Burn, Baby, Burn....

I imagine this is what I must look like at the gym when I am torching calories.....LOL

Good morning! Happy Saturday!

I don't know about you, but I'm beginning to feel spoiled. We've had  quite a few consecutive days of beautiful sunshine and my motivation to work out and be outside has sharply increased, even when last evening, the gnats residing around the town square tried their best to have me for dinner. All I was trying to do was get in an extra walk so that I could make my exercise goal for the week.....why they gotta mess with me like that?

Gnats be damned, yesterday was excellent as far as exercise was concerned. I had a session with my trainer (focus was on legs - ouch), then did 35 mins of the elliptical and then in the evening, the hubs, furry babies and I went for the afore mentioned gnat infested walk. However,  the BEST part of the day was when my husband surprised me with my very own Polar HRM AND a new odometer for my bike! See, wishes do come true! My husband is an amazing guy and so supportive when it comes to this weight loss thing. Doing it together and having a partner who supports your goals is tremendously important and his dedication to his own weight loss has been nothing less than inspiring.

So, cutting to the chase - my calorie burns looks like this from yesterday:

First the session with my trainer which was 30 minutes - by Calorie Count's calculations, I should have burned approximately 206 calories.

Then I hopped on the elliptical for 35 minutes....

Yep - 412 calories - POOF!

After the elliptical, I did another 15 mins of nautilus working the shoulders, biceps and triceps.Not sure what the burn is for that????? Maybe 100 cals??? Maybe less? I dunno! (I didn't have the HRM at the time I was at the gym yesterday).

And later that evening, we walked for just under 35 minutes.....

We only walked just under 35 mins because I was literally being eaten alive....

We even went to Outback Steakhouse for dinner (I had a $50 gift certificate) and did well (and kept within my caloric budget). Granted, we probably stood out like sore thumbs because after all - who on God's green Earth goes to Outback STEAKhouse and orders salmon and Mahi Mahi  with steamed veggies, sauce on the side, no bread and NO bloomin' onion? Uh, Dieters,  that's who.

Knowing we have a wedding to go to today, I knew I had to get the exercise in early today, since I need to have my goal met by tomorrow. So, this morning we walked another hour and 10 mins:

I'm loving this Polar HRM - it's so empowering!

As of Wed, I had logged 3 hours and 41 minutes of exercise. Thursday I cleaned my house for several hours, and although I know it counts kind of as exercise, I'm not really going to count it "officially." Yes, I was sweating and running up and down stairs and bending over to clean and scrub, but I didn't really track my time so I'm sticking with counting "traditional" exercise for my goal totals this week, so Thurs was unfortunately a wash for that...

Yesterday, I tacked on another hour and 55 minutes combined, and today another hour and 10 minutes.


Total so far this week: 6 hours and 46 minutes!

All I need to do is shake my moneymaker tonight at the wedding for 15 minutes and I will have met my challenge goal this week!!!!  I don't foresee that being a problem at all!

I have to say that the pressure to succeed is great, being the one that has coordinated the SSSD challenge. I really feel a responsibility not just to myself, but to all of you!

Hope you are all having a great start to the weekend and I will catch you back here tomorrow for check in time. I should have the linky up in the AM sometime, but I do plan on sleeping in a little - so it won't be the ass-crack of Dawn, I can assure you!

Until tomorrow!

When the cat's away, the mouse drinks coconut rum apparently.

Not cheering so much when I got on the scale this morning...that much I can tell you.

Looks like we are being gifted with another incredible weather day again....unfortunately I have a ton of indoor duties I have to jump on but hopefully today will be the day I get on my bike and ride until my hindquarters scream for mercy. I used to have a odometer on my bike that told me my distance and speed but every time we drove to the beach with our bikes on the back of the car,  we'd arrive with bike still intact but the odometer long gone, no doubt crushed into tiny bits along the turnpike or some other beach-bound highway. I'd like to get another one, simply because I have become interested in the numbers game (doesn't every weight-loss hopeful fixate on numbers at one point or another, be it calories, distance, measurements - you name it?)....I'm starting to like the idea of setting a goal and then seeing if I can beat it. But I need a baseline, and that's where the odometer comes in handy.

Anyway, enough about the bike. I've come here to confess today because I'm feeling pretty guilty about some food and drink choices I made late yesterday afternoon and I figure if I can purge my feelings about it here this morning, I can start my day with a clean slate and move the hell ON. One thing about dieting that I have learned over time is that yesterday's indulgences can't be undone - so there isn't any sense in berating myself for extended period of time simply because I had waaaaaaaaaaaaay too much cheese over waaaaaaaay too many tortilla chips and washed it down with waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too much coconut rum and diet coke and called it dinner.

The hubs is away on a short business trip and I took advantage of a little me-alone time outside on the patio and enjoyed the summery day just a tad too much. I would have never done that if he was here because if he had been here, we would have had a healthy dinner together. And since he is not a drinker, I would not have been inclined to imbibe those lovely summer-in-a-glass libations. Thank GOD Josh doesn't travel often or I am beginning to think I'd be a 500 lb. alcoholic. Ok, Ok, not really but seriously, there was no excuse for me to toss all my marbles to the wind and eat and drink what I did. What's worse is, the scale had made me very, very happy that morning, and this is how I repay it? Stupido, stupido, stupido...

BUT, since I can't undo the day, I'm confessing here and then leaving that shit behind me. I've got my eating actually planned out for today which should safely keep me from going off the rails on a crazy train and Josh will be home tonight to make sure I stay focused,  thankfully.  Oh, and just so you know, I am still tracking! I think despite it's "boring-read" factor, I will try to once again post my food tracking here because I know that if others are reading, I won't want to list the bad stuff. I realize that this week since I didn't have to post my food tracking, I had TWO bad days. I think there has to be something said for accountability there...if I am going "public" with my food choices, I tend to make better choices. Hmmm....
I'm no rocket scientist, but I don't think you need to be one to realize what's up here.....(and it ain't just the number on the scale this morning, people). (Sodium,  you suck).

So, you don't need to read my food log (I'll put it at the end of my posts starting tomorrow), but I will be posting it again just for the sake of my own waistline. Fair enough?

Ok,  that's about it. I feel better for having revealed my f-up and feel so much better about getting my head in the right place today. I do think the old adage "the devil finds work for idle hands" is so true - and it surely was for me yesterday.....if I had kept busy instead of lazying around reading my latest Jennifer Lancaster novel, I wouldn't have had time for my tortilla and rum love affair to occur. Luckily for me, I have PLENTY to keep me busy today (since yesterday NONE of my to-do's got checked off my list).....it should be a successful day, all around.

What about you? What do you have going on today that will lead you not into temptation?

Feeling Sunsational!

Nice of this elusive guy to make an appearance today!

Miracle of miracles - the sun is shining!!!!!
I never thought I'd see it again! But the clouds have parted,  the rain has moved out to the Atlantic and it's quite possibly one of the most glorious days we've had all season. Nice breeze, birds singing, warm sun....just AAAAAHHHHHHHH.......

After yesterday's soak-fest, it's a welcome sight and it had me super motivated to start the day off right - which means I hauled my ass out of bed at 6:30 to walk with my husband and the dogs this morning - no whining, no hesitating, no kvetching of any kind. Just bounced right out of bed and popped my contacts in and put on a baseball cap to hide the bed head and off we went on a 3.1 mile trek about town. It took us an hour and 15 mins (roughly a 24 minute mile) because you know when you're walking with dogs there's a lot of sniffing and peeing and pooping and general lollygagging - but I'm not complaining because A) it was fun, B) I made my hour of exercise goal for the day BEFORE 8:00 AM and C) I burned 387 calories. Not freaking bad.

I'll most likely do some free weight/floor exercises here at home later to up the ante a bit but in terms of meeting this weeks goal I am now up to 3 hours and 41 mins...I have about the same amount to meet my goal this week which should be no problem. In fact,  I am hoping to beat my 7 hour goal with a little luck and a lot of hustle.

Since this week's challenge is all about moving our butts more, I thought I'd share an article that was on SparkPeople this morning. This article touched upon a few things, for me, that I know I have been guilty of in the past and if you get a minute to read it,  you may see a little of yourself in it too.....
Here is the link:

http://www.sparkpeople.com/resource/fitness_articles.asp?id=1209

I don't know about you all, but in the past I personally have really been lax about "pushing myself" when it came to exercise. Even now, it takes a lot of inner monologue to get me to push past my comfort zone when I am at the gym. I can make excuses like you wouldn't believe. Things like, "I have a bad wedgie - I better get off the elliptical so I can pick it" or "It feels like there is a stone in my shoe, I have to stop walking" or "my bra is chafing me" or "it's drizzling, and apparently I melt in the rain"....you know - total BULLSHIT.

I wish exercise was easy and I wanted to do it all of the time. The reality is it's not, and I don't. If it was easy and always enjoyable, I wouldn't be 100 pounds overweight. Am I right? The article also talks about sabotaging your efforts when you allow your self extra food or treats simply because you worked out. Doesn't that defeat the purpose? I can see once in a while, but I used to be of the warped mindset that justified dessert each night because I burned some calories during the day....I mean where's the logic in that? No wonder the scale was frozen in place for so long. The long and short of it is that you have to give up in order to get.....I finally understand that now. I guess with age really does come wisdom. Ha! An upside to turning 40!

In other news, Debbi at Debbi Does Dinner sent me info to do the linky so that it will be easy to keep track of who has their challenge posts up on Sunday. I will let the link open for two days so people that don't get to it on Sunday have an extra day or two to share their results. Fingers crossed the link thing will work on Sunday....stay tuned!

That's about it for now....I have a house that is begging to be dusted and vacuumed. Joy of all joys! Ha - NOT.

Have a good day everyone. I hope the sun is shining where ever you are!

That fat isn't going to melt itself, ya know...

Big surprise - it's raining here again. I'm talking hours and hours of a steady downpour. Hibernation-mode weather, if you know what I mean. Last time I checked, I wasn't a duck, so no - I'm not really digging this wet crap that Mother Nature has been concocting on the east coast as of late. It does a number on my motivation to workout like you wouldn't believe which is NOT GOOD considering the challenge for this week is to get in at least 6 hours of exercise. How bad would it look if the creator of the SSSDC failed at her own challenge? Never mind, I'll answer that. It would be horrendously bad.

THANKFULLY, I didn't let the ice-cream loving, cellulite-rippled, lazy devil that resides on my shoulder talk me into being a couch potato today. I donned the old sneaks and hit the gym today to get my sweat on, proper. I knew I had to go, no matter what my motivation level, because yesterday was a complete bust eating-wise and exercise-wise. Yes, I'm still faithfully tracking my eats and drinks, but the foods/beverages on my calorie count page yesterday was akin to the lifestyle enjoyed by the "old Rochelle"....it was a complete carb-fest that involved a litany of profane words such as "bagel", "cream cheese", "soft pretzel", "quesadilla" and "beer".  All told I was nearly 800 calories over my recommended 1270 that I have been diligently trying to stick to. Talk about self-sabotage. Jesus!

So, you see,  getting to the gym really wasn't even a QUESTION today. It was a MUST. And because I aimed for 7 hours of exercise this week, I knew I had to bust a move today, come hell or high water. (And if it doesn't stop raining soon, that high water will definitely become a reality - and yes, it will be hell). Today was SUPPOSED to be my swimming day, but since that didn't happen, the elliptical trainer and "dreadmill" were my go-to calorie burners for the day, followed up by some nautilus machines for a quick upper body workout.

I have been incredibly inspired by Shannon over at Mama Shan who has been working out like Wonder Woman on speed lately and she takes pictures of the equipment she works out on to track time/calories. I think this is so cool because I often forget what the machine says I burned by the time I get home (they say the memory is the first thing to go - Ha!) and this is a great way to remember AND to keep accountable on here to show I actually made the effort to get my ample arse to the gym! I do want to get a heart rate monitor, especially now that I bought one for my husband for his b-day and he is addicted to it....seeing the calorie burn is highly motivating and he is hooked! I want the same feeling - I honestly have no clue what I burn while doing the free weights and nautilus machines so I think it's a worthy investment. I bought Josh (my hubs) the Polar F4 which is probably what I will get for myself.  Do any of you use a heart rate monitor to gauge your calorie frying?

Anyhoo - so,  in the spirit of biting off of Shannon's gym pic idea (thanks, Shan!!!),  my workouts today looked like this:

The elliptical machine (30 mins)  - Goodbye 343 calories - consider yourselves sizzle-fried!

And this:

The old Dreadmill - this one shows time (30 mins) - I even sprinted for a minute here and there!!!

Dreadmill calorie burn - 197.5 (hey, I'll take it!)

I also spent 15 minutes doing Nautilus machines - working on biceps, triceps, back and shoulders.
I plugged that into calorie count and it only allotted me 77 calories burned for that. Not sure if it is accurate or not, but without the HRM, I have no idea, so I have to just roll with it. So, all told, 517.5 calories torched today, even though I wanted to do nothing at all. I think this challenge is inspiring more than I ever thought it would.

So with my walk on Sunday and the gym today, I am at 2 hours and 26 minute of exercise for the week. It's not anything to write home about but I know I will kick some exercise ass over the next few days, plus I have my session with my trainer on Friday. I'm a little nervous because Josh and I have a wedding on Saturday and I don't want to be a crippled mess that can't move (usually the situation the day after I am trainer-abused at the gym).....we'll just have to wait and see!

Hope you all are blazing calories like it's your job this week....mainly because IT IS YOUR JOB THIS WEEK!!! Good luck to all - I'm checking in as I can with everyone! And I am working on trying to get a link for this week - so stay tuned!

Week 1 Summary of Summer Sizzle Slim Down Challenge & Details for Week 2

Don't let this be you! Get that butt moving this week!!!!!

Greetings!
I hope everyone is enjoying their weekend! The weather here hasn't been the best - but this is no new news around here. I am so sick and tired of humidity, rain and general lack of sunshine. Lord knows I could sure use a major dose of Vitamin D, but I think Mother Nature has other plans.

Even if the weather hasn't been exactly ideal, I did get up and walk this morning for an hour and 11 mins (exactly). It feels good to have burned some calories (about 340) before the day really gets underway. I have to admit that my weekly exercise has been sporadic at best, and I missed my appt with my trainer this week due to a schedule conflict, so I am happy that the challenge for this week is dedicated to upping the ante on the sweat-o-meter.

But before I get into the upcoming week's challenge, let me ask....How did you all do with tracking this week?

I must admit for as much as I have hated, despised, deplored, and abhored tracking in the past, I surprised myself by my diligence with keeping track of everything I ate and drank AS WELL AS actually screening the foods that crossed my lips. Meaning, I was definitely more careful of my food choices (for the majority of the week, anyway), even though I did have some small indulgences here and there. I'll post my final three days of food tracking at the end of this post just so you know I have been accountable (but I know it's kind of boring to read - it's mainly for my own purpose). For the most part I stayed right within my daily calorie target - and it was easier than I thought it would be, though by no means would I describe it as EASY.  Best I can tell, before I started this little tracking adventure, I was probably consuming at least double the calories as I did throughout the past 2 weeks (I started tracking a week before the challenge started). The best part is, the scale is rewarding me!

So, my summary of this past week is as follows:
I did GREAT on tracking and it seems to be working.
Starting weight for the SSSDC on 6/3/12 = 232 lbs.
Weight as of 6/8/12 = 229 lbs. (my weigh in day is Friday)
Total lost so far = 3 lbs
I tracked all week, every meal and stayed very close to my daily calorie allotment which is 1270 cals.

NSV for the week was walking through Wegmans and bypassing their triple berry pie (it is the freaking BOMB). I may have walked out the store door with my shirt saturated in drool, but at least I didn't buy the damn thing!

And now - Onto this week's challenge!!! For those needing a reminder of what the challenge is,  see below:

Week 2 - (begin June 10) - "SIX HOURS OF EXERCISE"
I don't care if you are dancing around your house or lifting weights or walking or ice skating. The goal for this week is to simply get moving for at least 6 hours throughout the week. You can break it into smaller increments throughout the day if needed, but try to track your exercise so you can reach that weekly goal. Those of you that have long hours at work, this may be tough but the operative word for this challenge is TRY! Making time when you think there is NO time in the day will be an added challenge, but I have faith we can all do this one!
If you are so inclined, share your stat goals - like that you intend to walk 24 miles or whatever goal you have that will coincide with your 6 hours of exercise. I'll be here to cheer you on!
 
Yes - get that rumpshaker MOVING!!!! Fire up your iPod and torch those thigh muscles!
This will be a real challenge for me since I mentioned I have been a bit of a slacker as of late. But logic tells me that if I can lose 3 lbs this week being sporadic in my exercise, I should be able to do just as well next week IF I move it a bit more. My personal goal is 7 hours of exercise this week, and I plan on fulfilling it by working out at the gym, walking and bike riding - and maybe even some swimming if the weather holds out.

(Oh, and I have also decided I will continue to track my food throughout this challenge.)

SOOOOOOOO......How do you plan on getting in your 6 hours this week? Tell us!!!

I guess you realize I don't have the link set up yet but by next week I promise it will be. Debbi at http://debbidoesdinnerhealthy.blogspot.com/ just e-mailed me the instructions so I will get on it. For now, please let us know via my comments section that your post is up for this week. Don't forget to leave your name and the link to your post so we can stop by to check it out!!!

Good luck to all this week - I know we can do it!
Sending sweaty, fat-melting thoughts your way! LOL...

Rochelle


Below is my food tracking from the remainder of the week:

Thursday 6/7/12 (Total cals = 1154)

Breakfast (total cals - 351):
Coffee w/ cream - 40 cals
2 cups Special K with Red Berries - 220 cals
1 cup skim milk - 91 cals

Lunch (total cals (227)
salad with cucumbers, tomatoes, croutons & dressing - 227 cals
water

Dinner (total cals = 328)
3 oz grilled chicken breast - 187 cals
roasted green beans - 29 cals
roasted cauliflower (trace olive oil) - 112 cals

Snack
Banana w/ 1 tbsp peanut butter - 208 cals


Friday June 8, 2012 - (Total cals - 1298)

Breakfast (total cals - 330)
Coffee with cream - 40 cals
Dunkin Donuts - Egg white veggie flatbread - 290 cals

Lunch (total cals - 290)
Veggie wrap with 2 tbsp lite Asian Sesame dressing - 290 cals
Diet Coke

Snack (total cals - 185)
1 serving Tostito Rounds - 140 cals
 3 servings Newmans Own Pineapple salsa - 45 cals

Dinner (total cals - 335)
Salad with 3 oz grilled chicken breast, grape tomatoes & 1 oz goat cheese - 335 cals
Water

Dessert (total cals - 157)
small slice angel food cake with strawberries & fat free whipped cream - 157 cals


Saturday June 9, 2012 (Total cals = 1108 cals)

Breakfast (total cals - 428)
Coffee with cream - 40 cals
lite english muffin - 90 cals
Stuffed pepper filling (shrimp, cheeses, peppers, onions) - 298

Lunch (0 cals)
None

Snack (total cals - 75)
Apple (75 cals)

Dinner (total cals - 377)
Cob of corn - 90 cals
Wegmans Garbanzo bean & caramelized onion veggie burger - 200 cals
1 tsp lite miracle whip - 19 cals
 roasted green beans - 69 cals

Dessert (total cals - 177)
Mixed berries (raspberries, blueberries, strawberries) - 177 cals

Indulgence (total cals - 126)
White wine - 6 oz - 126 cals

Some good news, some "eh" news, and some new challenge participants

Extra, Extra - Read all about my crappy food choices on Wednesday!

I got up this morning with the full intent of taking a walk with my husband and the dogs but when I got downstairs, all I heard was the echo of my own voice - I was too late - they had already left the house (uh, maybe because I never called down to them that I was awake and wanted to tag along - duh!). I plan on hitting the gym later so it's not the world's biggest tragedy, but I do like the morning air in my lungs and there is something that makes me feel good about taking a walk in the AM. I guess it makes my day feel like it has started off on the right foot, so to speak...Pathetic pun intended.

No worries about missing the walk today, though. I'm sitting here with a steaming cup of joe, catching up with people's blogs. I love to do this in the morning as well. I must admit, catching up with everyone is a bit of a challenge within the Summer Sizzle Challenge itself because there are so many people participating. As a matter of fact, we have three new people that have asked if they could join this week! They are:
Annie at http://annie-shrinkinggirl.blogspot.com/
Cathy at http://wordsworldandwings.blogspot.com/
Kia at a View from Here. (I don't have your blog url so please send it to me).

Please update your lists! I will add them to my blog list at the side of my page.

Because we have such a huge group (and for the sake of not hanging out in front of my computer all day), I think what I may have to do is limit comments to two or three times a week - Sunday and another day or two. BUT, I will check in and read every day if you have a new post! I like to see how everyone is doing! Please know I am always here to root you on. If you feel you need more support, please just ask for it!

Based on what I am reading as I make my blog rounds is that the general consensus among the Summer Sizzle challengers has been that tracking food SUCKS (Come on, admit you have been cursing me up and down this week - LOL) - but the good news is everyone is still doing it and we are more than half way through the week! I have been tracking every morsel, measuring and weighing (it's more exact if I am at home but I still track foods I eat outside of the house too) and for the first couple of days, I did great food-wise (see last post). Tuesday was awesome in the AM, then I skipped lunch and dinner was all kinds of crazy. When I say crazy, I don't mean "whole-pizza in my face" kind of crazy. But I do mean that  I consumed more than my caloric limit allows and I think it was because I let myself get so hungry, I wasn't able to stop at one helping for dinner. Plus dinner was really freaking delicious.

Wednesday would have been Ok except for the sneak attack lunch which included a burger and fries. On some level, it took the pleasure out of these foods knowing I had to  A) write it down on the food log, B) confess to eating it on my blog, and C) suffer the consequence of making such poor food choices. Even though it was good organic beef, and the fries were not greasy (it wasn't fast food), I know there was salt and fat and calories galore, and yeah, I am feeling a little bloaty today. And I'm up half a pound. It could be worse - I realize this. But it does make me more cognizant of the fact that I need to be more diligent about eating well the rest of the week if I want this weight to start disappearing. Call me insane, but I am pretty damn sure eating fries is not going to make that happen.
Pffft.

Anyhoo- so as not to drag the suspense out any longer (ha ha), I give you my eats and drinks for the past 2 days:

Tuesday June 5 (1546 total cals - Meh!)

Breakfast (total 251 cals)
Lite English Muffin - 90 cals
2 egg whites - 32 cals
Fresh broccoli - 12 cals
grape tomatoes - 7 cals
1 slice lorraine swiss - 110 cals

No lunch

Dinner (total 1295 cals)

Shrimp Stuffed Poblano peppers (I tallied entire recipe and divided by 12 peppers)
2 peppers = 400 cals
roasted red pepper sauce - 40 cals
1 cob of corn (corn = 150 g) - 89  cals
salad with lite northern italian dressing (3 tbsp) -  100 cals
1 oz pepper jack cheese - 110 cals
angelfood cake - 72 cals
1 c fresh strawberries - 79 cals
1/4 c fresh blueberries - 21 cals
fat free whipped cream - 25 cals
15 oz white wine (YIKES!!!!) - 349 cals (holy crap - this is totally my downfall)


 Wednesday June 6 (1848 total cals - Ugh!)

Breakfast (311 total cals)
2 c Special K with Berries - 220 cals
1 c skim milk - 91 cals


Lunch (782 total cals)
1/4 pound 95% fat free burger (organic) w/ lettuce, tomato, raw onion - best guess 242 cals
flour tortilla wrap - 180 cals
french fries - best guess 360 cals

Dinner (755 total cals)
Shrimp Stuffed Poblano Pepper - 200 cals
roasted cauliflower, brussel sprouts, carrots & parsnips - 160 cals
Dessert - 1 c chocolate ice cream (yeah, I know after the earlier burger/fries this was DUMB) - 377 cals


There it is - the good,  the bad, and the fattening.....Here's to a better day today!

Food Track Attack

How many of these have you had today???

Hello Sizzle Sisters,
I'm still trying to make the rounds! With so many people on this challenge,  it takes a while to get to everyone so if I haven't commented yet,  please be patient. :-) I'll get there soon... (I can't spend all day at the computer - someone has to cook dinner!)

I hope everyone is doing well with their food tracking thus far....I am going to document my meals for Sunday and Monday at the bottom of this post, but I have to say that this tracking thing, although a ROYAL pain in the ass, is making a difference! I really have to THINK about what I am going to eat instead of just doing mindless eating, which apparently I do quite a bit! I really commend those who track their food religiously because it does take time and work and, well it's just so much easier NOT to do it! This is one of the primary reasons I made it the first part of the challenge. It is a habit I need to start and stay with in order to be successful. When I weighed in this morning (I hop on the scale daily - it's just something I do...), I was down to 229. Granted, I know body weight can radically fluctuate, but I was 235 towards the end of May so I think something is working in my favor.

I'm doing my food/calorie logging through Caloriecount.com and they have given me a caloric amount to try to stick with daily. It's a little over 1200, which is kind of low but so far I have been able to stick with it most days. It's eating out that is difficult because it is hard to calculate calories when you have no idea how things are prepared or even what all of the ingredients are in the recipe. When I know I'm "celebrating" I have tried to make better choices throughout the day prior to going out - but again, I have to credit the food tracking for this because in the past, I never gave a rat's ass what I ate before going out to eat. I definitely feel more in tune with what I am eating, and so far, I have not felt "deprived" - although yesterday as I walked around Fresh Market, I wouldn't have minded had someone pushed my face into one of their delicious looking chocolate cakes. I'm just sayin'...

Today is my husband's birthday and his parents are coming for dinner versus us going out, so at least I know I can calculate calories for the b-day dinner. I'm making a huge tossed salad and the main course will be shrimp, black bean, and pineapple stuffed poblano peppers. I may get some corn on the cob too, to have as a grilled side. There is something about grilling corn that makes it taste so much better than boiling. I love it! And finally for dessert, even though my husband requested just fresh berries, I insisted on an angel food cake at the very least so that I had something to stick a candle into. This kind of birthday cake is a far cry from our indulgences of years past, I can tell you that!

So - here we go for food tracking Sunday and Monday (since week one is all about accountability):

Sunday:

Breakfast
 1 1/2 C Peanut Butter Cheerios - 220 cals
3/4 cup skim milk - 61 cals
Banana - 105 cals
coffee with 2 tbsp cream - 40 cals

Snack
Lite English muffin with spray butter - 90 cals

Lunch
2 small slices french baguette - 82 cals
267 g of French Onion Soup (Home made) - 112 cals
Wegmans Small California Roll Sushi - 200 cals

Dinner
392 g of homemade gazpacho - 123 cals
2 cobs grilled corn with spray butter - 225 cals


 Monday:

Breakfast
Lite english muffin - 90 cals
1 tbsp miracle whip - 20 cals
1 can white albacore chunk tuna - 120 cals
1 slice (1 oz) lorraine swiss cheese  - 110 cals
Coffee w/ 2 tbsp cream - 40 cals

Lunch
6" Turkey Subway sandwich (no cheese) w/ lite mayo - 316 cals
Small bag Baked Lays chips - 130 cals

Dinner
Mixed roasted vegetables (cauliflower, brussel sprouts, parsnips, carrots) misted LIGHTLY with olive oil before roasting - 160 cals
8 oz white wine - 186 cals

 Not too bad, right?
Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm kind of hungry....breakfast calls!