Day 242

So I'm finally hauling myself over here to catch up with everyone! My last post was more of a "I promise I'm still alive" than an actual post, so I'm here for a long overdue real post.

Things have been going pretty well, especially considering I've been taking a vacation from my pills and thus have had more appetite than usual. I had a few days where I definitely overate, and had to rein things back in big time. But I got back to counting calories towards the end of last week, so that's been helping a lot.

Alas, as a result of my slacking in the eating department, my weight has kind of plateaued at 196. But I'm determined to go down another 20lbs by the time Lindsey and I leave for London at the end of August, so I've got to get serious! I'm going to have the house to myself next week - Mom is in Arizona until the end of June and Dad is going to visit her for a week starting tomorrow, so I'm going to have to be extra on top of it with my eating.

Exercise has been pretty hard, too. Daycare wears me out, which is part of it, but the other problem is that because my hours are always different, it's very hard to get myself into a routine. Maybe I'll start taking walks in the evening, as the weather usually gets pretty bearable after the sun starts going down. The toe should be ready to go back into a shoe (again) very soon, so hopefully I can make that happen.

It's a little scary being off my pills, as those feelings of being out of control of my eating have been coming back with a vengeance. But counting calories has really helped my feel like I have power over it. It's definitely a whole different thing without chemical assistance, and something I need to get used to and overcome. So I think this is good for me.

And now for the food pictures! I had a preview in my last post, though it wasn't the best quality. These might be a little better, though they were all taken with my phone. We had the following one night last week...

Sauteed Asparagus with Gorgonzola (SOOO yummy!)

Creamy Cauliflower Purée (aka Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes...also so so yummy!)

Roasted Red Snapper Fillet (also incredibly yummy!)

Yep, that whole dinner was a total win! Everything in it was so good...I wish I could make it every night!

Another night last week we had something else pretty tasty...

Coconut Chicken Salad with Warm Honey Vinaigrette

I love SkinnyTaste! This was also perfectly delicious. I LOVE coconut so this was perfect for me! Will definitely make it again.

So I'm on my own next week, but I plan to get busy and do some cooking. And exercise. Lord knows my room and bathroom could use a good scrub down! Luckily I'm working mostly afternoons this week at the daycare, which will give me some extra time to get things organized. Gotta keep on keepin' on! Wish me luck!

Day Forty-Six

I'm going to go ahead and admit it.

I want a cookie.

I really want a cookie.

It doesn't help that Karlee has a batch of them sitting on the counter. Or that she made cupcakes today, of all things! And they're just sitting there. Temptingly.

Ugh. But I've been doing really well with resisting...that little voice in my head keeps urging me to just try a little bite of cookie, or take just a little swipe of icing. But my healthy eating voice has been louder so far! I took out some of my cookie frustrations on pounding almonds up for the tilapia I made for dinner, which helped. Cooking something tasty for dinner makes me less anxious for satisfaction through sweets. I also redirected with fat free whipped cream and a kashi bar, which helped a lot. It's a fight though. Guess that's the point, right?

But so far so good. I just keep telling myself that now is good practice for Christmas, when the sweets will be much more tempting!

Besides resisting cookies, I also took my 30 minute walk today, despite the temptation to skip it. It was freezing, and I had other stuff I preferred to be doing, and I had pretty much decided I wasn't going to go. Then I stopped myself, thought "Just take the dang walk, Campbell," and got out there. It was COLD. I wore mittens and a fleece jacket but my arms and thighs were still pretty numb by the time I got back. But it still felt really good to get it done. Especially considering how much I didn't want to! Victory #2.

I made Almond and Parmesan Baked Tilapia for dinner (from Kalyn's Kitchen...what would I do without her?), which was delicious. This means a lot coming from me, as I'm definitely not a fan of fish. I was supposed to use almond meal, but because I didn't have any, I just ground up some almonds I had in the pantry, which worked out fine. Here's a picture:

I also made a variation of Kalyn's South Beach-Friendly Tartar Sauce, but I didn't have any plain Greek yogurt, so I used reduced fat sour cream instead. It was delish!

So that was a treat! I would say, in all, the day went well. I didn't have any pressing homework, I got to take a little break, which was nice. One more week until I'm officially done with the semester!

Today's food:

Breakfast

Egg Mcmuffin - 300 (I know, not my best choice. But I was out of milk and desperate)

Lunch

Scrambled eggs w/ spinach and goat cheese - 233

Veggie sausage links - 80

Dinner

Almond and Parmesan baked tilapia - 230 (approx.)

Grape tomatoes - 9

Sauce - 70

Snacks

Leftover meatballs - 165

Kashi fruit and grain bar - 120

Fat-free whipped cream - 50

Snow cream pop - 45

Cup skim milk - 86 

Total: 1388

Day Forty-Five

So I finally have food pictures! I got to the grocery store and so I finally got some cooking done. I'm also getting schoolwork done piece by piece. Finished the Shakespeare revision, so now I'm onto the Colonial Lit revision!

Here's what I had for dinner yesterday:

Garbanzo bean soup and Swedish meatballs! Both from Kalyn's Kitchen. It was yummy, but I think I did something wrong with the soup, because it was more like hummus...really thick. But the meatballs turned out great! I used lean everything and put a little cinnamon in which added a nice little something.

Tonight I had baked pesto chicken (also from Kalyn's Kitchen) with asparagus. It was really good, even though I used pesto out of a jar and defrosted the chicken in the microwave. :) But it was so easy to do! You just cover the bottom of the pan with pesto, slap the chicken down, cover the chicken with pesto, and throw it in the oven. Then sprinkle a little mozzerella, broil, and you're done! I'll definitely be able to keep that one memorized.

Only thing is, as you can see below, I made way too much. Guess I'm going to have to bring the leftovers home with me! Or make chicken salad.

Oh yeah! I weighed this morning and I'm down another pound. I didn't do as well with exercise this week as I could have, so I'm going to have to get back on track next week. It's harder to get out now that it's getting colder, but I just have to make myself!

Here's today's food:

Breakfast

Spinach and goat cheese omelette - 226

Veggie sausage links - 80

Coffee - 60

Lunch

Leftover meatballs - 265

Sweet potato fries - 182

Dinner
Baked pesto chicken - 189
Lemon Asparagus - 25

Snacks
1 snow cream stick - 45
2 tbsp fat free whipped cream - 25

Total: 1097 (That's nuts, I felt like I ate a ton today!)

You guys are the coolest! Love y'all!