Whoops! I wrote the whole post (below) thinking that this was the last post of the challenge. Looks like I have one more week of redemption! So not planning to quit, not ever.
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Well, we made it through the challenge. I for one, stuck with it, but didn't do so well. I'm glad I stuck to this as it really made me think each week. I'm not going to join any more challenges for the moment but I'm not going to give up and stop. I just need to find out how to succeed. I know what I want, I just need to commit myself to doing it.
So thank you Mir for hosting this challenge. I've enjoyed every one of your butt kicking posts. I'll keep reading and follow along with the people in your next challenge. I wish you and the others the best!
Weight: I'm up like 2 lbs. I ate horrible this week. So I'm ending the challenge weighing in more than I was at the beginning. Embarrassing and I'm mad as heck about that. Obviously, the jacket still doesn't fit. It's still in my closet though!
Exercise: Bad week, ice has made it unfit for running outside and the treadmill and I still need to get reacquainted.
Book: I'm forever grateful that Mir recommended Wheat Belly. It really was the key to me figuring out this gluten intolerance. Loved the book and am continuing to learn more and more about it.
Whoops, sorry this is late. Busy, busy weekend. I have extra daycare kids here today so I was trying to get my kids to do a few lessons last night so they could play with their friends today. That's the beauty of homeschool, the flexibility.
I still am far away from fitting into a whole bunch of winter clothes. I have a whole bunch that I was HOPING to fit into. Instead, I'm stuck at the same weight and it doesn't appear that I'm moving. I need someone to smack me and tell me to get serious! No, actually, I need to find that switch and just flip it and take it seriously. That's what it comes down to, I'm just not taking it seriously. It's pretty stupid, I know.
Weight: Pretty much the same. Seriously, the last few months, it's has stayed remarkably the same. I'll go up a few pounds, then down a few pounds. I'll have one great week, then one stinky week. Consistency is a huge issue.
Water: Better, staying hydrated.
Exercise: Decent. I'm not walking or running quite as much as it's cold and icy now. I need to get used to the treadmill. Weights are going well.
I can't blame the holiday foods or anything in particular. It's me. All me. I need to figure out how to get back on track.
First up - check out this post on my recipe blog for Melt and enter us both to win a $500 giveaway! You have until November 30th to enter! Go enter the giveaway and then come back here. :-)
Now that you have the prospect of winning $500, I can tell you that I had a crummy week. All around crummy.
I ate bread. Lots of bread. I can't blame Thanksgiving, we don't have the traditional gorge fest so it had nothing to do with that. The 4 day weekend threw me but I wasn't doing too well before that either.
All eating bread does is make you crave more bread. So for the last few days, I wake up telling myself that I am not going to do it and then I find myself with 3 dinner rolls sopping up the leftover spaghetti sauce off my kids' plates. Now I'm going to wake up tomorrow wanting to do the same. I'm hoping that with the routine back to normal (and the dinner rolls gone) that we can get back to gluten free. All I get from the bread is a whopping headache and a gut that feels like it is going to explode.
Weight: Honestly, I didn't even look. I wasn't purposely avoiding, I just didn't care. Yea, not good.
Exercise: Decent. I've been consistently getting in 3 runs/walks a week but the last couple of weeks have been only 2 per week. It's getting cold and a few days have been icy. All in all, it's been a gorgeous fall in Minnesota and I'm thankful that I am still able to run outside at all. My run tonight went well. I'm planning to go out Tuesday and Thursday night this week as well.
Water: Eh. Not as good as I would like. The bread is soaking it all up. :-)
Well, if this were a challenge about maintaining your weight, then I would win, hands down. At the beginning of the week I had some swelling and I gained like 5 lbs. Odd, now it's back down. I was actually hoping it would be down as I felt I did good this week. I tracked and planned. I went off track a couple of times but nothing major. Ok, Mir wants a number, it's still hovering around 220. I'll break in the teens and then hop back up.
One day was kinda funny. I was in the mood to eat something sweet, so I started rummaging through the fridge and cupboards looking for "something". Then realizing that yogurt or fruit were about the sweetest things here, I just gave up. It so helps not to have junk in the house. Oh, I did steal a few spoonfuls of ice cream at some point this week. Ice cream isn't a big trigger for me so I do sometimes keep it in the house for the kids.
Water is continuing to be bad. I've been consistently bad with water the last few weeks. I'm not sure why. hmm... Gotta work on that.
Exercise is still good. We got our first snow so running outside won't be happening much anymore. Too bad as I hate the treadmill. Guess I'll have to get used to it for the winter. The snow should be gone by Tuesday so hopefully I can get a couple of runs in this week before we get more.
End of the year paperwork is creeping up on me so it's getting busy. Plus, I'm super behind in writing up recipes and organizing photos on my other blog so I haven't had time to really focus on this one.
So what are your plans for avoiding the holiday pies?? :-)
I didn't feel like posting this week. I did still plan and keep track, just not on the blog. I tried out a couple of online sites and tried it some different ways but really, I do better with just a notebook on my desk, really. There is something to be said about seeing it in print on the screen that does make it a bit more real but yet, the pen and paper work.
I had a decent week, still ended up eating about 300 - 400 more calories than planned each day. Grr.
Weight: I'm up a pound, I ate weird stuff on Saturday but hopefully the scale won't reflect the junk too bad.
Water: Actually, I had a bad week on water. It had become habit to drink a ton of water but I've slowly been going downhill on that. I have a post it note on my desk reminding me to drink!
Exercise: Pretty much the same. Still running. I can't believe how long I am running! I'm still running pretty darn slow but I'm running for longer and longer each week. I'll work on speed later. I can't go to my weight training class for the next two weeks so I have to do that at home. Shouldn't be a problem.
Let's hope for an awesome week!!
Ok, confession time.
The whole week went great. Really great. Saturday morning I showed a 2 lb. + loss, despite me eating too much on Friday night. Then I lost it. Saturday started good. We has a great morning out in service, then took 3 extra kids to The MN Science Museum and stayed there all day. Then we brought pizza and breadsticks home. And cookies. All of course with gluten.
Sigh. I indulged.
Only because they smelled so good, I wasn't even overly hungry. The stupid thing, is the mentality that, "Oh well, I already had a piece of pizza and a breadstick, I might as well have more. I already had a cookie, I might as well have 2 more." It was like I knew my body was already contaminated with the gluten so I might as well go all out. Ya, I know, it doesn't make sense. I didn't horribly binge or anything but I ate way too much and of course now I feel this brick of gluten in my belly. Plus, the bread cravings are right back now. Normally leftovers don't appeal to me but of course the leftover pizza and breadsticks in the fridge are driving me mad.
Self inflicted torture. That is what this is. I KNEW what would happen. Yet, I did it anyways.
I'm sticking with the 2 lb. loss and hopefully after a couple of days of getting this crap out, we'll be back on track.
**Ok, if you've been reading all this, I should tell you. I wrote the above this morning and never got around to finishing it. Now, it's 7:30 pm, I just finished my run for Brad's challenge AND, I just started my period.
Hmmm...
I hate to place blame on why I indulged in pizza this time and not before on the time of the month but I'm wondering if it's related. Sure, I've seen somewhat patterns before but never anything definitive. Usually, I'm having my period and I'll say something stupid like, "I'm having my period, it's okay to have the cookie." Yea, excuse. But this time, I didn't forsee that time of the month approaching (I never keep track) and I honestly didn't know WHAT came over me.
Moral of the long winded annoying story, I need to keep track and try to recognize it if it happens again.
Weight: I'm sticking with Saturday morning's weight of minus 2 lbs.
Exercise: Very good, keeping up with Brad's challenge. It's getting tougher and everytime I think I'm done and can go no further, I find strength and get through the next workout. I'm amazed. I still have my Monday night weight class and am trying to do more during the week of real exercise.
Water: Good up until this weekend. Operation flush and hydration continues tomorrow.
Book: I've been learning more and more about going gluten free and finding it easier and easier. *cough cough* except for the above pizza incident.
I know that my weight skyrockets during my period, like 4 pound gain type of thing so I'm not weighing myself until Saturday. Plan, plan, plan and I'll have success. Pizza is NOT planned this week.
Here is this weeks menu plan. I might switch days for things though.
I'm tired. This week has lasted forever and I'm so ready to get some sleep this weekend! I ate good yesterday, not great. I nixed the salad and ate too much meat and honey mustard. It was quick so it worked. I was headed out the door to a class after dinner so I estimated on the quesadillas and rice. Hopefully I estimated high.
Thursday Eats:
Eggs, corn tortillas, cheese - 325
Yogurt - 100
Zucchini cheese soup - 185
Ham and Turkey - 250
Honey mustard - 60
Apple - 100
Quesadilla - 250
Southwest Rice and Beans - 250
Total = 1520
Fridays Plan:
Eggs, corn tortillas, beans, salsa - 325
Yogurt - 100
Zucchini cheese soup - 185
Southwest Rice & Beans with chicken - 300
Apple - 100
Garlic Chicken - 200
Gluten free fruit stuffing - 150
Butternut squash - 80
Total = 1440
Wow! I stuck to the plan perfectly today! I didn't add or subtract anything. Amazing. I did alter the calories a bit based on the weight of the potato and how much the soup turned out to be. Pretty darn close estimates though.
Wednesday Eats:
Eggs, corn tortillas, cheese - 325
Yogurt - 100
Ratatouille Polenta Bake - 450
Salad - 150
Steak - 180
Potato w/sour cream - 150
Zucchini Cheese Soup - 185
Total = 1540
Thursday Plan:
Eggs, corn tortillas, cheese - 325
Yogurt - 100
Zucchini cheese soup - 185
Ham and Turkey - 150
Honey mustard - 30
Salad - 125
Quesadilla - 200
Southwest Rice and Beans - 250
Total = 1365
I stayed on track again today. Woohoo! The Ratatouille Polenta Bake was awesome! It was like a veggie lasagna almost. My brother thought it needed meat but I thought it was perfect! Then I made a pumpkin mousse this afternoon. Holy cow was this good! Trust me, ditch the pumpkin pie in Thanksgiving and make this. I doubled the recipe and split it into 6 servings. I ate 2 of them. I had one, then went for a run and then indulged in another. 108 calories per serving, it will be okay. :-)
Tuesday Eats
Eggs, corn tortillas, cheese - 325
Yogurt - 100
Pear fruit crisps - 40
Taco chili - 180
Salad - 150
Cheese - 100
Ratatouille Polenta Bake - 300
Pumpkin Mousse - 216
Total = 1411
I have kinda a big dinner planned, I might not eat the potato, we'll see how the rest of the day goes. Big lunch too. There are 3 portions of the Ratatouille left and while I'll try to just eat two, I know that there is a good chance I'll just scarf the other so I might as well plan for it.
Wednesday Plan:
Eggs, corn tortillas, cheese - 325
Yogurt - 100
Ratatouille Polenta Bake - 450
Salad - 150
Steak - 180
Potato w/sour cream - 175
Zucchini Cheese Soup - 125
Total = 1505
Yesterday went well. I didn't end up making quinoa last night as it turned out to be just me home. Plus there were tons of taco chili leftovers. 180 calories a cup and very filling. Nice.
Tonight I'm planning a new recipe, I haven't figured out the calories yet. I'm looking forward to another good day!
Monday Eats:
Eggs, Corn Tortillas, Cheese - 325
Leftover omelet from kids - 125
Yogurt - 100
Taco Chili - 180
Pecans - 150
Grapes - 50
Salad - 150
Taco Chili w/sour cream- 225
Peach fruit crisps - 30
String cheese - 80
Total = 1415
Tuesday Plan:
Eggs, corn tortillas, cheese - 325
Yogurt - 100
Pear fruit crisps - 40
Taco chili - 180
Salad - 150
Ratatouille Polenta Bake - 400
Popcorn or smoothie - 100 - 150
Total = 1295 - 1345
I've been doing Brad's running challenge for 9 weeks now. I've been regularly going to a strength training class for about 4 or 5 months now. I am stronger and have been enjoying the regular exercise.
But I haven't lost any weight.
It's highly annoying that I just haven't gotten my eating under control. Each night and then in the morning I start out with the best of intentions and then just snack and blow it by the end of the day.
So here I am again, with resolve to have a REALLY good week and not be satisfied with just maintaining and doing mediocre. I so have to do better.
Sunday Eats:
Eggs, Corn Tortillas, Cheese - 325
Yogurt - 100
Corn Chips - 350
Cheese - 200
Potato - 125
Raisins - 130
Taco Chili - 180
Total = 1410
Monday Plan:
Eggs, Corn Tortillas, Cheese - 325
Yogurt - 100
2 cups Taco Chili - 360
Salad - 150
Chickpea Quinoa - 400
Total = 1335
Don't worry, my lack of posting my food doesn't mean failure. My schedule was odd this week and I didn't have to get up as early and by the time I got up, everyone was up and no time for morning blogging.
I planned and sorta kinda stuck to the plan this week. There was this chip incident that we won't talk about. I maintained the gluten free thing but may have had a similar reactions to soy. Not sure yet, still trying to figure out these allergies and intolerance's still.
I'm going to make this brief as I'm tired and want to go to bed. Plus, I cut my finger on a cheese grater and it hurts to type.
Weight is about the same. Planning is still good. Water is much better than last week. I'm still reading and learning about the whole wheat free thing. Exercise is going good too. Running was more difficult this week but I'm still giving it my all.
Finger hurts. Stop typing.
Well, I was right about yesterday, I knew I wouldn't want to cook with hubs and the brother gone. Plus, I had to rush out to my exercise class. I ate decently but basically just snacked all day. Still too many calories than desired.
Monday Plan:
Pecans - 200
Eggs, corn tortillas, cheese - 300
Vegetable Soup - 200
Apple - 100
Peanut butter - 150
Ham, Turkey & Mustard - 150
Pecans - 200
Yogurt - 100
Oat Bar - 190
Total - 1590
Tuesday Plan:
Pecans - 200
Veggie & Cheese Omelette - 250
Soup - 200
Salad - 125
Ham - 60
Yogurt - 100
Chipotle Bean Burritos - 400
Total - 1335
This is a fairly unusual week for me. Hubs works practically every night and my brother is gone for the week. So I'm just cooking for me and the kids. I enjoy making new things but tend not to as much if it is just for me. I was planning a quinoa dish tonight but I'm not sure I have all the ingredients, so I might just make some simple bean burritos. I need to go shopping and get some veggies in the house. I have carrots and celery but that's about it. I have a bunch of frozen fruit for smoothies but nothing fresh.
So - here is the vague plan for today. I already ate my nuts this morning, hopefully I can keep my fingers out of the bag for the rest of the day.
Monday Plan:
Pecans - 200
Eggs, corn tortillas, cheese - 300
Soup - 200
Smoothie - 100
Yogurt - 100
Bean Burritos - 400
Total - 1300
I feel like I'm on a treadmill. Working hard, thinking about what I am eating constantly, yet...going no where. The scale yesterday did read a 1 lb. loss but I then had a horrible weekend and ate way too much.
We spent yesterday evening at the Emergency Room with my daughter. We were dancing to Just Dance and she cracked her knee and it made a horrible crunching sound and she couldnt' move. We thought it was dislocated but it turns out that it is just a bad sprain. She has a knee brace and some crutches and will obviously be laying off the dancing for awhile.
We left around dinner time and by the time we got out we were starving and went to Subway. I got a sandwich. With bread. Wheat bread. So stupid. I could totally feel it right away and have been paying for it all day today as well. Bad choice.
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Weight: One pound loss. I'm still eating way too much and just seem to be losing control. Sometimes I just don't CARE which is really stupid.
Exercise: We had an easy recovery week for running which wasn't the best for me mentally. I started my week of running tonight and it was hard to get motivated after having an easy week. I still was able to finish the scheduled run today and feel confident about the next jump in running time. I did amp up the weights this week with the lower running schedule. Plus, a whole lot of Wii Just Dance.
Water: So-so. I bombed this weekend, especially today. Stupid, stupid, stupid. I'm actually THIRSTY now, which means I'm dehydrated probably. Off to bed though so I'll drink a ton tomorrow.
Book: I didn't do a lot of reading this week. Actually, I did a ton of reading, just not the reading that I want to do. I've been reading The Hobbit with my two older kids and Robinson Crusoe with my baby. (he's 9, not really a baby, but he's MY baby).
I never got around to making the soup yesterday. The school kids have Thursday and Friday off this week so I had 3 extra kids. Three extra kids might not sound like a lot but I've noticed that with each addition of kid, it exponentially gets louder and crazier in the house. So me standing in the kitchen cutting veggies for soup just didn't happen. Today will be just as crazy, my plan is to make an awesome spaghetti sauce and eat it over zucchini.
Thursday Results -
Omelette with Southwestern Rice - 250
Yogurt - 80
Tacos - 350
Fries - 200
Apple - 100
Oat Bar - 190
Salad - 250
Pecans - 250
Total - 1670
Friday Plan:
Eggs, Corn Tortillas, Peach Salsa - 300
Yogurt - 80
Tacos - 350
Salad - 125
Zucchini Spaghetti - 400
Popcorn - 100
Total calories = 1355
I think I made a gluten faux pas yesterday. First, I ate a bite of one of the kids' waffles. We were teasing her about taking a bite of her food and I snagged a piece before I even thought of it. I also let the kids put chocolate chips on their waffles (bad mommy) and I ate a couple of handfuls. Small handfuls but probably about 1/4 cup so about 280 calories. Yikes.
Okay, here is my problem. The bite of waffle and the chocolate chips were in the same 1/2 hour. Almost immediately I felt the effects of the gluten in the waffle. Does anyone know if Hershey's Chocolate Chips have gluten? The ingredients say, "Natural Flavors" and I've been told to stay away from things that say that. I looked online but there doesn't seem to be any concrete evidence either way. I know, gluten or no gluten, I need to stay away from the stupid chocolate chips but really? A small bite of waffle and some gluten dust on CChips does THIS to me? I'm gassy and hurting like crazy. I know, TMI. It's really annoying though.
I had no interest in tacos or chipotle chicken salad with an upset stomach so I ended up eating pecans and going to bed early.
Wednesdays Results:
Omelette with Southwestern Rice - 250
Yogurt - 80
Asian Broccoli Slaw - 375
Apple - 100
Chocolate Chips - 280
Pecans - 400
Total = 1485
Thursday Plan -
Omelette with Southwestern Rice - 250
Yogurt - 80
Tacos - 350
Apple - 100
Vegetable Soup = 200
Salad - 125
Smoothie - 150
Total - 1255
I started rummaging around the kitchen too often yesterday. I ate an apple and a bit of peanut butter before lunch. I was so in a snacky mood. Then I finished the little bit of sloppy joes in the frig, I don't think it was actually 200 calories but I'm not sure. I told myself that I just wanted to get the containers out of the frig but it was just me with some serious snacking going on. Then I ate my nice healthy 300 calorie portion of the squash gratin. And proceeded to eat more for another 200 calories, just because it was so tasty. Moral of the story, I keep eating more calories than I want to! I just need to stay out of the kitchen today! (ya right)
Tuesday Results:
Omelette with southwest wild rice - 250
Yogurt - 80
Apple - 100
Peanut butter - 100
Asian Broccoli Slaw - 250
Pumpkin Sloppy Joes - 200
Salad - 125
Spaghetti Squash Gratin - 500
Popcorn - 100
Total = 1705
Wednesday Plan -
Omelette with Southwest Wild Rice - 250
Yogurt - 80
Asian Broccoli Slaw - 250
Spaghetti Squash Gratin - 300
Chipotle Chicken Salad - 400
Pineapple - 100
Total = 1380
Today I'm planning to eat more leftovers. I actually love having leftovers in the frig, it makes choices for lunch much easier. Then I have a chipotle chicken salad I'm making for dinner while the rest of the crew will eat tacos.
Plus I'll try not to be snacking!
Well, I stuck to the plan. And I would have done awesome if I hadn't made some homemade peanut butter bars. They were small and highly caloric and I indulged in way too many. I have to stop making desserts, they get me in trouble way too much. Now today I will be craving sugar all day.
Monday's Results:
Eggs, Corn Tortillas, Peach salsa - 300
Yogurt - 80
Pumpkin Sloppy Joes - 200
Potatoes - 150
Salad - 125
Southwest Wild Rice Pilaf - 250
Broccoli - 50
Homemade bars - 600
Total = 1755
Tuesday Plan:
Omelette with southwest wild rice - 250
Yogurt - 80
Asian Broccoli Slaw - 250
Salad - 125
Spaghetti Squash Gratin - 400
Popcorn - 100
Total = 1205
I haven't figured out the calories for the spaghetti squash gratin yet but I think it's going to be pretty low cal for a healthy portion. I'm going to shoot for less calories today to make up for the peanut butter bar incident yesterday.
Having a plan last week really worked. Writing it down really helped. So we're trying it again. Another week without gluten.
Monday's Plan:
Eggs, Corn Tortillas, Peach salsa - 300
Yogurt - 80
Pumpkin Sloppy Joes - 200
Potatoes - 150
Salad - 125
Chicken - 150
Southwest Wild Rice Pilaf - 250
Broccoli - 50
Total = 1305
