Accountability-I Need It!

[jsmla]

Yes, there are some great beers out there... Can't be ignored.

I found a new favorite, Creature Comforts Tropicalia

 

[jsmla]

Wednesday, July 13, 2016

Breakfast
On the run again, I had a toasted bagel with a tiny smear of onion and chive cream cheese from Panera. The way I see it I didn't have my usual bear claw and creamy coffee so not great but not as bad as it could have been.

Late Morning Break
We found the wedding dress today! It was an amazing experience, DD was glowing, and it was all so much easier than we had dared to hope. It's recommended to take a break to clear your head before making the final decision, wedding dress shopping is a very emotional experience. We had a late morning tea and it was lovely. I had a blood orange herbal. I don't take milk or sugar in my tea so this was right on track with my diet. Unfortunately I also had a massive cranberry scone with lashings of clotted cream which kinda negates the healthy tea choice. Good thing I had planned on these days being cheat ones.






Dinner
Lovely, lovely dinner at a local farm to table place. I had the summer vegetable tortellini with ricotta and locally sourced tomatoes and sweet corn-heaven on a plate. We shared an order of steamed mussels swimming in butter and pesto as an appetizer and had a bottle of rose for the table. No pictures, it wouldn't have been appropriate.


Sitting at the airport now. I'll be home and back on the healthy eating plan by lunchtime. It's been a fun few days of heady indulgence but I think I'm ready to begin again. Who knows, I may even tackle The Beast!

 

[Terapin]

Wednesday July 13, 2016


Breakfast
Breakfast was eaten on the go-grande "skinny" lattes and cranberry scones from Starbucks. I'm just blowing it left and right but this is a special time and I want to embrace all of it. I'll get back on the wagon on Thursday, promise!



Lunch
We spent the day shopping for my daughter's wedding dress. I can't even begin to describe what it's like to see your baby girl come out of the bridal shop dressing room for the first time. There definitely were tears involved and laughter and joy. DD was so worried she wouldn't find anything (She's very petite.) but we saw at least three possible contenders so a successful day.

We celebrated at the Lennox Mall Cheesecake Factory with a little prosecco and a HUGE salad. This thing could have easily fed one or possibly two more people. The picture is what was left after both of us had eaten our fill. This one felt fairly healthyish but knowing The Cheesecake Factory I'm guessing it wasn't.







The remains of our Sheila's Chicken and Avocado Salad



Dinner
We walked over to a local Thai place-Panita Thai Kitchen. I had the whole fish cooked with lots of veggies and spices. This was very, very, very good but probably very, very bad at the same time. It's often like that with me and food. No pix because we were with FSIL and really just wanted to sit and enjoy our meal and each other without the intrusion of photography.

Hi there! Enjoying your journal. One question though: why would eating fish and veggies be bad?

 

[jsmla]

Hi there! Enjoying your journal. One question though: why would eating fish and veggies be bad?

Kind of how a broccoli, kale and quinoa salad is unhealthy once you add bacon, cheese and 1/2 a cup of thousand island dressing to it. The fish was deep fried and the sauce was pretty rich.


Thursday June 14, 2016

No pictures today and not much to report at any rate. Up before 4:30 AM so that DD could take me to the airport before she began the drive back to Nashville. Breakfast was a Diet Coke in the car followed by coffee, peanuts and pretzels on the plane.

No lunch, I took a four hour nap instead!

Dinner was cornbread and pinto beans from the freezer. I've learned my lesson and didn't even try to photograph it. Besides, I wasn't feeling all that sporty, ended up in bed by 9:00 PM.

I had put down yesterday's blahs to exhaustion caused by my attempts to keep up with two very fit twenty somethings for the past few days. (Maybe I'm just too old but DFSIL and the Pokemon Go thing got old really fast!) Turns out I've picked up a raging head cold somewhere, yuck! I see a day of cold medicine and Grace and Frankie binge watching ahead.

 

[jsmla]

Friday July 15, 2016

Woke up with a sore throat and a head full,of gunk. Decided to have a bite before hitting the cold medicine but really couldn't manage much. Still not feeling quite the thing this morning. I blame all that second hand stranger air on the plane.



Breakfast
Large coffee with almond milk and one packet of Truvia
PB&J sandwich
-1 T fresh ground peanut butter (just peanuts, no added salt, sugar or oils)
-homemade strawberry jam
-whole grain bread
3/4 c mixed strawberries and blueberries

Only managed the coffee and 1/2 of the sandwich. Followed up with a dose of Alka Seltzer Cold & Flu and bed.











Late Morning Snack
Last of the banana bread, griddled
Berries left from breakfast
Coffee





Lunch
Grilled chicken tenderloins leftover from on whole wheat bun with:
-romaine lettuce
-guacamole mixed with 1/4 c chopped cherry tomatoes
-2 T BBQ sauce
Pretzel crisps





Dinner
More comfort food! I tried to give Scott a break from the grill and made oven-braised boneless pork chops.

Pork chops sautéed with peppers/onion and braised in chicken stock and a smidge of red wine
Peas and baby carrots seasoned with salt/black pepper and a splash of olive oil

 

[jsmla]

Saturday July 16, 2016

I pretty much sat around feeling sorry for myself for most of the day. Fridge is empty but the thought of battling the Saturday crowds in the stores did not appeal. Meals were thrown together using whatever was on hand. Scott was at work all day and grilled a steak for his dinner.


Breakfast
Smoothie made with:
-1/2 c yogurt
-1 banana
-1/2 c frozen mango
-3 cubes frozen satsuma juice
Blueberry oatmeal muffin




Our gardening friends and neighbors loaded us up with citrus last winter. I ended up juicing and freezing several batches of satsumas to use in satsuma icebox pie this summer. Unfortunately, neither Scott nor I will be eating pie of any sort any time soon so I decided to give a satsuma juice smoothie a try. It was really nice, definitely will be repeating this!




Lunch
Large salad with:
-romaine lettuce
-1/2 c whole wheat pasta
-1/2 c black beans
-1/2 c corn
-1/4 green pepper
-handful cherry tomatoes
-1 corn tortilla cut into strips and crisped in a skillet
-2 grilled chicken tenderloins
-around 2 T of dressing made of BBQ sauce, fat free ranch and a splash of chipotle hot sauce




I don't know about anyone else but I find fat free ranch pretty awful and always end up doctoring it up in one way or another. The salad was fine but I was still feeling puny and only managed half.




Snack
Decided to try freezing those flavorless grapes to see if they improved. I'm not sure if they were any sweeter but this was a nice,refreshing treat.







Dinner
Napped most of the afternoon and didn't feel like eating much. Ended up having the rest of the satsuma smoothie leftover from breakfast with a handful of Pretzel Crisps. I got these to help satisfy my chip addiction. They're fat free and pretty tasty when I'm craving junk food.




Sorry about the boring food report. I really wasn't feeling much like eating at all. A bad cold + dealing with a heavy family issue = very low appetite for me. The cold is much better this morning, thank goodness!

 

[jsmla]

Sunday July 17, 2016

Yesterday was a tough one here. Horrible, awful, unbelievable things have happened in our city and it's heartbreaking. I've lived here for almost 40 years, Scott is a lifelong resident and we both feel that this sort of violence is not something the people of Baton Rouge want, no matter on which side their opinions fall. Protests here had been peaceful. I can't understand why this individual from out of state felt the need to introduce more senseless tragedy to an already heartrending situation.

We spent the morning glued to the television before heading to my father's house where we began the sad process of preparing his move from his home of 40 years. All in all a sad, sad day. Nobody felt much like a feast.



Breakfast

Broiled grapefruit half topped with blueberries, 1 t of honey and a sprinkle of cinnamon
Iced coffee (coffee, almond milk and 1pkt of Truvia)






Lunch/Dinner
Scott and my brother grilled out but I just didn't feel like eating. I'm afraid my brother and I spent the late afternoon emptying the "beverage fridge" and having one last hangout by the pool. It was all kinda depressing and I probably had one more beer than I should have. It was just all so sad.

 

[jsmla]

This is in no way, not one, an adequate substitution for a pint of Chunky Monkey.

 

[jsmla]

Monday July 18, 2016

Breakfast
Yogurt parfait
-1/2 c yogurt
-1/2 c homemade low fat granola
-1/3 c blueberries
Coffee with almond milk and 1 pkt Truvia
EasyWDW on my tablet, most people read the news, I plan Disney trips











Lunch
This is something we ate a lot as a kid. It was quick, easy and very filling. We had it with thinly sliced andouille sausage. I subbed out 97% fat free leftover 4th of July hot dogs from the freezer.

1meduim potato thinly sliced and browned with:
-1 T olive oil
-1/3 green pepper, coarsely diced
-1 hot dog, cut into 3/4" slices
-2 T ketchup
Handful cherry tomatoes







Dinner
Pita bread pizza
-1 whole wheat pita
-1/3 c homemade marinara
-1 grilled chicken tenderloin
-1/2 medium heirloom tomato
-handful of fresh basil
-basalmic drizzle

Looked much prettier before I baked it! I was really surprised at how much I enjoyed this. I was expecting to miss the 4-5 slices of buffalo mozzarella that I used to add. The gifted heirloom tomato was incredibly flavorful. Planning to seek them out next shopping trip.




After baking, Next time I may try topping it with the basil after it comes out of the oven. It was still tasty!





Snack
I wanted something sweet so tried a can of Scott's Stevia lemon lime soda-nope, still yucky.

 

[jsmla]

Exercise

Finally tackled The Beast!

I warmed up for 5 minutes and tried to keep my speed at 3.5 mph. My thighs were pretty wobbly so I cooled off on the nice, steady ground. I couldn't work the DVD player so just did a few stretches I remember from my last gym membership.





I also decided to chart my weight weekly. I'm not really trying to lose but won't complain if I do!

Weight




Sorry about the sideways picture, just wanted to post the ugly truth!

 

[jsmla]

Fruit Stand/Target/Whole Paycheck Haul (07/18/2016)

Today was grocery day here. Our freezer is still chock-a-block with meat so most of it was for me. I did find a great deal on 93/7 ground beef at Target (BOGO50% off and each pack had a $2 off sticker) so I did stock up for my caveman.


Fruit Stand

They're usually cheapest but don't carry organics. The squash and zucchini are local, no local tomatoes








Target

I bought a lot more here than I had planned. All of their organic berries were on sale. The "butter" spray, fat free sour cream and fat free cottage cheese are new for me. Some of the ingredients sound a little funky but we'll see. I'm really missing creamy!




Just stocking up with regular pantry items, none of this is new to this particular health kick. We switched to whole grain pasta years ago.







Whole Foods

I know the wine and baguette aren't exactly healthy but when you consider that I didn't buy beer or any of those oh, so yummy treats so temptingly on display in the WF bakery department it's not so bad. Besides, I deserve it I had a coupon for the individual yogurts and the eggs. I usually just buy plain yogurt but thought these might be nice, portable and filling treats.

Couldn't resist and spent waaaay too much on an heirloom tomato. I hope it's as tasty as the one I had yesterday!

Bought the popcorn to try in my new oil free microwave popper, thus the "butter" spray.

Not pictured are the pack of individually portioned salmon filets or the packs of frozen kale (for smoothies) and green beans that went straight into the freezer.

 

[jsmla]

Tuesday July 20, 2016

Breakfast
2 pieces whole wheat bread with 2 T fresh ground peanut butter

This was pretty much the only thing in the house!








Snack
Errands today so I had an iced coffee "to go". I have to pass my favorite drive through coffee shop on the way to Target plus there's a Starbucks inside the store. In order to get the better of temptation I made my own with almond milk and 1 packet of Truvia. The silver cup is iced water, something I rarely leave the house in summer without.








Lunch
Kinda, sorta bruschetta
-4 slices baguette, toasted
-1/2 heirloom tomato
-fresh basil
-drizzle of basalmic reduction
3/4 c mixed berries macerated in 1/4 t sugar


I was given the heirloom tomato. I know it looks bad but, boy oh boy, was it ever tasty!








Dinner
1 c chicken chili topped with:
-1/4 medium avocado
-2 cherry tomatoes, chopped
1 wedge cornbread
1 glass rose



The chili and cornbread are from the freezer. I spent the afternoon making a pot roast and pan seared strip steak for my caveman and this was handy. The avocado and tomato are a really nice addition. I forgot to try the fat free sour cream I bought for dishes like this one.




Exercise
30 minutes on The Beast-5 warm up, 20 at 3.5 mph and 5 cool down.

It was actually a little more. Ten minutes in I received a call I had to take so I began the 30 minute program over again after I hung up. I was pretty surprised at how much better I did than yesterday. It was a lot easier to stay on the thing without feeling like I was going to fall. I'm wildly uncoordinated-the cardiologist had a hard time getting a valid stress test reading because I kept falling off of the treadmill!




It was hot, hot, hot running errands but is soooooo nice to have food in the house again!

 

[jsmla]

Wednesday July 20, 2016

Today got away from me, no idea how. One minute the morning news was on and before I knew it it was 3:00 PM. This happens to me more often than it probably should.




Breakfast

Smoothie made with:
-1/2 c fat free Greek yogurt
-1 banana
-1/2 c frozen mango
-1/2 c mixed berries
-handful mixed dark leafy greens
-splash almond milk

(My smoothies taste a lot better than they look!)







Dinner

I ended up skipping lunch, not on purpose, just never got around to it. Dinner was very early!

Pasta bake
-cooked whole grain rotini
-3/4 c bolognese sauce (from freezer)
-3/4 c fat free cottage cheese
Sautéed zucchini with garlic, onions and tomatoes
Hunk of the baguette I bought yesterday






I really enjoyed this meal. My pasta bakes usually contain copious amounts of Parmesan, ricotta and mozzarella cheeses and I didn't miss it as much as I had expected. Of course the fact that I was starving probably helped!




Snack

Large bowl of watermelon







Exercise

30 minutes on The Beast: 5 warm up, 20 at 3.5 mph, 5 cool down

 

[dmross]

Monday July 18, 2016

Breakfast
Yogurt parfait
-1/2 c yogurt
-1/2 c homemade low fat granola
-1/3 c blueberries
Coffee with almond milk and 1 pkt Truvia
EasyWDW on my tablet, most people read the news, I plan Disney trips











Lunch
This is something we ate a lot as a kid. It was quick, easy and very filling. We had it with thinly sliced andouille sausage. I subbed out 97% fat free leftover 4th of July hot dogs from the freezer.

1meduim potato thinly sliced and browned with:
-1 T olive oil
-1/3 green pepper, coarsely diced
-1 hot dog, cut into 3/4" slices
-2 T ketchup
Handful cherry tomatoes







Dinner
Pita bread pizza
-1 whole wheat pita
-1/3 c homemade marinara
-1 grilled chicken tenderloin
-1/2 medium heirloom tomato
-handful of fresh basil
-basalmic drizzle

Looked much prettier before I baked it! I was really surprised at how much I enjoyed this. I was expecting to miss the 4-5 slices of buffalo mozzarella that I used to add. The gifted heirloom tomato was incredibly flavorful. Planning to seek them out next shopping trip.




After baking, Next time I may try topping it with the basil after it comes out of the oven. It was still tasty!





Snack
I wanted something sweet so tried a can of Scott's Stevia lemon lime soda-nope, still yucky.

Your food is so beautiful! Seriously like a magazine.

 

[jsmla]

Your food is so beautiful! Seriously like a magazine.

Thanks, I just take dozens and hope at least one turns out-drives my husband nuts!


Thursday July 21, 2016


Breakfast

1 low fat blueberry oatmeal muffin (from freezer)
2/3 c mixed berries topped with f/f yogurt mixed with honey and cinnamon
Iced coffee with almond milk and 1 pkt Truvia







Lunch

2 chicken breast tenderloin strips grilled with bottled citrus teriyaki sauce
"Fried" rice (from freezer)
Apple/walnut/spinach salad with 2 t raspberry vinegarette
Water







Dinner

Vegetarian Hoppin' John (black eyed peas with brown rice)
Yellow crookneck squash with onions
Salad of 1/4 avocado and cherry tomatoes
Wedge of low fat cornbread (freezer)







Snack
Forgot to take a picture but I had a late afternoon snack
1/2 c grapes
4 Pretzel Crisps


Exercise
I'm afraid I skipped my time with The Beast on Thursday. No excuse, just didn't feel like it.

 

[jsmla]

Friday July 22, 2016

Breakfast (#1)

Banana
Iced coffee with almond milk and 1 pkt Truvia

Scott had to leave early this morning so we were up and about before I felt like eating. It's always a good time for coffee!






Breakfast (#2)

1/2 c fried rice leftover from yesterday
Grapes

I got hungry mid morning, so a second "breakfast".






Lunch

More leftovers!
3/4 c pasta bake
3/4 c leftover mixed squash and zucchini
Small hunk baguette






Dinner

I made a batch of chili with some of the 93/7 ground beef (browned, rinsed, drained) that I bought the other day. Friday night I added 1/3 c black beans to around 1 c of chili and made 2 open faced tacos with:
-2/3 c chili with black beans
-6 cherry tomatoes, diced
-1/4 avocado, diced
-handful dark, leafy greens mix
-2 T fat free sour cream
-2 corn tortillas crisped in non stick skillet







Evening Snack

Our power was out from late afternoon until after midnight so a little boredom eating happened. I did keep it fairly healthy(ish). Can't say the same for the two beers I had.
Excuses:
I'm bored
I'm hot
But, Mom, everyone else is doing it!

1 low fat homemade blueberry/oatmeal muffin, split and griddled
1/2 c mixed berries with 1 pkt Truvia.
2 Abita Amber beers






Exercise

30 minutes on The Beast.

 

[jsmla]

Saturday and Sunday July 23-24, 2016

The weekend was rough. On of Scott's childhood friends was rushed to the hospital with a heart attack. It was pretty scary. He's had surgery (stint) and is doing well but we were all very concerned.

Here are my meals from the weekend. I ended up skipping dinner both nights.


Saturday

Breakfast

I'm getting a little tired of yogurt and muffins and opted for a snack breakfast.

Hummus with carrots, cherry tomatoes and toasted whole wheat pita wedges
Iced coffee







Lunch

Leftover Hoppin' John
Salad of mixed greens, walnuts and 1/4 apple with 2 t raspberry vinegarette
Last of the low fat cornbread









Sunday

Breakfast

Two low fat blueberry oatmeal muffins, griddled
Mixed berries with 1/2 pkt Truvia
Iced coffee







Lunch

Scott grilled chicken breasts late on Saturday night. I had 1/3 of a breast shredded and heated with green pepper and BBQ sauce. I sliced the ridiculously expensive heirloom tomato that I bought on my last grocery trip-it's really nice.

1 BBQ chicken sandwich on whole wheat bun with lettuce, tomato, onion
Baby carrots







Exercise

None, to be honest, with everything going on I forgot all about it until yesterday.

 

[jsmla]

Monday July 25, 2016

Another wacky day on the food/exercise front. Our daughter is getting married next year and I had to drive to New Orleans to meet with the church and hotel people. I decided to have a bit of a cheat and ate lunch out.

Breakfast

Breakfast was "eaten" in the car on the way to NOLA.

Coffee with almond milk and 1 pkt Truvia (while getting ready to leave)
Smoothie made with:
-1/2 c yogurt
-1/2 c strawberries
-1/2 c frozen mango
-1/4 c raspberries
-handful dark leafy greens
Iced coffee






Lunch

I made an executive decision to eat lunch out. The Roosevelt validated my parking for the day (I maxed out my previously zero balance Disney Visa at the meeting, priciest parking spot ever!) so I walked over to Mr B's in the French Quarter. It was so good!

House Salad (with cheese, bacon and candied pecans!)
Seafood gumbo
1 lunch special Bloody Mary (weakish but only $1.25)
Two hunks of French bread







Afraid I ended up skipping both dinner and my date with The Beast. On a more positive note Scott's friend is MUCH better and I didn't have BBQ chips and a Diet Sprite from the hospital vending machine for dinner.

 

[jsmla]

Day 24 Update/Frugality and a Healthy(ish) Lifestyle


I had every intention of doing weekly summaries but, oh, well.......

So, it's been 24 days in and I'll give myself a solid C. I feel pretty good about sticking (for the most part, I never planned on being 100%) with the dietary changes but exercise is still a D at best. I'm skipping it more often than not.


I'm not trying to lose weight although I could probably could stand to lose 10 pounds-one thing at a time. I've lost a grand total of a pound since my last weigh-in and that is probably due to several skipped meals over the past few days.





My primary goal is to improve my high cholesterol levels and that's something I won't see until I head back to the doctor. I think improving my lifestyle is going to be a little more difficult for me without the ability to see the result of my efforts. Scott has done really well with his "nothin' but meat, fat and more meat" diet. He's lost in the neighborhood of 60 pounds and badly needs new clothes. He began dieting in late February but has taken a few breaks when we've been out of town or on vacation. He started out as a size 44 (jeans) and his new pair is a 38! I'm very proud of him but maybe just a teensy bit jealous as well. (At his last check up his cholesterol had actually gone down, even with all that bacon, cheese and steak!). The results I need are going to be far less tangible and harder to see. I'm having a little trouble staying motivated, especially with the exercise.


I shouldn't be skipping so many meals but there it is. Now that I only occasionally cook for someone other than myself I tend to skip a meal all together rather that go to the trouble of preparing one when I'm busy or tired.

Looking back I probably drink too much beer. I can keep the house beer-free but when we're hanging out with friends (and in South Louisiana an ice chest is usually a part of any gathering) I have a hard time saying no.

I hate, hate, hate, hate, HATE exercising. I've always loathed it. I'm impressively uncoordinated and non athletic. I literally have not participated in a team sport since my high school gym burned down in 1976. Two girls in my PE class were once suspended after a lively debate over which volleyball team had to include me ("No way, I had her last time!) turned ugly. This did not make me popular with the female athletes at New Iberia Junior High School. The second I begin exercising is the same second in which I begin counting down until the awfulness is over. I have no idea how to improve on this.


I'm also finding my new diet both expensive and wasteful. This morning I threw out:
1 serving chili
1 serving pasta bake
1/4 avocado
1/2 cup leftover fruit salad

I also had 1/3 of a stale baguette and an open carton of egg substitute that were teetering on the edge of also becoming garbage. I couldn't stand it and ended up making this:



No butter and a ton of blueberries but, still, probably not the healthiest of dishes. I just couldn't throw another thing out. I am struggling with buying and cooking for one. So many things come prepackaged now. I can't buy less than a pound of organic grapes anywhere. Salad greens are slightly easier but I have to stick to one type at a time which gets a little repetitive. I have just had to get used to keeping baked stuff in the fridge or freezer even though I feels it really hurts the quality.

On the positive side I've found a few new recipes that I really enjoy. The BBQ chicken sandwich, open faced tacos and cantaloupe lassi will definitely be added to my repertoire.

 

[dmross]

The second I begin exercising is the same second in which I begin counting down until the awfulness is over. I have no idea how to improve on this.

I know this feeling well. I'm not having it RIGHT NOW, but boy do I know what you mean. Wish I had a silver bullet for this problem.