Sunday, August 30, 2009

Reality. Check!

1 comments
Woohooo!
I am back "on the wagon" :) Round of applause for me!!
This week I am getting back to the basics.

I FINALLY went to my new local meeting in south Florida. It was a little different but I appreciated it all the same.

My results were much better than I expected - I am up 2 lbs (159.4). I don't know what I did to deserve such a small gain, but I am very happy with it. To be honest, I expected to be like 5lbs up considering the fact that I have not adhered to my points target since I have been back home for the past two weeks. Thank the Lord for small miracles (i.e small gains).

Here is the proof:


I know, I know it does not look as official as the previous weigh-in printouts. I guess the weight watchers meetings in South Florida have not caught up with the technology available in Los Angeles? Things are done by hand which kinda annoys me because the lady that recorded my weight did her math incorrectly and tried to jip me outta 0.4 lbs. And I had to correct it. I miss you Los Angeles with your advanced technological innovations. Oh well. But believe me, I really did go to my meeting - I am not fudging the numbers. (that would be kinda pathetic).

I really felt recharged after the meeting. I went bright and early and it really set me up for success for the day. I feel like I can't start a clean slate unless I go to a meeting.

Breakfast
3 egg white omelet
1/4 cheddar cheese
1 cup grapes
Sandwich Thins
5 pts

Lunch
Chicken and dumpling soup
2 cheese quesadillas
1 tsp olive oil
8 pts

Dinner
1 and 1/2 cup whole wheat pasta
1 tbsp parmesan cheese
Chicken breast
1 tsp olive oil
spinach
9 pts

Dessert
Diet Soda Cake
1 tbsp chocolate syrup
(not pictured)
4 pts


I went to the mall today and bought two pairs of jeans that made my a$$ look like magic. HOLLA!

Total for the day: 26 pts
Weekly Bonus Points Used: 4 pts
Bonus points remaining for the week: 31 pts

Stay with me guys! I know that for the past two weeks I have not been as diligent as I should be. (When I don't blog, you can assume the worst as far as my eating is concerned). I am going to make a conscious effort to blog even when things are at their worst because I think it is important to see it all - the good, the bad, and the fugly.

I will work out this week but it will not be my focus. I need to find my groove with the eating. I had a whole routine in LA and I need to make sure I figure one out here. I am a work in progress.

Goals for this week:
  • Plan my meals for the day ahead of time
  • Work out at least twice
  • Go to my meeting next saturday
  • Avoid mindless eating
  • Track every meal
  • Blog!
xoxo
dee.

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Let there be food

0 comments
hmm. Where to start?
I have been eating food as if I am preparing for hibernation. Random stuff. Grazing and eating and being lazy. I need to remind myself that I am not on vacation - this is where I live now and if I continue doing what I have been doing my tummy will explode. Not a good look.

So I have decided to try something new. I am going to write (here, in the blog) what I am going to eat the next day. Ofcourse I will leave room for variation, but I know that I work best when I have a plan. So... tomorrow's menu will be:

Breakfast - egg white cheese omelet, whole wheat english muffin with light cream cheese, and choice of fruit

Lunch - pasta tossed with eggplant, broccoli, and tomato

dinner - tilapia and brown rice

This leaves like 3 points for snacking in the day.
I WILL go to the gym tomorrow as well.
I know for certain there will be a gain on Saturday when I finally get around to going to my weight watchers meeting. I am prepared for it and I won't let it depress me. I am just going to get a head start on getting back on track before Saturday.

Pray for me and my greedy tummy :0/

xoxo
dee.

Saturday, August 22, 2009

I can't wake up THAT early

3 comments
Yea. So. About that weigh in....

I overslept! How can I make it to a meeting that starts at 9:30 in the morning??
I felt really guilty when I woke up so when my sister asked me to go with her to the gym, I (reluctantly) agreed. I did about 45 minutes of half-hearted cardio, but it still counts right? RIGHT???

And there is no meeting tomorrow at the location that I want to go to so....I have to wait until Monday to weigh-in which is going to through me off for next Saturday. Oh well. My points still restart today so Amen to that.

Breakfast
3 egg whites w/ 1 slice ff kraft cheddar cheese
canadian bacon
whole wheat english muffin
1 cup grapes
5 pts
The fun part of moving back in with my parents is that their plates are much more fun than the plain ones I had in LA.

I would like to take this time out to discuss oatmeal. Usually I am morally opposed to it. Oatmeal never fills me. If I eat it for breakfast, I am hungry within an hour. All the other bloggers out there make it and I am not sure where their oatmeal comes from or why it turns into this magically filling meal for them. That never happens for me.

Why, God? Why?

So as some kind of compromise (or a middle finger to those who get full from a bowl of mush) I had oatmeal for a SNACK! :)
Snack
Instant oatmeal
1/2 cup Silk soy milk
1/2 banana
1/4 cup blueberries
5 pts

Lunch
eggplant
1 tsp olive oil
1/4 cup mozzarella cheese
broccoli
3 pts
Snack
Nature's Valley Oat's 'n Honey bar
(not pictured)
4 pts


Hey! I want to say a BIG HELLO to the new followers of this blog. HEY!!!
I am up to ten followers now and it might not seem like much, but it means a whooooole lot to me - that someone would be interested in what I have to say :)


Okay, so the day went all down hill from here.......
I'll tell ya'll all about it later. Oh geez.

Just a quickie

0 comments
This'll be a quick post.
Breakfast
pancake muffins
3 egg whites
1 slice fat free kraft cheddar cheese
5 pts

Lunch
(chicken salad sandwich)
1 chicken breast chopped
sandwich thin
1 tbsp mayo
scallions, tomato
1 apple
7 pts

Snack
kettle korn
(not pictured)
3 pts

Dinner
chicken salad sandwich
Banana
8 pts
(not pictured)

I had a really busy day today that involved baby sitting my boyfriend's niece and nephew. I got home soooo late that I did not feel like cooking anything so dinner was just a repeat of lunch. Tomorrow will be more exciting (crossing my fingers)


Total for the day: 23 pts

Thursday, August 20, 2009

Back in South Florida

1 comments
Hey Everyone!!

I am back in South Florida (Miramar to be exact....)
The move was pretty smooth. I was pretty nervous about my mother's visit because visitors usually give me an excuse to throw my good eating habits out of the window. And I am sure that she enjoyed me cooking her meals. (She did most of the moving/cleaning/organizing so I'd say it was a semi-even trade)

Last Saturday was weigh in day (my fave!) and I was really excited. I skipped the weigh in before that (if you all remember that far back....) because I felt like the negative results would have sent me off the deep end. Here are my results from last Saturday (8/15)


Yay! 157.4! Yay!
However.....now that I am back home I have to be honest.....
I have not counted points. I've just been "winging it", which for me is a recipe for failure. But its been hard ya'll! I am out of my comfort zone. It's like I open the fridge and I don't know where to start. I have been here since Sunday and I JUST went to the grocery store today to stock up on my essentials.

I am scared of what the scale will say on Saturday.

BUT, I am excited to attend a new meeting. I really loved loved loved my L.A. meetings and I hope my new meeting is just as fun. I am not going to avoid the scale despite my lack of discipline this week. Part of the problem is that I have been eating my first meal very late in the day.....at first this was because of the time change....now its just because I have been sleeping late and not planning my meals throughout the day...
So today my first meal was at 4:30pm. I am a work in progress. :)

Lunch??
Lean ground beef
Sandwich thin
1 cup grapes
yogurt
9 pts

Snack
crackers
3 pts

Dinner

1 and 1/2 cup whole wheat pasta
1/2 cup fat free ricotta cheese
1/4 cup mozzarella cheese
spinach
8.5 pts

Dessert
SmartOnes Peanut Butter Cup Sundae
3 pts

My parents have been so impressed by my progress that I have been commissioned to be in charge of their dinners. This sucks because it makes me have to cook meals that aren't portioned into one serving. But it is great because it forces me to plan my meals around what I am preparing for dinner.

Total for the day: 23.5 pts

xoxo
dee.

Monday, August 10, 2009

Baked Ziti. The Saga continues

3 comments
Like I said earlier, I am trying not to purchase any more groceries for the week seeing as though I am shipping outta Los Angeles this Saturday. I am out of quite a few things so there will probably be limited fruits and vegetables for the next couple of days.

Breakfast
3 pancake muffins
1/4 cup blueberries
1 whole egg
1 egg white
yogurt
7.5 pts

I made baked ziti again today as promised :)
Lunch
1 and 1/2 cup whole wheat penne
1/3 cup Weight Watchers mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup part skim ricotta
1 tsp olive oil
1 tbsp parmesan cheese
10 pts
I am glad that I bought those individual sized baking dishes. They have really come in handy.

Dinner
chicken breast
1 tsp olive oil
sandwich thin
1/2 tbsp kraft light mayo
apple
6.5 pts
Yay! I made it through the day without using my weekly bonus points. I also pushed through 40 minutes of cardio (i am really lazy) since I have to meet my 5 day goal.

Total for the day: 24 pts

Weekly Bonus Points Used: 2 pts
Bonus points remaining for the week: 27 pts

Tomorrow is my last exam!!

xoxo
dee.

Snack Attack

2 comments
Hey Folks!
Today was a weird day. I felt like I snacked alot today even though I was reasonable with my points. I just felt really...munchy...I dunno.

Breakfast
hashbrowns (1/2 potato)
1 tsp olive oil
3 scrambled egg whites
1 slice Kraft FF cheddar cheese
1 cup strawberries
6 pts

I had to meet with team members on campus early this morning and didnt finish until late afternoon. By the time I got home I was STARVING! I was so hungry that I cooked really fast and ate really fast. And my camera battery was donezo and I refused to wait for it to charge before eating. SORRY!! No picture there.
Lunch
Tilapia Fillet
4 veggie potstickers
5 pts

Like I said, I was pretty snacky today. Lunch was NOT ENOUGH! So I had to have a snack. Also not pictured!
Snack
2 corn tortillas
2 slices Kraft FF cheddar cheese
2 pts

Okay...dinner....this makes up for the fact that my lunch and snack were not pictured. I made BAKED ZITI!!! Maybe you dont understand. Maybe you are not a pasta freak like me. But when I tell you this baked ziti was amazing, IT WAS AMAZING. ...but then again I am easily impressed by the combination of pasta and melted cheese.....

Dinner
1 and 1/2 cup whole wheat penne pasta
3 tbsp pureed tomato sauce
1/3 c Weight Watchers mozzarella cheese
1 tbsp parmesan cheese
1/4 cup part skim ricotta cheese
spinach
9 pts


Look at it! Dont be scared to click the picture for an exploded view of the cheesy goodness. I am not over how great this was. It is likely that I will make this tomorrow. Strike that. I will DEFINITELY make this tomorrow :)

Dessert
3 pancake muffins
1/4 cup blueberries
3 pts

I made these differently from how I usually do. Instead of mashing the blueberries a bit and adding it directly into the batter, I prepared the batter, poured it into the baking tray, and plopped only a few whole blueberries into each section. Much better than how I have been making them before. Mashing the blueberries before hand kinda makes the muffin toooooo mushy. This method made them just right.

I did not work out today. I had too much work to do....


Total for the day: 25 pts

Weekly Bonus Points Used: 3 pts
Bonus points remaining for the week: 29 pts

xoxo
dee.

Saturday, August 8, 2009

Chasing the Wagon to jump back on.

0 comments
Hi.

The last few days have been rough to say the least.
Booo to finals and class presentations. (Thumbs down!!)
I can honestly say that for the past 3 days I have not experienced hunger. I woke up two mornings in a row still full from the night before. (Hanging my head in shame). My food disasters include:

  • Carl's Jr Bacon Swiss Crispy Chicken Sandwich with fries and an Oreo Shake
  • Jack 'n the Box Spicy Chicken with Cheese with fries and a shake
  • Fried Calamari
  • Chicken Tenders
  • Spicy Eel Roll
  • 2 clif Bars
  • 2 scoops of cookies n cream ice cream from Baskin-Robbins
  • Scrambled egg whites with cheese, english muffin with cream cheese (This was actually my only prepared meal from Wednesday to Friday)
Yup that is what I consumed during the past 3 days in no particular order. Like I said, I never felt hunger but continued to eat anyway. (Still hanging my head in shame)

It's Saturday and I am determined to get my focus back. I went to my Weight Watcher's Meeting this morning BUT I did not weigh in. First of all, let me just say that I am not an advocate of skipping weigh-ins. But today..... I was just not mentally prepared to see the extent of the damage. It was enough for me to know that my eating was out of control. Call it denial or whatever you want, but I know that seeing the number probably would have set me off into a weekend of further sabotage.

So I am back to the basics.

Goals For this Week
Go to the Gym 5 times
All Meals prepared AT HOME
Use no more than 15 of my 35 bonus weekly points

Challenges For this Week
My last final is on Tuesday
My mother comes into town on Wednesday
I will be in the process of moving out
Limited grocery shopping because of the move

Breakfast
Fruit Salad (strawberries, blackberries, blueberries)
1.5 pts

Lunch
Ground Chicken
1 tsp olive oil
Sandwich Thin
1 apple
Leftover fruits from earlier
8 pts

Snack
2 corn tortillas
1/4 cup mozzarella cheese
3 pts

Dinner
Tofu Salad
2 tbsp Asian dressing
1/2 cup Harvest Grains
8 pts

In an effort to meet my gym goal for the week, I worked out today. 45 minutes on the treadmill. Nothing serious but I had a decent sweat. And I worked up a slight appetite. That, coupled with the fact that I had an early dinner today, made it impossible for me to go to bed without having some kind of snack.
Snack
Grilled cheese sandwich:
1 sandwich thin
1 tbsp Weight Watchers cream cheese
1 slice kraft FF cheddar cheese
yogurt
4.5

Total for the day: 25 pts
Weekly Bonus Points Used: 3 pts
Bonus points remaining for the week: 32 pts

Today was weird because my tummy was not used to NOT be stuffed to the brim. Day one back on track is always the hardest and I definitely wanted to spend the day stuffing my face. I hope tomorrow is a success! Wish me luck!

xoxo
dee.

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

I put basil on everything.

1 comments
In case you haven't noticed, I put basil on everything.
Eggs. Meat. Fish.
A friend who reads my blog asked me the other day why my egg whites are never white. I put basil on them. Oh and seasoned salt (which is orange) so my eggs are usually colored weird.

I was chatting with LadyKool last night trying to figure out what I was gonna have for breakfast this morning (yes, I actually think about this stuff the night before....you don't want to see what happens when I don't plan.) and I told her I wanted to try to make hash browns. And she suggested I make a bootleg McDonalds Meal. So I did!

Breakfast
Whole Wheat English Muffin
3 scrambled egg whites
1/2 potato -> hashbrown
1 tsp olive oil
1 slice kraft ff cheddar cheese
1/2 c blueberries
6 pts
Okay so I went and calculated the points for the same meal from McDonalds - Egg and cheese McMuffin with a hashbrown and the points value is - 9 pts (which I believe is an underestimation..but whatever).
My hash brown was pretty big, but to be honest it came out a little to mushy. It was crispy on the outside, but the inside was not hard enough. I would describe it more like a potato pancake than a hashbrown. It was good, but I think next time I won't grate the potato pieces so fine. I still have half a potato in the fridge so I will test out a different method later on this week.

This is gonna be the week from hell for me in terms of school and stuff since I'm getting down to the wire with due dates and all that. So forgive me in advance if it takes me a while to post updates. Believe me, I would much rather blog than study for tests, but blogging isn't paying my bills soo....I guess I might as well get this degree.

Snack
Kashi Chocolate Caramel Crunchy Bar
2 pts


This bar is so tastey. HOWEVER, it is so tiring to chew!! I'm satisfied after I eat it but I am not sure if its because it "hits the spot" or because my jaw needs a break. Literally midway through I have to take a break from it because the chewing makes me tired.

Lunch
Tilapia fillet
2 tbsp Asian Ginger dressing
1/2 leftover harvest grains
huge salad
6 pts

Be prepared for more lunch time salads because I'll be spending more time on campus this week during lunch time and salads dont require microwaves. :)


Dinner
Chicken breast
1 tsp olive oil
1/2 black beans
Cheese quesadilla ->2 corn tortillas w/ 1/4 c mozzarella cheese
8 pts

Total for the day: 22 pts
Weekly Bonus Points Used: 0 pts
Bonus points remaining for the week: 23 pts

Sunday, August 2, 2009

I WILL NOT EAT CAKE TODAY

4 comments
I just wanted to put that out there to ensure that I wouldnt.

Thats all for now. I'll finish this post later tonight.

Okay. I am back to finish this entry. Whoohoo. I made it through the day without cake :)

Breakfast
Blueberry pancake muffins
3 egg whites
strawberries
2 tbsp syrup
6 pts

Snack
2 Z bars
(im not perfect!)
4 pts
I did not mean to have two z bars. But the first one I ate was chocolate brownie and I did not care for it. Nothing like the adult sized chocolate brownie. Not tastey. Since I wasnt satisfied, I had the chocolate chip one. Oh well.

Lunch
Recreated Tofu Salad!!
Green Leaf Lettuce
onions
cucumber
fried tofu
2 tbsp Asian dressing
1 cup brown rice
10 pts


Look how good that salad looks! It was amazing. I've said it before - I am not really a salad person. I usually think salads are boring. But this was great. Okay heres how I made the tofu - I really wanted to make some kind of crust on it but I didnt have any flour. And given the fact that I will only be in Los Angeles for 2 more weeks, I am trying to avoid buying products that I can't finish before then. So I used pancake powder instead. Yea you read right. I scrambled an egg, dunked the sliced tofu in and then coated it with the pancake powder (1/8 cup used). I seasoned both the powder and the scrambled egg. I only ended up using 1/2 of the scrambled egg. Then I fried it in 1 tsp olive oil. I had cabbage to add to the salad, but I forgot it. OoPs!

Dinner
Tilapia fillet
1 cup harvest grains
broccoli
8 pts



I've had this packet of Trader Joe's Harvest Grains for a while and I've avoided making it. Tonight I was lost in the kitchen and it kepts staring at me so I gave in. It is a mix of Israeli couscous, red quinoa, baby garbonzo beans, dried red peppers, and dried spinach. It tasted alright. The only issue I had with it is that after I prepared it by the cooking directions, everything was cooked properly except for the baby garbonzo beans. They were a little too firm. I don't see how it could be cooked without either undercooking the beans or overcooking everything else.

Total for the day: 28 pts
Weekly Bonus Points Used: 6 pts
Bonus points remaining for the week: 23 pts

xoxo
dee.

Weigh In

2 comments
Weigh in day is my favorite day. I know this sounds weird but besides all of the anxious feelings before I step on the scale, I really like Saturdays. For one thing, my points start over and I get a clean slate. (I dont know what I would do without these bonus points - they keep me from being mean to strangers) Also, I get to see how well or not so well my eating and exercise for the week impacts the number on the scale. Every weigh in is a learning experience, and even though gains can suck and bruise my moral, I always turn it into a teachable experience.

Can you tell I gained this week?

Not by much though. I am not even sweating it. Take a look.
Yea. I am up 0.2 this week. I think this is so insignificant I didn't even bother to cry on the scale. Maybe if I had shaved my legs this morning......
No biggie. This week's meeting discussion was the last in a 4 week series to encourage members to EAT VEGGIES! And I always talk about this but I am pretty laid back about actually doing it. I have a tendency to stick to my broccoli and I am no good at salads.

During the meeting I finally tried the Clif Z Bar that Nessie suggested. I had the chocolate chip kind. THANK YOU NESSIE! It was different from the regular Clif Bars. The Z Bar was more oatmeal-ly and softer to chew. It was great. And it was only 2 pts! I'll eat that.

After the meeting (which made me determined to eat even more veggies) I drove around Koreatown trying to find some lunch. I originally wanted sushi, but then I saw this place called the TofuHouse and I was curious. So I went. I didn't have my camera on me so I had to use my cellphone to capture the pic. I had to head to work so I ate lunch in my car (which is against my morals in general, but whatever)

Lunch
Tofu Salad!
Fried Tofu
Huge Salad
Ginger dressing
1 cup white rice (not pictured)
13.5 pts (rough estimation)
Ahh. This salad was toooo gooood! Why can't I make a salad like that? Due to my inability to communicate effectively with the lady who took my order, I didnt know that the tofu would be fried. But it was delicious and definitely worth the points. I loved it. Because of this salad I went to the supermarket after work because I am determined to recreate this salad later on this week. I'll be able to better control the points and plus I want to have a food experiment. Stay tuned for what happens with that!

Grocery Stuff
I was in a good mood (grocery shopping does that to me) and I dared to pick up some Clif Z bars. (gasp). You see, these things normally cannot be kept in my house. I live in a studio apartment. At any given moment I am (at most!) 15 feet from my kitchen. So I *only* bought three.

Snack
yogurt
1/2 blueberries
1/4 cup raspberries
ANOTHER Z bar
4.5 pts

Dinner
Chicken Burger on a Sandwich thin bun
apple
cucumber
8 pts
Here's a closer look.
Those little bits in the burger look weird.
Don't fret its just seasoning stuff.
Great Burger.


Oh! I ate quite a bit today. Look how many veggies and fruits I ate! Go me!
Oh and I exercised today. Walk/Jog on treadmill for an hour.
Total for the day: 28 pts
Weekly Bonus Points Used: 6 pts

Bonus Points remaining for the week: 29 pts

Oh I didn't blog yesterday's food. Pretty boring: 2 clif bars (i know i know. I promise no more huge clif bars.), Subway roast beef sub, baked lays sour cream and onion chips, scrambled egg whites, english muffin, weight watchers cream cheese, blue berries (I had breakfast for dinner) = 23 pts. And I did the treadmill for an hour.

Thanks for reading this Long Post!
xoxo
dee.