Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Applebee's....

For Christmas my brother and his wife gave my husband and I a gift card for Applebee's.  The closest one to us closed a few years back.  Maybe I should tell them because we have gotten the same thing for the past two years.  Today my daughter and I took my mom to a doctor's appointment in another town.  After her appointment we decided to take my mom to lunch.  After a bit of directional challenge, we made it to the restaurant.  I was kind of bummed about the three Weight Watcher endorsed options, they did not sound very appealing.  Since the restaurant did not offer nutritional information besides the calorie counts on their menu, I did my best to calculate using my phone, the Applebee's website, and my Weight Watchers calculator.  It took me a lot of time, but I actually found some really good options.  I decided to have a 7oz piece of steak with tomato salsa, sliced almonds, steamed veggies, and grilled shrimp.  I did not have the cream sauce and switched the potatoes for a portabello mushroom with creamed spinich.  The meal, as is, was worth 13pp.  Since I made a few changes, I decided to keep it at the same pp value, even though it was probably a bit lower in pp.  My rule is to always figure higher than lower.  After we got home, I looked online to find the values of my mom's potatoes and low and behold...Applebee's pp values are listed on Weight Watchers online database...and on my phone!  Oh well, lesson learned.  Since they are updating the database all the time, I now know to check there first before I spend so much time trying to calculate manually.  One good thing...I am pretty darn good at figuring pp values because they were all the same as what I came up with.  I wish Applebee's menu listed pp on all of their food, or at least maybe 10 more menu items.  I convinced my mom and daughter to go to Menchi's for frozen yogurt rather than sharing a super pointy dessert at Applebee's.  I didn't have any because I was driving and cannot eat and drive...well not frozen yogurt anyway.  Both of them were happy with their choices, and I was happy that I helped them make healthier choices...win-win!  When I eat out I usually research what I am going to eat first and then order without even opening the menu.  I think I will stick with that method as it makes ordering quicker, easier, and SAFER!

I did not make it to the gym today as I slept through my alarm.  Tomorrow I plan to walk early in the morning because I cannot go to spin.  I ate well today, even with an unplanned eating out adventure.  Dinner was pork roast, cauliflower, homemade cheese sauce, and a fluffy biscuit topped with Brummel and Brown yogurt butter...it totaled 11pp and was deliscious!  Total pp for the day 33...total allowed...33...so excited to break even!  I still have not gotten the hang of taking photos before I eat, but I will get there eventually.  I did take pictures at lunch though and I will post them tomorrow!

Saturday, January 7, 2012

Weigh in...

Finally...weigh in day...this was another long week, but I really put forth more effort to be mindful of what (and how much) I was eating.  I also got in more activity than I have in the past few weeks.  I walked to the meeting this morning...it was pretty cold...40 degrees.  Even though it was a bit windy and chilly, the walk there wasn't bad.  The walk back was a bit better as it had warmed up a bit but was not yet hot.  I would take cold over hot any day!

So...I lost 2.2 pounds...yeah...the scale is finally moving in the right direction!  My total lost is now 78.2.  I still have 5.6 to lose to get back to where I was at the beginning of December, but I KNOW I will get there and beyond!  The past few weeks have been challenging and taught me a few things as well.  I am sure that I will be able to better manage next Christmas, and I plan to be at goal by then.

Today my husband, daughter, and I went to the movies to see Chipwrecked.  It was cute and good for some laughs.  I did take my water, string cheese, chopped carrots, and a candy cane...sorry movie theater...if you offered better options I would not bring my own.  I enjoyed my cheese, carrots, water, and 10pp worth of movie popcorn.  Usually it is burnt tasting, but today it was super good.  Even though I used some of my weeklies, I did enjoy my eats today.  Last night we had carne asada...my absolute favorite type of beef...I had 3pp worth of carne asada, 2pp worth of grilled shrimp, 2pp worth of guacamole, and some baked kale.  I wanted more carne asada, but told myself that I would be better off waiting until today.  I use that trick often with myself and my daughter...I tell us that if we wait until the next day to eat more of something then if we still want it we can eat it for breakfast.  Most days we don't even think about it the next day.  Today was not one of those days so I had carne asada, guacamole, and a soft roll for breakfast...along with my banana at the meeting.  To include all of my eats today I used 20 of my weeklies and earned 4 activity pp with my walk to and from the meeting.  Tomorrow I have a ton of school to work on...I can hardly believe next week is my last!  I am going to take a break from school to go to the bike trail with the family.  My husband, son, and daughter all have bikes...I am still afraid to ride a bike that actually moves.  I am totally confident on the spin bike at the gym...but having to steer and brake is a different story.  Maybe for my birthday I will finally get a bike and actually be brave enough to ride it...we'll see...I have almost 4 months to build up my courage!

Thursday, January 5, 2012

One day to go...

Although this week has been much better than the previous two, I am not quite back in full swing.  I took a step/weight class this morning, and I am so glad I did.  It was hard, especially since I haven't been in a few weeks, but by the time I was finished I felt so good...body and spirit.  I had planned to go to Zumba tomorrow morning, but no one will be home to be with my daughter.  I have decided instead of missing my workout...I will get busy with my daughter and brave Just Dance and Zumba Fitness that Santa brought.  I really love the class at the gym, but I figure it is better to do something than nothing at all.

Today's eats were pretty good.  I did go over 6pp for the day, but those pp were used on chicken and skim milk, so I figure it could have been worse.  Working to lose weight and get healthier is definitely a journey that requires constant focus, day in and day out.  I am willing to put in the effort and do my best to make the most of meals and days that may not be so great.  Yesterday my daughter and I went out to lunch, unplanned, and I did make fairly good choices.  I avoided several foods that before WW I would have enjoyed without thinking twice.  After I found some more nutritional info during lunch, I found a few changes that will make the next trip to that restaurant even better.  Losing weight and following the WW program is a learning process that is continuous.  I know I am much more aware of what I eat and how much I move since I have joined WW, and I am confident that in time I will reach my ultimate weight and health goals.

Tuesday, January 3, 2012

No Walk, but surely some physical activity...

So I missed my walk today because I didn't realize it would take me as long as it did to do everything else today.  I think it is best, for me anyway, to get exercise done and taken care of first thing in the morning before anything else takes its time slot!  In spite of not leaving the house all day, I did get in a lot of activity and I did stay within my daily pp target.  Several times throughout the day I was tempted to eat, but I refrained.  When I am tired, and frustrated it is even harder for me to not eat mindlessly, but I must say I did really well today...yeah me!

I decided to put school off for one more day...I will definitely get working on it tomorrow.  I knew that if I didn't finish what I started today I wouldn't be very focused on school.  My daughter and I went through all of her clothes and toys...donated some and organized the rest.  I love clean, open, organized spaces!  After her stuff was taken care of I moved onto my desk.  I went through old receipts and paperwork and I feel so much better with a clean desk surface.  Next on my tackle list was my crafting area.  I did get everything organized and created a huge donate pile.  Much of my scrapbook supplies were given to me and although I have used a lot of them, I think it is time to pay it forward and let someone else enjoy some goodies.  I filled my new paper shelf that my hubby made me, but I still have to go through all of the paper and decide what stays and what goes.  I also made a place for my new Cricut Expression 2...it seems so huge compared to my Cricut Create, and I have to read the manual and learn how to use it, but I know I will enjoy it!

Tomorrow will start with a walk...I think just around the neighborhood, and then Molly and I are off for a mini road trip to take my mom's friend to the doctor.  I am going to go to the grocery in the morning to pick up some more fruit so we have some good snacks to take with us.

Monday, January 2, 2012

Change of plans...

I did it...I made it back to the gym!  I was so tired when I woke up this morning, but I went anyway.  I took a spin class and even though it was hard and I am super tired...I feel quite good.  Once I took a shower I felt recharged and ready to take on the day.  I didn't realize how much I missed going to the gym, and I am thankful for my time there every time I go.

My fabulous husband spent his last day off making me a shelf for my scrapbook paper.  I am so lucky to have such a willing and capable husband.  Tomorrow I need to clean up my craft area before he gets home so he can see how I put his hard work to use.  We had planned to go to the movies today, but then he decided he would rather finish what he was doing and go to the movies next week.

My daughter and I went to Joann's Fabrics to find some variegated embroidery floss...I wish our Joann's was a super store because many times we cannot find what we are looking for.  Since we cancelled the movies, my daughter and I took a quick road trip to the nearest super store and found exactly what we were looking for and it was 50% off to boot...plus an additional 10% our total purchase!  We planned on going to Souplantation, but it was closed.  We decided on TGIFridays.  I had water with lemon and sweet n low.  I forgot how much I like to drink that...it is like lemonade, but not as puckery or sweet...and it is free (pp & $$)!  Molly and I shared shrimp cocktail...super good and super low pp.  I asked for nutritional info, but all they had was calorie counts.  After I ordered I found the nutritional info online on my phone.  The turkey burger that I ordered turned out to be a whopping 32 pp!  A bun, a piece of lettuce, a slice of tomato, and a turkey patty...how on earth could it be so many pp!?!?!  I tried to change my order, but it was already in process.  I ate the lettuce, tomato, and 3/4 of the turkey with a bit of BBQ sauce.  As I am typing this, I still cannot figure how it was so many pp.  I just looked at a few other websites and found nutritional information that seemed much more realistic and worked out to be only 11pp.  Maybe I will send an e-mail or comment to ask them for the true info?!?    

After lunch we rushed home to try our new thread.  Since my new embroidery machine is also a sewing machine, I gave my daughter my old machine.  Today she wanted to try it out, but I figured she is too short to see the machine and push the foot pedal at the same time so I let her use mine.  It has a push start and stop button and a speed switch.  She is only 7 years old but is quite talented and a very quick learner.  I gave her a few fabric scraps to choose from and she designed a small quilt for her stuffed bunny.  She sewed and ironed the seems and even did some of the pinning.  I will post pictures tomorrow once it is quilted.

During lunch I found out we were going to meet my brother and his wife for dinner at a Mexican restaurant.  I was not thrilled since we had already eaten out once today, but my mom can't drive the freeway, or in the dark, and I knew she wanted to go so we went.  I had Diet Coke, water, chicken tortilla soup, some chips and salsa, and a salad with "fork-dipped" ranch.  It really is amazing how little I use when I dip my fork rather than pouring it on!  Not realizing how big my bowl of soup would be I ordered potato skins to share with my daughter.  She is 1/2 Mexican but does not like many Mexican foods.  I ended up eating only a bite of the bacon and cheese from the potatoes and we brought the rest home.  When I got home I calculated my meal the best I could.  I have used all of my weeklies and a few of my activity pp.  I am not upset, and will work hard to exercise everyday this week.  I plan to go for a good walk tomorrow and Wednesday, Miami Mama on Thursday, Zumba on Friday, and walk to and from the WW meeting on Saturday.  All of that activity should get me a good number on the scale...we'll see!

 

Sunday, January 1, 2012

Happy New Years!

Well...it's here...2012...a new year full of hope and promise.

Yesterday I played with the new embroidery sewing machine my fabulous, and talented, sister-in-law sent me for Christmas.  I have never received such a gift and to be honest I am still in shock!  Last night we went to my husband's cousin's to visit his cousin and my mother-in-law.  Yes...the dog is still there...no I did not try to pet him.  I stayed inside, he stayed outside, and that is that.  My suegra (mother-in-law) made tamales...some with chicken and veggies, some with pork and mole, and some with swiss chard and cheese.  By the time dinner was ready, about 8pm, I was starving.  I should know better to eat before we go, or at least bring some snacks, because we always tend to eat late when we go there.  I ate some cheese while waiting for the tamales, and then I ate 2 1/2 of the chard and cheese tamales...they were so good!  I figured the pp values as best as I could.

Today was super busy...I took all of the Christmas decorations down and my husband and I emptied, moved, and rearranged boxes in the shed.  I helped my mom clean out one of the hall closets...I was shocked she actually agreed to get rid of some things.  I love open space and love to get rid of nonsense that has no purpose.  I ate fairly well, drank plenty of water, and got in a ton of activity.  I am so excited that I still have 11 weeklies left and I counted every single bite, lick, and taste yesterday and today.  I feel like I am finally back in my WW groove.  My hand is still tender, but I am going to try spinning tomorrow.  I have only been away from the gym for a week and a half, but I feel like it has been months!

Tomorrow is another day of "winter / spring cleaning".  We are going to to take a break in the afternoon and take the kids and my mom to see the Chipmunk movie.  My break from school is done today, so I will be back to it tomorrow night.  The kids are still out of school through the 17th so I will have to fit in some fun with them between my school and going to the gym.