It’s Going to Take More Than a Contest

So to be Captain Obvious for a moment - I’m not winning in this contest. In fact, today I weighed in at 164. I thought it would be different. I thought there would be some sort of accountability factor because I’m in a public contest.

But I find myself more than ever thinking that I’ll “just have this extra slice of cheesecake today because I can’t tomorrow.” Tomorrow, of course, never comes.

Being 5′8″ and 165 lbs isn’t a horrible thing. I’m not appalling. Dare I say I even get checked out sometimes. (Sorry, dudes, I’m married.)

But my frame is small. I’m carrying extra weight. I can only do the dishes for maybe 10-15 minutes before my back hurts. I always gain in the front (abs, breast) first and that’s where the… ...Continue reading

Meals for the Day - 03/10/08

03/10/08 - Breakfast

A Zone bar and a small glass of skim milk.

Breakfast: 300 calories, 7 grams fat, 38 grams carbs, 3 grams fiber, 22 grams protein

03/10/08 - Lunch

Yay for Nathania! Thanks to her list of fast food meals under 500 calories last month, I was reminded I could actually eat some food from McDonald’s. That worked out well as I was driving through part of town with no Wendy’s. So, I ordered myself up a grilled chipotle snack wrap and a fruit and yogurt parfait to go with the apple I’d tossed in my bag. Unfortunately, they accidentally gave me fries instead of the parfait. When I pointed out the error, they… ...Continue reading

Veggie Of The Year Award

If you don’t mind, I’d like to nominate eggplant as the Veggie Of The Year. Eggplant is one of those foods that can “be” something else, in that it can be a great substitute for meat in many recipes. We just had a diet version of eggplant parmigiana and it was incredibly delicious. Here’s a good recipe for it, if you want to try it out.

Want more reasons to love eggplant?

Eggplant is low in saturated fat, sodium, and cholesterol, and is high in dietary fiber, folate, potassium, manganese, vitamin C, vitamin K, thiamin, niacin, vitamin B6, and lots of other good stuff.

So, since I love eggplant, and it also happens to be purple (how many purple foods are there?), I nominate it as… ...Continue reading

Printable Version of Low Cal Fast Foods

It has been requested that a printer-friendly version of the 158 Fast Food Meals for 500 Calories Or Less

So, I copied and pasted everything onto a Microsoft Word doc and ftp-ed it onto my social media blog, Social Media Butterfly.

Click here to download the printer-friendly version of 158 Fast Food Meals for 500 Calories or Less

Happy healthy fast food eating! By the way, one more tip - if you cave and order fries - try throwing 1/2 the fries away before you start your meal. Cut 1/2 the calories and half the guilt. If you end up digging them out of the trash can, get professional help.… ...Continue reading

Meals for the Day - 03/09/08

03/09/08 - Breakfast

Another Zone bar, this time paired with a small glass of skim milk. You know, that whole “let’s increase the calories” idea I’ve got going on.

Breakfast: 300 calories, 7 grams fat, 38 grams carbs, 3 grams fiber, 22 grams protein

03/09/08 - Snack

Mmmm…banana. I’d been skipping bananas in favor of pineapple for a few weeks because bananas are so much higher in calories. That said, the potassium is super great for you. Plus, I just flat out like bananas. So when the Elnora decided she didn’t want to eat the banana I’d just peeled for her, I figured it was a good morning snack for me.

Snack: 105 calories, 0 grams fat, 27… ...Continue reading

Well this is new…

So I’ve been doing some reading and thinking and talking to folks who know a little something about nutrition.

It appears I need to actively work on INCREASING my calorie intake.

I’ve noticed in the last week I’ve been REALLY tired. I mean like REALLY tired. I got to thinking and started wondering if I was actually ending up too low on the calorie count each day. In other words, I wasn’t giving my body enough energy to get the job done.

Then I thought about what I ate in Italy. I’d estimate I averaged 2400-2600 calories a day on that trip. Granted, I was walking 10 miles a day, so I was really active, but I lost three pounds that week and I felt fantastic.

I also noticed it’s taking less and less… ...Continue reading

Meals for the Day - 03/08/08

03/08/08 - Breakfast

Spent the night at a friend’s after our Buffython, so had to put together breakfast from what they had laying around. Was in the mood for something filling, and sweet. She had some “protein nugget” granola style cereal, so I put a serving of that in a bowl, topped it with pineapple and then poured some Kefir over it instead of skim milk. (Milk and pineapple do not mix.) This may be the highest calorie non-vacation breakfast I’ve had since things started.

Breakfast: 369 calories, 4 grams fat, 72 grams carbs, 5 grams fiber, 17 grams protein

03/08/08 - Lunch

It wasn’t long before we realized we were totally snowed in. Apparently, I should not have spent the previous… ...Continue reading

Meals for the Day - 03/07/08

03/07/08 - Breakfast

Another Zone bar.

Breakfast: 210 calories, 6 grams fat, 25 grams carbs, 3 grams fiber, 14 grams protein

03/07/08 - Snack

After I worked out, I needed to run by the grocery for some weekend supplies. As usual, the kids snacked on bananas while I checked out. Was feeling pretty hungry myself, so I ate a “Jazz” apple. First time I’d had that variety. Not as good as my beloved Honey Crisp, but pretty good.

Snack: 80 calories, 0 grams fat, 21 grams carbs, 4 grams fiber, 0 grams

03/07/08 - Lunch

By the time I got home and got the kids to bed, I actually wasn’t all that hungry. I was also planning a… ...Continue reading

Weekly Weigh-in

I gotta tell you, I wasn’t holding out a lot of hope this week. After losing 3 pounds on the trip, I seemed to level out for a few days. I’d been watching food pretty closely though (mmm, lots of veggies) and working out regularly though in the hope my body would start cooperating.

And it did!

185.2 pounds this morning, which now puts me at 12 pounds total loss. Woo hoo!

We still have a little more than 3 weeks to go, so I’m hoping I can hit my original goal of 16 pounds. (20 would be nice…) Clothes are certainly starting to fit more loosely. In fact, I can no longer wear my favorite jeans without a belt. Guess this gives me a good excuse to go shopping before SES NY… ...Continue reading

Quick Weigh-In

Running around doing lots of stuff today, so only time for a quick weigh-in. Darn. Still stuck at 180. Haven’t moved down at all this week. Really must try to get some exercise in, but being super-busy is making that hard to do. Must.try.harder.… ...Continue reading