What Would You Order?

Ah, my restaurant-based lifestyle is often my downfall.

Tomorrow night, I'm having dinner at an old standby restaurant, Gordon Biersch. Home of bbq chicken pizzas, giant steaks, huge beers.... lots and lots and lots o' points to be had.

So, based on this dinner menu, what would you order as the healthiest possibility?

Some of the salad options could work, but they've got fatty toppings and dressings. Sometimes I order the Hawaiian chicken as a so-so option, but it looks like they may have taken that off the menu. Hmmm.... looks like I'll have to exercise some real restraint and plan for a doggie-bag, no matter what I order!

Not Proud

Uh oh. How'd that happen?

After 2 weeks of taking a "pass" on weigh-in days, I just weighed in. Now, I know I have not been good the last few weeks. I haven't really been tracking what I'm eating and I haven't made a point of exercising.

But it still was a surprise to see that I've GAINED 4 pounds. And that I now have a new heaviest-ever record. And that record is today.

Oh, that does not feel good.

Help! I know what I've gotta do.... back on the wagon as best I can. Please, please, please wish me luck.... and take those cookies out of my hand next time you see me!

Another Monday Morning

And more wavering on the scale. Aaargh. I'm gonna call it that I'm the same as last week, nothing lost and nothing gained. But it was close....!

I know last week was tough, but it's a little discouraging. I'm feeling like it's getting harder to lose weight the older I get. But I'm also not as disciplined as I was when I did this the 1st time.... It was now 7 years ago that I lost all that weight. Wow. But my life is very different now, so I have to just keep working at finding ways to make it work for me now. Here goes for another week....

Strange Week

It's been a very up-and-down week due to my crazy schedule.

I had our Board dinner Monday night, and I definitely overindulged in the appetizers and really rich duck entree. But, life bit me back by hitting me with the stomach virus, so I was really ill on Tuesday and my stomach didn't settle down for about 2 days. So I didn't really eat much in that period...

Then we had a quick trip to Atlanta, also for work. Airport food, huge entree salads (yum, steak salad), and more wine and bready appetizers. Not so great.

But today, I'm ordering sushi for dinner and I'm planning fun ways to eat light tomorrow. Then it's weigh-in on Monday. Who knows how that will turn out?

But I've got plenty of negative motivation working for me.... cuz I just saw some new pictures of myself. Yikes, not happy. Even my face looks like I swallowed a balloon! So, as I know I'll be in lots of events with lots of pictures being taken this year, that's a little extra added oomph!

Woohoo!

Even with a bad day yesterday (movie theater popcorn, ugh), I still managed to lose one pound this week. Hooray!

This coming week will be tougher, as I have a board dinner, a board meeting with breakfast trays, and quick overnight trip - so the choices will be a little harder. But I feel pretty good and I'll keep counting those points.

'Til next time....

My First Week

Back on plan....

I did fairly well, considering. I earned a total of 13 Activity Points, exceeding my personal goal of getting in a minimum of 10 a week. I had several days where I was right on target with my points, and only 2 days where I really splurged.

The first was a belated birthday lunch on Thursday, where I totally went for it and had the steak platter and tortilla chips with queso. Yum. But I counted them all!

Then today, when I'd been really good and walked 3 miles before lunch and a movie, I splurged on an egg-and-chorizo omelet and then - GASP! - got popcorn at the movies. Of course, my tummy is having the last laugh cuz now I feel like crap.

Ah, well, I was still pretty good on the whole. Let's see if it makes any difference on the scale in the morning!

Something I've Learned

Guess what? Organic peanut butter is weird.

I had to get rid of my beloved Peter Pan a few weeks back because of whatever that latest E. Coli or salmonella or whatever it was scare. So, I happened to be at Whole Paycheck and bought their store brand of creamy peanut butter. I forgot until I opened it that organic peanut butter uses different kinds of oils, and so it all separates in the jar. You have to stir it up, but still it's never quite the same consistency. I like creamy, but not drippy. Yeah, it's weird.

But I'm also cheap, so I'll probably keep using this until it's gone.... but I won't like it very much!

Still Going Strong

I'm doing pretty well being pack on WW officially. I know, it's only 5 days, but it's 5 days where I've been better than I have been in months! I'm tracking everything I'm eating and logging in the Activity Points. I have been tapping into Flex Points, but that's okay, that's what they are there for. Let's see if it makes a difference when I weigh in on Monday...

I Did Really Well Today!

Hooray! I counted all my points and I did a lot of extra walking today. So I earned 4 activity points, yippee! I ate smaller, smarter meals (again, I give thanks to sushi) and walked all the way home from Farragut North. It feels good.

I did have to use my AP's and 1.5 Flexies today, but that's mostly because I chose to take on some beverage points. I have some orange juice in the fridge and I really wanted to drink it. Plus, I had a skim chai from Starbucks - but I did switch from grande to tall. So, I counted these points, but I know that as I make the transition back into counting points I'll probably change my beverage habits a bit. Or maybe not, as long as I count them all. I'm still getting light chocolate soy milk and organic orange juice in my grocery delivery this week. You know, a girl can't live on Crystal Light alone!

For Better or...Hopefully, For Better

So after the lack of resounding success of my 2007 diet strategy.... I have now reupped my Weight Watchers Online membership. I hope this helps me be a little more disciplined and more focused, and at least more accountable to myself. Here's to a(nother) new start!

The Worst Ever

Ugh. Not doing so well on this whole diet and exercise thing. Isn't it strange how life sometimes gets in the way? But it's so important, I really need to try and be better. Luckily I'm getting my groceries delivered again this week and will have lots of produce and diet-friendly stuff in my house. I've got to get out and walk some more this week -- darn that snow! Oh well, I'll keep trying....

Get Out of Jail Free

Ugh, I just stepped on the scale and I do not like what it said. So I'm going to use the once a year birthday pass and just not count it until next week. So that gives me a week to shape up and reverse the sluggish trend of the last few weeks!

Awesome

I am in love. With a salad dressing! It's Drew's All Natural Garlic Italian, and my oh my is it tasty!

I picked up a bottle of it at Whole Paycheck yesterday for the simple reason that it was on sale, and that my recent bout of terrible eating had me thinking I need to start eating more salads at home.

When I got home, I cracked open the bottle and poured some over some mixed greens. Which I then devoured, and practically licked the bowl. I had some soup later.... but then, believe it or not, went BACK to the fridge and polished off the rest of the mixed greens with ANOTHER bowl of salad. The dressing is just that good.

Of course, then today I was sad that I had already used up my whole bag of greens and still had so much dressingy goodness just sitting there. So when the opportunity arose to head to a market, I grabbed two more bags of greens and came home to another yummy salad.

The dressing is super simple - just olive oil, red wine vinegar, basil and garlic. But the result is so tangy and delicious I *almost* want to drink it straight from the bottle!

I Have Been Eating Crap

Ugh. This past week, I have just been eating the worst stuff! Between my birthday, Valentine's Day, the crazy snow/ice storm, and the fact that it's been 2+ weeks since my last grocery delivery, I've just been stuffing my face with everything bad. Cookies, cake, chips (for breakfast? oh yes.), plain pasta, and boxed/processed/frozen entrees and no fruit, veggies or even good proteins. And guess what? I feel sluggish and gross.

So on my way home from work today (yes, a Saturday) I stopped at Whole Paycheck. 86 bucks later I had a whole basket of goodies. Salads, fruit, deli stuff, things that I'm actually really excited about eating! Hopefully this will help get me through this week and feel better about everything. Cuz right now, I just kinda feel ICK.

Hmmmmm

Well, apparently eating your usual way and not exercising at all doesn't really work as a diet. Who knew?

I stayed the same this week, for the reasons I detailed above. Aaargh. I've gotta step it up a bit, but it'll be hard as this is birthday week! So I've gotta try to be a little more active, since I know I'll be eating a few good restaurant meals.

Tune in next week to see how it goes!

Fairly Tasty

Today I tried these little South Beach Diet wraps. They make for a pretty good quick lunch.

When you open the box, you'll see you that there is some assembly required. There are 2 small whole wheat wraps, a package of chicken pieces, a package of shredded parmesa cheese, and a packet of lite caesar salad dressing. Mix it all together and you've got 2 fairly filling wraps. It would be a little better if you added in some of your own shredded lettuce or something green.... but overall I was pleased. Bonus - it comes with a little cup of Sugar-Free cherry Jello to satisfy your sweet tooth.

I did learn an important lesson, though. It is clearly marked on the front of the package DO NOT FREEZE. Store in the refrigerator. Oops. Somehow I missed that -- but no worries, after a few hours sitting on the counter even the Jello thawed out! ;-)

Feel the Burn!

Well, pushing myself to do three full reps of my abs workout yesterday must have had a real impact. Cuz by the end of the day today, my abs and side muscles were SORE! That's a good sign, right? I can see why they say to do these kinds of focused workouts every other day, to give the poor muscles a rest. But I look forward to doing it again tomorrow! (That's *if* I can wake up early enough to do it - this cold weather is not making it easy!)

Darn.

I stayed the same on the scale this week. Bah humbug. I guess it's better than gaining, but I was *really* hoping to lose at least 1 pound. Phooey. So like I said below, I guess it's time for me to recommit to the whole exercise component of the plan. And if the thermometer stays below the freezing line like this, it's gonna be time for A LOT of soup! Here goes for another week....

The American Diet

In case you missed it... The New York Times Magazine had a great article last week about the problems with the American diet. "Unhappy Meals" covers everything from the history of nutritionism to the reactionary tactics of the food industry to how the soil has been affected by modern agriculture to poor Americans' confusion about what in the heck we are supposed to eat to stay healthy. It's a long article, but set aside some time for it cuz it's full of interesting info.

Revisiting My Own Strategy

Even though I'm still sore with that knotted shoulder I discussed in a previous post, I think the whole DC winter cold thing is *finally* behind me. That was about 2 weeks of feeling like crap and just being exhausted overall. This weekend, I finally was able to go out and do social things without it totally wiping me out, whereas I'd cancelled everything the 2 weeks before. Thank goodness, I was ready to rejoin the world!

Which means I need to get back on track for my whole plan for this year. The plan for 2007 is to make better food choices overall, but really to work to introduce exercise into the program. (Or programme, for my metric friends.) I've really let that latter part slide over the last few weeks. Bah.

But, today I was just inspired and did a whole SELF Magazine abs workout that is also pretty good for cardio. Woohoo for heavy breathing! ;-) And my goal for this week is to keep working on introducing just more activity in general, even if it's going for a short walk at lunchtime or taking a little longer walk as part of my commute. Wish me luck!