Thirty days til goal.

[cclovesdis]

WOW! The whole pizza thing amazed me! You are so right about finding out the points before you go. There have been so many times where I have eaten something, gone home and figured out the points and then have felt so bad about what I ate. You are totally in CONTROL right now and that is incredible!

I do think it feels great when you know that you are able to control your day, your food choices, the exercising and more. I have struggled with it a bit for the past 3 weeks. I am still losing weight but I know I could be doing better. I am hoping that I get to the point where I don't feel the struggle as often and am able to enjoy the feeling of control and satisfaction a bit more.

Keep it up!
Jen

Couldn't have said it any better!

You are doing so well staying in control!

 

[pjlla]

Happy Sunny Sunday morning!

The feeling I have when I wake up after a full day of being ON PLAN and IN CONTROL is GREAT! I don't feel guilt or regret or depression. I was faced with so many eating challenges yesterday and I STILL ended my day within my points range (well... I went over by .5 ).

All of the lovely fresh fruit from Costco smells so yummy today.

Breakfast: hot drink {1 pt}
3 egg whites {1 pt} scrambled with
sauteed red pepper, mushroom, tomato, spinach {0 pt}
1/2 bagel thin, toasted, plain {.5 pt}
1/2 C homemade fruit salad {1 pt}


The plan for the remainder of the day is to make the Cream of Asparagus soup for lunch that someone shared the recipe on over at the BL 9 Challenge thread. Dinner is a big treat. Beef Stroganoff. My Mom has made meals for my freezer for my birthday the last few years (since I HATE to cook). The stroganoff is about the last thing I have left from my birthday last June. I've been saving it (for what??) but I'm afraid if I don't use it soon, it won't be any good. So it is a "go" for tonight. I'll have to try to google to get an idea of points for it... I really have no idea and I don't have the original recipe here. Mom is in Florida and probably doesn't have the recipe with her!

Sunday is my day off of exercise, but I might go for a walk outside later if my neighbor is available to go with me. It is supposed to be another beautiful day here.

More later.................P

 

[pjlla]

Well.... I haven't had a walk and I haven't made it to my scrapbooking table. yet. DH and DD were still asleep so I didn't want to go upstairs and wake them, so I did some photo management on the computer.

I made the asparagus soup for lunch. It is good, but it feels like something is missing... not sure what. DH just went back for seconds, so I guess it must be pretty good! I used about half homemade chicken stock and half canned, so it is a bit more "chickeny" than it would be with just canned stock.
I served DH his with croutons on top.

I am having two servings of the soup and a cup of fruit salad for lunch... I'm trying to save my calories for the beef stroganoff later.

Lunch: 2 servings Cream of Asparagus soup {2 pt}
1 C homemade fruit salad {2 pt}
1 lt. seltzer {0}

BBL..............P

 

[pjlla]

Didn't come back yesterday because I ended up feeling so lousy. I felt a bit "off" during the afternoon....thought it might be a touch of food poisoning or something. Turns out I ended up with a massive migraine last night at dinner time. I made it through Amazing Race with the family, but went straight to bed at that point. The kids were good and tucked themselves in.

Fortunately, I fell asleep fairly quickly and awoke at 5 am with no headache and no migraine hangover feeling.

The nausea from the migraine definitely kept me from overindulging in the cookies that Dd made last night. I had one unbaked before dinner (yum) and one baked cookie after dinner. But truly, I didn't enjoy the second because my head was hurting so bad.... not sure why I even ate it, except that it was "planned" and I didn't want to miss it!

YESTERDAY'S FOOD:

Snack: micro popcorn {2}

**** In translating my food journal here, I see that I counted my cookie dough twice! So I didn't end up using as many Flex points as I thought! WOOHOO!

Dinner: beef stroganoff {4}
1 oz. high fiber pasta {1.5}
sauteed mushrooms in evoo {1}
broccoli (huge portion) {0}

Dessert: 1 unbaked cookie, 1 baked cookie {8}
hot beverage {1}... but I only drank half due to headache.

Total points for Sunday...... 25 (used 5 Flex points)

Exercise: None


Onward for today......

Breakfast: hot beverage {1}
choco. bran muffin {1}
yogurt {2}

packed morning snack: mini Luna bar {1}
1 lt. seltzer

packed lunch: salad greens (baby romaine, baby spinach) {0}
cucumber, carrots {0}
2 Tb. Paul Newman's lowfat Sesame ginger dsg {1}
3 slices Hormel all natural turkey {1}
1 C homemade fruit salad {2}
1 lt. seltzer

DD has swim practice at the Y tonight, so I will be going in for a workout. Not sure what I'll do yet....................P

 

[pjlla]

I'm going to spend some time planning my dinners for this week. HOpefully it will help me plan my eating better, if I know what is coming later in the day. I'll post my menues when they are done.........P

 

[pjlla]

Here are the meals I planned... subject to change, of course...

Monday:

BBQ pulled pork sandwiches (favorite of DD) served on Sandwich Thins
green salad
broccoli

Tuesday:

Baked veggie pasta (sort of like baked ziti, but light on the cheese and loaded with veggies)
fruit salad

Wednesday:

Quiche (light veggie for me, regular for the others)
green salad

Thursday:

Heidi's curried chicken (super light recipe, loaded with fruits/veggies)
brown rice

Friday:

Bisquick Fiesta chicken bake (probably make it with pork so that DS can have it, also make it "light")
Green salad or broccoli

Saturday:

Haven't decided yet. Not sure where we will be due to the swim meet schedule.


ANYHOW.... I'm just realizing that I TOTALLY forgot to pack snacks for after school (DD and I go directly to the Y). Guess it will be a stop at Dunkin Donuts. Hopefully I can make due with a small light latte (1 pt).... not much else there that I can eat for under 6 points!! No place else to stop between here and there, other than the convenience store (no healthy choices there!!). It is RARE that I forget.....WAIT.... I just remembered that I have a few snack bars in my lunch bag! I've got a FiberOne and a Slimfast snack bar and a few others. I guess DD and I will make due with those. Maybe a small black coffee too?? Hopefully DD won't be ravenous, but she usually is.

I only need to buy Bisquick and celery and I have everything else I need for this week's dinners. .........................P

Just realized I also have the makings for a cup of tea and a pack of microwave popcorn in my bag! It's like a magic bag! I think we will be all set!.................P

 

[pjlla]

Afternoon snack: Snack bar {1 pt}
small light latte {1 pt}

Dinner: Sandwich Thin {1 pt}
BBQ pork {4 pt}
baked chips {2 pt}
seltzer {0}

Dessert: decaf w/skim milk {0}
Skinny Cow ice cream sandwich {3 pt}

Total points for today: 21 points

Exercise: 40 minute/4 mi run
5 minute stretch


I bought the Bisquick and celery I needed for this week's menu, so I should be all set! It is a good feeling having dinners planned for the week. I should do it more often than I do.

Home tomorrow, since there is no school. Not sure what I'll do............P

ETA: I had planned salad and broccoli to go with the sandwiches, but DD and I ended up eating our sandwiches on the run between swim and Rainbow Girls, so DH was alone with the salad and no one had broccoli. Oh well.

 

[jenanderson]

Looks like you are doing great right now! I love how you planned everything out and are recording everything! I need to take a lesson from you and take a closer look at my food plans and intake. It is so inspiring seeing how you are getting it done!

Hope you have a great day today!
Jen

 

[pjlla]

I haven't had much time to be on here today, but I will update quickly here before I have to dash to the Y.

Breakfast: tea {0}
3 egg whites {1} scrambled with
sauteed mushrooms and spinach {0}
1 C homemade fruit cup {2}

Lunch: large salad (baby spinach, romaine, tomato, cuke, carrot) {0}
Kraft fat free russian dsg, 2 Tb. {1}
Tortilla wrap {1}
1 svg. Hormel all natural turkey {1}
1 tsp. Dijonnaise mustard {0}
1 lt. seltzer

Snack: cookie dough {4}

Dinner: Baked veggie ziti ...
2 oz. high fiber pasta {3}
1 oz. mozzarella {2}
diced tomatoes, bit of sauce, veggies {0}
1 C homemade fruit salad {2}

Exercise (so far): 100 minutes of brisk walking, including big hills

Well, that is where I am so far with my day. Kids had the day off from school, so DD and I spent some time watching a "chick flick" and just hanging out. Got nothing of importance done.... no housework, no scrapbooking... just my exercise and dinner made... I guess that will have to do!!

I've gotta dash so we can eat before DD and head to the YMCA tonight. I'm looking forward to my dinner. It smells good! And a large portion for just 5 points! YUM.....................P

 

[pjlla]

Good Morning!

I ended up with a CRAZY 195 minutes of exercise done yesterday. And I am not the least bit sore today!! I walked 100 minutes in the morning with a friend (6 miles with lots of hills). Then at the Y I did 15 minutes on the elliptical, 30 minute circuit class, 30 minutes of circuit training on my own, and 20 PUMPING minutes on the bike! I was super proud of myself.

My points changed a bit last night....

I only ended up eating a portion of the ziti, so I counted it for 4 pts... and I only had 1/2 C of the fruit salad.

Tuesday evening snack: chamomile tea {0}
choco. bran muffin (1}

TOTAL POINTS FOR TUESDAY: 16

I ended the day at 16 points... probably too low, considering how many minutes I exercised, but I am trying to "shake up" my points a bit and mix some low days and high days to get things moving. Hopefully it will work. Today will be a high day (20-22 points).

Wednesday:

Breakfast: hot drink {1}
bagel thin {1}
1 TB. (measured) Better N' PB {1}
1 C fruit salad (2}

(I almost NEVER eat that many points for breakfast.... rarely more than 4.)

Lunch and dinner not planned yet.

I am SUPER excited to report I have just booked a Mother/Son long weekend trip to WDW for May. Mickey Mouse, here we come!!

I'm off to get some laundry and housework done. Coaching Robotics later and DD has swim, so it will be a busy day...............P

 

[pjlla]

Time to play catch up.....


Wed. afternoon snack: mini Luna bar {1}
pretzels {1}
seltzer {0}

Wed. dinner: egg whites {2} scrambled with
sauteed onion, pepper, spinach, tomato {0} topped with
28 g (measured) shredded light cheese {2}
toasted bagel thin {1}
hot drink {1}

Wed. evening snack: Skinny cow ice cream sandwich {3} made into a sundae
with a bit of caramel and marshmallow topping {1}
mini bag of M&M {1}

Total points for Wed: 23

Exercise for Wednesday: 60 minutes of WATP with ankle weights, weight belt, and wrist/hand weights for entire duration!

Now for today.....

Breakfast: hot drink {1}
choco. bran muffin {1}
Go Lean hot cereal {2}

Lunch: Salad (baby spinach, tomato, cuke, pepper carrot) {0}
2 Tb. (measured) Paul Newman's lowfat organic Asian dsg. {1}
1 svg. Hormel all natural turkey {1}
Sandwich thin {1}
tsp. Dijonnaise mustard {0}
1 lt. seltzer {0}

Snack: chamomile tea with Splenda {0}
1 svg. mango {1}


I'm trying to stay under 18 points today (because of weigh-in tomorrow), so I shouldn't have had 4 pts for breakfast... but fortunately the dinner I have planned is very low point and filling, so I should be good there. Need to leave myself a few points for a snack to have during Survivor!

Exercise so far today is just 10 minute brisk walk... but I have a circuit class at the Y tonight, so I will definitely get in my minimum of 60 today.

I'm kind of excited about weigh-in tomorrow.... I hope I am not setting myself up for a big disappointment. I've had such a great week and have been DILIGENT about counting every point and getting in plenty of exercise. I will be honest and say I expect a 2 pound loss... but honestly, I'm not feeling it in my body right now. I'll keep my fingers crossed for the best though. I haven't had any sneak peeks at the scale so it will be a surprise, no matter what. I'll be back later to update my exercise and dinner points.......P

 

[pjlla]

Happy Friday morning! The scale was a bit flukey this morning. My first weigh-in about 30 minutes after rising showed BARELY a loss... I was CRUSHED. But I decided to reweigh in a little while. I weighed again after my workout (showed about a 2.4 loss) and again after my shower (fluctuated between a 2 lb loss and a 3 lb loss ). I am sticking the the median number and going with a 2 lb. loss. Maybe I need a new battery in the scale??

Anyhow, 2 pounds is the MINIMUM I was hoping for, so I am satisfied but not ecstatic. These last 8 pounds just don't want to go away! But considering my exercise schedule this past week, I'm wondering if I haven't been eating enough. I don't think I used all my Flex points and I NEVER count activity points, so maybe that is the problem

Anyhooooo.. I'll catch things up here...

Thurday dinner: 1/2 C (measured) brown rice {2}
1 C (measured) curried chicken{2}
1 lt. seltzer {0}

Evening snack: hot drink {1}
choco. bran muffin {1}
1 Tb. (measured) Better N' Peanut Butter {1}

Total points for Thursday: 15

Exercise for Thursday: 80 minutes


Friday breakfast: hot drink {1}
bagel thin {1}
1 Tb. (measured) Better N' pb {1}
grape fruit {1}

Exercise for today: 60 minutes, (probably done for the day)

I've gotten dishes, laundry, etc done so far, so I am heading to the scrapbooking table!! .............P

 

[pjlla]

Just posted "before" and "after" pictures on the BL challenge thread and BOY was that scary!!


Lunch: steamed broccoli {0}
LC egg roll and rice {6}
1 lt. seltzer {0}

I don't eat Lean Cuisines very often, but in checking the freezer for something for dinner, I noticed my overabundance of LC and WW meals, so I figured I'd have one for lunch. It was tasty, but took forever in my so-slow microwave.

For dinner, as I mentioned earlier in the week, I am making a Bisquick recipe "Fiesta Salsa Chicken Bake" (or something like that), but in lieu of the chicken I am using Morning Star Farms "grillers" soy burgers. I'm going to chop them up and use them plus a can of black beans instead of the chicken, because of DS's chicken allergy. I've never eaten the Grillers before, but had a box in the freezer (must have had a coupon one day ) and I was very surprised to find that they have 9 grams of fat per burger! Waaay too much... won't buy those again! I'll have to really watch my portion tonight at dinner.

Sometimes we splurge on pizza on Friday nights, but I am saving it for Sunday night, since DD and I have to leave the house at about 4:30 am to arrive at Harvard before 7 am for a swim meet that day! And this is with changing the clocks that night ! I figure by Sunday night I will NEED to feed my family a take-out meal just to keep me sane!

Will try to get a bit more scrapping in before the kids get home!......P

 

[pjlla]

Friday afternoon snack: choco. bran muffin {1
tea {0}
dried fruit {2}


Friday dinner: Fiesta Salsa bake 1.5 svgs {9}
broccoli {0}


Dessert: Scoop of regular ice cream {5}
2 Tb. marshmallow sauce {2}

Total points for Friday: 29 (used 9 Flex points)

Doing this from memory, since my journal is downstairs.

Good Saturday morning! I've just got time to say "hi" as I just called a friend and we are walking at 10 am! I need to get dressed and feed the family some breakfast! It was so nice to sleep in this morning. I'll try to remember this feeling tomorrow when I have to leave the house at 5am and drive to Harvard!

BBL to post today's food and exercise....................P

 

[pjlla]

Breakfast: 3 egg whites {1} scrambled with
sauteed tomato and spinach {0}
few ounces Vedge juice {0}

Lunch: cup of leftover crm of asparagus soup {1}
1/2 C leftover brown rice {2}
small portion leftover curried chicken {1}
1 lt. seltzer {0}

Exercise for Saturday: 100 minutes of walking (7 mi) ............P

 

[cclovesdis]

Way to go gettiing all that exercise in! You are doing great! Congrats on the 2 pound loss!

 

[pjlla]

Way to go gettiing all that exercise in! You are doing great! Congrats on the 2 pound loss!

Thanks for your encouragement. I'm going to need it this week!

Time to play catch up!! I've been away and busy and have had no time to be here on the DIS unfortunately.

This will have to be from memory, since my journal isn't handy...


SUNDAY:

Breakfast: (at Dunkin Donuts on our way to swim meet at Harvard)

large light latte {3} (needed the caffeine at 5 am)
veggie eggwhite flatbread (minus 1 pc of the bread) {5}

Snacks: mango pieces {1}
carrots/orange bell pepper strips {0}
1 lt. seltzer {0}

Lunch: (Italian restaurant in Harvard Square, 2pm)

Small salad with arugula, goat cheese, walnuts, pear, vinagrette {estimated it to be about 4 pts}
water {0}

Snacks: (car ride home)
dried fruit {3}
Frosted mini-wheat {2}
decaf coffee (trying to stay awake) {0}

Dinner:
thin crust veggie pizza (Pizza Hut)
Sweet potato chips
handful of girl scout thin mints

Not sure how many points I figured dinner to be... but I figured I used all of my 35 Flex points for the week between Friday night's ice cream and this dinner. So I will have to stay strictly on plan for the week.

Monday:

Breakfast (after orthodontist appointment):

Small light latte {1}
Fiberone Bar {2}

Lunch:

Carrot/bell pepper strips {0}
Progresso soup (entire can) {3}
2 Wasa crackers {1}
LC cheese wedge {1}
salsa {0}
1 lt. seltzer {0}

Snack:
tea {0}
dried fruit{1}

Dinner:

small scoop of bbq pork {1}
small handful baked Lay's {1}
Sushi {6}
1 lt. seltzer {0}

Snack:

Decaf with skim {0}

Dessert:

hot drink {1}
choco. bran muffin {1}
1 Tb. Better N' PB

TOTAL POINTS for Monday: 20

Exercise: 45 minutes on TM (ran 5K in 30.45)


TUESDAY:

Breakfast:
3 egg whites {1} scrambled with
sauteed peppers/spinach {0}
decaf tea {0}
100 cal english muffin {1}
ICBINB spray {0}

That is all so far!..................P

 

[pjlla]

Lunch:
2 servings of tomato soup made with part milk/part water {3.5}
2 Wasa crackers {1}
LC cheese wedge {1}
1 lt. seltzer {0}


Snack:
hot drink {1}

Dinner:
2 Boca vegetarian burgers {2}
1 Sandwich thin {1}
1 tsp. (measured) Dijonnaise mustard {0}
spinach {0}
1 lt. seltzer {0}

Probably have a bit more dinner later when I get back from the Y.....P

 

[cclovesdis]

Your dinner tonight sounds delicious!

 

[pjlla]

Your dinner tonight sounds delicious!

It was... thanks! I used to love the original veggie GardenBurgers, but for some reason Shaw's doesn't carry Gardenburger brand any more. I bought the Boca burger original veggie burgers for DS because they don't have much in the way of allergens, but I tried the last night myself and they were very yummy!!

I'll be back later to update my journal!.................P