Day 14

I have very little appetite. I'm not complaining. I just need to watch that I get some of the 'right' foods in when I do eat...so far this weekend, not doing so great with that! Yesterday:

Breakfast: 10:00 am

one piece of toast w/ honey, 2 slices bacon, about 1/4 cup of scrambled eggs w/ cheddar cheese (which were 5 eggs and 3 egg whites scrambled together and split among 4 of us), 1/2 cup orange juice w/ calcium, about 4 bites of a cinnamon roll.

Lunch: 3:00 pm

1/2 order of Fish 'n Onion Rings, I subbed onion rings for the 'chips'...I probably shoulda subbed in a salad instead :) The fish was only one large piece of which I probably ate about 1/2, and I think I ate 4 onion rings, 2 Coors Lights

Dinner: 7:00 pm

protein shake w/ strawberries blended in

Snack: 8:30 pm

1/2 cup Cap'n Crunch, 1/4 skim milk

I am betting I will be struggling with being hungry again some day, but right now, I am having the opposite problem! I was pretty hungry for lunch since I worked out from 1:15 to 2:15. (I did 45 minutes on the elliptical and 40 fit ball crunches.) After those work outs, good thing to eat pretty quickly.

I made that big breakfast because one child requested eggs...so off I went with the works! I then met up with a friend for what turned out to be lunch, although I hadn't really planned that. It's really wonderful to sit down with a good friend and share life stories over a beer. Too hard for me to give that up. I thought I could cut out alcohol completely for these 12 weeks...but I've decided I need to learn to live with that, because that is an enjoyable part of my life. So I need to make sure it is integrated in to what's going on here! No, I don't have a 'problem'! If you notice, it's only been a couple times so far! :)

Day 14: Good workout, great conversation, no veggies. Oops!

Day 13

These days are gonna happen! Well, at least they are for me. I am accepting it, and appreciating the fun I had. Life is too short to beat myself up, right? A very entertaining day yesterday:

First thing in the morning, tummy remedy: 5:00 am

1/2 Pepsi

Breakfast on the run: 8:45 am

Starbucks reduced fat cinnamon swirl cake, 1/4 of a nonfat vanilla latte...I couldn't finish it, what the heck??

Lunch: 12:45 pm

IHOP...watermelon, 2 eggs, 1 slice bacon, hash browns...I don't know, 1/2 a cup maybe?, with ketchup, and oh yeah...pancakes, approximately 3, with butter and syrup. Who am I kidding, probably closer to 3 1/2...but they are smaller than other places pancakes!! Water to drink.

Grazing Dinner at a Party: 6:30 pm

2 little wienies, 3 meatballs, two tortilla chips, 3 baby carrots, 4 celery sticks, 3 crackers, some cheese ball, spinach dip...I think that was all....Oh yeah, 3 beers. Hey, I was there for four hours!! Oh, crap...one little brownie square...almost forgot that!

No snacking yesterday. None! This week has really been different in that way. Last week, I was constantly looking in the cupboard for something to snack on.

I haven't logged my food on to the livestrong site yet. I have no idea how many calories this amounted to yesterday! I feel like I am starting to be a little more in tune to my body though. I did go in to what I referred to as a "pancake coma" yesterday. After all that food, I couldn't wait to get home and lay down. No real veggies and fruits and no afternoon workout...which made for a more sluggish me. I think I got a good portion of my water, but maybe not quite all 8 glasses.

I made a stupid mistake at IHOP. You see, it is All You Can Eat Pancake time there. Because I'm kinda cheap, I got one of those meals (and they are a great deal, by the way!) and thought, I would get the extra pancakes and pack them up to take home. My kids like pancakes! Well, they serve 2 with the meal, then bring 3 more at a time. I got the extra three, but didn't want it to look like I only got them to take home, so I planned to take a few bites and then ask for a box. I mindlessly ate half the stack, (so 1 1/2, right), and left the other half on the table. I never should have asked for more...Good intentions, bad results!

Day 13: I did mention it was a fun day, right? I had lunch with two of my dearest friends, and a very entertaining party last night. A day full of girlfriends! I loved it! Food? Secondary concern on this day :)

Day 12

I was up at 4:30 this morning, with a bit of a tummy ache. I am sipping a Pepsi at 5:45 am...probably not the best choice but it's helping a little. But let's discuss yesterday....another good day! I went to the mall again, for most of the morning. Hey, I had a two-day shopping pass thingy...don't judge me!!! Kids played on the dinosaurs, we walked A LOT of the mall, and had a food court lunch. I even did weight lifting...I bought a set of new glasses for our cupboard, (it was a smokin' deal, by the way) and a couple of other things, which were not light. I had one child in an umbrella stroller, and the other child pushing it. Thank goodness, the 4-year-old thought pushing the stroller was fun! I don't know what I was thinking, getting my hands full with stuff. I definitely worked up a sweat walking from one end of the mall to the other with those heavy things! It's good to be out of the house more. My husband might disagree. :) The other 'stuff' from yesterday:

Breakfast: 7:45

3/4 cup Cheerios, 1/2 banana, 1/2 cup skim milk

Snack: 11:30

1/2 small McDonald's fry, 1 chicken nugget....Don't judge me!!!

Lunch: 12:25

Italian BMT from Subway, 6" on whole wheat, 1/2 white chocolate macadamia nut cookie

Snack: 4:30

protein shake blended w/ strawberries and blueberries

pre-dinner Snack: 6:00

edamame

Dinner: 6:30

leftover stroganoff (about 1/4 cup, maybe, I don't know, I didn't measure), 1/2 cup steamed broccoli

Dessert: 7:30

Trail Mix, 3 T. I got to eat the M&M's this time!

I sat down with the kids in the food court, hoping my husband would join us for lunch. Cuz at this point, I was sweating, my arms were about to fall off, and I wasn't sure how I was supposed to get the lunch from one of the places with my hands full and two toddlers. He didn't join us. So, I parked it at a table right by the McDonald's, left my purchases at the table, and got them their food. I wasn't about to do McDonald's again for me. I have to answer to you people! Well, I sat there watching them eat. Yes, there are plenty of other places for me to choose from in the food court...I had pretty much decided on Subway...It worked for "Jared" after all. Anyway, I was NOT going to leave my kids at a table across the food court while I got my Subway. So I snitched some of their food. Got the hunger out, for the moment, until I could get mine! Grabbed the sub of the day (because I'm cheap) on our way out, and ate it at home. I got light mayo on it, because I always do, and after a couple of bites had to scrape it off. Wasn't tasting great, and didn't want to waste the calories! Besides, I knew I wanted a bit of a cookie! :)

I had a 30 minute weight workout and brief cardio. I'm considering the mall- walking my cardio for the day!

Day 12: Feeling good, have energy, not hungry all the time. Woo hoo!!

Day 11

I can't believe how different this week is from last week. Yesterday, I didn't eat enough food. Imagine that! I figure it balances out with another day that I ate too much, but I know that eating enough food is just as important. This is what it looked like yesterday:

Breakfast: 8:15

3/4 cup Cheerios, 1/2 banana, 1/2 cup skim milk

Lunch: 1:00

4 oz chicken breast, 2/3 cup brown rice, 2/3 cup steamed broccoli, water to drink

Post-workout snack: 4:00

protein bar

Dinner: 6:30

1/2 cup green beans, about 1/8 cup beef stroganoff w/ 1/8 cup whole wheat egg noodles, water to drink

Snack: 8:00

3 T. Costco trail mix, I didn't get one M&M though...there was a little one sitting next to me stealing them all, so basically it was nuts and raisins.

I had to force myself to eat dinner. I just had very small amounts, wanted to make sure what I made for the fam was decent tasting. It was bland, I got that feedback from everyone. Plenty of salt and pepper took care of that. It wasn't a very healthy recipe, so I knew I didn't want much. At least I got the noodles that have a bit more whole grains, and nobody complained! (I think they taste better than the 'regular' ones anyway!)

I was out running errands/shopping in all morning. I walked the mall for about an hour and a half. Wasn't tempted to buy any food...I wasn't hungry at all! (Even though there's the aroma of popcorn, and cinnamon rolls galore!) And wonder upon wonders, I didn't reach that point where I was TOO hungry, and willing to grab whatever.

I worked out in the afternoon again. Another 30 minutes of strength training (thanks, Tony!) and then 15 minutes on the TREADMILL. I have NEVER done the treadmill before. I have been scared of that thing. For one, I thought my knees would not respond well to it, but also because I could see myself falling on my face on it. The elliptical always seemed safer. Well, I didn't fall...and I worked up a sweat so, now I know I can do it, and get my heart rate up enough too! I have been made aware of how cross training is beneficial, so now I know I can add the treadmill as part of my cardio.

I did get a headache last night. I'm pretty sure I know why...I was low on my water, especially after my workout. And I didn't have enough food. I like to blame lack of caffeine sometimes, so I could have grabbed a Dr. Pepper, but I thought better of it, and decided to eat some nuts. That really seemed to help. Well, either that or the Advil :)

Day 11: Couldn't have imagined last week that I would hit a day where I only got 75% of the calories I'm aiming for. Can't make a habit of this...not healthy! Realizing how easy it would have been to scrap the whole thing last week, and how many people probably do that when it gets so tough. Sticking with it is worth it!

Day 10

Ok, guys....my workout pants were falling off of me yesterday on the elliptical. Note to self...always buy workout pants with a drawstring. I'm mentioning this, because there is nothing like the feeling of having your clothes fall off of you! I was just about to go sit down and do the bike, when I seemed to get the suckers hiked up enough to stay...I probably looked like Ed Grimley. Fun times! Yesterday's sustenance:

Breakfast: 8:00

protein shake w/ 10 strawberries blended in

Snack: 10:30

1 cup Cheerios, 1 banana, 1 cup skim milk

Lunch: 1:00

1/4 cup Kraft mac and cheese, 5 cinnamon jelly hearts, water to drink

Snack/dinner: 4:15

1/2 sweet potato, 4 oz boneless skinless chicken breast, water to drink

Dinner dinner: 6:30

McDonald's: 1/2 cheeseburger, 2 chicken nuggets, 1 small order of fries, about 3 gulps of Dr. Pepper....and feeling a bit guilty about this fast food, I added my own 2 cups of spinach with 1 T. Red Wine Vinegar and 1/2 tsp olive oil. Also, because I hadn't had any veggies yet...yikes!

I made mac and cheese for the kids for lunch. However, I found myself too lazy to gather something for myself so I ate an itty bitty bit of it too. It wasn't too long ago I could practically eat the whole darn box...what was that about?? What I should have done, was accompanied it with a salad. That would have made a more 'rounded' meal. I'll do that next time.

Parent/teacher conferences were last night for our middle schooler. We headed to the school right when I would normally be making dinner. So, yes, there was the grabbing of McDonald's on our return home. This will be an excursion you will see regularly. For our large family, it is usually the most economic fast food stop we can make. I went ahead and got that cheeseburger All American meal....ate the small fries before I even sat down at the table. My daughter was eyeing my cheeseburger so I gave her half, and she shared her nuggets with me...Maybe it was guilt that caused me to not drink much of my pop, or maybe it was the fact that someone else's spilled all over the floor so I handed them mine. I am proud of myself for taking the time to sit and eat what seemed like a gigantic salad, at that point. I knew I needed some veggies, but I also wanted to prevent any hunger from coming along the rest of the night. Those veggies must have done their job, because I was fine until bed! Actually, my hunger hasn't been too bad this week. I really think that whole 'cycle' thing surely was playing a part last week!

Day 10: Working my pants off, and loving it!!

Day 9

It was a good day! Apart from my emotional meltdown at 9 pm, it was a good day! Again, whole other blog there....I'm just glad it happened late enough at night that I wasn't tempted to eat my way out of it. Here's what yesterday looked like:

Breakfast: 8:00

protein shake w/ banana mixed in, 3/4 cup dry Cap'n Crunch (breakfast of champions, heehee)

Snack/Lunch: 11:00

2 hard boiled eggs, on 1 cup spinach, 1 cup romaine, 1 tsp olive oil, 1 T. red wine vinegar, water to drink

Lunch/Snack: 1:30

1/2 sweet potato, 3.5 oz extra lean ground turkey, water to drink (a tip here: I bought one package of ground turkey last week, cooked up the whole thing with some salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and a dash of Mrs. Dash. I divided and froze about 3 to 3.5 oz each in individual baggies. So yesterday, just grabbed out a bag, dumped it in a bowl, microwaved it for a bit, and voila!...my protein for this meal.)

Snack: 4:00

5 Brach's Cinnamon Jelly Hearts, 1 3/4 cups Smartfood popcorn

Snack: 4:45

protein bar

Dinner: 7:15

about 3 oz chicken breast, 2 cups salad w/ 1/2 T. Thousand Island dressing, 1 slice bacon, water to drink

The only time I got too hungry was, you guessed it, about 4 pm. It was after my work out and I was at the grocery store...I bought those darn hearts and opened 'em right there in the check out line. Got home and had that popcorn which wasn't too terrible a choice, and it helped to fill the chasm that was my stomach at that moment. I was just happy I stopped at 5 hearts!

I made a note in my journal yesterday that it was hard to resist grabbing handfuls of stuff that I was putting away off the table. As I put cereal boxes away, there was an almost automatic reach in to the box for a handful. I did have some Cap'n Crunch this way, but later on, I almost did it again, and asked myself first "Are you hungry?"...decided "no", put it away and walked away!

I had a great workout yesterday afternoon! I was at the gym for an hour, did about 15 minutes on the elliptical then my brother-in-law met up with me and led me through a rigorous 30 minutes of weight training on chest and shoulder muscles. I was glad to have the guidance. I've missed working out with him! Rounded out the workout with 40 crunches on the fit ball and 10 minutes of stretching. It all felt so good!!! I'm telling you, the hardest part is actually getting to the gym. Once I'm there, I like it and I love how I feel afterwards!

Day 9: Loved it! Wish every day went as smoothly as Day 9 did!

Day 8

Phew!! One week down, 11 to go! It was a rough one, but I am happy to be down 1/2 a pound from Monday of last week. I know this doesn't sound like much, but after the week I had, it is a victory! I didn't do a good job of writing down what I ate yesterday, but I didn't do any mindless snacking. I didn't feel totally hungry all day either. Here's what I yesterday looked like:

Breakfast: 8:30 am

protein shake w/ a banana mixed in

Brunch/Lunch: 11:30 am

Egg casserole (I had small pieces, cuz you don't even want to know what's in this thing...), fruit salad (bananas, raspberries, strawberries, grapes), 1/2 blueberry muffin, water to drink

Dinner: 6:00 pm

Chicken fried rice, water to drink. This was homemade and included, chicken, brown & white rice, eggs, frozen veggies (corn, green beans, carrots), garlic, low sodium soy sauce, and various seasonings.

We had brunch with my husband's family. I LOVE the egg dish his mom makes. I had one small piece of the two different kinds, then grabbed one more sliver which I didn't need. That put me in to the overly-full state of being, and could be why I was able to go until dinner without snacking.

My exercise yesterday was walking around Costco for an hour and a half. I didn't even have any samples while I was there! I also did a kitchen full of hand wash dishes (there was some dancing involved while doing the dishes, so I guess that's exercise too. I'm sure it was entertaining for my family. The only way I really enjoy doing chores is with some tunes on, so my ipod was helping me groove!)

The fried rice recipe I made really isn't that bad for you...there was hardly any fat, and I used part brown rice. Now I know I can use all brown rice and my family won't know the difference. And I will increase the amount of veggies I put in it too. It's fun to try new recipes, and even more fun when they are a hit!

Day 8: I'm excited again...Last week was a roller coaster! This week could be the same way, but at least I'm starting out this Monday morning feeling optimistic and energized. Go me! :)