Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Well, HELLO, Wednesday!

The day started out well :)
Then things kept going awry after school, but I just decided I wasn't going to let it get to me, and so I let it go! And, boy that feels good :) And, now I feel way better, and I can see all sorts of great things from today.

A couple of smiley faces...
1) Did you know Pumphouse has SF gingerbread and SF pumpkin?! Yeah, zero calories! Thank you very much :)
2) This morning a co-worker brought me some cool exercise videos, one with Denise Austin, who I LOVE!! She is so inpsiring, so I am looking forward to trying it out, and I decided that I would start it tomorrow morning!! So, I have my workout clothes all ready, and the alarm set.
3) Tonight I wasn't sure if I was going to have time to workout. But, in the end, I made the time, while we were watching tv! I grabbed my exercise mat and balls, and worked my butt off for 20 minutes, and 200 calories :) I feel better, too.

Calories IN = 1100
Calories OUT = 200
Net calories = 900

What I ate today...
orchard fruit bar- 200
coffee-12 ounces, ff, sf coconut, sf white choc- 70

pretzel crisps - garlic parmesan- 110
soup - 175
5 chocolate cashews- 50

sweet potato fries - 190
French dip- 220 bun, 60 meat, 25 aus jus

***
132 ounces of water!
20 minutes of working out :)
Perfect on calories!

:)

The power of positive thoughts!

On October 31st I weighed 207.8
November 30th I weigh 203.8
Some might think that’s only a loss of 4 pounds, but in the world of what I am doing--which allow me to emphasize is NOT DIETING, that is an average of a pound a week, and that was through Halloween and Thanksgiving!!! And, it’s a total of 45 pounds since mid-June (5 ½ months ago). Definitely I am so proud of what I have accomplished and that this is a way of life.

I am pretty excited! Why? Because I had a personal goal at the beginning of November to try and keep things positive. And, you know what? I truly believe that the energy we send out into this world, comes back to us times a gazillion! October had so many ups and downs, and Halloween week was an especially stressful and blah time. So, here we are, wrapping up another month, and I am a proud of finding the good. I can definitely say it makes me appreciate everything a little more! It reminds me lots of Oprah’s grateful journal. And, though I know not all the days and weeks and months and years will be this way, I sure am glad that 2011, and especially NOVEMBER have been what my heart needed! It feels so good to feel good!

I decided to look at all my titles of my blog entries for the past two months, and definitely I can see the difference in my attitude!

NOVEMBER titlesMarvelous Monday, yes indeedy
GOALS 4 the week
A couple of days...
UPDATED an old, but not forgotten blog
A closed door isn't always the end!
FANTABULOUS Friday for me:)
Turkey Day
YES!!!
:)
Start of a FANTABULOUS week :)
Why today was a good day!
Okey Dokey Artichokey!
Wonderful WEEKEND :)
Rock and ROLL
Howdy!
Yeah for the snow!
Yes!
A big loss!!
HOLY buckets!
Lovely weekend :)
Another good one for the books!
MUCH better week :)
My real Friday!!
It's my Friday!
Yeah for Wednesday!!
Taking care of me :)
LOOOOOOOOOOOOng weekend!
Back on track!! Yahoo :)
:) :(
TODAY :)))
Yesterday is gone!

OCTOBER titles
WAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHoooooo!
Checked in lately?
I think I found it!
Sunday stroll, storage, and stew
Feeling strong and focused!
Super Saturday!!!
Goal for this week...5 sticky notes!
Friday!!!
Fishy day!
Better day!
blah, blah
Today was a LONG day!
Living LIFE and loving it!! This ain't no diet for...
A fantabulous weekend!!!!
Compliments keep coming !!
Long day!
CRAZY article!
Oh, Tuesday, HOW I LOVE YOU!!
Another loss!!
I love that I can see a difference :)))
Jumproping KICKED my butt!
:)
THURSDAY!
WILD Wednesday!!
Terrific TUESDAY :))
Just another manic Monday...
I LOVE Sundays like this :)
Friday and Saturday!
Thursday! Holy smokes!! Where did this week go?
Cool article :)
Hi-Ho!
Today: Monday.OK.Tired.
Food for the weekend...
FINISHER!
HUGE!!! Or, should I say smaller?
EIA

It has also been a hoot to read back through the years, as I did start this blog in February of 2006. Not all of my blog entries are there from the beginning because I was originally content in our local newspaper, so when I switched to Blogger, I only was able to transfer some of those earliest blogs. It's fun to read the ups and downs. What a journey it has been!

I AM SO APPRECIATIVE that I have not given up and that I have this record to see just how far I have come.

It's been a good month, and I am looking forward to ending out this year on a good NOTE!! If I average one pound a week, I will be under 200 by the end of 2011!!! HOW COOL WOULD WILL THAT BE?!?

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Ouch!

Today started off rocky with an ugly headache, borderline sinus infection feeling :( But, by early afternoon it did go away, so my day was much better :))

When I returned home, I decided that I needed to exercise!! So, I played Wii for 40 minutes. I danced a whole bunch of different songs on Just Dance. It was fun, and it went by really fast! It was not crazy intensity, but I did work up a sweat, and it didn't feel like exercise.

Food for today:
1/4 cup oatmeal - 75
1 tsp brown sugar - 15
12-ounces - FF, SF gingerbread latte- 75

fruit bar - 220

apple sauce- 50
string cheese- 50
veggie burger - 90

peppermint patty - 30
ham- 160

potato - 278
salsa - 20
cheese - 50
1/2 cup refried beans - 50

Calories in = 1163
Calories out = 215
Net calories = 948

Drank over 100 ounces of water today!
Exercised for 40 minutes.
I ate enough.

Monday, November 28, 2011

Marvelous Monday, yes indeedy

Last week 205.2
This week 204
So that's down 1.2!!! THAT'S WITH TWO full turkey dinners:)) I am so glad and proud of me!!!

OH MY GAWSH, I can't wait to lose these freaking 4 pounds!!!

Today I drank TONS of water!! I met my water goal :)
I ate at least 1000 calories.
I worked out for 18 minutes.

Calories in=
1/4 cup oatmeal-75
1 tsp of brown sugar- 15
16 ounces coffee- SF,FF white chocolate/pumpkin - 150

green beans with onions,mushrooms, bacon bits- 1/2 cup -70
fruit salad- 1 cup - 120
tangerine - 35
apple- 85
ham -75

turkey noodle soup- turkey, noodles, broth, tomatoes, celery, croutons, cheese - 400

TOTAL IN =1025
TOTAL OUT = 125
Net = 900

I jumped rope for 18 minutes.
406 jumps with 65 jumps in a row, as the longest :)
125 calories burned!

Sunday, November 27, 2011

GOALS 4 the week

I need to focus on my water intake!

I want to workout at least 15 minutes every day. I know I can do this, and the jumproping is totally helping and something I can squeeze in easily!

And, I want to eat at least 1000 calories a day!

A couple of days...

Yesterday was filled with family time! This has been such a happy four days off.

Quick recap:
Calories out -

I jump roped yesterday, in the midst of cooking a big turkey dinner :)
I squeezed in 16 minutes.
I jumped 360 times, with my longest being 59 in a row.
My average heart rate was 132, with my max at 179.
And, it registered 150 calories burned. Not bad for 16 minutes!!

Calories in - 920
coffee with gingerbread creamer - 40

turkey - 270- 1 cup
fruit salad - 120 for 3/4 cup
gravy- 20- 1/4 cup
corn - 1/2 cup - 70
stuffing - 1/2 cup - 150
green beans- 70 - 1/2 cup
cheesecake- 180

CALORIES IN = 920
CALORIES OUT = 150
Net calories = 770



Today
coffee with gingerbread creamer - 40
turkey sandwich- 270, bread- 140, miracle whip- 40,= 450

ham-170
fruit salad- 120
green beans- 70
gravy- 20- 1/4 cup
corn - 1/2 cup - 70
stuffing - 1/2 cup - 150

Workout-
367 jumps
15 minutes of jumping rope!
150 calories burned
average heart rate 117 / max 160

Exercise ball exercises - 10 minutes- 70 calories

CALORIES IN = 1090
CALORIES OUT = 220
NET CALORIES = 870

There ya have it!! I am excited for my weigh-in tomorrow, and I am glad that my legs aren't as sore as they were!!!

UPDATED an old, but not forgotten blog

That's right...it's not dead!!

Check out the new direction for one of my old blogs!

Friday, November 25, 2011

A closed door isn't always the end!

Mildly disappointed, but it's just a revise on the plan.

So, I am not going to run the strip at Vegas next weekend :( A bunch of different reasons have affected the final decision for this. So, the plan is that NEXT YEAR I AM GOING TO RUN MY FIRST MARATHON in December 2012 in Vegas!! I am hoping we can make another trip down maybe a couple of weeks later in December, or else I am for sure going on Spring Break!! I miss my family so much :(

I have been searching out an alternative, as I am definitely wanting to finish a half-marathon sooner than later. I found one!! I am going to run the half-marathon in Wenatchee on April 21st!! So, I am pretty stoked, plus it's sponsored by a foundation created after the passing of an incredible runner in Wenatchee, who actually knew. SUPER cool that the registration goes towards that!!

I am going to register on pay day next week, and it's going to be my Christmas present to me. I am very excited about it!! As well, it does give me more time to train, which will be nice. I want to be able to jog the entire bit, or the majority of it! My goal is to finish it in less than 3 hours and 30 minutes! That's an average of a 16 minute mile, which normally I can walk easily a 15 minute mile. So, if I can jog at least half of it...

FANTABULOUS Friday for me:)

Today was so beautiful!! It was like a spring day, and the sun and warm weather (52 degrees) beckoned me to be outside!

So, eating-wise, I wasn't hungry, probably some weird after-symptom of eating yesterday.

Calories in=
coffee with gingerbread creamer - 40

baked ham with honey mustard to dip it - 186 calories (166 calories for 4 ounces of ham)

ham with honey mustard to dip it - 186 calories

apple with Laughing Cow lite French onion cheese- 135

Total = 547

WORKING OUT- Well, as I said earlier, I was all about being outside and just doing the walk thing. My original plan was to walk up and down Robinson Canyon. But, in the end, I just felt all motivated to start jogging, and I ended up jogging 1.5 miles, and add to that walking for 3.5 miles, well, I made the loop back up Duck Lake Road for a total of 5 miles. I was so into jogging, and so in a groove. I truly can't remember the last time I jogged outside (been using the treadmill because of the weather), and I was just in a zone. It was AWESOME! I stopped to tie my shoe, and I ended up walking after that. It was seriously THE BEST walk/jog I have ever had :))))

I wore my HRM, and it recorded that I burned 656 calories!!! WAHOO :) My average heart rate was 135,with the max being at 185. My I-pod registered 10, 357 steps, but I don't know how accurate that was because it was inside my hoody pocket.

Total out= 656
Total in = 547
Net = -109

WHOA...I have never had a negative calorie intake. GEEZ>>>I know I need to start eating 1000 to 1200 calories a day at a minimum, so that my body doesn't think I am trying to starve, which I am not trying to do by any means. Today I just didn't feel hungry! And, I had an AWESOMELY AMAZING!

Turkey Day

I survived my first Turkey Day :)) I have another one tomorrow!

THE best part of yesterday was when Jordie saw me for the first time, since he left for college, and he RAVED about how good I look, and how proud he is of me!! YES :)

We had a blast with family and we love playing Liverpool Rummy! I tied for first place, gotta love i t!

So, what did I eat?
Here's the skinny:
coffee with gingerbread creamer - 40

At dinner I ate two plates, which really wasn't crazy except that I did eat it all at one sitting, and that was nuts! I haven't eaten that much at one time in forever, so my tummy was FULL. Truly I was miserable :(

I decided that my eating was like this...
1st plate = breakfast/lunch
2nd plate= dinner
I didn't eat anything else for the day.

I did not track calories, but here is what was on each plate:
Plate #1 - ham--which by the way, is the best ever. Rick is an amazing cook! He makes THE best ham ever!! I had some turkey, but only a tiny bit. As well, mashed potatoes and mashed potatoes, stuffing, green bean casserole, a tiny bit of gravy. Each serving was about 1/2 cup.

Plate #2- ham (hello, didn't I mentioned how YUMMY it is?), mashed sweet potatoes, cranberries, and an itty bitty slice of pumpkin pie (seriously I could have put it all in a 1/2 cup or smaller) and an itty bitty slice (same size) of cheesecake.

As you can see, I ate what I wanted. My portions were small. I consider it a BALANCE :)) Having what I wanted, but not going overboard.

OK, but how about the exercising?!?!
First, I did a mini-jumprope workout in the morning. I jumped rope for 16 minute s in 88 degrees--our house is always toasty warm :)

My HRM recorded 124 calories burned. I jumped 291 times, with 60 in a row being the longest. I will get to 100 in a row! I will do it!! I am getting better, and I LOVE the workout!

Then after dinner when we got home, I decided to bust out the Wii. I was feeling icky from eating too much at one time. So, I knew I needed to sweat! I played tennis and boxing, and I also love to do the training mode, where I try to do just one better each time :) I played for 35 minutes, and I wore my HRM, but somehow I didn't have it set, so I don't have info. But, I can tell you I was sweating, and today I have Wii arm!!! I am sore for sure. I felt tons better after playing Wii!! I kinda want the Wii Fit now, maybe.

All in all, I am happy with how I handled Thanksgiving. I didn't feel like I was on restriction, and it was nice that I felt like I NEEDED exercise!

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

YES!!!

Some exciting news!! I added a tab to this blog :)) Up at the top, you can see the RECIPES tab! I won't be going all crazy on it, but I will be adding some of our favorite family recipes as I go. In particular, now that I am writing everything down that I am eating, I am also interested in figuring out calories per serving for each of the meals that I eat!! Cool, huh??

Today was another SPECTACULAR day!!

I know I have said it before, but I have to say again, I LOVE MY JOB :) I truly feel so appreciative that I go to work every day, loving my job, and being paid for it! My kiddos made amazing Thanksgiving placemats, and those along with the cool cards that my Girl Scout troop made, I headed to the retirement home in Okanogan and Omak after school to make special deliveries!!!! COOL! Awesome way to start my Thanksgiving break.


So, here is what I ate today...

Cottage cheese- 100
Coffee-70
Bean-7

Mandarin orange- 45
Veggies – tiny tomatoes, carrots, peas, broccoli – 50?

Coffee-70
Bean- 7

I decided to wait for lunch until I returned home, and I made my nifty little sandwiches I can make now!!! I love them because truly they are PORTION control all the way! I know the picture is blurry, but you get the idea!


Bread – 70
Tuna with lite miracle whip- 25- 16.5 ounces for the tuna- 1 tablespoon and the Miracle Whip
X 2 sandwiches- 190 calories total



Cucumbers in vinegar with garlic -16
Cottage cheese-100
Lasagna-505- You can see the recipe on the other page!! I ate more than a serving, so that's why I have more calories :)


IN =1160
OUT = 200
NET = 960


I watched The Biggest Loser and worked out at the same time!



Jump rope
My heart rate monitor recorded:

Hi – 2:33
L – 14:11
In-11:09
27:53 – 200 calories
I had a total of 416 jumps – 50 in a row was my longest run.



Jump roping kicks my butt, and I am always sooooo sore after!

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

:)

Today ROCKED! Again. So, many super days in a row :) I like it! I love it! I want some more of it!

My students are working on Thanksgiving placemats, which we are going to donate again this year to the retirement homes in Okanogan and Omak. I always am so touched by what the kids write about the things in their lives for which they are thankful. I have THE BEST JOB ON THE PLANET!!!

Things are really coming together with our yearbook at school, and that is SUPER exciting!!! I met with our publisher rep, who happens to be my friend, too, so that is always fun when he is in town.

I finished on our cheer movie (over 250 pictures in it), and I am so proud of the final product! The kids and parents totally loved it! Tonight we had our cheer banquet, which was VERY emotional. It has truly been our best year, and so seeing it end is always tough. And, I have a few kiddos who are seniors, so HOLY cow, turn the tear faucet on!!!


Calories in =
Oatmeal- ¼ cup- 75
Lite syrup-25
Coffee-70
Bean-7

Tortilla-60
l.c.cheese-35
turkey- 30
coffee-100
mandarin orange - 45

pork chop- 3 ounces - 410
acorn squash – 115
brown sugar- 30

TOTAL calories in =987+

And, the + is:
Cheer banquet...lots of stuff, and really I didn't want anything,since I had such a great dinner :) But, I did have a special treat!!
chocolate cupcake with pb cup...not sure on the calories, and I don't really care!
and, I also ate some veggies

Monday, November 21, 2011

Start of a FANTABULOUS week :)

I had a great day, as you can read in the post below this one!


So, I got this super cool sandwich crimper from Pampered Chef! I LOVE IT!! We had to try it out this afternoon :) I can now officially make my own uncrustables. YEAH me! We made tuna sandwiches for a snack, and to try it out. FUN, FUN, FUN!! I get to make pocket sandwiches now :) And, there are even recipes for pastries and tarts!
Total calories in-


Cottage cheese-100
Coffee-70
Espresso bean – 7


Smoked string cheese – 50
Mandarin orange – 45
Apple/chicken sausage – 180


Tuna sandwich- 130

Potato- sour cream- 100
Steak – 6 ounces- 272- tender chuck steak
BBQ sauce - 20


TOTAL Calories IN- 974

Why today was a good day!

No, make that a great day!
It started out with wearing my super cool smiley shirt that I designed :) There are 10 of us gals at school that are wearing them today! The kids LOVED it! I will have to take a pic and post it!

Then during my prep I decided to have some chocolate yerba mate tea, and let me tell ya, YUMMY!!!

I had a pay-it-forward-moment that seriously brought me to joyous tears.

I wrote a recommendation for one of my students today. I simply cannot believe she is a senior! I love writing recommendations when it is 100% from the heart!!! Great kid!

I have been organizing some things that I have been invovled with before, and I am receiving awesome feedback :) IT ALWAYS feels great to be appreciated!!

I loved the comments today about how much weight I have lost...that feels good!!

I started a new book today-- Nicholas Sparks- Lucky Charm. I love his books, and I am just cruising through this one. I also just finished a great book: Shakespeare Makes the Playoffs - sequel to Shakespeare bats clean-up Ron Koertge.

We have been reading Choose Your Adventure books! They are so much fun and bring back the days when I was a wee little one.

Tonight we have Girl Scouts, which I LOVE, love, LOVE!!! Plus now that the girls are older, they are responsible for homework as related to their patches, so I am excited to see some of the things they bring tonight.

And, finally, my honey is making dinner tonight! He is BBQing steaks :)))

Yup, LIFE IS GOOD!

Sunday, November 20, 2011

Okey Dokey Artichokey!

206.2 last week
205.2 this week
So, a loss of 1 pound.

Only down a pound, which surprised me because I thought it would be more, dang it! My goal for this next week with two turkey dinners is to lose a pound, so I was hoping that the loss this week would have been at least two pounds. I want that under 200 so bad!!!!

My goal was by the end of the year, though I was hoping for the first weekend of December, with the end of the year as the true goal. I know the 199 will come, and I can see the light, but dang it...I want it now! LOL! I know that I need to amp up my exercise.

What's so funny is that I was disappointed for a moment, but I had to remind myself that a loss is a loss no matter how small!! It's still a loss, still moving in the right direction. And, what a difference from the beginning of summer!!!! Next week I will be at the 40 pound mark!!! I weighed 244, and now I am 205!!! That's freaking amazing, and it's all been done right :)

I am so ridiculously sore today from my jumprope workout yesterday, holy smokes, talk about a core workout, ZOIKS!

Wonderful WEEKEND :)

I love it when I have a weekend like this! It was fun and mellow, and much was accomplished!!!

We gathered up more clothes that need to go to storage for next year's yard sale. We had our hair cut and mine colored. We did deep cleaning! Shopped and planned out or meals for the next 10 days, including what we are taking to Thanksgiving, oh and I decided since I earned a second free turkey, that we are going to have a second Thanksgiving dinner at our house on either Saturday or Sunday because we want the leftovers :)))

I am planning out my plan of attack for both Thanksgiving dinners and what I will do as far as exercise goes!

Saturday's calories...
Coffee with pumpkin pie creamer – 40
½ grilled turkey and cheese sandwich – 1 piece of multi-grain bread – 110- 1 wedge of laughing cow lite French onion cheese – 35 – 3 slices of turkey lunchmeat – 30 – I can’t believe it’s not butter – 25 – total = 200

*I just LOVE Laughing Cow cheese! I am hooked on grilled cheese sandwiches right now :)

Starbucks – 12 ounce egg nog latter-370-THIS was my big splurge!! I have wanted one, so they were having a BOGO free deal for the weekend and from 2 to 5 p.m., and I happened to be there right after 2 p.m., so I felt like it was meant to be, which also meant that Ricky got a drink, too, YEAH!

Chuckroast-4 ounces- 207 ***Gotta love leftovers!!
Carrots-10
Potato-25
BBQ sauce-40
Zone bar- 210
1102
NO CALORIES OUT :( I just couldn't get it going to exercise because I was do tons of other stuff instead. I did read a GREAT quote: You can be sore tomorrow or sorry, you choose! I am all over that!!

Sunday
CALORIES IN:
Coffee with gingerbread creamer and mint whip cream – 50
Celery -9
Laughing cow lite chipotle cheese- 35
Sesame pretzel crisps- 110
Cashews- 150
Salad- 25 Honey mustard- 20 Croutons – 25 = 70
Tatertot casserole – tatertots- 160, garlic cream of mushroom soup-35, ground beef- 213, cheese- 25= 433
TOTAL IN = 857

TOTAL OUT = 250
Workout = jump rope 25 minutes – 250 calories – in 81 degrees! Yeah, this was an awesome workout that I did while watching The Biggest Loser on my dvr! Talk about motivation :) It was very hot in the house (our pellet stove), so I felt like it was like HOT YOGA, only HOT CARDIO instead!

NET CALORIES = 607

Friday, November 18, 2011

Rock and ROLL

This morning started with a mild earthquake! The epicenter was less than 5 miles from where we live! And, it was a 4.6 magnitude. It woke me up, and I woke up Ricky. Our little one and the animals all slept through it! For me, it wasn't that big of a deal because I have been through MUCH LARGER earthquakes from back in the day when I lived in California. As a matter of fact, when I was in the 7th grade, we had an earthquake that was so big that I was on gymnastic mats during PE, and it moved me and my friend from one side of the gym, clear over to the other. CRAZY!

So, today started out with a little excitement :) And, it is FRIDAY!!! I have my new Friday shirt on :) YEAH! Today was just fun and right. You know what I mean? One of those days that everything goes exactly the way it is supposed to go.

One of my favorite time of the day was today when the huge, fluffy snowflakes were coming down. LOVELY.

After school today, we decided to do our grocery shopping. Normally I do it on Sunday, but this week we decided to get it done right after school :) YEAH! It's all done!! So, again, I used massive coupons, and I saved $95!!! I love love love that!

We came home and put everything away, and then ate a yummy crockpot dinner of a chuck roast. Perfect for today, and so nice that dinner was all cooked and ready to go. And, we had a surprise visitor, Rick's nephew. He was just stopping by for an hour, and then had to go, but it was exciting to see him.

Once our visitor left, we did some cleaning, and some organizing. I have another tub to haul to storage that it for the yard sale next summer. WOO hoo! One tub less of stuff in the house.

I am looking forward to this weekend and exercising! I plan to exercise both days :)

So, my calories in today...

cottage cheese-100
coffee-12 ounces-ff milk, sf white choc, sf gingerbread - 70
no coffee bean today :(
I did have a tiny bit of the pumpkin latte that was delivered today at school-25
1/2 honeycrisp apple- 50

light chicken gumbo soup- 175
laughing cow lite blue cheese-35
celery - 7

breadstick - 110
spaghetti sauce - 25
potato- 108
carrots-27
chuck roast - 8 0unces- 413

TOTAL = 928

By the way...I am so happy that I found my scale! Now I am able to be way more accurate with my servings, though I did guess before I weighed it, and I was glad that it was right on!

Thursday, November 17, 2011

Howdy!

So excited that tomorrow is already Friday :)

I am really looking forward to Thanksgiving, which happens to be my FAVORITE holiday of the year!! I love spending time with family, and we will have LOTS around this year, YEAH!! I am also trying some new recipes this year, and I have a plan for working out.

I love squash. That's right, we are definitely squash people. A guy that my husband works with gave us an entire box of butternut and acorn squash for free, and apparently he has several more if we want them. I could seriously eat squash EVERY day. I am even going to try to make a soup!

I haven't worked out since Tuesday, and I NEED TO!!!

Calories in=
eggs- the liquid kind in the little carton - 1/2 cup - 60
green tabasco sauce
coffee- 12 ounces- FF, SF white choc, SF gingerbread-70
chocolate covered espresso bean - 7

celery -9
laughing cow lite blue cheese- 35
1/2 honey crisp apple - 50
tortilla - 68 with turkey - 30- honey mustard - 10, cabbage - 20= 128

spaghetti- 210
sauce- 50
ground turkey - 100

broccoli slaw with light miracle whip - 50

Total IN = 769

There ya be!

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Yeah for the snow!

I am excited to cross-country ski this year, and try some other winter exercise :)) So, I am cool with the white stuff!

Calories in...
oatmeal with pumpkin spice marshmallows- 100
coffee- 12 ounces - ff milk, sf white chocolate, sf gingerbread - 70
chocolate covered espresso bean- 7

celery-9
laughing cow lite blue cheese - 35
applesauce - 50
Mandarin orange - 45

sour cream - 20
salsa - 20
2 tortillas- 136 for both-I found these super yummy tomato basil tortillas that are only 68 calories!! HOW COOL IS THAT?
4 ounces of carne asada - 225
cabbage- 10
avocado - 100
cheese- 50

2 slices of honeycrisp apple - 40

Calories in - 917
Calories out- nothing extra
Net=917

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Yes!

So, today I went to the doctor, and I had a FABULOUS visit! The really cool thing is that I had lost a LOT of weight since the last time I had a doctor's appointment. My doctor was all proud of me!! She said,and I quote:


"What you have done in the past six months, is more than I could do for you
in the next 20 years! You are the anti-drug!"

How cool is that? It's so true! My blood pressure is TOTALLY perfect and right where it needs to be! Yup, 114/76. Awesome.

It was just really fun to have someone be so positive and so enthusiastic about my health! YEAH!

I had a HUGE list of things to talk to her about, and I am so appreciative that I have such an attentive doctor!! I was there for almost 2 hours! She did prescribe me an inhaler for the possibility that I have exercise-induced asthma, but we had a great conversation about allergies, too. I have noticed that my wheezing definitely happens more when I jog outside. So, we will see...

We talked about all sorts of things that I did need to deal with physically, and I am just GLAD that I finally made the appointment.

I was somewhat short on time, and I almost considered not going in to run, but I figured I could go with 20 minutes, if that was all I had. So, I drove down to the school, jogged 20 minutes, and headed home to get ready and return back to school to do conferences.

My exercise for today:
Treadmill for 1.6 miles - 20 minutes.
I warmed up 5 minutes.
I jogged 10 minutes- 1 mile.
I did a cool down for 5 minutes.

Calories out = 174
Other good news for me, my HRM told me that my average was 130, and that the max was 174. This was an improvement from all the other days that I have jogged a mile in 10 minutes!!

I also had to change my dinner plans because we had my step-daughter's conference, so since I only had 30 minutes for my dinner tonight, I decided to go for a walk, which by the way was VERY cold!! I walked 1.8 miles in 25 minutes, burning 208 calories.

TOTAL CALORIES OUT = 382
Calories in =1124
NET CALORIES = 742

What I ate today:
cottage cheese - 100
coffee-ff, sf white chocolate, sf coconut -16 ounces - 90
coffee bean -7

celery - 9
laughing cow lite blue cheese-35

turkey-30
rice cake- 30
laughing cow lite sundried tomato-35

steak(12 ounces)- 544
butternut squash - 2 cups - 164
light brown sugar - 30
bbq sauce - 50

total - 1124

And, there ya have it!

Monday, November 14, 2011

A big loss!!

Yeah, today I weighed 206.2, which is a 3 pound loss from last week!!! Of course, last week was rough, as it was a 1.4 pound gain, but what this has shown me is that you can have one rough week, and you truly can bounce back!! Just like that :)

If you read my blog from this past weekend, you see that I had two LOVELY dinners out :) I ate and drank what I wanted. But, I also worked hard with my exercise, and so once again it pays off.

Today was kind of a backwards day. I was able to sleep in, which was cool! Then I did ZUMBA, yeah! 45 minutes, and 485 calories later :)) Then I had conferences, which I met with 31 families!! ZOIKS! I am tired, for sure.

Calories IN = 641.75
Calories OUT = 485
NET CALORIES = 156.75

Food for me...
Mandarin Orange- 45
Coffee- FF, SF white chocolate, SF gingerbread - 70
chocolate covered espresso bean - 7

celery- 10
Laughing Cow Cheese- blue cheese- 35

yogurt with fruit- 200
decaf ff milk, SF hazelnut - 60

chicken noodle soup - 1 1/4 cups- 214.75

TOTAL = 641.75

Sunday, November 13, 2011

HOLY buckets!

Now, that I have been bawling my eyes out...

READ THIS BLOG!!

Read all the comments! I did comment :) I am going to go buy two $50 gift cards and make sure they get to two families that I know are struggling, and that Thanksgiving dinner may not happen otherwise.

Wowser!

Lovely weekend :)

To update last night, I ate the Ahi tuna steak at Breadline, with wasabi butter. YUMMY :))) I also had stir fry veggies which consisted of bean sprouts, the stalks of broccoli (cut all skinny), and red peppers. As well, there was probably 1 1/2 cups of jasmine rice. AND, what I consider to be my dessert...TWO--not one--chocolate martinis! OMGAWSH they were delightful! I had never had a chocolate martini before.

We had a wonderful dinner, and then we dropped off Rick and went back to Laura's hotel room and laughed and chatted and just had some quality girl time. Laura is the kind of friend, who I can not see for years, and the moment we are together, we feel like it was just last weekend that we hung out :) Cool! It was really nice!

Today was a great day, too! First I headed off to work out :) I strapped on my HRM, and hit the elliptical trainer. According to my HRM, it said that I burned 108 calories, and went 1.6 miles. I did this in 25 minutes. The cool thing is that since I had my chest strap on, it then synced with the elliptical trainer, even though I wasn't holding the heart rate monitor handles on the machine. It was totally cool!!

Next up, I jumped on the treadmill! I jogged 1.25 miles in 15 minutes. I jogged for 10 minutes, 1 mile, on 6 mph! It was harder this time than the other day. I had hoped to try and jog this pace for 1.5 miles, but that didn't happen. I don't know if that was because I had already worked out on the elliptical for 25 minutes. IDK! It registered on my HRM as 232 calories.

Finally I ended my workout with a mini-weights workout. I did 3 sets of 15 reps of the bench press, triceps push, and bicep curl. Working out for 15 minutes with the weights.

So, in the end I worked out for a total of 55 minutes. And, according to my HRM I burned a total of 492 calories!! My average HR was 150, with a max at 188.

Calories out = 492
Calories in = 784.5
NET calories =292.50

I didn't realize this was so low, so I might have a cup of hot chocolate with mint whip cream and pumpkin spice marshmallows at 60 calories :)

What I ate today...
Coffee with creamer- 30
Pineapple coconut fruit bar- 200

chicken noodle soup - homemade! MY FAVORITE :) My family's favorite!! - not sure on the calories for this. 429.5

1/2 acorn squash (with 1 tbsp of whipped veggie spread, 1 tbsp of brown sugar) 125

Total = 784.50


That's something I would like to do...figure out what all my recipes are for their calorie content!

Gonna do it for my homemade chicken noodle soup...
1/2 cup of the noodles-170- I use the frozen Reames egg noodles!! They are amazing :)
1/2 cup of cream of chicken soup - 120
1/2 cup chicken - 105
1/2 carrots - 25
1/2 cup celery - 9.5

special spices :))

429.5 calories 2 1/2 cups of soup


OK, so the other thing I wanted to mention that I am super proud of for today...I have been using and organizing coupons lately. So, today I went to do my grocery shopping, and I bought over $300 in groceries for just over $200. All told, I saved $136 with about $30 from coupons, and the rest from card savings. I got a free turkey worth $25, and free chuck roast for $25. It was awesome :)))

I buy the Seattle Times at the $1 store, because you can get it there for only $1, duh! I am no extreme coupon queen, by any means, but whatever I can save my family...that's all that matters to me :) I don't do any online coupon stuff, yet. And, I did have someone ask how long I spend with dealing with coupons, and really it's only about 15 minutes a week, just for the cutting and organizing (I organize by each aisle in the store.).

Saturday, November 12, 2011

Another good one for the books!

Today we went for a drive up to Conconully because we wanted to see the snow :) LOVE IT! I just love going for drives anyhow, brings back such sweet memories of being a little girl because my daddy would take us on drives almost every weekend!

I have been doing really well on getting all of my water in.

Calories in =
coffee, no milk, with gingerbread creamer AND mint whip cream (OMGawsh...the mint whip cream is DELICIOUS)- 60

1/2 a grilled cheese/turkey sandwich- 225 SOOOOOOO yummy!

Total before going out to dinner= 285

I didn't do any extra exercise today. I am definitely feeling my run/jog/walk yesterday!! My thighs are sore, indeed.

Tonight I am so excited because Rick and I are going out to dinner (I KNOW...two nights in a row) with my VERY good friend from way back when junior high!! After dinner we are going to ditch drop Ricky off at home and hang out for some girls' time at Laura's hotel. She even brought notes from when we were in junior high!!! OMGawsh that will be funny entertaining :)

I will blog what I eat for dinner, and what I have to drink.

Tomorrow I am back to the gym for the treadmill!! I am going to try and jog 1.5 miles straight. As well, I want to do something else, maybe the elliptical or strength training--weights-- or, I dunno. I will see what tomorrow brings.

MUCH better week :)

This week has been so much better than my Halloween week!

It really shows me that we can have a bad week, but still bounce back :))))

My real Friday!!

Friday was a great day!!! I am so appreciative of the past, present and future veterans who have served our country including my son and my daddy :)

I did a lot of things around the house, a continuation from Thursday night! YEAH!

Then I went and bought a heart rate monitor! Yippie! I went to Big 5 and bought a Bowflex HRM.



It is normally $129, but it was on sale for $45!! I did find it online at Amazon for $65, too, but it was awesome to pick it up yesterday in person! Plus, I was given a free knife for being one of the first 100 people in the store yesterday morning. COOL!

Anyhoot, it is cool because you can use it with or without the chest strap. It only took me about 15 minutes to get everything set up with all my personal info.

Then I hopped on the treadmill. I went a total of 2 miles. I warmed up by walking a half of a mile in 8 minutes. Then I amped it up, and I ran a mile in 10 minutes!!!!!  I just kept telling myself that I could do anything for just 10 minutes, and  I did. Actually I was surprised at how easy it was. I kind of just got a groove going, and it felt good. Then I spent another 7 minutes cooling down and walking a half mile.

SO, my HRM told me that I averaged 145, which is EXACTLY in my target zone!! I burned 234 calories for 25 minutes of walking/jogging. My max was 185, which is 5 over what should be my max. I am guessing that happened when I ran 10 mph for 30 seconds. THAT was scary, and I really didn't like it. The HRM also broke the workout into HIGH, LOW, and IN. So, you know what your balance is throughout.

Now for what I ate:
coffee latte- ff, sf white choc, sf coconut - 16 ounces - 90

I made the yummiest grilled cheese and turkey sandwich for me for lunch and a grilled cheese and ham sandwich for Ricky for lunch. I love eating lunch with him :) Wish we could do it every day!!

bread - 240
chili garlic cheese - 2 slices - 160
turkey- 60
whipped veg. spread (like butter) - 30
Total for sandwich = 490 - which is a lot, but it was kind of a brunch, since I didn't eat breakfast.

Up to this point I ate 580 calories.
Calories for exercise = 234
SO, net = 346

We had date night last night!! So, we went out to eat dinner, which was such a treat on a Friday night because normally I am at football on Friday night! We went to Rancho Chico, and I ordered a veggie quesadilla. It was delicious! I loved the spinach in it. I could only eat half of it, and I didn't feel obligated to eat the entire thing, not to waste it, or whatever. I also ate some chips (didn't count how many) with salsa. And, the big treat for me...I had a small coconut margarita! It was so yummy :)) Finally when dessert came, the little chip with a dab of whip cream, strawberry ice cream and syrup. And, I did eat it!! I also drank 3 glasses of water with dinner. In the end, I don't know my total calorie intake for dinner, but even if it was 1000 calories, it would put me at 1346.

Then we went to the movies :) I was so full that I didn't even want anything. I had figured I would maybe I would have a small unbuttered popcorn, but in the end I was feeling stuffed!! So, I had a HUGE water instead :) Even Rick just had a pop. Makes me think we should eat dinner right before the movies, since it will keep the price down, too!

I also bought some new exercise clothes, and a couple of new shirts, all as XL instead of XXL. That feels super!! I can't wait until I am buying them all in L!! I also packed up all of my 20s of everything to give to a friend because I will NEVER wear them again. I am close to doing the same with my 18s.


Good day for sure :))

Thursday, November 10, 2011

It's my Friday!

Today was another perfectly awesome day! I would rate it right around a 9.

We had a fantastic Veterans Day assembly :) It is always so emotional for me. But, this year my students invited veterans, and we had veterans show up, so it was amazing to honor REAL people in our audience. It meant a lot to the kids that they were there.

Today is also the USMC birthday, so that makes me think of Cody even more!!

I also posted my cast for the upcoming play, and I have a GREAT group. It's going to be fun, and how cool that I already have auditions completed. I actually have all of the rest of November off, except for one rehearsal, so that will be a nice little break!

We came home to night and went on a cleaning frenzy, and the little one's room is MUCH improved :)  YEAH! I got lots of love and accolades for helping; it always feels good to be appreciated.

Tomorrow I get to sleep in! YAHOO!!! I bought a coffee this afternoon, and normally I NEVER ever drink caffeine after 3 p.m. because I am a bit sensitive, so hopefully I won't be up all night!!

I have a lot of things I want to accomplish tomorrow. I am excited to have an extra day off. And, this is going to be a fun weekend. Date night tomorrow night, and then girls' night on Saturday.

Today was so busy that I wasn't able to eat lunch like normal. I did finally have some time to snack this afternoon right as school was getting out.

So, here's the grub report:

Oatmeal ¼ cup- 75

Coffee-12 ounces, ff, sf white choc, sf gingerbread - 70
Chocolate coffee bean - 7

Cheese- 60
Grapes -110

Pretzel thins- 110
Sour cream-40

Coffee-12 ounces, ff, sf white choc, sf gingerbread – 70

Chicken nuggets- 240
Tatertots - 270
BBQ sauce-40

CALORIES IN =1092
CALORIES OUT= nothing extra

I am hoping to get a run in tomorrow!! I need one  :)

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Yeah for Wednesday!!

Today was great  absolutely fantabulous! I had such a good WONDROUSLY happy and POSITIVE day :)))) Happy to rate it at a 9.234567 :)

Lots going on as usual! Wrapping up cheer, starting up drama, preparing for conferences next week, and overseeing all of our incredible Veterans Day projects that all my 8th graders have created :) Add in there the coat/hoody/shoe drive, and the new program we started to feed our hungry kids over the breaks like Thanksgiving, and boy howdy my room looks like a tornado has come and gone at least three times!

Oh, and then there is the union work. Did I mention that I am the President and negotiator? LOL! We had an early union meeting this morning that started at 7:00 a.m.. SO, busy day, and I truly felt like I hit the road running from the get go. BUT, so much accomplished, and it all fills up my heart and makes me proud of teaching where I do!

I have been really tired this week, but honestly I think it's more from recovering from my nutso surprisingly fun weekend, and then from DST!! Of course, Monday was hectic right off the bat with 4-H and Girl Scouts, so I kinda knew this week would be yet another whirlwind.

I am excited for this weekend though :) The honey and I have a date night on Friday! Football season is over, and since that CONSUMED my Friday nights, well, it's fun to be able to spend it with my man! And, then on Saturday my bestest friend in the entire world will be in town for a few days (she is working on a super cool project that I hope comes to fruition--hint: a reality show of a LOCAL agency). I can't wait to spend girl time with her :))) We are going to have dinner, and then just hang out and ready for this?? She still has all the notes we wrote to each other back in junior and high school!!! WHAT A HOOT :))) So, don't despair, all of my faithful readers, I do unwind and relax and take care of myself.

Today I had two people mention my weight loss. That's always so motivating :)))))))))))

Here's the dish on the calories:
cottage cheese-100
coffee - 70
coffee bean -7
1/2 of the pumpkin latte- 100
egg - 78
apple- 95
cheese- 60
caramel rice cake-40
salad, croutons, mustard - 75
cornbread- 120
shepherd's pie (turkey- 150 , mashed potatoes-110 , green beans- 40 , tomatoes- 20 )- 320 Total

CALORIES in = 1065 Calories out= nothing extra

I definitely want to amp up my exercise! Also, I am struggling to get enough water. I definitely feel it!!

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

Taking care of me :)

I am excited because I have a doctor's appointment for next Tuesday! I needed to have one this past summer, but you know how life gets away from ya...

Well, anyhow, I am glad to finally have one, and I have a huge things to discuss with my doctor. One in particular is the battle I have with TOM. I have terrible cramps, headaches, and MASSIVE swelling, even to the point of pitting edema! Hopefully we can find some relief, as I haven't been a person to have bad any of that! Really my TOM has always been rather mild, with the exception of this past few years, so I am guessing it's an age thing.

It will be nice that my weigh-in will be less than the last time I went :)

This last week was probably the toughest for me as far as cravings and just feeling off. It was seriously like I had PMS for an entire week :((( One thing for sure, I am glad that last week is over, and that I have bounced back!

LOOOOOOOOOOOOng weekend!

So much to catch up on! My goodness what a week it has been!!

First, I gained 1.4 pounds this week, though I was not surprised or upset. I weigh 209.2. I started TOM the day before the weigh-in, and I had Halloween in there, too!

We had a football game on Friday in Freeman! That was quite a long bus ride, and a freezing game. I was truly worried about my poor little toes. I didn't eat any pizza that our boosters bought for the kids, and I was only mildly tempted by the smell :) I did have a chicken whole wheat pizza at Jack in the Box for dinner for 320 calories. I love that the fast food restaurants offer their nutritional info, so that I can decide what I want and should eat.

So, Friday I ate 1050 calories. I didn't have any extra working out, though it would be nice if shivering counted :) We got home after 2 a.m., and by the time I got home it was after 2:30. I had to get up at 7:30 and head back to Chelan for a union retreat. CRAZY!

I made really good choices for eating on Saturday and Sunday, and thankfully Campbell's does offer healthy choices, which for me included LOTS of veggies and fruits. I did have one drink at the auction, which was yummy! I am not sure on my calories for Sat or Sun, but I know that it was in the 1000 calorie range!

So, now we have yesterday and today. I have all of that!
Monday-
Cottage cheese – 100
Coffee-12 ounces, ff, sf white choc, sf coconut - 70
Chocolate coffee bean - 7
Chicken burger-80
Peppermint patty -30
Cheese- 60
Grapes -110
Pretzel thins- 110
Salad- 25
Honey mustard – 20
Croutons - 30
Hamburger(164)/tatertot(160)/cream of mushroom soup (70)- 394
Total = 1036
No exercise!

Tuesday
Zumba – 500 calories!

¼ cup of oatmeal -75
Coffee-70
Chocolate Coffee bean -7
Turkey burger- 90
Carrots
Cheese-60
Fruit bar-200
Pretzel thins- 110
Salad, croutons, honey mustard – 75
Pork chop- 6 ounces – 356

Calories in – 1043
Calories out – 500
Net calories = 543

Oh, boy, I do LOVE ZUMBA :)))

I have been drinking right close to 80 ounces a day, but I need to improve that to 100. I feel thirsty!

I had a great weekend, but between the late night and early morning and Daylight Savings Time, I have felt pretty tired! Last night I crashed before 8 p.m.!!

Thursday, November 3, 2011

Back on track!! Yahoo :)

Today I had three, YES THREE, people tell me that I looked really pretty :) Yeah! I felt that way, and I almost even twittered exactly that this morning before I even heard from anybody else :)

I also left my first Operation Beautiful sticky note!! My phone battery was dead, so I didn't take a pic, but it just felt great:) I also made up other ones to leave in random places. I will be out of town to a couple of different places this weekend, so I plan on leaving some notes around. Cool!

I went back to Rawsons and bought a few more smaller pairs of pants for under $7 each!! YEAH, normally $60, which I wouldn't have bought for myself. So, I feel pretty awesome about my new jeans, and I can't wait until I fit into them :))))

Also, I am excited because I had a friend, who is a personal trainer and registered dietician, look over my blog, specifically checking out my food journaling. She told me that I eat a lot of natural foods, and that I have a good balance of veggies, fruits, and proteins. And, she really liked how I do eat treats here and there! Basically I got a GIANT A+ for how I have been doing on my food, which she said, and I totally agree that how I eat is how I can eat forever. That this is not a diet, but me just being in control and aware of what I am eating. It's so nice to feel validated :)) This was perfect today, especially after I had such an up-and-down day yesterday!

Cottage cheese – 100
FF, SF white choc, SF almond roca Coffee- 70
Chocolate covered espresso -7

Gardenburger-chicken-80
Peppermint patty – 30
2 tangerines-100

Homemade French dip:
Bun-220
1 slice of mozzarella-60
Roast beef-60
Au jus- 20
Bbq sauce – 40

Chipotle sweet potato fries – 130
Milk- 80

CALORIES IN = 1004
CALORIES OUT= nothing extra today!

80 ounces of water!

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

:) :(

I feel like it was a roller coaster day. I am pretty sure I am full of PMS :(

:( First, I was all packed and ready to go for 5:30 this morning to go work out, and SOMEHOW my phone turned itself off. It was on, when I went to bed, but when I woke up, it was 6, and my phone was off :(

:)Had a nice lunch (salad!!) with two of my good friends!!

:)It is the end of first quarter! I finished and posted all my grades!

:( I felt out of whack on my eating today, and I ate junk I wouldn't normally eat, and I didn't eat breakfast today, maybe that's what caused the crazy cravings...

:)Bought a pair of size 16 jeans at Rawsons for less than $7 on clearance! I figured I would put them away until they fit, BUT, I can wear them now!!! I am totally going back tomorrow and picking up size 14 jeans, and maybe even size 12, too!!!!

:)Practice rocked tonight! I have such a strong and talented squad :))

:( I didn't write anything down that I ate today. But, I will tomorrow! I just decided to take the day off. I could probably even write down everything if I really concentrate, but blah.

:) Bought my favorite teas: pumpkin, gingerbread, and egg nog!

:)Finished this day with a much needed massage!

:)Ricky had dinner ready when I got home!!

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

TODAY :)))

A busy and fruitful day :))

Calories in...
cottage cheese only 1/4 cup-50
apple-95
coffee-70
chocolate espresso bean - 7

chicken garden burger-80
deer jerky -125

ff decaf latte with sf hazelnut- 60

salad:
cheese- 50
lettuce- 50
dressing - 30
bacon- 25
pear-81

CALORIES IN = 723

CALORIES OUT= 560
ZUMBA!! And, I went HARD TODAY!!!

NET CALORIES = 163

I realize that the calories were low today, but honestly I wasn't hungry (probably all the crap yesterday!). And, I was also trying to counter balance yesterday :)

I did drink 100 ounces of water :))

Excited to work out tomorrow in the morning!!

Yesterday is gone!

So, yesterday I did eat whatever I wanted.

Here's a recap:
apple
coffee
sugar cookie
big pretzel with chocolate on the end
fruity dessert salad
dirt cake
carrot with a dab of cream cheese and an almond sliver
2 buckeyes (chocolate peanut butter things)
dried apples
orange
2 truffles
stew for dinner

100 ounces of water

work out = jogging in the morning and walking last night(over a mile)