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!

Saturdays Are Killer

Yikes! Saturday is a hard day to get through. So much time, so much I could be eating to kill time... And so on.

I have figured out I find a sort of peace while chopping and cutting up fruits and vegetables, as I just spend about 30 minutes doing that, so I should have gone to the store when the idea crossed my mind earlier today. I could have killed time at the store, and had that not-thinking-I'm-hungry time while cutting up food.

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

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

Snack: Apple, carrots.

Dinner: Catfish, two servings of asparagus.

Post-housewarming party snack: Carrots, raisins, dark chocolate.

I had something else to say here, but it has left my mind. Something about buying groceries, maybe. I don't know. Torchwood is on the telly, and it's an episode I never saw, and I thought I saw them all... so I'm distracted. If I think of it, I'll try to add it tomorrow!

Pop! Goes the Snack Time

Hey, turns out I should have re-read the book (or at least huge chunks of it) before I dove back into this. I've been missing a whole grain element... or a whole whole-grain element, anyway. I knew there was a reason I bought that rough-cut oatmeal! Anyway, I read up on how much air-popped popcorn I could have (okay, I tried to read up on it, but this book's index kinda sucks), and eventually looked some stuff up online and decided three cups of popcorn would be okay, and then made about 6 cups (I need to find the pre-popped to post-popped ratio somewhere I guess), and went ahead and ate that.

So I went a little off script, but I don't know if I went "off plan".

Breakfast: Two eggs (one yolk), fruit smoothie (yogurt, banana, strawberry), and milk with whey protein (side note: I've been under-doing the dairy product thing, too--but at least I got a start on what is BASICALLY the program I wanted to use).

Snack: Apple, carrots, conversations with 7th grade students (and Mrs. Manchion).

Lunch: Salad (cup of spinach, cup of romaine mix, serving of red peppers (note: anybody else shop at the Sun-Fresh up here by me--because I was wondering if anyone else thought their selection of red peppers right now maybe fell off the truck or something), serving of grilled chicken, half a tomato (mushed up), olive oil, balsamic vinegar).

Snack: Mixed nuts.

Dinner: Sharp cheddar cheese, catfish, asparagus (two servings), and raisins.

Post-Dinner Snack: Dark chocolate, air-popped popcorn (6 cups, I'd guess) with cinnamon sprinkled on.

This week's magic number: 5.770

That was a little disappointing, but even if it wasn't a scale malfunction, I kinda expected the size of my loss to drop as whatever happens in the body at the first of such a diet change stops happening... or whatever. I just knew not to expect as huge a drop. It still sucked, though. I'd reach my goal in like 25 weeks or something if I lost that every week!

I guess I need to start tracking my water consumption, too. I don't want to do it, because it's a huge pain. I just like to drink the stuff, not track it. I'm sure I'm getting my 64 ounces or whatever it is I'm supposed to be getting... but it's that confidence that makes me think maybe I'm not and I just think I am.

I will say I'm feeling more energy than I have for a while. The change in the diet and the fact I'm getting along so well with the C-PAP machine are probably the two biggest factors there, I think.

Anybody got any suggestions for a good whole grain bread?

Eggs Remembered!

So in that moment when I sit here an think, "Quick! What do you remember about today in regards to your attempt at a more healthy lifestyle," the best I can come up with is, "I bought eggs today." Well, it was a big deal. I mean, if I didn't, then tomorrow I'd have to start the day with catfish again. Not that I mind. I actually like it. I need to figure out what other kind of fish I want to cook. I can do the salmon thing, too, so nobody suggest that one. I just haven't bought any since the death of the fridge took my last hunk of salmon to the great smelly beyond.

Actually, the smelly was right here, and was only beyond after trash day.

Breakfast: Catfish (of the yumness), fruit smoothie (banana, strawberry, yogurt--okay, I put them in the blender in the same order as usual, but wanted to mix it up a little in the order I typed them). and skim milk with whey protein.

Snack: Carrots and and apple, and goofing around with some students making up stories and seeing if they believe me.

Lunch: Salad. (Can you list it with me? Let's try! Cup of spinach, cup of romaine mix, serving of red pepper, half a tomato (mushed up), serving of grilled chicken, olive oil, and balsamic vinegar.)

Snack (around 4:30 or so): Mixed nuts.

Dinner: Sharp cheddar cheese, bottom round, two servings of asparagus, a serving of raisins, a glass of wine.

Snack: Dark chocolate. Or at least it will be here in a bit. I mean it will be a snack. It's already dark chocolate.

Anyway, I weigh myself tomorrow. Am I a diet geek because I'm secretly looking forward to it? More so because I kept wanting to weigh myself all week, but made myself wait? Seriously, I need to get a life. Preferably one that pays so I can get a new a/c unit next spring!

Quick Weight Loss

I got my hair cut today. Shaved off, as usual. So that had to be like, what, 10 more pounds, right?

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

Snack: Finally, a normal day of lunch sitting with kids... Apple, carrots.

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

Snack: Mixed nuts. Sharp cheddar cheese.

Dinner: Catfish, two servings of asparagus. Glass of wine.

Post-dinner nosh: Raisins. Dark chocolate.

Yes, you've figured it out. I have just about the same thing every day. Here's the deal: I roll like that. Seriously. I don't mind. I'm getting so good at getting this breakfast ready, it didn't mess me up too bad when I woke up late today.

Oh crap, I forgot to buy eggs today. That messed me up. Luckily, I have catfish left over, so that can be my animal protein in the morning.

Anyway, I got a report in the mail today--from my doctor. I was wondering why I hadn't gotten a call about my blood work. Check it out: my Hemoglobin A1C, which was kinda high (and if it wasn't at least on the way back down by this appointment, which was supposed to be in early August, he was going to put me on diabetes meds) is now just over the goal. The goal is less than 7.0, and I'm right at 7.0. Imagine how good it would have been had I been eating right for more than just a week or so before my appointment.

I mean, I'd actually cut back some one what I was eating, but in no way was "eating right". Not that I'm "eating perfect" right now, but I'm way closer now that I was a month ago, seriously.

Anyway, I was all worried I was going to have to be on those drugs, and apparently I'm not. I get a re-check in 4 months.

Oh, and I must have lost weight, because he said, "Continue weight loss. You're doing a great job!" Makes me wish I'd written down what I was eating. Maybe I could start a fad diet where you eat crap, but just less of it.

Anyway, this good report and this whole weight loss thing is making me think I need to get to the exercise bit sooner rather than later. It's on the list.

The Chicken Makes That Salad

Okay, I totally forgot to put the chicken in the salad when I packed my lunch this morning. The salad was okay, but I really did miss the chicken. No worries, I stopped by the house on the way to the doctor and got that animal protein eaten before I headed to my doctor's appointment.

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

Lunch (about 1:15 or so): Salad (one cup spinach, one cup romaine mix, one serving of red peppers, half a tomato (mushed up), olive oil, and balsamic vinegar), carrots.

Snacks: I didn't snack while the kids had lunch, as I had other fish to fry... not that I had fish, and not that I'd fry it if I did. Anyway, at 2:30 or so I had some chicken, and at 4:30 or so I had an apple, sharp cheddar cheese, and mixed nuts.

Dinner: I had bottom round and two servings of steamed broccoli. And a glass of wine.

Post-Dinner Snack: One serving of raisins, dark chocolate.

Apparently since my June appointment with the sleep doctor guy, I lost a HUGE chunk of weight. What's that about? Maybe I had lead in my pockets back in June. Whatever, as much as he was saying I lost, you'd think I'd notice.

Yes, I haven't mentioned exercise in a while. There, I said it. Now I'm moving on to the next paragraph.

Okay, actually, there wasn't going to be a next paragraph. Now there is. And I'm done.

What Harm Could One Apple Do?

Ugh. If I don't eat an apple, I'm short a fruit for the day. Maybe I'll eat a serving of raisins instead. Yes, I've just decided... Oh, wait, I need the apple AND the raisins. Crud.

Okay, here we go...

Breakfast: Fruit smoothie (yogurt, banana, strawberries), two egs (one yolk), skim milk with whey protein.

Lunch (11:15): Salaad (cup of spinach, cup of romaine mix, serving of red peppers, serving of chicken, half a tomato (mushed up), olive oil and balamic vinegar). No snack today. I didn't think to bring it because I didn't take my lunch to school--had an actual hour between meetings, so I went home for lunch. Normally it's 90 minutes, but apparently the district didn't like us going out to sit-down restaurants for lunch or something.

Snack: (7:00 or so): Mixed nuts, sharp cheddar cheese.

Dinner: (8:00): Bottom round, two-and-a-half servings of asparagus. Glass of wine. Different wine than I've been drinking. Was very sweet and grape-y. Still not my favorite beverage on the planet.

My hope is to have an apple, some raisins, and MAYBE some dark chocolate before bedtime. If I don't, I'll come back and edit this. We shall see.

Again, I'm starting to be of the opinion a big secret is having something to do. Maybe I'll become all ninja master of eating one day and be able to be bored and not eat, but I'm not counting on it right now.

Sunday Cravings

I don't know if it's what I ate tonight or the fact we were watching shows as they aired instead of recorded (so I was forced to see commercials), but I was craving all kinds of food tonight. It was the weekly dinner with Ben & Tricia and the girls, so I had foods I wouldn't normally have (well, not since I started this mess, anyway). But again, I seldom watch commercials while at home, so maybe they were to blame. Or maybe my mind just decided I needed stuff that I shouldn't have. Whatever. I didn't hit a drive-thru on the way home, so they're just cravings.

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

Snack: Carrots, apple, sharp cheddar cheese, mixed nuts. This made up a couple of snacks, mind you.

Lunch: Salad (cup of spinach, cup of romaine mix, serving of grilled chicken, serving of red peppers, half a tomato, mushed up, olive oil, balsamic vinegar (some day I'm going to change the ingredients, just to see if anyone's reading)).

Dinner: Less than 1 cup of mashed potatoes, chicken pot pie (not a frozen one, but Tricia's recipe... I'd guess one serving of chicken, some veggies (corn, peas, carrots), and a bunch of stuff I'm not supposed to be eating. Oh, and some corn (in addition to what was in the c.p.p.).

Return home snack: A serving of raisins and some dark chocolate.

Okay, I'm beat. I'm going to bed.

Saturdays Are Hard

I can tell the secret of being successful at this eating-right thing is going to be keeping busy on Saturday. Also, it wouldn't hurt to wake up at a decent hour--and to take care of breakfast as soon as I wake up...

Breakfast: (around 11:00): Catfish, milk-with-whey-protein, fruit smoothie (yogurt, banana, strawberry).

Lunch: (around 3:30 or 5:30 or something): An apply while I made the salad and cut up the fruit I bought at the grocery store, salad (cup of spinach, cup of romaine mix, about a cup of grilled chicken, a serving of red peppers, half a tomato mushed up, olive oil, balsamic vinegar.

Dinner (at 9:30): Bottom round, two servings of asparagus, sharp cheddar cheese, grapes, carrots.

I'm sure between now and going to bed I'll have some dark chocolate and some mixed nuts. If not, I'll go back and edit this post tomorrow to reflect the missing of those snack items.

I saw Say today. She believes my scales were actually functioning correctly. I hope so. That would be choice.

P.S.: Blogger's spell check is a freak. It thought the "alad" of "salad" was spelled incorrectly, and when I fixed "misisng" to "missing", it still thought it was misspelled, and couldn't offer "missing" as a correction. Freak.

Something About Scales Falling Away From My Eyes...

So the big news is I weighed myself again today, one week later, and I'm questioning the functionality of my scales. Seriously, if they're working, I'm crazy motivated to keep this up. But I'm afraid they might be malfunctioning. Whatever, more on that a week from today.

Breakfast: Two eggs, one yolk. Fruit smoothie (yogurt, banana, strawberry). Skim milk with whey protein.

Snack: Carrots and an apple. Better conversation today, however.

Lunch (around 1:15): Salad (cup of spinach, cup of romaine mix, serving of red pepper, cup (probably less) of grilled chicken, half a tomato (mushed up), olive oil and balsamic vinegar. And I just realized I need to go to the store for more tomatoes tomorrow.

Afternoon nosh: Mixed nuts. Sharp cheddar cheese. Grapes. So I was hungry for some reason, okay?

Dinner: Bottom round, two servings of asparagus (did I mention how I love the asparagus?), and a glass of wine. Dark chocolate to follow shortly.

If my scales are correct, the magic number is now 5.731. Remember, the goal is 10!

I really hope those scales are at least relatively correct!

Nosh, Nosh, B'Gosh

The bad news: Lots of snacking tonight. The good news: it was all within the range of what I'm supposed to be eating--except for the meal, which was the leftovers from Ben & Tricia's. Yeah, do the math. I live on the edge, where leftovers are concerned.

Exercise: Let me get back to you on this. Seriously, alter on in this post.

Breakfast: Catfish (yes, for real), fruit smoothie (yogurt, banana, strawberry), and milk-with-whey-protein. Here's the deal about the catfish: shut up, it's animal protein. I was running late and didn't have time to cook eggs, and plus it's all outside-the-box-y and also if the fish oil pills made me burp fish later, I wouldn't have to mourn the lack of fish in my breakfast.

Snack: Carrots, apple, company with students who think conversations about trading shoes is appropriate lunchtime conversation. I mean, seriously, I don't tell the story of why I can never eat watermelon while at the lunch table (saw Cletus puke watermelon out his nose--seeds and all--one summer when I was very young), so I think they can save their conversations about trading shoes until I'm not eating!

Lunch (at about 1:15 or so): Salad. Cuppa spinach, cuppa romaine mix, cuppa chicken, serving of red peppers, half a tomato, mushed, olive oil, balsamic vinegar. Water to drink.

Nosh-fest: Mixed nuts when I got home. A bit later some sharp cheddar cheese. A couple of hours later, I had the leftovers from Ben & Tricia's (serving of steak, green beans and corn (together probably equalling a serving of veggies), and a half cup or so of mashed potatoes (bad me, I know), with wine to wash it down (and water to wash down the wine). Not long after that, dark chocolate. Just before I started typing this, I finished up a serving of grapes.

Thoughts: Well, I'm missing a couple of elements from this program (well, more than a couple if you get beyond the eating-and-exercising parts of this program, and there's plenty in this program beyond the eating-and-exercising parts). First, I have all this green tea in my cabinet, and I can't bring myself to drink three cups a day. Seriously, the stuff is worse to gulp down than wine. It's like the opposite bad taste of wine. Wine has too much, and tea has not enough. It's of the icky.

The other element is the exercise. A friend of mine has suggested I get a pedometer and set a number of steps for each day--and what I don't make toward my goal (I think it's supposed to be some power of 10--like 10,000 or something), I make up with a walk after school.

I don't like the "after school" element there (I much prefer to wake up and take a walk than walk after working all day), but if I'm not going to be able to wake myself up, I guess it's a viable alternative. Now, where do I get a pedometer? I think I got a free one once, but I have no idea where it is. They kinda creep me out. How do they work? Witchcraft?

Okay, so those are going to be my focus areas... unless I have some other focus areas from yesterday's post. I should re-read that one. I really have the feeling I had some focus areas in that post that have left my mind. Anyway, right now it's the green tea and the exercising. And whatever else from yesterday.

Yes, those.

P.S.: I have been doing this for over a week!

If They Took Blood Today, Do I Get to Eat More?

Went to see the doctor today. So much for that apple-a-day thing. Nothing exciting to report, other than they took my blood, and refused to give it back.

No exercise. Shut up.

Breakfast: Seriously, I'm in a rut. I don't mind, except for when I type it and think, "People are judging me for being in a rut." Anyway: Two eggs, one yolk. Skim milk with whey protein. Fruit smoothie (yogurt, banana, strawberry, raspberry). The regular pills.

Snack: Carrots. (I was out of apples, and forgot to pick some up at the store yesterday. Don't worry, I went to the store after I got done with the appointment with the doctor, so I still got an apple today (worthless at keeping the doctor away as they've turned out to be).)

Lunch: Seriously, this was at 3:15 or so. No lie. And the funny thing is, I wasn't all that hungry, but knew if I didn't have lunch I had no shot at getting my five vegetable servings in. Salad (cup of romaine mix, cup of spinach, serving of red peppers, mushed up tomato half, serving of chicken, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, shake until all mixed up), serving of mixed nuts, apple (worthless thing).

Dinner: Catfish, grapes, wine, sharp cheddar cheese. Oh, and water. I'm not a huge fan of wine, so I have to chase it down with water. Or food. Or both.

Last huzzah snack: You know I'm going to have some dark chocolate before bed, right?

Random thoughts: I don't know that raspberries and I get along. Seriously, I think they make me a little urpy. Or maybe it's the strawberries. I haven't worked it out yet, and as long as I'm not projectile-hurling, I guess I'm not going to worry about it too much. Also, I think I'm going to be okay with going to the grocery store a lot until I figure out a good plan for this. At least when you go and buy milk and a bunch of fruits and vegetables, people view you as a healthy person. I mean until they look at the big overweight blob that is you (and I mean the you that is me). Then they're all judge-y and stuff.

Oh, and super-kudos to me for buying cookies for my 6th hour last night and having the sense to leave them in the car so they wouldn't keep talking to me. And when there were 13 left over today, extra-super-kudos to me for handing them to Koenig before I left the building. No, this "program" isn't all "never eat the wrong thing, ever", but I'd like to make it through my first week without doing anything horrible.

Now, when did I start doing this? When is this week up? I want the occasional cookie, consarn it!

I Had to Eat Some Grapes Because I Ran Out of Fruit Jokes

Yes, I have one fruit joke, and it's about Carmen Miranda's hat. But seriously, I'm finishing up a serving of grapes right now, just to make my fruit quota for the day.

So, about that exercise: Didn't happen. I could go into the long boring details here, but the short version is I didn't fall asleep for the longest time last night, so when I was up at 2:00 I set the alarm for 6:00 and said, "Forget it." The day went downhill from there, but the reason I didn't walk this evening after it got dark was a good reason and I got to see some friends I haven't seen for a while and some friends I should see much more often. I guess I could go walk right now, but I think that would make getting to sleep a bit difficult--and it's cold in the house and the shower I'd insist on having after would mean sleeping with wet hair in a cold house... and I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow, and I don't want to go in with the sniffles.

Yeah, good thing I didn't go into the whole exercise thing. If not going into it was that long, imagine the novel of going into it!

Breakfast: Two eggs, one yolk. Skim milk with whey protein. Fruit smoothie (yogurt, banana, strawberry).

Snack: At lunch with the kids I ate an apple and some baby carrots.

Lunch: For lunch (at 1:15 or so) I had that same salad I've been having--well, not the SAME salad, because: gross, but you get the idea. About a cup of romaine blend, about a cup of spinach, serving of red pepper, about a cup of chicken (argh, I just realized I need to grill some chicken for tomorrow's salad... poop), half a tomato, olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

Dinner: Bottom round (I did buy fish today, so I can do the fish thing a couple of times a week--maybe for breakfast, too), steamed broccoli, and a glass of wine.

Post-visit-with-friends snack: Mixed nuts, grapes... and maybe some dark chocolate if I get to it. Odds are I will, since I will be up a little longer getting some chicken George-Foreman-ified.

Oh, I am also drinking water every day, but don't know that I'm making my 8 cups or whatever it is I'm supposed to be having. Maybe that will be another focus area with the whole "why ain't you exercisin'" thing.

One Fruit Short Of A Hat For Carmen Miranda

Okay, just kidding. I didn't have that much fruit today, but I actually did end up a serving short, which I don't like. I guess I could scarf 16 grapes down while I type this... That reminds me, I need to buy raisins.

Exercise: Tomorrow. No lie. I'm getting up at 5:00. Anybody who wants to sent a text at 5:00 in the morning (Central Time), that probably wouldn't hurt. Seriously. I suck at waking up, especially early. Also, I'm not sure what sort of exercise to do on the days I don't walk the 2 miles. Suggestions?

Breakfast: Two eggs (one yolk), fruit smoothie (yogurt, strawberries, raspberries... I forgot I needed bananas last night when I opted not to go to the store), skim-milk-with-whey-protein. And of course my daily pills, which I haven't written about here, but the fish oil and the multivitamin are part of "the program".

Snack: While the kids lunched, I ate an apple. What I don't like about apples is how they turn brown before I get done eating them. That's of the grossness. But I like apples.

Lunch: Had this late. It was probably 2:15 before I got around to it. Salad: about a cup of romaine mix, a cup of spinach, a serving of red peppers, half a tomato mushed to death, chicken, olive oil, balsamic vinegar. I brought a serving of carrots to school, but forgot to eat them (left them in the fridge in the lounge). Tomorrow. I still wasn't short a veggie, so I'm good.

Dinner: Bottom round, two servings of steamed broccoli, glass of wine.

Post-prandial nosh: handful of mixed nuts, about 30g of cheese cubes (sharp cheddar), dark chocolate.

I've opted not to eat the grapes. I'm getting ready to go to bed now (hoping to be asleep by 9:00, but odds are there's some Algebra II or Mythology homework I'm going to get a text about later, so that may turn into a short nap). So I'll just be short a fruit today. But those grapes better not go bad or I'm gonna be so mad at me for not eating them.

Half-Day

I woke up late. I had a headache. I didn't leave my room for an insane number of hours other than to get up and use the restroom. It was not an active day. I did not have all my fruits and veggies. I even ate some stuff that's in the "don't eat" column. But I'm still gonna call it a good day.

Exercise: I laugh at this. Seriously, I'm laughing right now. On the inside.

Breakfast (had at a time I refuse to divulge her, on the grounds it would make people gasp and judge me): Two eggs (one yolk), fruit smoothie (yogurt, banana, kiwi, strawberry), milk-with-whey-protein.

Snack: 1 serving of baby carrots. Dark chocolate. Mixed nuts.

Dinner/Supper: Steak, serving of green beans, serving of corn, less that 1 cup of mashed potatoes. Maybe some butter mixed in with that corn (and the potatoes), and some bacon mixed in with the green beans. NOTE: Almost every Sunday night I eat dinner with the Hart family, and I'm not gonna request anything special there--I'm just going to try to eat what is served in moderation. It's a word. Look it up. Seriously, I didn't know this word existed, apparently.

Thoughts: There are things in my life I need to fix. I'll work on that. Also, I was dead tired last night without taking my melatonin. What's that about?

I have everything prepared for lunch tomorrow. Bought a couple of bottles to carry olive oil and vinegar in. Will also be bringing the slap-chopper (don't know which one I have... just know I have one) to school to mush up some tomato for my salad.

Seriously, exercise starts Tuesday. Need to get a good mix of songs together on the ipod, though. Not that I won't walk without one, mind you. Tuesday. This I swear to you. Barring invasion by alien killer bugs or something.

Switching It Up a Bit

Okay, so I did some moving for Say today, which meant lifting and carrying mostly boxes, but still no "officially scheduled" exercise. However, my ipod is now working (actually replaced), so I have tunes for when I do my first walk tomorrow... or Monday. Tuesday at the latest...

Today for breakfast I had the daily smoothie (but with yogurt and milk instead of just yogurt, because I ran out) with strawberries and kiwi in addition to the half of a banana. Also, two eggs (one yolk), but no tomato this morning. And of course the skim milk with whey protein.,

Lunch was late, due to moving (and props to me for not eating at Mickey-Dees when Jordan took us through the drive-thru), but was my regular salad with a bit of a switch. I kept the about-a-cup of both spinach and the romaine mix, and had the serving of red-pepper (or about a serving) with the chicken, as well as the olive oil and balsamic vinegar, but the tomato I didn't have for breakfast I pureed and put in the salad--so it was like a sort of vinegar-tomato dressing. I went ahead and had a serving of mixed nuts and the dark chocolate after that late lunch.

Late supper was another bottom round steak, a couple of servings of steamed broccoli and about three servings of asparagus... okay, closer to four. And if I have an apple before I go to bed (or maybe a serving of grapes), then I'll have made my fruit servings quota for today.

Thoughts: I need to plan for weekends better--and for being out and about instead of at home. Also, I need to schedule my grocery shopping in advance. This may take some thinking. ::sigh::

A Late Posting for Day Two

So it's the second day. First, I'm pretty sure I did everything I was supposed to do (actually had more veggie servings than required, but that's allowed).

Exercise: Working on it. An important part is having my iPod fixed. Got an appointment at 5:00 tomorrow to work on that. Also, helping to move my sister's stuff tomorrow, so I'll get some unofficial exercise in there.

Breakfast: Same as yesterday, except I also had kiwi in the smoothie. So, two eggs (one yolk), half a tomato, cup of skim milk with whey protein mixed in, fruit smoothie (cup of yogurt, half a banana, few strawberries, a kiwi) and my daily pills.

Lunch: I was so full from breakfast, I thought about just bringing my apple down to lunch at 10:10... but then I thought, I'm so full, I don't need it. Turns out I needed it. Was very difficult to be in the cafeteria and smell the food and not have something to eat. VERY difficult. Luckily there were all these kids around demanding attention, so I was able to cope.

So lunch really happened at 1:00. I had another salad, cup (or so) of spinach, cup (or so) of romaine lettuce mix, serving (or so) of red pepper pieces, cup (or so) of chicken... maybe half cup (or so)--it was less than yesterday's amount, anyway, olive oil and balsamic vinegar. And I ate my apple.

I had a handful of mixed nuts when I came home, but didn't make dinner before the 'tonka game. I ended up leaving the game early, and made supper when I got home (yes, I know I just called the same meal two different things). Bottom round steak, 15 asparagus spears, glass of wine. And for dessert: the other half of last night's dark chocolate.

The number: 5.609. (Goal = 10)