I've Been Away

You can check up on us on our new blog:

http://henryandshannon.blogspot.com

This blog will document the process of building our first home, and someday (eventually) it will hopefully transition to a blog about our family in our first home.

Hope to see you there.

Calories my beagle ate today: 1,050 + a serving of dog food (who knows how many calories dog food would be)

The beagle ate five chocolate bars while the husband and I were out enjoying the lake. We did a quick trip to the Animal Emergency Room and we're all feeling much better now. The poor guy had vommitting induced - but we're glad he's back to his normal fiesty self.

Breakfast: Today I had 2 granola bars: 190 calories. These granola bars are awesome! Worth the purchase if you're needing breakfast on the go. They come with two per package and are yum.

Lunch: Jason's Deli salad bar. I did use ranch dressing, but it was a salad and not a cheesy baked potato like I normally order. Overall, I still think the salad was a better choice... as I used a bit of restraint with the dressing.

Dinner: Honey Ginger Grilled Salmon. I used a recipe from a delish blog: www.delish-blog.com/2006/11/honey-ginger-grilled-salmon/. We eat so much salmon, I was thrilled to find yet another new way to prepare it. (Gotta keep my husband guessing). This was incredibly easy to prepare. I only spent about 2 or 3 minutes to prep everything and toss it into a gallon sized zip lock. The fish marinated in the fridge for an hour and then we grilled in on our indoor grill. Delish! My husband requested that this one go into the regular rotation, and I'm in agreement.

I have no idea how many calories I ate today, but I think I did fairly well. Plus, I got the arm workout of the centruy kayaking with the husband on the lake for 3.5 hours. I anticipate some sore arms tomorrow.

the return of lighter leaf

I took a 'rest' from the blog that lasted about 40 days. I was get overwhelmed with my work load and then paired with my frustrations of not losing weight - it was time to step away. However, I've returned.

During my time away I certainly took time away from my weight loss goals. I didn't abandon everything, but I didn't do well and I know I've gained. I'm not ready to step on the scale again... but it won't be pretty. I also have not been to the gym in about a month because of my insanity at work. I would go into the boring details - but it got really crazy there for a few weeks and I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel and will be slowing down significantly within the next few days. Hallelujah.

I have the same goals, and I'm going to focus on counting calories as best possible and maintain a consistant workout schedule. I am also hoping to get a measuring tape and do some measurements so I can see change even if the weight isn't coming off as quickly as I hoped. This is not an impossible task... I just need to figure out what works for my body and where the "sweet spot" is for seeing results.

In other news, I went shopping today for a pair of shorts and purchased the largest size I have ever worn in my life. Talk about a reality check in the Macy's dressing room... ugh. I bought them anyway, because that is my reality and I'm learning to accept that. Change will come. This blog has pretty much turned into a "pep talk" for myself - so I hope you don't mind reading my "I think I can, I think I can, I think I can". Chugga Chugga Chooooo Chooooooo.

The husband and I are leaving for a vacation on Tuesday and will be gone 6 days. I'm looking forward to the time away to reconnect with my husband and seeing my family again too. (yep, a family vacation that includes my parents, myself and my husband, and my sister and her boyfriend). It should be ...interesting. My entire family struggles with weight issues - so I'm hopeful I can still make some positive choices while we're out of town.

Dinner tonight:














It was very good. If anyone has comments on portioning - does this look appropriate? I *think* this was a healthy meal... but I'm unsure about what is realistic on portions. I know that the rice said it made three servings... and the husband and I ate probably half of it, total. In regards to the tilapia, is one full fillet appropriate? thoughts?
Tilapia (a la 'me'): I chopped garlic very fine and sprinkled over the fish. Then I added lemon juice, a tiny bit of chili powder, garlic salt and pepper. Then I added a thin slice of butter on each fish. I cooked for about 15ish minutes on 350 degrees until it looked flakey. This was very good.
Boil in a bag whole grain rice
Steamed vegetables: broccoli, cauliflower and carrots

Week Seven: Monday

I did terribly all weekend long - but I got right back on track today.

Breakfast: Special K Bar - 90 calories

Lunch: Schloztsky's kids meal cheese pizza (terrible, but I was in a huge rush and made the quickest choice available to me. blah.) - 479 calories

Dinner: Salmon and Asparagus in Foil Packets (recipe link: http://lowfatcooking.about.com/od/fishandseafood/r/salmonasparagus.htm) with 1 serving of whole grain brown rice, and a Fuze Drink - 408 calories

After dinner, I was only at 977 calories so I had two s'mores as a snack (150 calories each)

So my calorie total came in at 1,277 for today. Right on track.

I'm going to go to Pilates tomorrow morning, and if I can figure out how to make my calorie tracker watch work, I'll post results with how many I burned. It seems much more difficult than I originally thought to make that gadget work.

weigh in: week 6

So, I just weighed in:

Weight loss for week six: 2.2 pounds
ummmmm..... okay scale. Whatever you say.

Stats:
first weigh in: 163.5 lbs
today's weigh in: 161.4 lbs
total weight loss: 2.1 lbs

Can't explain this one. I've done really well for 2 out of the 7 days.
Honest to goodness, don't know what to say. I'm pleased, but can't tell you how that happened in the two days I've put in effort.

Oh well, I'll take it!

Off to the gym.

Thursday check in

Breakfast: 1 scrambled egg: 90 calories
Lunch: Opti-Meal Chocolate Shake (aka: off brand slim fast): 180 calories
Dinner*: Green Salad (20 calories), Fat free Zesty Italian (15 calories), Grilled Atlantic Salmon (309 calories), Steam Fresh Vegetables (120 calories), 1 cup of white short grin rice, cooked (241 calories), water (0 calories). Total dinner calories: 705 calories
Snack: 1 s'more: 175 calories

Total calorie intake today: 1,150 calories

I apolgoize for the lack of photos in this post. I was fvcking hungry by dinner (1 egg and a slim fast between 9am and 7pm) I could not stop for one second to take a picture. I had to dig in and pratcially swallow the whole thing because my stomach was pretty sure I was starving to death.

I slept in today and missed my class at the gym. Argh. I will be there tomorrow morning though.

I had another doctor appointment today (for something minor, unrelated to thyroid issues) - and asked her opinion on calorie intake, weight loss, ect. She suggested 1,300 calories - with a bit more on workout days. I told her I had been shooting for 1,200 and she said that was fine - but to open up my range to between 1,200 and 1,300 each day to allow myself a bit more flexibility. Today I was at 1,150 - so I'll plan accoringly for tomorrow.

Tomorrow morning will also be the first weigh-in in a while. I'm not holding my breath for good news - I'll give it another week before I expect any changes.

I've got a fun weekend planned with friends and family. I can only hope you have as much friendship, love, and fun planned into your next few days!



*dinner was one of my favorite ways to prepare salmon. A little bit of chili powder and a tiny bit of cinnamon sprinked on skin and flesh side. Then sauteed in (very little) sesame oil. Just 3-4 minute per side - and delish.

Back on track.

Heard from the nurse today at my obgyn. Bloodwork came back normal in regards to the thyroid. (but no good reasons why I'm not getting a period...)

Sigh.

Moving forward.

I've been working out. I've been making smarter choices (compared to previous choices/desires). I've been drinking more water. I know that muscle gain is a good thing, but I need to see the numbers on my scale go down. I need the numbers to change for my own sense of success.

I have the "my fitness pal" on my iphone that tracks my food and I can keep a food diary with calorie intake. I used this a while back... but I'm going to give it another go. It says I should eat about 1,200 calories on a non-workout day, and a bit more when I workout. I also bought one of these which will track the calories burned. So I started today:

Breakfast: 2 scrambled eggs with pepper: 180 calories

Lunch: Peanut butter (1 tbs) and jelly (1 tbs) sandwhich with 1 cup of shredded wheat and a 5 calorie fuze drink: 490 calories

Dinner: 1 bean buritto from Taco Bell (no DH home tonight) and 1 cup of shredded wheat: 570 calories

Total calories for 4/14/10: 1,240 (40 over)

I guess I did pretty well. It took some planning, but I can handle it. Honestly, the calorie intake seem a little low, but if I see results - I can get used to being a bit more hungry than I have been in the past. I imagine the beginning will be harder as my stomach adjusts to not having so much food. I didn't workout today, but I have plans to attend a class on Thursday and Friday. I'll report back with how many calories I burned.

Just in case you don't already know: The fuze drinks are awesome. I love the fruit punch, slenderize. They're only 5 calories and much more exciting than water. Highly recomended!