Pedometer Tributes

So I bought a pedometer and tried it out for the first time yesterday.  I got to 9,800 steps before I accidentally reset it, so I know that I hit the recommended 10,000.  I understand that I do a lot more walking on the weekends than I do during the week, and yesterday especially because we remodeled the spare bedroom, but I was still pleasantly surprised to see that I hit my 10k.  I'll keep an eye on it during the week to make sure that I get at least close to that on a daily basis.  Today I'm only at about 600 steps, so I will get in some walking during lunch, and then for sure go to the gym this afternoon.

I ate like a champ this weekend, so I don't even want to step on the scale.  I'm sure that I'm right back to where I started, which is upsetting, but it's all my own fault.  It's not like I didn't know that I was eating.

This morning I had the awesome Kashi cereal and some fruit snacks, and for lunch I think I'm going to grab a Smart Ones just because it's quick and easy and take the thinking out of eating.  Dinner tonight I'm thinking of chicken with some leftover stuffing and some green beans, so that should be good.

I really need to get back into the habit of blogging during the week, because it makes me re-think my choices when it comes to food.  I've also started tracking my Weight Watchers points again, thanks to Temi who got on my butt about it and swore to hold me accountable :)

Kashi

I didn't weigh myself today.  I'm a little afraid to.  We went up to Kansas this weekend to have a pre-Thanksgiving meal with Jason's family, so I'm sure I overindulged.  Oh well, back to square one.

Other than that, I've been doing good as far as eating goes.  I've just cut back on a lot of sugars and have been trying to eat more my portion size.  For breakfast this morning, I had the amazing Kashi Go Lean Crunch cereal, honey almond flavor.  Kashi has a realistic serving size on the side of their carton, one cup, so you can eat a normal portion and still feel full for a long time. I was pleasantly surprised when I had it for breakfast this morning, so I'll probably be adding it into my morning breakfast menu.  Oh, it also has tons of protein, so it leaves you feeling full for a good amount of time.

Today is the day that I hit up the gym again.  I'll head there after I get done work at 4, and probably do 25 minutes on the elliptical followed by some basic weight lifting...mostly just the machines and all to try to keep toned.  The first couple of days doing this are the hardest, so if I can keep myself motivated for the next week or so I know that I'll get in a routine and enjoy it.

Workin' Out

So I'm still sitting at 161.8lbs.  It's pretty obvious to me that just eating better isn't the only thing that's going to help me drop this weight, so I'm reluctantly adding exercise back into my daily routine.  Exercise isn't a bad thing, and once you get into a routine it's really enjoyable, but getting into that routine is the hard part.  I'll head to the gym after work today and get in about 25 minutes on the elliptical and follow it up with a bit of weight training.

I'm still trying to cut back a lot of my carbs, but they aren't completely out of my diet.  For breakfast today I had two eggs over easy with some toast.  I'm not sure what I want for lunch, but I've already got dinner in the crockpot :)

Santa Fe Chicken Chili

3 Frozen Chicken Breasts
1 Can Ro-Tel diced tomatoes and green chillies
1 Can chicken broth (reduced sodium)
1 Can Black Beans (reduced sodium)
1 Cup Frozen Corn
1 Packet chili seasoning

Add everything into the crockpot, and set on low for 10hrs.  30 minutes before serving, shred chicken with a fork and add back into crock pot.  Serve with rice or tortilla chips or however you want.

YUM!

Really?!

Well, I'm down to 161.4, which is where I was on Tuesday.  I'm hoping that I can get back into the 150s by this upcoming Tuesday.  This weekend we only have plans to eat out once...we're going to Hideaway Pizza for lunch on Saturday afternoon.  I need to really focus this weekend on making that the only day that I cheat, and really sticking to it for the rest of the weekend.

I took the dog for a walk the other day, which was actually really refreshing.  I'll probably take her again today to try to get some energy out of her and excersize this body of mine.  I've noticed that my back has been hurting a lot lately, and I know that it's probably do to my lethargic job.  I know that I've said it before, but I really need to make it a point to focus on getting in more steps and light exercise.  Maybe I'll head up to WalMart today and grab a pedometer...

Well poo

I thought that I did pretty good yesterday.  At Olive Garden I had a breadstick (or two), some salad, and the tangerine chicken.  Dinner was soup, and dessert was some apple slices dipped in peanut butter.  All-in-all, not bad...except that when I stepped on the scale this morning, I was 162lbs.  I'm hoping that this is just from the sodium that is likely found it my lunch and that by tomorrow I will be back to losing weight.

I'll be eating what is probably the last of my taco soup for lunch today, and for dinner will likely have some chicken tenders because they are quick and easy and delicious :)

The soup was a good choice to make this past weekend as it lasted me almost all week.  I'll be looking up some crock-pot recipes this week that have plenty of veggies and protein, so if you have any in mind pass along the recipe.

The Garden of Olive

Alright, ya'll, scale today says 160.8.  This is down roughly another 1/2 lb, so I'm hoping by tomorrow I'll be at or near 160 even, maybe even in the 150s.  Yes!  Remember, my goal is to get to 150 by Christmas, which should be more than easy to accomplish.

I still have a lot of taco soup left, so I ate that for lunch and dinner yesterday, which is good because it's packed full of veggies and protein.  After dinner I lost my husband to the new Call of Duty game, so I went out for some frozen yogurt with my friend.  It's not the best for ya, but at least it's better than ice cream.

Today I made myself a cheese omelet for breakfast and had some turkey bacon with it.  My friend from work and I are meeting up for lunch at Olive Garden, so I'm going to get the Venetian Apricot Chicken.  It's basically some grilled chicken smothered in sweet apricots and coupled with some awesome veggies:  broccoli, asparagus, and tomatoes.  I've had it there in the past and was irrationally in love with it, so I'm excited to get it again.

Other than that, nothing much going on here.  I have had three friends tell me recently that they are pregnant, so I've got me a case of baby fever.  I'm excited to be losing this weight, that way when I get pregnant I'll be starting from a lower number, so I'll just have to lose the baby weight instead of the baby weight plus some when it's all said and done.  Anyway, I've decided that I really love the name Evelynne Grace (spelled that way) for a girl, and my husband love Jaxson for a boy (spelled that way).  I'm not so sure what middle name I want to couple with Jaxson, but I'm thinking Jaxson Daniel sounds nice.

Crazy Night

Well it was one crazy night to say the least.  My husband came home from work a bit early becuase there were some large F4 tornadoes south of us and heading our way.  Anyway, once all that died down we ate dinner and settled in for the night.  Well fast forward a couple of hours and we're in the middle of a lovely thunderstorm, it's hailing, and we're in a tornado warning when suddenly the house starts shaking.  Yep, earthquake right in the middle of it.  Awesome.  Soon after that the neighborhood's power went out, but miraculously our house didn't.

Anyway, all in all it wasn't a bad night diet-wise. I've still got plenty of that taco soup left, and since it's so tasty I've been eating it up for lunch and dinner.  For snack later I made a peanut butter, banana, chocolate shake, which is not healthy but it very yum.

I've been watching what I eat for a week now, and while I gained a little over the weekend, I've still managed to lose 2.2 lbs this week.  Since a healthy weightloss is considered anywhere between 1 and 3 lbs a week, I'm feeling pretty good about that.  I haven't gone to extremes and cut carbs or fruits and veggies or anything complete out of my diet, but I've exercised moderation and self control and wouldn't ya know it works :)  If I'm able to keep this up, I should hit my 10lb goal by the first Tuesday in December.  This is a good thing.

Anyway, I'm feeling good but I do want to increase my veggies to get more fiber into my diet, so that's my focus for this week: Continue to eat healthy and add more fiber into my diet.  Oh, and I want to start working out a bit more.

PB Banana Chocolate Shake

1 Banana
1/2 cup milk
1 cup ice
3 packets sweetener
2 squeezes sugar free chocolate syrup
1.5 tblsp Peanute Butter

Put in a blender, mix it all up, and enjoy!

Bad Weekend for Dieting

Well, I didn't do so hot this weekend.  It was a good weekend, don't get me wrong, but it wasn't all that great for dieting.

Friday I didn't want to cook, so Jason and I went to Wendy's (his favorite).  Instead of just ordering chicken like I should have, I got a burger because on the commercial they just look so good (lol).  After that we went and met up with Jim and Allison for some ice-cream.

Saturday I didn't do too bad, until that night.  I had of course eggs and turkey bacon for breakfast, and made some taco soup for lunch.  That night I went to a friend's house for "girls night".  We ordered some pizza and watched Crazy, Sexy Love.  It was all delicious, of course, but that's why the number on the scale started to climb.

Yesterday was football Sunday, so when my husband asked if I wanted some pizza and wings I of course said yes when I should have said no.  Of course, later in the night, we had Sunday Sundaes...

Needless to say, at the end of all this the scale read a lovely 162 this morning.  I'm hoping that by staying strong this week I can get back into the 150's by the weekend.

Taco Soup Recipe

1-2 lbs hamburger meat (I use ground turkey instead)

1 package of taco seasoning (I use two because I like it a little spicier)

1 package of hidden valley ranch dip mix

1 can of pinto beans

1 can of red kidney beans

1 can of chili beans

1 can of ranch style beans

1 can of stewed tomatoes

1 can of rotel

1 can of chicken broth (I use two cans)

1 can of corn

Directions

Brown the meat and mix in taco seasoning

Put all together into a big pot (don't drain the cans)

Simmer until you're ready to eat

YUM!

...And I would walk 500 miles...

Alright, so I wouldn't walk 500 miles...but I would walk 10,000 steps.  I'm sure we've all heard that we should get in at least 10,000 steps a day, but if you're anything like me, you live a pretty sedentry lifestyle and aren't coming anywhere close to that.  I, for example, work from home three days a week.  I spend most days in front of the computer wearing sweatpants with a tv blaring behind me.  The furthest I walk on these days is the occasional trip to the kitchen coupled with one visit to the mailbox.  It doesn't get much better on the two days I go into the office.  I walk to and from the car a couple of times, and to and from the bathroom, but that's really it.  By the time the weekend comes, I'm pretty drained from a long week of work and don't want to do much.  I wouldn't be surprised if my pedometer tracked me with an average of only around 3,000 steps a day.

3,000 steps!  That's a ridiculously small number.  The average person's stride is roughly 2.5 feet.  3,000 steps x 2.5 feet = 7,500 feet.  Convert this to miles, and I'm averaging just under 1.5 miles a day, while I should be getting in around 5.  That being said, I'm buying a pedometer.  I have a sneaking suspicion that by moving around more on a daily basis, I'll see the number on the scale decrease.

Speaking of scales, my number DID decrease today.  I stepped on this morning to see that I dropped another 1.6lbs, which means that I'm weighin in at 160.4.  I've still got a ways to go before I hit my 150lb goal before Christmas, but I'm getting there.  It's encouraging to see the number shrink.

Anyway, to eat yesterday I had two eggs and two slices of turkey bacon for breakfast, two turkey-dogs and one thing of string cheese for lunch, and I made that recipe for parmesan swai for dinner and coupled it with some fat-free cottage cheese.  I also had my oat-bran for carbs, and cheated a bit by getting some frozen yogurt with my friend Jen last night.

Today I had my usual one egg white one egg and two slices of turkey bacon for breakfast, and for lunch I'll either eat up some more turkey dogs or go for deli ham with some low-cal cheese.  I'm not too sure about dinner yet, but I'm thinking of baking some chicken.  I can't wait to add veggies back into my diet tomorrow :)

This weekend's plans include getting some pictures done by our awesome friend Jamie over at Studio Westway, followed by dinner and girls time with the lovely ladies of our LifeGroup.  Sunday is of course football for the boys, so I think I'll head to the mall and get some early Christmas shopping done.

What's on your plate for the weekend, and how are you going to increase your daily steps?

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Brownies, say what?!

Two days in a row of posting; I must be turning a new leaf.

Yesterday didn't go as well as planned, but I also didn't go all wild and crazy kids either.  For breakfast I had my usual, one egg and one egg white along with two slices of turkey bacon.  Dinner was a piece of chicken coupled with some fat free cottage cheese, and for a late night snack I grabbed a few slices of low fat deli-ham.  Lunch is where I messed up...

For lunch I went with a friend to Abuelo's, a Mexican restaurant.  I ordered the two enchillada lunch special, and chose one spinich and one chicken.  Of course, it was coupled with both refried beans as well as rice, and free chips and salsa.

Overall, I didn't deter from my diet too much, and even turned down an invite to a local frozen yogurt shop to as not to further spoil the day.  When I stepped on the scale this morning I was not surprised to see that I hadn't lost any weight, but I was happy to see that I hadn't gained, either.  I stayed at an even 162, hopefully by tomorrow I will see that number go down a bit.

Today I actually had two scrambled eggs for breakfast along with two slices of turkey bacon, and for lunch I'm thinking that I might have either a turkey-dog or some deli ham and string cheese.  Dinner I'm not too sure about.  I'm getting pretty sick of chicken, so I might squeeze a lemon over from swai I have in the freezer and bake that.

I found this recipe when looking up some new ideas for swai, so I'm pretty sure I'll try this for dinner tonight.

Any great, healthy, recipes you all have, please feel free to pass along!

Next time I get in the mood to bake and cheat, I'm definitely going with this...how awesome does that look!!!!!

New Beginnings

I deleted all of my old blog posts.  Why?  Because I was inconsistent at best, and know that I'm better than that.  So, here's to new beginnings and up to date posting.

Here's a brief history, I grew up always being the skinny kid.  I never had problems with my weight and was very active through high school, so consistantly weighed about 110lbs.  Halfway through my senior year of high school I got a job at a local bank, quit playing sports, and started eating poorly.  By the time I went to college the following fall I was 120lbs, which is still a healthy weight for my height and frame.  By the time I left college four years later I was 140lbs, which is slightly overweight.

After college I moved to Oklahoma and started working for Dell.  Two years later I was engaged to be married and was 166lbs.  I was not about to walk down the aisle as a fatty, so I started Weight Watchers and by the time I got married six months later I was 147lbs.  I was really proud of myself, but a year later I was tipping the scales at 170lbs.  170lbs is not gargantuan, but it is about 30 lbs overweight.

This past summer I tried the Dukan diet for a month.  I dropped down to 158lbs that month, and managed to keep it off.  For the past three weeks, I stuffed my face and didn't pay the least bit of attention to my weight, and was not at all surprised when I stepped on the scales yesterday and saw that I was 163lbs.  I decided that I wasn't going to let this number keep creeping up, so I started Dukan again in the hopes of dropping about 10lbs before Christmas.

10lbs in two months is only slightly over one pound a week and is a completely attainable goal.  By decreasing the amount of carbs and sugars and fatty oils I eat, and increasing my intake of veggies and lowfat protein, along with 20-30 minutes of light cardio a day should help me easily attain my goal.  I say that I'm decreasing my carbs and sugars because that's what I'm doing, decreasing, not cutting out.  Removing these necessary foods completely from your diet will do nothing but put your body in a state of ketosis and make you want to overindulge when the opportunity presents itself.

Anyway, this week I'm going to focus on detoxing my body by eating mostly lowfat proteins and dairy.  By this weekend I should have jumpstarted my weightloss and will be ready to re-introduce more carbs and veggies to my diet.  I'm going to make sure to write down what I eat daily here in this blog, and will once a week upload my handy-dandy weight loss chart to track progress.

The most recent pics of myself that I have are when I was 170lbs this summer:

According to the scale this morning, I'm 162lbs, which is down 1.5lbs since yesterday.

To eat, yesterday I had one egg and one egg white in the morning, my lunch consisted of a grill chicken breast and string cheese, and my dinner turned out disaterous, so I ended up eating two turkey hot dogs and a shake that I made for myself with some peanut butter, sugar free chocolate syrup, sweetener, fiber, ice, and milk.  Oh!  I also had a few M&M's and some oat bran mixed with cinnamin and milk for a snack.  (Oatbran is a complex carb, and is a lot better for you than eating white breads).

Today I had one egg white and one egg along with two slices of turkey bacon for breakfast.  I have lunch plans with a friend to a local mexican restaurant, and I'll probably get the spinich enchilladas because I love them.  For dinner I'm planning on some chicken, not sure how I'm going to make it yet, though.

Finally, here's the chart with only two days on it.  Of course, I'll update it daily and post it again next week, hopefully reflecting some lower numbers.