Monday, June 29, 2009

Marathon blog!!!

     Life's been busy, but good :) So, this is going to try and catch everyone up :)

Thursday
Exercise = recumbent bike 9.7 miles, 504 calories, 46 minutes
Nice thing for myself for the day = massage
Water = 60 ounces
Food = It ended up being a really busy day, so the food was not like how it should be as far as meals go...
Breakfast
coffee from pumphouse (FF/SF)
Dinner
hamburger wheat bun, corn on the cob, fried green tomatoes (YUMMY), chili

***
Friday
Water = 40
Exercise = recumbent bike = 50 min/ 500 calories/9.6 miles
Treat for me = Starbucks Frap! Although in the end, it meant me being up TOO late, since I drank it so late in the afternoon, LOL!
Food =
Breakfast
coffee pumphouse FF/SF Zebra
Lunch
cheese bagel Safeway
Afternoon snack
Grande frap from Starbucks (with whip cream and choco sauce)
Dinner
I love this recipe! I first made it while visiting family in Texas many years ago. It's easy, cheap, low calories, and DELICIOUS!! It's from the Texas Rangers (as in the law enforcement, and specifically eating out on the trail)Cookbook!


cabbage casserole (hamburger, cabbage, tomatoes, onion, green peppers) super low calories! I did also have two biscuits with SF blackberry jam.
Dessert = ice cream sandwich

***
Saturday
OK, so this is the first day that I did not exercise since summer has been in session. It's sort of a bummer, and I do plan on making it up (having two sessions of exercise one day). I was beat and I have an injury I am trying to heal.
Treat for me = 2-hour nap! LOL, this was from the dang coffee that I drank the afternoon before that kept me up until 3 a.m.!!
Water = 30 (This was a tough day in being on with all my goals)
Food =
Breakfast
Coffee with International Delight
Lunch
Birthday party!!!! Sausage in hot dog bun, pasta salad, one cupcake!
Dinner
Steak, coleslaw, corn on the cob (YUMMY!)

***
Sunday
Exercise = walking and jogging around the Barrel Club arena!!!!! LOL It was hot, too!! Next time I am going to ride my horse and lead!! LOL
Water = 100 ounces!! (YEAH)
Breakfast Mocha SF/FF at Corner Bistro
Lunch
Tuna on bagel
granola bar
chocolate graham cracker
Dinner
shrimp fettuccine (homemade)

***

There ya have it! I know I wasn't posting daily, but it does feel good that I was keeping track of everything still. Now I should be back onto my normal schedule :)

Thursday, June 25, 2009

Wednesday!

Some days it just feels easier than other days! Today was one of those easier days :)

Exercise = Changed it up a little, and I went to the gym. Then in the afternoon we went bowling!!
Treadmill 20 minutes
Elliptical 10 minutes
Bowling – one game (bowled a 126, not to shabby for it being such a long time since I last bowled)

Water = 80 ounces - much better than the prior day!

Food = Good and OK
I had an early morning meeting (6 a.m.), so I wasn't hungry, but I went and grabbed a yummy drink. Thank goodness they are open at 5:40 when I came through!
Breakfast
FF Maple Bar latte at Pumphouse (didn’t get SF flavors)
Lunch
small salad with Huckleberry dressing
cheese quesadilla – one wheat tortilla and cheese
Dinner Well, Ricky came home and said let's go to dinner! This isn't a normal thing for him, so I was like OK! We had such a nice dinner, great conversation. It's so nice to re-charge :)
Rancho Chico – I did eat a lot of chips beforehand and the cabbage salsa. I ordered an avocado tostada with chicken. I did not get the full meal (no rice or beans), and since I had a meeting to attend, I didn't drink a margarita, just water :)
Dessert
Chocolate Charleston Chew (230 calories)
Ice cream sandwich

Nice thing for me for the day? Well, I did spend some time with my best friend when we took the kids to go bowling :) I also finished reading one of my books!

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Not such a good day...not a bad day, just an in-between day??

     For whatever reason I was STARVING all day yesterday! Nothing seemed to satisfy my hunger whatsoever.
     This would be my least successful day of summer. But, in the big pic of things and choosing to remain positive, I would have to say that it was a day with some good stuff still happening :)

Water = 40 ounces (ruh-roh, as Scooby Doo says!) In looking at this with joyfulness I see that there are many days in my past where I drank virtually NO water, so some is better than none, and although this is only have my daily goal...that's OK.

Exercise = recumbent bike 7.8 miles/38 minutes/410 calories
Again, not so super, but it was something! And, when I did finally exercise yesterday it was after 4 p.m. in the afternoon, and what I really wanted to do...well, I wanted to take a nap! LOL And, my goal this summer is to do at least 30 minutes of cardio a day, so I can check that off!

Food = big SIGH
Breakfast
homemade waffle, syrup no butter
coffee with International Delight

Lunch = We had a girls lunch, and I didn't decide where we ate, but mostly I felt OK when I left Pizza Hut.

salad
one piece of pizza – veggie
one piece of dessert pizza – cherry
one breadstick

Afternoon snack
Sugar free mocha frappe from Pumphouse

Here's where everything went awry, I think. First, I decided to not make dinner. Why? I dunno. LOL! I even bought veggies at the farmers market, so...YEAH. This is all from 2 p.m. until 8 p.m.

3 ice cream sandwiches (not one...not two...but THREE! Not at one sitting, however.)
leftover pasta - normal size bowl
chicken nuggets (baked in the oven), and I had five
French fries (also baked in the oven...hey, I thought I wasn't making dinner)
Fiber One Bar
Frozen bean burrito (This was early afternoon...and, I buy these for my son, as he likes to eat them as a snack, but GROSS, it wasn't even that good.)

OK...so there you have it all. Not pretty.

What nice thing did I do for myself? Well, I loved the puppet show, even though that originally wasn't just for me :) And, I would also say my sugar-free Frappe was a delightful treat!

     Today will be better :) I can feel it already!!

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Monday is in the books!

     Trying to find our summer routine! We had art camp, which was really fun because we got to see all of our friends and their parents :)
     The weather wasn't so nice, but we found fun things to do inside: read, dance, more art, exercise.

Water
= 80 ounces

Exercise = recumbent bike 10 miles, 50 minutes, 520 calories and also dancing fools for 30 minutes!

Food
Breakfast
Coffee with International Delight

Lunch
One BBQ rib

Afternoon Snack

Cucumbers in water, vinegar, garlic pepper

This is one of our family favorites! Everyone chows these down!!



Dinner
Spaghetti
Salad
I swear, I could eat fresh salad every day!!

Dessert
Ice cream sandwich

The nice thing for me? Well, I did finish a project I had started, and that always feels rewarding. I also had some snuggle time, and that always feeds the mama spirit!!

Sunday, June 21, 2009

Perfect Sunday :)

      Exercise!!! We went out on the horses today, and we rode for over four hours (that's in the seat time). I did a lot of trotting today, too! So, that's right around 2000 calories GONE!

Water = 80 ounces

Food =
Breakfast
banana
coffee at Pumphouse, non-fat milk, sugar-free flavors

Lunch

bagel (big Safeway one)

Afternoon snack
iced cookies (100 calorie pack)
Pringles Salt and Vinegar chips

Dinner
BBQ beef boneless ribs (2)
coleslaw (made with Miracle Whip, cabbage carrots, pepper, lime juice)
corn on the cob
biscuit

Dessert

vanilla ice cream – ½ cup

This was such a good day! We had so much fun. The weather cooperated with us, and I just love being out with my family and on our horses!!!

Saturday, June 20, 2009

Sleepy Saturday!

     Just a lazy Saturday for the most part. We have big plans for tomorrow, Father's Day, so we just did some prepping, and finished up some house chores.
     I did, however, exercise!! I had a goal of riding 20 miles on the bike today, and I did it! I watched a couple of shows I had on the DVR, and I just went for it. I felt SOOOO good afterwards!!!

Exercise
Recumbent bike - 90 minutes/20 miles/1038 calories!!

Water = 80 ounces

Food =
Breakfast
homemade waffle, syrup (no butter)
coffee International Delight and hot chocolate
small glass of milk (gotta have that for the waffle, right?!)

Lunch
slice of reduced fat mozzarella
Goulash - hamburger, tomato, corn

Afternoon Snack
ice cream sandwich

Dinner
pot roast
baked potato – no skin, I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter spray
biscuit - I Can't Believe It's Not Butter spray and blackberry jam

Something nice for me...does sleeping in count? I did also spend a couple of hours reading today.

A Saturday post for Friday!

      I did not post last night because we left around 6 p.m. to head over to the Lockwood's house, and we didn't get home until after 2 a.m.!! We had such a good time :)
      It's so nice to have a couple with whom you are close, and that everyone likes everyone!
      I was bad though in my consumption of calories, and I did not even keep track. I know I had a couple of smaller pieces of Papa Murphy's pepperoni pizza, and I ate chips and salsa, and I consumed some beverages, but mostly I used club soda, although then I did switch to orange juice as my mixer later, but hey that's vitamin C, right?!
     Friday did start off right, LOL!

Exercise =
Recumbent bike 11.55 miles, 600 calories, 55 minutes

Water = 60 ounces

Food =
Breakfast
Coffee with International Delight
Oh’s cereal – one cup – didn’t drink milk

Lunch
Mozzarella cheese (60 calories, 4 g of fat)
Salsa
Bruschetta Tomato Basil Parmesan Bocca Burger (70/1.5)


Afternoon snack
Bagel from Safeway with fruit cream cheese

Dinner
Read above

OK, so overall this wasn't the best day. I did get exercise in, but it wasn't as good as the day before, and I only exercised once.

Water same story as exercise.

So, I guess we will count this as the worst day of the week! But, in the big picture of things, I did exercise :)

And, something for me today?? I had a blast with one of my best friends :) Enough said.

Thursday, June 18, 2009

Rev Run

I have two quotes that I received on my Twitter today that even though they are not written specifically for someone who is losing weight, they certainly have meaning to me.

They are from Reverend Run (Joe Simmons AKA Run of Run-DMC).

Persistence, dedication, focus, pushing relentlessly 2wards the things you wanna see happen! PERIOD!

Continuous effort,, not strength or intelligence is the key to success! A consistent water flow can wear any hard place\ rock.. OUT!

Right on target...

I ran across this, as I follow Paul Coelho on Twitter. Here is the link to his blog.

He discusses the importance of repeating the same thing, and it just resonnates with me and this journey and trying to make good habits this summer. His poetic writing inspired me, and I wanted to share it with you! I especially like his last line. ENJOY...


     An action is a thought that manifests itself.
     A small gesture denounces us, so we have to make everything perfect, think about the details, learn the technique so that it becomes intuitive. Intuition has nothing to do with routine but rather with a state of spirit that lies beyond technique.
     So, after practicing a lot, we no longer think about all the necessary movements: they become part of our very existence. But for this to happen, you have to train and repeat.
     And as if that were not enough, you have to repeat and train.
     Watch a good blacksmith working the steel. To the untrained eye he is repeating the same hammer blows over and over again.
     But those who know the importance of training know that each time the hammer is raised and then lowered, the intensity of the blow is different. The hand repeats the same gesture but as it approaches the iron it knows whether to touch it harder or softer.
     Look at the windmill. Whoever sees its vanes just once imagines that it always turns with the same speed, always repeating the same movement. But those who know windmills know that they are conditioned to the wind and change their direction whenever necessary.
     The hand of the ironsmith was trained after the gesture of hammering was repeated thousands of times. Windmill vanes can move fast after the wind has blown a lot and polished their gears. The archer lets many an arrow pass far from the target because he knows that he will only learn the importance of the bow, posture, the string and the target after he repeats his gestures thousands of times without being afraid of making a mistake.
     Until he reaches the moment when he no longer needs to think about what he doing.
     From then on the archer becomes his bow, his arrow and his target.

Thursday :)

     Today was yet another SUPER day!! I had some goals, and I was able to accomplish those!

Exercise =
Recumbent Bike 55 min/ 627 calories/12.11 miles while watching Top Chef Master. I did only ride the bike, and did not go out on my horse tonight.

Water = 148 ounces! HOLY COW!! I had a big gallon jug at the baseball games!

Food =
Breakfast
Coffee with International Delight

Lunch
Chicken salad – used leftover chicken breasts from a couple of days ago. Lettuce, red pepper, yellow pepper, almonds. Dressing = Huckleberry.



Dinner
Taco and more Chicken Salad (Dressing = lime juice)


Dessert
Ice cream sandwich

     So, I didn't add more exercise, but I definitely added more time/distance/calories onto the bike! I couldn't believe the difference in the final stats for just a little while longer.
     It makes me think about a couple of different things I would like to do. I know someone who "ran" for 17 minutes every ten days just to see how far he could get each time. I kinda like that challenge idea.
     Speaking of challenge, I also recently read about a challenge on one of my favorite blogs, Fat Dad, where every Friday he and some other people drink a 5-hour energy shot, and then they exercise for one hour to see who can burn the most calories in one hour. Each person competing can choose any form of exercise s/he wants for that hour. I like this idea. Hmmmm.
     I am also proud of myself for all the water!! WOO hoo. That's something to strive for tomorrow :)
     OK, so what good thing did I do for me today? Well, I did take a nap early evening, and that was nice. I read a little, and then slept for an hour. NICE.
     Also, I went to Jordan's doubleheader baseball games today in Brewster (they won one and barely lost the other), and I sat with his girlfriend, Ramsi.
     We laughed so hard so many times, that my face and stomach hurt! I told her that I was going to blog about that being one of the good things I did for myself...hang out with her all afternoon! The laughter is AMAZING! You can't have a bad day when you laugh that hard!!!
     Goals for tomorrow? Well, besides keeping everything to the same level as today, I would like to try one more form of exercise besides the bike and the horse. I did DVR some fitness shows, so maybe that or a walk or a hike.
laughter

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

wHaTtA WeDnEsDaY!!!

     Another day in the books, ladies and gentlemen!! I was a little worried because I woke up with a gnarly headache! I think it's allergies, but I guess it could be that I slept strangely or something. WHATEVER it was, OUCH.
     So, I got up and exercised!! I was hoping it would kick the headache in the butt; unfortunately, it did not. Migraine Excedrin did the job in the late afternoon.
     With that all said, I wasn't super hungry, which I guess is an OK side effect. I would rather have no headache and be hungry, though!

Water = 80 ounces - that's an improvement :)
Exercise =
Recumbent bike/40 minutes/475 calories/9 miles - OK, so my goal for today was to ride as long as I normally do, but to increase the calories and mileage, which I did!! WOO HOO!

I also spent almost two hours outside sorting bulbs (a big cheer fundraiser), and since it was humid this morning, I was sweating like crazy.

Tonight we rode the horses around the block, and we went twice, so I rode for over an hour! And, bareback...so that's another at least 300 calories!

Food =
Breakfast
Coffee with International Delight creamer
Bagel (big one from Safeway)

Lunch
Tomatoes with melted mozzarella (reduced fat) and 1 tsp olive oil, balsamic vinegar, basil, oregano, pepper.



Dinner
Taco on whole wheat tortilla (hamburger meet, corn- from a fresh piece of corn on the cob-, tomatoes) with small amount of cheese.



Coleslaw - Cabbage, carrots, light Miracle Whip, cilantro, lime juice, pepper.



I didn't have any snacks today. Just felt nauseated all day.

     What nice thing did I do for myself today? Well, I did stop by and make a much needed dentist appointment to have my teeth cleaned. I also ordered a book that I really wanted online!

     On the list for tomorrow? Well, I want to try to do some sort of other exercise tomorrow IN ADDITION to my bike and horse riding. Maybe I will squeeze in a walk. I know that next week I am starting up the weights again.

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Right on track!

Sorry forgot to post my pic last night...I had to add radishes because the food looked too brown and yellow, LOL!


Today was another pretty good day in the health department! I had a few things I wanted to improve, and I was able to do that!

Exercise =
Recumbent bike, 40 minutes/420 calories/8 miles (watched another episode of RH)
Riding the horse, 30 minutes/130 calories/ not sure on the mileage, just around our block tonight, but bareback, so that's more of a workout :)

Water = 70 ounces

Eating
Breakfast
smoothie – coffee, milk (8 ounces), ice, banana - SURPRISINGLY, this was really yummy, and it was just an impromptu sort of thing!

Morning Snack
cottage cheese (1/2 cup)with pepper

Lunch
Salad – red, yellow, green pepper, tomato, lettuce, almonds, cilantro (I love cilantro!)
Dressing – tsp of olive oil, balsamic vinegar, lime juice

Afternoon Snacks
90 calorie rice krispy treat
150 calorie Fiber one bar
Radishes

Dinner
Country Chicken – Chicken breasts soaked in FF Ranch dressing, then rolled in bread crumbs, and baked (spices – garlic, celery salt, oregano, pepper)
I love this recipe! It comes from our family Texas Cookbook!

Baked Potatoes – I cut up the potatoes and then did the shake in a bag of spices, then streamed them. (Spices – 5 spice, fresh basil, pepper, garlic, 1 tsp of olive oil for entire bag, 1 tsp of soy sauce, 2 tsps of Worcestershire sauce)

Leftover fruit salad from last night.

Dessert
one Skinny Dip beer (114 calories)

I did squeeze in 30 more minutes of exercise today. I want to do the same tomorrow!

The only thing I would've liked to have done differently would be to not eat any processed food...I had two snacks today that fall into that category.

OK, for what I did nice for myself today...I had my hair done :) I love going to Shelley! She's great! She knows how to expertly cut naturally curly hair. It's so relaxing to go there!

Monday, June 15, 2009

Good day!

     Nahhh...make that a great one!
     I slept in :) Then I got up and rode the recumbent bike while watching one of my shows on DVR. I can't believe it took me so long to get one of those machines! LOL
     I headed into school to tie up some loose ends, and also use the scale. I weigh 232.8 pounds. An increase since my last WWers weigh-in, DANG it, though I am not surprised.
     Well, here's how today went:

Water = over 64 ounces (yeah, first time in a long time that I have accomplished that!)
Exercise = 40 minutes on the bike, 420 calories melted away, 8 miles
Food =
Breakfast
coffee - I just used some International Delight creamer, no milk or anything else.
banana

Lunch
veggies – yellow pepper, red pepper, tomatoes, squash, lettuce, cilantro
dressing - olive oil (1 tsp), balsamic vinegar, A-1
corn on the cob - cold (was BBQed the other night), no butter, some lime

Afternoon Snack
iced coffee - fat free milk and sugar free flavors

Dinner



shrimp salad - same veggies as above, but with yummy shrimp that I simmered in lime juice, garlic, pepper, cilantro, and balsamic vinegar. Also, added almonds and a few croutons.
dressing - A little bit of A-1 and lime juice.
corn on the cob - little lime, cold, no butter. YUMMY!

Dessert
fruit salad - fat free cool whip, fruit, and some crushed up graham crackers.

     So, I will blog this kind of stuff each day. I will try to take at least one pic of my food to inspire something yummy and healthy to eat.
     I also decided that I am going to do at least ONE thing a day for myself every single day this summer. So, today? I had a lovely and relaxing massage ;)
     What would I like to have done differently today...a little more exercise. That will be the goal for tomorrow.

Sunday, June 14, 2009

New news

      Well, tomorrow starts my new focus! I am recovered from my sinus infection, and ready to get going.
      I did ride the recumbent bike this morning for 45 minutes, while watching an episode of Real Housewives of New Jersey that I had on my DVR.
      And, on Saturday I rode Joe bareback, so I definitely am feeling those muscles today because normally I am in my saddle.
     It felt good to exercise and sweat :)
      I am going to do a bit of a boot camp this week, as far as exercise goes. I want to do some hiking even.
      I am going to do a bit of a detox this week regarding my eating. I am going to do my best to not eat ANYTHING processed, and I am going to record everything I do eat.
     So, you will see a little something different this next week. I am going to blog my exercise and food journal each day!
      I am going to weigh in tomorrow, so I know where I am at as far aas that goes :)
      I decided to drop Weight Watchers. I wasn't going to the meetings or using the website anymore, so it seems like a waste of money, and I am going to go at it my way. I know what I need to do...track! And, I am all over it!

Sunday, June 7, 2009

We r up in the mountains riding and just saw a bear cub.

Thursday, June 4, 2009

Not so on the mend, I suppose

     I am sick! Grrr. I am sick and tired of being sick and tired. I want to go play and enjoy the sunshine. I want to ride my horse. I want to exercise. I want to do yard work. I want, I want, I want...OK, I want to go to bed and sleep for a week, and when I wake back up not be sick anymore!!
     I had a few days of feeling like I might be perking up, and then BAM! Back to the yucky sicky icky. SIGH.
     I think I should go to the doctor, as my glands are swollen (have been for over a week), my sinus is plugged (going on almost two weeks), I have a fever off and on, and now my ear is sore.
     I am happy that I don't get sick often because I couldn't handle it!
     To top it all off, I am pretty sure I also have some allergies going on, too.
     I want to be back to my normal self RIGHT now! And, I have a handful of new babies in my life right now, and I can't hold them or even visit them yet!!! It's killing me!!!!