Neglectful of blog = off the wagon

I'm off the wagon. I've eaten badly all week. Too busy with work, stress, didn't make a meal plan, etc etc... all adds up to eating out, and eating badly *sigh*

At least I finally had time today to prepare a decent dinner for tonight (the first healthy meal for us in a week!!!). Salmon with spinach & rice casserole.

Ugh ugh ugh ugh ugh...

I feel so gross. Junk food is horrible. It makes you feel like shit but makes you want more at the same time. I seriously feel disgusting. Not just mentally with my actions, but physically just bloated, heavy groggy... just GROSS!!! Yet, I just want more sugar and fat.

Ugh ugh ugh ugh ugh...

Week 7 Stats

Age: 36 yrs
Height: 5'4"
Start Weight: 163 lbs (uuuuuuuugh)
This week's weight: 159 lbs (up 1 lb)
2 weeks ago's weight (didn't weigh myself last week): 158 lbs
BMI: 27 (no change)

Honestly, I thought it would be worse. I really overindulged during my vacation. I was doing really well until this past Friday, only eating the occasional treat. But once Friday rolled around, my mind went into freak out mode thinking "back to healthy eating on Monday!! Pig out now while you still can!!!" and that's what I did this weekend. I think this weekend's pigout will reflect in next week's weigh-in.

Sorry for lack of updates!

We're on vacation, Holden is home, it makes for very busy days with very little alone time for me to update the blog. I ask for patience, I'll be back in full swing by Aug 31, with a few updates in between, but definitely not daily.

I've been doing well the last 2 days, staying within my calorie count and eating healthily. I've even turned down some temptations (DQ & McD's breakfast... not at the same time LOL)!!

I'll update again as soon as I can!

Week 5, Day 1 Summary (no pic today, sorry!)

John was unable to take a picture update today, we'll do our best to squeeze it in tomorrow.

Here's what I ate today:
Water: 6 glasses

Breakfast:
1 egg + 1 egg white, 1/2 slice of whwh toast, a touch of butter, coffee.

Snack:
1 chocolate chip cookie at a super fun playdate!

Lunch:
Marinated bbq chicken breast, large salad (lettuce, tomato, cucumber, dressing, a bit of croutons)

Snack:
1/2 of a small 85% cacao chocolate bar, 1 glass of milk.

Dinner:
Low fat turkey meatloaf, boiled potatoes with 1 tsp butter, large salad (lettuce, tomato, cucumber, dressing, a bit of croutons)

Dessert:
Blueberry cobbler

Total calorie intake: 1,520 calories. Over, but not too bad. Although I could have done without the blueberry cobbler, it was fan-frickin'-tastic!!

Exercise:
None :(

Week 5 Stats

Age: 36 yrs
Height: 5'4"
Start Weight: 163 lbs (uuuuuuuugh)
This week's weight: 158 lbs!! (down 3!)
Last Week's Weight: 161 lbs
BMI: 27 (no change)

Back in the game, baby!!

Photo coming later today (promise!!)

Week 4 Day 5, 6, 7 Summary

So although it was the weekend (my biggest challenge of them all), and I did indulge, I still showed a bit of restraint and didn't pig out as much as I could have.

Friday I had my usual breakfast. We then went to the movies where I had a water and half of a small popcorn (restraint!). We had lunch at Moxie's, John and I split the 3 dip bread, and I had a side caesar salad with half of a beef dip sandwich. No dessert! I am drawing a complete blank on what we had for dinner that night, I'll edit when it comes to me (I know it wasn't junk though, I always remember the junk).

Saturday was coffee for breakfast (bad habit!), then 1 small hamburger & 1 small hotdog at J&T's house who were having a BBQ. Dinner was at home, Shepard's Pie chock full of veggies. I hosted Kylie's baby shower (fun!) and ate 2 cupcakes, some garlic bread, and a couple of small sausage rolls. I made everyone take home what was left at the end of the night, I would have eaten it all on Sunday if they didn't!

Sunday: my dad came over for brunch. 1 egg + BBQ steak + 1 slice toast. Dinner: leftover Shepard's Pie.

Exercise:
Swimming in J&T's pool on saturday (although it was just floating around, so don't think it counts!!). Walking with Jill Sunday night.

Full disclosure time! Again!

Today John and I are having a date day.
We'll be going to a movie and having lunch at Moxie's. I'm sure I'll be over my calories. Moxie's has this 3 dip bread. It's to die for. And it's bread. I'll definitely be over!

Tomorrow evening I'm hosting Kylie's baby shower, and there will be lots of yummy things that I simply cannot resist! Hello!! Chocolate right in front of my face!! And I'll probably have some wine. The joy of hosting: no driving!!

So today and tomorrow: I'll update what I ate, but may not count calories so I don't freak out too much LOL. If I eat 3,000 calories in a day, I don't wannna know. Ignorance is bliss, sometimes. I realize I'll be pissed at my weigh-in on Monday. And this Monday is photo day too *urgh*

Week 4, Day 4 Summary

Here's what I ate today:
Water: 7 glasses (holy crap it's hot out, and our a/c died this morning. why? why? WHY?????)

Breakfast: Coffee (sans sugar), 1 egg + 1 egg white, 4 slices tomato.

Lunch: leftover salmon (only about 40g), leftover spinach & rice casserole (for those interested in trying this recipe, it's not great reheated the next day, so just make enough for your meal. I'll be making a half recipe next time).

Snack (not really a snack, but it was in between meals): Xtra large Timmy's coffee (double double)

Dinner: Swiss chalet (chicken breast with skin, side caesar salad, side garden salad, 1/2 multigrain roll, a bit of dipping sauce. No fries!!).

Total calories intake: 1,290 calories

Exercise: none. I was too frickin' hot and any excuse will do to not move. So sad.

Week 4, Day 3 Summary

Here's what I ate today:
water: 4 glasses

Breakfast:
1 egg + 1 egg white, 4 slices tomato, coffee (no sugar!)

Lunch:
Black bean & veggie soup, 1 slice whwh bread (no butter!)

Dinner:
Steamed salmon; spinach & rice casserole, steamed green beans.

Dessert:
1/2 of a large orange

Total calorie intake: 1,025 calories. Well under my goal, but I wasn't really hungry for much else. I definitely should have snuck in a handful of almonds or something similar between breakfast and lunch.

Exercise:
1 hour in the pool with Theresa. We did lots of laps, but admittedly they were only moderate intensity, but we did continuously move for the whole hour!

So I feel I did really well. Yippee!!

By the way, the spinach and rice casserole was a huge hit with John, Holden and myself. Here's the recipe if you're interested:

Spinach & Rice Casserole
Makes 8 servings

• 1 cup chopped onion
• 2 cloves minced garlic
  
• 1 teaspoon olive or canola oil
• 1 1/2 cups uncooked long grain rice
• 4 cups reduced sodium chicken broth
• 1 (10 ounce) package fresh spinach, torn
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper
• 1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. In a large saucepan, saute onion & garlic in oil until tender. Add rice; cook and stir for 2 minutes. Add broth; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Stir in the spinach, salt and pepper; cook until spinach is wilted.
   
   
2. Transfer to a 2-qt. baking dish coated with nonstick cooking spray. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Cover and bake at 375 degrees F for 20-25 minutes or until rice is tender.

Nutritional Analysis: One serving (3/4 cup) equals 174 calories, 2 g fat (1 g saturated fat), 2 mg cholesterol, 386 mg sodium, 33 g carbohydrate, 1 g fiber, 6 g protein. Diabetic Exchanges: 2 starch.

Week 4, Day 2 Summary

Here's what I ate today:
Water: 4 glasses (not great!)

Breakfast:
Coffee (from home), large coffee (from McD. They have really good coffee!). Here we go skipping breakie again!!!

Lunch:
Black bean & vegetable soup, 1 slice whwh bread with a bit of butter

Dinner:
Pesto with pasta (my serving was too big, but I was stressed and boy do I like to eat when I'm stressed!). I wanted to hide veggies for Holden, so I steamed half a bag of baby spinach, pureed it and mixed it in with the pesto. It was great. Couldn't taste the spinach at all, and since Holden likes pesto, it was perfect. Added in some fresh peas and cherry tomatoes as well.

Total calorie intake: 1,300

Exercise:
Brisk 1 hr walk with John & Holden *finally got out there and off my butt!!!*

Tomorrow I'm planning on having one of the super clean days. My plan is to have 1 egg + 1 egg white for breakfast, some sliced tomatoes, and a glass of skim milk. Snack will be a homemade blueberry muffin. Lunch will be leftover black bean & veggie soup again, with a slice of bread, no butter. Raw veggies if I'm still hungry. Dinner: baked salmon; steamed green beans; spinach & rice casserole (healthy casserole). This will bring me to 1,120 calories for the day. It's a bit high in carbs, I may switch the muffin for a veggie or fruit snack. I'm also switching to artificial sweetener in my coffee. I like it too sweet to continue putting sugar in it. John is gonna be pissed. He hates that stuff. I can't give up the cream though. Too delicious!!!!

Let's see if I stick to the plan.

Week 4, Day 1 Summary

Here's what I ate today:
Water: 4 glasses

Breakfast:
Xtra large McD coffe, homemade blueberry muffin

Lunch:
Sandwich: 2 slices whwh bread, .7 tbsp mayo, prosciutto, slalami, lettuce tomato.'

Dinner:
Black bean & vegetable soup, 3 slices baguette.

Exercise: none

Not a great day, I was feeling down about the weight gain. It always makes me want to eat more when I gain weight. And not the good stuff. How stupid is that??? At least I capped it at 1,445 calories today *sigh*

I've decided I need to have 3 days a week where I eat super clean... low-fat, low-carb, high protein. I also need to get my butt in gear and do some kind of activity at least 3 times a week too. This is silly. I'm just being lazy.

Week 4 Stats

Age: 36 yrs
Height: 5'4"
Start Weight: 163 lbs (uuuuuuuugh)
This week's weight: 161 lbs!! (up 2!)
Last Week's Weight: 159 lbs
BMI: 27 (no change)

AAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!! I gained weight this week!! 2 frickin' pounds!!!! I know I wasn't as careful as I could be, but I really didn't overindulge that much. Here's hoping my scale sucks ass... a possibility, since I'm relying on the Wii Fit scale. I've heard it's not very consistent. Time to get new batteries for our real scale.

Well, here's to a fresh start.

Week 3, Day 7 summary

No counting again today, but I still think I did OK.

Breakfast: the usual + 2 cups coffee (I was up at 4:45... i needed it!!)

Lunch: prosciutto & salami sandwich on whwh bread.

Dinner: small portion of steak with a carrot & broccoli casserole (a bit of cheese in it, but not too much).

Dessert: I made a blueberry cobbler. It had sugar in it, but was sooooooo good. I'm sure it put me over the count, but probably not by too much.

Exercise: 1 hr brisk walk

Week 3, Day 6 summary

Another weekend day where I didn't count calories, but did fairly well (I'm too lazy to actually do the counting on weekends, but on weekdays it's part of the routine).

Breakfast was the usual but with 2 coffees. Lunch was leftover half serving of pasta shells stuffed with italian sausage, dinner was pesto pasta with tomatoes.

It was a gorgeous day! Holden, John, and I played in the backyard all morning. We put out the baby pool for Holden, which he loved. I mean, he was ecstatic.

All in all, a great day.

So far today (Sunday) I've gone for a 1 hr walk this morning and eaten well. I'll update later!

I decided I'll be taking update pictures every month instead of every week. I think a weekly picture would be discouraging, since changes are so minimal in that short time. So next picture will be August 17!

Week 3, Day 5 summary

I had a family gathering yesterday, and those are always about food. I didn't do a calorie count, but I think it turned out OK.

Breakfast was just toast and coffee.
Lunch was a small BLT sandwich.
Dinner was a small portion of beef, corn & bean salad, rice & spinach salad, and a bit of mashed potatoes. There was chocolate cake for dessert, and that put me over the top, I'm sure. It was delicious and I didn't hold back, I had a huge piece!! BUT, I skipped on the wine.

I gave Holden a bit of dessert, just a few bites, and he loved it. After I finished feeding him, I did some chores and the grandmothers (both my mom & John's mom were there) gave Holden more desserts. I could have smacked them. So he didn't fall asleep until 8:30pm and woke up at a very dark 4:30am. Aargh.

Week 3, Day 4 summary

Here's what I ate today:
Water: 5 glasses

Breakfast:
Coffee, 1 slice whwh toast, 1 egg

Lunch:
Sandwich with salami & prosciutto, large salad (lettuce, cucumber, tomato, 1.5 tbsp dressing)

OK, so the whole morning and lunch was a repeat of yesterday!! LOL

Dinner:
Pasta shells stuffed with meat & veggies topped with marinara sauce and a bit of cheese. Salad (lettuce, cucumber, tomato, 1.5 tbsp dressing). 2oz red wine.

Total calorie intake: 1,265 calories (yea!)

Exercise: none (I missed Jill's emal invite for a walk, didn't check email between 5:00pm and 7:45pm. Boo, my bad)

Week 3, Day 3 summary

I did better today! Well, with the food at least :)

Here's what I ate today:
Water: 5 glasses

Breakfast:
Coffee, 1 slice whwh toast, 1 egg

Lunch:
Sandwich with salami & prosciutto, large salad (lettuce, cucumber, tomato, 1.5 tbsp dressing)

Dinner:
Low-fat butter chicken (homemade by John) with .75 cup rice, salad (lettuce, cucumber, tomato, 1.5 tbsp dressing)

Total calorie intake: 1,180 calories

Exercise: none :(

Week 3, Day 2 summary

Here's what I ate today:
Water: 5 glasses

Breakfast:
Extra large Timmy's coffee. Done. A bad start to the day. I got really wrapped up in work and neglected to eat.

Lunch:
Salad with lettuce, tomatoes, dressing, and a slice of whwh bread with butter.

Dinner:
1.5 servings of black bean casserole (love it!! lots of yummy veggies too).

Snack: 1 cup cherries

Total calorie intake: 1,060 calories

Exercise: none. bla.

Problems:
I really need to kick this habit of skipping meals. I'm ravenous by dinner time, and continuously want to snack after dinner. The days where I eat moderately throughout the day, I don't feel like snacking as much in the evening. And I'm in a better mood on days I eat well and consistently. Why do I do this to myself???? Argh.

Week 3 Stats

Age: 36 yrs
Height: 5'4"
Start Weight: 163 lbs (uuuuuuuugh)
This week's weight: 159 lbs!! (down 2.5!)
Last Week's Weight: 161.5 lbs
BMI: 27 (no change)

Full disclosure time!

So it was a busy weekend with friends, food, and wine. It was a great long weekend, and I didn't count calories. The worst of it was caving to chocolate and cheesies on Saturday night. Everything else was reasonable (food-wise). Although the wine on Sunday night was a little out of control (thank god for Monday being a holiday!!).

I'm now fully back on and will be updating with my daily menu, calorie intake, exercise, etc.

Big challenge of the week: my mother will be here from later today until Saturday. She eats well, not much junk, but she often likes a rich diet. I think we'll be doing most of the cooking though, so hopefully it will work out.

Next up: this week's surprising stats!!

Off the wagon weekend. Again.

Just so you don't all think I've forgotten to keep up with the blog, here's a mini update. Had friends over for dinner Friday night. Overindulged. Saturday, had chocolate and cheesies (those horrid cheese puff things). Now it's Sunday. More friends coming for dinner tonight.

I'll update with more details later.

Week 2, Day 4 Summary

... a day late! Yesterday was a busy afternoon/evening. We went over to Jasmine's house and made dinner for Jas, Pete & William (and Sophie but she doesn't eat LOL) so they could get a bit of a break. Then Jasmine, Kylie and I went to the hospital to visit our friend Jen who just had a baby girl (Zoey). She's adorable!!

By the time I got home, it was a bit late. Just enough time to watch Big Brother on the PVR and go to bed (don't judge. Guilty pleasure!).

Here's what I ate today (yesterday):
Water: 6 glasses

Breakfast:
leftover Shepard's pie LOL

Lunch:
5 asian dumplings, salad (lettuce, tomatoes, cucmber, 1.5 tbsp dressing)

Dinner:
Hamburger on whwh bun, corn & bean salad (corn, black beans, tomatoes, red peppers, green onions, dressing of olive oil and lime juice)

Total calorie intake: 1,390 calories

Exercise:
None. Again.

Week 2, Day 3 Summary

Here's what I ate today:
Water: 5 glasses

Breakfast:
Coffee. That's it. Don't get me started lol

Lunch:
2 eggs, 1 slice whwh toast.

Dinner:
Shepard's pie

Dessert:
1 slice whwh toast, 2 tbsp all-natural PB, 2 tbsp no sugar added strawberry jam, 1 glass skim milk.

Total calorie intake: 1,695 calories (it's the PB&J that put me over, but I needed to munch on something tonight!!)

Exercise:
None. Again. I was too wiped and cranky. And Jill even invited me for a walk this evening but I just wanted to crash. I know. Horrible. And walking with a friend is the best, it doesn't even feel like exercise. I'm going to get John to force me to do something physical tomorrow (get your head's outta the gutter!! lol)

Week 2, Day 3 (Part I)

*argh* I skipped breakfast. Had some crazy work deadlines and it just slipped on by. And boy was I a banshee!!! I'm still feeling all wound up.

I don't think it's just the lack of food though.

• Dealing with a seriously crappy client
• PMS
• No breakfast

EQUALS a super snarky Stephanie. Breath. Breath. Breath.

Week 2, Day 2 Summary

Here's what I ate today:
Water: 5 glasses

Breakfast:
Coffee, 1 egg, 1 slice whwh toast, 1 tsp butter (seems to be my "usual"!).

Lunch:
3/4 cup pasta, 2 tbsp pesto, 1 tomato.

Dinner:
1 small pork chop with about 1 tbsp BBQ sauce, fresh peas with a bit of butter, steamed carrots, broccoli & cauliflower.

Total calorie intake: 1,245 calories as of 7:30pm. I may have a small snack, I'll update if I do.

ETA: I did have a small slice of toast with PB&J (all natural, sugar free) with a glass of milk, bringing me to a total of 1,555 calories.

Problems:
I need to snack between meals, or at least between lunch and dinner. I find myself starving by the time dinner rolls around, which then makes me want to devour everything in site. I wanted another pork chop. Luckily we didn't have another one, otherwise I would have caved!

Exercise:
None!! *argh* I find it harder to get motivated to exercise than to cut calories. We had a busy day with work which I used as an excuse, when I'm well aware I could have fit it in if I wasn't being so lazy. Tomorrow, Wii Active FOR SURE!!!!

Week 2, Day 1 Summary

Here's what I ate today:
Water intake: 5 glasses

Breakfast:
1 slice whwh toast, 1 tsp butter, 1 egg, coffee

Lunch:
3.7 oz steak, salad w/tomatoes & cucumbers, 1.5 tbsp dressing.

Dinner:
Farm Boy hot dog with steamed cauliflower.

Dessert:
strawberries in milk with 1 tsp sugar.

Total calorie intake: 1,050 (too low!)

Exercise:
None!

I'll be taking this week's photo on Tuesday, we were too busy with work to get to it today.

Weekend Update

The weekend was tough, food-wise. My mom came to visit for the weekend, and John's mom came for dinner Saturday night. We planned a nice meal and I had allotted all my calories, but I couldn't resist the delicious mashed potatoes (with butter and whole milk to boot), and the extra wine (4 glasses total!!). I ended up at 2,200 calories on Saturday!!!

Here's the meal that put me over the top, cooked by my fabulous chef-at-home husband, John:

• beef ribs braised in wine, beef stock, and lots of veggies
• fresh corn salad with tomatoes, green onions & olive oil
• baked asparagus
• garlic mashed potatoes
• lots of wine
• ... at least we skipped dessert!!

Sunday we all went to Cora's for breakfast. I don't know why I keep going there, it's really not worth it. Although it's kid-friendly so it works for Holden. The mothers left and John and I had a nice dinner on our new patio after Holden went to sleep. Guess what. We had wine. We split a bottle of red and finished it. I'm such a cheap drunk, I was really feeling it. I still managed to stay at 1,800 calories for the day, but not much of it was healthy *sigh*.

Despite that, I ended up loosing 1.5 lbs this week *phew*

Next post: today's summary.

Weeks 2 Stats

Age: 36 yrs
Height: 5'4"
Start Weight: 163 lbs (uuuuuuuugh)
Current Weight: 161.5 lbs (down 1.5!! yippee!)
BMI: 27 (no change)

Photo to come later today, as well as an update on my weekend overindulgence.

*argh*

Drunk. Again. Weekends are hard.

*ugh* Day 6 (Part III) & Day 7 (Part I)

*ugh* drank too much wine, ate potatoes last night. Had Cora's *again!!!* for breakfast this morning. Having company over for the weekend is HARD!!!!

Will update later.

Day 6 (Part II)

Hallelujah! Did some recalculation and the beef ribs will be about 465 calories for 0.5lb meat only, which is much more accurate. This puts me back at my goal and I should be at 1,600 calories at the end of the day!!


... unless I drink too much wine.

Day 6 (Part I)

I just did my projected calorie count for the day, and it looks like I'll be way over. My mom & John's mom are coming over and we're making them a really nice dinner. Braised short ribs with corn salad, baked asparagus, and garlic mashed potatoes (I'm skipping the potatoes). There will be wine as well!

Even though I'll be over in calories (it'll be about 2,200 at the end of the day) I still feel what I'm eating is healthy, so I'm not beating myself up over it.

In case you're curious, it's the beef ribs that are throwing me way off track. 1 lb is 1,000 calories. I'm not sure if that calculation of weight includes the bones. If it does not include the bones and just assumes the meat, then I may be on target afterall. (we're getting about 1lb each, including the bones).

More later!

Day 5 Summary

Here's what I ate today:
Water intake: 5

Breakfast:
Coffee, 1 blueberry muffin.

Brunch (or breakie #2 LOL)
1 egg, 1 slice whwh toast with 1 tsp butter

Lunch:
5 Asian dumplings (pork & shrimp) with 2 carrots, 10 slices cucumber, 4 tbsp tzatziki dip.

Snack:
1 peach

Dinner:
Black bean casserole (tortillas, black beans, tomatoes, salsa, frozen veggie mix, a bit of cheese)

Dessert:
Homemade blueberry muffin, 1 glass milk

Total calorie intake: 1,482

Exercise:
none *busy day*

Bits & Pieces

1. Jasmine had her baby girl last night!!!
   Congrats Jasmine! No name yet, but everyone is happy and healthy.
   
   
2. Calorie goal: I did a bit more research about how many calories a day I should be aiming for. Looks like my original goal of 1,800 was too high. I should be aiming for between 1,300 and 1,650, so I guess I was right in my previous post about 1,800 seeming too high!
   
   
3. I am so sick of this RAIN!!!!!! I would love to get out and have some nice walks and play in the park with Holden, but it is soooo miserable out there :(
   
   
4. Will I ever get to use our new patio?? Rain in the forecast for the next 4 days *boo*
   

Day 4 Summary

So I messed up this morning but jumped right back into things by lunch. Had something healthy to eat then did my Wii Active. I'm quite impressed with the Active so far, I'm really sweating by the end of it!

I made some blueberry muffins this evening that are delicious and healthy. Here's the recipe:

Healthy blueberry muffins:

Makes 12
143 calories, 2.4g fat, 27g carbs, 2g fiber, 4g protein

3/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup lightly packed brown sugar (I may try substituting applesauce next time)
1/4 cup oat bran
1/4 cup quick cooking oats
1/4 cup wheat germ (can substitute whole wheat flour)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup blueberries
1 banana, mashed
1 cup low fat buttermilk
1 egg
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 12 cup muffin pan, or line with paper muffin cups.

2. In a large bowl, stir together the all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, sugar, oat bran, quick-cooking oats, wheat germ, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Gently stir in the blueberries. In a separate bowl, mix together the mashed banana, buttermilk, egg, oil and vanilla. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry, and mix just until blended. Spoon into muffin cups, filling all the way to the top.

3. Bake for 15 to 18 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the tops of the muffins spring back when lightly touched.

Here's what I ate today:
Water intake: 5 glasses (better)

Breakfast: Tim Horton's Xtra large coffee *ugh*

Lunch: 45g pasta, 2 tbsp pesto, 1 cup cherry tomatoes, 10 spears asparagus, 1/2 large orange, 1 glass milk

Snack: 1 slice whwh bread, 1 tsp butter

Dinner: 1 chorizo sausage, 1 hard boiled egg, salad (lettuce, 1/2 tomato, cucumber, corn from 1 corn on the cob, 1/3 cup croutons, 1.5 tbsp dressing)

Desert: 1 homemade blueberry muffin, 1 glass of milk

Total calorie intake: 1,634, under target, but still acceptable.
I'm starting to think 1,650 calories is where I'm comfortable when eating healthy. I feel like I'm eating too much when I go over that (not in a psychological way, but in a full tummy way!)

Exercise for the day:
25 minutes of Wii Active (165 calories burned)

Problems:
Skipped breakfast, caved and got TM coffee. On a positive note, usually when I fall off the wagon, I use it as an excuse to eat like crap for the rest of the day. This time, I adjusted and jumped right back in!

Double Ugh

I skipped breakfast!! And I'm paying for it now... I'm weak and cranky.

Not to worry, I'm back on the wagon already. Lunch is on the stove... pesto pasta with tomatoes and asparagus.

Ugh

Bad start to the day. We were out of coffee cream at home so I caved and got Tim Hortons coffee (a weakness of mine), which is way higher in fat and calories than the coffee I make.

Problem: I have a tendency to go for the quick, pre-packaged/take-out fix when we're out of what we need at home. Must get past this!!

At least I didn't get the bagel with butter too.

Day 3 Summary

Here's what I ate today:
Water intake: 4

Breakfast: 1 egg, 1 slice whwh toast, 1 tsp butter, 1 glass skim milk, 1.5 cups coffee

Lunch: 1 chicken thight, 1 hard boiled egg, lettuce, tomato, cucumber, 1.5 tbsp dressing, 1 small slice whwh bread with 1 tsp butter, 1 glass skim milk

Dinner: 130 grams salmon (a bit of oil for cooking), farfalle pasta, 2 tbsp pesto, baked asparagus (a bit of oil for cooking), .75 cup cherry tomatoes, 1 cup steamed broccoli

Total calorie intake: 1,672 calories, under my target, but still acceptable.

Exercise for the day:
None! *aargh* but apparently since I'm just starting out on the whole exercise thing I should do 2 days of exercise, then 1 day rest, so going by that theory I'm doing OK! My muscles are sore from the last 2 days, so I think the rest was good.

Problems:

• Water intake still too low.
• I should have at least gone for a walk.
• I feel like I'm eating too many carbs, especially today. I measured out the serving amount on the package of the pasta for dinner, and it ended up being way too much (over a cup). I ate it anyway, justifying that I had room on my calorie goal for the day. Dumb.
• I'm not snacking, which I need to do (healthy stuff, of course). I think if I snack on fruits or raw veggies it will cut my carbs down but boost my calories a bit, so the numbers will even out.

On a side note, my baby sling turned out GREAT! Thanks Tracy for hosting the event and doing the hard part for me :) here's a pic of the finished product, sans baby.

Day 3 Lunch

Yummy!!

Day 2 Summary (Part II)

Here's what I ate today:
Water intake: 4 glasses

Breakfast: coffee, 1 egg, 1 slice toast with a bit of butter

Brunch: coffee, 1 sausage link, 2 pieces bacon, 1/2 slice ham, 1.5 eggs, 1 slice white toast buttered, 1 crepe with a bit of syrup.

Dinner: 1 glass milk, 2 chicken thighs BBQ, 1/3 cup fresh peas, large salad with tomatoes, cucumber, croutone, a bit of dressing.

Problems: Water intake too low. Cora's threw me for a loop, I ended up not snacking in the middle of the day when I should have because I was worried about the meal I ate.

Total calorie intake: 1,560 calories (debatable, since I approximated for Cora's)

Exercise for the day:
Swimming at Theresa's house for 1 hr; walking with Jill for 50 minutes. Thanks for the support and company, ladies! You are awesome!!

Calories burned: about 500 calories!!

Day 2 Summary (Part I)

Today had challenges! Holden had to unexpectedly stay home from daycare, so I had to switch up my planned routine. Had an early breakfast, then went out with Jasmine and ate at Cora's for brunch. Went to my friend Theresa's house and swam in her pool for an hour, which was fun and awesome. Home, dinner with my boys (healthy!) and I'm about to head out for a walk with a new friend, Jill.

So despite being thrown for a loop, I think I managed to do some good activities, although Cora's wasn't a great idea.

Coming up later tonight, exercise breakdown and what I ate today.

Changed "Comments" Settings

Jasmine brought it to my attention that she couldn't comment since she isn't a registered user. I changed the settings so anyone can post comments now, registered or not.

Today's biggest challenge...

... was a bit of a bust, or at least a partial bust.

I went fabric shopping* with my very pregnant friend Jasmine (she's due today! c'moooooon baby!), and then we decided to have brunch at Cora's with Holden. Cora's does not have healthy options, I now realize. So I ate half of it. It was super large. I stopped before getting full, and skipped the potatoes alltogether. I added what I ate as accurately as I thought in FitDay, but I may try to be a 200 hundred calories under my goal at the end of the day since I'm sure everything they cook is loaded with oil or butter.

* fabric shopping: Jasmine and I are sewing baby slings tomorrow at an event with our mommy group (although this is a mommy only, no babies allowed event). But there's a good chance I'll be making Jasmine's since she should technically be in labor right now!!

Today's Challenge!

Today's challenge is that Holden unexpectedly has to stay home. My daycare provider contacted me late last night and told me she needs to take a personal day. I'm not upset about it, she's never done this and is very reliable, so I hope everything is OK at her place.

That being said, Holden is home all day, so I'll need to exercise around his schedule. I originally had plans to do Wii Active after he left for daycare, then go to my friend Theresa's house around 2pm to do some exercise before picking up Holden from daycare at 3:30 (sounds like a nice day, right??? I love being self-employed!). So now I'll have time to do the Wii Active during Holden's nap this afternoon, and maybe a walk after he goes down tonight.

Day 1 Summary

Today wasn't too much of a challenge, since I'm still pumped and excited about everything. I know this feeling often wanes (hence being 163 lbs!!), but for now I'll take it and roll with it!! I've gotten lots of encouragement already and have 10 official followers! Thanks everyone :)

My goal is to eat apx 1800 calories per day and exercise to burn apx 150 calories per day, which should technically put me at losing 1.5 lb a week.

Are you curious about how many calories you need to eat per day to maintain your weight, or lose weight? You need to know your BMR (Basal metabolic rate). Here's a link to an easy calculator to figure it out. Don't forget to click "Daily Calorie Needs" to complete the process!

My BMR is 2317 calories per day to maintain, so cutting 500 calories per day brings me to 1817 calories to lose 1 lb a week.

Here's what I ate today:
Water intake: 7 glasses

Breakfast: 1 egg, 1 slice whwh toast, 1 tsp butter, 1 glass milk

Snack: 1 peach

Lunch: 1 hot dog with mustard (not the best choice, but planned for), large salad with 1/4 avocado, 1/2 tomato, 4 slices cucumber, 1.5 tbsp dressing.

Snack: 1/4 cup almonds

Dinner: 1/3 lb ribeye steak, baked asparagus tossed lightly with canola oil, steamed cauliflower, green beans & carrots. .5 tsp light soya sauce. 1 cup cherries.

Snack: 1 bag Orville Redenbachers Smart Pop popcorn

ETA: I ended up eating only 2/3 of the bag of popcorn, so I ended up on target with my calories afterall!!

Total calorie intake for the day: 1,881 (64 calories over)
ETA: 1750 with popcorn change.

Exercise for the day:
Morning: 25 minute workout with Wii Active (burned 133 calories). It was a pretty good workout! I chose moderate intensity, and I was sweating by the middle of it LOL

Week 1 photo & stats

Age: 36 yrs
Height: 5'4"
Weight: 163 lbs (uuuuuuuugh)
BMI: 27 (double uuuuuugh!)
BMR: 1495 calories (which means if I work out moderately daily that I have to eat 2317 calories to maintain my weight)

(click photo to see larger version)

Ready, set, go!!

I jump started over the weekend by going for walks and not eating junk. I also bought Active for the Wii. I've heard great things, so hopefully I'll enjoy it, or at the very least endure it.

I've prepared for this challenge by starting up a FitDay account where I can login what I've eaten and what exercise I've done for the day and it does all these neat calculations. It's got a bunch of other extra info you can enter, but I prefer to do that on this blog (moods, challenges, etc). I'll use FitDay strictly for tracking numbers. My FitDay profile is also public. Click to view! The link is also in the right-hand sidebar.

Challenges I think I'll face:
I hate exercising.
I love eating. A lot. Of bad stuff.
LOL
Pretty much the exact opposite of leading a healthy lifestyle!

My goal is to exercise moderately everyday to start, and build up the intensity as my body permits. Right now, I'm a bit of a mess. My lower back is often in pain, I regularly have really bad knee pain, hip joints pain... it really is unacceptable. I'm sure much of this is from the weight gain (back pain may be from having a baby though, it's new since having Holden).

That being said, there are still plenty of exercises available to me. I'm going to mix it up so I don't get too bored or annoyed LOL... regular walks, Wii Active, swimming if possible, and whatever else I can come up with.

Next entry coming later this morning: this week's picture (the first "before" picture!! yikes!), today's stats, challenges, and thoughts.

Blog set up today

I've set up the blog today and started tracking my calories. Official blog start on Monday, although you can view my FitDay tracking as of today. See link on the right sidebar.