I Was Wrong!

Granted, smallest loss since I started, but at least it wasn't a gain!

Breakfast: two eggs (one yolk), slice of whole-grain wheat bread, extra-thin fruit smoothie (yogurt, banana, whey protein, cinnamon, skim milk).

Lunch: Salad (cup of spinach, cup of romaine mix, serving of red pepper, serving of grilled chicken, olive oil, balsamic vinegar), apple, carrots.

Snack: Mixed nuts, raisins, sharp cheddar cheese.

Dinner: Bottom round, two servings of asparagus, glass of wine (it is New Year's Eve, right?), dark chocolate.

So here's the deal: a too-green banana is a disgusting thing. I figured out to mix the skim milk concoction in to make the taste at least somewhat bearable. Thankfully the rest of the bananas have ripened and can be cut up and frozen now.

Happy New Year, everybody! I'm glad to be able to say I finished up the last three weeks of the year losing every week. This week's magic number: 6.447

I'm Gonna Call It Now: Gain This Week

I tried to be good. I really did. But I got up late, only had one meal before people started arriving tonight, and so the meatball buffet had me at "Hello." And then there was the other stuff. I did managed to get some fruit in, and I didn't have any chocolate... but with everything else I ate, that's not saying much! However, I only have the traditional New Year's Day party to worry about now, and I think I can behave there... so I'm also going to call no more bad eating until my birthday party.

Breakfast: Two eggs (one yolk), slice of whole-grain wheat bread, fruit smoothie (yogurt, banana--a banana that wasn't ripe enough by the way, which is disgusting... and I have to eat the other half tomorrow), skim milk with whey protein and cinnamon.

Party grazing: About ten crackers with cream cheese and jalapeno jelly. About 15 pita chips with roasted red pepper hummus. About 40 meatballs. Yes, 40. Roughly equal amounts of each kind of meatball on the buffet... not that it matters. The buffalo chicken meatballs I also ate some fat-free ranch with. There was also another two crackers I ate, one with some sort of cheese spread, and another with... I don't know what sort of spread it was. If anyone that brought the other spread that wasn't the two-tone cheese spread or the hummus wants to share via comment, knock yourself out. Also: about one serving of fruit from Tim's fruit treat--two kinds of apples, pear, and some sort of citrus fruit, like tangerine or something (of which I had like one tiny bite of). A couple of pieces of that I had yogurt on, as well.

As soon as I finish typing: 5 prunes. Here's hoping in the morning, just before I weigh in, I'm moved to lose just a little bit of weight.

The Trouble with Broiling

Actually, what I think is the trouble with broiling probably is not what other people think the trouble with broiling is. My trouble is if I cook asparagus along with broiling the bottom round, I have the hardest time getting them to come out together and being cooked correctly. However, I'm getting close. I think I figured it out today... well, I figured out for sure how not to do it, anyway. What I need is one of those two-oven get-ups that I thought I'd never need... and still don't really believe I do (I honestly don't do a lot of "at the same time" cooking).

Whatever, I'll figure it out.

Breakfast: Two eggs (one yolk), slice of whole-wheat bread, fruit smoothie (yogurt, banana), skim milk with whey protein and cinnamon.

Lunch: Salad (cup of spinach, cup of romaine mix, serving of red pepper, serving of grilled chicken, olive oil, balsamic vinegar), carrots, apple.

Dinner: Bottom round, two servings of asparagus, mixed nuts, raisins, sharp cheddar cheese, dark chocolate.

In other news, my overindulgence this week probably won't cause a gain... but will be causing the loss to be pretty small, I think. I really have to figure out the exercise thing. Crossing the street with Binx two days ago I was "kick walking" along with him, and wasn't winded in the least.

Perhaps the time has come. Perhaps now I can walk a few blocks without panting and wheezing.

Perhaps.

Late Start, but on Track

I was very slow to get up today. VERY slow. And, despite being a little hungry when I went to bed last night (which is the way you're supposed to go to bed, according to the O'Keefes), I wasn't in any rush to make breakfast--and not just because I forgot to buy eggs.

Actually, the plan was to heat up some of the grilled chicken and eat that instead of eggs this morning, then go buy eggs and hard boil a couple and put two of them (one of the yolks, mind you) in my salad instead of the grilled chicken.

Then I just decided to go to the store... and by then it was afternoon, anyway.

And I ran into a Colette there, and we ended up talking forever... so breakfast was way late today.

Breakfast (of sorts): Two eggs (one yolk), slice of whole-grain bread, fruit smoothie (yogurt, banana), skim milk with whey protein and cinnamon.

Lunch: Salad (cup of spinach, cup of romaine mix, serving of red pepper, serving of grilled chicken, olive oil, balsamic vinegar), carrots, apple.

Snack: Mixed nuts, raisins, sharp cheddar cheese.

Dinner: Bottom round, asparagus (3.6 servings, to be exact), dark chocolate.

I keep wanting to try "cooking" my own yogurt, but never get around to it. Maybe Friday. We'll see.

Making All My Meals First Thing in the Morning!

I had a day-trip to Omaha today, and I realized when I went to bed I should probably just prep my lunch and dinner when I make my breakfast, thus being able to eat "right" today.

I prefer to bring my own food not because I don't trust others to be able to feed me, but because I don't trust my knowledge of what should be eaten in place of whatever I normally eat that isn't available. I seriously have researched most of what I eat--or at least the plant items.

So that's what I did first thing this morning. It worked out pretty good--but I don't know that I'd do it every day!
Breakfast: Two eggs (one yolk), slice of whole-grain wheat bread, fruit smoothie (yogurt, banana), skim milk with whey protein and cinnamon.

Lunch: Salad (cup of spinach, cup of romaine, serving of red pepper, serving of grilled chicken, olive oil, balsamic vinegar), carrots, apple.

Dinner: Bottom round, two servings of asparagus.

Yes, I'm missing a serving of fruit... but I'll live!

Final Holiday Meal of the Season!

And I went all-out for it! Whatever. I just don't want to end up with an overall gain for the week. Pray for this.

Breakfast: Two eggs (one yolk), slice of whole-grain wheat bread, fruit smoothie (yogurt, banana), skim milk with whey protein and cinnamon.

Lunch (the holiday meal): Slice of apple, roll, turkey, corn pudding, stuffing (?), green bean casserole, noodles (with chicken, I think), mashed potatoes. After meal grazing: slice of apple with dip, three (yes, three) more rolls, two slices of banana bread, about four croissant things with chocolate in them (they had a name, but it escapes me). Bit of iced cookie. Little more turkey. Grazing sucks.

Dinner: Bottom round, two servings of asparagus.

So now I have to make it through the week. Day trip to Omaha tomorrow. If I don't pack a lunch (and maybe a dinner), I won't do well. And guests over Thursday night, with plenty of graze food available. I must plan accordingly. Must.

Stupid Popcorn! Stupid Cookies!

Okay, stupid me.

Breakfast: Two eggs (one yolk), slice of double-fiber whole-grain wheat bread, fruit smoothie (yogurt, banana), skim milk with whey protein and cinnamon.

Lunch: Salad (cup of spinach, cup of romaine mix, serving of red pepper, serving of grilled chicken, olive oil, vinegar), carrots, apple.

Dinner: Um... no, not really. Had about 6 cups of movie theatre popcorn, no fake butter added. Then, at Ben & Tricia's where I ran a quick errand for my out-of-town friends, I ate some cold turkey (I think it was turkey--by the way, Tricia, I ate some cold maybe-turkey while I was there earlier) and three of the Santa cookies. Don't judge. I hadn't had dinner. Well, if you don't count the popcorn and the cookies.

Anyway, tomorrow I'll probably be bad again, but I have to get back on the wagon Monday for sure... although I'm driving to Omaha on Monday. I need to pack a lunch and plan well.

Somebody Start Using Soothing Tones NOW!

Ugh. It speaks for itself...

Breakfast: Two eggs (one yolk), slice of double-fiber whole-grain wheat bread, fruit smoothie (yogurt, banana), skim milk with whey protein and cinnamon.

Lunch:

Hello? Lunch?

Hello?

After no lunch: About 10 sugar cookies. Maybe five or six actual baked cookies, and the rest batter off of fingers during the prepping process (no worries about lack of hygiene--hands were washed after each "snacking").

Dinner (or Late Lunch): Baked tilapia, carrots, sharp cheddar cheese, mixed nuts. Yes, we can maintain.

After dinner at party: Carrots, green peppers, broccoli (about a serving of vegetables altogether), ham sandwich on wheat bun with spicy mustard, some cheese, some shrimp, couple of chocolate-covered cherries of some kind or other, a few chocolate-covered pretzels, some peppermint-fudge-brittle stuff, few chips with salsa, Oreo ball... and maybe some more sweets.

The day did not end well.

And I had such a great start to the day. I'm so close to a mini-goal, I can taste it!

Actually, I can still taste a lot of chocolate and sweets. I need some water.

Anyway, the magic number for this week is 6.439! Just to give you an idea, my first mini-goal is to get that to 6.523. The next mini-goal will be at 6.669 or so. On that day, I'll be doing a very happy dance. It will be a landmark day, for sure. But the big goal is still to reach 10.

Okay, I will recover. I've had bad days before. Family Christmas dinner is Sunday. I'll be good tomorrow, do what I can on Sunday, and then be good most of next week (although I'll probably have a bad meal Thursday night, which makes me a little nervous, what with stepping on the scales Friday morning and all).

Whatever, I refuse to gain. I'm still trying to put together a decent 30-minute indoor exercise routine. Once I have that together, I'll be unstoppable.

Unless you offer me candy.

Oh Yeah, Cookie Dough...

It's 11:19, less than an hour to midnight, and I just realized I was going to make cookie dough today--and was all worried about the temptation to sample it repeatedly.

Guess what, I need to go to the store and buy some ingredients to make some cookie dough. I guess I'll do that right after I finish blog-updating.

Breakfast: Baked tilapia, slice of double-fiber whole-grain wheat bread, fruit smoothie (yogurt, banana), skim milk with whey protein and cinnamon.

Lunch: Salad (cup of spinach, cup of romaine, serving of red pepper, serving of grilled chicken, olive oil, balsamic vinegar), carrots, apples.

Dinner: Mixed nuts, raisins, sharp cheddar cheese, bottom round, two servings of asparagus, and dark chocolate.

I just realized I have to cut up some bananas and some red peppers, too. In my defense, a chunk of time was unexpectedly spent looking up scholarships online, and I got wrapped up in a video project or two as well. Okay, not so good in the defense department...

And ANOTHER Thing About Price Chopper...

Law, I've become someone with an opinion about a grocery store...

But seriously, those self-checkout lanes need to come with an option of "I brought my own bags." I have to set everything down on the bag area, since it also works as a check that I'm not stealing the things I just scanned in, and if I put my bag down there first, it thinks I'm stealing something. So I basically bag after I've rung it all up.

Okay, not the biggest issue in the world, but when you shop like every other day, it gets irritating.

Breakfast: Two eggs (one yolk), slice of double-fiber whole-grain wheat bread, fruit smoothie (yogurt, banana), skim milk with whey protein.

Lunch: Salad (cup of spinach, cup of romaine mix, serving of red pepper, serving of grilled chicken, olive oil, balsamic vinegar), carrots, prunes.

Dinner: Mixed nuts, raisins, sharp cheddar cheese, bottom round, two servings of asparagus, dark chocolate.

I'm still in the air about what to bring to the family deal. I'm seriously thinking of preparing asparagus. Is that un-holiday-y of me? But then I'd take care of a vegetable while I wreck the rest of my meal! Cody has volunteered to make fruit salsa and cinnamon chips, and we're in discussions about how that would work. Since we're having this the day after Christmas, I'd hate to have him spend Christmas day prepping food for an event he won't be at!

Then again, if he becomes a chef, he'll be doing a lot of that.

Whatever, I'm still on the fence.

Yes, I Can Sit in a Car with Someone Eating Fast Food and Still Turn Down a French Fry.

After we looked at a school today, Cody was hungry (actually, I was, too, but was determined to hold off until I got home, where I could eat a salad, an apple, and some carrots), and I stopped by BK to get him what turned out to be a typical teen lunch (seriously, where does it all go?). The smell did make me wish I had a burger and some fries, but when he offered me a fry, I still managed to turn it down.

He apologized as soon as he offered, actually, but I explained that it was kinda cool to be able to have the willpower to say, "No, I'm good."

Seriously, me and willpower have never traveled in the same circles. Until recently, anyway.

Breakfast: Baked tilapia, slice of double-fiber whole-grain wheat bread, fruit smoothie (yogurt, banana), skim milk with whey protein and cinnamon.

Lunch: Salad (cup of spinach, cup of romaine mix, serving of red pepper, serving of grilled chicken, olive oil and balsamic vinegar), carrots, apple.

Dinner: Bottom round, about two-and-a-half servings of asparagus, sharp cheddar cheese, mixed nuts, raisins, and dark chocolate.

I had to step on the scales this morning. I was just paranoid. All is well. Still, I worry that I worry. Maybe worry is taking up the spot my feeding frenzy used to live in.

Now THIS is What Winter Break is All About!

I did nothing today. Seriously, nothing.

Okay, I existed. And I watched some television and played some Wii and helped Cody get his phone to communicate with my computer under his login. And I did some laundry. Oh, and I fought with my computer to print a picture of Mom to put in that ornament I bought weeks ago. (I won.) I'll probably replace some bulbs that aren't working on the tree, too. I have to do something to keep busy until it's time to try to go take a picture of the bloody moon.

But my point is: despite my confession to the contrary, I did nothing today.

Breakfast: Two eggs (one yolk), slice of double-fiber whole-grain wheat bread, fruit smoothie (yogurt, banana), skim milk with whey protein and cinnamon.

Lunch: Salad (cup of spinach, cup of romaine mix, serving of red pepper, serving of grilled chicken, olive oil, vinegar), carrots, apple.

Snack: Mixed nuts, raisins, sharp cheddar cheese.

Dinner: Bottom round, two servings of asparagus, dark chocolate.

My whole schedule was off, as well. I slept way too late because I stayed up way too late, and that's a bad habit to get into, but I'm going to be up somewhat late tonight as well, since I want to try to get pictures of the eclipse. I'm seeing posts on fb about cloud coverage, so this may all be for naught... but I'm going to try, anyway. I mean, I have to do SOMETHING today...

Episode Whatever: The Short Long List

I went to the store to buy raisins and milk. Seriously, that was all that was on the list.

Well, technically carrots were on the list, because I realized earlier today I was going to be down to -1 baby carrots after lunch tomorrow.

And, I guess apples were on the list, because I realized I was out of apples as well just as I was pulling into my parking spot.

So I'm heading toward the apples and I realize I'm about to run out of romaine mix, and in just another couple of days would be out of spinach... so I added those to the list there in the store.

Right after I picked up the carrots, I saw the bananas, and realized I may as well pick some up, as they'll take a couple of days to ripen, and by then I'll be out of bananas.

Then, I saw the "international" food aisle, and thought I should see if I could find that item that I may or may not have identified correctly from dinner last night. They actually look more like this thing called "bean strings", which I can't find on the internet--or at least on a site in English. I didn't buy any, but going down that aisle led to my remembering I needed some more Pam (the olive-oil variety).

And, as long as I'm getting extra-virgin olive oil Pam, I should probably pick up some extra-virgin olive oil, right? Especially since I'm almost out.

But the next aisle over: raisins. Original mission halfway accomplished!

Once I had that taken care of, I headed off toward the milk--and actually overshot it, which led to an internal debate about buying eggs--and then started looking for those "I don't want plastic or paper" cloth bags, as I'd left all mine at home.

That search reminded me I was almost out of vitamins, and the trip to the vitamins made me go by the toothpaste--and I'm almost out of toothpaste, so...

And come to think of it, I haven't replaced my toothbrush the past four times I should have--or however the math works out on that.

So, to recap...

Original mission: raisins and milk.

Actual purchase: apples, romaine mix, spinach, carrots, bananas, Pam, extra-virgin olive oil, raisins, milk, toothpaste, vitamins, toothbrush. (I convinced myself to hold off on the eggs.)

Also: shopping hungry is hell on earth. Everything bad looked extra-good. I ate an apple on the way home.

Breakfast: Two eggs (one yolk), slice of double-fiber whole-grain wheat bread (I should have gone down the bread aisle to see what was on sale, now that I think of it), fruit smoothie (yogurt, banana), skim milk with whey protein and cinnamon.

Lunch: Salad (cup of spinach, cup of romaine mix, serving of red peppers, serving of grilled chicken, olive oil, balsamic vinegar), carrots, prunes.

Snack: Apple, mixed nuts.

Dinner: Baked tilapia, two servings of asparagus, sharp cheddar cheese, dark chocolate.

Speaking of grocery shopping: They know we know those "saver" cards are to track our purchases and compile data about us, right? I mean, do they think it's some secret? The reason I ask is this: Couldn't they make those automatic check-out things recognize things you purchase regularly and put those on the "popular items" screen so I don't have to search for the Honeycrisp apples every single time? This goes for red peppers, as well. And asparagus. Thankfully, yellow bananas are a popular item

Okay, way too much about a simple trip to the grocery store. Ben & Tricia and the girls went out of town today, so I'm not at my regular Sunday gig. I've opted to blather on in order to keep myself occupied.

Well, Other Than the Sodium...

I ate at Hong's tonight (I don't know the full name--I just know typing "Hong" into the Garmin got me the place Jordan and I had eaten at before), and I think I behaved. I mean, I don't know for sure what this one thing was, and I had crazy sodium because the "sauce" I put together had lots of soy sauce... and I guess I should look up sesame oil, just to be sure it's not like the worst thing ever... and I suppose it would help if I knew what was in the "house sauce"...

Whatever, I feel I did pretty good. The fact I didn't go up for a round two is enough for at least a real good pat on the back, were I able to reach far enough to give a real good pat.

Breakfast: Two eggs (one yolk), slice of double-fiber whole-grain wheat bread, fruit smoothie (yogurt, banana), skim milk with whey protein and cinnamon.

Lunch: Salad (cup of spinach, cup of romaine mix, serving of red peppers, serving of grilled chicken, olive oil, balsamic vinegar), carrots, apple.

Dinner: Mongolian stir-fry (broccoli, onion, red and green peppers, chicken, mushrooms, what I think was shirataki noodles, and a sort-of Mongolian BBQ sauce (two ladles of soy sauce, ladle of wine, ladle of sesame oil, ladle of house sauce, and half a ladle of kung pau sauce)). And I threw some cashews on after it was fried up.

I'm not having my cheat meal tomorrow, so any bad in this meal can be blamed on "cheat meal".

Am I Onto Something?

This week was my third-biggest loss since I started this! But guess what else: the week after my big "bad" Thanksgiving week was my third-biggest loss since I started this up until... well, this week.

So I wonder if there's something to being a little "bad" for a couple of meals, then getting back onto the path to thinniddity. Seriously. Any people who know about these things have any input on this. I'm just some guy who read a book and then tried to remember what was in it, so I know nothing (or so close to nothing as to be just about the same as).

Whatever.

Breakfast: Two eggs (one yolk), slice of double-fiber whole-grain wheat bread, fruit smoothie (yogurt, banana), skim milk with whey protein and cinnamon.

Lunch: Salad (cup of spinach, cup of romaine mix, serving of red peppers, serving of grilled chicken, olive oil, balsamic vinegar), prunes, carrots, and a chocolate truffle.

Dinner: Bottom round, two servings of asparagus, mixed nuts, sharp cheddar cheese, apple.

Yeah, that's right: chocolate truffle. I'm a rebel. Actually, some kid made it, so I really am a risk-taker. I did have a debate about it, and it wasn't internal, so I got called a woman. Or a girl. Some sort of female. I've known a few females (some of my closest friends are females), and other than the whole cooty thing they seemed to go through when I was in elementary school, they seem pretty okay. So when I think of a comeback, I'm going to call those folks up and let 'em have it!

And the magic number: 6.329!

I Prep Food a Lot

Seriously, I'm always chopping or cutting or grilling. I'm not complaining. This is just something I noticed today. I kinda like it.

Breakfast: Two eggs (one yolk), slice of double-fiber whole-grain wheat bread, fruit smoothie (banana, yogurt), skim milk with whey protein and cinnamon.

Lunch: Salad (cup of spinach, cup of romaine mix, serving of red peppers, serving of grilled chicken, olive oil, balsamic vinegar), prunes, carrots.

Dinner: Mixed nuts, raisins, sharp cheddar cheese, bottom round, two servings of asparagus, dark chocolate.

I'm also thinking about food a lot... what to try next, etc. I don't know, I never thought much about Doritos.

Up Again

Okay, first of all I'm up later than I want to be. Yuck.

Secondly, I watched the end of "Up" tonight. I love that movie.

Breakfast: Two eggs (one yolk), slice of double-fiber whole-grain wheat bread, fruit smoothie (yogurt, banana), skim milk with whey protein and cinnamon.

Lunch: Salad (cup of spinach, cup of romaine mix, serving of red pepper, serving of grilled chicken, olive oil, balsamic vinegar), apple, carrots.

Dinner: Bottom round, two servings of asparagus, mixed nuts, raisins, sharp cheddar cheese, dark chocolate.

Can you tell I weighed in this morning and was back on the losing side again? Note the inclusion of cheese and chocolate (I already brought the mixed nuts back into the mix last night).

It seems crazy I could have such a drastic change just for one bad meal item on Friday and some fairly bad (but nothing like I used to do) eating on Saturday night. I wonder if I'm sleep-eating. I'd pretty much have to be sleep-shopping as well, though. There's candy in the candy dish, but it's only disappearing when Cody is over. And if I was drinking the soda in the fridge, I'd be sleep-recycling, too, because the cans aren't to be found.

Whatever. I got under where I was last Friday with two days to spare. I'll call it a good week.

Carrots, and More Carrots

Another pretty typical day, I suppose. I need to buy some vegetables, hence the double-up on carrots, but I just didn't have it in me to go to the store after going yesterday and the day before.

Breakfast: Baked talapia, slice of double-fiber whole-grain wheat bread, fruit smoothie (yogurt, banana), skim milk with whey protein and cinnamon.

Lunch: Salad (cup of spinach, cup of romaine, serving of red pepper, serving of grilled chicken, olive oil, balsamic vinegar), apple, carrots.

Snack: Mixed nuts, raisins.

Dinner: Bottom round, carrots.

I can't believe I didn't report this earlier, but here it is: weekend before last I helped Ben & Tricia get their tree put up and decorated, and after we were done we were headed outside to see the view from the street. Ben noticed there was a light on upstairs that would "ruin the view", so I ran upstairs and turned it off and ran back down before heading out.

Really. Ran. Seriously. I didn't even think about it until I was halfway down the stairs.

Just sayin'.

Nothing to Report

Not the best day. Not food-wise. Morale-wise, it was just about the worst. So it goes.

Breakfast: Two eggs (one yolk), slice of double-fiber whole-grain wheat bread, fruit smoothie (yogurt, banana), skim milk with whey protein and cinnamon.

Snack: Carrots, apple.

Lunch: Salad (cup of spinach, cup of romaine mix, serving of red pepper, serving of grilled chicken, olive oil, balsamic vinegar).

Dinner: Bottom round, about three (maybe four) servings of broccoli.

That's all there is. Working on undoing the damage from Friday and Saturday, so not too worried about that.

Have I Mentioned I Hate Any Gain?

Argh! Hate when I gain, even if it's a bit (and this doesn't strike me as "a bit", so it's worse). I realize what I'm doing now needs to be sort of a full-time thing, but you'd think it wouldn't be a big deal to have some rice on Friday night and typical party fare on Saturday night.

Is this what normal people go through? I mean normal-weight people, because I haven't believed in "normal people" for close to thirty-five years or so now.

Whatever, I'm going to start waking up 30 minutes earlier to do some exercising. I can't deal with this gain nonsense.

Breakfast: Two eggs (one yolk), slice of double-fiber whole-grain wheat bread, fruit smoothie (yogurt, banana), skim milk with whey protein and cinnamon.

Lunch: Salad (cup of spinach, cup of romaine mix, serving of red pepper, serving of grilled chicken, olive oil, balsamic vinegar), apple, carrots.

Dinner: Honey-something chicken (two thighs, part of a breast fillet... yes, I know, shut up--it was the "free meal" despite the other "free meals" I had this weekend), about a cup of noodles (egg noodles, I think), about two or three servings of peas, and a little over a serving (maybe a serving-and-a-half) of Brussels sprouts.

I have to weigh myself tomorrow. I'm sure there's even more damage. Stupid willpower.

Great Party! Bad Eating by Me!

Yeah, I was naughty. Lump of coal for me!
Breakfast: Baked talapia, slice of double-fiber whole-grain wheat bread, fruit smoothie (yogurt, banana), skim milk with whey protein and cinnamon.

Lunch: Salad (cup of spinach, cup of romaine mix, serving of red pepper, serving of grilled chicken, olive oil, balsamic vinegar), carrots, apple.

Dinner: Well, really it was just a bunch of party food. I'll try to summarize as honestly as possible: About 30 meatballs (10 barbecue, 10 Italian, and 10 buffalo chicken). About half a serving of smoked salmon. A potato skin with sour cream. Spinach-artichoke dip (about a quarter cup). Two stuffed mushrooms. Maybe three. Then these things I should know the name of, but don't. Sort of a puffy pastry deal, tiny, some with chicken, some with spinach. I had about four or five of each of those little temptresses. A large number of baby carrots--seriously, like twenty or so. And about five little broccoli florets... maybe six.

So I'll weigh in tomorrow, to see how much damage I've done. Oh, and I realize I didn't put the number on yesterday's post. I'll go back and put it on there after I get this done. Sorry about that. It's been a crazy few days.

Because Jordan Wanted "On the Border"

Because Jordan wanted "On the Border" tonight (and because I don't have willpower of steel), it wasn't the best day. But by far not the worst (thanks, Thanksgiving weekend)!

Breakfast: Two eggs (one yolk), slice of double-fiber whole-grain wheat bread, fruit smoothie (yogurt, banana), skim milk with whey protein and cinnamon.

Snack: Apple, carrots.

Lunch: Salad (cup of spinach, cup of romaine mix, serving of red pepper, serving of grilled chicken, olive oil, balsamic vinegar).

Dinner (At "On the Border"): Three chips and about 3/4 cup of salsa, Chicken Salsa Verde (which was grilled chicken with salsa), about a serving of red pepper, some zucchini and some squash, and some "Mexican rice" as they call it (about a cup). I ate it all. I should have left the rice, but it was there, calling to me.

Like I said, not the worst day, but I wish I hadn't had the rice. I'm sure it won't kill me or even set me back that much. Just don't like giving in, I guess!

Addendum (12/12/10 at 12:24a.m.): I forgot the magic number for the week! 6.25. Strange that it came out only needing the hundredths place (actually, not so much as there was no decimal involved in the scale reading for this week, I guess), but there it is! Again, the goal "magic number" is 10!

Eating the Same Thing

Here's the deal about me eating the same thing every day: I pretty much did this before, but it was all crap. Seriously, I could walk you through the list of things I would buy and what I would eat and we'd be talking about something else a minute after I started, because it would take about 20 seconds to list them all.

So, if you're wondering about me getting tired of eating just about the same thing every day: I don't know how I do it, but I know I was doing it before I started this!

Breakfast: Two eggs (one yolk), slice of double-fiber whole-grain wheat bread, fruit smoothie (yogurt, banana), skim milk with whey protein and cinnamon.

Snack: Prunes, carrots (five baby carrots instead of six--I dropped one on the floor in the cafeteria!)

Lunch: Salad (cup of spinach, cup of romaine mix, serving of red pepper, serving of grilled chicken, olive oil, balsamic vinegar).

Dinner: Mixed nuts, raisins, sharp cheddar cheese, bottom round, about three servings of broccoli, dark chocolate.

Now I have to go grill up some chicken. Maybe I should get a bigger George Foreman Grill so I can grill it all at once instead of having to go through several batches!

Planning is Everything, Apparently

Yeah, I remember thinking I needed to cut up and freeze a banana last night. And then I was making breakfast and realized there was no frozen banana. I need a housekeeper just to keep track of food needs.

Breakfast: Two eggs (one yolk), slice of double-fiber whole-grain wheat bread, skim milk with whey protein and cinnamon.

Lunch: Fruit smoothie (yogurt, banana), salad (cup of spinach, cup of romaine mix, serving of red pepper, serving of grilled chicken, olive oil, balsamic vinegar), carrots, prunes. (I got to go home for lunch today as I had a meeting this afternoon.)

Dinner: Baked talapia, few servings of broccoli, mixed nuts, raisins, sharp cheddar cheese, dark chocolate.

So, yeah: plan. Seriously was off in the morning because I felt hungry earlier than I was used to. Wonky day, but not the worse thing that could happen to a person.

Got on the scale this morning to see what immediate damage was done by the bread-eating the day before. Apparently I'm losing so far this week, but not as much as I was this time last week. So it goes.

White Bread is My Willpower's Kryptonite

Dinner at Lyndsey's tonight. I can handle it. After the Thanksgiving "scare", I know I can overcome any bad meal. It just sucks to fail, I guess.

Breakfast: Two eggs (one yolk), whole-grain wheat toast, fruit smoothie (yogurt, banana), skim milk with whey protein and cinnamon.

Snack: Carrots, apple.

Lunch: Salad (cup of spinach, cup of romaine mix, serving of red pepper, serving of grilled chicken, olive oil, balsamic vinegar).

Dinner: About a cup-and-a-half of angel hair pasta, about half a cup of spaghetti sauce with beef, two servings of asparagus, three (count 'em: one, two, three) pieces of garlic bread, side salad (romaine, onion, tomato, croutons, cheese of some kind) with light balsamic vinaigrette dressing.

Well, I'll weigh myself tomorrow and see how much I regret that pasta and the bread. I'm not going to worry too much about it. That just makes for lost sleep, and I don't need that!

More Fish for Breakfast!

Yes, I have re-heated fish for breakfast. I like it. Don't judge.

Breakfast: Baked tilapia, slice of whole-grain wheat bread, fruit smoothie (yogurt, banana), skim milk with whey protein and cinnamon.

Snack: Carrots, apple.

Lunch: Salad (cup of spinach, cup of romaine mix, serving of red pepper, serving of grilled chicken, olive oil, balsamic vinegar).

Dinner: Bottom round, couple of servings of asparagus, sharp cheddar cheese, mixed nuts, raisins, dark chocolate.

Not a lot to report. Haven't been weighing daily--was a helpful motivator after the holiday, but I kind of like a air of mystery about it, you know?

Potato Night!

Really it was cheat night, but I think of it more as potato night, as this is the one time in a non-holiday week I eat potatoes. It's how I roll. Speaking of rolls, white bread is still a seductive devil.

Breakfast: Two eggs (one yolk), slice of whole-grain wheat bread, fruit smoothie (yogurt, banana), skim milk with whey protein and cinnamon.

Lunch: Salad (cup of spinach, cup of romaine mix, serving of red pepper, serving of grilled chicken, olive oil, balsamic vinegar), carrots, apple.

Dinner: London broil, peas (1.5 servings, maybe), corn (one serving, maybe), mashed potatoes (about a cup).

I don't know how the self-control switched got turned on. I seriously don't. I don't know if the stars aligned, or what. It just did. People keep asking, and all I can think is that I stopped trying and I started doing. The frustrating part is I don't know how to turn that into something that means anything to people lucky enough to live outside my mind.

At Long Last: The Bread Story

I had a different title for this, but then I decided to share the bread story. It made no sense to have a random title there and a couple of sentences here explaining I couldn't think of a title, so I've switched it all to reflect the fact I'm going to finally share the bread story.

There's no car chases or UFOs in this story, so don't get all stoked and whatnot.

Breakfast: Two eggs (one yolk), slice of whole-grain wheat bread, fruit smoothie (yogurt, banana), skim milk with whey protein and cinnamon.

Lunch: Salad (cup of spinach, cup of romaine mix, serving of red pepper, serving of grilled chicken, olive oil, balsamic vinegar), prunes, carrots.

Dinner: Baked tilapia, about two servings (more, probably) of steamed broccoli, mixed nuts, raisins, sharp cheddar cheese.

Snack: Dark chocolate.

And now I'll finally tell the bread story, even though I don't have dates. Many months ago, I tried this diet thing out for a few days. At that time, I bought a loaf of double-fiber whole-grain bread. I put it in the bread box. I forgot it was there.

I remembered it was there several weeks later. How many weeks, I don't know, but long enough that I was sure it was a moldy and disgusting mess that I didn't want to look at until trash day.

For several weeks, I'd forget to throw it in the trash as I got ready to head out the door with trash in hand on trash day. Finally, one night when I was getting trash ready the night before in a fit of foresight (which told me if I got it ready the night before, I'd not have to remember to get a couple of gross items out of the fridge), I remembered the bread box and the green bread I was sure to find in there. I went to get it out and throw it in the trash.

Turned out: not green bread. No mold to be found anywhere on this stupid loaf of bread. Seriously. None.

I looked all over it (opened the bag, took out the bread in the second wrapper (vacuum-wrapped? I don't know) and looked all over for any mold anywhere on the stupid thing) and couldn't find any sign that I should not eat this bread beyond the knowledge it had been purchased months before.

So I put it in the fridge next to the loaf of whole-grain wheat bread I was about to finish off.

Several days later, I opened the fridge at breakfast and realized I had run out of that loaf of bread the day before and didn't replace it (I had been considering just throwing the old loaf out without tasting it, as it made me a little nervous). So I decided to give the old bread a try.

It tasted fine. Seriously.

But then I decided I couldn't tell anyone about it until after I'd finished the loaf. If I told someone and they gave me a good reason why I shouldn't eat it, I'd have to go buy another loaf of bread, and frankly that seemed like a waste of money when ignorance would give me permission to go ahead and eat it.

You can find the date I started eating it. It's the date I started typing "double-fiber whole-grain bread" instead of "whole-grain wheat bread" for breakfast every morning. I'm almost through the loaf that replaced it when I did finally finish it off, so it's probably been about a month now that I've been hanging on to this story.

So go ahead, tell me why I shouldn't have eaten the bread. I can't go back in time and not eat it (if I could go back in time there are a kerjillion things above that on the list, seriously), so what do you expect me to do about it?

One of My Best Weeks, Oddly Enough!

Seriously, out of nine weeks, there were only three where I lost more weight than this week. Last week wasn't one of them (actually, last week was third from the bottom, so actually maybe that's where Thanksgiving really kicked my butt).

Breakfast: Two eggs (one yolk), slice of whole-grain wheat bread, fruit smoothie (yogurt, banana), skim milk with whey protein and cinnamon.

Snack: Carrots, apple.

Lunch: Salad (cup of spinach, cup of romaine mix, serving of red pepper, serving of grilled chicken, olive oil, balsamic vinegar).

Dinner: Bottom round, three servings of asparagus, mixed nuts, raisins, sharp cheddar cheese, dark chocolate.

This week's number: 6.200! Hooray!

I've been asked a few times what has motivated me. Maybe that's a long entry on the other blog. I know what has kept me motivated is actually losing. I've never done this before. All I knew how to do before was do what I've always done and hope good things will happen. It is great if you want to gain way too much weight and be told you can't ride amusement park rides!

Seriously, I've never thought about what I eat as much as I think about it now. Or when I eat, even. Or where (I try to avoid having the t.v. on when I eat--and I try in vain to try to have the computer off, but I've decided that will never happen. I don't have a family to visit with, so I'll keep my computer going and read facebook posts or whatever while I eat, thank you.

I don't know. I've never thought about my health so much before now, and most of that stems from the fact I'm having success. I'll have to think about the motivation to start. The rest of it is just inertia.

I'm at a Loss

Okay, I've lost more weight (or at least as of this morning--maybe I gained a bunch today somehow) this week than I thought I would! Hooray for that!

Breakfast: Two eggs (one yolk), slice of whole-grain wheat bread, fruit smoothie (yogurt, banana), skim milk with whey protein and cinnamon.

Snack: Carrots and apple. Yes, I'm that boring.

Lunch: Salad (cup of spinach, cup of romaine mix, serving of red pepper, serving of grilled chicken, olive oil, balsamic vinegar).

Dinner: Bottom round, couple of serving of asparagus, mixed nuts, raisins, sharp cheddar cheese, dark chocolate.

Also: I got the tree trimmed today, with Cody's help. I would have done it earlier, but I got the vibe he really wanted to help for reasons other than just being helpful--and I was right! Good on me and my latent psychic abilities... or my ability to read people Whatever. Anyway, we got the tree trimmed, and that's a good thing. That's also the closest I came to exercise.

It's a Joy to Dance on a Whim

Seriously, the combination of all the things I've been doing has led me to bouts of dancing for no reason (well, there's usually music playing at the time... usually) around the house. This seldom happened before, and if it did, I didn't have the energy to do it for long. Now I just go on and on until I'm afraid the neighbors might somehow be able to see through walls.

Breakfast: Two eggs (one yolk), slice of whole-grain wheat bread, fruit smoothie (yogurt, banana), skim milk with whey protein and cinnamon.

Snack: Carrots and apple.

Lunch: Salad (cup of spinach, cup of romaine mix, serving of red pepper, serving of grilled chicken, olive oil, balsamic vinegar). I have to say I feel I have perfected this salad. I love it. I keep thinking I'm going to get tired of it--and I almost did when tomato was in the mix. It's of the deliciousness.

Dinner: Bottom round, two or three servings of steamed broccoli, mixed nuts, raisins, sharp cheddar cheese, dark chocolate.

Now that I'm back under where I was Friday (it was a scary few days there when I didn't think I was going to lose this week), I've put some of the snack items back. Actually, I hadn't really thought about taking them out--life was just such that I wasn't home in time for a snack, and when it was time to eat I just wanted to eat my meat and veggies and be done with it.

This may not be my best loss week yet, but I'm fairly sure it won't be the worst, and I'm happy with that!

Lesson: There's a Second Not-Hungry, Much Like the Second Wind...

So after I hadn't eaten since 1:20 or so, I had a fun (actual fun, not the sarcastically-stated kind) evening running errands and doing Christmas shopping with Lyndsey--and then hanging out and catching up for quite some time.

I found that even though I felt like I was starving and about to die around 8:00 or so, I came out the other side of it not feeling so hungry--but knowing I should.

So I ate late when I got home, which is bad... and I'm going to get to bed late, which is also bad. But at least not as bad as the eating I did over the Thanksgiving holiday dinners!

Breakfast: Catfish, slice of whole-grain wheat bread, fruit smoothie (yogurt, banana), skim milk with whey protein and cinnamon.

Snack: Carrots and apple.

Lunch: Salad (cup of spinach, cup of romaine mix, serving of red pepper, serving of grilled chicken, olive oil, balsamic vinegar).

Dinner: Bottom round, about two (maybe three) servings of steamed broccoli.

Now, if only I could go to bed this instant... But I guess it's good I'm not, as I need to at least pretend to let that meal settle and digest some, huh?

Free Green Tea!

It's official: I cannot drink green tea. I'm still trying not to hurl from trying to down a cup earlier. Ick. I think I'm going to bring it to school and leave it in the lounge under a sign that says "Free to a good home" and then scratch out "good".

Breakfast: Two eggs (one yolk), slice of whole-grain wheat bread, skim milk with whey protein and cinnamon, fruit smoothie (yogurt, milk, banana (I ran out of yogurt, so I made up the difference with milk--it was fine)).

Snack: Apple, carrots.

Lunch: Salad (cup of spinach, cup of romaine mix, serving of red pepper, serving of grilled chicken, olive oil, balsamic vinegar).

Dinner: Baked chicken, about two servings of broccoli (maybe three), half a cup of decaf green tea (blueberry flavored).

No good news from the daily scale reading, either. Maybe tomorrow, eh?

Back to Normal... Sorta...

Well, I had a normal Sunday, which means a "cheat" meal for dinner, but it wasn't all that bad (he said, wondering what tomorrow's unofficial weigh-in will look like).

Breakfast: Two eggs (one yolk), slice of whole-grain wheat bread, fruit smoothie (yogurt, banana), skim milk with whey protein and cinnamon.

Lunch: Salad (cup of spinach, cup of romaine, serving of red pepper, serving of grilled chicken, olive oil, balsamic vinegar), carrots, apple.

Dinner: Serving (okay, maybe 1.5 servings... or 2 servings) of roast beef, serving of cooked carrots, two servings of asparagus, maybe two cups of potatoes (about one large potato... that was my major bad of this meal, if you don't count the cookies), and two small cookies (one chocolate chip, one sugar (without sugar sprinkled on top).

Tomorrow: a totally normal cheat-free day. Also featured in the day will be a discussion in my head about the need to actually get some sort of exercise in during the holiday season, as apparently I need it.

The unofficial weigh-in this morning was not a happy one.

Tomorrow is Another Day...

I started so good today. I didn't even lick my fingers while prepping Jordan's cinnamon rolls! I was so flippin' good... And then I wasn't. The family Thanksgiving was not a success for my diet, but I had a good time.

Breakfast: Two eggs (one yolk), slice of whole-grain wheat bread, fruit smoothie (yogurt, banana), skim milk with whey protein and cinnamon.

Lunch: Bourbon chicken (here's the deal: Jordan wanted it last night at the grocery store from whatever Chinese place is at Price Chopper, and I bought it... she didn't eat it all, and ate some of it for lunch, but was going to toss the rest out, and I couldn't let that happen; however, I only ate a bit of rice--whatever small amount stuck to the chicken).

Dinner: About three servings of turkey--maybe four by the time I finished grazing after dinner, two rolls, two crescent rolls, a deviled egg (which is half an egg, really), serving of green bean casserole, serving of mashed potatoes, serving of yams, serving of cranberry relish, serving of noodles, serving of corn pudding.

Seriously, next year I'm bringing asparagus. If I lose any weight this week--or if I don't gain any weight this week, I'll be amazed.

Normal is Good

Maybe that title should be "Routine is Good". But I'm not going to change it. It's 9:21 and I'm tired and I ate too late and I'm just going to go with whatever.

My point is, today I was back on routine, and I'm happy with it. I did gain from yesterday morning from this morning, but had an overall loss for the week, so I'm okay.

Breakfast: Two eggs (one yolk), slice of whole-grain wheat bread, fruit smoothie (yogurt, banana), skim milk with whey protein and cinnamon.

Lunch: Salad (cup of spinach, cup of romaine mix, serving of red pepper, serving of grilled chicken, olive oil, balsamic vinegar (side note: I've tried a different seasoning on the chicken, and these salads rock), carrots, apple, sharp cheddar cheese.

Dinner: Bottom round, about 1.5 servings of asparagus, mixed nuts, raisins, glad or red wine, dark chocolate.

Tomorrow is Turkey Day: Round Two. So expect more "being good within the bounds of what's available to me" tomorrow!

This week's magic number: 6.131. Chugging away to 10!

Turkey Day

Well, I've had better days, but I may have had worse, as well... Well, I had worse for sure before I started all this, but I mean I may have had worse days since I started this. I mean in regards to food choices, not overall tone of the day...

Breakfast: Two eggs (one yolk), slice of whole-grain wheat bread, fruit smoothie (yogurt, banana), skim milk with whey protein and cinnamon.

Lunch: Turkey (probably about three servings... maybe two, but I think three is probably closer), mashed potatoes (about a cup), two rolls, butter (just a "slice" for one roll and another for the mashed taters), green bean casserole (maybe half a cup), stuffing (maybe three-fourths of a cup), yams (about half a cup), corn (about three-fourths of a cup), and cranberry relish (less than a quarter cup... cranberries, onion, horseradish, sour cream, and sugar). Also, a slice of pumpkin pie (maybe 1/8 or 1/6) with whipped cream. (Okay, I probably haven't had worse days since I started this).

Dinner: Salad (cup of spinach, cup of romaine mix, serving of red peppers, serving of grilled chicken, olive oil, balsamic vinegar), mixed nuts, raisins, sharp cheddar cheese.

The STILL: Life picture for today has my plate before I started eating. Add to that some more turkey and another roll (but a different kind--and smaller)--and the slice of pumpkin pie with whipped cream--and that was my lunch.

I weighed myself this morning, so I'll know tomorrow just how bad things were...

Season's Feedings

I realized tonight how bad things are going to get over the next several weeks. Yikes.

Oh, and I've been publishing this blog on Facebook for a few days now. I figure it would give more people a chance to call me out or holla some support or whatever. Feel free to ignore it!

Anyway: holidays. Yikes.

Breakfast: Two eggs (one yolk), slice of whole-grain wheat bread, skim milk with whey protein and cinnamon, fruit smoothie (yogurt, banana).

Lunch: Salad (cup of spinach, cup of romaine mix, serving of red pepper, serving of chicken, olive oil, balsamic vinegar).

Dinner: Catfish, apple, carrots.

I got lots of stuff done today--eating wasn't one of them. I don't like days where I don't get nine servings of fruits and vegetables. How wacky is that?

Also: I went to the grocery store yesterday. I went today. I have yet to buy broccoli. This saddens me.

Y'know, just a little.

Training, Fixing Wireless, Visiting a New Baby... Yeah, I'm Probably Going to Forget Some Groceries

And I did. How did I make it out of the store without broccoli? I even had some at lunch today! Whatever.

Busy day. Didn't have school (or didn't go), as I had this training thing to go to. Then I ran a few errands which included fixing the wirelesslessness on Dane's computer. And in the middle of running that errand, I find out Leigh has given birth to baby Will (Thomas Wilson). Still, I needed to get Dane's wirelesslessness to become wirelessness first. I got that done, then I stopped by the hospital for a very brief visit (as I needed to buy groceries before making dinner, you see, and the closer to "no later than 7:30" I can be with eating dinner, the better) before heading to the grocery store.

And I forgot to buy broccoli. Whatever.

Breakfast: (Oh, did I mention I forgot to buy yogurt and eggs at the store last night? Well, I did.) Skim milk with whey protein, slice of whole-grain wheat bread with a tablespoon of organic peanut butter.

Lunch: Dijon chicken from Applebee's (red peppers, onion, cheese, on grilled chicken... and some sort of Dijon sauce, obviously) and two servings of veggies, which turned out to be a couple of broccoli stalks. I at all of both stalks, which normally grosses me out, but apparently doesn't any more.. or didn't today.

Snack: Mixed nuts with raisins (so I would have the energy to make dinner, because I was seriously reminded of what hunger feels like this evening).

Dinner: Baked catfish, asparagus, sharp cheddar cheese, red wine, and dark chocolate for dessert.

No school tomorrow, but I want to try to get the Christmas lights on the house (so I can have them on Thursday night), so I'm going to be doing some work--just not school work.

Why am I Awake at Midnight?

Actually, there are a few reasons. The first is it takes way too long for jeans to dry. The rest are just stupid. (The reasons are stupid, not my jeans or my other clothes.)

Breakfast: Slice of whole-grain wheat bread with tablespoon of organic peanut butter, fruit smoothie (yogurt, banana), skim milk with whey protein.

Snack: Prunes.

Lunch: Salad (cup-and-a-half of romaine mix, olive oil, balsamic vinegar).

Snack: Mixed nuts, raisins.

Dinner: Steak, carrots, asparagus, apple.

Another strange night. I made it to the store, but realized later I forgot about half the things I meant to get. I did weigh myself this morning, and I hadn't gained since Friday, so I guess I didn't do too much damage over the past few days.

Oh, and I have such a Price Chopper rant, but never mind. Just suffice it to say this QT deal is a rip-off if you're single and eat fresh fruits and vegetables.

Ah, and I need to share the bread story. Maybe tomorrow. I need to... go sit on the couch and wait for the dryer to finish.

I Feel Like I've Gone WAY Off the Reservation

It's been an odd 24 hours or so. Ben's in the hospital, I picked up the girls from the hospital and spent the night at the Hart home, and today I didn't go shopping because I spent most of my day watching the girls.

And that's all good, as I'm learning to "try to eat right" while not following my same-thing-just-about-every-day routine. I just feel like I've done a horrible job of it. Let's see...

Breakfast: Slice of whole-grain wheat bread with one tablespoon organic peanut butter, fruit smoothie (yogurt and banana), skim milk with whey protein and cinnamon.

Lunch: Some sort of barbecue beef, carrots.

Snack: More carrots.

Dinner: Steak, baked tilapia, couple of servings of asparagus, about a cup-and-a-half (maybe two cups) of pasta with butter and Parmesan cheese. I'd feel bad about that last one, but this is my official "cheat" meal every week.

So I guess I did somewhat okay with veggies (I am trying for five or six servings of late, but I'm okay with four), and one out of three or four servings of fruit, I can live with. I knew I should have eaten that apple that was in Ben & Tricia's fridge, though.

Let me tell you, a pantry full of things not on the approved list is a huge temptation. Luckily I've gotten good at distracting myself from fake hunger, or I'd have had a couple of cupcakes and several handfuls of chips.

I don't know, maybe I did go a little far off the prescribed path. I guess I'll know how I feel about it at weigh-in on Friday (or, actually, tomorrow when I do a check-in first thing in the morning).

Drama Equals Cheating

Yeah, I need to find something better to cope with drama than eating. At least I ate mostly stuff I can have. I just ate it at 10:30 at night. But, considering I may be up a while, it might work out okay.

Breakfast: Two eggs (one yolk), slice of whole-grain wheat bread, fruit smoothie (yogurt, banana), skim milk with whey protein.

Lunch: Mixed nuts, raisins, baked catfish, dark chocolate.

Dinner: Salad (cup of spinach, cup of romaine mix, serving of red pepper, olive oil, balsamic vinegar), bottom round, glass of red wine.

Late snack: Serving-and-a-half of carrots, some sort of barbecue beef.

Also, I need to stock up on some things, obviously. I don't know if I'll get around to it soon, so it might be an adventure in making what I have in the fridge work for me. Oh, I'll probably buy some veggies, because I'm pretty much out of them... but I'm going to hold off on buying any more fruit and make use of the bananas, raisins, and prunes I have at home right now.

Well, I'm going to try to convince these two girls they need to get to bed now. Pretty sure there will be more drama when I do. Here goes...

Remind Me to Tell You the Bread Story Sometime

I've got to remember to write about the loaf of bread I finished off the other day. But not now. Too much on my plate. The metaphorical one.

Breakfast: Two eggs (one yolk), and this: half a cup of skim milk, about 3/4 cup of yogurt, half a banana, and whey protein mix blended together.

Lunch: Salad (cup of spinach, cup of romaine mix, serving of red pepper, serving of grilled chicken, olive oil, and vinegar).

Snack: Prunes and half a serving of carrots.

Dinner: Beef and turkey BBQ sandwich at the going-away thingy tonight at Papa Bob's BBQ. Later, at home, I had about three servings of asparagus. Oh, and two "I'll miss the Reyes family" consolation cookies. And even with that I think I might still have a snack of mixed nuts and raisins. And maybe dark chocolate. Or maybe I'll just have water. I guess you're gonna have to assume I didn't unless I come back here and fix it after the fact.

And this week's magic number is 6.075! Woo-hoo!

Is It Strange I Don't Feel Hungry A Lot?

I don't really get hungry that much. I did at first, but now I only feel noticeably hungry when I get home from school--and I have to wonder if that's actual hunger. Because I can ignore it and move on until it's time to make dinner, usually.

Whatever.

Breakfast: Two eggs (one yolk), fruit smoothie (yogurt, banana), skim milk with whey protein and cinnamon.

Snack: Carrots and prunes.

Lunch: Salad (cup of spinach, cup of romaine mix, serving of red pepper, serving of grilled chicken, olive oil, balsamic vinegar).

Dinner: Baked catfish, asparagus (at least a couple servings), sharp cheddar cheese, mixed nuts, raisins, glass of red wine.

Seriously, my life seems odd right now. I keep finding other things to do besides munch on junk. Half the time I'm not even trying to find this stuff. No lie. It finds me.

Weigh-in tomorrow. I dread the day when I stop making progress, or only make a-fraction-of-a-pound kind of progress.

Sickness Sucks

No school for me today. Sinus-headache-gross thing keeps coming and going, but came with a vengeance this morning. So I didn't have a normal eating day--actually did not eat until about 1:00 today.

Breakfast: Catfish. Two cookies. (Comfort food, okay?)

Lunch: Salad (cup of spinach, cup of romaine mix, serving of red pepper, serving of grilled chicken, olive oil, balsamic vinegar), mixed nuts, raisins, sharp cheddar cheese, dark chocolate.

Dinner: Bottom round, carrots, couple of servings of asparagus, red wine.

What's helping me get better is grading papers. It really helps a lot. Rest? We don't need any rest!

Outta Bread

I forgot to buy bread last night. How many of these posts start with something I forgot to buy? Someone go count.

Breakfast: Two eggs (one yolk), fruit smoothie (yogurt, banana), skim milk with whey protein and cinnamon.

Snack: Carrots and apple.

Lunch: Salad (cup of spinach, cup of romaine mix, serving of red pepper, serving of grilled chicken, olive oil, balsamic vinegar).

Snack: Sharp cheddar cheese, mixed nuts, raisins.

Dinner: Baked catfish, couple of servings of asparagus, glass of red wine, dark chocolate.

Mango? Mango?

So it's later than it should be, and Cody is over here cooking this on a trial-run for his competition thing for his FCCLA group that competes in February with beef as the main ingredient. Even though it's meant as an appetizer and it's very late, it's my beef for supper. I'm also making asparagus to eat along with it, as I have not had dinner yet. Yes, bad me. I know.

Breakfast: Two eggs (one yolk), slice of double-fiber whole-grain bread, fruit smoothie (yogurt, banana), skim milk with whey protein and cinnamon.

Snack: Sharp cheddar cheese, mixed nuts, raisins, apple, carrots.

Lunch: Salad (cup of spinach, cup of romaine mix, serving of red pepper, serving of grilled chicken, olive oil, balsamic vinegar).

Dinner: The beef skewer things, two servings of asparagus.

Okay, I have to go eat now.

Little Late, Due to Early TANsgivng

Had early Thanksgiving last night with Dane at the Olivet Christan Church back in Center, and got home very late (after getting up at 3:00 yesterday morning to eat breakfast and go get Dane before heading to Center to make it for 9:00a.m. service).

Breakfast: Two eggs (one yolk), slice of double-fiber whole-grain bread, fruit smoothie (yogurt, banana), skim milk with whey protein and cinnamon.

Lunch: Salad (cup of spinach, cup of romaine, serving of red pepper, serving of grilled chicken, olive oil, balsamic vinegar), apple, carrots, sharp cheddar cheese, mixed nuts, raisins.

Dinner: Two crescent rolls, serving of turkey, about a half cup of mashed potatoes, serving of green beans, serving of corn, about a half cup of noodles. It was a very tan/yellow meal. It was also my cheat night. Oh, and I had a slice of pecan pie. May this not wreck my week.

Snack: Dark chocolate (on the way home, trying to stay awake).

Apparently the Weather is Above Me

Started feeling a little cruddy yesterday, but just figured I was tired. Then about the time I went to bed, I started wondering if I was getting sick.

So today I didn't feel great. My head's been killing me all day, to boot, so I slept through most of it instead of doing all the things I was planning to do instead.

Breakfast (late): Two eggs (one yolk), slice of double-fiber whole-grain bread, fruit smoothie (yogurt, banana), skim milk with whey protein and cinnamon.

Lunch: Mixed nuts, raisins, sharp cheddar cheese, carrots, salad (cup of spinach, cup of romaine mix, serving of red pepper, serving of grilled chicken, olive oil, balsamic vinegar).

Dinner: Bottom round, two servings of asparagus, apple, dark chocolate, glass of red wine.

May none of it end up coming back up later.

Twelve-Plus Hour Days Suck

Long boring copy session after school that led to long day. Blech.

Whatever.

Breakfast: Two eggs (one yolk), slice of double-fiber whole-wheat bread, fruit smoothie (yogurt, banana, blueberry), skim milk with whey protein and cinnamon.

Snack: Apple and carrots.

Lunch: Salad (cup of spinach, cup of romaine mix, serving of red pepper, serving of grilled chicken, olive oil, balsamic vinegar).

Dinner: Sharp cheddar cheese, mixed nuts, raisins, carrots (serving-and-a-half), grilled chicken, dark chocolate.

I need to buy aluminum foil. I need to buy fruit. I need to buy... something else. I forget what now.

I need to get to the store, but it won't be tonight!

Just sayin'.

Added 10:41 p.m.: Forgot to add: this week's number is 6.006! I've passed a whole number in my quest for 10!

Edited 11/13/10 10:31 p.m.: Added that I had added cinnamon to the whey protein.

If You Don't Count the Eggs, I had a Chicken-Free Day!

So I didn't want to stay up and grill chicken last night. I didn't want to grill it tonight, either, but I just got done. So I didn't have any chicken for my salad today. It's amazing the way your mind will get creative when it doesn't want to stay up and grill chicken.

Breakfast: Two eggs (one yolk), double-fiber whole-wheat bread, fruit smoothie (yogurt, banana, blackberry), skim milk with whey protein and cinnamon.

Lunch: Carrots, salad (cup of spinach, cup of romaine mix, serving of red pepper, olive oil, balsamic vinegar), catfish, and an apple.

Dinner: Bottom round, two serving of steamed broccoli.

Snack: Sharp cheddar cheese, mixed nuts, raisins, dark chocolate.

I weighed myself this morning. I have this thing where I'm paranoid I'm gaining. As I approach a certain mark--a weight I know I haven't been for years (which is still WAY overweight, mind you), I'm having a little bit of a freak-out. I keep thinking something is going to happen to make the whole process reverse itself or something.

Anyway, I was still losing, so I felt okay. I might start weighing myself daily, however. "The program" suggests it, but it seemed a little too O.C.D., even for me. But apparently it isn't.

You Say Tomato, I Say NOmato!

Turns out that while I like tomatoes in general and in different things, I'm of the opinion my lunch salad is better without them. I am going to leave them out for a while, I think.

Breakfast: Two eggs (one yolk), slice of double-fiber whole-wheat bread, fruit smoothie (yogurt, banana, blackberry), skim milk with whey protein and cinnamon.

Snack: Carrots and prunes and odd conversation.

Lunch: Salad (cup of spinach, cup of romaine mix, serving of red pepper, serving of grilled chicken, olive oil, balsamic vinegar).

Snack: Mixed nuts and raisins.

Dinner: Catfish, two servings of broccoli, sharp cheddar cheese, dark chocolate, red wine.

It's past my bedtime, and I still have dishes to do... and chicken to grill, but I think I've worked around that problem for now. At any rate, dishes to do. G'night!

Naps Rock, But Jack Up Scheduling

Took a nap when I got home today. Of course, I got a call from someone needing me to look something up, and then thought I had trouble falling back asleep, but somehow an hour went by.

Whatever, I ate dinner late. That was my point.

Breakfast: Catfish, slice of double-fiber whole-grain bread, fruit smoothie (yogurt, banana, blackberry), skim milk with whey protein and cinnamon.

Snack: Carrots, about three bits out of the most disgusting apple ever (I knew I shouldn't have been adventurous and ventured out to other types of apples... had to come across a gross one sometime). I'll let you know what kind it is after my next visit to the store.

Lunch: Salad (cup of spinach, cup of romaine, serving of red pepper, serving of grilled chicken, half a tomato, olive oil, balsamic vinegar).

Snack: Sharp cheddar cheese, mixed nuts, serving-and-a-half of raisins (to try to make up for the lack of apple earlier).

Dinner: Bottom round, two servings of steamed broccoli.

In other news, I must go to the grocery store tomorrow. I'll try to warn you all off whatever type of apple it is. Seriously, it tasted like apple-flavored medicine.

Yes, I Skipped a Meal

Busy night. I skipped a meal. Manchion tried to stop me, but I just did it. It's all good. Whatever. I'm tired.

Breakfast: Two eggs (one yolk), fruit smoothie (yogurt, banana, blackberry), slice of double-fiber whole-grain bread, skim milk with whey protein and ground cinnamon.

Snack: Apple (pink lady--and not my favorite of the varieties I've been trying so far, but still better than red delicious), carrots, book discussion (finally).

Lunch: Salad (cup of spinach (okay, probably half a cup), cup of romaine mix (okay, probably a cup-and-a-half), serving of red pepper, serving of grilled chicken, half a tomato, olive oil, balsamic vinegar.

And that's it. I had errands to run after school, I meant to make dinner when I got home, but the meeting I had to go to had a dinner before it, so I went back-and-forth about eating there. After deciding to eat there, I got there late, and it was a paper plate affair with no tables, so I opted to just see if I died of starvation.

Slim chance of that, mind you.

And Manchion tried to get me to eat something when I was over at her house, but by then I was over it. I could eat something now, but I'm about to go to bed, so that would just jack everything up. Whatever, I got all my fruits in and pretty much got all the veggies in... or came close, anyway. Tomorrow will be better.

I Avoided the Store

I was going to get spinach and red peppers tonight on the way back from Ben & Tricia's, but I opted to put it off until tomorrow. I have some tests to finish grading, and--as it turns out--my computer is going super-slow for some reason, so I don't have time for a trip to the store... or didn't have time... although I didn't know it when I made the decision standing in Ben & Tricia's driveway before getting in my car.

Breakfast: Catfish, slice of double-fiber whole-grain bread, fruit smoothie (yogurt, banana, blueberry), skim milk with whey protein and ground cinnamon. Yes, I switched a thing and added an ingredient. I'm wild like that.

Snack: Well, it was Communion Sunday, so there's that. But after church, I had mixed nuts, raisins, carrots, and sharp cheddar cheese.

Lunch: Salad (cup of spinach, cup of romaine mix, serving of red pepper, serving of grilled chicken, half a tomato, olive oil, balsamic vinegar). Apple.

Dinner: Some sort of beef in a mushroom gravy. About a cup of mashed potatoes with gravy. Corn and peas. Half a piece of cake. Maybe I shouldn't have had a free meal tonight, but I'm okay with it. See if I'm okay with it on Friday, though.

Not a lot else to report, other than I need to finish grading those tests and get to bed...

I Take the Cake

I had some cake tonight at Jordan's birthday party. I don't feel terrible or anything, but it does bother the part of my mind that wants everything to be "just so".

Breakfast: Two eggs (one yolk), slice of double-fiber whole-wheat bread, fruit smoothie (yogurt, banana, strawberry), skim milk with whey protein.

Snack: Raisins, mixed nuts.

Lunch: Salad (cup of spinach, cup of romaine mix, serving of red pepper, serving of grilled chicken, half a tomato, olive oil, balsamic vinegar). Sharp cheddar cheese.

Dinner (at the party): Mexican casserole (rice, cheese, tomato, green chiles, some other stuff, I suppose), refried beans (Say thinks they were low-fat... I had no more than three tablespoons of it, at any rate), and some barbecue pulled pork (sans bun). Oh, and a half of a slice of cake.

I hope I'm not getting lax because I passed the big "-20". It's just I was planning how I would take my dinner and how to make that work and finally thought, "Screw it, make it work as much as you can with what they have there." Maybe more mentally healthy. Maybe.

Woo-Hoo! Landmark!

Okay, not a huge landmark, but still: have passed the 20-pound landmark. In 5 weeks I have lost over 20 pounds. Granted, that first week was a huge chunk, but I'm still happy that I've done this much.

You have to understand, this is the first real concerted effort in dieting I've ever made (and if you think the word "concerted" doesn't apply here, you've never been in my head), and I'm feeling pretty good about it. Granted, I'm thinking about changing up some of the regular meals (the salad is still delicious, but I'm starting to see the point where I might decide I never want to eat another salad).

Breakfast: Two eggs (one yolk), slice of double-fiber whole-grain bread, fruit smoothie (yogurt, banana, strawberry), and skim milk with whey protein.

Snack: Prunes, carrots, and still no book club of two. He said he read the chapter, but it was obvious he hadn't.

Lunch: Salad (cup of spinach, cup of romaine mix, serving of red pepper, serving of grilled chicken, half a tomato, olive oil, balsamic vinegar).

Snack: Mixed nuts, raisins, sharp cheddar cheese.

Dinner: Bottom round, two servings of broccoli, dark chocolate, red wine.

And the magic number? Here it is: 5.949 (the goal is 10)! I remember just five weeks ago when I was at 5.609!

Okay, I'm out. I have things to do, and happiness to... experience, or whatever!

Not Another Cheat Meal!

Okay, I didn't really have another cheat meal, but I did eat over at Manchion's place tonight. I think I did pretty good staying within the bounds of what's allowed.

Breakfast: Catfish, slice of double-fiber whole-grain bread, fruit smoothie (yogurt, banana, strawberry), skim milk with whey protein.

Snack: Prunes, carrots, and still no book club of 2. (He realized he'd already read the book we'd picked, so we picked a different one--and I still have to read my chapter before bed).

Lunch: Salad (cup of spinach, cup of romaine mix, serving of red pepper, serving of grilled chicken, half a tomato, olive oil, balsamic vinegar)--and I ate late, around 2:00 or so.

Dinner: A serving or so of pork, a bit under a serving of fried squash, between a half cup and a cup of brown rice, a side salad (lettuce, mushroom, tomato... I don't know what else... with light raspberry vinaigrette dressing).

Also, I got to be reminded how much I miss that math that happens after 7th grade... And now I'm wondering if I needed to stop by the store today. Oh well, even if I did, I didn't, and I'm not going now! Now I must go read the first chapter of Alabama Moon!

Yes, I'm Skipping a Meal

Look, here's the fast-and-fact-filled: I'm skipping dinner. I had this whole project that I may or may not choose to blog about later, but essentially it had to start an hour later than originally planned because I had a meeting today that lasted until 4:00, and everything just went downhill from there. I had a big thing of water earlier, and I had a snack at about 4:30 or so, and if I eat now, it's not a good thing. So I'm not going to get all my veggies in today, and I'm okay with that because I just want to get to bed.

Breakfast: Two eggs (one yolk), fruit smoothie (yogurt, banana, strawberry), skim milk with whey protein, slice of double-fiber whole grain bread.

Snack: Apple (golden delicious--preferred the one yesterday to it), carrots, no book club (student absent).

Lunch: Salad (cup of spinach, cup of romaine mix, serving of red pepper, serving of grilled chicken, half a tomato, olive oil, balsamic vinegar) in the comfort of my own home. Oh, and dark chocolate (half of what I normally have).

Snack: Mixed nuts, raisins.

And now I lay me down to sleep...

Foiled Again, but Soon Unfoiled

Stupid brain. Stupid part-of-me-that-hates-making-lists.

I forgot to buy aluminum foil while I was at the store. I think my dream of ever getting a system of going to the store just a couple of times a week is just a pipe dream.

Breakfast: Catfish, variation on a smoothie (yogurt, banana, strawberry, not really a cup of milk, whey protein... I forgot to buy milk when I was at the store last night). This smoothie variation tasted pretty good, but was of a sort of "whipped" consistency. Odd. But I did have an idea for my routine in the morning that will save me dirtying up one spoon. Every little bit!
Snack: Apple (honey something or other, it was very sweet--normally I have red delicious, which have way too thick of skins, if you ask me), carrots, conversation with a kid about how we're going to form a book club of two.

Lunch: Salad (cup of spinach, cup of romaine mix, serving of red pepper, serving of grilled chicken, half a tomato, olive oil, balsamic vinegar).

Dinner: Mixed nuts, raisins, sharp cheddar cheese, bottom round, serving-and-a-half of asparagus, dark chocolate.

I am very tired tonight. I was very bad last night about staying up late. It will not be happening tonight. I might not even make it to my bedroom tonight. I hope I have the alarm set on my phone.

Major Cheat Meal

Like I mentioned yesterday, I saved my cheat meal for today. Or my "free" one. I don't know what to call it.

But Cody came by after he got home from work tonight and took all the candy, so that's good and gone.

Breakfast: Two eggs (one yolk), slice of double-fiber whole-grain bread, fruit smoothie (yogurt, bananas, strawberry), skim milk with whey protein.

Snack: Prunes, carrots.

Lunch: Salad (cup of spinach, cup of romaine mix, serving of red pepper, serving of grilled chicken, half a tomato, olive oil, balsamic vinegar) and heartbreaking conversation.

Dinner: This green chile casserole Leslie made--so there was pasta in it, and who knows what kind of sodium... but it was my cheat meal for the week. What I really feel badly about is the no-bake cookie I ate. On the up side, I now know I'm right to just avoid that sort of thing--I was ready to take the whole pane of cookies with me after I ate three-fourths of my cookie--but, for the record, I did put the last one-fourth down.

Yes, I'm up way too late. Jordan needed a movie night, and since I love my great-niece, I delivered. However, the only movie we could agree on didn't start until 7:40... and I had chicken to grill as soon as I got home. So, I'm up at 11:46 when I should be in bed. The good news: it should be cooled off enough to stick in the fridge now.

Should be...

Two Hours and Thirteen Minutes to Go Before I Can Say I Survived Halloween with NO CHEATING

I think I'll be okay. I've already got someone to take the extra candy off my hands tomorrow, so unless I sleepwalk tonight, we're good to go. Luckily, there were no peanut butter kisses (a candy that people either love or hate, and I love) at Target when I went to replenish the candy stock after trunk-or-treating after church today, or I'd be falling off the wagon about... three hours ago or so. Maybe eight.

Oh, and I went to Ben & Tricia's this afternoon instead of this evening, so I could be home to guard the house hand out candy to the trick-or-treaters. So I am not using my "free meal" tonight (thus the need to stay totally candy-free (barring my less-than-two-ounces of dark chocolate).

Breakfast: Catfish, slice of double-fiber whole grain bread, fruit smoothie (yogurt, banana, strawberry), skim milk with whey protein.

Snack: Apple.

Lunch: Salad (cup of spinach, cup of romaine, serving of red pepper, serving of grilled chicken, half a tomato, olive oil, balsamic vinegar).

Dinner: Bottom round, two servings of asparagus, mixed nuts, raisins, sharp cheddar cheese, glass of red wine, dark chocolate.

While going through my cookbooks trying to help Cody figure out what to cook for the competition he's going to in February, I found out I have a cookbook that gives the skinny on a lot of fruits and vegetables. I'm quite thrilled by this discovery--not that I don't like the websites I've been going to, mind you. It's just nice to have it available in book form (and has some more information than I've been finding at the sites I've been using).

Side note: I've been doing this for a month!

Birthday Salad

Yes, I brought a salad to Binxy's birthday party today. So sue me.

Breakfast: Two eggs (one yolk), slice of double-fiber whole grain wheat bread, fruit smoothie (yogurt, banana, strawberry), skim milk with whey protein.

Snack: Apple.

Lunch: Salad (cup of spinach, cup of romaine mix, serving of red peppers, serving of grilled chicken, half a tomato, olive oil, balsamic vinegar).

Snack: Carrots, sharp cheddar cheese, mixed nuts, raisins.

Dinner: Bottom round, two servings of asparagus, glass of red wine, dark chocolate.

I don't have a lot to add, other than it was a great party, everyone said the cakes were great, and I didn't have any. Yes, I'm allowed to sample and take small portions, and so on, but again: I just feel if I avoid it, I'll do better than if I "allow" a bit. I guess after the cake binge in the near future, I'll realize how wrong I was!

I did have a thought today about what to do with all my leftover Halloween candy. Actually, I had a panic moment about it, then thought I'd just bring it to school the next day and leave it in the teachers' lounge. Somebody will take it, right?

It Had to Be the Cheese or the Chocolate... or Both

So I didn't have cheese and dark chocolate for the last part of this week... or most of it, now that I think of it. And I lost about three times the weight this week that I lost the week before. Maybe it was conferences. Whatever, I'll take it, and hope my scales aren't malfunctioning and I'm really gaining weight.

Oh, also: I felt hungry today. So apparently that part of me that signals hunger is doing okay. Now, if the part that signals "80% full" would kick in.

Breakfast: Two eggs (one yolk), slice of whole grain bread, fruit smoothie (yogurt, banana, strawberry), and skim milk with whey protein.

Lunch: Salad (cup of spinach, cup of romaine mix, serving of red pepper, serving of grilled chicken, half a tomato, olive oil, balsamic vinegar).

Snack (as I was making dinner, actually--my post-car-fetching errands took forever, and I was actually feeling a little faint when I walked in the house): Mixed nuts, raisins, sharp cheddar cheese, apple.

Dinner: Catfish, two servings of asparagus, glass of red wine, dark chocolate.

And the magic number? 5.889 (the goal is 10, remember). That's my biggest jump since that first week!

Anyway, I'm dead tired right now. I have a post I want to do on the other blog, but I think my body wants me to go switch off the brain for a while in front of the television.

And Now My Fridge is Full of Yogurt

I went shopping today. First, it was payday, and secondly, I had some time... after dinner.

And I thought, "yogurt stays good for months--according to the date stamped on the package, anyway--so I'm just going to buy a month's worth and thus save myself from having to buy one more thing on these every-few-days runs to the store". And so I did. And now my fridge has much less space and much more in the way of plain "no sugar added" yogurt.

Breakfast: Two eggs (one yolk), slice of whole grain bread, fruit smoothie (yogurt, bananas, raspberry), skim milk with whey protein.

Snack: Prunes, carrots, and a tearful tale of boy trouble from a young lady who deserves better. Actually, I didn't get the tale. I just got that the tears were because of boy trouble. I told her he wasn't worth it. I probably should have found out more first, I suppose.

Lunch: Salad (cup of spinach, cup of romaine mix, serving of red peppers, serving of grilled chicken, olive oil,, balsamic vinegar).

Snack: Mixed nuts and raisins.

Dinner: Bottom round, about a serving-and-a-half of steamed broccoli.

Post-shopping treat: Dark chocolate.

I bought my Halloween candy tonight. I really tried to buy stuff I wouldn't want to eat, but I'm finding I'm not drawn too much to that stuff. Mostly I think of things like pizza or fast food more than sweets. I guess at Hannah's birthday party the thought of having some cake crossed my mind... but, as I said before, part of me worries that if I have a little I'll suddenly give myself permission to have a lot!

I need to write down the other kinds of fish I should be eating. Catfish is great and all, but I want to mix it up a bit. Also, I want to experiment with other fruits. I really have some sort of strange fear of trying other things.

I keep wanting to try different types of apples, but then buy the ones I've gotten every time (Red Delicious). I'm thinking a banana-pineapple smoothie would taste really good, too... especially if I can mix it with some coconut (but I have to research coconut in relation to this program... I mean coconut I actually get from a real coconut--it's probably a given the type you buy in a bag is frowned upon by "the program"). Anyway: research first, then purchase.

Okay, I ramble, and have watched zero television for two days. My mind and body are so confused.

Must... Sleep...

Conferences tonight. Bleh. Just about the time. I got dishes done, am getting blogs updated, and I'm going to bed. Party animal, right?

Breakfast: Two eggs (one yolk), fruit smoothie (yogurt, banana, raspberry), skim milk with whey protein, slice of whole grain bread.

Snack: Prunes, carrots.

Lunch: Salad (cup of spinach, cup of romaine mix, serving of red pepper, serving of grilled chicken, olive oil, balsamic vinegar). You read right--no tomato. None tomorrow, either. Like I had time to shop. Also, if you didn't catch it earlier, raspberries in the smoothie this morning instead of strawberries. Whoo-hoo! I'm wild and crazy!

Dinner: Bottom round, carrots, mixed nuts with raisins.

I'm making a goal meeting my fruit and vegetable requirement. I mean not my goal so much as a guideline. The rest of the stuff I'm not thinking about as much, but probably should be. Whatever. We shall see.

Tired. Sleep now.

So I Guess I'll Be Seeing the Doctor Soon... or Does That Apple-a-Day Thing Not Really Work?

I had no apple today. Actually, I started worrying if having the same every day put me at risk of developing an allergy. Seriously. But that wasn't why I didn't have an apple today. I just forgot to buy some.

Also, since I have these prunes, I have to eat them, and I don't tend to think of them.

Breakfast: Two eggs (one yolk), fruit smoothie (yogurt, banana, strawberry), slice of whole grain bread, skim milk with whey protein.

Snack: Carrots, prunes.

Lunch: Salad (cup of spinach, cup of romaine mix, serving of red peppers, serving of grilled chicken, half a tomato, olive oil, vinegar).

Snack: Mixed nuts, raisins.

Dinner: Bottom round, carrots, slice of whole grain bread.

(I wasn't in the mood to steam broccoli tonight... so I opted for the carrots.)

Anyway, nothing too exciting to report. I did a scale check this morning, and am feeling okay about progress so far this week. Maybe I should have a poll as to whether or not I switch systems from my secret number system to pounds lost. I'm good either way, but maybe my audience of three want to know.

Whatever, I'll think about the poll. Hope you're having a good evening. I have to be in bed at a decent time tonight, as conferences are until 8:00 tomorrow night. I'll have to suck it up and wait to watch Stargate Universe until Thursday night, I guess. So it goes.

So... Fruits and Vegetables Have Seasons?

I'm kidding. I knew that. Sort of in the same way that I know you need to have an engine in a car for it to run, but have no idea much in the details beyond that fact. So I guess that's why some of the produce has been of crap quality at the store lately, huh? That, and I left a home-grown tomato at Ben & Tricia's last night. Sad me.

Breakfast: Two eggs (one yolk), slice of whole grain bread, fruit smoothie (yogurt, strawberry, bananas), skim milk with whey protein.

Snack: Carrots, apple, and irritation.

Lunch: Salad (cup of spinach, cup of romaine mix, serving of red peppers, serving of grilled chicken, half a tomato, olive oil, balsamic vinegar) and ridicule from teammates.

Dinner: Mixed nuts, raisins, bottom round, two servings of broccoli.

I did very poorly with sleep last night. Hope to be in the bed by 9:00, asleep by 9:30. Wish me luck on that.

Bananas Bought!

Okay, I have purchased bananas. Now I need to get to sleep--but my pillowcases are in the dryer. ::sigh::

Breakfast: Two eggs (one yolk), slice of whole grain bread, fruit smoothie (yogurt, banana, strawberry), skim milk with whey protein.

Lunch: Carrots, salad (cup of spinach, cup of romaine mix, serving of red peppers, serving of grilled chicken, half a tomato, olive oil, balsamic vinegar).

Snack: Apple.

Dinner (at Ben & Tricia's): Chili (with lean beef, even) with cheese, two cornbread muffins, one baked potato (ouch), little butter, couple of dollops of cream cheese, chives.

With the tomatoes in the chili, I made my veggie quota for the day. A little shy on the fruit side, but I'm done eating for the night...

Now, if only I could get to bed soon.

Let THEM Eat Cake

Hannah's birthday was at my house today, and pat me on the back--I didn't eat any cake! Actually, "the program" allows for that sort of thing, in small doses, but I don't trust myself just yet, so I opted to be good.

Breakfast: Two eggs (one yolk), slice of whole grain bread, fruit smoothie (yogurt, banana, strawberry), skim milk with whey protein.

Lunch (around 4:30 or so, mind you): Mixed nuts, apple, salad (cup of spinach, cup of romaine mix, serving of red peppers, serving of grilled chicken, olive oil, balsamic vinegar), carrots.

Dinner: Bottom round, two servings of steamed broccoli, raisins, dark chocolate.

Now, who's going to remind me to buy bananas tomorrow?

Shopping List

The nice thing about eating just about the same thing every day (while trying to mix up the fruit/vegetable selection--albeit without much success) does have one benefit: It should make it easier to make a shopping list!

It should.

So guess who forgot to buy bananas? ::sigh:: Oh, and I'm almost out of dark chocolate--but I can live without that. I mean, it's supposed to be like this super-something-or-other, but I'll live without that. I'll live without the bananas, too, I suppose, but a smoothie is a much easier way to eat plain non-sweetened non-fat yogurt. Seriously.

Anyway, I have enough for the next couple of days, so I'm not too worried about it. I just wouldn't have had to go to the store this weekend if I'd bought those two things.

Oh, and I bought a totally suck tomato, which ticks me off. I thought I felt them both up really well, but I guess not.

Breakfast: Catfish, fruit smoothie (yogurt, banana, strawberry), and skim milk with whey protein. Also, a baby aspirin, a multivitamin, and two fish oil pills (frozen). I take those every day, but I don't usually throw them in here. Now it's here. Just assume I'm taking them daily.

Snack: Carrots and an apple--and a plot summary of Among the Hidden. The latter was courtesy of a 7th grade girl who love that book.

Lunch: Salad (cup of spinach, cup of romaine mix, serving of grilled chicken, half a tomato, olive oil, balsamic vinegar... I didn't miss anything--I was out of red peppers and didn't realize it until I was making the salad).

Pre-Dinner Snack: Sharp cheddar cheese, nuts, raisins.

Dinner: Bottom round steak, two (maybe three) servings of broccoli (steamed), a glass of wine, and dark chocolate.

I'm not sure how much water I had today. One of my faithful readers (one of the three) told me today she wanted to mention I should be getting between 8 and 9 hours of sleep a night--and since Blogger is so kind as to post the time on here... well, she knows I must not be getting that.

Ratted out by Blogger. Dang.

Anyhow, yes, sleep is one of the things I'm working on. I have the CPAP and everything. I'm sorta used to it, but it's still in the "slip and make a loud noise" stages, so I frequently half-wake to adjust it. Yuck.

Okay, I have some television to watch. I'm thinking about falling asleep in front of it. But I need to stay up a few more hours, because I ate about 45 minutes ago (yes, bad me... but I had to go to the store).

Addendum (10/23/10, 9:11a.m.): I forgot the magic number: 5.794 (didn't lose as much this week as last week, so time to really look at what I'm doing... maybe it is the 8-9 hours of sleep, but I can probably be a little more strict about my "abouts" (about a cup, about 6 ounces, about a serving, etc.). And also, I forgot to mention my slice of whole grain bread at breakfast.

Don't Expect A Lot... I Can't Believe I'm Even Typing This

Seriously. Conference days suck. Or the ones that are 13+ hour days do. No lie. People who work double shifts regularly need to be given a parade in their honor.

Breakfast: Two eggs (one yolk), whole grain bread, milk with whey protein, fruit smoothie (yogurt, banana, strawberry).

Snack: Apple, carrots. Goofy seventh grade conversation.

Lunch: Salad (cup of spinach, cup of romaine mix, serving of red peppers, serving of grilled chicken, half a tomato, olive oil, balsamic vinegar).

Dinner: (During the break in the middle of conferences, mind you.) Catfish, carrots, prunes, mixed nuts, sharp cheddar cheese, dark chocolate.

Water: I don't know how much I drank today. Probably not the full 64 ounces. Maybe half that. I'm not sure. Maybe three-fourths. I drank a lot at the end of conferences, and had another 32 ounces when I got home.

Tomorrow I do my official weigh-in. I've been checking all week. It's not cheating. I'm supposed to check regularly (daily or every-other day), so checking a couple of times earlier isn't cheating.

I must sleep now.

Big News: Prunes Don't Suck

So I tried some prunes today. I thought I'd hate them. They were okay. Actually, they were kinda bland. I can live with that. So now I know I like prunes. Apparently they're full of crazy-good things.

Breakfast: Two eggs (one yolk), fruit smoothie (yogurt, banana, strawberry), whole grain bread, skim milk with whey protein.

Snack: Carrots. Apples. The company of six very silent 7th grade students. Seriously, they can't shut up during class, but have nothing to say during lunch. What is that?

Lunch: Salad (cup of spinach, cup of romaine mix, serving of red peppers, serving of grilled chicken, half a tomato, olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

Snack: Mixed nuts, raisins, and later on, 3 prunes.

Dinner: Bottom round steak, two servings of steamed broccoli, sharp cheddar cheese. Dark chocolate. Everything but the dark chocolate was eaten before 7:30.

So I had more fruit than I'm supposed to--but I don't think three prunes will break me. Oh, and did you know they're called "dried plums" instead of prunes? What's that about? When will raisins become "dried grapes", I wonder.

Anyway, check me out: all my blogs updated (or set to update for the day) before 9:00! I may get lots of sleep tonight!

How Do You Forget Lunch?

Seriously, it was so crazy today at school, I forgot to eat lunch. I normally have a snack with the kids when they lunch at 10:10, and eat my lunch at 1:00 or so. Today I was so busy doing last-minute grading (it's all on me, as much as I'd like someone else to take the blame) that I forgot to eat.

On the up side, I didn't really feel hungry.

Anyway, it messed up the whole "don't eat after 7:30" thing, that's for sure, and so I'm still up. Whatever.

Breakfast: Catfish, slice of whole grain bread, fruit smoothie (yogurt, banana, strawberry), skim milk with whey protein.

Snack: Carrots, apple, latest 7th grade gossip.

Lunch (at about 5:00): Salad (cup of spinach, cup of romaine, serving of red peppers, serving of grilled chicken, half a tomato, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and I'm wondering of the three people who read this regularly, how many of you actually read this part and know I've gone off script here), mixed nuts, raisins, cheese.

Dinner (way past 7:30): Bottom round, three servings of asparagus, glass of wine, dark chocolate.

Anybody else notice how badly I'm doing at keeping track of my water intake? I probably down about 8 cups of water in the evening. I should probably do a better job spreading that out through the day, huh?

I'm really nervous that I'm going to gain this week, so I need to start refining this diet and make sure I'm doing exactly what I'm supposed to be doing. The problem is, all this information is spread throughout the whole book, and I have to keep searching... and don't even get me started on the index. Seriously, it's a diet-and-lifestyle book. If there's a food mentioned in the book, shouldn't it be listed in the index?

Okay, I have some pictures to upload, and then I'm hittin' the sack. At least I don't have to sleep with an oxygen monitor on my wrist and finger tonight.

I Haven't Eaten Since Before 7:30!

So one of the guidelines is to not eat after 7:30 at night--which is goofy, because that assumes you go to bed at a particular time, but nowhere in this book do they give that suggested time... so it's not like I can do some sort of adjustment or calculation without this information... and I'm staying up later than usual to finish grading things, so I'm gonna go to bed feeling that hunger for sure! Whatever.

Breakfast: Two eggs (one yolk), fruit smoothie, one slide of whole grain bread, and skim milk with whey protein.

Snack: About three-fourths of an apple that was starting to go, I think. Carrots. Conversations with seventh-graders.

Lunch: Salad (cup of spinach, cup of romaine mix, serving of red peppers, serving of grilled chicken, half a tomato (not mushed up--more on that toward the end of this post), olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

Snack: Mixed nuts, raisins, sharp cheddar cheese.

Dinner: Catfish, two servings of asparagus, slice of whole grain bread, dark chocolate.

So I didn't mush up the tomato today. I'm not sure why I even started that, although it might be because I still have strong memories of hating the texture of tomatoes--something I got over in late high school, but apparently still haunts me. Anyway, I actually forgot my slap-chopper thing at home, and was forced to just cut it up and let it mix in with everything when I did the super-shake/twist thing I do... and I really liked it. So, that's something I don't have to clean every day... Hooray for that.

Okay, I have to get back to grading. Also, I have to sleep with an oxygen monitor thing on my wrist and finger tonight, so I guess I have to read how that's supposed to work before I put it on, too.

Good night!

Oh, Sunday...

Oh I ate more than I should have tonight. I'll just admit it now.

Breakfast: Two eggs (one yolk), fruit smoothie (not a catfish smoothie, Jhoneric... this one was yogurt, banana (okay, half a banana), and strawberries), a slice of whole grain bread, and skim milk with whey protein.

Lunch: Salad (cup of spinach, cup of romaine, serving of red pepper, serving of chicken, half a tomato (mushed up), olive oil, balsamic vinegar), mixed nuts, sharp cheddar cheese, raisins.

Snack: Apple, carrots.

Dinner: About a serving-and-a-half of chicken, mushrooms (with salt and soy sauce, I think Tricia said), asparagus with Parmesan cheese and lemon zest, and some romaine lettuce. I guess I didn't eat that much, but it was more than I probably should have. Oh, and I had dark chocolate for dessert.

I am still proud of myself for the self-control I had at the housewarming party for Leslie, etc. last night. I was super close to just grabbing a handful of starchiness and eating away... but didn't. I'm okay going a little overboard on Sunday night, I suppose, as long as I keep it limited to that!