Update

Things have been out of control the last week or so. I haven’t been tracking my points and I’ve been doing a lot of emotional eating.

My grandma passed away on Monday night. The funeral will be this coming Monday. That has been really hard on  me and has drawn me to find comfort in food. I see this as an issue and can see that even though I have come so far, I have a lot farther to go. I have not overcome those emotional eating issues.

I gained 4.4 lbs. on weigh in day. But I’m feeling better as this morning I lost 3.2, so not far from my lowest weight. I am going to count points again now. I am off of work from today until next Thursday. I already had today and tomorrow off, and my company gives 3 days funeral leave, and they expect you to take it, so I have Monday through Wednesday off. I’m sure that I’ll need the time to rest after Monday’s funeral and emotional stress.

My brothers and sister and families will be coming to stay at our house on Sunday afternoon. My Grandma (on the other side) may come to stay at our house Monday night. We’ll have to see. It will be busy to say the least.

Hubby and I are trying to get our finances in order. We sat down this morning and added up all of our debt and we feel overwhelmed. Does anyone have any finance tips?

I wasn’t going to blog for a while, but after a few days off, I realized that I need to keep up with this. This is my support system and I see how easy it would be to gain back these 40 lbs. I’m really looking forward to a new start and a new year!!!

Headache

I’m really having a tough time right now. I’ve had a headache since yesterday morning. I went to bed at 7:30 last night and woke up with the headache still here this morning. I’m hoping it goes away as the day progresses. Not really sure what is causing it? I haven’t had a headache like this in- I can’t remember? It’s TOM so that might factor in. I think I’m probably stressed with my Grandma too. It’s a short work week though and I hope it goes quickly. Hubby has the WHOLE WEEK OFF- but I’m stuck at work because of their scheduling system.

I weighed in this morning even higher than yesterday. I feel a little out of control and need to get my emotions under control. If only this headache would go away!

The Aftermath

I jumped on the scale this morning and found I was up a couple of pounds from weigh in day. I can handle that! I’m sure those pounds will come off in no time if I get back on track. Yesterday was better than the day before and so on. :) Today, I will try to stay 100% on track.

My grandma is losing her battle. She has diabetes and her incisions are not healing (after 9 weeks) and the doctors said her insides (she had heart surgery) aren’t healing either. Her kidneys started to fail yesterday and the doctor said this is it. They made the decision to slowly take away support. She has said from the beginning that she is just ready to go. We know this is what is best. She wouldn’t have quality of life if she had made it anyways. Before, they told her she needed to keep fighting because she could get better. But now as her body is shutting down, it’s time to face the truth. God is saying that is time and he knows what is best. I’ve never lost a grandparent yet, but I’m trying to find joy in the sorrow, knowing that she is going to a better place.

Christmas Day Review

Nope, didn’t do well again.

What I’ve learned:

1. Sweets are a serious problem for me.

2. Bring my own fruits and veggies when away from home.

3. Have a plan.

4. I don’t need to sample EVERYTHING.

5. I’d feel a lot better if I didn’t overindulge.

6. When I feel the urge to snack mindlessly, ask everyone if they want to play a game. I’ll soon forget my boredom that made me want to snack in the first place.

7. Drink more water.

8. Don’t forget to exercise- do this first thing in the morning so it doesn’t get missed!

9. I want to get healthy because I want to be able to keep up with our kids when we have them- my niece and nephews are so energetic- if they were mine I’d be worn out!!

10. I HAVE MADE CHANGES OVER THE PAST YEAR AND I HAVE TO PAT MYSELF ON THE BACK FOR THE LITTLE IMPROVEMENTS I HAVE MADE. I DID BETTER TODAY THAN I DID LAST YEAR.

Here’s to more steps in the right direction.

Christmas Eve Review

I had a great day, but eating wise I was off track- BIG time!

I let myself eat too many sweets, without setting any boundaries. This is a HUGE mistake for me. Sweets are my weakness and there are SO many of them this time of year! I started the day off well but it went downhill after there were M&M’s sitting out on the counter and my sister came  in with cookies.

But I do know that one day of eating like that is not going to make me gain back 44 lbs, but if I continue it, I WILL. So it must stop and it must stop TODAY. I’m not saying NO sweets, but I’m saying it’s time to set boundaries.

I was able to lose weight Thanksgiving weekend.  I want to at least be able to maintain, if not LOSE, this weekend! :)

Have a very happy Holiday!!

Let the Countdown Begin: Weigh in Day

I have less than 100 lbs left to lose!!! I am so excited about that. I stepped on the scale this morning and it read 243.6, that’s a 2.2 loss for the week and I am thrilled! My goal is to lose 1/2 of my body weight, which would be 144. I may want to go lower, or not, when I get there but that’s what I’m setting the goal at. So this means I have 99.4 lbs to go! Woohoo! I’m going to set up a countdown! :)

No More Pictures

I’m going to stop with the picture posts for a while. I was planning on doing it through today, but I haven’t been able to get pictures of everything I’ve eaten. So I’m just not going to post today’s pictures. Taking pictures of everything has started to get old to me- so time to move on again! I have to say, it really gets me back on track when I do that though.

I got up this morning to do my c25k workout. I ran both sets of 3 minutes at 5 mph again. It’s a big mind game it seems like. It’s tough, but I keep proving to myself that I can do it.

We’re bracing for a big winter storm that will start tonight and go through Friday. I’m hoping that tomorrow night things will be relatively ok, at least so we can drive in it. I’m really hoping to be able to go home to see my family, but they’re calling for a lot of ice and it’s not even smart to try to drive on that. You can bet I’ll be at work tomorrow though- Not going to lose that vacation pay!!

I took off work at noon today. I usually work until 10:00 on my school schedule, so I got a couple extra hours anyways. It’s so hard to stick around there when they ask you if you want to go home.

I’m really hungry this afternoon and I think it might be related to my breakfast. I had cheerios as opposed to my usual oatmeal, and I think it made a difference. I’m trying to stay out of the cupboards!

I received my new Gevalia coffee maker this afternoon. I LOVE it! It has a part that gives out the aroma of the coffee too. Yum! It makes the kitchen smell so good! It’s really nice looking too!

Tomorrow is weigh in day and I’m confident that it will go well. So far, the numbers have been lower than last week, so I’m keeping my fingers crossed that they stay that way!

Monday Blues

I didn’t get up to workout this morning, I figured I could make it up on Saturday. Which is fine, I did that last week too. I always figure that I could probably use a little more sleep on Monday mornings.

For breakfast I had oats with PB and 1 cup of 100% fruit juice for 6.5 points. I love my bananas at breakfast, but we’re all out of them! :(

I found this juice on sale at Target, so I decided to give it a try. I especially like juices that are 100% fruit so you can get a serving of fruit in while you’re at it. It’s only 2 points per serving. A little high on sugar though.

I headed off to work and had coffee w/ fat free hazelnut creamer- Yum! I counted this as 1 point.

I wasn’t in the mood to be at work today, but what else is new. I’m a little upset because the weather is going to be terrible for the rest of the week. I was so looking forward to going home for the holidays and if the driving conditions are unsafe, that’s not going to happen. I’m going to hope for the best though! I got all of my holiday cards made out at work, so that used up some time in between calls! I love this time of year when we start to slow down. I also read a few chapters of a book that I WANT TO READ and no one is MAKING ME READ! :)

For my first break I had a small apple for 1 point.

For lunch, I made up a salad of 2 cups of lettuce, 2 Tbs tuna, 1 Tbs pecans, and 1 Tbs Feta cheese. I used a Balsamic dressing. This was only 4 points! It turned out to taste way better than I thought it would! I also had Roasted Gorgonzola crackers for 1.5 points, and ate 1/2 container of Greek yogurt for 1 point. I accidently got the plain and it was all I could do to eat 1/2 of it. It was like eating sour cream. I should have brought some honey to go in it. I felt really bad throwing half of it away! I also had a dark chocolate truffle that our client sent over to us for 2 points- worth every point!  I didn’t get pictures of the salad or the truffle. :(

For my last break, I had one of these for 1 point I love these because they take away that sweet craving:

For supper I had 3 small tacos and 1/2 cup refried beans for 9 points.

For dessert I had some fudge covered pretzels for 4 points.

For a snack while relaxing later on for 3 points:

Points used: 33

Weekly used: 2

AP earned: 0

Sunday

I got up this morning to ANOTHER new lowest weight! I like this! :) This weekend has been filled with some rich foods, so I’ll need to take it easy Monday and Tuesday to make sure I keep the weight off. I’m still within my points range- so SUCCESS!

For breakfast I had 1 strawberry muffin, 1 cup of milk and 1/2 cup of canned peaches for 5.5 points. We’re low on groceries and won’t be able to stock up this week, so I’ll be using a lot of canned fruit and veggies. We get all of this from the in-law’s, so at one point it was FRESH produce, they don’t use a lot of sugars, etc. We don’t have any chicken left in the house, so for meats it will be beef because we have a freezer full of it from the in-law’s. Sometimes eating healthy can be hard when you don’t have much money to spend on groceries- but it’s a short week with the holiday! :)

 

For lunch I had a very small burger on an Arnold sandwich thin with a little BBQ sauce, light Swiss cheese and low sodium bacon. DELISH! I also had a small baked potato (the in-law’s grow these too- we’re lucky to have so many organic foods!) w/ fat free sour cream. This was 10 points.

For dessert I had one fudge covered Oreo for 2 points.

It’s kind of a tradition for my husband and I now that we take a nap on Sunday afternoons, it’s always so nice and relaxing to get that extra sleep in. I also had a white chocolate truffle for 2 points.

We got about 2 inches of snow today, so we went outside and shoveled snow. It took exactly 22 minutes. Such a good workout!

For supper I made up a wrap of 1 whole wheat tortilla, 1 cup of lettuce, deli meat, and light Swiss cheese. I had 1 cup vegetable soup and 6 Trisquits. This was a total of 8 points.

For dessert I had a No Pudge! brownie for 2 points.

I looked for the best deals on my books for next semester. I was able to purchase a few- savings of $84 so far!

I got hungry a little later so had 1/2 an Arnold Sandwich thin with 1 tsp PB for 1.5 points.

I definitely didn’t get enough fruits and veggies in today!

Points Used: 31

No weekly points used

AP earned: 2

Saturday

I got on the scale this morning to see a new number- lower than ever! Of course, I don’t count it until Weigh In Day! But that was encouraging, especially considering yesterday’s foods. I feel shameful this morning knowing that everyone saw my food choices yesterday, not to mention a Dairy Queen ice cream cone last night…*covers my face*. But this is a new day, I’m still within my points so that’s all that matters. Do you feel guilty using your weekly points?

For breakfast, I had toast with peanut butter and a banana for 5 points.

I’ve been trying natural peanut butters, and this is the newest:

It has a nice consistency and it spreads well. Not too bad in taste either! Have you found a favorite brand that I should try?

After breakfast I did week 3 of my c25k! I ran both 3 minute sets at 5 mph!!! I was so proud of myself! I think I had the extra energy because I had eaten breakfast first. What do you think?

For lunch I made up a salad of 2 cups of lettuce, 2 Schwan's teriyaki chicken wings, 1 tbs each of raisins, feta cheese, pecans, and I made up a dressing with a little bit of raspberry pie filling and balsamic vinegar. I had 2 cups of milk to drink. This turned out pretty good! This was 6.5 points.

For dessert I had one of these for 1 point:

After lunch, my husband, brother and I went sledding. We had SOOO much fun! I don’t remember the last time that we went! I wore my heart rate monitor, and I burned 622 calories! Nice! Really good exercise and we’re definitely going to do it again! I took some pictures at the park, it’s very pretty and not far from our house! (Remember my December goal to go sledding for exercise? ACCOMPLISHED!)

If you can see the hill in the background here, that’s the first hill we sledded on. It was really steep!

We came home and had some diet hot cocoa for free!

My husband wanted to go out for Chinese for his birthday since we never go out for Chinese anymore. So I had 1 cup of egg drop soup, 1 egg roll, 1 cup of white rice, and 1 cup of peanut chicken. This was a total of 18 points. I had planned on using my weekly points for this anyways. So I’m not too upset with myself because I portioned everything out on my plate and now my husband has some for his lunch on Monday too! These pictures are very dark because I didn’t want to use the flash and draw attention to myself. lol

It was delicious, but my body isn’t used to food like that anymore, so not something that I want to eat often anymore!

We then went to see Old Dogs at this cute little movie theater. It only costs like $2 to get in. It was a really funny movie! I had packed some candy from home for 3.5 points. Don’t tell them! ;)

Then we came home, I took some Tums, and went to bed. :)

Points Used: 37

Weekly points used: 6

AP earned: 17

Friday: Too Snacky

I got up this morning and biked for 20 minutes. Felt good to do something different.

For breakfast I had oats with sliced banana and a little coconut. This was a new combination for me, I didn’t use enough coconut because I couldn’t taste it. I also had 1 cup of milk. 6.5 points.

I drank three cups of this at work:

For a snack I had an apple 2 points:

and this was one of the problems, saw these in the vending machine and splurged for 6 points:

For lunch I had this salad again 4 points:

and another one of these for dessert 2 points:

I was stuffed after this lunch! But a few hours later I had these 4 points:

I got off of work an hour early. My brother met me in town, he came to visit us for the weekend. He brought me a cappuccino for 2 points.

Supper was a little bit unhealthy, but my brother chose this for supper. I made pigs in a blanket. I had 2 of these and green beans for 12 points. I’m pretty much embarassed to even be posting this post- what TERRIBLE food choices today!

And I had 3 reduced fat Oreos for dessert for 3 points.

Ok, definitely done eating for the night!

Points: 40.5

Weekly points used: 9.5

AP earned: 2

Thursday: Last Final today!

I got up this morning and did week 3 of the C25K. Still struggling on that last 3 minute run, but I am confident that I will improve. My shoulders are really sore from the yoga workout yesterday. Everything else is fine, but below my neck and all the way across my shoulders is so sore, makes for a headache, but I’m sure by tomorrow I’ll be 100% again.

For breakfast I had oats w/ a banana and a cup of 1% milk:

At work I had 3 cups of this (with a little creamer):

I am really excited because I ordered a new coffee maker, karafe, mug, coffee, and filters from Gevalia! Should be here soon! This one works fine, but for some reason the coffee grounds go into the coffee because it doesn’t drain through the filter as fast as it puts the water in. I’ll keep this one as a back up though. Such a good deal to go through Gevalia though- check it out!

Work went alright. It was a busy morning and as usual, I was happy to get out of there. :) I came home because I have a final today, but not until 3:00.

For lunch I had this DELISH salad. I used 2 cups of lettuce, 2 boneless teriyaki chicken wings cut up into small pieces, 1/2 cup of corn off the cob, 1/4 salsa, and 2 Tbs. of little salad topper tortilla strips. Yum! This was so good and only 4 points!

I also had a cup of this southwest tortilla soup. I estimated it as 4 points, but I’m not really sure. I made it a while ago and never figured the points out. I’m definitely going to make this one again because it is sooo good! I did healthify it though. Has lots of black beans, corn, and salsa with a cheddar base.

And I always have to have dessert: (2 points)

I caught up on your blogs and then felt really tired. I made myself lay down for 30 minutes. Never actually fell asleep, everyone decided to call me as soon as I laid down. :) But it felt good to rest my body. I got up and had my last cup of coffee with no creamer:

I studied a bit for my final and then left. It’s a 45 minute drive there, so lots of time in the car. I don’t know what to think about the final. I felt like I was just pulling stuff out of the air. This was the worst professor I’ve ever had. He never taught the material or hardly talked about the literature, just tried to push his own political agenda, which most of the students are too stupid to see. Aggravating! So I’m just hoping I pass. I always get A’s and an occasional B, so that’s saying a lot for me!

On the way home I had a cheese stick:

I sold my books, so I decided to just pick up supper because it was getting a little late and I was tired. My brain was tired from all of the thinking. I wrote essays for almost 2 hours…I walked into the Pita Pit and got in line at the beginning instead of the end. It’s sort of like a Subway and I guess I was thinking Subway! Oops! lol But I got a California Club Pita…15 points, but it was yummy!

And for dessert, I allowed myself to have one last slice of the white chocolate raspberry swirl cheesecake I made for my husband’s birthday. You’ll be happy to know that I only ate it on his birthday and tonight! :) I counted this as 7 points.

Overall, I’m happy to be done with school for the semester. Now I will just need to relax and enjoy my time off! Time to read books that I WANT to read! YAY! :)

Points used: 38.5

Weekly used: 7.5

AP earned: 5

Wednesday: Weigh In Day

I weighed in this morning at 245.8, that’s a .2 loss. At least it’s something! I’m going to take that and run with it. Definitely want to be better this week though!

This morning I did this DVD:

For breakfast I had 1 cup of oats with 1 Tbs peanut butter and 1 banana. I also had 1 cup of 100% grape juice:

At work I had 3 cups of this:

For a snack at work I had 2 small clementines:

And also a package of animal crackers:

For lunch I had tomato soup w/ too many saltines (But they make the soup!) and 1/2 cup of vanilla yogurt:

I got off of work a little bit early and headed over to the mall to try to find my sister a gift. I hate shopping this time of year. You’re all bundled up because it’s cold outside and then you get all hot and sweaty shopping. ick.  I’m not sure if I’m going to keep what I got for her or not. But on the way home I ate 1 cup of grapes:

When I got home, I was still hungry so I had a cheese stick:

For supper I had an omelet made up of 3 egg whites, 1 whole egg, 1 slice cheese, and 3 slices deli meat. This was a total of 5 points. I also had a waffle with sugar free syrup for 2 points.

For dessert I had 3 reduced fat Oreos:

I should be done for the night, but if I eat anything else I will let you know! This picture thing is really helping keep me on track again, so I’m going to do it for this whole week.

I felt like I had a good day today. I was on track. No veggies at supper time though! I got in all of my fruits, dairy, protein, and water!

Points Used: 30.5 of 31

AP earned: 1