Success Along the Weigh

So the first week I had pneumonia, I lost 6 lbs.  We all knew THAT was too good to be true.  But like an idgit, I logged the loss anyway.  The following week, 4 of it promptly found its way back even with exercise and angelic eating.  It also forced me to look at my calories and was I eating enough for the kinds of workouts we do.  I upped my calories and staying within the 2200-2300 range has worked for 3 weeks in a row now. I'm down 2 lbs, which puts me back at the "pneumonia loss."  A "wash" if you look at the calendar but a happy one I guess. A milestone is looming close.  The last time I lost a significant amount of weight (1998- I lost 85 lbs), I got down to 285 lbs.  I've got 3 lbs to go until I hit that again.  I'm looking forward to surpassing it and starting look toward things like "this is what I weighed the longest in high school"  (250) or this is what I weighed when I met the Mr after I lost 40 lbs (220).  As long ...

Breakfast has been oatmeal all week.  I swear if that stuff doesn't bring down my cholesterol, I'm going to scream.  Lunches have been relatively the same too.  Tuna lettuce tacos, my new favorite, reduced sodium turkey sandwich with arugula.  We even had a day (after the mammogram) that I stopped into one of the Mr's favorite places to eat where I knew *I* could control the portions.  I did a veggie chicken stir fry and a small side salad (maybe 1 cup of lettuce) and I put the dressing on the side so I could dip it and the Mr followed suit.  I actually came in less that day than what I had planned for lunch so it was nice I could surprise him with that The one thing you quickly learn when taking pics of your food is when you're eating something over and over again without realizing it.  Perhaps it was because I was preparing them different ways?  Anyway, welcome to the week of the spud.  Let's eat! Monday was fish tacos and potato wed...

I just had to share this super easy recipe with you guys for the upcoming holiday.  The Mr's co-workers went b-a-n-a-n-a-s for them.  (Channeling my inner Gwen Stefani)  It ended up being a happy accident for the banana frosting.  I made the buttercream and then realized my frosting had that slight flavor de fridge to it.  I think a few curse words slipped out.  Then I remembered I had banana flavoring and it saved the day and actually made what would've been a good cupcake on it's own even better. Here's what you'll need for 24 delectable celebration of spring cuppy cakes. 1 box of Duncan Hines Yellow Cake Mix 1 can of pineapple tidbits (in juice, not syrup) 3 eggs For frosting: 1 stick butter, room temperature 2-2 1/2 cups powdered sugar 1/2 to 1 tsp banana flavoring Favorite food color (I used Wilton Kelly Green gel) Garnish: Cadbury Mini Chocolate Eggs 1/2 cup of shredded coconut, toasted until brown Sprinkles Preheat oven to 350. ...

I have one of the best gynecologists ever.  She's chatty, thorough and you really don't mind she does the voodoo she does because you know that you're getting her full attention when it's your appointment time.  I knew this was the year that she wanted to do a baseline mammogram on me.  She likes to get them young so that when you have to start getting them when you're 40 she's got something good to compare it to when your ta-ta's were in tip top condition.  I have heard all of the horror stories and seen all of the cartoons... The Mr came with me and I was fine until we were about a mile away and then the butterflies set in.  The girl checking me in was super nice and her South Carolina drawl was somehow soothing and I expected her to offer me sweet tea or a mint julep.  She took me back and showed me where to disrobe and put on the paper gown that opens in the front.  I guess when she went back out front she told the Mr. "she is so cute and sweet...

I had a friend visit this past weekend.  She and I have been through the weight loss trenches together.  9 years ago she chose to have weight loss surgery and I chose to spiral out of control.  She's been at her current weight for a few years now and she has always told me she wishes she had my butt since she's a pear.  When I was taking her up to show her the studio, I guess she was checkin' out me bum.  Later when we were eating lunch, she said how proud she was of us and how great we looked and that she was checkin' out my ass on the way upstairs and it looked good. Then I was emailing with a guy friend of mine whom I've known since I was 14 and he said that I was glowing in my picture I posted recently.  I told him thank you and the recent pic I posted was one I finally liked of myself and he said "no I didn't mean one particular picture, I meant all of the pics you've posted this year!" I was so flattered by both but also just like so dumb...

This recipe came out of boredom and needing to use some stuff up.  It's funny how serendipitous events come to pass...right into mah belly!  This is by far one of our new faves and I hope it will be for you too. Here's what you'll need: Spicy Mexican Stuffed Shells Serves 2 12 Barilla jumbo shells 8 oz Trader Joe's boneless, skinless chicken breast tenderloins, cooked then shredded 7 oz Chipotle Jalapeno Refried Bean s 1/2 cup part skim ricotta cheese 2 oz Neuchatel cream cheese (1/3 less fat) 1/2 cup Trader Joe's enchilada sauce 1 tbsp salsa 1 oz chipotle cheese, shredded Preheat your oven to 425.  In a large stock pot, boil 8 cups of water and add your shells giving the occasional stir so they don't stick to the bottom of the pan.  Cook for 9 minutes If your chicken is not yet cooked, boil it up since it's going to be added to other flavors then transfer to a bowl and shred it. While that is going, mix the beans, ricotta, cream cheese...

We went to a Trader Joe's that wasn't our usual one the other night to pick up this ganache torte for our sweet treat on high cal day.  I realized we were going to run out of Better N' Peanut Butter if the Mr continued he new obsession with fancy oatmeal I introduced him to so we grabbed those two items and headed to the checkout.  One thing we always notice there is how the cashiers almost always ask if we've tried a product or not or they'll related their experiences with certain items they love and tell us how much we'll like them.  We were in the line of a 20 something guy who looks at our purchase and when the Mr asked if he'd had that before he said no and then he asked if we were going to pour the peanut butter on top.  We both kind of scoffed and said no.  Now I thought it was hormonal but when we left the store I said "yeah, us fatties can't wait to get home and slam our faces into this here cake and dump our peanut butter all over it.  A...

Down 2!  Can I get a hell yeah!? I think I averaged just under 2220 for the week so I'm thinking 2200-2250 average is my sweet spot for now.  If my body will cooperate and lose this every week (HA!  So funny) then I could have another 15-20 off for vacation which would be awesome but I know since I just said it, I jinxed myself.  I don't seem to be a consistent with weight loss (expecting 2 lbs at a time) unless I'm losing my first 100 lbs and since that's long gone.  BUT, I do feel somewhat confident that I have earned my 200 lbs lost moniker back at 204 lbs lost so up it goes.  Never to be stripped again.  You hear that fat cells!? We're going to a flea market, getting the office together and having a friend over for lunch tomorrow. What's on your agenda this weekend? ==================== Like this post? Don't miss another one...subscribe via email or RSS feed. (Because you're cool like that!)

It's time for Food Journal Friday!  The breakfasts and lunches were pretty standard, nothing outstanding so just dinner pics this week.  Let's eat! Monday I was on my own for dinner.  The Mr had a big after hours project to do at work that of course didn't go well.  But I made him the same thing I had so he wouldn't be tempted to go out for a sodium laden dinner with the boys in between.  I know I liked it! A meatloaf panini with spinach and 1 tbsp of BBQ sauce and a small baked potato with 1/2 serving of sharp cheddar cheese.  I made his on some asiago peppercorn sourdough that we had but I made mine of TJ's fiber bread.  Calories: 632 Tuesday was a new one.  We get shirataki tofu noodles on occasion and being that they're 40 calories per bag...that's right per BAG, I usually add some stir fry chicken and veggies to the spaghetti version for a lo mein type dish.  This time I added a new to us menu item to the top.  Trader Joe's ...

Three years ago today we started exercising after a 6 month hiatus.  We haven't stopped since. For three years we haven't missed a single scheduled workout. If it was on the schedule, it got done. If something came up, it was done after a workout. If we didn't want to, it was too damn bad.  It was on the schedule.  We had a streak to uphold.  I wasn't going to break it and neither was he. Going from 494 lbs and crying after 7 minutes on my rower because my legs and ass were in such pain I could barely stand it to 292 lbs doing an hour of Turbo Fire, ChaLean Extreme, Supreme 90 Day or other high intensity workouts with more to come. I think that's worth celebrating. What's your longest exercise streak? EDIT:  Let me clarify that scheduled exercise does not happen every day!  5-6x per week and we do not schedule formal exercise on vacations but make sure we burn at least 1000 calories per day walking, hiking or fitting in whatever active lifes...

If I lured you back from yesterday's post , welcome back!  If you haven't read it yet, you should before reading this part.  The thing on this weight loss journey that has terrified me from day one has been "what if when he's thin and women start paying attention to him, he leaves?"  Don't tell me it's my insecurities because I have seen this story written about more times than I can count.  A husband loses weight and feels he needs to "trade up" to better arm candy so he cheats or leaves his wife.  A wife loses weight, hubby gets jealous and tries to fatten her back up because he's insecure and at least when she was fat she was all his and he didn't have to worry about other men looking at her (from his perspective).  The stories of how relationships and marriages fall apart after weight loss are so plentiful and terrible that you wouldn't believe it.  I read many of these when I was at my heaviest and knew that he would lose faster ...

This is an incredibly difficult post for me to write and but I feel like it's important because if just one person can benefit from what I struggle with, it will be worth it.  I'm a child of divorce.  So what, right?  There might be more kids of divorce than there are kids from a happy, healthy, long lasting marriage.  The reason for that divorce was infidelity.  Again, another less than rousing surprise.  To dissect it even further, weight was brought up as a reason for the divorce.  Ah HA...said the chubby girl who grew into a super morbidly obese adult clawing her way back to "normalcy!"  I was a young girl when this happened, 4th grade.  I was never really a daddy's girl but when it was clear my family was breaking up, it was still upsetting even if I didn't have a close relationship with him. My mom did her best to shield me from most of it but I am my mother's daughter and like to talk out my feelings so we did discuss it a lot.  ...

On New Years Eve, we were in Chicago ringing in 2012.  We had dinner at 676 Restaurant on Michigan Avenue.  It's a farm to table restaurant with as much local items as possible.  We had several courses for dinner but one of our favorites was the Heirloom Apple Salad.  I took note of all of the flavors and vowed to try to recreate it.  I think I just did them proud... When we ate this, we sank back in our chairs and agreed it tasted pretty darn close.  The peppery bite of the arugula is cut with the tartness of the granny smith apple, the nutty kick of asiago and smoky undertones of bacon...all brought together by the sweetness of the citrus mango dressing.  We can't be in Chicago all the time but we can sure enjoy that wonderful salad.  If you find yourself in Chi-town, swing by 676 Restaurant and enjoy some great food!  In the meantime, make my salad inspired by theirs.  Here's what you'll need: For the salad: 1 1/2 cups arugula ...

Okay, for all of you people out there who have lost weight.  Am I the only one that feels like my fat cells aren't necessarily leaving yet but "redistributing?"  My waist measurements haven't changed much but I swear there is less on the sides and more out front.  Like instead of looking just fat all over it's more like "is she pregnant?"  Not 9 months belly but you know, it all just seems to be sitting differently.  It's kind of annoying and I'd like it all to take a hiatus please.  I just discussed this with the Mr and he agrees and said the gut is like pulling up and pushing out. Has anyone else experience this redistribution of fat as you lost weight? ==================== Like this post? Don't miss another one...subscribe via email or RSS feed. (Because you're cool like that!)

Well I kept my calories so they evened out to about 2250 instead of 2300 this week and I'm down 2 lbs. I'll keep it up another week and see how I do.  The Mr is not faring well with the calorie uppage so he's going back to his previous range. If you didn't see last night's Friday Food Journal, click here to see my eats for the week! Hope everyone has a great weekend!  We're off to go antiquing.  (Thank God I have a Mr who doesn't mind getting dragged to those kinds of places!) ==================== Like this post? Don't miss another one...subscribe via email or RSS feed. (Because you're cool like that!)

Alright y'all, it's time for the first annual Food Journal Friday or FJF when I'm feeling lazy. It's been a week full of some decent variety so let's eat! Let's start off with a really great breakfast oatmeal combo I had earlier that I just fed the Mr this morning and he LOVED it.  1/2 cup quaker oats with 4 oz skim milk, 1 tbsp water, 1 banana, 1/2 tbsp honey, 1 tbsp Better N' Peanut Butter, 1/2 tbsp mini chocolate chips and 1 section of a graham cracker crumbled on top.  Calories:  420. It was SOOOO good.  It tastes like eating dessert for breakfast and it keeps you full for a long time.  My new fave.  Breakfasts and lunches after that were pretty standard.  Veggies, fruits, bars and rotating entrees of tuna tacos, turkey sandwich and the like.  Let's move on to dinners. Monday was whole wheat penne pasta with a half and half mix of my favorite meat sauce and half low salt marinara and 1 tbsp of parmesan cheese.  We also had an am...

Top of the mornin' to ya...kiss the blarney stone...Erin goes braless or whatever that saying is. St. Patty's Day isn't a holiday we celebrate.  We don't drink (I know, apparently we're the last people in the free world who don't imbibe.  Can you imagine this personality on booze?  Yeah...), we don't wear green since I have hazel eyes and the Mr has green ones so try to pinch one of us and the Mr would probably blush and depending on what time of the month it's possible I could slap you til a leprechaun shot outta your butt.  However, it's a good excuse to make something green.  I've been wanting to make these for a long time but I've been...okay, I've been lazy and the holiday was a good scapegoat.  It's also super easy because of, you know, the whole lazy thing.  Chocolate mint cupcakes stuffed with a peppermint patty. You'll be a hero...I was.  The Mr's co-workers always ask "did the Mr's wife make these?"...

Yesterday was a nice day.  The kind where you want to play hooky.  Luckily the Mr took the day off!  But it wasn't a hooky day, I had an appointment and he scheduled it off a few weeks ago to go with me.  It just so happened the weather was cooperating and I asked if he wanted to workout in the morning at a park we go to on occasion.  You only go there for one reason...  Those are 14 flights of stairs.  I go up them once because it does this to my heart rate... Commence lung burn. I know this is what people strive for but my puny little lungs just got over pneumonia and did not appreciate the joke.  We walked a few paths both paved and then went to a bird sanctuary in the woods. It was kind of depressing how dead everything still looks.  With the mild winter (BOO by the way, we didn't get to use our ski's or snowshoes ONCE!  We were robbed!), where was I?  Oh yeah, with the mild winter and now the nicer weather you just e...

(Is anyone else hearing the robotic drones of the Beastie Boys now?  No?  Just me?  Let's hele on then, shall we?) I received a lovely email from a reader yesterday that got me thinking back to the olden days.  The days when the Mr and I were not on the same page or rather the same page in the wrong ways.  People often assume how lucky we are to have each other on this weight loss adventure and don't get me wrong, we are.  However, it doesn't always mean you have the support you need when you are ready and the other person isn't.  We would make our half hearted attempts at losing weight and then we'd come home from a long day and the last thing we wanted to do was exercise.  We'd hem haw around and it would get later and later and then "tomorrow" would get thrown in there while the other quickly agreed.  I was always guilty of the "I had the worst day at work, I'm not in the mood to cook, let's order a pizza."  The Mr not wanting t...

I love me some Mexican food baby.  We eat it at least once a week in some form.  One thing I always loved was a nice side of refried beans because it's filling and has a lot of fiber and protein.  But the canned stuff is like a salt lick depending on what brand you get.  My favorite jalapeno refried beans have almost 500mg of sodium per serving.  That's just not something I can afford in my "sodium bank account."  So I made my own for half the sodium and much more taste than I could ask for. Chipotle Jalapeno Refried Beans (6 servings) 1 bag small red beans, dried 2 jalapeno peppers 2 servings La Costena Chipotle Peppers in Adobo Sauce (70g) Juice of 1 lime 4 oz reserved bean liquid In a large stockpot, add bag of dried beans to 8 cups of water. Cook until beans are hydrated and fork tender.  (About an hour) While the beans are cooking, cut up the jalapenos to give the food processor a bit of a head start on the breakdown. Weigh...

Okay, so given how little my breakfasts and lunches vary, it's getting a little yawn worthy taking pics of the same thing every morning and afternoon.  I'm boring myself and feeling like an inbox clogger.  So I'm going to do Food Journal Fridays.  I was going to say I'm going to do food journals on Friday but you know that they'd be labeled "food journal Friday" in the title which eventually will get morphed into an ever popular yet nauseating blog world  must...an acronym... like FJF.  I'm already a cliche. So I'll still be taking pics of dinners since those are really the only things that change and post them on Fridays.  If I have some Earth shattering breakfast, I will post that too if it's something you all would just flip over and of course if it's recipe worthy, that will be posted as well. Sound good?  Or horrible disaster that will make you stop tuning in? ==================== Like this post? Don't miss another one...su...

We went out this weekend and happened to see an old Big and Tall shop the Mr used to faithfully buy all of his clothes from.  As we approached it I said that I wanted to go inside just to see and he said he was torn about it but was curious too.  We went in and it was basically the same kind of stuff we remembered when he last shopped there about 2 years ago.  There was one big change... Those pants are what the Mr used to wear at his heaviest.  He can now fit in one leg of those cargo pants.  We each held a side and looked at the circumference of the pants and we just couldn't believe that was our "normal."  It was normal to go straight to the 54 or 56 jeans or to look at the 5x shirts or just before we got our act together, a few 6x tees.  It is amazing what you adjust to.  That was as normal for us as it is for you to pick up a new pair of jeans in whatever size you're in. We continued to go look and despite them saying they had XL's, we c...

Up 2 more.  But still 200 lbs lost here's me mooning you Mr. Scale.  (__|__)   I'm trying to be zen about this.  For those who didn't read last night's food journal, I've been having immense stress issues this past week to the point of heart palpitations.  I know stress that extreme produces all of those weird "would you like me to hold onto those fat cells for you?" chemicals (which I always thought was a load of chit but there is data and blah blah blah).  It's my first week back at "full throttle" workouts.  I burned 4500 calories this past week.  My calories averaged out to 2325 daily for the week.  Based on that formula I found, I should technically be able to eat 2600 calories and lose weight but that is just way too high for my brain to compute so I chose 2300.  So I think between those 3 things, I was destined for a pooper this week. I'm giving my body another week to adjust because I'm going to take the advice that any me...

Today has been exhausting.  I'm glad to report that this is the first day I haven't had heart palpitations.  Oh, I didn't tell you about those?  Yeah.  I've been stressed to the max this week with a ton of things all coming down the pike and I need to make a to do list so I can cross those things off.  I would get so stressed out that I'd have heart palps like I did when I was my most stressed at my "normal" job just before I quit because I was sure it was killing me.  I think one of the bigger sources of my anxiety has been this adding calories thing.  I'm terrified of the scale tomorrow.  I know one week isn't long enough for my body to process the change and I just pray there's not a gain.  I've been KILLING the workouts this week.  Almost 4500 calories burned this week in formal exercise.  I know there are a lot of factors working against me this week so I just have to control the things I can and know I'm doing what I need to ...

Anyone who has a home on the Big Island of Hawaii or who is even a mild Hawaii fanatic knows about "Lava" Jack.  We went to Hawaii on our honeymoon in the 90's and once we did, we found our second home.  When we saw lava for the first time, we became certified lava freaks.  In 2001, we found ourselves alone in a lava field for 3 hours watching the volcano goddess, Pele show off some of her finest work.  We read up quite extensively on safety around lava from items to take to watching for flows sneaking up on you to getting gas masks so we could breathe during a white out.  We made an offering and a finger from a flow going downward reached out to the left and claimed our offering.  From that point on, the lava increased quite a bit.  To say it was mesmerizing was an understatement.  It immersed every sense.  The bright glow of the lava, the undeniable smell that was a mix of sulphur and finger paint and the sounds of molten lava covering hard...

Oh man, I don't know what it is but my stomach has completely rejected any spices in my oatmeal.  I used to LOVE maple brown sugar oatmeal but one day I ate it after it got cold and it did something to my psyche.  Any time I tried to eat it any way other than plain, it made my gut churn.  Today I decided to add a little pumpkin pie spice and that was a mistake.  I choked it down anyway.  After that rousing intro...let's eat. Breakfast was a big bowl of mistake oatmeal with a cut up nana, 1 tbsp of almond butter and 1 serving Special K Blueberry for crunch but it couldn't save the spice factor.  It did hold me all morning which is good. Lunch was a peanut butter and jelly sandwich (2 slices of TJ's Whole Wheat Fiber Bread, 2 tbsp of regular peanut butter and 1 tbsp apple butter) then the usual.  Raw veggies and 1/2 tbsp dip, apple with apple dip, a chipmunk, fruit salad (watermelon, cantaloupe, clementine, pineapple, red seedless grapes and motor...

When I decided to try brussels sprouts a few months ago, I had no idea they would become a regular character in our cart.  I think if you'd told the sprout phobic Mr (because of improper prep as a kid) that he'd not only eat them but like them as well, he would've laughed in your face.  I love these babies and I thought I'd share my favorite way to eat them. Brussels Sprouts with Caramelized Onion & Bacon (Serves 2) 14 brussels sprouts 1 cup onion, sliced 1 tbsp olive oil 1 slice Trader Joe's Center Cut Uncured Bacon 1 tbsp Trader Joe's Parmesan Romano Blend First prepare the caramelized onions.  Cut a large onion into slices, toss in a bowl with 1 tbsp of olive oil and put in a skillet over low heat for one hour, stirring every 10 minutes. When there is 20 minutes left on the onions, cut the ends off of each sprout and cut in half.  Peel off any loose or excess leaves as they will burn as they cook.  I like to use an indoor grill pan but you...

I woke up feeling if I had another bowl of oatmeal for breakfast I was going to yarf so I refrained. Let's eat... Breakfast was Special K Blueberry so it got put in the blue bowl.  I'm a dork.  Banana and 1 tbsp Nutella and 13 oz green tea.  The sun was reflecting off of my car and totally mucked up the color.  I was too lazy to take 50 pics of it. I made a recipe that calls for caramelized onions and I made sure I had a ton left so I used some at lunch.  Lunch was a TJ's uncured chicken dog on a whole wheat bun with 1/2 tsp mustard and caramelized onions,  fruit salad, raw veggies and 1/2 tbsp dip, 1 oz cheddar, a honeycrisp apple with apple dip, TJ's chocolate brownie oat bar and iced tea.  The hot dog tasted just like a Maxwell Street polish.  For those who have never had one, find one or just go to Portillo's and thank me later.

Can I tell you how freakin' hard it is to not step on the scale this week with the calorie uppage?  The workouts have been hardcore this week.  I'm STILL sore from Sunday's Atletica workout in my inner thighs and couple that with other high energy workouts and I'm going to feel like I've been dragged for miles behind a bus by the end of the week!  But those workouts are the reason I'm upping my calories right?   Sigh. I told myself I wouldn't get on the scale and "peek" because I didn't want to see a crappy number, freak out, cut my calories way back and defeat the purpose.  Funny how we want it all, we want it all, we want it all and we want it now.  Sorry, I apparently lapse into Queen when I'm trying not to think about a new weight loss strategy.  I'm not a daily weigher anyway, that would drive me insane, but when I try something new I get more antsy than usual to see if it's working...you know, a whole 2-3 days into it.  *rol...

Update on last night's movie,  Retreat.  Oh my Lord!  It's rare that a movie has us guessing until the end and then the ending makes our mouthes drop.  Good movie. Today was full of yumminess.  Let's get to it... Breakfast was a bowl of oatmeal with skim milk, a cut up banana, 1 tbsp of Better N' Peanut Butter and 1 tbsp of Nutella with 1 serving of Fiber 80 sprinkled on top.  It was really good and was kind of like "hey you got faux peanut butter in my nutella" and "hey, you got nutella in my faux peanut butter!"  If you get the reference, 10 bonus points. For lunch I had a turkey, lite swiss, pea shoot sandwich with a tbsp of Miracle Whip light.  I thought I was going to explode with joy.  I have missed sandwiches soooo much.  Yum.  Then the usual cast of characters.  Fruit salad with cantaloupe, honeydew, watermelon, pineapple and a clementine.  The bowl could barely hold it.  Raw veggies with 1/2 tbsp dip...

I usually kind of love and loathe that phrase.  It means my Mr is getting more time to apply toward our vacation but it also means he's working longer than he's supposed to and I don't like that.  But that's not what I'm referring to in this case.  I'm referring to this... Let's do a little comp time, shall we? First pic: Me:  463 lbs (I'm not even at my highest weight here which was 494.  We were too ashamed or oblivious to take "before" pics.  Or I should say before pics that I would prefer stay off the internet.  Skivvie style) That shirt was a 5x I believe  or a size 34.  I couldn't even shop at plus sized stores.  Those were a size 36 jeans.  I'd just gotten into them down from a 38 elastic jeans I had to buy because the legs fit fine in 36 but the gut didn't.  I'm sporting those God awful Crocs because they were the only things that would fit my hugely swollen feet.  This was the first outing with some friend...

Short n' sweet-ish.  I'm late and a movie is starting.  (The Retreat) Breakfast was a bowl of oatmeal with a banana chopped up inside, a tbsp of Better N' Peanut Butter and a serving of Dulce De Leche Cheerios.  Honestly, I wouldn't get the Cheerios again.  We tried the Peanut Butter ones too and meh.  I don't get why everyone is so ga ga over them but to each their own. Snack was a raspberry fruit leather. Lunch was a TJ's chicken hot dog on a whole wheat bun with mustard and onions, usual raw veggies and 1/2 tbsp of dip, fruit salad of honeydew, cantaloupe, pineapple and a clementine, honeycrisp apple with apple dip, 1 oz cheddar, apple cereal bar and iced tea. The Mr had a mishap when the was lifting the trash out.  I was tempted to yell "wimpy, wimpy, wimpy!" but life is not always a Hefty commercial. Dinner was fish tacos with homemade refried beans and a little cheddar on top.  Yum! Since the Mr got a movie, night snack will be T...

I got this question from K. "Can you blog one day on your opinion of eating your exercise calories back? part of me feels like its counterproductive, but then mathematically it makes sense, so im kind of at a stand still. ie: my calorie suggestions say 1350 or so, so i generally stick in that range, but if I go to the gym i typically burn 700-800 calories on my Polar HRM. So at the end of the day, I've only net 550-700 calories for the day - which is way under the minimum to run your body.... which may be why some of us are seeing a stand still on the scale? I just dont know if that really makes sense or not, or if its really the right thing to do." I'm so glad she asked this because it coincided with an article I read last week.   This article at Shape Magazine gave a formula to use to calculate a rough estimate of how many calories you should be eating to lose weight. BMR = 655 + (4.35 x weight in pounds) + (4.7 x height in inches) - (4.7 x age in years) T...

I don't usually do Sunday posts but this was too funny not to share.  I felt like our freezer contents were never going down so I had the Mr read off what was in the freezer before we head off to the stores this morning.  Here's the list of what was in the freezer. 3 TJ's Creamy Polenta with carrots and spinach 1 bag chicken breast tenderloins 1 sweet potato fries 2 white ruffy 1 butternut squash risotto 2 asparagus risotto 1 lb ground chicken breast 1 small beef roast 1 serving of shrimp 2 stuffed flounders 6 mahi mahi's  (that's not a typo) 1 lb of 96/4 ground beef 1 lb of 85/15 patties 1 bag TJ's potatoes and hericot verts 1 bag TJ's quinoa duo 1 bag TJ's sockeye salmon and asparagus pasta 2 salmon burgers. This is at the END of a grocery cycle and rarin' up for the next one!  Um yeah.  I think we'll just need to get produce and we'll be good to go.  I could live through a 5 day grocery closure off that crap!  That...

It seems doing the unstuck aren't just lyrics to a Cure song, it also means the loss I had last week didn't stick...to the tune of 4 lbs I thought I was rid of coming back.  Thanks a lot.  I knew better than to think a 7 lb loss on a severe respiratory illness would be permanent but a girl can dream right?  Sigh.  Insert that feeling with how bad I felt in dressing rooms with fluorescent lighting last night and that about puts a fork in my self esteem right now. But, it's road trip day back to the Mr's hometown and I need to put on a happy face and figure out what the hell I'm going to do from here.  I'm hoping I'm good enough to work back into higher calorie burns this coming week.  The bod will tell me.  I know it sounds weird especially after the gain but I'm going to up the calories because I just haven't been consistent in doing it more than 50-100 calories because I'm scared to.  We're all trained that you should cut, cut, cut calorie...

This morning I woke up with THE most massive craving for pancakes.  It was like "if you don't have pancakes, you will die.  Eat them."  I have never felt something so strong so I gave in.  But it gave me an excuse to try the TJ's Pumpkin Pancake mix I've been hoarding since Fall!  HA!  I didn't use the 2 tbsp of butter the batter called for and used skim milk so it ended up coming in lower than the breakfast I had planned.  Today was full of yummy stuff. Let's eat... Breakfast, as I eluded to, was 2 pumpkin pancakes with light maple syrup.  (To be clear that's Mrs. Butterworth light, not that all natural crap.  We've tried it, we hated it, we wasted money.  What can I say, we both love the sugar bomb)  A banana and 9 oz of skim milk.  Craving satisfied! For a late morning snack after the Mr and I went on a walk, I had a peanut oat bar but forgot to take a pic.  Refer to other food journals this week if you must see ...