Getting Back on Track

Finally this evening I am starting to feel a little more back to normal. That means working out tomorrow....NO EXCUSES! I must admit after all the walking and stairs on the trip, I have enjoyed having a few days off, but now it is time to get back on track and get back in to the routine of working out!

I am still playing catch up on all the TV I missed while I was gone, and I watched Biggest Loser tonight from last night. It was a great episode, and of course, I cried like I do almost every time. It was great to see all of the contestants pull together and encourage each other at the end of their challenge. It was also great to see Sean show Jesus's love and compassion to another contestant after a hard week. Both were great reminders to me today. First off, how lucky I am to have the same love and support by my friends and family here and the players have for each other and the show. And second, to remind me to show Jesus's love to others, whether I am happy with them or not, whether I agree with their actions or not.

Below is my food for the day...

Short and Sweet

Today was a long day, so I am going to keep today super short and sweet. Below is my food for the day. Dinner is not filled in as I had a work dinner at The Oceanaire tonight. I am really unsure of how many calories I had. I had a glass of wine, one shrimp from a shrimp cocktail, part of a Caesar salad, some Mahi Mahi and then very small tastings of the desserts that were ordered. I had almost 800 calories to spend on dinner, so hopefully I didn't go too far over! I am off to sleep. Hopefully tomorrow I can get pictures uploaded!!

Back to The Real World

After a week off from work, today I was back to the grind. Coming back from vacation is never fun, and apparently, I needed to be reminded about that in every way possible...my car is in the shop (and so far they don't know what is wrong with it!), and my blowdryer and straightener both decided to quit working! So, after work, I picked up a rental car, quickly followed by a run into Target to get a new blowdryer and straightener! I am hoping nothing else decides to break on me!

As you can see from the title, today was weigh in day. I am happy to say I was down another 3 pounds! I am glad that vacation didn't completely ruin my progress! Really, this is a two week total as I didn't weigh in last Monday since I was gone. On vacation I didn't try and count calories. I really just payed attention to portions. I also did a lot of walking! I wore my pedometer every day but one (it was an early morning and I completely forgot!). I will post more about my vacation and what we did each day, along with pictures as the week goes on. But for today, we have the steps totals for each day:

Saturday: 16, 461 (appx. 8.2 miles) - half travel day

Sunday: 20,808 (appx. 10.4 miles)

Monday: unknown (this is the day I forgot, but I think it should be similar to Tuesday)

Tuesday: 22, 245 (appx. 11.1 miles)

Wednesday: 11,753 (appx. 5.9 miles) - half travel day

Thursday: 18,854 (appx. 9.4 miles)

Friday: 13,820 (appx. 6.9 miles) - half travel day

Saturday: 19,266 (appx. 9.6 miles)

Total for the trip (including 20,000 estimate for Monday): 143, 207 steps or approximately 71.6 miles!!

Below is my food for today. I didn't work out as I seem to have caught something at the end of my trip. Hopefully tomorrow will be better.

It's Finally Here!

So here it is, my final post for a little while. Below is my food log for the day. Once again, I didn't find the time to do my workout. I am finding I really hate to admit that, which is great because that means this blog really is keeping me accountable. I am taking my pedometer on the trip and will try to remember and log my steps for each day. I am also going to weigh in the Monday after I return (I get back on Sunday), so I am hoping those two things will keep me accountable on my trip. I know I will make food allowances here and there, but I will keep it all in moderation because I will have the fear of weighing and posting my loss the day I get back.

I hope everyone has a great week!

Let the Countdown Begin!

For those of you that don't know, I am leaving on vacation on Friday! I can't wait! I am going to London to visit my sister, then heading over to Barcelona for a few days! That being said, the last few days have been crazy getting ready for the trip. I am pretty much packed (which is amazing for me!) and just have a few more things to get done before Friday. And of course, work has been slow for the last few weeks, but things got hectic over the last few days. I worked until 8:45 tonight trying to ensure that I could leave when I need to on Friday to make my flight. (And for those of you that didn't see it on the news, several people in my office building got trapped in an elevator and had to be rescued by the fire department! Sure glad that wasn't me!!) That being said, by the time I got home, I had dinner and worked on some remaining things for the trip, and didn't get a workout in! I know, excuses, excuses. I will just count it as my day off and have to make sure I work out tomorrow and Friday morning! Below is my food for today:

Biggest Loser

Today was the premier of Season 8 of the Biggest Loser! I love this show and always have. The timing of the new season couldn't have been more perfect for me. I have always been emotional watching the show, but tonight, I was more emotional than ever. Every season I watch, wanting to be motivated, wanting to have the opportunities the contestants have. I have always wished I could be on the show. Even tried to get people to go with me to "couples" auditions, but never quite made it. I remember watching seasons past, when some of the girls have weighed in and realized that I weighed the same as some of the girls on the show. Those girls are my size! But this season is different, this season I am giving myself the opportunity to make myself a better me. I see myself in those contestants. I hope that I am able to push myself the way they are pushed on the ranch. I realize my results will be slower than theirs, but watching their weekly success will push me on to my own goals.

Today's Exercise: 30 minutes on the treadmill

Food:

Week Two Results

I was thinking all about what I was going to write about today and almost forgot it was RESULTS DAY! At this morning's weigh in, I discovered that I was down another 2.5 pounds! For a total of 6.5 pounds for my first two weeks. I will admit to being nervous for week two results since you see the Biggest Losers sometimes only come up with 1 or 2 pounds or even sometimes the dreaded +1!

Today was random workout with my friend. We did Tony Horton's (you might have heard from him, he does the P90X workouts) 10 Minute Trainer. There are several 10 minute workouts to choose from including cardio, abs, lower body, full body, power yoga, etc. The program includes a calendar of which workouts to do on which days and in which combinations. We chose to do the cardio and the abs workout. Maybe you are thinking 10 minutes of cardio and then 10 minutes of abs doesn't sound that hard, but let me tell you....it was! I did better than I thought I would in the cardio workout, but the ab workout....wow! I modified several of them, did some of them for half the time, but finally made it to the end. Talk about a long ten minutes!

Today I also tried something new from KFC, their grilled chicken. Their website allows you to build your meals to calculate calories, fat, etc. You can see my full meal below, but I will say, the grilled chicken was pretty good. I don't know that it will become one of my "go to" low calorie fast foods, but it will be nice to through in the mix. I just think it has been so long since I have eaten meat off the bone. I have gotten spoiled with boneless chicken breasts and tenders! But all in all, a good meal and an good adventure in trying to find new healthy fast foods.

Weekend Report

I decide to make one post for the weekend. Friday morning started early with 3o minutes of treadmill time, then off to work. As work wrapped up, the weekend began. First, a high school football game in the rain. Thank goodness for ponchos to stay dry! Friday's food is below in the chart.

Saturday, I slept late, and therefore ate no breakfast (horrible, I know!). For lunch I fixed a sandwich (235), had a lunch bag of Baked Lays (120) and a Pepsi to drink (a splurge at 140!). After lunch settled, I did my Jillian Michael's video once again. Still so good and so hard! During the Texas football game (thank goodness they picked it up in the 2nd half!), I had a Smart Ones Peanut Butter Sundae dessert. So yummy at 170 calories. A little later, for some calcium, I had a Kraft 2% Sharp Cheddar snack cheese for 90 calories. For dinner, I went to Chipotle with friends. Since I had so many calories, I got a pretty full bowl...lettuce, chicken, rice, black beans, cheese, and sour cream for 640 calories! Not bad. Then off course I wrapped up the day with a Skinny Cow Chocolate Truffle bar for 100 calories. That wrapped the day up with a total of 1,515 calories.

Sunday started out with a Chocolate Raspberry Luna Bar (170) for breakfast, and I must say, I really enjoyed it. I met some people at Tin Star for lunch and got the fish tacos with a side of black beans. According to the website, they had a fish taco plate (using lettuce leaves instead of tortillas for 390 calories. When I got there, I didn't see the option, so I just order the grilled fish tacos and hoped it was the same thing. Just in case I had more calories than the website said, I am counting lunch at 500 calories. For dinner I met a friend at Jason's Deli before church. I had a Turkey Wrap (359), Baked Lays (130) and of course, ice cream (130). After church, I came home, did my 30 minutes on the treadmill. Today my total calories were only 1,289. I should have had a larger breakfast or had a snack this afternoon. But now, at 10:30, I am short of calories, but don't want to eat right before bed. Hopefully this isn't too bad for my metabolism.

Tomorrow is weigh in day for dreading week two! Fingers crossed!

Mexican Casserole

I am so glad it is almost the weekend! Even though this was a short work week, it sure felt long. I completely forgot to post the Mexican Casserole recipie yesterday that I have been eating all week, so here it is. I have really enjoyed it.

Mexican Casserole

Makes 4 servings

Ingredients:

2 Cans 98% Fat Free Campbell's Cream of Chicken Soup

1 can of Swanson's Chicken Breast (packed in Water)

1 small can chopped green chili

1/4 cup salsa

1 1/2 cup finely pre-shredded reduced fat cheese

8 corn tortillas

Tear up tortillas into bite size pieces and mix with all ingredients EXCEPT CHEESE...only add half of cheese to mix. Put it all in an 8X8 baking dish and top with remaining cheese. Cover and bake at 350 degrees till cheese is all melted and bubbly on sides (30-45 minutes). You can top each serving with a tablespoon of fat free or low fat sour cream and some salsa...but my calorie count doesn't include any extras.

390 calories per serving

Below is my food for the day. I decided today would be my break day from working out, so I did a little window shopping in the mall after work to get some walking in, but other than that, took it pretty easy. Tomorrow morning I will be back on the treadmill before work!

09-09-09

Once a week I want to try to mix up my workouts and do something new. The normal plan is to do this with one of my friends, but that didn't work out this week due to work schedules. So, I decided that today would be the day to mix it up. I had noticed on my On Demand channel, that I could get Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred, and being a huge Biggest Loser fan, I thought I would give it a try. The workout is for 20 minutes (thank goodness! If it was longer, I might have died!) and works in intervals. Three minutes of strength, two minutes of cardio, and one minute of abs. I actually kinda surprised myself because I really liked it! I was dripping with sweat, and couldn't make it through every single step without stopping, but loved the challenge!

I am open to suggestions of other fun things to through in my weekly rotation. I am trying to make sure they have a least some focus on strength since that is really what is missing from my treadmill time.

Below is my food for the day. As you can see I still lacked 85 calories, so I ate a 1/2 ounce of cashews with my dinner for 80 calories.

Orange Cup

Today I had Orange Cup for a snack. One of the best parts about working attached to the Galleria is being able to walk downstairs and grab a snack. So what is Orange Cup? It is great frozen yogurt with a variety of toppings. The great part about their frozen yogurt, is shares qualities of actual yogurt, like live and active cultures. I get Zum yogurt (which has a slight orange taste) with strawberries, bananas, and Fruity Pebbles. The extra fun part is that they print out the nutritional information on a sticker which goes on the cup, so you know exactly what you are getting.

Below is my food for the day. The Mexican Casserole for dinner was good, and so easy to make! I will post the recipe tomorrow so you can try it out if you are looking to get your Mexican fix and still watch your calories. I completed 30 minutes on the treadmill once again today.

Labor Day = Results Day!

The much anticipated first results day! Ok, maybe more anticipated by me than by you, but still. I must admit I was nervous stepping on the scale this morning. Will all my work pay off? Did counting all those calories pay off? And....IT DID! In my first week, I lost four pounds! I found myself wishing and hoping that I could have results like that every week, but I realize that isn't going to be the case. So, for those of you who watch the Biggest Loser....today begins the dreaded Week Two!

Today was a good food day! I started out the day with a Jimmy Dean D-Lites Breakfast Bowl (230) and a banana (105). For lunch, I had what might be one of my new favorite go to foods, the BBQ Chopped Chicken Salad from Panera Bread. It was fantastic! And only 490 calories (including dressing!)! I wish I knew why salads always taste better out, than at home, but they just do. I had a great 50 calorie snack today too, a Mini Babybel Light. I wrapped up the day with a turkey and cheese sandwich (295), a pear fruit cup (70), and an ounce of cashews (160). And of course, who can forget dessert...a 100 calorie Skinny Cow Truffle Bar. I think today might be the first day that I have come in exactly at 1,500 calories.

Hope everyone had a great Labor Day!

Canton Sunday!

Today was a day with the girls, spent mostly at First Monday Trade Days in Canton, TX. If you don't know what First Monday is, well, it is often referred to as The World's Largest Garage Sale or Flea Market. I read on one website that there are 28 miles of aisles and pavilions to shop through, and after today, I believe it! I wore my pedometer to track our walking, and as I am sitting here tonight, my pedometer reads 29,196!!! For those of you keeping up, about 2,000 steps is a mile...which means we walked about 14 miles (more or less)! That is crazy! After Canton, we also ran up to the Allen Outlet Malls, so there was more walking done there, but the majority was done at Canton. That being said, I also decided that I didn't need to walk on my treadmill now that I am home. I am pretty sure I got enough walking in today!

Canton is also a place of very dangerous, State Fair-type foods (think funnel cakes, turkey legs, fried Twinkies, you get the idea), so I decided it would be smart to pack my own food. Our traditional Canton trips always start with a breakfast trip to McDonald's, where I got the Fruit and Yogurt Parfait (160 calories). My packed lunch and snacks consisted of: a banana (105), an Oatmeal Raisin Walnut Clif bar (240), 2 oz cashews (320), and a Nutz over Chocolate Luna Bar (180)...totaling 1000 calories for the majority of my day. I just finished dinner of a turkey and cheese sandwich (295) and a coke (140) making my daily count 1,435. I am debating on having an ice cream bar later (100) which will just barely put me over the daily calories, but with all those steps walked, I think it is ok!

Don't forget to check in tomorrow for the first weight loss results! Finger's crossed!!

Sic 'em Bears!

I love the beginning of college football season, and I loved it even more this year! Baylor was victorious over Wake Forest on the road! It is the beginning to what all Baylor fans hope is a great season. I am pulling for a bowl game!!

So, other than college football, today was spent doing my 30 minutes on the treadmill, running errands, and packing my lunch for tomorrow's adventure to Canton (but more on that tomorrow).

Breakfast

Banana - 105

Lunch

Chick-Fil-A Chargrilled Sandwich - 260

Medium Fries - 370

Snack

PopSecret 94% Fat Free Snack Popcorn - 130

Dinner

Turkey Sandwich - 295

Banana - 105

Smart Ones Peanut Butter Cup Sundae - 170

Coke (3/4) - 105

Total - 1,540

Friday Night Lights

Tonight was my first high school football game of the season, and for sure won't be my last! And I must say, the weather was just perfect! I am so excited football season is here and I can't wait for the first Baylor game tomorrow!!

Today was also my first day to work out on my treadmill. I don't think I have ever walked or run on one before, so it was definitely a new experience for me. It took a little while to get used to, but I caught on. I started with no incline, and increased to 2%, 3% and then 4% for the last 5 minutes. Right now I started with walking for 30 minutes. Each Friday I want to increase by 5 minutes, and each day I will be working on increasing speed.

Below is my food list for today. I ended up going to On The Border for dinner. I was pleasantly surprised that they had some healthy options. I ended up getting the Pico Shrimp Tacos with black beans and rice for 780 calories. Really it comes with veggies instead of rice, but I subsituted since I had extra calories to use.

It's Here!

The treadmill is finally here! After sitting around and waiting for it to arrive this morning, it is finally here! The VERY large, VERY heavy box showed up around 12:30, and then off to work I went. I am very lucky to have a great and handy friend, Dave, who came over to help me put it together. I couldn't have been more thankful! Another bonus for today...I went by Lowe's after work and picked up a tool box, so now all my tools can be together in one place! Man, I sound like a real grown up!

So, I didn't take as many pictures as I thought I would while putting the treadmill together. To the left is the finished product, and below is the aftermath of all the large boxes and cardboard that are left over. I feel like I will be cutting down boxes and taking it out in the trash for a long time to come!

My food is below. Today was the first day that I had to deal with eating out with a friend. I tried to not eat too many calories during the day as I had no idea what Dave would want to have for dinner. I ended up leaving a whopping 970 calories for dinner! Dave picked this whole in the wall Italian place, Tony's (on NW Hwy at Easton), and there was a line out the door waiting for tables. We ended up ordering a large pepperoni pizza to go and then picking up some Shiner on the way back to the house. I ate one and a half pieces of pizza. I looked up calories on the internet, and according to what I found, one piece has 360 calories, so total for my pizza, 540. I also had one and a half Shiner's. I also used the internet, and looks like I drank 213 calories in beer...for a dinner total of 753 calories. Today was my first day that I am under my calories but a decent amount. Not great, but I was so scared of eating too many calories.

I didn't work out today either, other than putting together the treadmill...which actually was a pretty good workout! Overall today was my best food and exercise day, but it could have been worse!

More and more people are finding out about my blog daily, which is great because it is more and more accountability and encouragement for me! I originially didn't think I wanted that many people to know, but as the days go on, I am more and more willing to share with others. Dave even joked tonight that he was a horrible friend picking pizza for dinner when he was helping me put together a treadmill, so needless to say, he now knows about the blog!

Now off to finish watching Project Runway and get some sleep!

Hump Day

So, I got exciting news today...my treadmill is coming tomorrow. And I have already recruited a guy friend to come over tomorrow night to help me put it all together. The space is ready, the protective floor mat is laid, I can't wait! I am ready for a routine and to be able to do my walk before work.

I worked on putting together a list of foods that I think we will work in to my calorie plan while eating out. I am going to print it out and carry it with me, so that I can refer to while I am out and hopefully cut down on the stress of eating out!

Another day of success eating my allowed calories and did another mile and a quarter walk after work. My pedometer reads 12,332! I looked up to see how many steps equal mile, and it is approximately 2,000. So, today, over 6 miles walked!

Day Two

Day two was good. Day two was easier. Today was the first venture eating out for lunch, and I must say, I LOVE Chick-fil-A!! I have always loved CFA, but today, I had a new appreciation for them. Not only do they have great food, they have so many healthy options. Even better, they have a website that gives the nutrition information for all items (including condiments!) and a meal calculator that allows you to compile all your food for total calories, fat, everything! Such a handy tool. I love places that understand that people are watching what they eat, and any tool that can help with that is such a bonus and takes the stress out of decision making. There is no guess work, it is all right there for you.

I got this flyer the last time I was at CFA, so if you are looking for somewhere quick to eat on Labor Day, check it out!!

I think I figured out a better way to do my food list today, so hopefully this is easier for everyone to read! A new addition today are the goals for calories, fat, and fiber. As you can see, when I did this list, I had a deficit of 65 calories, but no fat left. I realize it is important to eat all my calories, but I was struggling with what I could have. Once I got home, I found the solution...Fat Free Chocolate Milk from Skinny Cow! Not only does it fill in the missing calories, I get chocolate and calcium! I deem that a success!!

Today I walked another 1.25 miles. I didn't wear my pedometer today...haven't quite figured out what to do when I wear a dress to work! The best part about today's walk, I got to share it with a friend! We decided that each week we would do something one day together. Such a fun thing! Trying different work outs, getting to hang out, and motivating each other. I couldn't ask for anything more!

Oh, and treadmill update...it gets delivered on Friday! This is two weeks before the "expected delivery date"! If you can't tell, I am a little excitied about it! So, Saturday will be a fun time figuring out how to put it together. I am sure there will be pictures of that event, so get ready!!