Confession Time

First off, I apologize to Team Angie. I have done far from my best the past 3 weeks. I also apologize that you are about to read a bunch of excuses as to why I overate and lazed around. I just feel that I need to vent & wallow in self-pity for just a little bit

Here is a brief summary of a few of my “issues”

1) My house fell apart. My furnace died ($3200 for a “mid”-efficiency furnace – not even the energy efficient kind). The same week, my fuse panel started blowing fuses. Apparently, I have a “corroded bus bar”. At the advise of the electrician (and my dad), I am replacing the fuse box with a breaker box ($1400). Thankfully, it was bonus payout week so I had a bit of financial help – the rest is going on the good ol’ Mastercard. The new furnace came with a new, smaller thermostat which means I need to dig out some paint and do a touch-up job.

2) I need my microwave. One of the fuses that blew is for the microwave. I cannot eat well without it. Ridiculous, I know. I try, but even my veggies are usually the frozen streamer bags. I’ve cooked a bit with the oven, but reheating leftovers (which always exist when you are cooking for 1), is a pain in the big oven. I do have a toaster oven, but its fuse is also blown. Anyway, this is just a small reason why I’ve eaten more junk food lately. The electrical issues should be fixed within a week (just waiting for city permits).

3) Valentine’s Day. For the first time ever, it depressed me. I think that I was able to survive being single while all my friends got married, but now that they are starting to have kids (my best friend already has 3 and my three next closest friends all had/will have babies in 2009). I hate that they are moving on in life without me. As much as I can be, I’m included in things, but realistically, I’m going to be left out. I don’t know why I can’t meet somebody. I think that I’m kind and funny. I wish it wasn’t so, but I think it’s all about looks (weight). My coworker convinced me to try eharmony, but I thought in fairness, I should post a pic. I posted what I thought was a flattering pic, but I’ve have NO responses. Seriously. That has made me feel worse than ever. What if I actually lose the weight and still have no takers? Not to mention that fact I’m almost 32! I actually found myself thinking I should just eat what I want (we’re talking Mickey D’s and cookies and chocolates galore)

4) I hurt my knee. I was carefully supervised by my trainer will doing lunges and holding weights. It was the first time I held weights while lunging. I’ve been lucky at my weight (220) to never have had knee issues. I knew something was wrong and that was it. I couldn’t lunge, squat or go down stairs for 4 days. I was so paranoid that I would make things worse – I haven’t been back to the gym. I can squat now though so hopefully it’s repaired itself. We’ll see…

Anyway, I just wanted to get that off my chest. I packed good meals for the day (even without the microwave) and I have my trainer this afternoon. I downloaded new podcasts and music onto my ipod so that should keep me motivated for the week. I weighed more this morning than I did Saturday so I’m hoping to just lose what I’ve gained this week. Thanks for listening.

I survived a buffet (more or less)

Hi again,

Today was super busy, but pretty fun. Here's the recap...


Breakfast:

2 slices Bodywise bread (love the stuff - 90 cals for two pieces!)

1T Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter

1 Banana























Then I went for an hour long, fast paced walk. I listened to Jillian Michael's radio show podcast - time flew. I always thought I was a Bob girl, but maybe not...


Snack:

Pear

Cheese





Off to the hairdressers to get my hair coloured and blowed out.

Lunch:
Bagelful and chocolate milk -- I had about 6 minutes.



Okay -- so now it's time to get ready for the party. I went to my friends house and we got all the stuff wedding for her "wedding reception" at the Mandarin. I didn't have the soup I planned on having. I stuck manly with shrimp and veggies (I didn't eat that bean salad because I saw the pool of oil leaking out of it). I had two plates.



And of course...




Now, I think I survived that okay. Going home everyone got little loot bags that included these cookies. I know they were 180 cals each! I don't know what happened, but I ate two :-(

Weigh in day

Last week: 218.9
Today: 217.4

Not bad! I've worked hard this week (although, as usual, not as hard as I could have).

Sorry I haven't posted. It's been a rough week outside blog-world. Work has been extra busy, I've had a few after-work social things and my good friend is going through a major personal struggle I can't find a solution for.

Today I am going to get my hair done. It will take 3-4 hours for a colour, trim and blow-out. I have a slot of hair. Tonight I have a friend's "wedding celebration". My best friend's lil sis actually. She was actually married a year and a half ago and she was hiding a pregnancy and it was a quick wedding without a lot of her friends. I guess that's irritated her so she's rented a room at the Mandarin for her friends. It's awkward because she didn't invite her sister (my friend), but did invite her other sister and sis-in-law.

I'm hoping it goes ok. She wants everyone in formal wear which I think is awkward for the friggin' Mandarin. My only dressy skirt is a bit big, but I wasn't about to buy a new outfit.

Anyway, buffets are hard. My plan is to have brothy soup, peel and eat shrimp, raw veggies from the salad bar and maybe a chocolate covered strawberry (or two). I will eat a LOT of shrimp.

Anyway.... I tool a ton of pics that didn't get posted this week, but none yesterday :(

Here is yesterday's quick run down:

Breakfast:
1/4c Egg Creations cheese and chive
1/4 Simply White Egg Whites
1/2 chopped veggies
Dole Fruit cup

Lunch: Red Lobster - Broiled Sole, Broccoli and 1 cheese biscuit. I only had broc as a side knowing I love the biscuits. My fave Rad Lobster meal is coconut shrimp (the worst thing on the menu), but I wasn't tempted!

Snack: Kit Kat Senses. I got a coupon for a free one from Shopper's Drug Mart. It was 170 cals and pretty yummy. Lunch didn't keep me full so I really enjoyed this.

Dinner: Subway - Grilled chicken on wheat with lettuce, cucumber and fat-free honey mustard

Dessert/Snack: 4 little Laura Secord Chocolate Bars (for 200 calories).

So kind of a mixed day, no exercise, but I was on track with calories and had a good amount of protein and veg. Too much chocolate, but what can you do?

Now I'm off to try and get at least an hour walk in. It's decent outside and I'm listening to great podcasts on the ipod.

Accountable Monday

Hi all,



Quick post tonight as my eyes are tearing - I'm so tired. Here's a rundown of today:



Breakfast: Chocolate Peanut Butter Oatmeal

















Snack & Lunch: Photo'd together as I was on the ball last night.

Chicken Breast on Body Wise bread with a little mustard. Not bad, but it fell apart.

Activia Yogurt

Pretzels

Reduced Sugar Chocolate Milk (only 100 calories!)


















After Work snack:

Apple Bran muffin

















Pre-workout snack: Lara Bar - Caramel Brownie - freakin' good
















Killer workout. Although I got measured for the first time in 10 weeks and was about the same. Even my weight is the same as early November. I think the trainer was annoyed but in a good way. I also purchased another 20 sessions ($800 plus tax :( )



Dinner:

Chicken Breast and Low fat cheese grilled on Body Wise Bread (I'm loving how low cal it is - although it's so light in flies out of the toaster)

3 Spinach Bites
















Tiny Snack:

I found these little chocolates - 70 calories, but just enough sweetness.

I just realized that this was the first day I photographed EVERYTHING I ate....way to be accountable!

What Super Bowl?

So, along with avoiding all things football, I did some organizing for the week today.

Let's run through the day...
Breakfast: Tuna Melt (I knew I was going out for lunch and didn't was to waste the leftover Tuna
1 slice Body Wise Bread
1/2 can tuna
1/2 T light may
1 ounce light marble cheese















Lunch: Salmon & 4 Tiger Shrimp with roasted veggies and potatoes
I was out at a restaurant and this seems like a safe choice. The shrimp was covered in butter. The veggies didn't taste oily, but I'm sure they were doused. I picked through them and the potatoes -- the salmon (yummy) filled me up any way.

Then I did some shopping. I bought two cute tops at Laura Plus. I never shop there as I find they can be old ladyish and also pricey. I found two things that I really like and they were on sale! I went to Chapters to look for Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred - even though it said they were in stock, they weren't.

I also had to buy a gift for a baby shower next week. Holy Moly was finding stuff from the registry at Sears hard. I settled on something though AND it was on sale so I stayed within my budget.

Dinner: Baked Chicken, Veggie Bites, Carrots and Hummus















These Veggie bites are interesting -- 3 are 150 calories. They were pretty good. The only problem is you are going to be seeing a lot of them - they are refrigerated so I have to use them up.
















Snack: Bran & Apple muffin
I made these with a bran muffin mix using egg white (instead of the whole egg) and half the amount of oil. Then I added 2 apples (for the 6 muffins). They are 180 calories each.


Have a great week!

Another weigh in

Hi all.

Sorry no post yesterday.



I was a little disappointed in the scale (again). I'm 218.9 - down only half a pound. I exercised (either 45 minute walk or hard core at the gym) 7 times. I only did weights twice though so I don't think I built any muscle. I think I have to focus on my carb and sodium intake. Well, my overall junk intake I guess. I did stay under 1800 calories each day to "overeating" isn't the problem.



I did do a heavy grocery shop Friday and have lots a new options. I still will be having a lot of prepared food but I will try to keep things a bit more balanced.

Below is my food from yesterday - sorry the formatting is off. I'm on my way out, so I don't have time to figure out what happened...

Here's one of my god grocery finds:





Breakfast:
Egg Creations Cheese and Chives, chopped veggies (zucchini, peppers), 2 slices of Body Wise Bread and a little ultra low fat Becel. All that food for 200 calories! I was stuffed BUT I didn't really notice how much sodium is in Egg Creations.


Lunch: SmartOnes Santa Fe Rice and Beans

Followed by a marshmallow chocolate heart

Snack: Another sodium-fest. Sour cream and Onion Rice chips (Blue Menu). All these were only 100 calories.

Dinner: Carrots, 2T Hummus, 1 slice Body wise Bread, 1/2 can tuna, 1/2 T of light mayo and 1 ounce of light marble cheese. Oh, and one dill wedge.

Dessert: Cadbury Cream Egg - I forgot to take a pic.

So about 1500 calories. A good amount of protein and not too much fat but still a little too much "junk"

Holy Crazy Day!!

Would you ever think it was possible to have a car totalled and stolen in the same day?

That's what happened to my s-i-l today. She slipped off the road into a ditch on her way to work this morning. No damage to the car, but she needed to get towed out. The cops came by and since there was a long wait for a tow, they took her to the station. A short while later, they came up to her and said, "we have to talk".

It seems a tractor trailed jack knifed and plowed into her car - destroying it.

While she was filling out the claim, her roadside assistance company reported that a "rogue" tow truck driver took her car. Apparently this happened in stormy weather and then they basically keep the car hostage until you pay their huge fee. The cops, who she was now chummy with, said they could treat it as stolen.

Craziness.

I'm having my own issues today -- came home from work and the house was 14 degrees. I shut the furnace off and on again (rebooting it?), and it re-heated the house, but it's getting cold again. The furnace is crazy old, but I'm hoping I don't need to replace it. Any idea how much a furnace costs? I don't have clue.

Food was a little crappy today but I went grocery shopping and got excellent, healthy stuff. I will be taking lots of good food pics this week.

Weighing in in the morning - will post then!

It's been that kind of week

Hi all,

Quick update. No pics as, well, it's been that kind of week. Work has been crazy the past two days. I have worked out every day but yesterday (crazy snow storm). Today I had my trainer and did about 1000 squats.
Today's food:
B: Oatmeal
L: Slimfast bar
S: 100 calorie chocolate bar - trust me, I needed it
S: Clif Trail Mix bar
D: multigrain, flax bagel with peanut butter and banana

That's it.
Looking forward to the weekend!

Recycle

So… there seems to be a war brewing between my neighbour and recycling man. It my city, every week we have blue box recycling picked up and green bin compost picked up (garbage is every other week).


Every week after pick-up, my compost bin is stacked neatly inside the blue bin. My neighbour's bin and boxes always seem tossed about. I never thought too much of it until last week when I went to pull into my driveway after work & it was littered with stuff. Shoes! Magazines! Laundry Soap bottles! It seemed like my neighbours recycle bins had been tossed. I cleaned up and put everything back on their driveway.


Last night, when I put my boxes out, I glanced at my neighbours boxes. They're blue bins were understandable overflowing and they added two cardboard boxes this week. Right on top was a sewing kit. It looked like it was from the 60s or 70s - my mom has a similar one. Needless to saw, it didn't look recyclable.


Cut to this morning...I left my house as the recycling guy was coming by. I said "Good Morning" as he neatly stacked my empty bins. I was scrapping ice off the car as I heard him curse, kick my neighbours box and wonder aloud, "what's wrong with these people?"


So now I'm wondering -- should I go and explain how recycling should work? Should I casually mention when I see them that the guy seemed angry. Should I sneak my recycling handbook (provided by the city just last month) into their mailbox? It looks like today, they put out all the stuff that was refused last week. I can only imagine what they'll have out there next week!





Moving on...


Yesterday was pretty boring diet wise...oatmeal, chicken + veggies + rice, bagelful, gym + trainer, chili + cheese





Today was good.





Oatmeal for breaky





Lunch was a Blue Menu Chicken Parmesan ( a little watery, but the chicken didn't taste fake like some frozen meals).





Snack was a banana cut up in Activia Strawberry Yogurt





Dinner was leftover chicken, 4 bean rice and corn with a side of leftover broc and carrots. I have confirm I hate cooked carrots and picked through them





Snack was skim milk and a chocolate vitamuffin





Looking forward to Biggest Loser!!

Weekend wrap up

Hi all,

Hope you had a good weekend. Mine was quiet - something I love and hate. I enjoy knowing I have nothing to do, but I hate being reminded that I could potentially spend a lot of weekends alone. My best friend has 3 kids. We were supposed to go to the movies Saturday, but she disappeared. She never called. She's never been the most reliable person, but it irritates me none the less. She normally calls 2-3 times a day, so I know she just didn't call today because she ditched me yesterday. When she calls tomorrow, she'll blame the kids and say I'll understand one day. She was the first of my friends to have kids. The second in my close circle had her first in December and two others are expecting.

Anyway, I didn't mean to go off on that tangent...

After yesterday's weigh-in, I had a quick breakfast and headed to the gym. I ended up doing 45 minutes on the elliptical. I was pretty happy with myself. Of course, I was starved when I got home.

I have a newly stocked freezer of Lean Cuisines & Smart Ones (gotta love when they are on sale for $1.99!), so I had a Smart Ones Tuna Noodle thing. It was pretty good. I also had an Easter Egg - couldn't resist :-)

As boredom set in, I knew I'd be in snack trouble, so I went for a 45 minute walk. I've been listening to Oprah's webcasts from her Best Life Week on my IPOD and the walk flew by. When I came home, I had a snack.

Dinner was Cajun spiced grilled chicken breast and some Green Giant Cheddar Pasta and Veggies. Yummy and filling.

I did have a few snacks -- I need to commit to photographing snacks as I tend to go overboard. That said, I ended up around 1800 calories. Not bad considering the bonus walk.

Sunday

Today started out slow. My mother calls Sunday mornings and if I don't answer she assumes I'm dead. So while I waited for her to call, I had a Bagelful.

After the call, I went to the gym and burned 500 calories on the Elliptical. I came home, cleaned a bit and made lunch.

Canned Veggie Chile with some grated cheese and a multigrain bagel.



Now, I must say, there is a lot of math involved in dieting. Not just calories in and out, but deciphering nutritional info. The can had 425 grams, but a serving was 247 grams. This is what I went through to try and figure out the calories in half the can.

I went for another walk in the afternoon (trying to repeat yesterday's success and then made a decent dinner. Grilled Chicken (I always do a few breasts at a time, so this was "leftover" from yesterday), Simply Steam Broccoli and Carrots and Knorrs Sides with Veggies (supposedly there is a serving of veggies - broccoli and spinach - in here). All in all good, but a tad high in sodium.

I had some cookies I shouldn't have for dessert and ended up with another 1800 calorie day. I've now banished myself to my bedroom to avoid the kitchen.

Good night!

Weigh in day

Current Weight: 219.4
Loss this week: 0.8

So...0.8. Kind of pitiful, but at least it's a loss.

I haven't blogged in a couple days as I've been super busy. I think I made some good choices though.

Thursday night my friends and I took our Mom's out on the town. They hadn't seen each other in a long time. We went to The Red Tomato downtown. I had the Sole and fries. Very few fries. Actually, I didn't know they would be fries - the lingo on the menu was a little tricky. All the other dished seemed creamy or cheesy. I didn't want to ask for anything special as we were on schedule -- we went to see a musical.

Yesterday was also crazy. I was exhausted in the morning (not used to late night weeknights). Breakfast was Chocolate Peanut Butter oatmeal. I forgot my lunch and had no chance for snack. At about one, I walked (just 10 minutes) over to Harvey's. I had the grilled chicken sandwich with mustard, pickles and lettuce. It seemed like a decent choice at 340 calories.

I got home at 5. I walked (20 minutes each way) to the grocery store. I was friggin' cold. I got some Lean Cuisines & Smart Ones frozen dinners (on sale for $1.99) and some Low Fat Superfries. I bought more than I though considering I had to walk home (in the friggin' cold) with it all.

Dinner was carb-o-licious
Seafood stuffed Haddock
Corn
Low fat fries


I was cold later so I had some low fat hot cocoa and an After Eight straw (which you can see melting in here).




Anyway - I'm going to bum up the exercise this week and hopefully I can lose closer to 2 pounds next week.

Have a good one!

Miscellaneous musings

1) Sometimes those smushed up letters that you need to decipher to leave a comment on a blog are hard to read

2) My neighbours didn't recognize me when I said hello while passing them on a street. They're strange

3) I had a bad work day and a bad food day - coincidence?

4) I'm excited for Lost tonight - it will be the first time I watch it live. I've watched the past 4 seasons on DVD over the past few months

5) When I look at my blog, sometimes the first part I can't see until I scroll down then up again. I realize that previous sentence makes little sense.

6) "Smushed" doesn't pass spell check

A great day on one hand...

Hi,

So like many people, I spent a good chunk of time today watching Obama. I've grown up in a very political household. My dad and brother especially are into all things political. It was strange late this morning when around my office I suddenly heard people logging on to watch the live streaming of the festivities. Pretty amazing how a bunch of Canadians are touched by the magnitude of what Obama represents.

The day started with a modification of my usual oatmeal. I took only 1/4 cup of oats, almost 1/2 water, 1/2 a banana, 1 tbsp of light hot chocolate mix and 1 tbsp of chopped walnuts and cooked them up. It was filling even though it was half of the amount of oats I normally have.

Snack was a cheesestring.

Lunch: Oy...I wanted to go home (partly to watch the inauguration). I should have planned better. I ended up dipping into my "emergency stash" at work and had a Peanut Butter Crunch Clif Bar.

When I finally mad it home around 3 I was starving. I had a fat free pudding cup (Butterscotch) with the other half of my banana from breakfast. This morning I cut it into thin slices and put them on a tray (single layer), covered them with wax paper and froze them. So good mixed in with the pudding.

At 5, I had an early dinner -- I needed fuel for my workout. I fried an egg in a non-stick pan, toasted a multi-grain bagel and added some low fat cheese. It was yummy (even though a very angry customer called partway through my enjoying it).

My workout was intense. Twenty minutes on the Elliptical then 30 minutes of hell with the trainer. My legs are going to be sore tomorrow.

When I came home I had a decent snack. An apple (Fugi -- it went brown as I was cutting it which was a little annoying), another cheesestring (I wanted a little protein and these expire today) and some Preaventia cookies.
Has anyone tried these cookies? They are dark chocolate and oats with prebiotics and red wine extract. So good -- although they are 150 calories for 8 little hearts.

I should have stopped there. I was right at my limit (1550 calories). It was only 8 though and I knew I'd get in trouble. I didn't take photos, but I did eat about 370 calories more of junk (read: dark chocolate). I'm glad I stayed under 2000. I think I do need more on workout days, but I should have planned better. Oh well...tomorrow s a new day.

Who doesn't love Mondays?

So I looked like I was moving out of my house this morning. I was lugging my large purse, laptop bag, gym bag and lunch bag.

The work day was ok. I'm a senior project manager and some of the regular project managers hate being assigned to my projects (they handle smaller projects on their own and feel they could do my stuff too). Anyway, one PM that has the biggest issue with my team (the "seniors" have a different reporting structure"), is filling in for somebody on one of my projects for 6 weeks! oh well.

I planned on going to the gym right after work. I thought about not going. I even sat in the parking lot contemplating not going in. My gym is in a grocery store and I walked around it for a while before going up. I did it though. 30 minutes/400 calories on the Elliptical. I would have done more but it was crazy busy and people wanted the machine. I have my trainer tomorrow.

Food for the day:

Breakfast:
Bagel with Chocolate Peanut Butter and 1/2 a banana:




Snack:
Activia yogurt and 1/2 banana

Lunch:
Veggie Lasagna

Snack:
Cheesestring and 100 calorie granola bar

Dinner:
Mixed greens with broccoli and a touch of Onion and Red Pepper Dressing


Leftover Couscous with chicken and roasted veggies (originally they weren't mixed, but they got shaken in the container so I went with it)


Snack:
Cookies and Strawberry tea

Total calorie intake: 1600

the return of the microwave

Perhaps the main reason it is good to live so close to my parents is there is somebody to do the household tasks that freak me out.

Last week, I blew the fuse for the microwave and have been microwave-free. So, I invited my parents for dinner and asked my dad to change the fuse. And heck, while he was down there, I asked him to change the furnace filter too.

I made them my standard veggie lasagna. I think I'm getting sick of this, so I'll have the leftover piece for lunch tomorrow and that will be it for a while.

Today I started off with a breakfast I haven't had in a while.
Two Omega 3 eggs (140 cals)
1 cheese string (have stirred into the egg) (60 cals)
1 multigrain flax bagel with 2 tsp of becel super lowfat margarine (170 + 25 cals)
Some low-sugar ketchup



It was surprising lowcal. I have to admit that between breakfast and dinner, I grazed, but I did stay within my calorie goal.

Anyway, I 'm hoping the snow clears up over night. We got a bunch more today, but I really want to go into the office tomorrow.

Non diet/exercise goals for the week (I'm thinking if I write them, maybe I'll do them):
- Arrange for upholsery cleaning - my couches are starting to look blah
- Oil change
- Take clothes to Goodwill

I'm alive!!!

Hi All,

I'm alive! Seriously. I just had the craziest drive home in the snow. I can't believe how much snow is out there.

Today was good...I think.

I made my chocolate peanut butter oatmeal for breakfast. It's not a pretty picture, but filling and yummy.




Mid-morning I went for another crazy walk in the cold. I've downloaded some health/fitness/diet webcasts and podcasts and listen to them on my Ipod. I listened to Oprah and Dr. Oz for the 45 minutes I was out today.

When I got back, a friend called to confirm tonight's plans. The restaurant ideas that were being tossed out were not the healthiest (although I flat out refused to go to a buffet). As a result, I kept lunch light.

I had Activia Strawberry Yogurt with Walnuts & some fresh fruit.



We went shopping in the afternoon. I bought furnace filters, garbage bags and fuses. Exciting.

We ended up at Casey's Bar and Grill for dinner (the first place had an hour long wait which we were up for). I had the Moroccan Chicken with Couscous and Zuchinni w/ roasted red pepper.

The chicken was a grilled, skinless breast. Dry, no sauce with a teeny bit of dried apricots and almonds on top. The couscous was dry and not that flavourful. The veggies were good -- not oily at all. I forgot my camera (although my friend would have laughed if I took a pic). I think the whole meal was 720 calories based on the website. It said "a la carte" -- I assuming they mean with the side dishes included on the menu as the chicken alone was obviously about 200 calories. Anyway I ate half.

The my friend and I went to her house, put her kids to bed and watched "Man of Honor". I saw it in the theatre, but still thought it was cute. I at a 220 chocolate frozen dessert thing. It was good and I'm glad I ate it. I definitely had calories left.

Anyway, I have leftovers which is always a good thing. I think I'll keep them for Monday as I have stuff going on tomorrow.

Good night!