A Delicious Day

It was nice to be able to sleep until 5 this morning and not have to get up to workout super early! I DO NOT miss going in to the office everyday!

For breakfast, I had a cup of cheerios with strawberries and milk for 4 points.

And then it was time for LEVEL 3 of the 30 Day Shred! This level was a KILLER! I LOVED IT! I burned 207 calories. I can’t believe I’ve completed 21 days!! I feel good when I get some activity in everyday. I’m going to keep this up.

My weight was up .2 this morning from last week’s weight. Not fun when it’s my WW weigh in day. I’ve been snacking on a serving of pistachios at night and I’m wondering if that’s making me retain water—so no pistachios for a while. I just love them because they’re so satisfying. I eat them and don’t want anything else—which is a good feeling.

I was hungry after working out, so I ate a banana for 0 points.

I sipped on an iced latte all morning for 1 point.

On my first break, I ate a light cheese stick and a nectarine for 1 point.

My Mom was nice enough to have lunch ready for me! Not only that, but she measured everything so I could figure my points!

Feel free to come visit more often, Mom!

She made me a salad with lettuce, carrots, green onions, feta, a boiled egg, chicken, and cashews along with cottage cheese and a nectarine for 7 points.

I also had a square of dark chocolate for 2 points.

I didn’t have the best day at work today and found out that my vacation time had been canceled in error (not on my part)—but thankfully my boss got it resolved. I was more than happy to sign out of work for this long weekend!!

Hubby got home in good time, so he took me to my WW meeting. My Mom came along with me and they said it was fine if she visited. There were others tagging along with members also, probably because of the holiday. I felt a lot more comfortable this time around and loved the meeting. I actually lost .2 lbs. weighing in at the meeting too! I thought for sure I would gain. So since joining the meetings, I’ve lost 3 lbs. I got a 5k charm today too!! They asked if anyone had done a 5k this summer so I raised my hand! FUN! I can’t wait to get another one next week—although I’m not sure if we’re just supposed to let them know or how that works.

I got a free sample of BBQ “Pop Chips”, the WW brand and I was STARVING after the meeting so I ate it. 2 points.

And the meeting didn’t have air conditioning, so I texted hubby to bring me a cold drink when he picked me up. He brought me this for 0 points:

And then we met my Dad for supper. We went to a restaurant that my parent’s went to on their first date, except a different location. And they’re just as much in love today.

The building was old and had a nice atmosphere. And because it’s Iowa, it had a big painting of a cow for décor.

It was DELISH! We started with a Spinach Artichoke dip appetizer. I had 1 slice Paseano of bread with about 1 Tbs. dip for an estimation of 5 points.

And then came the garden salad which I got with Fat Free French. I ate 1/2 of the crouton—3 points.

And I probably should have resisted (but didn’t) the garlic bread. I really don’t know how to count this so I’ll go by WW and count it as 6 points.

I ordered the chicken parmesan for my meal—it was SOOOOOO good! I ate about half for an estimate of 10 points.

It also came with a side of spaghetti and marinara and I literally ate two small bites and took the rest home. I’ll count it as 1 point, although I probably didn’t even eat that much.

And hubby and me:

And we decided to grab a bit of ice cream, which was perfect for a day like today—muggy and in the 90’s. This was a local ice cream shop that is run by a Dairy in the area. I had a scoop of Peanut Butter Cup ice cream. 5 points.

And that’s it for eating! I used 13 weekly points today, but I enjoyed the supper out and eating that kind of food isn’t something we do very often.

And this greeted us when we got home. How cute!!

I’m looking forward to this long weekend!! I need to get some extra activity in soon, probably tomorrow. My WW leader said tonight that, “Exercise can cover a multitude of sins.” You said it, Sister!

Out of Whack

Today was one of those days that I had to plan ahead if I wanted to meet my goals. I knew I would have a busy day with no time to workout after work, so I made sure to get up super early to complete Day 20 (and the last day of level 2!) of the 30 Day Shred. So I was up at 4:15 this morning shredding! I burned 213 calories, so it was a good workout!

After working out, I weighed in. I weighed 203.6, which is a loss of .2 lbs. I was hoping for more because the last two weeks I have lost over 2 lbs. But I can’t have high losses every week, I suppose! I’ve lost a total of 84.4 lbs.

So how did I do last week? I earned 55 Activity points. I ate all of my weekly points and swapped out 13 of my Activity Points. What’s funny is last week, I earned 53 AP’s, used all of my weekly points and swapped out 35 AP’s. That means I ate more, worked out less, and lost more last week. I’m going to start watching these numbers and see if I learn anything from them. You would think that eating less would mean a bigger loss. But we all know how this body fluctuates!

For breakfast this morning, I had oatmeal topped with strawberries and fresh raspberries from our garden along with a glass of milk for 7 points.

And I had to go into the office today, so I brought my iced latte with me and sipped on it all morning for 1 point.

On my first break, I ate a cheese stick and nectarine for 1 point.

My Dad was in town on business, so my Mom came along with him. She went out for lunch with me! I took some vacation time so we had a few hours. We went to Wendy’s and I tried their new Berry Almond Chicken Salad. It was SOOO good. I highly recommend it. (Thanks to my sister for recommending this!) I had the 1/2 portion for 7 points. This is based on the nutritional information, so I’m sure it’s MUCH fewer points than that—but because I can’t break it down to not include the fruits and veggies, I’ll just go with 7 points for now.

And then we did a little shopping. I got some fun things at Old Navy and picked up a DVD for the the next 30 Days once the 30 Day Shred is complete! I’m very excited about this one!

We stopped for a soft serve ice cream cone. I got strawberry/vanilla swirl for 5 points.

And then I had to go back to work. I had a lot of comments at work today on how much weight I have lost. It must have been what I was wearing. But it made me feel good! My boss asked me if I’d been working out. That’s a guy for ya. lol Women are always like, Have you been starving yourself?

After work, I rejoined my Mom and we dropped my clothes off at consignment. I was a little disappointed because the teenage GUY who they had sorting the clothes didn’t accept half of my stuff. I KNOW I do not dress out of fashion and my clothes are practically new. I’m going to take them back and have someone else look at them. lol. I mean one of the tank tops I had is still sold at Old Navy… I was a little miffed because I really want to get rid of my clothes but want to try to make a little money on them to help replace my wardrobe too.

I picked up sushi for supper. I had 9 points worth—here’s a picture of all of it.

And I finished it up with a banana for 0 points.

Later on, I had a No Pudge! brownies for 3 points.

I still have 1 point left over for the day. Today was one of those days where things were a little out of whack, but I think I did ok considering.

My Mom is here to stay until Monday. My Dad and brother should be here on Friday night and my older bother and his family will be here on Sunday. If only my sister and her family could come! Looking forward to the weekend! Tomorrow is my Friday because I have Friday through Tuesday off!! And so does hubby! Can’t wait!! I just have to get through tomorrow…bleh!

Cleaning the House and Picking Raspberries

For breakfast, I had cheerios with strawberries and milk for 4 points.

I completed Day 19 of the 30 Day Shred. I’m so ready to move on to level 3—it gets a little boring after a while! I burned 189 calories.

While I worked, I sipped on an iced latte and ate a light cheese stick for 2 points.

On my first break, I ate pistachios for 2 points.

Lunch was another salad made of lettuce, spinach, tomatoes, chicken, taco cheese, tortilla chips, salsa, and cottage cheese for 5 points.

And because I love them, I had a No Pudge! brownie for 3 points.

On my last break, I ate a nectarine for 0 points.

Right after work, hubby and I got to cleaning the house. We worked until we were hungry for some supper.

I made salmon burgers on sandwich thins with Swiss cheese, green beans, and apple sauce for 11 points.

For dessert, I had a serving of Schwan’s Loaded Waffle Cone with Peanut Butter Swirl ice cream for 5 points.

This ice cream is fabulous.

And then it was back to cleaning again. I actually wore my HR monitor while I cleaned. I worked for 2 hours and 33 minutes and burned 561 calories. Every little bit of activity helps! This just proves it. That's a lot of extra calories burned that had I just sat around, I wouldn’t have burned!

And then we loaded up the car with the clothes I’m taking to the consignment store. Watered flowers. And I was thrilled when I saw the raspberry bush was FULL of ripe berries!! Now I know why they cost so much at the store—you get so few per plant!

But this is enough for breakfast in the morning! Can’t wait!

I have 1 point left for the day—so overall it was a good day for me. Tomorrow is my WI day! I’m hoping it goes well!

I Have a WW Buddy

How was your weekend? Hopefully a good one! I woke up with sore muscles that I didn’t even know I had in my chest. Must have been from the swimming!

For breakfast this morning, I had cheerios with milk and a sliced banana for 4 points.

I completed Day 18 of the 30 Day Shred first thing this morning. I was tired today, probably from the workouts over the weekend. But I burned 178 calories and that counts for something.

I was hungry about work time, so I made my iced latte and also snacked on some almonds for 6 points.

That turned out to be a great choice because it satisfied me and I wasn’t super hungry on my break. I ate a nectarine for 0 points.

I picked up a big bag of these at Sam’s Club and WOW- they are SO juicy and sweet. Absolutely perfect. They can be so hit or miss sometimes and these are definitely a hit!

For lunch, I had a salad with lettuce, spinach, tomatoes, green onions, mushrooms, feta, sunflower seeds, Schwan’s Oven Roasted Chicken bites, BBQ sauce and FF Ranch for 5 points.

This salad was so flavorful and DELICIOUS!

And for dessert, I had a No Pudge! brownie for 3 points.

This morning I thought I would be taking today as a rest day because I was so worn out. But sitting all day working helps me rest, I guess, because by the time I got off of work I felt energized and ready to go outside for some activity! I decided to go for a bike ride today. I biked around town for 30 minutes and completed 5 miles. I burned 209 calories, which I am pretty happy about! Anytime I get over 200 calories burned, that makes me happy.

It was a beautiful day and biking is really a great way to enjoy a beautiful day.

For supper, I tried a new recipe I saw on Marisa’s blog—that she actually got from Nutmeg Notebook. Cheesy Quinoa Burgers. I topped them with a slice of Swiss cheese on sandwich thins. I also had light cottage cheese and broccoli for a total of 10 points.

These were very good. I would eat them as a burger or just plain—LOVED the flavor and so did Hubby! But I had a hard time keeping them from falling apart when I was making them!

For dessert, I had Schwan’s vanilla ice cream topped with fresh strawberries for 4 points.

Yummmm!

Hubby wanted to take action and lose some weight again. He lost over 40 lbs. a couple of years ago by counting points. Basically, I plan his meals and count his points for him. But it worked out really well and he felt so great. He has since gained about 15 lbs. back, mostly due to being on the road for so long and eating out every night, a while back. So today I started counting points for him again! I’m sure he’ll lose the weight in NO time at all. But it always amuses me when someone that doesn’t usually have to watch what they eat has to diet. He drank a Gatorade today and was a little shocked to find out it was 8 points. But he is on the move all day long and very active—so I don’t think he needs to be super strict. But I did remind him that he still had his weekly points. hehe But I am 100% supportive of him because he is always so supportive of me! But I can’t help but giggle a little bit… It just makes him realize it’s tougher for me than it looks! But now we can be points counting WW buddies for a while.

After supper, I did a little bit of yard work. I love daisies but once they’re done blooming, they just look a mess. So pulled those up and it looks much better. We’ve got a whole list of things to accomplish around the house in the next couple of days to prepare for guests. If only I could get some time off of work! Looks like tomorrow’s second workout will be a power cleaning session!

We’re  both ready to take it easy for the rest of the night. After all, it IS Monday! I have 1 point left for the day. I may have a small snack of some kind before bed.

See you tomorrow!