Manic Monday

Well, it was a rough weekend. Starting on Friday I was tempted with candy and donuts and cake and pie and all kinds of scary treats.

I'm happy to inform you that I abstained and was rewarded for my good choices this morning with a 3 pound loss this week! For a total of 8 and a half pounds lost in three weeks! It feels magical!

Hope your first day of November is excellent also.

Food Journal:

Breakfast: Salsa Eggs and 1 slice turkey bacon (150 cals)

Snack #1: Cheese stick and 12 baby carrots (115 cals)

Lunch: Strawberry Cottage Double (130 cals)

Snack #2: 1/4 cup edamame and 1 6-ounce low fat yogurt (130 cals)

Dinner: Taco Bell hard shell taco al fresco and side of pinto beans (270 cals)

Snack #3: Air popped popcorn and two big marshmallows (200 cals)

Total Calories: 995 (This is bad, I know. I'll do better tomorrow)

No secrets

Well, friends, it's the dreaded Saturday. Saturday is always a little scary. Especially when the hub is away for most of it. That means everything I eat is just between me and dogs. And Rom is easy to buy of with treats. :)

However, I've got this little blog to keep me honest. So I won't let you down.

I hope you can all be strong this weekend, too. Have a piece of Halloween candy or two - but don't let a day dedicated to candy lead you to feel any regret or guilt on Monday. It's just a day like any other.

Food Journal:

Breakfast: 3/4 cup cottage cheese with 1/2 cup assorted fruit (180 cals)

Lunch: 1 cheese stick, 1 pkg Carl Budig Pastrami, 1 pkg Lipton "Cup o' Soup" (200 cals)

Dinner: 1/2 cup pulled pork and 1 small serving eggplant lasagna (350 cals)

Snack #1: 1/2 roll wafer candy and air popped popcorn (260 cals)

Total Calories: 990 cals

Friday Came!

Wow - I'm heading into my third weekend and still going strong. Halloween isn't gonna lead me astray. :)

Food Journal:

Breakfast: Smoothie - assorted frozen fruit, 3-ounces low fat yogurt, 1 large tablespoon protein powder, and crystal light juice (215 cals)

Snack #1: 12 baby carrots and a cheese stick (115 cals)

Lunch: Pumpkin Soup (200 cals)

Snack #2: 1/4 cup edamame and 6-oz low fat yogurt (130 cals)

Dinner: Eggplant Lasagna (350 cals)

Snack: 1 mini bag microwave popcorn and 1 100 calorie snack bar (200 cals)

Total Calories: 1210

Selfish

I have been feeling a little sorry for myself the past couple days. I work really hard. I try to keep the dishes clean, food on the table, lose weight, keep messes to a minimum and in the middle of all that I'm trying to pack up everything we own, manage the finances, work full time, give my dogs the attention they deserve, be a good friend, a good blogger, and a good person. Sometimes being a woman feels like a bit of a thankless job.

I remember talking to my mom a couple weeks ago and reminding her of something I had learned (that I apparently forgot in the past few days). Sometimes, if I'm doing all the above mentioned duties for the thanks or appreciation or recognition of others, there's a good chance I'm gonna be disappointed. However, if I do them for myself, if I get a little selfish about it, then I can feel fulfilled by doing those things.

I like to have a clean home, I like to eat delicious food, I like my new house and want to pack up and get moved in over there, I like to be on top of our finances and make sure all the bills are paid, I like my job, I love my dogs and I enjoy playing with them. I like my friends and want to be a good friend back. I like to blog, it gives me an outlet and a way to share the silly happenstances of life. None of the tasks on my plate are tasks that I hate. Sometimes they pile up in a way that feels completely unmanageable, but that doesn't mean I can't still enjoy each of the tasks while I do it and stop expecting anyone else to jump up and down and tell me how great I am for being so on the ball. I just have to do it for me sometimes.

P.S. Dianne (mom) - When you come out for TG, you better believe I'll have all the Diet Coke you can drink, a Tiara and we'll go shopping together and we'll both get new handbags.

C - Did you make the egg cups? What did you think?

Food Journal:

Breakfast: Bacon Egg Cup: 1 egg, 1 slice bacon, mushrooms, green bell pepper, cheddar cheese (150 cals)

Snack #1: 12 baby carrots and a cheese stick (115 cals)

Lunch: Roasted Tomato and Cheddar "Pizza" (200 cals)

Snack #2: 1/4 cup edamame and 1 6-ounce low fat yogurt (130 cals)

Snack #3: 1 grape Blow-Pop (60 cals) Note: I read today that behind Jolly Ranchers, Blow Pops are the best candy choice you can make. And I just happened to have a drawer full of them!

Dinner: Eggplant Lasagna - I can't believe how big a serving of this stuff is! (350 cals)

Snack #4: Air popped popcorn (150 cals)

Total Calories: 1155

Just Food

It's been a crazy day - but here's my food.

P.S. Jes asked for my bacon egg cup recipe yesterday, so it is now linked to that item on my food journal on yesterday's post. Check it out and MAKE IT. It's easy and delicious. Plus, you can make it the night before and it reheats in the morning really well. See what happens when you comment, my dear readers? You get what you want.

Food Journal:

Breakfast: Smoothie - 1/2 cup assorted frozen fruit, 3-ounces low fat yogurt, 1 (large) tablespoon protein powder, crystal light juice (200 cals)

Snack #1: 12 baby carrots and a cheese stick (125 cals)

Lunch: 1 and a half cups Pumpkin Soup (210 cals)

Snack #2: 6-ounces low fat yogurt and 1/4 cup edamame (130 cals)

Dinner: South Beach Diet Shepherd's Pie (320 cals)

Snack #3: Air Popped Popcorn and 100 cal snack bar (250 cals)

Total Calories: 1235

Planning Ahead

This week has all the makings of a veritable disaster for me.

• We move in as few as 7 days (as many as 10). I have a lot to do. The house is about 30-40% packed, so we've got to finish all that up.
• Geoff's birthday is on Sunday, so I've got to finish all my shopping and planning for that.
• We need to meet with a contractor (or two) about replacing our living room window with a door (to walk out to the deck we are having built next week).
• Geoff has a camp-out with his scouts this weekend, so we need to make sure he's got everything he needs for that trip prepared.
• All the while, we both work full time and need some good, healthy fuel to burn to keep us going during all of this mayhem.

So, yesterday I made my grocery list, like usual, but I made sure to choose meals that I could easily cook ahead of time and reheat. Last night, I put food first and prepared this week's meals so that I can focus on the rest of my "to do" for the remainder of the week. I cooked up some South Beach Diet Shepherd's Pie (always a crowd - and by crowd, I mean husband - pleaser) and some eggplant lasagna which smelled soooo good. I baked up bacon egg cups for breakfast and a quick and easy pumpkin soup for lunches.

So, try as it might, the stress and busy-ness that is life will not cause me to "fall off the wagon" so-to-speak.

"Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will." - Gandhi

P.S. S-I-L asked in my comments yesterday about "Just Bunches" cereal. It's my low-price replacement for granola. It has very little (if any) nutritional value, but I use just a sprinkle to give my parfaits some crunch, so I'd rather save a few bucks. It's made by post and it is a box full of just the bunches from Honey Bunches of Oats cereal. It's absolutely delicious.

Food Journal:

Breakfast: Bacon Egg "cup" - 1 egg, slice turkey bacon, onion, garlic, green bell pepper, mushrooms (150 cals)

Snack #1: 12 baby carrots and a cheese stick (125)

Lunch: Grilled Tomato and Cheddar Pizza and small tastes of the office chili cook-off contenders (280 cals)

Snack #2: 6-ounce low fat yogurt and 1/4 cup edamame (130 cals)

Dinner: Eggplant Lasagna (SOOOOO good) (380 cals)

Snack #3: Air Popped Popcorn (150 cals)

Totals Calories: 1215

Weighing in

Well, it's Monday and you know what that means: time to weigh in.

I'm very happy to report another successful week! A 2 and a half pound loss to bring me to a total of 5 and a half pounds down in 2 weeks. Sweet!

Hope you all had a great weekend as well.

Food Journal:

Breakfast: Parfait - 6-ounces low fat yogurt, 2 strawberries, sprinkle "Just Bunches" cereal (120 cals)

Snack #1: 12 baby carrots and a cheese stick (115 cals)

Lunch: Subway 6-inch Turkey Sandwich with lettuce, tomatoes and mustard (280 cals)

Snack #2: 1 6-ounce low fat yogurt and 1/4 cup edamame (130 cals)

Dinner: South Beach Diet Shepherd's Pie (425 cals)

Snack #3: Small Microwave popcorn bag (100 cals)

Total Calories: 1170