Tuesday, March 31, 2009

daily thought - peas make their own gravy

went shopping today. had a good day. i got a tamagotchi connect (v4.5). i'm sucker for virtual pets, and this one is a lot more interactive than other ones i've had in the past. i couldn't be happier. :D it cost $10 which is a lot for me to splurge right now, but i couldn't resist, and my boyfiend is awesome and didn't argue with me about getting it. ^.^
we have the food from the boxes we ordered from AFM. it's a lot of food! lol. we have all the food we need for the entire month of april, except for a few little things that are too perishable, like sour cream. we're storing a lot of the frozen stuff at my dad's house, because he has a large upright freezer. tomorrow we start using it, and my full monthly menu. it's kinda nice knowing what i'm going to be making beforehand, and being able to plan ahead. i think it's going to help me in other aspects. already i'm doing better at cleaning up after myself. hopefully this sort of thing will spread. if you've ever visited the flylady site, you'll know what i mean when i say i hope my menu will be shiny sink. :D not only is it the first tomorrow, but it's also wed., weigh in day. yet another fresh start. i'm feeling good about things, and i can't wait to weigh in. :)

what i ate today:
a can of tropical fruit - 5
beef stroganoff meal - 8
slimfast - 3
french toast - 2
cornmeal battered chicken with corn and peas - 18
total points: 36

Monday, March 30, 2009

daily thought - less thinking, more doing

well, i slacked off for about a week, and stayed the same weight. which i guess is a better than gaining. my foot is feeling quite a bit better, so i guess it's not broken. i don't know what's wrong with it, and i wish i did. i guess i'll bring it up to my doctor at my apointment on the 10th.


what i ate today:
crappy pancakes (didn't have baking soda. >.<) - 6
1 cup rice - 3
1 cup pork roast - 6
1 cup rice - 3
1/2 cup turkey breast - 3
1/2 cup pork roast - 3 (or 4?)
1/2 lb of stir fry vegetables - 1
stir fry seasoning and soy sauce - 1
more crappy pancakes (had leftovers and got hungry. XD) - 10
total points - 36

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

daily thought - touched by linda hamilton

went shopping today (well my boyfriend did, i stayed home because of my foot). i got slimfast shake powder instead of the premixed canned ones. i find that if mix them with water a serving is only 2 points. it doesn't taste quite the same, but it's actually not that bad. it's not as creamy, but the chocolate flavor is strong. it's sort of the difference between real chocolate and hard candy chocolate (like a chocolate tootsie pop). different, but both good.

i've already started may's menus. we're currently trying to decide if we should get as many of the angel food ministries boxes this month as we did last, or if we should compile our own list to work from, and if so, how to go about it. either way, i've come to realize that i can't make menus out of thin air... even going through my recipes, i get overwhelmed and can't decide what i'm going to make. i do a lot better if i have a list of foods i *have* to work with. it forces me to be creative when putting together the menus.
the way i plan menus is a little complicated. each meal is planned differently. i cook for me and my boyfriend at dinner, but only for myself at breakfast and lunch. i try to incorporate fruit into breakfasts, and for the month of may each week is a different fruit (because fresh only lasts so long and is cheeper in bulk). for dinners i try to plan a variety of recipes. i have a huge book of them i want to try. for lunch i usually have leftovers either directly from the dinner the night before, or ingredients i didn't use up from other meals.

i'm both impatient and worried about the weigh in tomorrow. i didn't get to exercise hardly at all this week, and i didn't track points very well this weekend. i'm hungry at the moment, and could eat some baby carrots for 0 points, but i don't want them to show up on the scale tomorrow. :X i just want to know how i did and get it over with.

oh, and i dyed my hair today... i has purple highlights. ^.^

what i ate today:
leftover spaghetti - 8
slimfast - 2
eggplant parmesan - 10
1/2 cup lowfat cottage cheese - 2
pasta carbonara - 12
1 cup cornflakes - 2
total points: 36
weekly points left: 14

Monday, March 23, 2009

daily thought - ouch

i think i may have broken my foot. i've been exercizeing more, and both my feet were sore. then i think i stepped on my right foot a little funny and i think it may have caused/agrovated a stress fracture. it either is, or is near, the place i broke it once before when i tripped. after two days of rest, the left foot feels fine, and the right foot just kept getting worse. so, since i don't have any insurance i'm got me a rigid sole shoe from the medical supply store nearby, and the cane i had last time i broke it. i'm doing my best to keep it imobalized and to keep my weight off it. that's all the did with the last break i had, and this feels the same or even more minor, so i think it should be fine in a few weeks. if there's a *real* problem it'll make it's self known. right now it just feels like a burning toothach. XD the confuseing part is that it's not swollen or bruised or anything, just hurts.

i've decided to try and cut soda out of my diet. it's cheaper and better for me. cola, which i've been drinking because it's cheep, isn't good for you, even when it's diet, and i'll be saving about $30 a month. so i'm going to make me a big pitcher of green tea, fill up the water pitcher, and clean out a spot in my freezer for an ice cube tray so i can start drinking something a bit more healthy.

i really suck at keeping track on the weekends, at work. i can eat for free there, but i have no control over what food will be there. there's usually healthy choices available, i just need to be a lot better about keeping track of what i use. i'm on a slippery slope and need to put on the breaks. making guesses on points and just figuring i was staying within them is what caused me to gain 7 pounds. i really want to try harder next weekend. i also find myself making substitutions and skipping snacks and eating more at meals... i'm not sure if i need to be stricter with myself, or if that's just life and i need to expect it.

with my foot i can't get in much activity. i'm camped out in bed. i'll have to watch my food intake like a hawk. i guess this will give me more time to work on my menus and catch up on my studies (and maybe get the last 4 levels on my main character in world of warcraft. :X).

what i ate today:
sausage muffins - 5.5
leftover pasta alfredo - 7
lean pocket knockoff - 5
spaghetti - 8
mini pizza* - 1.5
2 packs of pringles honey butter stix - 4
lean pocket knockoff - 5
1 pack of pringles honey butter stix - 2
total points: 38
weekly points left: 15

Friday, March 20, 2009

daily thought - a more realistic motzarella stick

(say it outloud... lol)


i slept in late today. it was almost noon before i got up.

i've been on a real cooking kick the past couple of days. i've come to the conclusion that with the right frame of mind, cooking the food can be almost as satisfying as eating it. today i desided to experiment with "mincemeat pie". it'd always sounded gross to me, because i'm used to the store bought version, that has rasins and apple and such in it. while some people like this, for the most part i can't stand savory and sweet together like that. after reading an artical from the 1800's i came to the realization that orginonaly it was just bits of meat and sometimes vegitables (and if you wanted, fruit), left over from meals, mixed with gravy and baked in a crust. so i desided to give it a try, and started collecting a little bits of meat from my lunches and dinners. a little bite worth here and there can realy add up. i desided to try putting it in a crust of reduced fat crossants from a (as i like to call them) 'splody tube. i tried makeing sort of a hot pocket type thing... i tried one, and it was more rich and filling than i would have thought, but i couldn't make it hold as much of the filling as i would have liked without threating to ooze all over the bakeing sheet. so i desided it would be easyer to make s.o.s. (gravy on toast) out of it, than it would be to make mincemeat pies. cheeper too. i cooked the other 3/4 of the crossant tube into 3 rectangular pizza crusts to freeze for future lunches to make my own little pizzas. hopefully they'll hold up and won't get overcooked when baked a second time with toppings.
i used a paket of chicken gravy mix (100 calories, 2g of fat, no fiber), which at 2 points for the whole thing is awesome. next time i plan on useing brown gravy, which is even lower in points, and i actualy like better. it also goes better with chicken than chicken gravy goes with pork and beef. i also learned i should either get as much seasoning off the meat as possible, or if possible set aside the bits of meat before i season them. too many flavors compete. i also plan on setting aside little pinches of french cut green beans as "filler". i had done that this time, and i couldn't even taste them, mushed up among the meat. i figure i can make s.o.s. once a month, and have a practicaly free meal. it's only 33 cents for the gravy mix, and two or so slices of bread is next to nothing. :D

the pasta alfredo didn't turn out quite right... i ended up adding *lot* more pasta to it. the amount called for in the recipe wasn't nearly enough for both me and my boyfriend. so i added more pasta, some ground turkey, and more parmesan. i'm too tired to rewrite or recalculate the points tonight, so i'm just going to call it 15 points. the original recipe was from weight watchers. frankly, a lot of their recipes are some of the *highest* point ones i've collected. O.o a lot of other "diet" recipes are lower points, and taste better. the WW recipes lure you in with a low point number, but when you actually look at it, it's teeny tiny portions. i'd rather eat a tiny portion of the real thing than an only slightly less tiny portion of something half as flavorful.

what i ate today:
2 sausage muffins- 5.5
1 mincemeat pie- 6
s.o.s - 7.5
pasta alfredo - 15
leftover s.o.s - 4
total points: 38
weekly points left: 32

Thursday, March 19, 2009

daily thought - how come no one puts furniture in an elevator?

(just because it moves, doesn't mean it's not a room...)

had a lazy day. only worked out for about 10 minutes, but got alot of healthy cooking and food prep for tomorrow done. i also cleaned out the fridge. i think things were getting ready to crawl away on their own. >.<

what i ate today:
sausage muffins - 5.5
leftover meatloaf - 3
leftover cheesy chicken casserole - 5
glucerna shake - 4
ceasar chicken - 10
greenbeans - 1
steamed potatoes - 1
glucerna shake - 4
dill pickle on bread with mustard - 0.5
total points - 34
weekly points left - 35

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

first weigh in: -4

i lost 4 pounds in the last week! :D i'm three pounds away from my all time low. once i lose those 3 i'll be makeing real progress. :D

i had a good day and took a break from alot of the work i've been doing (i've been spending hours a day on planning and paperwork). i did some crafty stuff and spent alot of time hanging out with my boyfriend. :D

i made some breakfast muffins... i'm a bit disapointed, they're small, almost half the size i expected, and i don't know if they'll be satisfying enough at 2 for 5.5 points... i'll have to find something bulky and low or no points to add to my breakfasts for the next week.

what i ate today:
oatmeal - 6
some rice and gravy i had in the freezer - 10 (guess)
meatloaf - 8.25
corn - 2
potatoes - 3
breakfast muffin - 2.75
pudding cup - 3
total points: 35
points left for the week: 35

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

daily thought - keep on truckin'.

didn't do so good with tracking this weekend, but i still stayed within points.

i'm still feeling swamped with all i have to do, but my wonderful boyfriend has offered to help me with some of the work. right now he's printing some weight watchers recipes onto index cards for me. :D the work has been hard, and i just want to throw a big temper tantrum, but i'm pushing through and i feel pretty good about that. i've gotten activity in every day this week except when i was working. i discovered it's even hard to keep track of things on days i run errands (which i did yesterday) than it is when i work.

i'm proud of myself for staying on the plan for a week, and for keeping up with this blog. i suck at keeping blogs. soon i plan on sharing with some mailing lists i've been lurking on for a while now. i'm kind of excited about "going public". i'm also excited about getting my first official numbers tomorrow.

what i ate today:
breakfast smoothie - 8
french toast - 2
cacciatore rice - 6
glucerna shake - 4
cheesy chicken casserole - 10
green beans - 1
pudding cup - 3
popcorn 2
total points - 36
weekly points left - 20

Saturday, March 14, 2009

daily thought - a full night's sleep is the best thing in the world

i worked, and managed to stick to my points pretty well. at least, hopefully. had to guess on alot of the stuff. was home made food with no nutritional information on it. i was too tired to do anything but work, do a couple loads of laundry (didn't even finish that), come home, and go to bed.


what i ate today:
breakfast casserole - 5.5
tv dinner - 4
spaghetti - 7 (guess)
a can of splenda sweetened peaches - 1
can of soup - 4
1 slice of cheese - 1
6 crackers - 1
stuffed cabage - 11.5 (guess)
total points - 35
weekly points left - 24

Friday, March 13, 2009

daily thought - i'm tired

well, didn't get very much done today, chore wise, but my absolutely wonderful boyfriend cleaned the bathroom for me. after resting and watching an old recording of biggest loser i had on the DVR, i forced myself to do a pilates workout. did 20 minutes today. i figured if these people can force themselves to exercise to the point of puking and unhealthily rapid weight loss (i don't really approve of the extreme measures on shows like that), i could at least force myself to do a sane workout, even if i didn't feel like it.
i did good on my points, even though i was hungry for most of the day. luckily i don't get sick anymore when i get hungry, so the meds are working. i went off my metformin (for stein-leventhal/PCOS) for a week when i had a bad cold and barely ate, and after getting a reminder of how sick i get when hungry without it, regular, normal hunger doesn't seem so bad.

what i ate today:
breakfast casserole - 5.5
half a can of chicken noodle soup - 1
romaine lettuce hearts and ranch dip - 3
pork stir fry - 7.5
1 cup rice - 3
slimfast - 3
honey mustard crusted chicken (variation) - 11
green beans with margarine - 1
cinnamon toast crunch (couldn't resist... evil temptress of a cereal... XD lol ) - 6
total points - 41
weekly points left - 24




frustration and burn out

i'm tired, i'm cranky, i'm sore, i'm just plain burned out. it's the third day of having the same thing for breakfast that i'm not really fond of, and i'll be having it tomorrow too. there's a soured smell in my bathroom so i'm going to have to spend half the day cleaning the whole damn thing until i find what's causing it. i just want to play some world of warcraft and go back to sleep, but i have to figure out my menu and points for the next week and make a detailed shopping list with recipes just to be able to stay on track... i guess i'm doing ok, though, because even though i didn't want to i started the billionth load of dishes (there's till a ton to do), and the scale shows progress. i just hope it will still be there when it's time to officially weigh in. i've been fluctuating the same five pounds for months now.
and i use too many freaking run-on sentences. i guess whoever's reading this will just have to get used to it. XD (and why the hell is the spellchecker flagging "whoever's" and wanting to take off the 's? O.o)

until we meet again
>^..^< {shadow} >^..^<

Thursday, March 12, 2009

daily thought - the english language is weird.

(why is one hair of your eyelashes called an eyelash, but one hair of your eyebrows not an eyebrow? seems like they should have their own name...)

i've been kicking butt today. the short version is, i did 5 loads of dishes, worked out for 15 minutes, stuck to my points, and had a very productive day. why can't all days be like this?

the long version: woke up, started a load of dishes, had breakfast, let my ferret out to play while i gave myself a manicure and plucked my eyebrows and all that girly stuff, then brushed his teeth, gave him his vitamin and furball treatment, and trimmed his nails before having my morning snack of half a can of chicken noodle soup. i even did a 15 minute palates workout which really made my weak abdominal muscles protest. then started another load of dishes, had lunch, studied for an hour, and cleaned and fussed with organizing fabric for an hour and a half. started another load of dishes and had a slimfast and relaxed a while before starting dinner. after dinner i started another load of dishes, watched tv and crocheted for a bit, read email, did another load of laundry, and went to bed.


what i ate today:
breakfast casserole - 5.5
1/2 can of chicken noodle soup - 1
pork stir fry - 7.5
1 cup rice - 3
slimfast -3
2 hotdogs (got these from our last angel food ministries box, and they were a lot higher in points than i expected. from now on they'll go to my boyfriend. hehe) - 10
2 croissants - 6
2 slices of cheese - 1
1 apple with splenda and apple pie spice "baked" in the microwave - 1
total points - 38
weekly points left - 30

daily thought - ant steps are better than no steps

yesterday started out crappy, but got better. took a nap and spent some time with my Love, and felt better. i was really pleased with the fish i made, which made happy because i usually suck at making fish. and i got every dirty dish in the house rinsed and ready to go in our little counter top dishwasher. i should be caught up on dishes by monday (i've been behind a really long time). :D

what i ate today:
breakfast casserole -5.5
2 slices of bread - 2
1 slice turkey bologna - 1
lettuce, pickles, mustard - 0
stuffed shells and pasta - 10.5 (this is a guess... the shells had been in my freezer for ever, and i have no idea how many points they actually were.)
romaine lettuce hearts and ranch dressing -3
fish and chips - 12
slimfast - 3
total points - 37
weekly points left - 33

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

today is a new day

well, today is my first official weigh in, and i can't say i'm happy with the numbers. but it's a starting point. from here on i'm going to take my medications faithfully, increase my activity, and strictly stick to my points and meal plan, even when at work. i was able to lose 60 pounds in a year when sick, now that i'm healthy there's no reason i shouldn't be able to do the same, even though it seems like my weight hasn't budged in the last 6 months, no matter what i do... it's a bit discouraging, but i have no choice but to keep trying.
i won't be sharing my actual weight, but i will be sharing the progress. i can't wait until next week when i actually have some numbers to report.
it's a new day, a new week, and a fresh start.

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

daily thought - squirrel paws are like velcro to trees.

today's disappointments:
i didn't track points as accurately as i could.
i didn't get as much done with figuring out my menu for the rest of the month as i wanted to.
i keep shuffling around meals for this week because it isn't planned very well.

today's positives:
i didn't do badly on points even with bad tracking.
i did my first workout in a while.
i did most of my chores.
i've been in a good mood most of the day.
i got a casserole cooking in the oven for breakfasts the next few days.



what i ate today:
2 packets of raisin spice oatmeal -6
carrots and ranch dip - 4
1 cup rice - 3
1 can mixed vegetables - 2
margarine -1
1 chicken thigh - 4
carrots and ranch dip - 4
2 salisbury steaks - 6
4 slices of bread - 2
side salad - 4
total points: 37

Monday, March 9, 2009

Welcome

i've decided to start a blog to track my weight loss journey. i'm too poor to go to things like weight watcher meetings anymore, and it's too lonely of a journey to do on my own. i'm tired of being where i am, and i'm ready to get my life in order, lose weight, and have a more fulfilling life for me and my Love. i hope you'll visit often and leave words of encouragement, and most off all, keep me accountable. :)
a little about my weight loss plan:
i'm basicly doing the weight watcher's diet on my own. i find counting points is easyer at times, and i tend to lose better when going by points than counting calories alone. (i use this online points calculator ) i'm not supposed to have processed grains or sugars, but i'm not so good about that. i also should be eating more fruits and veggies. i'm allowed 35 points a day, and 35 "extra" points i can use up throughout the week. i want to work out monday-friday, alternateing aerobics and strength training. i plan on weighing in every wed. morning, and posting my progress here. my first goal will be a 25 pound weight loss.

until we meet again.
>^..^< {shadow} >^..^<