11/30/2010

11/29 - Day 8

My Monday morning wasn't too exciting.  Got up, showered, packed a gym bag, got ready for work...  I'm really struggling with getting 5 servings of fruits/veggies every day.  We had 2 bananas left and I was pretty sure they weren't going to make it another day so I whipped up protein shakes = 347 calories.
I love my kitchen aid blender it only has a few settings but it never gives me any problems.

This is what I saw when I entered my cube on Monday morning.  My poor plant, flat...I have larger peace lily at home so I knew that they flop without water but I was still concerned because the office gets really cold when no one is here & 4 days might have been too much for it.  I dumped 1/2 a bottle of water on it & put it by the window in hopes of resuscitation.
So nervous to tell Joe I killed the plant he gave me...

I had a cup of wolfgang puck creme carmel coffee with 4 sugars because I couldn't find any artificial sweetener in the office = 65 calories. 

I went to a meeting at another location about our 403B plan before lunch so I wasn't able to snack or drink any water.  The meeting was very informative though; I'm going to need to up my contribution percentage & maybe use that T Rowe Price plan to diversify my portfolio (don't I sound fancy??  lol).

It was time for lunch pretty much as soon as we got back.  I'm sure you're thinking I had leftover chinese but I don't like to eat the same things over & over so I had my standard lunch = 282 calories.
Just like clockwork 3pm rolled around and I was hungry.  A lot of the clementines in my box had green spots on them so here is a shot of my clementine (=35 calories) & the article I found saying green spots are totally fine, they just mean the fruit isn't totally ripe yet.
I also had a snack I'm not totally proud of.  One of the ladies in my office made "sex in a bowl" and brought it in for us all to try, it was yummy!  I found a recipe online & used sparkrecipes to figure out the nutrition information.  I only had about a 1/2 cup = 224 calories.
After work I went to group power with Christina & Joanne.  The class went smoothly, I probably could have upped my weight on a few tracks but I was so sore the last few weeks I didn't want to make it any worse.  We managed to finish the class 5 minutes early but the crazy zumba people still came rushing in to take over the room, it's so rude.  I decided next week as soon as the first one of them comes in to the room I'm going to stop cleaning up my equipment and leave it for them since they're in such a rush to get the spot they want.

I was super hungry by the time I got home.  The owner of the restaurant across the street is talking about starting to sell premade uncooked pizza and wanted me to try some out for him.  I let him know I was home and he brought over 2 pizzas, one with flour, one without.  The instructions were to bake them at 325 degrees for 15 minutes then remove them from the tray for another 2 minutes to crisp the crust.  Mike warned me that he used cold water so the dough hadn't risen the way he liked and these may be duds.  I started the first pizza (with flour) and after 15 minutes it looked the same as before I put it in the oven.  I tried to remove it from the tray but it was stuck, I left it for another 5 minutes (no real change except melted cheese) then took it out and put the other (no flour) in for 15 minutes.  Meanwhile I had 3 carmel kisses = 63 calories.  I finally got the first pizza loose from the tray but the dough wasn't really cooked at all.  When I checked on the 2nd one it was cooking better then the first but it was really stuck to the tray.  At this point it had been about an hour since the whole experiment started.  I put both pizzas back in the oven & had some leftover chinese = 320 calories @ 8:45pm.
Here is the final picture of the pizzas.  I pulled them out around 9pm after about 45 minutes in the oven each.  They don't look too bad in the picture.  The one on the left is with flour, you can see how the crust is still white but it was worse on the underside, it was still soft and tore when I tried to take remove a "slice."  The one on the right, without flour, browned up a little more around the edges of the crust but I couldn't get it off the tray so I'm not sure what the underside looked like.  Plus the cheese turned a kind of orange color, weird.
I feel bad because I really wanted to like these but I never even got to try a slice, I guess Mike was right when he said the cold water could ruin them...

Daily wrap up:
1. completed 60 fitness minutes
2. 5 servings of fruits/veggies!
3. 64 ounces of water...check...even if I got it all from noon-4:30
4. Tracking - 2380 calories burned - 1336 calories eaten = total 1044 calories burned
5. I didn't do anything overly relaxing, in fact the pizza debacle was pretty stressful.
6. No weigh in until Friday

11/29/2010

11/27 & 11/28 - Day 6 & 7

I just about had a mild panic attack, I logged in to write my new blog & the computer said it couldn't load the page!  Thankfully I found an alternate way in!  I didn't get time to blog yesterday so you're getting another full weekend post.

Saturday:  After all the excitement of Thanksgiving & Black Friday I was ready for a standard run of the mill day.  My alarm went off at 6:30am as usual & I got ready for work at the restaurant.  I serve breakfast at a cafe by my house on the weekends for spending money.  I really like working there because I get a decent work out on top of the $$.  I usually walk close to 10,000 in the 5-6 hours I'm there, which I figure counts as a work out.
I try to eat before I go in because having all that delcious food around can make my calories sky rocket.  Usually I just make a quick breakfast sandwich = 306 calories.  The owner is always curious about it because I use a sandwich thin, he always wants to "see the bread."
I was concerned about getting my water on the weekends but once I realized our soda cups are 20oz I try to drink at least 2 during my shift.
I worked until about 1pm and was starving when I got home.  Even though I cheated & had 1/4 cup of home fries at the restaurant = 90 calories.  Time for the first round of turkey day leftovers.  I microwaved some turkey, gravy, mashed potato & stuffing.  Then I figured I should add a veggie to the meal.  We have a ton of broccoli in the fridge that Joe picked up at Produce Junction.  I pulled out one of the steamer bags from ziplock that I asked Joe to pick up at the grocery store months ago.  This was the first time I tried them & I love it!  You fill the bag to a certain line with the veggie & microwave for the directed time and voila perfectly cooked broccoli!  Leftover turkday day lunch = 433 calories.  (there's really only a 1/2 cup of mashed potato there, I just mushed it up all flat)
Joe's sister & my dad share a birthday of 12/1 so we have a lot of family dinners between Thanksgiving & Xmas.  We had Janey's birthday dinner this night.  Joe's mom made baked ziti with salad & garlic bread with spinach = 450 calories.  I don't love not being in charge of my own meals (when will everyone learn the world revolves around me & my diet plan?!?!) but I just made sure to take small portions.
We also had birthday cake and ice cream = 409 calories.  Here's Janey with the gifts we got her & her cake. 
That's it for Saturday.  My daily wrap up:
1. I burned 587 calories working at the restaurant for 5+ hours, I usually burn around 500 calories in an hourly workout so I'm counting this as 60 fitness minutes.
2. 4 servings of fruits/veggies
3. 64 ounces of water...check - this goal isn't that difficult, I just always make sure it gets done, even if that means drinking 2 bottles of water while I watch tv in bed.
4. Tracking: 2307 calories burned - 1688 calories eaten = total 619 calories burned
5. I didn't do anything overly relaxing.
6. No weigh in until 12/3.

Sunday: We went to bed pretty early on Saturday night so I woke up without any real issue on Sunday morning & got ready to waitress.  I am really trying to have more fruits/veggies so I made a protein shake.  We use probolic brand.  This morning I used the powder, 1% milk, a banana & ice = 347 calories.  This is my protein shake cup, Joe got it for me at Bed, Bath & Beyond last year.  Things are always better when drank through a straw :-)
We were pretty busy at the restaurant & I ended up working until about 2pm.  I couldn't last as long without any solid food in my system so I had 1 slice of rye toast with butter = 93 calories.  I forgot to take a picture until I was almost done.
After work I was starving!  Joe was trying to get out of work early to watch the eagles game but not early enough for me to wait for him.  I microwaved some more Thanksgiving leftovers & broccoli = 328 calories.
Angela & Rob were looking to escape their house for the evening so we invited them over for Chinese & football.  The boys drank quite a few miller lites (96 calories each) but we stuck to water.  After reviewing the Shanghai House menu for a few minutes I placed the order and we were eating about an hour later.  I ordered Cashew Chicken with white rice & cream cheese wontons = 499 calories.  It was a little spicier then I like but pretty good.  I had enough for 3 servings so I'm sure you'll be seeing more of it.
I'm usually very good at avoiding the candy dishes in our living room but I must have been craving chocolate because I was grabbing carmel kisses on & off all afternoon = 190 calories for 9.
I love my little penguin dish!

Daily wrap up:
1. I burned 733 calories walking while waitressing for 5+ hours, I usually burn around 500 calories in an hourly workout so I'm counting this as 60 fitness minutes.
2. 5 servings of fruits/veggies, that's right I finally got them all!
3. 64 ounces of water...check
4. Tracking: 2351 calories burned - 1457 calories eaten = total 894 calories burned
5. Nothing extremely relaxing today.
6. Not weighing in until 12/3. 

11/27/2010

11/26 - Day 5

Ah black Friday.  Until last year I had never been shopping on the day after Thanksgiving, I never saw the point.  Usually I had to work plus Joe has always told me the best electronics deals are just junk.  It all changed the year I started working for AtlantiCare.  Now, I'm off on black Friday so there's nothing stopping me from shopping at 4am.  We don't go looking for anything in particular, It's all about the experience.  I was the worst food blogger ever & forgot to take pictures of everything I ate all day!  I did take a lot of pictures of our adventures though.

I woke up at 3:15am, brushed my teeth, got dressed and hopped in the car en route to Target.  I talked to Shana on my way and she let me know they were already in line by Old Navy.  Mind you Old Navy is half way across the plaza from Target.  Once the doors opened we were moving quickly.  I found it odd there weren't any carts or baskets available at the door.  We wandered back towards housewares so that Kelli could try to get some $3 appliances & a $99 tv stand.  As we turned the aisle we encountered the missing carts.
I thought it was a pretty ingenious idea; preloading the carts with sale tvs so that no one would hurt themselves tyring to lift/move them.  We spent about 2 hours in the store picking up gifts for ourselves & others.  I got matching pajama pants for Joe & me to wear on xmas; they have penguins on them!  I also picked up 2 belts because my pants are all getting too big!  Here's a shot of our cart.  Oh and we picked up Corey wandering the aisles, she was a little overwhelmed, that's what you get for venturing into the electronics department.
After leaving Target we split up to pack the cars.  Turns out Kelli's tv stand wouldn't fit in Shana's car so I brought mine around.  It's still in my car by the way...

We were all super hungry and thirsty by this point so we went in to Manhattan Bagel for breakfast.  I had a whole wheat bagel with egg & cheese plus a 20oz bottle of water = 440 calories.
Shana was looking to buy some frames for wedding pictures and Michael's was having a 50% off sale.  Here is where the early wake up time started getting to everyone.  I'm pretty sure these little guys are what started it, they are so creepy!  I love that Shana is lining up and holding hands with her pick for creepiest.
We wanted to go straight to frames but Kelli & Corey suggested we take a look at the xmas decorations first.  This is where Shana met her new friends the conga bears.  Why yes, we did block an entire aisle with bears conga dancing.
While browsing the picture frames I got a phone call from Nicole that she was coming out to Michael's to get jewelry making supplies with her 30% off coupon.  While we were waiting for her to get there we found some fancy holiday hats.

Then there was wind up toys...their favorites were these dancing skeletons...

Jack was also a fan.  We really wanted to take a picture of him in this reindeer hat & the only way to get him to leave it on was to hold out the pink wind up toy.
When we parted ways with Nicole & Jack we went over to The Christmas Tree Shop.  I think I've mentioned it before but in case I haven't, I love that store!  I spent maybe $30 and got a bunch of holiday decorations & gift wrapping supplies.  Next we stopped at Dicks because Joe told me they were having a sale of running wear.  I got a Reebok top, Nike jacket & Underarmor headband for $50!  I'm pretty excited for my run on Tuesday!  

We dropped all of our bags in the cars & stopped at BJs for some $1 sodas (I had another 20oz water).  This was by far the funniest part of the entire day.  We spent probably a half hour hanging out at this table in the "food court,"  Shana is incognito because she was very concerned about being recognized while hanging out at BJs, but not too concerned about being spotted eating mustard off her pointer finger.  We also learned about Kelli's aversion to "food on people," I almost died from laughing so hard.
We met up with Joe, Holly & Alissa at Kohls and bought some toys for our favorite little kids.  I didn't buy very much more from this point on though.  Kelli had to leave for a little while to look at a condo so Shana and I went over to the mall.  We met up with Julie who is in town for the holiday.  It was so nice to see her, it's easily been 6 months since our last visit.  She has a formal coming up so we stopped to look at some fancy dresses.
I think this one's the winner. 

We were all starving at Kohls so the plan was to meet up at Ruby Tuesday for lunch when Kelli was done house hunting, around 1pm.  Lorie, Amanda & Bill joined us at this point.  I had the Chicken Fresco = 437 calories.
The 4 of us that started at 4am were really hitting the wall at this point.  We only made 3 more stops, Express, Hallmark & Macys.  A few small impulse purchases were made then we all headed for home.  I jumped in the shower and spent the next 4 hours watching tv, I was asleep by 9:30.  It was a really great day but I'm glad it only happens once a year!


Daily wrap up:
1. I burned 1687 calories shopping for 10+ hours, I usually burn around 500 calories in an hourly workout so I'm counting this as 180 fitness minutes.
2. 1 servings of fruits/veggies
3. 64 ounces of water...check - I finished about 48 oz by the time I got home from shopping and knocked out 2 more bottles while watching tv.
4. Tracking: 2655 calories burned - 877 calories eaten = total 1778 calories burned...wasn't feeling eating anything after I got home.
5. I had a great time & am considering this 1 of my relaxing activities.
6. I weighed in and I gained a pound, I can't be too upset though considering I ate more the night before then I have in quite some time.

11/26/2010

11/25 - Day 4

Yesterday was Thanksgiving, which means that today was black Friday and I have some ridiculous stories in store for you guys tomorrow.  But first let me talk about my 5K & the holiday we celebrated.

My friend Angela has been trying to convince me to run the entire time I've known her, which is about a year (she has a pretty inspiring weight loss story herself, you can check her health conscience blog over at sparkpeople).  One day I finally realized that every person I know that has lost a significant  amount of weight was running.  It was time to suck it up and hit the bike path.  We started the couch to 5K program in September with plans to finish in time to do a Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving.  

I think my sister was excited I was taking this on too.  She's been a runner since high school and my mantra was always "I only run if chased."  Now we would have something new to do together.  With the help of Joe, Amanda & Angela I managed to complete the 9 week program the Tuesday before the 5K.  I have to admit it wasn't as hard as I thought it would be & I'm even considering doing a 10K in the future.  But enough of my rambling here are the pictures...
Me & Angela
My awesome friends that signed up to come out and run with me!  My sister & her husband Bill, my boyfriend Joe, long time friends Edra, Angela, plus Angela's friend Callista who ran the race with hopes of qualifying for the DC 1/2 marathon (she did!)  

Here's where I write about how extremely awesome my sister was during the race...she offered to run the entire 3.1 miles at my pace so I wouldn't get discouraged even though the my pace is about a minute slower per mile then hers.  She kept me motivated the whole time, we talked and discussed strategy the whole way up & down the boardwalk.  We decided which people we were going to beat & she kept me from speeding up too much and wearing myself out.  Most importantly, she kept track of our time so we'd be sure I beat my goal of 38 minutes.  At the end of the race when we were in sight of the finish line she let me know that if I ran as fast as I could I would be able to beat my goal by 3 whole minutes!  I came in at 34:55!  
On your mark, get set, go!
It's not a Turkey Trot without a turkey!
Angela comes in!
Here comes Joe!
See Shana telling me to go faster?!?!

It was crazy!  Below is a picture of me grinning like a lunatic in my official participant long sleeve t-shirt.

Now that I've got all of that out...here's my food.  I wanted something in my stomach before the race but nothing too heavy.  I split one of my english muffins with peanut & banana with Joe = 160 calories.
 After the race all 9 of us (my mom came out to cheer us on, Angela's husband was our official photographer & Edra's boyfriend came) went out to breakfast at Towne & Country.  I had my standard ham & swiss omlette with sliced tomato and rye toast = 710 calories.
We were so stuffed from breakfast (and exhausted from the race) that we didn't feel like eating again before we went to Joe's parent's house for Thanksgiving dinner.  My dad & Judy came to dinner as well, it was really nice to have some of my family around.  There were a couple of different appetizers, I only hate 1 deviled egg & 7 crackers (5 with the crab dip & 2 with cheese) =  290 calories.


Pretty soon it was time for the main event.  I actually toyed with the idea of bringing my 1/2 cup measuring cup so I would be positive of how much I ate.  Joe wasn't extremely fond of that idea.  Here's the picture of my plate, 1 biscuit + 1/2 cup stuffing + 1/2 cup corn pudding + 1/2 cup green bean casserole + 1/2 cup mashed potato + 1/2 sweet potato + 3 slices of white meat turkey + 3 tbsp gravy + 1 glass of white wine = 909 calories.
I'm not going to lie I really had to muscle through this food.  I normally don't have any problem finishing but this year it just wasn't happening.  I'm looking at that as a good thing.

Last, but certainly not least, for dessert my dad brought a chocolate strawberry shortcake.  Joe & I split the piece below = 117 calories.
Daily wrap up:
1. completed 35 fitness minutes = 5K
2. 4 servings of fruits/veggies
3. 64 ounces of water...check - I really learned the importance of my water this day.  I had a terrible headache by 2pm because I'd only had 2 glasses of water.  Once I finished 2 more I felt much better.
4. Tracking: 2190 calories burned - 2187 calories eaten = total 3 calories burned...lol
5. I didn't do anything especially relaxing.
6. No weigh in until Friday.

11/25/2010

11/24 - Day 3

Happy Thanksgiving!  I'm always a little confused on what to say because technically I'm writing about the day before...I'm going to concentrate on yesterday but keep it quick because I'm so excited about how well my 5K went this morning!!  I'll talk about it tomorrow though!

Started out with my standard breakfast sandwich = 306 calories.  
I had a cup of perfectly pumpkin coffee with 2 splenda and surprisingly did not get hungry until lunch time.

I was trying really hard to get all of my fruits/veggies so I had a banana & a clementine with lunch = 340 calories.  Say hi to Dawn in the upper left of the picture.

I think all that fruit kept me pretty full because I didn't get hungry at 3pm for my snack.  Although, I was starving when I got home at 5pm.  I skipped the gym because I didn't want to risk being extra tired or sore for the 5K.  But I hate skipping because I don't burn nearly as many calories and then I can't eat as much.  My night was extra exciting, I microwaved some leftovers, did laundry, tried to clean out the dvr(s) & wrapped some of the xmas gifts that have started arriving from my online shopping.

Daily wrap up:
1. completed 0 fitness minutes
2. 3 servings of fruits/veggies
3. 64 ounces of water...check
4. Tracking: 2081 calories burned - 1148 calories eaten = total 933 total calories burned
5. I didn't do anything overly relaxing.
6. No weigh in until Friday (kind of interested to see how this turns out with all the eating going on for turkey day)


PS - this is couch 2 5K graduation present from Angela.  Isn't it cute?!?!