Things Need to Change

Out of consideration for Chris and Robby, and well, I suppose for my own well being, I need to own up to my unhealthy eating habits, and change them.  Since I'm breastfeeding, I can eat ungodly amounts of food and still lose weight.  Therefore, I have been using this opportunity to put absolute crap into my body.  Chris wants this to change so that he can lose his sympathy weight.  Robby wants this to change so that he can grow into a healthy young man.  And, I guess..., I want this to change for their sake.  And for my future health.  Right?

Yesterday's consumption:

Breakfast:  Corn flakes, soy milk, raspberries, orange juice (still doing well here!)
Snack: Pasta salad (2.5 cups), granola bar, nectarine (hmm...going downhill)
Lunch: Grilled cheese, hot dog (doh)
Snack: 1.5 dry blueberry waffles
Dinner: 2 pieces of veggie pizza
Snack: 1 cup moosetracks ice cream

Yeah, so...I cringe looking at that.  But then, miracle of miracles, I plug it into my favorite little device.  (This is by no means compensated, they don't know me, I just love them.)  Calorie Count!!!!

This site is great because it not only tracks calories, but activity, water, and analyzes your day for nutritional value!  Ignore that I screwed up where I put a few of the items, but here is what yesterday's breakdown looked like for me:

Shockingly, this only worked out to 2,335 calories, and my nutrition was actually pretty good!  I would never have guessed.  I still could probably at least drop the hot dog.  ;)  But, when I woke up this morning, I was STILL down another 2 pounds.  I'm still above my wedding weight by a couple pounds, so I'm not stressing, but I will be trying to get the extra calories in more healthy ways from now on.  Yes, I suppose I care about the men in my life.  Love ya more than hot dogs!  ;)

***Clarification:  I'm NOT counting calories, but I put all this in just to see how ridiculous yesterday was.***

Any suggestions on high calorie foods that are, perhaps, a better choice than hot dogs?  

Restaurant Portion Size

Restaurant portion sizes are out of control in the United States.  I do not go out to eat to store up for a long winter.  I go to enjoy a quality meal...not a quantity one.  However, most restaurants do not seem to subscribe to this philosophy.

I was very aware that when I moved to Ireland, everything that came on your plate was substantially smaller.  From a McDonald's hamburger, to the size of a soda can, it was "super-sizing" in reverse.  And I loved it!  Thank goodness you could indulge on occasion without it being so out of line!  We'll forget that I was there during the mad cow outbreak and never actually ate beef, and they feed their turkeys fish, so the meat tasted so odd to me that I wouldn't eat poultry, and so was essentially vegetarian before my time.  Alright, a tuna-terian.  I was a college student, after all. 

Back to U.S. portions.  Chris and I went to Cheesecake Factory on Saturday night.  Yes, I recognize that they are one of the biggest culprits of over-sized portions, but who better to highlight?  In fact, their website states, "The Cheesecake Factory is famous for our generous portions which are ideal for sharing or taking home for a second meal – but be sure to save room to enjoy one of 50 legendary cheesecakes and specialty desserts."  The joke here is that they only state a "second" meal!

I LOVE their food.  This is not a criticism on their recipes, service, atmosphere, or anything else.  I ordered Evelyn's Favorite Pasta.  According to their website, again, this is, "Penne Tossed with Broccoli, Oven-Dried Tomato, Roasted Eggplant, Peppers, Artichoke, Kalamata Olives, Garlic, Pine Nuts and Parmesan."  Can you say, HEAVEN?  Well, Chris would find this disgusting, but I loved it.  Little heavy on the olive oil, but otherwise delicious.

The problem?  When the meal came out, I estimated that they had given me a full pound of pasta.  No, that is not an exaggeration.  The meal was presented on a serving platter.  No worries, I would just eat until I felt full.  When that occurred, you could barely tell I had touched the food.  The amount served lasted me 3 meals, and I felt like I had over-eaten each time.

1/3 of Evelyn's Favorite Pasta

Out of curiosity, I looked up the calorie content.  According to LiveStrong, Evelyn's Favorite Pasta contained 1192 calories and 33 grams of fat!!!  And this is for a dish that "sounds" somewhat healthy!  I know that long ago we all learned that we can't judge the health-quotient from the description on a menu, but to use almost an entire day's calories in one meal is beyond ridiculous.  And, after factoring in 2 pieces of bread and a glass of lemonade (that was also gigantic), I would probably have reached my daily goal.

Fortunately, our bodies are smart if you listen to them.  I didn't finish the lemonade, and eating 1/3 of the pasta dish would have equaled about 397 calories and 11 grams of fat.  MUCH more rational.  Why are we put in this situation, though?  Obviously, much of the country has lost the ability to hear their inner voice (including myself a lot of the time!).  I wish that restaurants would make it a little easier on us and reduce the portions to a rational size, that we could relish with gusto, and not have a food coma afterward.

I think the portion confusion that exists is what has led our country to try so many unhealthy diet plans.  I 100% believe in not limiting what foods you eat, but to eat a variety, and to do so in moderation.  I don't eat much meat or dairy, but that's not for diet purposes, but rather for the comfort of my body and mind.

Here's my call to arms!  American restaurants?  Please do your part to stop inflation.  Of our waistlines, that is.     

What is Exercise?

I can't even convey how upset I was when I injured my left knee.  And then my right knee.  And I saw my dreams of 125 pounds at my wedding and a 10 mile race on May 2nd go up in smoke.  And then an amazing thing happened.  I just realized that these goals are not impossible to reach.

In my head, I had taken a month off from exercise.  March 9th-April 9th.  Nothing.  Nada.  Zilch.  In my mind, I saw the pounds piling back on, and my newly toned muscles withering away.  I continued to eat rationally, and maintained my love affair with CalorieCount.com     And....the weight continued to come off.  Probably 8 pounds since "I haven't exercised."  But the reality is, I have.

I always say that walking my dog doesn't count as exercise.  This might be true if I had a purse dog (no offense to those of you that do) that only required a traipse around the yard.  But the "non-exercise" of walking my dog is about 4 miles a day.  What else didn't I count?  Home renovations.  We're not talking about sewing some pillows or slapping up a coat of paint, either.  (Both of which I really enjoy doing, but didn't happen this month.)  I dug foundations.  Moved dirt.  Planted flowers and a garden.  Dug up fence posts.  Lots of HEAVY lifting.

Throw in that I was still even doing an occasional aerobics class or yoga video, and you realize that I was completely deluding myself.  I might not have been getting my miles in on the treadmill, but I was EXERCISING.  This morning I went to the gym for my first "serious" run, and ran a 5k in pretty decent time, without much pain.  So now the challenge is...do I still try and train for the 10 mile race?  Chris votes that I don't.  He thinks my knees won't hold up, and I'll be limping at the wedding.  A friend that is an avid runner thinks I can do it, as long as I get in 2 long runs before then, and just plan on walking when necessary.

The question is:  When is it too much of a challenge? 

Cuddling

Please excuse that I look like a hideous slug.  This is Harper's main method of cuddling.  She's not allowed on the couch, so she gets as much on your lap as possible.  Ridiculous.

On a more self-indulgent note...Supposedly I've lost 3 lbs in 3 days?  WTF.  I would love this to be true, but I don't get it.  Have I exercised?  Just 2-3 mile walks with the dog.  Have I eaten differently?  I've been good, but certainly not starving myself.  Kinda mystifies me.  Every day I jump on the scale thinking it was water weight and will go back up...and every day it goes down.  This puts me 2.5 lbs from having lost 20 lbs and hitting my wedding goal weight.  Huh.

This picture is actually from 5 lbs ago, demonstrating what previously were my "skinny" jeans:

Eh...I'll go back to cute pictures.  Harper and Monster:

It's coming...I promise

Alright, I've been stalling on doing a blog post because I know people want puppy pictures, and I have failed to download my camera.  I know, drag me out and shoot me.  So, here's a brain dump.

Wedding:  Aunt Polly, you were right.  Should've gotten married last August.  This year and a half engagement has been WAY too long and 99% of the planning was done eons ago.  Finally ordered invites, so if they ever arrive...people will be getting them.  Couple weeks maybe.

Puppy:  MUCH better.  She's been on more of a schedule, and has been a million times easier to handle.  Doesn't mean she doesn't have her issues.  #1 right now is jumping on people.  Sorry to all the recent visitors she's mauled.  She's still the friendliest cuddlebug ever, but doesn't realize how big and strong she is.

House:  Window in the bathroom cracked in the snowpocalypse, and a lot of the drywall seams are visible because of the shoddy job the previous owner did.  Strongly considering new siding and windows soon.  Bob the builder came out and told us we don't have to worry about the cracks we're seeing, though.  Phew.

Exercise:  It's weird.  I've lost 10 lbs, my clothes are LITERALLY falling off me, and I feel like I'm in great shape.  Still frustrated with my progress, though!  For instance, before work today, I ran 2.5 miles, and walked 0.75.  Not too shabby, right?  Well, other than I should be running 4 at this point.  We'll see if I make it to running 10 at a time by May 2nd yet.  Eek!  Already took the wedding dress in once, and have an emergency fitting scheduled for the week before the wedding.  Thank goodness for a phenomenal seamstress who can turn it around in time if necessary!

Well, there's what's on my mind.  I promise to try and download pictures tonight. 

Weight Loss Victory

YAY!!! I've got a new 2nd digit to my weight. It's still not the one I'd like, but we're 10 lbs away!!! Then I'll be back to where I was when I moved to Pennsylvania 3 years ago. Over the course of 3 years, I've gained 20 pounds. I want to choke just thinking about it. But we're down 10. Took longer than I'd like, but getting there. Still have 4 months until the wedding. Gonna pull this off.

I guess associated with New Years resolutions, there are a few goals I've set:

1) Lose the weight (ideally, 15 lbs left, but 10 and I will be dancing)
2) Get back to swimming a mile at a pop (only at 1/2 a mile right now)
3) Run the 5k on April 10 (need to be ABLE to by March 1, currently at like 2.5 miles?)
4) Run the 10m race May 2 (training needs to kick into HIGH gear)
5) I would LOVE to do the Happy Valley Sprint Triathlon in July, but I don't know if that will happen.

The tools I'm considering:
The Tanita Body Fat Monitor - it has some great reviews, our scale is busted, and it would be nice to know about FITNESS not just weight.


The Retro Bandeau Bikini from Victoria's Secret. Ok. This may not seem like a weight loss tool, but I think it's super cute, and would LOVE to wear it on my honeymoon. Considering buying it, taking a picture in it NOW, and putting it on my fridge. If that doesn't control what I do, nothing will!

As always, any suggestions are welcome, along with any challenges or bets.

Diet desperation

Ok, engagement photos are in 2 weeks. And...I am not the skinny little thing that I used to be. That's not to say huge. Just...I don't want pictures taken like this. So, attempting something called the 11 Day Diet. I'm on day 3. It's a little extreme, though somewhat similar to South Beach. Going well so far. We'll hope that this puts me on track for some stellar photos. So, for lunch today, I had 1/2 a cup of oatmeal and 1/2 a chicken breast. (I know, weird.) And Chris had Chipotle. How is this fair? Sigh. Obviously, not so much following the vegetarian thing at the moment.