Cam's New Lease on Life Journal (comments welcome!)

[Mykelogan]

Hi Cam!!

So glad you had a great time with DS at Wicked! I didn't realize you would be in my relative neck of the woods this weekend, isn't the food in New England evil?!?! hehehe! All those Tastycakes (Were they the peanut butter round ones??? Oh my could I put those away, with a nice big glass of coffee milk! No, must not drool on keyboard!) and fried seafood goodies! I agree with Kardiebelle though, you ate better than those around you and think about how much differently you would have eaten in the past?! Posting here you get to name it, own it, and move on from it! I see your wheels are firmly back on the track now myself!!! "food orgy" haha! I love that phrase! hehe.

Now get that Garmin201 in action and you are on your way! That new "toy" will be a great tool to help you reach your goals I am sure. I am glad you had fun with the family this weekend and that your son's ear had cleared up!

Have a happy & healthy monday!
Mike

 

[keenercam]

kardiebelle-- You are such a sweetie! Thank you so much for understanding. You are so right. In the past, I would have jumped right on that bandwagon. At every turn, I thought about what I was doing and what I was eating and did it fully conscious of what I was eating. No "brainless unconscious eating" this weekend. Hey, maybe that makes it worse -- I actually had "criminal intent"!


Hi, Mike! They don't sell tastykakes in Massachusetts, so we took 3 boxes with us -- chocolate cupcakes w/buttercream icing and vanilla filling; chocolate tandycakes (Thank God NOT the peanut butter ones -- I wouldn't have been able to resist them); and chocolate krimpets. Now, mind you, I am not a big chocolate fan. So that helped some. But the cakes were supposed to have been frozen so that DA and DU would have had them for the next several months, in moderation. Instead, the mental process seemed to have been to eat all the bad stuff in the house in one weekend to get rid of it. That is the part that is so NOT me, and I regretted kind of getting sucked into it. Fortunately, it was an isolated weekend. The really funny thing is my Aunt is 10 pounds away from WW goal and I was really surprised that we weren't supporting each other. She definitely exercises so she can eat more, and I guess when you are 145 lbs, you can do that. Me? I exercise to help lose more pounds, though there are times I definitely need those activity points when I have eaten too much.

Actually, my plan from today on is to NOT eat my activity points, with the hope that I will jump start my weight loss again. I have been in the same 2 pound window since 5/31 and definitely want to keep the scale moving downward. I can't believe how close I am to my next mini-goal, and even that is a bit intimidating.

Wore the cutest outfit for DH saturday night -- off the shoulders baby orange flowered v-neck sweater with cute khaki green shorts. Something I never would have gone out wearing in the past and DH was more than appreciative . Fun stuff! Even after almost 21 years of marriage! His appreciation and support really keep me motivated some days!

Doing well on food so far today:

B -- 4 mini healthy choice breakfast sausage on lite EM (3)
S-- lite yogurt (2) with oreos 100 calorie pack crisps dipped in it (2)
L -- salad greens w/ff italian dressing (0); baby carrots (1); flour tortilla (2)w/low fat ham (1) and lettuce

Water -- 60 oz so far; will probably have another 16 oz before I leave here.

The plan for tonight --
Eat a light string cheese (1) on the drive to get nails done on way home

go home and figure out how to work Garmin

Take DH for a nice long walk using said Garmin

Home to eat vegetable gyoza (3) with stir fried veggies (0) and steak (7)

Still fine on points. Won't be using/wasting any on powerade -- will stick with water w/lemon juice.

Now, let's just see if I can stick to this for the evening!


BTW -- the nabisco 100 calorie pack of oreo crisps was absolutely delicious --they taste like the cookie crumbles that get put on ice cream or the chocolate ice cream cones or those chocolate wafer cookies. Absolutely delicious! Dipping them in my light cherry vanilla yogurt was a lark -- tasted like chocolate covered cherries with crispiness. YUMMY!!! Leaving the rest of them here at work so that I don't eat too many.

------------------------------------------------------
Adding stuff on Tuesday about Monday night --

Okay, did some good stuff last night -- although I didn't eat exactly what I thought I would, I did not over-indulge, and I stayed within my points without accessing flex or activity points.

D: brown rice w/no calorie butter spray (6); veggie gyoza (4); taste of mac & cheese (.5); 3 soy crisps & 3 mini pretzels (1).

So -- I think I will challenge myself to go 100 days cheat free. ONE day down, 99 to go! I think I can. . . I think I can . . . I think I can . . .

Also initialized my Garmin Forerunner and did a quick lap around the fountain at a somewhat quick pace (though it was hard because there were so many people strolling, in groups, who walked abreast, across the walkway. I am going to have to try to get out there early in the a.m. to avoid the crowds and really try to kick up my training.

 

[keenercam]

Okay, started the 100 day cheat free challenge thread on the main WISH board, and will hopefully find some buddies to motivate me. Of course, I will have to figure out what to do about my girls' weekend away 8/19, where I plan to eat mostly what I want. I figure just the walking we will do hustling about the parks, and the dancing we'll do at Pleasure Island, and the laughing we will do at Comedy Warehouse and the sweating we will do lying by the pool, and the jumping-out-of-our-skin we will do out of pure giddiness should earn me enough activity points to let me eat nearly whatever I want! All that, plus I will eat NO flex points the week leading up to the trip, to give me all that cushion, so that will help. I won't let those 2 days away de-rail my 100 day challenge.

This day should be okay, as long as I stick to my plan. Today is my baby's 12th birthday and DH is taking pizza & hi-c & doritos to camp for his group and counselors for lunch. Then tonight, DS wants to go to Olive Garden for dinner. So, here is my plan, which I will copy into my pocket journal and use to refresh my memory when it is time to order dinner at one of my favorite restaurants:

B: healthy choice sausage on lite EM (3)
L: salad (0); low fat ham on flour tortilla (3); baby carrots (1)
D: Olive Garden -- salad w/low fat dressing on the side (no croutons or olives or parmesan) (1); 1 cup minestrone soup (2); 1/2 order linguine marinara (5.5); small piece of birthday cake (5). The biggest challenge will be NO BREADSTICKS.

Also, will have to be good about not eating snacks during the day at work today. I will probably spread my lunch out a bit and will eat the carrots before I leave for home, to avoid late afternoon hunger pangs. I also may eat some canned green beens or some steamed veggies or some cut up cucumbers before we go to dinner, since we aren't going until 8:30 and I am sure I will be voracious by then.

The good thing about not being able to go to dinner until later is that I should be able to fit a workout into the schedule, probably from 6:45 - 7:45 with time for a shower.

So, that's the plan.

 

[kardiebelle]

You know what Cam that is a great idea. You continue to motivate me and I see why. You make a plan for yourself and you stick with it. I know at olive garden last week I made a big misake. Ordered the chicken parmarsana. I also stayed away from the bread sticks. I know that in very small print on the second to last page or something like that it says you can order linguine in whole wheat or even substitute the whole wheat linguine for any pasta. Much wishes today. I am sure you are thinking where the years went. Happy birthday to your DS. smiles kardiebelle

 

[Mykelogan]

Hi Cam!

So guess what showed up in my dream last night?? The peanut butter cakey chocolatey Tastykakes!! LOL hahaha!! Wow!

Sounds like you have a great plan for sticking to your challenge during your weekend at Disney. That is awesome! There are also lots of healthy and fresh choices at WDW if you look for em too. From all the haunting I do on the Disney restaurants board, it seems also that the chefs at many of the restaurants are always willing to help with dietary needs, and seem to make some dishes that sound better than the regular menu items then! hehe I am sure you will get tons of exercise in there to!

Have fun at the Olive Garden tonight and stay strong about the breadsticks! if it helps, remember that they probably do not use real butter on them so you are getting some kind of trans-fatty faux garlic buttery substance! hehe
Hope that your son has a "Wicked"-ly awesome b-day! hehe

Have a great Tuesday!
Mike
Mike

 

[joelyfaithsmommy]

happy birthday to your ds happy birthday to him!!!

your plan for olive garden sounded good

and the 100 day cheat challange...well all i can say is SUPER DUPER!!!
something i should commit to as well. i should do that maybe i will you're so encouraging!!! stay with it Cam ...YOU CAN DO IT!!!

YOUR FELLOW SWIMMER

Jen

 

[keenercam]

Kardiebelle -- I didn't know OG offered whole wheat pasta. I will definitely look for that option, as I am one of those "weirdos" who absolutely LOVES whole wheat pasta!

Mike -- that is soooo funny! I can't say I've ever had a dream about a tastykake! ROFLOL!!! But, hey, if you are going to dream about a treat, you might as well make it a good one, right? BTW, when I went to WDW in March, I found all sorts of great menu options so that I was able to stay pretty much on plan the whole time. My favorites were the field greens with strawberry vinegarette dressing at Liberty Tree Tavern and the crab cake there. Absolutely phenomenal lunch. Oh, geez, my mouth is practically watering. I also LOVED the Minnie frozen strawberry bars. I am really hoping for a visit to the Boardwalk Bakery on Sunday morning on our way to EPCOT, because I have never been there. I think I've read they even offer some no sugar items for diabetics. Geez, I am also craving maple glazed salmon at LeCellier.

Um. . yeah. . . I'd better stop thinking about WDW food now. The trip is about fun and comaraderie and showing one of my best friends some of the wonders of the Happiest Place on Earth. It is NOT about food. Yeah . . . I'll just keep telling myself that!

Come on, Jen! Join our challenge! It can be whatever you commit to as far as what "no cheat" means. Remember "no cheat" does NOT mean "no treat". Maybe "no cheat" means "no Big Macs". So, little(r) girl, wanna come and join us?

 

[keenercam]

Okay, so it is 5:15, and with the help of my WISH buddies and about 6 pieces of sugar free gum, I've gotten through the afternoon without eating anything after lunch. YEAH!

Now, to make my way home, stay motivated long enough to change into workout clothes, and take my lazy butt on a nice long walk, using my Garmin. Unfortunately, the temp is 86, but with the heat index, feels like 91. Hoping it will cool down a bit by the time I get home.

 

[joelyfaithsmommy]

YOU GO SWIMSPRINTER!!!! have a great evening, a great walk and a great night!!!

"talk" to you tomorrow chic!

Ms. Swimmer to you

 

[keenercam]

Just got back from a nice walk with my friend, Garmin. Did 1.7 miles in the first 30 minutes, and a slightly longer 1.75 in the second 30 minutes. Overall pace was 17:23/mile, with the first 30 minutes being at a 17:39/mile pace and the second 30 minutes at 17:09/mile pace. Not fast by any means. And certainly not a great showing. But was thrilled to get out at the end of a long day.

Eating a bowl of canned green beans to ward off the hunger monster! Then a shower, then off to Olive Garden to face that challenge.

-----------------------------------
Back from Olive Garden. Stuck to the plan: minestrone soup, salad w/LF dressing; whole wheat pasta (thanks, Kardiebelle!) with arrabiata (very spicy sauce). Only ate 1/2 the pasta and NO BREADSTICKS! And only had a very small piece of DS's birthday cake (scraped the icing off). Delicious.
I still have plenty of WW points left if I wanted a snack tonight, but I am going to bed with a significant surplus of points for the first time in a very long time. I think I just needed to have the challenge to help motivate me for now.

 

[keenercam]

Realized this morning I didn't do as badly on my pace last night as I thought. The first 30 minutes I covered 1.6 miles (instead of the 1.7 I thought) and the pace (my warm-up ) was 18:45. The second half was so much better-- covered 1.85 (instead of 1.75) in 30 minutes which is a 16:13 pace, much closer to what I thought I'd been doing.

I may start walking a short distance to warm up and then start the pace calculator so that the warm up time doesn't detract from my overall pace. What this means for the 1/2 I'm not sure, but I think we will have plenty of time to walk ahead of time while we are waiting for the race to start, so hopefully, getting conditioned to warm up first will help.

 

[Mykelogan]

Hi Cam!

So proud of your choices at Olive Garden! You did a great job! Resisting those delicious, I mean nasty!!! breadsticks will be a story for our visit to Oprah!! hehe

I love reading about your 1/2 marathon prep, it inspires me and is like a glimpse into the mind of a professional athlete!! You go girl!!!

I hope that you are having a great day so far and I was wondering if you saved that icing, if so can I have it?? NOT! hehehe!

Mike

 

[keenercam]

11:00 am water check-- 30 oz down. I may aim for 100 oz today, since I will be sweating at the gym tonight.

Food plan for the day:

B: 2 lite EM's with 4 sl low fat ham and 2 cubes laughing cow swiss (3.5); coffee w/fat free creamer (.5); WATER

S: peach & 2 small plums (throughout day) (2)

L: salad w/fat free dressing (0); mixed veggies (0); 1 cup whole wheat pasta w/arrabiata sauce (3) (leftover from OG last night, but DH doesn't like the spicy sauce, so I don't feel badly about eating it myself)

D: hmmmm. . . haven't decided yet. Definitely some broccoli with lemon and garlic (0). Will have to check the freezer -- maybe shrimp. YUM!

 

[keenercam]

Hi Cam!

So proud of your choices at Olive Garden! You did a great job! Resisting those delicious, I mean nasty!!! breadsticks will be a story for our visit to Oprah!! hehe

I love reading about your 1/2 marathon prep, it inspires me and is like a glimpse into the mind of a professional athlete!! You go girl!!!

I hope that you are having a great day so far and I was wondering if you saved that icing, if so can I have it?? NOT! hehehe!

Mike

Thanks, Mike! Can't wait until I am seeing you sharing your story on Oprah! Just be sure you ask for a 2 week trip to WDW, so you can do EVERYTHING you want!!! Just think of all the energy you will have and all you can accomplish!

Oh, and Mike, NO ICING FOR YOU!!! Actually, I was quite proud of myself for giving it all away and then throwing the paper plate away before I was tempted to lick it!

 

[Mykelogan]

Thanks, Mike! Can't wait until I am seeing you sharing your story on Oprah! Just be sure you ask for a 2 week trip to WDW, so you can do EVERYTHING you want!!! Just think of all the energy you will have and all you can accomplish!

Oh, and Mike, NO ICING FOR YOU!!! Actually, I was quite proud of myself for giving it all away and then throwing the paper plate away before I was tempted to lick it!

hey Cam!

Two weeks! Oh my I swoon at the thought! hehe Keys to the Kingdom tour, swimming at the Living Seas, being light enough for the Epcot Segway tour! Ooooh heaven!! hehe It is not even funny how just thinking about Disney lights up my face and mood. One of my students just asked why i was so happy, I said "Disney, what else?!" hehe!

Ok, I will skip the icing! But I am having a yummy juicy nectarine later!! I think I might dice it up and layer it in a wine glass with some of my low carb yogurt for a dessert with dinner. Soo yummy!! I did that with fresh cherries the other day. Last night I had some frozen grapes... oohh heaven! hehe

I now return you back to your regularly scheduled journal...

Mike

 

[keenercam]

WOW! Mike, I love the way you think of food! BTW, we have done Keys to the Kingdom and Mickey's Milestones -- both were fabulous! Am still too chicken to do the Segway tour, but maybe someday.

BTW -- I heard something a long time ago that stuck with me and I've expanded on: it was something like enjoy every meal. I think of it more like "make a production of every meal." So, now I embellish food whenever I get a chance, whether it is to cut up onions and add them to a low fat hot dog with mustard, or to cut up lettuce and tomato for a sandwich, add lemon and garlic to broccoli, add mushrooms and onions to a turkey burger, veggies to egg beaters, etc., etc. I just am trying to make the meals as filling and appetizing and time-consuming as possible. Does that make sense? Sort of adding quality rather than quantity. Another thing I have done is to sit at the table with a drink and enjoy the meal for itself, rather than eating it mindlessly in front of the tv or computer. Oh, and one last thing. Make ordinary foods extraordinary, like pouring your yogurt into a bowl and adding cut up fruit or some granola or broken up pretzels. YUM!

 

[goldcupmom]

Wow! Cam you inspire me!

I just finished reading where I left off before my FL trip.

I even got up the nerve in FL to discuss the possiblilty of meeting my nephew (who was a cross country runner in College) to do the 1/2 in 2007. His wife says he's too old for such things - he's all of 34. I'd never be able to run due to my bad ankle, but walk fast I can. I told him I want to do it before I turn 50 (so I have 5 years and 17 days to get off my duff!) My family, however, will just laugh and criticize, but somehow, I will do this. Just mentioning it to someone helped.

In looking at your food, you might talk to your WW leader. There is a chance w/ all your exercise that you aren't getting enough calories and your body is holding on. It has happened to me in the past.

Eventually the scale will move and until then, you are reaping the rewards of your exercise in the way you look and feel.

Just keep on keepin on!

 

[Mykelogan]

Hey Cam,

Well sadly thinking about food so much has a lot to do with ending up in this predicament but i will say as much as I knew how to make all the stuff that was bad for you at home, I do pretty good with the healthier fare too. Last night I made a "hash" for dinner with radishes, green peppers, a little onions, and some diced chorizo. It was yummy!! Then to get in a peanut butter craving I had a small piece of multigrain bread with PB cut up into squares and my frozen grapes. So delish!

I think you are right though about adding quality. I think it is about layering flavors and pleasing our taste buds. I think many of the processed foods we may have overeaten and binged on in the past were really lacking flavor. It is like low quality chocolate versus high quality. I could eat a bag of reese's cups without blinking but give me two pieces of Godiva Chocolate and I am satisfied. So that wedge of lemon in your water, or a squeeze of lime juice at the last moment over your chicken really kicks things up. That is why I only buy the high quality first cold pressed extra virgin olive oil, not only does it taste amazing but it is good for you in moderation. And fresh herbs and spices too, nothing livens up a pasta dish like hand torn basil tossed in at the end. One of my fave pasta sauces is aglio e olio, garlic warmed in good olive oil with crushed red pepper, toss in some good parm cheese (not the green can!) and it is heavenly.

Mmmm... is it lunch time yet? Where's my salad!!! hehehe!

Mike

 

[keenercam]

Mike -- Thanks for all the great food ideas. I am cooking dinner now -- fajita flavored chicken strips stir fried with broccoli. YUM! Lots of flavor!

Only had time for a short walk tonight because I was on chauffeur duty for DS12. Did only 1.35 miles over 23 minutes (about a 17 minute pace -- slow again, but still decent exercise -- this working up a sweat thing is a whole lot easier to do outside on a summer night, rather than in the gym! )

Off to journal my food to see how much I can eat. I am so hungry!

 

[Mykelogan]

Mmmmm chicken and broccoli stirfry... sounds delish! Can I come over?? I haven't made dinner yet (took an unplanned nap! hehe!) and that sounds perfect!

Enjoy!!! I guess I should fire up the George Foreman and get my italian seasoned chicken and portabella mushroom going!

Have a great one Cam!
Mike