Come on Meal the Noise

Well, kids, I am wiped. Long day, and lots o painting (to be continued tomorrow, and the day after that, and the day after that, etc etc!)

The good thing I did today was...putting myself first. My friends had told me that lunch was on them, and when I got to their place there was a giant pizza from Costco sitting in their kitchen. Lunchtime came around and my one friend was still prepping the wall so I went home to eat lunch instead!

And I thought ahead and before I left to go back, I brought a dinner for later. So I had all my own meals today, instead of having pizza twice in one day. Noice.

And the water I drank today! An incredible amount ... 148oz!! I had a few glasses before I left this morning and I just kept filling it back up over and over when I was painting and working and all that. Yeesh!


Breakfast:

*10 strawberries
*toasted arnold’s sandwich thin with I Can’t Believe spray
*1/2 cup cottage cheese

Snack:

*gala apple

Lunch:

*turkey burger on arnold’s sandwich thin, 1 LCL wedge, romaine lettuce, ketchup and mustard
*cup of veggie crunchers
*can of V8

Dinner:

*salad: spinach, 2 LCL wedges, pom seeds, acorn squash and garlic&herb chicken

Meal Good, Inc.

Pretty relaxed day. Lunch with a friend – indulged a little at Panera.

I just finished an 8 minute abs video (via YouTube) … it was okay. I’m trying to do the moves correctly, and I sorta feel it in my stomach but I feel it most in my neck and I know that’s not right. I don’t know how to not strain my neck, even when I am using stomach muscles. I can feel the stomach muscled contract and work and everything, but my neck still tenses up and I’m making sure I’m breathing, etc. Is it just because I’m beginner and have literally no muscles to start with? Meh. I’m gonna stick with it but I feel like I won’t make much progress if I keep feeling it in my neck moreso than my stomach. I’ve tried to change it and I don’t know how! AGH!

Also, had spinach twice today to try and help make up for yesterday’s lack o the green stuff. :-)

So far I've had 68oz. of water today, but I’ve got one more 20oz refill to go – so by day’s end we’ll be at 88!


Breakfast:

*2 cups spinach cooked down with a clove garlic and tbsp butter with:
*3/4 cup egg subst.
*30 pom seeds (what’s a serving of these things anyway?)

Lunch:

* @ panera: you pick two: sierra turkey sandwich and French onion soup (with an apple!)

bad news – other than choosing the apple as the side (yay me!) none of those things are healthy options. They aren’t the worst but they aren’t the best. Good news – I didn’t eat everything. There was a little left of the sandwich and about half the soup.

Dinner:

*salad: spinach, 1 LCL wedge, pom seeds and baked acorn squash (diced in 1 inch cubes, covered in a little EVOO and S&P and then baked in the oven at 375 for 40 mins)

I Meal the Earth Move (Un.dah.Mah.Feet.)

Today was crazy busy!! And I’m sad to say, I forgot about my spinach goal completely today – it flew my mind so I didn’t eat any today. But I DID think of another goal that I’ll adopt along with the others, so that kind of (not really, at all) makes up for it? Ehhh? Crickets chirping!?!?!

So I got up at 5:30 in the godforsaken am to get to my temp gig on time, managed to make myself a gigantic breakfast that was actually kind of spread out over the morning – I ate the oatmeal at 6:30, the V8 in the car (so 7-7:50ish) then the cottage cheese around 8am. It was a progressive breakfast through major streets of the dc metro area.

Lunch was half-hearted, I’ll admit. Not at all creative. Tasty, yes. Filling – actually, surprisingly, yes. But well-planned…I’d say not so much.

I did get in about 30 minutes of brisk walking today on a break, which was nice. It definitely helped since:

The gym got cut short today. I got off at 2:30 (an hour later than I was supposed to) and hurried home to get to the gym before I met some friends at 4pm. So I cut my workout short. I did 11 minutes on the treadmill for warm up, three machines, then some jump rope and abs stuff. I alternated rope, abs, rope, abs. I was still there for almost an hour but I didn’t get back to the other machines like I would have liked to.

**which reminds me, because I'm literally adding this after I've posted/written everything else: my new goal! I want to do abs work everyday. Whether it's 3 reps or 250 reps. I don't even know what a low number or a high number would be, really. But I want to get better at this, it's by far my least-worked muscle and the one that needs the most help**

So I race home, quickly check email (more on that in a hot minute) and jump in the shower and head out to meet some friends. They just bought a condo so I went over to see it. We ran some errands and then went to a CHINESE FOOD PLACE for dinner. AGH! Read ahead to see if I was good or bad :-)

Oh, and water. 76oz today. Same as yesterday!

So – I just want to take a second to thank all of you lovely lovely commenters – not only for the jeans thing (which I TOTALLY wore again today. Bangin’) – but just in general. I love to hear from you because you all keep me going and I get inspired and ideas every day from you. THANK YOU! For realsies. Internet Hugs.

Whew! So 5:30am to 9:30pm, I’m just now home and sitting, and it’s lovely. Just like you.


Breakfast:

*pumpkin oatmeal (I took a quaker instant pack – cinnamon roll flavored – and added pumpkin puree, just as a quick addition kinda deal)
*can of V8
*cup of cottage cheese

Lunch: (on the go at work)

*half a peanut butter sandwich on homemade wheat bread

Snack: (on the way to the gym)

*gala apple

Dinner:

*steamed mixed veggies and brown rice (occasionally dipping lightly in some delicious mystery sauce of some kind)

PS - To my GLEEKS, did you watch last night? And did you totally cry when they sang Lean on Me? JUST ME?! Because I totally cried. And then I downloaded the cast's version of Lean on Me this morning and was listening to it driving into work and I started tearing up AGAIN! I had to switch to a different song because I didn't want to walk into work with my mascara running :-P

Food Awakening

Okay, I didn’t go to the gym today. But I did do 30 Day Shred. Back to Level 1, though! I could definitely tell a difference in my ability to do things, but it was still hard. (TWSS!)

Tomorrow will be another gym day. Going straight from work – work being temp work because I STILL don’t have a freaking job...

(speaking of which, today marks my 11th month of unemployment. THIS ONE GOES TO ELEVEN. Ha – normally a hilarious quote except for in this context. And things aren’t looking good so I’ll probably make it to a full year. This is depressing, and it’s a damn good thing I have my weight loss efforts to keep me going right now and distract me)

debbiedownertangentsayswhat?

What? So. Right. The gym. I’ll go there tomorrow.

I’m still working on water. After I finish this refill, I’ll be at 76oz.

Breakfast:

*cup/glass of milk
*zucchini/yellow squash frittata (egg subst. with 1 LCL wedge and some ketchup)

Snack:

*gala apple

Lunch:

*cup veggie crunchers
*sandwich: grilled eggplant, roasted red pepper, and spinach on an arnold’s thin with tzatziki sauce

Dinner:

*bite of salmon soufflé that my mom made
*mini pizza (arnold’s thin, split between the two: 2 or 3 tbsp marinara, 11 pieces of turkey pepperoni, stringed-string cheese on top)

Oh I also opened up the pomegranate! I tried a couple of seeds, they're tasty! Very sweet. Gonna have to do a lil research to find some fun ways to eat them - as in recipes, not like "eat them while on a rollercoaster". Or maybe that's a bad example because eating anything on a rollercoaster seems like a bad idea.

Hey wanna hear something crazy and off-topic about myself? So I love rollercoasters - I was on one once that was so scary and I screamed so loud I burst a blood vessel in my eye. How ridiculous is that!?!? It's a testament to the ride, for sure, but I just couldn't believe it could happen. How deliciously nerdy.

ATTENTION UNIVERSE

So, remember that time I mentioned in a rather off-handed manner that maybe I could fit into a certain pair of size 18 jeans? (like 5 minutes ago in the post below, if you're not getting it) 

Just for shits and giggs I get them down from my I'll Fit In These One Day Bag (IFITODB) and slide them up one leg...

....hmmm, the blood to my legs doesn't feel constricted....

slide up the other leg

....I don't feel like a sausage casing...

bring them up over my hips

....I can actually BRING THEM up over my hips...

and button-ed up the button.

I AM WEARING SIZE 18 JEANS.

I'm smiling. This is when it gets fun.


(and yes, I also zipped up the fly. I figured I could leave that part out, but I didn't want anyone worrying that I'm strutting around all day with the barn door wide open)

Challenge Wednesdays - Week, Um, What week is this?

Well despite my confusion over how many weeks along in the challenge we are, I'm doing well. Is it week three or week four? I can't figure out what the exact start date was.

Hopped on the scale this swell AM (sing to the tune of Party in the USA, it works!)
with a prayer, a yawn or two
welcome to the land of HOLY CRAP
Am I gonna fit in...

....those size 18 jeans I have?

Hahaha, Jack Sh*t I am not, that's for sure. I did a lyrics change once to Mambo #5 but it was about being in London (last summer for an internship - I've never been happier in my life) and it was the most ridiculous thing ever. But fun. And who doesn't love Mambo #5! I feel like Michael Scott (The Office) for still liking that song.

Okay I shouldn't delay the results any further, since they're good!

224!

That's 2.4 pounds down from last week!

And so far in the challenge, I've lost either 8 pounds or 10 pounds, depending on the start date.

I'm proud of how I'm doing so far, but everyday I tell myself "Don't rely on these results - don't think you're going to get them every week just because. You have to work for them. And if you don't feel like working then you won't get results. It's not always the most difficult thing in the world but it isn't a cake walk either. Oooh, cake? No, self, focus! Just think about today, or plan for the next couple of days. That's it."

I think during SWL1 I spent too much time thinking and writing things like "This time next year I will be thin and fit and I will be turning heads and this and that...." and looking back, it was like I assumed that I would just keep going and keep losing, I was expecting results without focusing on the work it would take to get there. Thinking about going to the gym and winning internal battles with myself about food is enough for one day, thinking about doing it for 5 months or 6 months straight, that's overwhelming - even if I am doing well right now.

This time around if I catch myself daydreaming about being in Onederland (and staying there) or dating or writing that 100-pounds-lost post...I stop myself. I don't want to think about it too much. That's not to say I won't get there, but I'm not thinking of it as a foregone conclusion. Just because I'm motivated today doesn't mean I will be 7 months from now or even two weeks from now! I can't and I won't take it for granted.

Okay, well now that that little tangent is behind us, I have to set some goals for this week. Hmm.

*keep tracking water - I think I'm drinking more now that I have actual numbers to look at
*make something out of that acorn squash I have, and finally peel/open that pomegranate!
*go to the track (I kind of like it there)
*eat spinach every day this week

Meal or No Meal

I forgot to say yesterday – water intake was 68oz. Today’s will be 100oz after I finish this last refill!

Got my butt back in the gym :-D And WHEW did I work it out. First of all – I started off with a minute walking, then did 6 minutes and 15 seconds of jogging at 5.5mph! I couldn’t believe I did that much! I just…kept going.

The best part of the whole thing was that the treadmill I was using gave me a view of my legs as I was jogging. Most of the rest of me was obscured but I could stare at my legs – and that’s just what I did. I kind of zoned out and focused on them all at the same time. I’m pretty sure I’m gonna try and snag that particular treadmill from now on. I like the view :-)

After those 6 minutes and 15 seconds, I did a minute and a half of walking, then I did two minutes at 6mph!! I have no idea what possessed me to do it; maybe just to see how I felt. I think after that I did another minute or two of walking?

Oh, and the incline for all of that was either .5 or 0, I think, which helped me go for longer, I think. STILL! SIX MINUTES (and fifteen seconds)! I’m happy, not gonna lie to you.

Then I hit the weights. I took it sort of easy on the weights – I think I ate lunch a little too close to going to the gym, and then to jog faster than I ever have – I felt a little queasy. So I didn’t push too hard on them, but I didn’t decrease the weight amounts either.

I did half the machines, jogged on the treadmill for 2 minutes at 5.5mph, then did the rest of the machines.

THEN! I did a 25 minute elliptical (interval) course!

I don’t know where my energy came from today, I really don’t. I jogged faster than I ever have, and I did an extra bit of cardio at the end, which I usually don’t do if I do weights. I sure am happy it’s there though! I feel good. Very good.

Breakfast:

*cup shredded wheat cereal with half a banana sliced on top
*half cup skim milk for the cereal

Lunch:

*veggie sandwich: arnold’s thin, roasted red pepper, eggplant with mozz (the last one, I had made extra), tzatziki sauce … BEST. EVER.
*18 all bran crackers
*Can of V8

Dinner:

*cup of cottage cheese (maybe a little more than a cup!)
*gala apple

Honestly, I was tired after the gym so this is what I wanted because it’s easy and yet still very delicious and nutritious! That apple, particularly, was bangin'. Super crunchy just the way I like it!

So after looking at what I’ve eaten today, it didn’t seem like enough. I went downstairs to find something else, but I didn’t see anything that was nutritious and quick AND something I actually wanted. I thought about veggie crunchers, but no, I’m pretty sure there’s no nutritional value there…and it felt forced rather than something I really wanted.

I started to make myself dessert (two servings of this "cheesecake" business with sliced strawberries on top) and I had a little piece that had broken off from the serving, a medium-size piece of the cake…and I looked at the dessert, and I gave it to my mom instead. It’s not unhealthy in terms of calories, or anything, but I realized I didn’t want it.

If I listen to the ol’ tum-tum and it feels like it’s done eating, then I’m done eating. And that’s what happened and I’m happy with that.

And now I'm off to finish my water, and then watch Biggest Loser and liveblog-it with Fat Bridesmaid over at her site: http://fatbridesmaid.com/ It's fun - you should come!

Lars and the Meal Girl

Sometime after I had breakfast I decided that today would be a “Do Whatever” day. I took a REALLY long nap. I watched TV and goofed around on the internet. And for dinner I had White Castle! They were the frozen version that you microwave two at a time – 310 calories for the two. Not the worst, but not exactly nutritious. And I ate fake-cheesecake!

Ha, and I think you can probably figure out I didn’t go to the gym today!

To be honest I don’t really feel that guilty. It was nice to relax, mentally and physically. And it doesn’t feel like a slippery slope. Just a choice to take a day off.

Breakfast:

*cup/glass of milk
*other half of the zucchini/egg frittata I made the other day, with ¼ cup of the taco ground turkey on top, with a couple tbsp salsa on top. Tex-mex eggs?

Lunch:

*cup veggie crunchers
*taco salad (using the rest of last night’s taco ground turkey, 3 or 4 tbsp salsa, chopped romaine lettuce, 2 tbsp sour cream)

Snack/Dessert:

*2 servings of the “no-bake cheesecake”

Dinner:

*cup of veggie crunchers
*two White Castle mini-burgers

Sitting, Weighting, Wishing

Hello, loves!

Tay and I had a lovely time this morning together:

..drumroll...

225.6

Exactly 3 pounds down from last week! And that's really good considering this week out of the month is usually not good for that (I always gain during the week of Veterans Day? Noooooo). I'm happy! Still unsure what my Wednesday Weigh In will be for Challenge purposes, but we'll see.

5 pounds away from having lost 40 pounds! So close I can taste it!

I can also taste mashed potatoes, 5 cup salad, my mom's stuffing, pumpkin pie, cranberry sauce, and homemade rolls. I can't believe Thanksgiving is next week. I've been thinking a lot about strategy for that day. I think I'm going to have ultra-moderate-bordering-on-tiny portions of things I like, maybe skip a few things all together (gonna try and get my mom to offer/let me make sweet potatoes and eat those instead of regular mashed) and then not give a good damn about portion size of the one thing I love the most about Thanksgiving. Namely, my mom's stuffing. I know that might be loco in the calorie department or maybe in the strategy department too...but you haven't had my mom's stuffing. It's just so good. And at least right now, I don't see myself feeling guilty over eating as much of it as I want. If I'm choosing this plan, and I stick to it, then I can't exactly feel guilty if it was a premeditated choice, right? And I'm choosing one thing that I really love, over just going nuts over everything.  Maybe it's bargaining moreso than strategy? I don't know. But anyway, that's just an idea I have floating around in the ol' noggin.

Okay. I'm off to do a thing here and a thing there. Here a thing, there a thing, everywhere a thing thing.

Can't Fight This Mealin'

Well, why don’t we just get right to it?

Breakfast:

*hard boiled egg white
*half a banana
*half an egg and zucchini frittata with ½ a LCL wedge and a little ketchup

Lunch: Didn’t really feel like making a whole lunch thing today so I had two bigger snacks instead. Plus I was watching football (holy crap, the Redskins won. I can’t believe it!) so snacking seemed appropriate!

Snack:

*half a banana
*string cheese cut up into little chunks
*13 pieces of turkey pepperoni

…ate the cheese together with the pepperoni. Grown up lunchables?

Snack:

*1/4 cucumber sliced
*big handful baby carrots
*sabra hummus (individual size)
*cup veggie crunchers

Dinner: For dinner, I had alliteration:

*two turkey tacos!

I used ground turkey, taco seasoning (cumin, paprika, chili powder, onion powder, garlic powder, cayenne pepper) and used two whole wheat tortillas with lettuce, ¼ cup Mexican blend cheese, 2-3 tbsp reduced fat sour cream, and 2 tbsp salsa.

NOM NOM NOM. I inhaled them.

*And in the interest of full disclosure, I made that no-bake cheesycake schtuff I mentioned in my grocery post the other day (the link is there) - it has to refrigerate overnight before you can dive in headfirst, but I totally licked the spatula. And there was a lot on there. Hee :-D

Oh, right, and water.  Um, I drank 144oz today! Guess I was thirsty, huh? It helps, I think, that the containers I drank out of were either 16 or 20 ounces. I end up drinking more that way. Plus I have to refill fewer times because I'm (*singsong*) laaaaazzyyyyyyy!

mid-day update!

I worked my boo-tay off at the track today. Yes, I went to the track! The sun finally came out after like four straight days of rain and clouds (I could never live in the pacific northwest) and it was sunny and warm and lovely. I did 3 miles again. In about 48 minutes, which is actually pretty good for me. On the treadmill my mile is usually around 18 minutes. So 16 is pretty good!

I started off with 2.25 laps jogging, then half jog/half walks for a few laps, then the last lap of the 2nd mile, I jogged 1.25 laps into the 3rd mile. Then the rest was half walk/half jog until the final lap and I jogged ¾ of it.

None of the laps were straight walking! That was the biggest thing about today for me. I’ll be happy for now if I can keep doing the same walk/jog pattern, but just faster. That would be pretty sweet for me. And I’d also like to be able to run a mile straight at some point.

Can I tell you something silly? Since it wasn’t about speed or pace or anything today, my playlist was more about songs that make me happy or energize me…a good portion of those were/are cheesy dance songs or oldies you hear at weddings. Like, the Cupid Shuffle and Footloose and Let’s Go Crazy (Prince) and Canned Heat. Hearing then makes me think of dancing and acting a fool with close friends and family and really energizes me. It also makes me visualize what it will (hopefully) be like at future weddings when I’ll be slimmer and healthy and feelin’ fierce in a party dress and shakin’ my hips like yeahhhhhh and what not :-) Ha, whatever works, right?

(Oh, another thing about the track: at one point a family came out to jog and walk around the track - a mom, dad, and three young kids, ages 10 and under I'd guess. They would kind of chase the dad around some of the stretches or he'd let the kids run ahead of him, or the kids would have a race amongst themselves...it warmed my cold cold heart. I wanted to go up to the parents and be like "As a child that grew up in a family with no sense of the importance of fitness and was coincidentally overweight since I was 9, please keep doing this for them!!" but I thought that would be a little much. Instead I went with "Hi".)

Well, I'm off to watch the Redsksins game. I haven't watched a game in maybe 6 weeks? But they're playing the Broncos today and I'm interested to see how Champ Bailey (a beloved former Redskin) and Eddie Royal (a former Hokie and he/his family is from my town) play. I'm watching a Redskins game to see how the OTHER TEAM plays. So sad. I love you, Skins, but...yikes.