First Day Jitters

It was the first full day of school for the daughters and they were raring to go!  It was a first day of sorts for me, too.  For the first time in 20 years, I was going to the gym!  I was a little nervous!  I had no idea what to do, how to work any of the equipment or what gym “etiquette” to follow, but I was still looking forward to going.  I armed myself with my “positive attitude” t-shirt…

Before I left the house, I quieted my jitters with a quick breakfast of  Smoked Salmon and Parmesan Omelet Muffins (from the freezer)…

then, it was off to the gym…YIKES!!!

It was great!  I walked in, found an elliptical, fooled around with the settings, hooked up my mp3 player and got my sweat on.  I planned on 35 minutes on the elliptical, but my friend Coleen showed up and hopped on the elliptical next to me, so I kept on going and gabbing for another 15 minutes.  After, she showed me around and took me though some of the weight machines.  I got in a few good arm curl sets and a couple leg curls.  I t was a good workout and I enjoyed watching the other gym go-ers’ workout styles – one guy was running on the treadmill while hugging the electronic panel instead of holding the side rails!  So crazy!

I left the gym and ran more errands –aaah, does it ever end???  By this time, I was starting to get hungry, it was already lunchtime!  I went for a turkey and cheese sandwich on a Pepperidge Farms Deli Flat, 1 cup Trader Joe’s Organic Lentil Soup and a perfectly ripe pear…

I was in the mood for some crunch, too, so I took the opportunity to try out these POPchips that were sent to me by the POPchips peeps via my friend at The Skinny Plate.  Thanks, Stephanie!

This flavor was okay, a little too peppery for my taste buds, but I liked the airy crunch of these chips…

When the daughters came home from school, I felt the old munchie feeling coming back.  Something about that part of our day has me wanting to snack.  I wasn’t actually HUNGRY though, so I tried to put the urge off with a cup of Teeccino…

And it worked for a while, but I did get hungry about a half hour before dinner and felt like I just couldn’t wait, so I dug into some Kashi TLC Country Cheddar crackers…(x2)…

and a string cheese, Wheat Thins and a few nuts.  I knew that this was a “compulsive eating” moment, but the difference this time is that I didn’t feel badly about it.  And because I didn’t immediately start berating myself when I started oversnacking, I was able to reign it in before things got really out of hand.  I continued making dinner, which was really just opening a bag!  Big daughter and I split  Trader Joe’s Chicken Chow Mein with added broccoli while the husband and little daughter had other leftovers from the freezer…

It was tasty and enough for me considering all the snacks I had, but for a hungry diner, it needs some bulking up.

I’m heading to the gym again.  I plan to go 5 days a week and workout at home on the weekends.  Pretty soon, I might be able to call myself a GYM RAT!

ONE GOOD THING :  I stepped out of my comfort zone and went to the gym!!

Question of the Day:  Do you prefer working out in a gym, outdoors or at home?

One Good Thing

Another lovely day!  I woke up with the birds this morning for some reason and feeling good =)  I knew it was gonna be a great day!

I felt hungry pretty early, so I ate breakfast before my workout.  I was craving plain Greek yogurt again, so I dished some out and decided to try making a “strawberry syrup”.  I put 1/2 cup of sliced strawberries in a bowl and nuked it for about a minute.  The strawberries took a little longer to get juicy in the micro than the blueberries did.  I poured the berries over the yogurt, added some additional sliced berries and topped it with 2 chopped walnuts and a sprinkle of shredded coconut.  Super Amazing!!! 

Later, I set up for 45 minutes of Pilates.  I am getting better at some of the moves and I can really feel it in my abs and legs.

After some house clean-up, the daughters were asking for lunch and I realized it was almost 1:30!  My stomach was barely hungry;  that yogurt bowl held me over so well!

I thought soup sounded like a good lunch, so I heated up some Trader Joe’s Organic Lentil Soup (canned, but very tasty)…

and heated up some Green Giant Immunity Blend Veggies with a sprinkle of parmesan for a side…

 Fiber city…

The daughters and I ran some errands,including a stop at BJ’s Wholesale Club to pick up some school snacks.  I scored a vat of  Chobani nonfat  plain  greek yogurt, so there will be lots more of the same old breakfast for a while!

When we got back, I was feeling a bit hungry, so I decided to have a snack and push our dinner back a bit.  I had the perfect snack in mind, too!  Ever since seeing these fabulous Choco – Cranberry- Almond Granola Bars on Jaime’s blog, I had to make them!  They couldn’t have been easier and I had just the right amount of brown rice syrup left in my pantry.  The only changes I made were substituting oat bran for the ground flax (didn’t have it) , used 4 tasting squares of Ghirardelli 60% cocoa dark chocolate (chopped) for the mini chocolate chips and whipped light butter instead of regular….

These are seriously good…

Even the daughters loved them!

Dinner was nothing fantastical;  the hubs was working late, so it was mac and cheese for the daughters and ‘stuff they would never touch’ for me.  I made balsamic roasted brussel sprouts (2 tsp. evoo, 1 tbsp. balsamic vinegar, s +p  - roasted at 400 degrees for 20 minutes).  The daughters almost gagged at the sight!  To go with these beauties, a Salmon Roulette and a scoop of their mac and cheese.  Delish, even though it doesn’t look so pretty!  Hard to make brussel sprouts look good, especially when they color from the balsamic…

I felt satisfied today.  I didn’t obsess over food all day and I enjoyed everything I ate.  I notice when I choose more filling foods with higher protein and fiber, I definitely feel more full.  I realized while on this path of intuitive eating, I have been psychoanalyzing myself more than ever.  I’m constantly judging how I am feeling, what I am doing, how much or how little I am thinking about food, how much or how little I am eating and if I feel that I am doing all this too much, I beat myself up about it because I feel like I am doing the OPPOSITE of what you are supposed to be doing as an intuitive eater!  It’s hard to break that dieting mind!  Maybe it’s all part of working this whole process, but I am feeling like I am focusing on the negatives instead of the positives.  So, I decided, no matter what kind of eating day I’m having, I will find one good thing about my food day to focus on.  Even if it’s the smallest thing, like “instead of eating the entire bag of pretzel slims, I left 2 pretzels in the bag” – LOL!  In doing this, maybe I’ll come to realize that I am making little changes along the way to reprogram myself and I will see the progress I am making =) 

ONE GOOD THING… I put a scoop of mac and cheese on my dinner plate, enjoyed it and didn’t eat the rest that was left in the pot and/or on the daughters’ plates because I realized I was full and had enough!

Have a great night, everyone!

Question of the Day:  What ONE GOOD THING happened for you today?

Gluttony

Gluttony is a sin. Especially on Easter - double sin. But, in my family, we can't get away without it. It is what a holiday "is". I wish I could change it, but the stronghold of "tradition" makes it near impossible. What I can change is participating in the overindulgence. Unfortunately today did not mark the day of change :( Let me show you what I mean...

The morning started off with a rush to get to an early church service. I didn't have time to work out, just a quick shower and dress for church. Breakfast was a grab and go, but one that was yummy! My Weight Watchers rep pal, Lyndsay, sent me a coupon to try these Banana Nut Muffins ...

This was the perfect morning to try them since I was in a hurry. I was pleasantly surprised to see these were a good sized muffin!

I really enjoyed this guy! It had a great banana flavor and was studded with just a few, very small chopped walnuts which is o.k. with me. I'm all about the banana anyway!! Each muffin had 180 cal., 3.5 gr. fat and 6 gr. fiber, so they are 3 POINTS each. Not too bad considering the size...

Yum!

After church, I spent the rest of the morning(and early afternoon) prepping for Easter dinner. I took a break for lunch. I debated on eating light due to the food fest that was to come, but then decided to have a normal lunch so that I wouldn't be tempted to overeat later. Uh, THAT plan got blown out of the water! Anyway, here's lunch...

Trader Joe's most amazingly delicious Organic Lentil Vegetable Soup (2 POINTS)...

Homemade White Bean Hummus, baby spinach and tomato on FlTrader Joe's Sprouted Flourless Wheat Bread (4 POINTS) and carrots...

My parents and Gram came to Easter dinner for which they brought most of the dishes!! They are much better cooks than I am anyway!! Okay, here goes.... (FYI - the "counting" stopped here)

Mozzarella and Proscuitto roll with homemade wine biscuit crackers -I ate about 10 of these little crackers :-0 ...

Marinated mozzarella balls and sundried tomatoes...

Four dozen Taluto's Cheese Ravioli with homemade marinara sauce...

I wasn't going to have any, but then two ended up in my bowl ;)

Spiral sliced ham (I made a half ham but only plated some), proscuitto wrapped asparagus with seasoned breadcrumbs and parmesan, Gram's chicken roll (stuffed with ham, frittata, carrots and olives- this was a childhood favorite of mine)...

Stuffed Veal Roast (same stuffing as chicken roll)...


Baaaaaaa chops...

Broccoli with garlic and olive oil...

My "tasting" plate...

I also ate a slice of Italian bread and another slice of ham!!! Then another 1/2 slice of bread while clearing the dishes -aaaaack!

After the dishes were done, it was time for dessert. Sorry, did I make you gag just thinking about it??? Yeah, but we HAVE to have dessert!!!!!!

Mom made a delicious "traditional" ricotta pie and brought some baklava treats...

My piece of the pie :) and a baklava bite( x2)...

There you have it - gluttony at its finest! All that food was for a massive party of 7 people!! Uh, two of which are kids that eat like birds. I think I will total my day at about 150 POINTS - sound about right???!!! Well, I'll say what I always say.... there's always tomorrow!!!

I'm off to unbutton my pants to allow my stomach to spread out in all its flubby glory. Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday =)

Food And Family

It was another early morning. I really wanted to sleep in a bit, but for some reason I am waking up at 6:30 a.m.! I'm still on Florida exercise time. So, it was up and at 'em. I caught up on some blogs, then headed to the treadmill for 5K Saturday. Sadly, I only made it 2 1/2 miles due to an aching ankle. Don't know what's up with that, so I didn't want to push it. I may try again tomorrow if time permits.



After my run, I ventured to the scale for the "after vacation weigh in". I was up .2 lbs. I was completely pissed for a minute. I thought after all that walking, extra morning exercise and basically making healthy choices that I might lose a little. But, after mulling it over, I can't be mad. I didn't journal, count POINTS, drink my regular amount of water and eat my normal portions of food, so I really shouldn't complain or be upset! Just being so close to goal is making me nutty! I want to GET THERE!!!!!! Alright, enough of my boo-hoo-ing; let's GET to the food...



As you can tell lately, I am in love with Ezekiel buns/muffins. While I was in Trader Joe's yesterday, I found this "Ezekiel" knockoff...







The nutritionals are great (click on the picture to see ...)




I toasted up 2 slices and topped it with 1 tbsp. lite cream cheese. Mmmmm! Loved this 3 POINT brekkie...

I spent the rest of the morning making marinara sauce and prepping for dinner this evening. I finally got around to lunch which was another Trader Joe's find...

I never met a canned soup that I loved until this one! It is so delicious and only 2 POINTS per serving...

Along with the soup, I had a tasting plate of carrots, Kashi TLC crackers and a light string cheese for 3 POINTS...

It was such a filling lunch, I made it all the way to dinner without a snack! I am noticing since I have been trying to eat "cleaner" and more of what Weight Watchers calls "filling foods", I have had less cravings for junky things, have a lot more energy and have been sleeping better/more deeply. I really like the way my body is feeling eating this way!

I invited my in-laws over for dinner tonight. I decided to try out a recipe from a Weight Watchers cookbook, Simply the Best Italian. It was Rigatoni with Three Cheeses. I used ziti since I had some on hand and it was delish! Like a mac n cheese, but not as creamy. Everyone liked it! I liked that it was only 5 POINTS!! I doubled the recipe so it served 8. Now I have some leftovers for later in the week. I would definitely make this again, next time with whole wheat pasta...

I also made the family favorite, chicken cutlets...

and Gram's green beans...

Can't forget the rustic Italian bread...

The family table...

My plate...

I also snagged a slice of bread. I tried to resist, but it jumped out of the basket and on to my plate! It landed in the juice from the green beans/tomato, so I had to eat it ;)

For dessert, I made No Pudge Brownies. I seriously love these. They are all natural and taste so rich and fudgy, just like a brownie should! I paired mine with some strawberries and a tbsp. of freshly whipped cream for 4 POINTS...

I ended the night with some coffee and Wii Bowling which I supremely stink at :( Well, I'm off to spend some time with the husband. Have a great night =)