Chop chop! March 3, 2009

My hair was getting obnoxiously long and lifeless, so after a few months of waiting (seriously) to get it cut I finally was able to visit my hairmaster today.  Picture follows below in Tuesday pics…

Monday

Ugh, the week starting already.  Just not feelin’ it!  Breakfast was good though 🙂  AB&J oats! Standard steel cut oat/almond milk/water base, but I added a bit of sugar-free raspberry jam and almond butter..and still added some cinnamon.  Tasty!

Can’t remember what the heck the morning held…

Lunch was quite standard fare:  ww bread with turkey and lettuce; Fuji apple; green grapes.

I knew a potentially unhealthy and big dinner was coming my way, so I didn’t mind not getting hungry or eating much during the aftertoon.  Probably a mistake… I did have the other half of my apple.

No photos for dinner b/c I was in the middle of a table surrounded by people I didn’t know. The run down for you:

• appetizer of 1/2 a crab & shrimp cake, some fried onion straws, a few pieces of calamari, and a piece of spanikopita. totally should have skipped all but the cake.
• salad of mixed greens, vinaigrette, blue cheese, and candied pecans. I ate too much of this and could have stopped eating after this probably!
• main course of baked chicken breast, mashed potatoes, a measly 3 pieces of asparagus, and some crab with a rich yellow sauce that I gave to Chris.
• dessert of creme brulee.  oh my god, it was a huge dish and I ate like 1/3-1/2 of it. 
• coffee with cream

I totally should have gone slower and not eaten so much of the rich items, as my tummy was really unhappy afterward.  Like seriously sick feeling.  It is interesting how eating a lot of rich food doesn’t settle with me now.  Does that happen to the rest of you healthy eaters out there?  Reminds me of about 8 years ago when I was in Texas–I didn’t eat processed foods or fatty foods for a few months, then had a McDonald’s cheeseburger and totally felt ill from it.  More reason to eat well, right?!  It has kind of got me wondering about my vacation and if I’ll be able to eat well then.

I had to go workout after dinner settled finally.  At the gym I proceeded to do a wimpy-yet-time-consuming set of legs and abs, and then rocked out an hour of cardio split between the elliptical and the stair mill.  Alright!

Afterward I had to eat a little something to refuel, so I had a prune and 1/2 a tbsp of almond butter.

 

Tuesday

Somewhat normal oats, but I used a prune instead of raisins.  Good stuff!

Worked a bit, then left for my hair appointment.  Finally!  I waited a long time to set an appointment, so my dude was out of town and then booked for a few weeks after he returned.  My hair has been lifeless and not curling much lately, mostly from the dryness I think, but also b/c it has gotten long.  My fine hair doesn’t do so well when put to the weight test. 

I ate some carrot and grapes on the way.

Chop chop!  I told Keith, my hair guy before I was born ;), that as long as I can pull up the top part into a pony he can cut it as short as he wants elsewhere.  And short he went!  He stacked it a bit from back to front, layered it, and highlighted a tad.  Here I am post-appointment, taking a pic of myself in my car (no, not in motion!).

Since I only get my hair done 2-3 times per year (I’m totally lazy in that dept.) I rather like him making it short, and then growing it out a little.  Thanks, Keith!

Back to work I went, and ate my sandwich on the way.  I know, driving and eating…I was a bad girl today.

Once back at work I did a little of this’n’that, and eventually ate my snack of TJ’s plain European style yogurt with two tbsp of sf rasp jam.

Chris told me Maria was calling, so we visited Si Senor for dinner.  I’ve been buggin’ out about eating out so much, but for some reason tonight it didn’t bother me.  I had chips & salsa, a big Diet Coke, and a cup of tortilla soup.  Chris got Al mojo de ajo, aka shrimp & mushrooms in garlic butter.

Once home we played with the LB, and I headed out to the gym.  I hadn’t been at the gym this early on a Tuesday in a while (7pm) and it was still sooooo busy.  I managed to get in a decent upper body workout, though, and some good abs.  Cardio was good, but I was feeling a little tired; I did 30 min on the elliptical while watching Good Eats (coconut cake!), then 15 min on an old stair mill.

My evening snack tonight had the goal of being low in sugar.  I realize that I often eat my last snack close to bed, and any carbs I consume may just sit on my belly 😦  I had about 1/2 a cup of TJ’s yogurt, 2 T sf rasp jam, 1 T a.b., and a cup of unsweetened chocolate almond milk on the side. 

One thing I’ve noticed a lot lately is how many sporting events are sponsored by fast food or junk food.  The TVs by the stair mill area have been on sports for a week or two now (yawn, just shoot me), and I have been amazed by all of the Pizza Hut, Papa John’s, Taco Bell, Burger King, and other junky ads I’ve seen.  That made me think of the foods available at sporting events, and how they’re all just piles of poo as well 😦  I must admit that in the past I have loved getting a Red Rope when going to see the Blazers.  And a hot dog sounded really good the other day!

Here in Portland I bet a vegan/vegetarian cart would totally fly at just about any event.  I haven’t been to anything in so long that, for all I know, one may exist already. 

Alright, time to head out!  Chris and I have another educational workshop tomorrow night, so I’m not sure I’ll be bloggin’…. “see” y’all later 🙂

Hangriness abounds February 28, 2009

Friday, oh Friday, why did you tease me with your lack of hunger until now?  After getting home from my workout I’ve been hungry…and two little snacks can’t seem to make it go away!  I just need to plug it at this point.

The day started off a little later, and I ate my breakfast at home, outside actually while playing with Lily 🙂  I totally forgot to prep my oats last night, and was sad when I remembered this morning.  I opted to have shredded wheat with a whole banana and almond milk, and quite enjoyed it while standing outside on this brisk, sunny, clear morning.

After dropping Lily off at my mom’s I proceeded to Starbucks for my Friday coffee fix.  The office uses Folgers to make coffee on Fridays, and I just about gag thinking about how gross it tastes.  Today I forgot my own cup, and decided I could scour the store for one on clearance and treat myself to a new one.  I found a really pretty red, sparkly mug and filled it with a skinny vanilla latte.  Yay!

My day at the office was busy!  But not that productive 😦  Whatevs.  At some point I had my light lunch of: sando with one slice ww bread, one slice turkey, and green leaf lettuce; a Fuji; and some grapes.

My afternoon was really busy, too, and I kinda forgot to snack because of it.  By the time we left to head to Si Senor to meet my mom I was getting pretty hungry. 

Tonight I felt like having something different…that’s one thing about visiting Mexican restaurants 3 times a week while trying not to spend too much or eat poorly–I get kinda bored of the selection at times.  I opted to split a chicken quesadilla with my mom, had a whole giant Diet Coke, and of course chips & salsa. 

I at the two pieces on the right with jalapenos, avocado, and that sour cream smeared on top (!), and felt satisfied and a little full. 

My ass was dragging a bit when I got home.  Maybe a little emotionally tired and weighed down from my richer-than-normal meal?  I didn’t want to skip the gym, tho, so I changed and headed out.

I had to get my blood flowing a bit when I got there, so I warmed up on the treadmill for 5 minutes.  My ass was still dragging pretty bad, but I managed to bang out a decent weight session.  Then I headed down to the cardio zone for 30 minutes on the elliptical, followed by 15 minutes on the stair mill.  Somehow all of that wasn’t too hard, and I rather like doing 15 minutes on the mill as the last bit of my cardio. 

After I got home and cleaned up I tried on (brace yourselves) bikini swimsuits!!  Holy shit, it didn’t go too badly either.  I felt okay about what I look like in the two I tried on, and do feel like I look better than last year, and a lot better than this summer, when I last wore one. 

Hanger kind of took over after that, but I felt like I’d consumed enough cals for the day so I had half of a Luna Iced Raisin Oatmeal bar warmed in the microwave.

Uh, yeah, that didn’t cut it.  Reading the Trader Joe’s circular probably didn’t help either, as it seemed like an especially tasty issue.  So I prepped my oats for the morning and dressed a fig with 1/2 a tbsp of Maranatha.  That helped, but I still feel a little hungry…in fact, a bit hangry.  The anger here comes from not feeling satisfied, and from looking at all this yummy food and not being able to eat it (um, feta tapennade?! sign me up!).

And now…a fitness progress update

I think I’ve lost about 12-15 pounds now on my quest to be fit!!!  I am amazed, actually, and kind of don’t believe it at times.  I think I’m around 140-143 now 🙂  Better than that, though, I’m smaller, feel leaner and tighter, and am still motivated and plugging away to lose the last 5-10 lbs.  Since I tackled the bikini tonight I’ll have to check out some other clothes, esp. since the vaca is just over two weeks away!!! 

Do you keep clothes that are too small in the hopes that you can fit back into them one day?  I know I have over the last 2-3 years, and I’m glad I did.  I can understand getting rid of clothes that are way too small or too big, but when you’re overweight it is really sad to get rid of the “ideal” clothes just b/c your ass is too big to fit them currently. 

When I was skinny 4-5 years ago I got rid of all of my bigger clothes, so when I gained weight over the last 2-3 years I was forced to wear just one small part of my wardrobe.  I’m really looking forward to fitting into a cute dark, slim pair of jeans I used to wear.  When I fit into those I think I’ll feel like I’ve conquered the world 🙂

I don’t want to sound crazy or obsessed with being skinny; I hope you don’t think I am.  I guess I remember what I felt like 4-5 years ago (confident, fit, empowered, pretty, sexy) and I want to have that again.  Is being thin addictive?  Is that how we venture into unhealthy territory with our eating, body image, and exercise?  I know it is kind of sad that many of us include being thin in part of our definition of ideal, but I suppose being thinner and fitter is kind of a secondary thing to the primary goal of feeling better about myself.  What do you think?

Tomorrow is going to be busy, so I’m heading to bed to get my zzz’s.  Send Andrea well wishes on her race tomorrow!  I can’t wait to hear how she and her daddy do!!  Good luck, girl, go get em’ 😉

Figgy puddin’ February 24, 2009

I can’t remember if I’m stealing post title here…Forgive me if so!

Fred Meyer was out of bulk raisins yesterday (how is that even possible!?), so I opted for an alternative:  dried figs!  I haven’t had them in awhile so I figured I’d enjoy the change of pace as well.  I cut up one dried fig in my steel cut oats, almond milk, water, cinnamon, and Maranatha.  I can’t remember if I used chocolate almond milk…

I know, the plastic abounds…supposedly I’m poisoning myself with pthalates and BPA by nuking my oats in plastic, and eating hot food with the plastic spoon isn’t good either.  The office doesn’t have a kitchen, everyone uses plastic, and I hate seeing it used only once when it is quite durable.  I wash it in the dishwasher and take it back to the office for reuse, but I can’t say that everyone is on that reuse train. 

Worky worky, and eventually lunchy lunchy.  I’ve been enjoying having more fruits and veggies with lunch over the last week 🙂  Today I had one slice ww bread with 1/2 wedge LCL, once slice turkey, and overflowing green leaf lettuce.  I also ate celery & carrot sticks, some grapes, and half a Fuji.  Yay!

I can’t believe how long paperwork can take sometimes.  Totally not a productive use of time to spend two hours preparing applications and getting them in the mail. Can’t wait til I have an assistant!

Today is Chris’ dad’s birthday, and I knew we were heading to the Old Spaghetti Factory, so I did a little sleuthing on their menu and nutritional content.  Oy vey!  It really is amazing how many calories are in the average portion of pasta served with typical meat sauce, and when you get into specialties like vegetarian lasagna, mizithra & browned butter pasta….watch out!  Details of what I chose to eat below…

Eventually I ate the other half of the apple and the rest of the grapes. 

We left for Hillsboro around 5, stopped at Target for a birthday card, and met the parents at OSG.  I figured out I could have the Minestrone Soup (60 cals for the cup), most of the Pasta Marinara (560 for the whole serving), and a piece of bread (~80 cals/slice), without wrecking my day’s intake.  The soup was good…probably the highlight of my meal actually.  My pasta was just meh; could’ve used more herbs and a fresher taste, but I still ate about 2/3 of it. 

Dinner went pretty well, Kurt seemed to be jovial, and I didn’t let him get away with sneaking under the birthday radar.  When the waitress asked him what kind of ice cream he wanted, I made sure to tell her it was his birthday.  I just thought they’d throw a candle in it, but they had our whole dining room sing to him!  Oops, way to embarass the in-laws!!  (Note, Chris and I aren’t married, but we pretty much refer to e/o’s families as the in-laws, and they pretty much consider us married.)

Once home I played with the LB and got suited up to go to the gym.  I thought I’d do cardio first, but all the good stair mills were taken so I headed upstairs to do legs.  Leg press, calf raise, dead lift, kick-squats, kayak-abs, inner & outer thigh and I was done.  Those kick-squats are from fitnessmagazine.com and really get my heart rate going!

Downstairs to cardio and all the machines were free 🙂  Yay.  I like the newer stair mills b/c I can customize the intervals for a perfect workout.  And, whew, I was a fountain o’ sweat tonight.  It was great!

I tried to talk myself out of eating anything when I got home, but hunger nudged me to eat a little.  I cut a dried fig in half and spread 1/2 tbsp of Maranatha between the two.  Mmmmmmm…..

Speaking of Maranatha, I just bought a new jar and noticed a little contest mentioned on the tag:  a yoga giveaway!  Go to www.maranathafoods.com to enter for one of 37 chances to win a great prize!

Holy shit, I just had to visit The Olive Garden online to see if they have nutritional content on there, and yes they do.  I say, holy shit again.  When I would eat one breadstick, one serving of salad, and a lunch sized fettucine alfredo I was consuming like 1300 calories, almost 80 grams of fat, and over 3,000 mg of sodium!  :shocked:  Crap, sometimes knowledge is a curse, no?  Now I don’t know if I can fathom eating fettucine alfredo ever again knowing that.  I guess it will be once I’m at my goal weight and have a few calories to spare in the budget, and I eat only part of a lunch serving.  I can’t believe the salad alone has like 350 calories and 27 grams of fat per serving!  And they have two low-fat options available, FYI.

With that glorious over-load of information I leave you.  I hope you all had a great Monday and are ready for a kickin’ Tuesday 🙂  Ciao!