Weight Watchers Weigh In: Week 45

Another week. Another weigh in.

I am -2.8 pounds for the week.

Things I've learned this week:

1.  The human body is amazing.  As is the brain.
2.  The Whole30 is really hard.
3.  My dog sleeps an awful lot.

#1 is a 2-parter.

First the body:

I've been going to physical therapy the past couple of weeks.  Since March, I've had what, at times, feels like a debilitating pain in my hips and pelvic bones.  Well, I know now that is where the pain was coming from but it took 2 specialists, 2 medical guesses, and months of online research from yours truly to find the right person who could point me in the right direction.  Anyway, I went yesterday and she had to put my pelvic bones back into place.  Seriously.  This is why I say the human body is amazing.  I mean, yeah, it can do that whole Wolverine healing thing, but have one tiny little thing out of place and it feels like you're dying.  She had to rotate and pull my hips back into alignment.  Yes, this was as painful as you'd think.  However, the moment she was done, I immediately noticed that pain was gone.  And not just pain in my hips, back pain, and neck pain too.  However, it will take daily exercises and me keeping my hips in place to keep the pain away.

Now the brain:

That sucker is one powerful thing.  It doesn't matter how strong you are physically, the brain is always stronger.

Which leads me to #2.

The brain is why the Whole30 is hard.  As you know, I've been doing my Whole30.  Today is Day #18 and I'm still going strong with keeping to the rules.  But it's not easy.  My brain is rebelling.  I'm starting to think I know what addicts feel like.  And it's sugar.  I'm positive it's the sugar.  My brain is telling me that I want it.  And it's telling me I want it like I've never wanted it before in the form of foods I've never really wanted before.  I feel like a 2 year old.  I've told myself "No, you can't have it" - therefore, that's all I want.  Honestly, it's the most annoying feeling on earth.  It's not painful or anything.  It's just this mind numbing thought that sits there in the forefront of my mind on a daily basis.  And it won't go away.  Or at least it feels like it won't go away.  Now, I'm not trying to deter anybody from trying a Whole30 or from a leading healthier life, I'm just telling you how my week has been.  From what I've read online in forums, this feeling takes some time to go away.  And it's this feeling that makes or breaks someone during these 30 days.  Don't worry, it's not going to break me.  It's just really freaking annoying.

And #3.

My dog.  Seriously, it's like all day every day.

And that's what I've learned this week.  For some positive notes on these things, my physical therapy, while painful, is helping.  More than anything it offered me mental relief to know what was going on with me.  The Whole30, while also painful, is providing some serious results in both myself and my boyfriend.  My body shape is changing in a good way.  I put on a bathing suit last night to see if I could notice anything and I was very pleased with myself.  It looked like I had been crazy working out (hint:  I haven't).  I wasn't all muscular or anything I just looked more toned if that's possible.   I won't even get started on my boyfriend.  It's like every day his body is changing.  Like turning into hot guy on the beach changing.  Yes, I hate him for it.  I hate all males for that ability.  But I'm happy for him because he works really, really hard.  He works out hard, he eats what I make him and he is committed to do this with me because I need the support.  Also, it's motivating.  And finally, my dog.  I don't care if she sleeps.  She's the light of my life.

What I did this week:

1.  I earned about 3 AP.  I made my house sitting plan and I tried to follow it.  I just was not prepared for the lack of sleep that I was getting.  My last night there, I was so determined to workout that I got in my one (and only) workout.  It was a GREAT workout but I was in so much pain the next day at work.  Not muscle pain but pain from the sleep deprivation.  That workout was Wednesday night.  I got home Thursday, went to bed as early as possible and here we are.  I gave myself permission to take today off as well because I feel like I need it.  Seriously, if I agree to house sit for them again someone hit me in my head.  I was miserable the whole time.  Maybe that's why I found my cravings extra hard this week.  Makes sense.

2.  I ate 187 points plus.  Again, off my pace of 200 points for the week but I ate until I was full every time.  I promise.

3.  Water.  Still good here.  The key is to take my "sippy cup" with me everywhere.  I forgot it when I went to house sit and so my first day there I couldn't figure out why I felt so bad.  It was because I hadn't had enough water.  I promptly corrected it.  I never thought I would get to a point where I love my water.  Apparently it's happened.

4.  What I ate:  sticking hard and fast to the Whole30 rules.  I eat meats, vegetables (no white potatoes), no sugar of any kind (or artificial substitute), and fruit.  I made a vegetable quiche like thing for breakfast.  A wonderful vegetable soup with ground beef.  Had some sashimi (I do miss regular sushi).  Eggs and bacon made an appearance and so did some watermelon.  Here's the thing, I might be having a hard time with my brain telling me I want sugar, but the food I'm eating is super good.  And while I'm eating it, I'm enjoying every moment immensely.  It's just in those "quiet times" that it gets tough.

And that's it for this week.

Have a great weekend!!!!!!!!

Weight Watchers Weigh In: Week 44

It's that special, precious time again.

It's Friday.

Man I love Friday.

So lets kick off this post with the weigh-in.

Drumroll please ....

Weigh-In: +0.8

Oh fluctuation weight loss how I love thee.  I feel amazing today ladies and gentlemen.  My clothes are hanging just a tad, I woke up pretty easy today, and I feel like I am going to have a kick-ass weekend.

Good times.

What I Did:

1.  I earned about 12 AP.  I did four of my Jillian Michaels workouts (my workout week started Saturday the 13th so I still have one workout to go for "the week")  They were:  30 Day Shred, Ripped in 30, No More Trouble Zones, and 6 week Six Pack.  Tonight will be my fifth workout and it will be Banish Fat Boost Metabolism.  Haven't done this one before so I'm excited!

2.  I ate 199 points plus.  (note:  I never eat my AP or even account for them online.)  I usually shoot for around 205-210 so I was under for the week but I wasn't hungry.  Everything I've been eating has been so filling.  I don't know if this is a good or bad thing yet.

3.  I still am doing well with my water.  In fact, I feel worse when I don't drink enough!  You know what that is?  That's called progress.

4.  What did I eat?  I'm still doing my Whole30 and today is day 11 - so I'm still sticking to proteins, vegetables, fruits, nuts, and healthy oils.  If you check out my Whole30 update you'll see specifically some of the stuff I've been eating.  But so far this week I've made:  tomato soup, hamburger mushroom stroganoff, and a really awesome breakfast casserole.  And I've been indulging in apples, watermelon, baby carrots, almonds and sunflower seeds.  I can say that YES I do have moments where I would like to eat candy or even just a side of rice but all in all, it's not too bad.  The feeling crazy good part is a pretty nice reward to sticking with it.

This weekend is going to be yet another challenging experience.  Starting Saturday, I've agreed to house sit for a friend who lives on the other side of Los Angeles.   It's always hard not to be in my own home w/ my own kitchen and have all my lovely cooking utensils and appliances but I'll manage.  I'll just adjust my menu to not require any super fancy kitchen stuff.  

I also have to account for working out over there since I'll be there for the next 5 days.  Thankfully Jillian doesn't require much in terms of equipment so I'll just grab my yoga mat and some dumbbells and be done with it.  If I have time tonight, I'm going to rip all of my DVDs onto my ipad - that will save me having to lug my laptop around as well.

And the silver lining in this house-sitting debacle, they have a washer and dryer in their home.  I am not fortunate to have one in my apartment, so I will be fully enjoying the luxury whilst I'm there.

And that's it for me.

I hope you all have a fun filled weekend.  I plan on hitting the beach, doing some laundry, cooking up some awesome food, working out, and hopefully some relaxing.

Coming up:
I still haven't posted my starting pics and measurements so that's coming soon.  I think I will do it at the 3 week (or so) mark so I can put up some comparison photos and numbers too.  These days the numbers on the scale don't get me nearly as excited as the numbers on my tape measure going down so here's hoping.
 

Weight Watchers Weigh In: Week 43

Happy Friday everyone!!

I trust everyone had a fantastic week.  Since I had the day off of work on Monday I had a short work week therefor my week was very awesome.

Now lets get down to business - since I did not weigh in last Friday my report today will be the difference between week 41 and today.

Drum-roll please ....

Weigh In:  -0.6 pounds

hoorah!!

The last we met, I had mentioned a sneak peek at my scale revealed a larger than usual gain.  And I believe the number I reported was 7 pounds.  Well look at what I did with some crazy clean eating.  I was able to offset my awesome holiday weekend bloat AND edge in a loss for the week!  

What did I do exactly?

Lets take a look shall we?

1.  I earned 0.5 AP.  :)  I did that one 5 minute workout over the holiday weekend.  Don't worry.  I have a big exercise post coming up either tonight or tomorrow.

2.  I don't know my total points for the week because I did not track Friday thru Monday.  However, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday I ate around 26-28 points per day.

3.  My water started slipping just a bit but I picked it up by the end of the week. 

4.  What did I eat?  Well starting July 4th  and thru the weekend, I loosened my reigns and splurged a little.  Or maybe a lot would be a better word for it.  Yes, I'm definitely going with a lot.  I ate out at restaurants, I ate at barbecues, I had plenty of cocktails.  Some of the food was what I usually eat, however, MOST of it was not.   A few examples:  I had doritos, Baskin Robbins ice cream, and candy bars at the movie theater!! I even had fast food for the first time this year during that time frame.  I had a Big Mac and guess what?  While I was eating it I made note to my boyfriend that while it was REALLY good, I didn't think it was THAT much better than the version I created.  I was pretty happy about that discovery.  That being said, McDonald's french fries are awesome and I bow to their greatness.  (Sidenote:  This fast food item was the LAST thing I ate before I took that "sneak peek" at the scale and that's why I was not too shocked to see that 7 pound swing - - hello sodium bloat!).  The bad food pretty much made up my menu Friday - Monday.  Then I started my Whole30 Tuesday.  And then I made:  pan fried salmon with peach salsa, balsamic marinated skirt steak with zucchini and mushrooms, creamy chicken and artichoke soup (this was my version of the one served at the Cheesecake Factory - just a tip:  if you ever go to Cheesecake Factory and the soup of the day is their chicken and artichoke soup, get it.  you won't regret it).  My version is dairy free, sugar free, and grain free to meet my Whole30 requirements - and STILL was so amazing.  The boyfriend even made it his #1 favorite soup that I've made thus far.  :)  What else?  I also made a sweet potato hash with italian sausage and quiche muffins.  All of my dishes complied with my Whole30 rules and were pretty awesome.

 So a pretty good week.

I'm still on my Whole30.  Today is day #4.  I've had a few sugar cravings but nothing I can't handle.  Really the only thing I keep thinking about are Milky Way candy bars.  Which is odd because I don't really eat them.  Ever.

Have a great weekend!!

Today's Menu:
B: sweet potato hash + italian sausage
L: chicken and artichoke soup
D: balsamic steak + zucchini + mushrooms + apple (for dessert)

Weight Watchers Weigh In: Week 40

Weigh In: +1.8 pounds

I'm late again!  I had an amazing week and weekend and I'm already looking forward to Friday.

So I ate a lot of food, got in some great workouts, and gained a few pounds.  I was expecting the gain so I'm not too surprised or shocked.  Actually my last post was a huge motivator for myself and things feel pretty good right now.

Lets hope it lasts ;)

But seriously, I really do feel like I'm in a good head space and I'm excited for things to come.

Lets talk about this past week:

What I did:

1.  I earned 9 AP.  Yikes - that means only TWO Ripped in 30 workouts.

2.  I ate 297 points.  Well I do believe that might be a record.  Or at least the most I've eaten in a given week this year.

3.  I was on course with my water (whew!!  I at least hit one of my goals!!)

4.  What I ate.  Lets see.  I discovered yet another restaurant that offers up what I now to consider to be my favorite gluten free pizza - Zach's.  So kids, if you're in the Los Angeles area, give it a try.  While it's a wonderful discovery, I ate it twice.  Sometimes twice is a little hard on the points bank.  I went to a local Mexican restaurant and shared some wonderful nachos with some amazing friends ... also twice ;)  Along with those nachos, I had some fine cocktails (helloooo points!).  However, it was an amazing time and I'm so happy I went.  I went to a work party to hob-knob with my clients and again spent some points on cocktails.  Man, to be honest, it's easy to spend points when a single beer costs as much as 5-6 points.  Moving on.  I also made a really great beef stew in my crock pot, a lovely ham, and a simple bowl of spaghetti.  There were other little things but those were probably the big ticket items.

It was a great week.  I was busy almost every single day, had some really great times with my friends.  And the work party wasn't so bad either!  Yes, I indulged, but I'm happy.  I'm back on my horse and looking forward to this week.  I feel like I took a mini vacation from myself!  Whatever it was, I woke up refreshed yesterday and ready to get back in the game.

Tonight will be my 10th workout for Level/Workout #1 of Ripped in 30.  I didn't stick to my 5 day/week schedule like I had planned.  Actually it took me 19 days to get in 10 workouts.  My bad.  As I was doing my workout yesterday (which was AMAZING), I made a mental note to pay more attention and be better about scheduling my workouts.  I really want to see some progress with this program.  It's much harder than the 30 Day Shred so I think I could achieve amazing results.  I just need to put in a little more effort.  So that's my main goal for the rest of this week and the weeks to come.

Today's Menu:
B:  coffee / sunflower seeds
L:  sweet potato noodles + veggies + chicken
D:  bacon, lettuce, tomato sandwiches

Weight Watchers Weigh In: Week 39

WEIGH IN:  +3.6 (from my weigh in on Friday the 14th)

Can someone say Yo-Yo?

Actually, I'm not in a yo-yo spin, I'm in a hormonal spin.  That's all I can figure.  As I said last week, I went off my hormonal birth control which can cause an array of side effects.  The one I was most worried about was weight gain.  I took to the internet to see how prominent it was and apparently it is quite common.

Here's the thing.  I don't think I'm gaining weight just because I went off birth control.  I am definitely gaining weight due to eating too much of the wrong things.  My cravings have come out of nowhere and it's been a battle.  And the only thing that has changed in my life is stopping my birth control.  And while I'm not 100% sure, it makes the most sense to me.  I mean, come on, it's hormones.

Since this year began and I changed my diet I've been so proud of how much control I've had over my eating.  You guys all know that I have a rough time when it comes to food and food control and I've had clear control of it this whole year.

Until I went off birth control.

I now know why all of these women are on the message boards asking for help in losing weight.  I seriously feel like I'm having PMS all the time.  

Anyway, the point is, it's something I'm going to have to work on/figure out/battle.  And battle I shall.

What I did this week:

1.  I earned about 10 AP.  I did three Ripped in 30 workouts.  I'm continuing to aim for five per week.

2.  I ate 231 points.  My goal every week is around the 210 mark (+/- 5 points).  While I didn't go over my given points for the week (daily + weekly), I did NOT eat the most wholesome foods.  Wait for #4, you'll see what I mean.

3.  Water = great!

4.  What I ate.  First the good:  potato and leek soup, deviled eggs, apricot ham, sushi and homemade larabars.  And the bad:  went out to eat TWICE.  I stuck to my allergen list and even split meals with my boyfriend.  It was still just not in my best interest weight loss wise.  We had Mexican (think chips and salsa) one night and then went to a regular Americana restaurant and split a chicken dish.  Also these were regular restaurants and I know that allergens snuck into my dishes which isn't in MY best interest (I get inflamed, bloated, and sick when this happens).  In addition, I found some gluten free, organic blah blah blah cheese puffs (NO NO NO).  Note to self:  you have no control over these things.  What else?  My cravings tended to be more carb related so I also made some Thai noodles and macaroni and cheese on two separate occasions.  These are very heavy dishes.  I think I literally weighed myself down this week by eating too many carbs.  When I say too many carbs I mean too many carbs for me :)

And to give you a peak into the week we're in.  It's still an on going battle.  In fact, it's worse.  I think that's why I've put off writing this post because I'm struggling.  The current week we're in isn't going any better than last week.  The scale keeps going up and the cravings continue. Part of me has been waiting for things to "regulate" and go away on their own.  But I've now realized I will have to make a conscious effort to take control of things.  So that's where I'm at right now. 

But here's the thing.

Messing up doesn't mean I've messed everything up.  It just means I've learned something new.  It also means I'm human and sometimes it's nice to be reminded of that.  I don't have to be perfect at this process because being perfect is impossible.  I just have to be present at all times in order to make the best decisions for me.

And right now the best decision for me is to take my diet down to the basics.  I'm going to be tightening up my food choices in an effort to try to help get my body back to normal.  I really believe that food is one way I can help get my hormones back on track.  And regardless of hormones, I just feel better when I'm eating crazy clean.

I'm going to continue to eat gluten, dairy and soy free but I need to tighten up the reigns on it.  That means eating out needs to be at specific places (hello Hugo's) or not at all.  I'm also going to cut out my beloved Kettle Chips.  Just for a little bit.  Just until I have a handle on things.  I also am going to cut out sugar.  I've allowed myself dark chocolate and dairy free ice cream on several occasions and I think with my cravings in full swing it's probably best to not "feed the beast" by eating unnecessary sugar.  And lastly, carbs.  I don't believe carbohydrates are the devil or that you shouldn't eat them.  I just know I'm carb sensitive and need to watch my servings and so I'm going to go back to eating grains (gluten free pasta, rice, and any baked good I make like pizza) on the weekends only.  Don't worry, during the week I allow myself plenty of carbs in the form of vegetables or fruit.

And that's the plan.

Wish me luck.

Weight Watchers Weigh In: Week 38

Oh man.  This week felt sooooo long.  It always happens after a shortened week/long weekend.  If only every weekend were a 3 day weekend.

That reminds me, I still have 5 days of vacation that I haven't used yet, I should just use them for a month's worth of 3 day weekends.

Sounds like a plan to me.

Today's WI:  -3.6

Yeah, what I put on last week, I took back off.  I was surprised when I got on the scale this morning.  I knew it was going to be a loss but I was so happy to see that it all came right back off.  WHEW!

Crisis averted.

That means in 2013 I've lost:

Total Pounds:  -14.0
Total Inches: -13.5"

Crazy!  I'm so proud of myself.  I'm also extremely happy that I have hopefully found something that works for me.  Trust me, it was a long time coming.

WEEKLY ROUND-UP:

1.  I earned around 9 AP.  I did one 30 Day Shred workout and two Ripped in 30 workouts.  This was due to lack of sleep which I'll discuss later.

2.  I ate 203 points.  I usually try to hit for 215 but again, the lack of sleep meant I ate a little less.  I really want to try to do 215 again because I don't feel like 203 is enough.  Especially since I do not count or eat any of my AP.

3.  I got back on the water horse again.  I truly have become a fan of this stuff.  I don't really drink anything other than water anymore.  I've been on a coffee break for the last few months which I'll continue for the time being.  The last time I took a break from coffee, I went without caffeine of any form for 3 years!!  I wonder how long this one will last.  I will, however, have the occasional herbal tea when I need something warm.

4.  What I ate?  The menu this week was quite good.  I made homemade larabars, southwest salad with chicken, steak with peppers and onions + cole slaw, and eggs with vegetable hashbrown casserole.  And that's it!!  I'm kidding.  I also had sushi.  But only once!  Oh, and I had some kettle potato chips over the weekend.  Seriously love those things.

I've been having a hard time with sleep lately.  My boyfriend works nights and I've gotten into the bad habit of staying up too late to see him.  It is hard when we only get to see each other on the weekends, but I have to get out of this cycle.  I end up working out around 11pm then going to bed around 3am just to get up at 7:30am ish to go to work.  I've been doing this for over a month now and I think my body is trying to tell me "NO MORE!".  I purposefully did not do 2 of my workouts this past week because it got to be too late and I knew I needed the sleep more than I needed the workout.  I'm hoping that I can slowly get myself back to my regular schedule.

Today's Menu:
B:  homemade larabar
L:  eggs + hashbrowns
D:  steak + salad

Ripped in 30: Week 1 / Day 1

After successfully completing the 30 Day Shred Saturday, I decided not to waste any time and the next day I jumped right into:

Ripped in 30:

Yes, another Jillian Michaels program.  Again, I'm a huge fan for a couple of reasons.  

1.  They are NOT time consuming.  The 30 Day Shred workouts clock in at just around 25 minutes and these are just right at the 30 minute mark.  When I did p90x last year, I swear, it felt like my life revolved around working out.  The workouts were a minimum of one hour and up to 90 minutes in length.  That's a lot of time to carve out of an already busy life. 

2.  I really like the 3-2-1 circuit format.  That's 3 minutes of strength, 2 minutes of cardio, 1 minute of abs.  Just when you think you can't do a move for a second longer, BOOM!, she moves on.

3.  I got results with the 30 Day Shred so why mess with a good thing right?

This program differs from the 30 Day Shred in the smallest of ways.  The overall length of the workouts are a bit longer but that's only due to a longer warm-up and cool-down.  And since those are the easiest parts of the workout, it's not noticeable at all.  Also, instead of doing just 2 exercises for the 3 minutes of strength, she now has you doing 3 exercises.  I really like this change as some of those strength poses in the 30DS were grueling and hard to perform properly for so long.  And lastly, instead of doing 3 Levels for 10 days a piece, this one is 5-6 workouts per week with a total of four levels.  It's technically not truly 30 days but you get the picture.

So just a couple of changes but nothing too complicated.

My Day 1 was Sunday and I made just one tweak.  Instead of doing 5-6 workouts per week for 4 weeks, I'm going to perform each level 5-6 times per week for a total of 10 workouts per level.  So my program will actually have 40 workouts total and could actually take me up 8 weeks to finish.

Week 1 / Day 1:

I burned 285 calories according to my HRM.

My initial thought was this is much harder than the 30 Day Shred.  The moves are intense and targeted and I loved them.  I actually had to "march it out" just to catch my breath a few times. She didn't offer as many beginner movements in the exercises.  In fact, she even mentions this.  I didn't mind though.  It's not too hard to figure out how to modify a move if you need to.   It moved just as quickly as the 30DS and before I knew it, I was done.  The next day I had a bit of soreness but nothing I couldn't handle. 

I'm excited to see what kind of results I get out of this one.

As far as eating goes, I'll be continuing to follow my diet of whole foods, no gluten, no soy, no dairy, minimal eggs  (all 4 due to food intolerance) and minimal sugar.  I'll also continue to count my points using Weight Watchers and try to stick to around 215 points per week (I do not eat my Activity Points).

Starting measurements and pics:

Ripped in 30

Day 1:

Chest:  39"
Ribs:    31.75"
Waist:  32.5"
Hips:    40.25"
Belly Button:  34"
Upper Thigh:  22.75"
Leg @ Knee:  17"
Left Arm:  11.5"


Day 1 photos:

Wish me luck!!

Weight Watchers Weigh In: Week 37

Ahoy!

So I'm just going to get right into the thick of things.

Weigh-In:  +3.6 pounds

Where do I start?

Ah yes, Memorial Weekend.

Mine started last Friday.  I went to work that day as usual, and 2 hours in, my superior decided that I had worked enough and should start my holiday weekend super early!

SCORE!!

So, I went home and the fun began.

Actually, I took a nap because I was super tired.  After my nap, I had this surge of energy and I decided to clean my apartment.  Not just clean it, SUPER CLEAN it.  I even scrubbed my baseboards if that tells you anything.  And while I was cleaning, I was trying my hand at a new pizza crust recipe.  It has a 4 hour rise time, so while I waited for it to be done, I cleaned.

How's that for multitasking?

I was even able to get in my 30 Day Shred workout while it was cooking.  So when my boyfriend got home from work, the pizza was done and we ate it.

ALL OF IT.  I usually don't finish all of my portion but I guess all that cleaning really ramped up my appetite.  In any case, I ate too much.  I could tell.

It was good but it definitely has the potential to be GREAT.  I need to tweak the recipe a little and this might end up being my go to Gluten Free, Dairy Free, Egg Free crust recipe.

So that was my Friday.

Did I mention that my boyfriend's birthday also falls on Memorial Weekend?

Well, it does.  And I knew I should have made myself a Memorial Weekend Plan.  I even made a mental note to blog one for myself because I had this sneaking suspicion that it was going to be needed.  But I didn't.  I wish I had.

Anyway, Saturday we went out to celebrate his birthday.  We had dinner and saw Fast 6.  We ate at Hugo's (again) and then followed with some diet appropriate desserts.  It was great but again, I ate too much.  You see, it doesn't matter how well you eat, the volume still counts.

CURSE YOU CALORIES!

Sunday was his actual birthday party.  It was a pool party/barbeque at a friend's house.  There was TONS of food.  I couldn't eat most of it due to my food intolerance but I pushed the limit on it.  I had some corn chips and some of this creamy chicken dip.  Actually, it's a recipe I used to make quite often so I knew exactly what was in it.  It did have dairy in it and dairy is one of those food I need to stay away from.  I can tolerate it in small amounts but overall I usually just feel better if I stay away.  Gluten I can't have at all but dairy ... I like to press my luck with.

And press it I did.

You know, to be honest, it feels like I ate tons of it, but in reality I didn't.  It just makes me crazy bloated so I feel like I ate a lot.

That's all I had at the party besides some raw veggies.  But raw veggies really aren't all that sexy to write about.

Monday.  Oh sweet, sweet Monday.

There is this restaurant that I have recently discovered.  Actually, I always knew it was there and it was a favorite in my former life when I used to eat whatever I wanted.  But I recently found out they have a gluten free, dairy free pizza.  I almost wish I never discovered it because it is SO GOOD.  So on Monday, we went to the pool for a couple of hours, lazed about and just relaxed.  We didn't want to do too much because we had a dinner party (another bday celebration) to attend.  However, after the pool, it hit us like a mack truck.  We just had to have this pizza.  So TWO HOURS, before we were to eat dinner, we ate pizza.  I'm not going to lie it was so good.

We then went to our dinner party.  That's right, it was a DOUBLE DINNER night.  I could only eat a few bites of everything, I was so full it hurt.

They even presented me with my own little gluten free, dairy free, sugar free dessert in lieu of the birthday cake.  Wasn't that so nice?  FYI:  It was AMAZING.

Other things I did that I should improve upon:

I ate too many eggs.  I miss eggs so much but when I eat too many they can cause problems.  Dairy.  I ate too much dairy.  The thing with dairy is that it takes days and days to get out of my system.  So until it does, I'm left feeling crappy.  That means since I ate it on a Sunday, I won't feel better until the following Thursday at the earliest.  yuck.  I also didn't log at the end of every day.  I relied on my memory to log after the fact.  This is a blatant no-no.  See, this is where my Memorial Day Plan would have come in handy.

And finally, I think it bears mentioning that I have recently gone off of my hormonal birth control.  I don't know if any of you have ever done this but this was my first time ever coming off of it.  It's been interesting.  My emotions are super crazy, my tummy is craving things it didn't before, and my body is doing very weird things.  I don't want to blame too much on this, but ladies, come on, you know how hormones can wreak havoc.  I went to my doctor last week and she let me know what I should expect and basically anything is up for grabs on this one.  Mood swings, cravings, irregular cycles and even weight gain can happen while your body is regulating.

If I want to be honest, the weekend wasn't that crazy.  I think my emotions right now are a little out of whack and everything really is affecting me more than it should.  I clearly ate more than usual which really isn't a big deal as long as I don't make a habit of it.  I REALLY REALLY think my hormones were the driving force behind this week.  I'm not that concerned with the weight gain because the eating was a temporary thing and if my body needs to do things before it settles down, then so be it.

I just hope it settles down soon!  I feel like a mad woman ;)

What I did:

1.  I earned somewhere around 8-10 AP.  I only got in three 30 Day Shred workouts :(  I should have done more but I let my time get away from me.

2.  I ate 277 points.  WOW!! 

3.  I feel like my water is slipping away from me!!  I'm going to be extra diligent this week.

4.  What I ate?  In addition to all that glorious food I mentioned above, I had some chicken noodle soup, tuna salad with crudites, SUSHI!!, homemade larabars, as egg sandwich, and peanut butter with semi-sweet chocolate at some point.  Wow, 277 points.  I'm a beast ;)

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!!


Today's Menu:

B:  homemade larabar
L:  chicken noodle soup
D: portobello mushroom pizza

Weight Watchers Weigh In: Week 36

I am SO SO SO late with this post.

+0.4 pounds

I got caught up in my long memorial weekend.

Oh boy did I get caught up in it.  But that's for another post.

Weekly Roundup:

1.  I earned around 13 AP.  I did five 30 Day Shred Workouts.  I'm almost done!! 2 more workouts to go!!

2.  I ate 209 points.

3.  I drank plenty of water.

4.  I am actually not very pleased with how I ate.  Last week I didn't feel like cooking AT ALL and so I made a couple of simple things.  And to be honest, those simple things were not very FILLING things.  So looking back at my log I can see where I was eating more "filler" food than I should have.  I had my sushi but that wasn't the problem.  I see Kettle potato chips in there too much.  Peanut Butter also rears its ugly head.   I also had bought some Gluten Free White Bread and I ate that too much.  Not that there's anything wrong with sandwiches but when I eat bread, it just induces cravings and makes me get snacky.  I didn't eat any items I'm not supposed to (gluten, dairy, soy).  I don't know.  I just wasn't overly happy with my week.  BUT, I'm glad I recognized what happens when I skimp on the cooking.  I just need to remember that for the future ..

Like maybe what happened over Memorial Weekend.

UGH ;)

Today's Menu:

B:  Homemade Larabar
L:  Chicken Noodle Soup
D:  Portobello Mushroom pizza

Weight Watchers Weigh In: Week 35

And I'm holding steady this week.

Weigh-In:  0 lbs

Nothing too much to report this week so I'll jump right into things.

Weekly Roundup:

1.  I earned 13-14 AP doing five 30 Day Shred workouts.  I'm on level 3 and man I'm SORE.  My neck, upper back, thighs and every inch of my abdominals are all killing me.  But in a good way.

2.  I ate 207 points.  It was just one of those weeks where I wasn't hungry.  I don't know if it was the heat or what, but I just didn't require that much food.  Maybe it was my aching abs :)

3.  I think I officially have this water thing down.

4.  Due to my non-existent hunger, I pretty much ate the same thing every day.  I ate Larabars, zucchini boats, spring vegetable potato salad, cucumbers & hummus and sushi.  Seriously, breakfast was a larabar, lunch was a zucchini boat, potato salad, cucumbers and hummus and dinner was sushi.  Sometimes it's nice to have a little monotony.

And that's it folks.  I have a busy weekend ahead of me.  Star Trek, a photo shoot and hopefully some time by the pool!

Have a great weekend!

 

Weight Watchers Weigh In: Week 34

Hey y'all.

Fun fact:  I was born and raised in Virginia where the phrase y'all is used quite frequently, as you can imagine.  I haven't lived there since 2000 and I still use y'all like it's going out of style.

And I probably always will.

It's been a long week.  Nothing too stressful happened.  It was more like time just seemed to move at a brutally slow pace.  However, tis Friday and therefore I shall rejoice.

Hurrah!  Hurrah!

Weigh In:  -1.2 lbs

Rejoice again I shall.

Hurrah!  Hurrah!

If my math is right (and it always is- Tony Stark) since January 2nd, I have lost 13.8 pounds.  That's huge!  If memory serves, that's the most consistent weight loss I've ever had in my adult life with relative ease.

For years I have always either counted calories or points.  I always stayed within what was the appropriate calorie deficit for my height and weight but I rarely lost consistent weight.  And if I did, seeing more than a pound loss total per month was a joyous occasion for me.  And I ALWAYS worked out.  HARD.  I ran, I lifted weights, I played sports, I did it all.  Up until January 2013 that has always been my plan.  I followed my points/calories, I worked out 5-6 days a week and I'd pray for the weight loss to happen.  And I usually felt horrible.  I was usually hungry, craving some sort of take-out/fast food item.  Or counting the seconds til the weekend when I could have my "cheat day" and finally be satisfied.  I also felt like I had no control over the situation.  I felt like I had no control over what I was eating. 

When I was younger, this sort of worked for me.  I was able to keep serious weight gain at bay but never really got the results I wanted.  But as I got older (especially in the last couple of years) it eventually became this cycle that wore me to the bone.  Monday thru Friday I was diligent.  I always stayed within my daily points/calories and I got in my workouts (intense hour plus long workouts).  But I was either always hungry or always wishing I was eating something else.  I didn't want to touch those Weekly Points because I wanted them for the weekend.  And then the weekend would come and I would eat those "naughty" items.  I wouldn't go over my points (most of the time) but I would relish every last one.  And then come Monday morning, I'd weigh 5 pounds heavier due to my weekend splurges.  And then during the work week, I'd be diligent again and slowly would lose those 5 pounds and if I was really, really lucky maybe an extra quarter pound would come off too.  But then the weekend would come and I would do it over again.

And that made for some terribly slow weight loss.  Or rather, it made for some non-existent weight loss.

From mid September 2012 to the end of December 2012 I had been on WW for 15 weeks.  At the end of those 15 weeks I had lost 0.2 pounds total.

See what I mean?  Vicious cycle.

And while I knew this was going on I still felt like something was wrong with me.  Like there was nothing left for me to try to lose weight because it just wasn't working for me.

Then in January of this year I changed everything about the way I ate.  And if I'm going to be honest, I was pretty scared to do it.  I'd like to say I was so frustrated about my weight (and I was) that I was just hell-bent on changing everything to get results.  But even knowing that change was necessary to get what I DESPERATELY wanted (weight-loss), I was afraid to give up eating certain foods. 

It was my own Sophie's Choice.  Did I want to be miserable in my body (because I was starting to become that way) but be able to eat whatever deliciousness I wanted OR did I want to try to make some dietary changes which would most definitely make me healthier and just might make me lose some weight?

I easily made the decision to change my diet but in the weeks leading up to my designated date (I chose January 2), I had all sorts of negative feelings about it.  I was doubtful it would work, I was scared I would miss food too much, I was nervous that my life would be miserable because I couldn't eat whatever I wanted.

I seriously had that thought.  That I would have a miserable existence because I was cutting unhealthy food out of my life.  That's just not right.

There are people who CAN eat whatever they want and maintain a healthy life and weight.  I am not one of those people.

I have NEVER been one of those people. 

So after a couple months of preparation and because of other on-goings in my life, on January 2nd, I started a particular elimination diet that would eventually change my way of thinking.  I cut out the processed food and other items and ended up learning that my body doesn't do well on certain foods.  Apparently my body does not like gluten, dairy and to a small degree soy and eggs.

And from there, my world changed.

I lost weight even though I wasn't exercising.  I taught myself that taking things out of your diet doesn't mean you have nothing left to eat, in fact, there are usually too many choices!  I learned that certain foods have an excessive amount of control over me and when I stop eating them, I take back ALL control.  And  I learned that it's still hard work.

There is no band-aid people.  No matter which path your body takes you on, there will always be hard work along the way.

None of these revelations were overnight.  I still struggle with feelings of success and failure.  I still have moments where I wish I were "normal".  But they aren't as bad as they used to be.  Thank God.  But the best thing I've learned is that changing my diet did NOT make me miserable :)

What I did this week:

1.  I earned probably around 15 AP.  I did five 30 Day Shred workouts.  I took an extra day off due to crazy muscle soreness.  I don't know what it is about level 2 but it makes my hips and lower back hurt crazy bad.  I think it's the last ab exercise, the plank while bringing your knee over.  Whatever it is, it makes for some serious body soreness.

2.  I ate 214 points for the week (I do not count AP towards my total)

3.  Water = :)

4.  What I ate.  This past week I made my homemade Big Macs, chef salad, soup au pistou (fancy name for vegetable soup to which I added chicken), roasted chicken lettuce wraps, and chicken scampi.  I also indulged in some larabars, peanut butter, and sushi.  But not at the same time. (I'll be trying my hand at homemade larabars this weekend.  If I'm successful I'll let you know)

Today's Menu:
B:  Larabar
L:  Chef Salad + Apple
D:  Soup au Pistou ** and probably some sushi ;)

My Big Mac

So Saturday I tried my hand at re-creating one of my most favorite fast food items:  the Big Mac.  

Years and years ago my mom bought me the Best of Top Secret Recipes cookbook by Tom Wilbur.  And in it is the copycat recipe for the Big Mac!

As you can imagine, the recipe ingredients are quite simple but the author says it's the ORDER in which you build the burger that matters most.

According to the BOOK you will need:

Ingredients:
4 hamburger buns
2 additional hamburger buns
1 pound ground beef
dash salt
1 T Kraft Thousand Island
4 tsp finely diced onion
2 cups chopped lettuce
4 slices American cheese
8 - 12 dill pickles slices.

(Makes 4 Big Macs)

As I'm not eating certain foods nowadays I'll be making some substitutions:

I'll use grass-fed ground beef, an actual recipe for the special sauce, gluten free hamburger buns, and vegan American cheese.

I know with my substitutions it won't be perfect but I'm desperately hoping it'll be close.

As for the special sauce, in the original book recipe Mr. Wilbur calls for Kraft Thousand Island.  However, some deep internet research reveals an actual recipe for the sauce:



1/2 c. mayo (I don't do well with mayo so I will use soy free vegenaise)
3 T French Dressing (Annie's Organics makes one that is GF and vegan plus it's organic so you can't beat that)
1/2 T sweet pickle relish (quick note:  finding relish without HFCS is quite difficult - thank you Del Monte!)
1 1/2 T dill pickle relish**
1 ts minced onion
1 ts sugar (I used xylitol and it turned out beautifully)
1 ts vinegar
1 ts ketchup
1/8 ts salt

Makes enough for 8 burgers.

You're going to mix it all up, put it in the microwave for about 25 seconds, stir again, then let chill in the refrigerator for an hour.

After I mixed the sauce I had my boyfriend taste it.  His eyes opened wide and he said "Oh wow that tastes just like it".

After he said that, I knew this was going to work.

**I already had the dill pickle slices for the burgers so instead of buying dill pickle relish, I just diced up some of the dill slices and used that instead.  It worked great.

And now the order:

According to Mr. Wilbur it HAS to be in this order:

Are you ready?

1.  Bottom Bun
2.  Special Sauce
3.  Onion
4.  Lettuce
5.  American Cheese
6.  All Beef Patty
7.  Middle Bun
8.  Special Sauce
9.  Onion
10. Lettuce
11. Pickles
12. All Beef Patty
13. Top Bun

Seriously, the cookbook has a blueprint of the building process it's THAT important.

So while the sauce chilled, we made the patties and got all the toppings ready.  And then we got to building these bad boys.

The result?



Perfect.

Seriously, I just at there with a huge, stupid grin on my face.  I was so happy.

A couple of things.  I did NOT add the extra bun in the center because we didn't have enough to go around and I also added an extra slice of cheese because I wanted extra cheese :)  But other than that, I followed everything else to a "T".

There you have it boys and girls.  My version of a gluten free, dairy free, fast food free Big Mac.

I WILL DEFINITELY be making these again. 

Points Plus for One "Big Mac" w/ extra cheese:  15 points plus


 

Weight Watchers Weigh In: Week 33

Weigh In:  -2.8 lbs

I felt this one coming.  Around Tuesday or Wednesday I swear I felt as if a layer of fat had been shed from my body overnight.

No lie.  It was kind of weird but awesome.

I don't think the loss was a result of any particular one thing that I did this past week but rather just a result of weeks of trying.

Oh and try I did!

How it happened:

1.  I earned 12-14 AP.  I did five 30 Day Shred workouts.  I usually do 6 workouts per week but I took an extra day off due to not feeling well. (AP points are an estimate based on 1AP = 100 calories burned)

2.  I ate 220 points.  After 30 some weeks of being on this program, I think that when I eat around 220-225 points and NOT eat any of my AP then I get the best results.  So I'm going to shoot for that again. (NO AP points counted in that total)

3.  Water.  Water is, like, my BFF now.  Where I go, it goes.

4.  What I ate?  Let's see.  I had:  breakfast potatoes and bacon; french spring soup; pulled pork and coleslaw; BLT sandwich (I tried another gluten free bread:  Udi's White Sandwich Bread.  It's got a good flavor but has that slight crumbly texture that most GF items have.  I only used it once but if I ever needed bread I'd probably get this one again); and of course sushi.  I've also added Larabars to the mix.  Right now I have the Blueberry Muffin flavor and the ingredients are: dates, cashews, blueberries, blueberry juice concentrate, lemon juice concentrate and vanilla.  And that's it!  Amazing right?  After I get through the very few I have left, I'm going to try making my own.  I keep one of these in my purse for emergencies.  Pretty good and you can't beat that ingredient list.  Oh yeah, we also had our weekend treat of Kettle potato chips. 

I had the least variety in my menu this past week because I was so busy I never made my other meal (in case you're wondering it was a sweet potato hash with vegetables).  I've been house and dog sitting for my friends and it's been busy.

Today's Menu:

We're going to try to make Big Macs!  After my dietary changes we only really eat at two places.  Sushi and Hugo's.  Since I always am concerned about eating something I'm not supposed to, we generally just make everything ourselves.  While this is definitely the healthiest way for me to eat, it's not always the most fun.  I've said it before, but I REALLY miss eating out.  We've only eaten out maybe five times in over 4 months.  So crazy.  Anyway, we're going to try to make Big Macs.

This one is for me because I LOVE Big Macs.

If I'm successful, I'll be sure to share!

Weight Watchers Weigh In: Week 32 plus 30 Day Shred Update

Weigh-In:  -1.6 pounds

A couple of things:  Even though my weigh-ins are on Friday mornings, two weeks ago, I decided to do a weigh-in on the following Saturday morning just for fun.

That fine Saturday morning, I registered my lowest weight for 2013.  It was a nice surprise even though I'm acutely aware of how much my weight fluctuates.  And just for reference, it was about 3 pounds lower than my weigh-in this morning. 

Like I said, that ultra low weigh-in was TWO weeks ago.  And you know what?  I haven't really been able to get it out of my head.  First, I had that giant spike last Friday (+3.6 pounds) and though I lost weight this week, it is still, like I said, about 3 pounds lower than that magical Saturday weigh-in.  I'm really happy that I still had a loss this week but honestly that Saturday reading was still plaguing me.

Until yesterday and today.

I went bathing suit shopping yesterday.  I tried on suit after suit but I couldn't find anything that fit.   It took me 3 rounds in the dressing room before I realized the reason nothing fit was because I was grabbing the wrong size.  On my fourth try, I grabbed one size smaller of everything and though I was skeptic that was the problem, I walked out that day with three different suits.  Yes, three.  All in the smaller size.  I don't know about you but for me that is a giant victory.  And it was a nice start to help me get over that whole lowest weight thing.

Then today, I decided to do a measurement update for my 30 Day Shred.  The first numbers are my starting numbers, the second numbers are my measurements as of today:

Chest:  40"/40"
Ribs:    33"/32.75"
Waist:  33.5"/33"
Hips:    42"/42"
Belly Button:  34.5"/34.5"
Upper Thigh:  24"/23.75"
Leg @ Knee:  18"/17.5"
Left Arm:  12.25"/12"

As you can see, I've made a little bit of progress after only 8 workouts!  I'll be doing my 9th workout of Level 1 tonight and if things go as planned, I'll be starting Level 2 on Sunday.  I'm excited to move on to Level 2.  I watched it last night and it's definitely a step up and I'm totally ready.

Anyway, as I was writing down my new measurements I realized something.  Those starting measurements for the 30 Day Shred are actually my final measurements from Slim in 6.  And you know what?  Those were taken TWO DAYS after my magical Saturday morning weigh-in.  You see where this is going?  The new measurements are my numbers as of TODAY and even though I weigh some 3 pounds more than I did 2 weeks ago, I have actually lost 1.25 inches overall since that magical Saturday morning.

In fact, check out my measurements from February 15, 2013:

Chest:  41"
Ribs:    34"
Waist:  35"
Hips:    43"
Belly Button:  35.5"
Upper Thigh:  24"
Leg @ Knee:  18.25"
Left Arm:  12.5"

February 15th was also one of my Friday Weigh-In Days.  And you know how much I weighed on February 15th?  The exact same amount that I weigh today except that I am smaller by 7.75 inches.

The point is, TAKE YOUR MEASUREMENTS PEOPLE.  As long as I keep losing inches, I kind of don't care what the scale says.  The scale is just one form of feedback and probably not even really a good form at that.

Now, on to my Weekly Roundup:

1.  I earned around 15 AP.  I think that's a pretty good guess.  I did six 30 Day Shred workouts.  (NOTE:  I DON'T EAT MY AP)

2.  I ate 244 points.  I was aiming for 220-225 but didn't quite hit the mark.  I'm going to aim for 220-225 again this week.  (No AP points are calculated in my weekly totals)

3.  I drank water.  In fact, it's getting easier so I'm hope that means it's becoming a habit.

4.  I ate very well.  I had my weekly sushi and I also ate out yesterday at Hugo's.  I've mentioned this restaurant before.  It's a god send.  They serve all sorts of vegan, gluten free, allergen free options and everything is made organic and fresh.  I had a club sandwich with a side salad.  Other than that, I made everything else I ate.  I made borscht, beef fajita lettuce wraps and portobello mushroom pizzas.  Oh yeah, and I managed to keep the sweets at bay :) 

Today's Menu:

I'm on vacation!!  I didn't go anywhere so I guess it's technically a stay-cation but I don't care,  I love not being at work.

I've only had lunch today and it was a portobello mushroom pizza.

Have a great weekend!!!!!!!!

Weight Watchers Weigh In: Week 31

As of this morning I am + 3.6 pounds.

I am going to blame Jillian Michaels for most of this.  I started the 30 Day Shred Wednesday night and I am SORE.

The big muscles are mostly ok.  They are just tender enough to let me know that I got in some good workouts.  However,  those little muscles that you didn't know you had, those are the ones that are killing me. 

So I'm going to say I'm retaining some water.  And the thought of doing my workout again tonight.  UGH.  It's going to hurt isn't it?

Honestly, I'm not concerned about this weight gain at all (thank God) and I'll tell you why.

First, last night after work, I decided to go through my closet and try on my jeans.  I've been rockin' a size 14 since Dec/Jan and I was able fit back into my 12s.  Some of them looked good, some of them were tight (Don't you love the size differences between brands?).   The important part is they FIT.  And second, this morning I was rushing to put on something for work and grabbed a shirt from my closet that I have worn only once.  Yes, ONCE.  I wore it and before I knew it, I got a little fluffier so in my closet it sat.  I don't know why I grabbed it but I just did.  And it fit.  Not a little bit but perfectly.  Actually, I think it looks better on me now then when I first got it.

So there you have it, the reasons why I'm not too upset about the gain.

Now on to what I did to be so awesome ;)

Weekly Roundup:

1.  I earned 12-ish AP.  Well, I earned however many AP 4 Slim in 6 workouts and 2 30 Day Shred workouts will get me.  All I know is I worked out 6 days this past week!!  Go me!!

2.  I ate 235* points.  It's a little more than I should have.  I'd like to see that number be lower next week by around 10 points.   *Number does not reflect any AP*

3.  Water.  It's official, I am a water goddess.

4.  What did I eat?  Well, part of the reason I ate so many points is because I made some chocolate chip cookies last weekend.  Do I really need to say anymore?  Other than those cookies, I had fabulous meals.  I cooked everything I ate except for the sushi I had for lunch yesterday (yes sushi again - I still can't get enough of it) and some bread products I decided to try.  But examples of my meals include:   Yellow Chicken Curry, Chicken Soup, BLT on English Muffin and Sloppy Joes!  This was the first week I ventured out and bought some gluten free bread products.  I chose the Food for Life brand english muffins which are surprisingly good.  And I chose the Udi's brand hamburger buns for sloppy joes.  Both had a decent ingredient list and fit the bill for me knowing what was exactly in them.  For the sloppy joe meal I just used the bottom of the roll and ate my sloppy joe as an open faced sandwich but it was really, really nice to have bread again.  I probably won't be buying these products very frequently because they are WAY expensive and also I'm really digging making everything myself.  But it was a nice treat.  If any of you are doing the gluten free thing, I recommend both of these items.

And even though I'm not torn about my gain, I am going to be tightening up my eating for this coming week (My Weigh-Ins are Friday so my points reset on Friday too).  I want to be sure to log everything I eat, take a break from sugar (I miss you already cookies), and get in my exercise even if it hurts. 

And with that I bid you Adieu.

Today's Menu:

B:  english muffin + peanut butter
L:  chicken soup
D:  tuna salad

The House Guest Plan

Alright, since the Christmas Party Plan worked out so well for me, I'm going to try my hand at the House Guest Plan because I have TWO coming tomorrow.

My sister and her new husband will be staying with me until Monday night.  My sister, bless her heart, is one of those fortunate people who has never had the cruel hand of weight gain grasping at her throat.  In fact, she's had 5, YES FIVE, children and has never gained weight.  Wait, that's not true.  She gained like 50 pounds with the first one but lost it 3 weeks later.  When I asked her how she did it, she told me she just did aerobics a couple of times a week until it was gone.

Ugh.  Don't you just hate people like that.

Anyway, they are coming and I need to be prepared.  The last time my family was in town was 2 months ago and I gained 3 pounds that week.  I'd also like to note that the next week I lost that 3 pounds but it's not like I'm bragging or anything ;)


I have a few things on my side.  First, they are only here for about 56 hours.  Yes, it's a mighty quick trip.  Second, they don't have a huge budget as it's that time of year and as I mentioned before she has five children.

So with that in mind lets begin;

Saturday:

They get in at noon, that gives me time to have a low point, filling breakfast, go to the gym to earn some AP points, and then grab a nice sugar free latte on the way to the airport.

I'll probably have a smoothie.  The ones I've been making this week for breakfast have been keeping me full for a long time and they run about 4 points.  **sidebar:  coconut milk in your smoothie.  I recently bought some because the store was out of almond milk.  It's higher in fat but man does it keep you full - give it a try!**  A sugar free latte will run me 3-4 depending on where I go.

However, what will probably be more likely is that when I get up Saturday morning, I'll be running around my apartment like a mad woman doing some last minute cleaning, if things go as planned, I'll get to the gym, if not, I'll skip the gym AND breakfast but either way I'm grabbing that latte.

So, by the time I get them, I'll be out anywhere from 4-8 points.

They will most likely be hungry.  I'll take them somewhere cool and we'll have lunch.  I'll just make sure that it's someplace that has salad.  As I'm the one that knows where everything is, I get to have control over the choices I give them.  Score one for being the host!  That lunch will run me as much or as little I want.  I'll be charitable and give myself 8 points.  8 points is a lot for a lunch especially if I order the right way.  Hopefully I won't use them all.

Now I'm out 12-16 points total for the day.

Once I get thru lunch it's lots of running around being a tourist.  I won't be giving myself any APs for that but it's nice to know I'll at least be active.

Saturday night.  I can pretty much guarantee this will involve card playing and pizza.  How do I know this?  Because I just know.

Pizza:

Papa John's original crust Cheese pizza (4.5 ounces) = 7 points
Papa John's original crust BBQ chicken pizza (5.4 ounces) = 9 points
Papa John's original crust Veggie pizza (5.8 ounces) = 7
Papa John's original crust Pepperoni pizza (4.9 ounces) = 9

Ok, those are approximate weights for 1 slice of a large pizza.  I won't be ordering from Papa John's because we have local options that are great but I'll use this as a guide.  It seems as if ordering as many vegetables as possible is the best choice, but I'll make sure everyone gets something they will enjoy.

I also will order a garden salad from the place and use dressing from my fridge.  Now, with all that in mind, I plan on eating 2 slices of pizza, my big old salad and hopefully I can call it a night at 15-22 points for the evening.  Wow, that's a lot of points for pizza. 

The reality of the situation?  3 slices is possible because to be honest, pizza is awesome.  My PLAN is two slices.

Total for the day:  27 - 38 (I get 26/day)


SUNDAY:

Whatever sight-seeing we don't get to Saturday will be gotten to Sunday.  If I wake up early enough, I'm going to see if I can squeeze in a super quick workout while they are taking their showers.  As for eating, I'm going to suggest brunch at a cheap local diner.  Of course, since it's local they don't have calorie counts so I'm going to go with Denny's as a reference:

-Veggie-Cheese Omelette (3 eggs, cheese, veggies):  13 points
And don't be fooled, the sides that automatically come with the omelette are not included in those points
 -Fit and Fare Omelette w/ turkey bacon (egg whites, cheese, veggies):  10 points

Components of Meal:
-Bacon Strips:  2 points
-Turkey Bacon:  2 points
-Buttermilk Biscuit:  5 points
-2 eggs:  7 points
-egg whites:  1 point
-English Muffin (no butter):  3 points
-Hash Browns:  6 points
-2 Pancakes (no syrup/butter): 9 points
- Sausage Links:  5 points

 Ok, that's enough to make an informed decision.  We're looking at egg whites, bacon, fruit, maybe an english muffin and coffee.  Er, lets say about 7-8 points for breakfast.

More sight-seeing.

Dinner will be Cheesecake Factory.  How do I know we're eating at Cheesecake Factory?  Because we're going to see The Hobbit Sunday night and the restaurant is right beside the theater!

I already know I'm getting something off of their new light menu.  I've had one thing off of it, it still came in at around 14 points for the meal but I only ate half of it and I was STUFFED.  SO -- I probably will order it again because it was delicious.  It was shrimp creole or something like that.

Hopefully I can say no to the bread basket, have maybe one cocktail (they also have a skinny menu for cocktails!!  the sangria isn't half bad in case you're wondering)

So dinner:  7-11 points


Let's see:  so far, I'm out 14-19 points.  Wow, that's not too bad at all.  That definitely leaves room for the inevitable...

Krispy Kreme.  My sister has an obsession with my local Krispy Kreme.  We will undoubtedly go there at least twice.

Original glazed donut:  5 points (2 for 11 points)
Chocolate iced custard filled:  9 points
Raspberry filled: 8

Wow, the clear winner is the original glazed.  Done and done.

Krispy Kreme:  5 - 11 points

Sunday total:  19 - 30

I know that's quite the spread but if I stick to the lower end of the plan I can probably dodge some bullets.  You know, like the bread basket ;)

MONDAY:

ugh. 

Honestly, I have no idea.  I'll try to get an idea Saturday or Sunday how they want Monday to go. 

This is exhausting.


Ok, first, if we can squeeze in a workout then we will but I'm not going to stress it. 

I wish I could just leave this up to chance but I'm on a streak here and I really want to stay in line.

Ok, so I'll pick up stuff for breakfast (4 -6 points), we'll go out for lunch at either a local Mexican place or this Hamburger joint.  Hopefully they'll pick the Mexican place because it has this great salad that is just chicken with tons of vegetables.  It's really good too.  They use rotisserie chicken that you can see roasting in the kitchen.  Mexican points:  8 points

Hamburger points:  Good lord.

Outback Hamburgers (just the burger w/ lettuce/tomato/onion):  18 points
Outback Bloomin Burger (burger w/ cheese, bloomin onions, bloomin onion sauce, and veggies): 28 points

I'm going to go with a plain hamburger, no cheese, no mayo, and keep the veggies and mustard.  I'm sure it'll still be great.

As for sides:
Outback fries:  11 points.

So, I'll eat half:  5 points.

So Hamburger points:  14  (for 1/2 of everything)

Dinner will be something, quick, easy and cheap.  And I don't have to eat it if I don't want because while they have to get on a flight to go back home,  I get to go back to my house where there are plenty of options.













Dinner points:  Whatever I have left - anywhere from 7 - 14 points.  That's so easy I can't even begin to explain.

As long as we can avoid another trip to Krispy Kreme .... 

I can totally do this.

Sorry for the long post but this REALLY helped me wrap my head around what's to come.  I actually feel pretty good.  And don't be fooled.  This email was 6 hours in the making.  Trying to figure out where to go, finding points, making decisions.

In any case, I'm glad I did it.

Oh wait, I just realized I didn't account for Krispy Kreme on Saturday.  And yes, she WILL want to go that many times.

Ok, I'll going to declare this here and now.  No matter how many times she chooses to go to Krispy Kreme, I will not eat every time.  I will follow my guide.  If I don't eat them on Saturday, I'll know that on Sunday I can enjoy them.

There, that was easy.

The Christmas Party Plan

I had my parties on Saturday.  The plan held.  Sort of ;)

I, somehow, mismanaged my time on Saturday getting ready before the parties.  I did not realize we had so much to do and that the first party started at 6pm and was half an hour (without traffic) away.  So I begrudgingly accepted the fact that my workout was not going to happen.

Yeah, that was a bummer.  I was counting on some of those AP points.  However, I accepted it and moved on and told myself to just stay aware all night long.

I also didn't eat what I planned beforehand.  However, I ate the same amount of points I had already planned.  Just switched it up a little.

The first party was super easy.  There was even LESS food on the menu than I was told.  I guess I wasn't the only one who ran out of time. Score one for me.  And I was having such a good time talking to people I didn't even really care about much else.  I left that party well within my allotted points.

Then came the second party.

By the time we got there, pretty much all the good treats and stuff were picked over.  And here's a little secret.  The host of this second party is not particularly known for their amazing cuisine.  I was also kind of counting on that and they did not fail!  I know that's a horrible thing to say but score another for me!!!  I had two rum and diet cokes and then spent the evening talking to friends I hadn't seen in awhile.  I left that party WELL under budget.

I think mentally walking through both parties really helped me.  It made me feel like I already knew what was going to happen.  When I walked into the first party and the prosecco was on the table, I grabbed a glass and without thinking poured myself half a flute.  When it was time to eat, I got my plate and I didn't even think about it.  I just took the amounts I had already mentally planned.  At the second party, I went to the bar and automatically grabbed the rum and diet coke.  Things like that.  And the cherry on top was that I had a great time at both parties.

That's definitely a trick I'm going to use again.

Today's Menu:
B:  smoothie:  coconut milk + hemp protein + frozen pineapple/mango
S:  vegetable soup
L:  turkey and provolone lettuce wrap + apple
D:  probably cod + ratatouille + wild rice

Day Before Weigh In

As of right now, I'm -46 points for the week.  It was pretty much a combination of Tuesday and Wednesday and a hormonal need to eat if you know what I mean.

Tuesday night the cravings hit me like a mack truck and I had McDonald's for dinner and that is what sent me into negative territory.  And then Wednesday night I felt as if I would die if I didn't eat something.   Seriously, not a hunger pang in sight but the need was there.  When I normally get PMS I don't always feel this way, but when I do it's pretty bad.  And thus I went further into the negative.

I stepped on the scale this morning and it was up over 3.5 pounds from last week.  Who knows how much of that is real.  Honestly, I didn't care, I even had the thought "Might as well make it a trifecta because all of my points reset Friday".   I was prepared to eat my way through the day.  I felt gross.  Actually, I STILL feel gross but going all out eating anything I want is not going to fix that feeling.  And as difficult as it is, I decided to stay the course for the day.  Eat my daily points, eat as well as humanly possible, exercise and drink my water.  It's not going to magically fix anything but at least I've reeled it in.

For the moment.


Here's hoping that once I make it home to dinner this resolution will stick. 

I'll be honest, I'm human therefore anything can happen.

And I've been craving Thai food mighty fierce like ;)

5Ks and Birthdays

Oh my.

It was an eventful weekend.  After I weighed in on Friday morning, I woke up Saturday morning and just out of curiosity weighed myself.  It was the lowest weight I had seen yet.

And that victory would be short lived ;)

I had a great birthday weekend.  It started Saturday- very casual and relaxing.  Ordered in some food from my favorite restaurant, rented a couple of movies, and turned in early.

We had to be up early for our race on Sunday.

We participated in a 10k/5k to raise money for the We Spark Cancer Support Centers.  I originally signed up for for the 10k (it would have been my first) but hurt myself over the summer.  I got cleared by my podiatrist to do the 5k just a couple of weeks ago so they were kind enough to change my registration for me.

I hadn't run in almost 5 months and I thought I had done really well preparing with the 2 1/2 weeks I had.  I even eked out two 5ks on the treadmill prior to the race so I was feeling confident.  However, I was NOT ready.  It just so happens that this particular course went along the back-lot of Universal Studios and is crazy hilly.

CRAZY HILLS.

Even so, it was a great workout and I had a lot of fun.



There were over 2000 participants in my run - very crowded at the start.

But we eventually made our way around the sets and got to see some awesome things.





This is the house from The Great Outdoors.

And below is the Phantom of the Opera doing his thing on Wisteria Lane (where they filmed Desperate Housewives).

And we even got cheered on by "Mother" - she's in the house from Psycho.

We ran into a lot of characters along the way:  Indiana Jones, Zorro, Frankenstein, Count Dracula and even the Grinch.  We got to stop at sets from Jaws, War of the Worlds, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, and Back to the Future amongst others.

I actually was thankful for all the photo ops because it gave me a chance to stop for a second before the next hill came.  But eventually, I did finish.  It's my slowest 5k to date, even without the stops, but I'll take it.

 After the race, we went inside the Universal theme park and rode a couple of rides.  I burned crazy calories that day.  I probably also ate them all back that night :)

Yeah, my planned birthday night (Saturday) turned into a 2 day event to include Sunday.  It's all good.  I counted ALMOST everything.  My mom sent me gourmet cupcakes from Georgetown and I had one and told myself I was NOT going to count my Birthday Cupcake.  I just wanted to enjoy her thoughtfulness on my special day and not worry about calories or points or anything.

And enjoy it I did.

I did, however, track everything else.

So here's hoping my body recoups from the race (I'm still oddly sore) AND the eating.  I used up ALL my weekly points on those 2 days.  Totally worth it, although, usually when I eat all my weekly points back to back like that I tend to have a gain.  Oh well.  I guess we'll see what happens come Friday.

Today's Menu:
B:  Pizza (Yeah, I made pizza for breakfast this week.  I got sick of eggs.  Like really sick of eggs.  Actually eggs and anything breakfast food related.  So, I made a pizza, easy on the cheese and chock full of veggies. And it will be breakfast for the next couple of days.  Sometimes to stay on track you gotta shake things up!)

L:  Salmon + Grilled Veggies + Quinoa Tabouli

D:  Thanksgiving Sandwich :)  I have been craving stuffing lately.  Especially Stove Top Stuffing.  However, if you look at the ingredients in that stuff .. well it's not good.  So, I tried a recipe I found for my own stuffing.  It was surprisingly easy and with a few substitutions came out point friendly.  So tonight, I will make a sandwich that has:  stuffing, chicken, cheese, and miracle whip.  And while that may sound gross to you - it's what I've been craving.  Hopefully it'll hit the spot.

And, it's only 7 points plus.

Add a side of green beans and roasted butternut squash and you've got yourself a makeshift Thanksgiving feast.

Week 6: I'm Starving

I don't know what it is but I am hungry.  Not bored.  Not stressed.  Hungry.  And it's been going on for days.

Maybe it's because my exercise is getting more intense due to being able to run again (I always burn way more calories running) or it's just one of those weeks.

I've been good and tracked everything so far.  I've earned over 20 Activity Points and after today I'll have another 3 under my belt if everything goes according to plan.  However, I've eaten all of my Weekly Points (49) AND as of right now, the 20 Activity Points I've already earned. 

I have seriously become a master of optimizing what points I have left.  Fruits and vegetables are my best friends this week due to their 0 point content. 

Tomorrow is my weigh-in.  I mean, hopefully I'll lose some weight but honestly I just want my points to roll over so I can have a little extra for dinner ;)

Today's Menu:
B:  Whole Wheat Pancakes + egg/egg white + 2 slices bacon + coffee
L:  Cajun Chicken Pasta
S:  Apple
D:  Giant Salad with Vegetables + Crab Salad + Chopped Apple **gonna keep it light for WI tomorrow!**

** NOTE:  I made a REALLY GREAT cajun chicken pasta this week.  Seriously, it's crazy good.   I linked the website I got it from in my menu.  Check it out, it's a really great resource for food ideas/recipes.  The author of the website gives the nutritional information for all her dishes along with old and new WW points.  However, on a couple of the recipes I've used the recipe builder and have come up with a different amount of points than what was listed.  So just a word of caution - any time you find a recipe online or anywhere even if it has nutritional info listed, always use the recipe builder using the ingredients that YOU are going to use.  It just might change things .. drastically.

For instance, her cajun chicken pasta was listed as 8 points plus - I put it in my recipe builder and had to finagle it to just get it to 10 points plus.  And while it's only a 2 point difference.  2 points can really add up day after day!