Catching Up And Catching My Breath

Yesterday, time got away from me as I was working my tush off (well, I wish that were true, but actually I was just working my brain and not my tush). In any case, by the time I looked up, bleary-eyed from all the work, it was way past dinner time. So, we quickly threw together some turkey soft tacos using whole wheat tortillas, with a bit of salsa for spice. I’m not yet sure what dinner will be tonight, but I did just get some exercise in. I fast-walked 800 steps. The general consensus from my quick research online is that 2000 steps is approximately a mile, so I walked a little less than half a mile. Doesn’t sound like much, but hey, it’s half a mile more than before, so that’s gotta count for something. It took about 15 minutes, so my goal will be to work up to 30 minutes. That’s all for now, y’all. Later.

Week 1 Weigh-In

I was a little nervous to get on the scale just now, but was happy with the results. I now weigh 185.2, which is a nice 5 lb. drop from the 190.6 that I started out at. I’d like to think the next few weeks will each see 5 lb. drops, but I doubt that will happen. The first few pounds tend to shed the quickest, and then things stabilize some. Still, it’s encouraging. Down is the right direction. Woot!

Ok, time for another cup of coffee so I can wake up just a little more before tackling work for the day. Later, y’all.

We need your support! Even if it’s just wishing us luck every now and then, we’d be grateful. Of course, linking to the contest or becoming a sponsor would be very cool too, and would be appreciated by the winning charity, I’m sure!

Breakfast And Lunch Routine, Dinner Fun

I seem to be falling into a comfortable breakfast and lunch routine. I basically had the same thing today as I did yesterday for breakfast and lunch. So unless I try something new and fun, I probably won’t re-blog about breakfasts and lunches anymore. Just assume that unless I’ve said otherwise, I’ve probably had a mini-whole-wheat bagel w/diet cream cheese for breakfast (and perhaps some grits to go with it), and a slice of ham or roast beef on whole grain bread with a little creole mustard spread on it for lunch (and perhaps a couple of baked whole wheat chips to go with that).

Dinner tonight is going to be pretty yummy, I think. We’re grilling turkey breasts outside and we’ll be serving those on whole grain buns, and slathering grilled bell peppers and grilled onions on top, with a touch of dijon mustard for zing. Plus, we’re going to bake some sweet potato chips to round out this lovely little meal.

Oh, and the grocery store finally got more Arizona Diet Green Tea with Ginseng in, so I stocked up on it. The grumpy frown has been replaced with a happy grin. See?

Tomorrow I weigh in. Hope I’ve lost at least a couple of pounds.

My Dogs Are Not Happy

See those sad puppy eyes? Those represent my three dogs who are NOT HAPPY about the household being on a diet. Why? Because that means they are also on a diet. For years now, they’ve happily enjoyed lots of leftover scraps. (Hey, don’t tell me people food is bad for dogs. They aren’t dogs. They’re family. Now go bother someone else about that). Anyway, now we have nothing but healthy food, and not much of it! We are eating teeny tiny portions, which means I am eating every single thing on my plate, and not leaving even a crumb for the doggies.

They keep looking at me like I’m going to yell “PSYCH!” and then give them lots of goodies, but it isn’t happening. Instead, they wait for hours, finally concluding that no goodies are forthcoming, and then traipsing off to their doggie dish for their plain, drab, dry, dog food.

I’m worried. Pretty soon, they might decide to join forces and attack. Wait, no, that can’t happen. My dogs might lick a burglar to death, but they don’t have a fierce bone in their bodies. Ok, so I’m safe there, but I do still have to look into their pitiful, pitiful eyes, every day. Yikes. It’s enough to tempt me to go to Burger King. It wouldn’t be my fault, would it?

The Rest Of Today’s Plan

I last left off describing my breakfast this morning, but didn’t know what the rest of the day’s menu would look like. Now that info is available, so I’m here to share.

Lunch was a thin slice of roast beef on a toasted whole wheat slice of bread, with a dab of creole mustard spread on it. In addition, 5 baked whole wheat chips with a bit of salsa rounded out the meal.

Tonight’s dinner will consist of turkey breast, eggplant, and squash, all grilled on the barbecue pit, along with a small baked potato (with just a bit of yogurt and chives on it).

All in all, a decent day for eating, I think.

Oh, exercise for the day consisted of a power walk a couple of times around the cleared part of our acreage (which comes to probably a mile or so). Tomorrow will be more dumbbell lifting. I’m trying to alternate days between the power walks and the weight exercises.

That’s all for today, y’all.

We need your support! Even if it’s just wishing us luck every now and then, we’d be grateful. Of course, linking to the contest or becoming a sponsor would be very cool too, and would be appreciated by the winning charity, I’m sure!

How Today Is Shaping Up

I started today off with a very pleasing breakfast. You should know that I love breakfast. No, really, I cannot do without breakfast. A day without breakfast is a day with a ragingly grumpy Donna. You never, ever want to see me on a day that I’ve not had breakfast.

Ok, so, today’s breakfast was a miniature whole wheat bagel. Yes, really, the Thomas brand makes cute little miniature bagels. They really are filling despite their size. So, anyway, back to what I was saying. I had a miniature whole wheat bagel with a dab of diet cream cheese, along with a warm yummy bowl of instant grits (made with water, not milk). That little meal was enough to satisfy both my taste buds and my tummy.

Not sure what lunch will be but I’m thinking it might be worth making the long trek out of the boondocks and into the “city” for some Taco Bell. Yes, Taco Bell! Why? Well, ok, first off, I love Taco Bell. It fits right into my love of junk food and love of Mexican food. (Don’t tell me it’s not Mexican food. Sure, I know it’s not “real” Mexican food, but that’s what we call it down here, k?).

So anyway, one would normally think Taco Bell would be off-limits on a diet, right? This “one” would think so, yes. However, I just received an email newletter from SparkPeople that included an advertisement for Taco Bell’s newest offering. They now have what they call their Fresco menu, which has 9 items with 9 grams of fat or less. Checking it out, I see that each item would fit into the 300 or so calories for a meal. Could even eat two of some items. Pretty cool. I doubt I’ll actually go into the city today for this, but the next time I’m there for some other reason, I may “indulge” myself with a little Taco Bell. Emotionally, I’ll feel like I’ve eaten something fattening, but I won’t really have cheated. That’ll be fun!

No idea what’s up for dinner yet. Decisions, decisions. So many to make. Will let you know when I know.

Later, y’all.

We need your support! Even if it’s just wishing us luck every now and then, we’d be grateful. Of course, linking to the contest or becoming a sponsor would be very cool too, and would be appreciated by the winning charity, I’m sure!

Me and My Lousy Memory

Doh! I totally forgot that tonight is Turkey Meatball Sub night! That’s my reward for suffering through icky salmon last night.

Had a nice bowl of cut up fruit for lunch, including honeydew melon, cantaloupe, red and green grapes, and strawberries. Melons do a really good job of filling me up.

Really looking forward to the turkey meatball subs tonight. Bought whole grain sub sandwich bread and Healthy Choice diet tomato sauce, so the sandwiches should be both yummy and diet-friendly. Haven’t checked the scales lately. Plan to do an official weigh-in on Friday (one week after the first weigh-in).

That’s all for today. I’ll check back in tomorrow, y’all.

We need your support! Even if it’s just wishing us luck every now and then, we’d be grateful. Of course, linking to the contest or becoming a sponsor would be very cool too, and would be appreciated by the winning charity, I’m sure!

Stuff I Just Bought For This Diet

I just went to the grocery store to get more Arizona Diet Green Tea with Ginseng, because I absolutely love that stuff, and it has 0 calories. Unfortunately, they were out, so I threw a short temper tantrum (in my mind, I didn’t actually make a scene), and bought other things to calm me down. I ended up with several boxes of Special K cereal bars (90 calories each), lots of fruit (already chopped and mixed in bowls - ready to eat), and some low fat popcorn. Just knowing I have munchies makes up for the lack of the tea. I will need to find some place that has the tea though. I really love it.

Fake Eggs And Salsa

I decided to give fake eggs a try. I guess they aren’t really fake, but they aren’t exactly real either. I’m talking about those liquid eggs that come in a carton (like a milk carton). They are fat free and cholesterol free. I believe they are really just egg whites with yellow coloring added. In any case, I scrambled some of that up this morning with a little salsa to make my own version of heuvos rancheros (fakos rancheros). How’d they taste? Well…they were edible. A little on the dry side, but not bad. I added a miniature whole wheat bagel with nofat cream cheese to the meal, and the combination was a good one. Not a bad little breakfast this morning.

I haven’t yet planned out the menu for the rest of the day yet, (or been “informed” either), so I’ll let you know later what that will be.

Menu For Today

Ok, so breakfast was a little egg burrito thingy that was about 150 calories. Lunch ended up being a quick slice of roast beef on whole grain bread, with a bit of dijon mustard. Both of those were basically, “quick, last minute, thrown-together” ideas. Dinner will be a little more thoughtfully planned. I’ve been “informed” that we are having baked salmon with cilantro, zucchini, spinach, and mushrooms. I say “informed” because it implies “against my will”. I don’t like salmon. Blech, icky. But I’m told it’s only 2 oz. I mean, how hard could it possibly be to eat 2 oz. of anything. Just one shove, and it’s gone, right? Then, I’ll cover up the nasty taste with lots of cilantro. (I love cilantro). I’ve also been informed that if I eat all my salmon, like a good little girl, I might get a turkey meatball sandwich for dinner tomorrow. That sounds really yummy, and it’s actually on the diet menu, so I’m excited about that. (Oh, and now I’ve been told that I get a baked apple for dessert tonight. Cool, that’ll get rid of the yucky salmon taste).