is from my town and will be preforming this afternoon. If you watch the show, I'd imagine you'd get to see the little park where I start my walks! It's a pretty cute little park, if I say so myself :rotfl: The contestent is Blake something or other). I'm glad I went early, b/c this afternoon, that area is going to be crazy busy.
I've got a 4 hour block w/my student, but luckily we're going to the library for 1/2 of it, so even though I'm tired I can handle 4 hours!

[dabute]

Your doing so wonderful. You should be so proud of yourself. Enjoy the weekend. :goodvibes

[goldcupmom]

Panera??? It's my FAV and I only get it when I go to Florida!

Glad you're doing so well with the walks.

Have a wonderful weekend!

[kimwim8]

Hey Bekki! As a self-procalimed Reality TV junkie...I can't believe Blake is from your hometown & was performing there! Now I'll think of you when I see it on tv next week!

You're doing great with your walks, and I'm jealous that you swim. I really need a membership to somewhere with a pool. It's an awesome all-body workout! :thumbsup2

Have a GREAT weekend!

[traceycooper]

Wow Blake lives in your town - hes really good! I want Jordan Sparks to win though ;)
Great news that you are getting to swim too, you must be feeling great with all the exercising your doing :)
Have a great weekend!

[tbstein]

WOW! Blake is from your home town? That girl, oh I can't remember her name, the heavier set one, Lakeisha I think, is from a town about 45 minutes from where I grew up. How cool is that! We could be celebs! :lmao: I will have to watch it to see your park.

What is your fav cereal that is healthy? I have always favored frosted cheerios. Kids love Reese's puff. (now, how can that be a cereal? It's nearly addictive!)

We went to Panera's yesterday. Yum! Just wish the bread was on my list. DS offered several times if I wanted a bite, and I didn't. Boy, that was hard. Today, DD asked if I wanted some of her bread stick, and I didn't. They were with cheese and all. That was even harder! I amso proud of myself. Or maybe it was because I wanted the chocolate square! :goodvibes

Have a great week!

Wendy

[toystoryduo]

That is so cool that Blake is from your town!:thumbsup2 A few years ago, one of the guys I went to high school with intercepted a pass in the Super Bowl. I was bragging about it to everyone. :thumbsup2

Hope you have a great week, Bekki!:hug:

[eeyore25]

Hi bekki,

That is pretty cool that an American Idol is from your home town! I don't watch the show, but last year (I think) there was a guy from Boulder, CO which is about 20 miles from me. Everyone here thought that he would make it, but he didn't.

You are doing a great job, keep up the good work!

Have a good day :)

[bekkiz]

You guys will have to tell me how my town looks on National TV! Or maybe it's on tomorrow? Let me know!

Wendy I'm really likeing the Smart Start Healthy Heart, Cinnamon Raisin. It's really good and has pretty good stats. The best, super healthy cereal is the Fiber One Honey Clusters (but only w/ vanilla soymilk). Great source of fiber and not too many cals.

I was out of town this weekend, and my eating was NOT awesome. I did get 40 minutes on the treadmill Sunday morning (oh, and btw, the treamill sucks, even w/ a personal TV :lmao:)

Monday, 5/14
B: Bowl of Smart Start w/soy milk
L: Qdoba cheese quesadilla w/guac and sour cream
d: 2 cups of homemade corn chowder and a couple peices of rosemary bread
S: Leftover cookies from the weekend, a small piece of cheese

Movement: Pup got a 23 minute walk. I walked for 45 minutes at a moderate pace (around 16:15 mpm)

Tuesday, 5/15
B: Starbucks green tea latte (non fat) and a piece of reducad fat coffee cake
L: Slice of rosemary bread with a 2 slices of ham and a slice of cheese melted on top
D: homemade turkey burritos w/ beans, cheese and sour cream
S: FIber one granola bar, probably a skinny cow ice cream cone

Movement: Rest day, so only a 23 minute walk w/ the dog. It was like 85 degrees today, so I'm really glad I didn't go for a walk!

[toystoryduo]

I did get 40 minutes on the treadmill Sunday morning (oh, and btw, the treamill sucks, even w/ a personal TV :lmao:)

:lmao: Thanks for the laugh this morning, Bekki! I was just thinking about the treadmill the other day and how much I appreciate being able to walk outdoors instead of on a treadmill. I loved the stairmaster at the gym, but the treadmill and I just never seemed to get along. :sad2: :lmao:

It was 88 here yesterday and it's 58 today! What a change in temps.:eek: That's great that you still got a walk in yesterday even though it was hot!:goodvibes

Hope you have a great day!

[bekkiz]

It got much colder yesterday too! From 85 on Tuesday to like 62 on Wednesday. Craziness :)

Wednesday:

B: A fiber one bar and a bowl of Smart Start w/ soy milk
L: 1.5 cups of corn chowder and 2 slices of rosemary bread (W/marg.)
D: Shrimp sauteed in olive oil w/ garlic and lemon, orzo w/parmasan and broccoli
S: 2 pieces of dark chocolate and a skinny cow cone

Movement: Pup got a 23 minute walk and I did 3 miles in exactly 45 minutes, plus an 8 minute cool down.

[tbstein]

Bekki, the Fiber one sounds really good. DH loves cereal and is always looking for something yummy and healthy. Hmmm... seems like at one time in my life that was an oxymoron!

Watched the show and saw your home town. What we saw was cool. Didn't see the entire show, so not sure he made it or not. Will have to find out Tuesday!

I must say, the weather has been the same here. Nearly 80 on Monday, and I don't think it will hit 60 today. Still, it is sunny and good walking weather!

Have a great week end!

Wendy

[bekkiz]

Thanks!

Thursday, 5/17
B: Big bowl of Smar Start and soy milk
L: Panera broc. cheese soup, pesto chicken sandwich and whole grain bread
D: Kind of a turkey shepards pie thing, w/lots of veggies
S: 100 cal hostess cupcake pack, piece of dark chocolate, skinny cow ice cream cone

Movement: 25 minute walk w/ the dog and I went for a 38 minute swim.

I'm so tired right now, I think I need a nap!

[kimwim8]

Hey Bekki! I hope the weather is warming up for you. We're looking at a high in the 60's this weekend. :sad2:

Take care, girl. You're getting in lots of exercise these days (and I give you EXTRA points for that treadmill while you were away!! :thumbsup2 )

[bekkiz]

Thanks Kim. I see you're getting yourself out and about too! Don't you love Spring/Summer! My timing this week sucks, because today is a semi-rest day (and I really need it, as you'll see below), and tomorrow is a long walk day. But the weather is much better today (Rain tomorrow! Yuck). So I'm not sure what I'll do yet.

In other news, I've lost 6 more pounds since the last time I checked (maybe 3 weeks ago?). That's a total of 22 since October. Slow and steady, that's my motto :lmao:

Friday, 5/18
B: BIG bowl of Smart Start (I was hungry :) ) w/a mix of soy milk and regular
L: 1.5 cups of leftover corn chowder and a sprite
D: Qdoba chicken burrito w/ whole pinto beans, cheese, quac and sour cream. I left about 1/4 of it.
S: 1 piece of dark chocolate, 100 cal pack of hostess cupcakes and a skinny cow ice cream cone (but the cone was missing! It was just cone shaped ice cream :lmao:)

Movement: 23 minute walk w/ the dog and a 47 minute, 3 mile walk (15:36 mpm). The last mile really sucked, I was having a lot of muscle pain in my legs, so I slowed down. Then I took my student to the zoo and walked for about 3 hours w/o stopping. My legs are TIRED! So I really need this "Rest" day, although I am taking the dog to the dog park, so I will be up and about.

[bekkiz]

Saturday, 5/19

B: Bowl of smart start w/ skim milk and 1/2 of a quesadilla
L: Lean cuisine butternut squash ravioli
D: 2 slices of pizza (sausage, mushroom and olive) and a salad w/blue cheese dressing
S: 100 cal hostess pack and a small bowl of smart start w/skim milk

Movement: Took Indy to the dog park for a little over an hour, but I don't really count that as any form of exercise. I just follow him around and hope he doesn't get lost in the bushes :lmao:

[dabute]

Way to go on the six pound loss. :thumbsup2

Your walks are amazing. 15:36 is awesome. :banana: :banana:

Thanks so much for your continued support in my journal. :hug:

[toystoryduo]

Great job on your walks and your 6 pound loss Bekki!:cheer2: Keep up the good work!:cheer2:

Have a great Monday!:cool1:

[bekkiz]

Thanks so much guys! Such good friends here :)

I am dreading work now. I found out my end date is June 29, and I had though it was the 15th. That's two extra weeks of teaching that I'm not sure I have the energy for! Of course, it's two extra weeks of paychecks, which are ALWAYS a good thing. I just need to suck it up.

Sunday 5/20
B: Starbucks green tea latte and pumpkin scone (which was probably the worst thing in the world for you, but it tasted good. And it had to have been better than the doughnut I really wanteded :lmao:)
L: Salad w/ ff. balsamic. It had all sorts of veggies, cranberries and almonds plus a good sized piece of bread
D: At a friends: Grilled flank steak, potato salad (not the mayo kind, the vinegar kind) and regular salad w/ vinagrette. A slice of almond and fruit tart for dessert.
S: granola bar

Movement: Pups got a 23 minute walk. I did five miles in 1:23 and change, a 16:36 mpm. My leg is still hurting, so I'm going to ease up a bit on walking this week, and maybe hop on the rucumbant instead.

[goldcupmom]

You're walks are AWESOME, Bek!! I'm impressed! 6 pounds is fantastic, too!

I'm jealous you have Panera. I can't wait to get to FL & get some - not the healthiest, but.....

Pumpkin scone from Starbucks ....don't EVEN go there! It, too, is a fav & I'm not positive the donut would have been worse! I think on WW the scone is like 10 - 12 pts - in otherwords around 500 cal & plenty fatty! But SO GOOD!!!!

Hope you have a good week. Hang in there! School will be done soon!

[kimwim8]

Congrats on your loss, Bekki! That's awesome! :thumbsup2 Definitely take a break from the walks, especially those speedy-quick walks for a few days and let your legs heal. You've been putting in some serious miles lately and VERY quick times. :goodvibes

[bekkiz]

Yuck, yesterday was a lazy, rainy day, matched by some lousy eating choices.

Monday 5/22
B: bowl of Smart Smart w/soymilk
L: Panera broc. cheese soup and 1/2 a pesto chicken sandwich and piece of whole grain bread. Also lemonade/sprite mix
D: Barilla+ pasta w/marinara and sausage and a sprink of parmesan
Snacks: (This is the :eek: part) 2 cookies (chocoalte chip and a PB from safeway, so they're the big soft ones) and a skinny cow ice cream cone. The cookies tasted SO good, but really did I need two?

Movement: Just a 21 minute walk w/ the dog in the short sun break we had all day. I'm planning a gentle 3 mile today.

Thanks for checking in everyone!

[toystoryduo]

Hope you have a wonderful day today!:goodvibes It's hard when the weather is crummy out. At least it's not snowing right? ;) :lmao:

Have a great Wednesday, Bekki!:hug: