08/10/15

Hey everyone, 

So today went better than I expected - not sure why I was so negative-thinking, but glad it was good!

Breakfast:

Cheerios and Coffee. AGAIN. I just can't change it up - it works so well.

Snack:

A 6 pack of Peanut Butter crackers - my favorite!

Lunch:

Leftover Rotisserie chicken with 3 tbsp Trader Joe's Reduced-Fat Chunky Guac and 1/2 a small diced tomato, along with a package of steamed cauliflower

Snacks:

Afternoon snacks were a package of Peanut Butter ritz bits and a Trader Joe's Apple and Mango bar (my favorite, thus far!).  I also had 1 serving of Trader Joe's Gorgonzola crackers pre-run tonight.

Dinner:

I had 2 Chicken and Green Chile Tamales - YUM!

Dessert:

I just had a Luna Bar - Chocolate Dipped Coconut.  It was good, just not as good as I remember.

Water: 66+ ounces!

Exercise: I did a 3.1 mile run and did a 30 minute yoga video online to end the day - just what I needed!

Pros: yay for eating healthy today and for going on a run even though that was the LAST thing I wanted to do!

Cons: need to keep working on the snacks!

Hoping for a better tomorrow!

08/09/15

Hi everyone!

So today was great - I lost 6.6 pounds in my weigh in this morning, which put me in a great mood for the rest of the day :)

Breakfast:

Same as always - Cheerios and coffee

Lunch:

Rotisserie Chicken with Trader Joe's Chunky Guacamole- SO GOOD!

Snacks:

So I ate a bunch of snacks today.  I had a 6 pack of peanut butter crackers (pictured), a Trader Joe's Apple and Strawberry bar, some Trader Joe's 12-grain crackers with chunky guacamole, some wheat thins, and some Caramel Cashew trail mix. Somehow, this all really didn't make a dent in the calories I needed to eat today.

Dinner:

I had rotisserie chicken tacos with a little bit of cheese, diced tomato, and the guacamole.  Trying to use up some stuff in the fridge.

Water: at least 66+ ounces!

Exercise: I went to Open Gym at Crossfit this morning and then went on a 2.3 mile walk/run tonight.

Pros: yay for a great WI and for still keeping up with lots of working out!

Cons: I really need to control the snacking 

Hoping for a better tomorrow!

08/08/15

Hi everyone,

So today went pretty well - at least, I was in a MUCH happier mood than yesterday, so that was great! :)

Breakfast:

Keeping it simple - Cheerios and Lactaid Skim Milk + Coffee with Lactaid Skim Milk and 2 Splendas

Snack:

I ate a 6 pack of Peanut Butter crackers - LOVE these!

Lunch:

I went to Cava Grill again! It's so addicting! Same EXACT meal as dinner last night, but I only drank half of the juice today.

Snack:

I had a grande coffee with soy milk and 2 splendas

Dinner:

They look so messy, but I had 2 Trader Joe's Chicken and Green Chile tamales. So easy and yummy.

Water: Only about 50 ounces. Not carrying a water bottle didn't help.

Exercise:  I walked 4+ miles at one stretch, and then another 1-1.5 at another. This doesn't include me walking around while shopping - I had a LOT of steps today!

Pros: yay for being in a better place, mentally, and for having the perfect Saturday, in my opinion.  It was SO nice to go for a long walk, go to my favorite food place, spend the afternoon reading a book in a bookstore with a cup of coffee, and stopping by Trader Joe's.  I also resisted getting a cupcake today, but knew I'd feel better if I resisted.

Cons: other than getting more water in, I can't think of anything!

Hoping for a better tomorrow (and excited for my first WI!)

08/07/15

Hi everyone -

Here's my belated post from yesterday - I was a bit down last night and ended up just going to sleep early.

Breakfast:

Same as usual - Cheerios with 1/2 cup Lactaid skim milk with 1 cup of coffee with 1/4 cup skim milk and 2 splendas

Snack:

Peanut Butter crackers

Lunch:

I slept in this morning and didn't have time to pack lunch so I grabbed some teriyaki salmon and a little bit of Chicken Ceasar Salad from the cafe downstairs when meeting a friend for lunch

Snacks:

I was strangely hungry this afternoon. I had this peanut/chocolate bar (I couldn't find another 6 pack of peanut butter crackers), and later I had a small pack of peanut butter ritz bits.

Dinner:

I was feeling a bit down, so I treated myself to a long walk to Cava Grill (my favorite place) and getting a grains and greens bowl with chicken, pickled onions, cucumber, eggplant sauce, puta strips, and the lemon herb tahini dressing, along with the Raspberry Ginger Juice (my coworkers were raving about it this week!) - SO GOOD!

Dessert:

Knowing I still had some calories to eat, I had this 100 calorie Salted Pretzel Chocolate bar - not the best, but wasn't bad.

 

Water: At least 71+ ounces!

Exercise: I walked for at least an hour and a half (45 minutes to and from dinner) - love workouts like those!

Pros: yay for getting in exercise even when my whole body was in pain and yay for not splurging and getting pizza and beer, which is what I really wanted for dinner!

Cons:  I really need to work on not overdoing it on the snacks!

Hoping for a better tomorrow!

08/06/15

Hi everyone,

So today definitely felt like I had more sugar than I should have, but I didn't go overboard so I'm not complaining TOO much :)

Breakfast:

Mostly the same - 1 cup of Cheerios with 4 cut up strawberries and 1/2 cup skim milk with 1 cup of coffee and 1 tbsp creamer (trying to finish the container)

Snack:

I had a banana.

Lunch:

I had a salad with 5 chicken meatballs, lettuce, tomato, onion, pepper, and this bean/tomato/pepper/chickpea/corn/avocado salsa thing, and Caramelized Sweet Onion yogurt dressing, along with a tiny bit of pesto pasta.

Snacks:

So I only took one photo, but I had the crackers above, 4 small Trader Joe's almond biscotti, a cup of espresso with 2 splendas, and 4 what thins.  This was all between 2-7.

Dinner:

I had 5 chicken meatballs with a package of lightly roasted cauliflower - so good!  I also had some unpictured grapes.

Dessert:

I was still hungry and had extra calories, so I ate a Luna Protein Bar.

Water: 91+ ounces!

Exercise: I did a 25 minute yoga video this morning and then went to Crossfit tonight!

Pros: yay for going to Crossfit 2 days in a row, and for not giving up today even though I really wanted pizza

Cons: I definitely need to work on reducing the snacks and sugar.

Hoping for a better tomorrow!

08/05/15

Hi everyone,

So day 2 was definitely filled with lots of hunger pangs.  I can't tell if it's my body getting used to not eating a ridiculous amount of calories each day or if I'm just not eating enough.  My plan is to wait it out and see if it continues or fades.

Breakfast:

Same as yesterday - 1 cup of Cheerios with 1/2 cup Lactaid skim milk (with 4 strawberries this time!) and 1 cup of coffee with 2 splendas and 1/4 cup skim milk.

Snack:

I was feeling hungry so I grabbed a banana.

Lunch:

Same as dinner last night - a salad with rotisserie chicken, lettuce, tomato, onion, and Caramelized Sweet Onion yogurt dressing.  Good, but I didn't find myself full.

Snack:

A Peanut Butter and Cracker 6-pack. Definitely going to have to make sure I keep these in my drawer going forward!

Snack 2:

Prior to the gym, I ate 16 wheat thins (1 serving).

Dinner:

I made a salad with lettuce, tomato, onion, Aidells Caramelized Onion chicken meatballs (SO GOOD!), and Caramelized Sweet Onion yogurt dressing, along with some grapes, and 4 more wheat thins (not pictured).

Water: Fitbit said I had 96+ ounces.  This water challenge at work is definitely paying off!

Exercise:  I did a 25 minute beginner yoga workout this morning and then went to Crossfit tonight - I PR'ed my 3 rep max Strict Press which I was pretty pumped about :)

Pros: the strict press (above), doing yoga this morning (which felt AWESOME!), and staying strong!

Cons: I need to bulk up my meals a bit so I'm not fighting the urge to snack.

Hoping for a better tomorrow!

08/04/15 - Day 1 is in the Books!

So excited that day 1 is officially over! I've heard that the first day is one of the hardest, and I couldn't agree more, but I'm more intrigued by the end result than I am by the coke in the work fridge, or the Cheetos I had hidden in my desk drawer.

Breakfast:

1 cup of Cheerios + 1/2 cup Lactaid skim milk and 1 cup of coffee + 1/4 cup Lactaid skim milk + 2 splendas. Having this for breakfast this morning was key in getting me back on track again.

Lunch:

I didn't have much time to run to the store this morning, and when I did, there was no produce to be seen, so I grabbed a sandwich from the office cafeteria - turkey on whole wheat with lettuce, tomato, and onion. I didn't eat all the bread but this was simple and just what I needed.

Snacks:

I had this package of Peanut Butter crackers (my best option at the office), along with about a tiny bit of leftover chicken, some Frank's Red Hot Sweet Chili sauce, 5 chocolate espresso beans and, pre-run, 4 wheat thins.

Dinner:

I grabbed a rotisserie chicken at the store and made a salad with that, lettuce, tomato, onion, and this Caramelized Sweet Onion yogurt dressing, and about 15 grapes. Yum!

Water: at least 11 cups!

Exercise: 2.5 mile walk/run around my neighborhood (working on running longer stretches and walking less) + 30 minutes of yoga.

Pros: Great first day! Couldn't be more pleased with how seemingly easy it looks on paper!

Cons: Need to add either fruit or veggies at breakfast 

Hoping for a better tomorrow!

Introduction

I didn't expect to be starting a blog almost four years after the summer that I thought was REALLY going to kick off my complete weight loss.  I thought that would be it.  Instead, life got in the way and I gave up blogging, and the weight loss that had accompanied it.  For four years, I've gone back and forth with getting new blogs, working on them for a week or two, and then forgetting all about them.  I'm hoping this time will be different.

I sat here at my computer tonight expecting to go on Pinterest to find a few recipes that were Paleo to start my "100% Paleo diet" tomorrow, as I told my boss over burgers at lunch today.  Instead, I found someone's blog that I used to read four years ago and then remembered that I, too, created a blog to track my weight loss then, and then the question begged: could I even remember what I called that blog to find it?  Like an old boyfriend, the memories came rushing back and I sat here for about an hour and a half reading over every last entry from that summer - remembering how happy and confident I felt while losing weight and really seeing myself as someone I wanted to be and I began yearning for that feeling again.

So here I am.  Four years later, and I'm ready to start this again.  For real.  I won't be eating 100% Paleo and I'm fine with that - I was able to lose weight by simply making an effort, watching my calories, and working out.  I'm ready to do that again.  I intend on incorporating some Paleo recipes, but I don't want to commit to a certain diet at this point - I don't think I'm ready yet for that step.

These next few days are going to be a little rough, since I'm coming into this a little unprepared, but I'll make them work.  I also haven't quite figured out how I want to format my posts, so we'll see what I decide on tomorrow - stay tuned!

For a quick background on me - I'm a semi-recent college grad living in Washington D.C. and working full-time.  There's no shortage of long nights or happy hours or catch up brunches/dinners that fill my days, and I don't expect my life to be any different while blogging.  What I DO expect is that I'll be more mindful of what I'm eating.  I'm going back and forth between logging food on my fitbit vs. myfitnesspal, so hopefully I'll be able to make a decision on that this week.

I plan to use this blog to record my food, workouts, water intake, and pros and cons for the day, with weigh ins on Sunday or Monday.  My goal is to post every day.  That may not happen, and I'm accepting that off the bat.  I do, however, expect that I won't let this understanding affect my optimism this time around.  With that said, I think we're ready to start on this journey again!

Here we go!