Day 172

All right everyone. It's time to get SERIOUS.

Just as last weekend was a bit of a fail, this past week wasn't the greatest either. I did okay with food, but there was some drama with refilling my ADD pills (thankfully, I have them in hand now) so I ended up spending most of the week combatting extreme munchie feeling. On top of that, I only exercised twice, and just had a rough go of it in general.

So we're getting down to business. Especially because I had a spaz moment yesterday and ran into the door, breaking my baby toe and effectively removing my ability to take walks for at least three or four weeks. That means I have to be really, really careful about eating. I'm going back to tracking calories...my current intake goal is 1350/day...and I'm going to rein in the eating big time. I should be able to do some floor exercises, but cardio is going to be difficult for a little while. But I'll find a way!

I'm getting closer and closer to the 6 month mark, and I want to be going strong when I hit it! I'm also getting so close to the 100's, and I just can't blow it now. So we're reorganizing a bit.

I'm getting back up on that horse and I'm riding, baby!

Made some tasty, tasty shrimp last Thursday, as you can see here:

Here's the link to the recipe: Sesame Shrimp with Honey Mustard Sauce. It's from Steamy Kitchen, one of the new blogs I've found recently. It turned out great! It's pan-fried, so it's not exactly the healthiest thing...one of those recipes I'm going to have to avoid in the coming weeks. But it was a nice treat. Very crunchy and flavorful!

Oh, and we're also nixing this once-a-week blogging habit I've gotten into. I'm going to aim for at least 4 a week, if not more. Everyday would be ideal, but it's the end of the semester and I know better. I'm hoping my new Twitter option will help me stay in touch on the days I don't blog.

Thanks to everyone for all your great support. Keep on keeping on! Love you, awesome people!

Day Eight-One

So it turns out, all the panic over snow yesterday was somewhat justified! We got a whopping 8 inches of snow in Athens last night, more snow than I think I've ever seen in Georgia! And I've lived here my whole life. So not only was school cancelled today, but tomorrow too. I'm not sure when the snow will melt to the point where the roads will be safe again...it's supposed to be pretty cold all week. I would rejoice in the extended vacay, but I have a feeling I'll start getting pretty bored sitting around here all week. Hopefully everything will be up and running by Wednesday! Here's a picture from last night:

Dang! That's a legit blizzard!

Though it wasn't a long one, Karlee and I took a walk around the neighborhood in the snow. We only made it around one lap, but the snow made walking a bigger challenge than usual! We were pretty cold by the time we got back in, but it was nice to get out in it. If only we had a sled! Here's a snowman one of our neighbors made:

We intended to make our own, but by the time we got out, the sleet had created a hard layer of ice on top of the snow, making it pretty hard to work with. So we just admired the neighbors' efforts. :)

Eating wasn't exceptionally good or bad today. I'm realizing that it's going to be harder than I thought to curb the not-so-great habits I descended into over the holidays (namely, eating without keeping track), so I'm going to have to get strict and start keeping a close eye on what I'm munching on. Especially today, being trapped inside and thus in extra danger of bored-fueled munchie feeling, I had a hard time putting a cap on it. It didn't help that I hadn't taken my ADD pills. I didn't go over my calories, but I didn't make my best choices either. So that's something to work on.

Tomorrow I plan to trudge down to the gym and get some real exercise. Or maybe do another dvd workout! We'll see how it goes.

Today's food:

Breakfast

Cascadian Farms Cinnamon Crunch - 270

Lunch

Low-carb bread w/ reduced fat peanut butter - 200

Dinner

Goat cheese omelette - 180

Veggie sausage - 160

Snacks

1 tbsp reduced fat peanut butter - 100

Sugar free pudding - 60

Smart balance popcorn - 100

Whole grain cheerios - 200

Total: 1270

No fruits or veggies! For shame! I didn't really get any at the grocery as Kroger was out of almost everything. So as soon as I can get out of the house I'm going to head back to get some fresh fruits and veggies. Hopefully tomorrow will be a better day, for both eating and exercise!

Day Two, Sum-Up

To begin with, I had great pictures of all the stuff I cooked today, and of course my camera connector isn't working! Ugh. So I'm waiting on a new one to arrive. In the meantime, here's how today went!

Breakfast:
Spinach and Goat Cheese Omelette - 230
Morning Star Vegetarian Sausage Patties (2) - 160
Total: 390

Lunch:
1 Can of Tuna w/ Mayo - 279
Bean Sprouts - 5
Spinach - 4
Broccoli - 30
Total:  318

Dinner:
Salmon with Creamy Lemon Sauce - 320 (It was good. At least for the first few bites. I didn't finish it, but I liked it for a little while at least! I think I might have overcooked it, so only the middle was good)
Lima Beans w/ Smart Balance - 150 (WHAT?! The same amount of broccoli was only 30! Yeesh.)
Total: 470

Snacks:
12 Almonds - 65
10 Peanuts - 59
Applesauce - 100 (I have the regular stuff left over from pre-South Beach. Next time I'm getting sugar free)
Sugar-Free Fudgsicle - 80
Chobani Greek Yogurt (Pomegranate) - 140
Total: 444 (And I snacked a LOT less than usual. Quite an eye-opener, really)

All for a grand total of: 1622 calories!!


Here is a lovely picture of lunch:

And dinner...

I'm trying to keep it under 1700 calories/day, so today was a good one! I was trying to do the whole breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dinner like a pauper thing, but clearly dinner was the kingliest of all today. Must work on that.

I've also realized that I'm going to need to find some lower calorie snacks. The nuts are good, but they really add up. Obviously the applesauce and yogurt aren't strictly South Beach phase one...the applesauce is going to have to go, but the yogurt might be my one cheat, as it's much higher in protein than regular yogurt.

So the theme for today was paying attention to the times when I felt like eating and deciding whether or not I was actually hungry. I was fine until about an hour after lunch, around 2:15. Here's the record I kept of every time I felt the need to eat something, but without really being hungry.

2:15 — resisted
2:18 — resisted, wrote:
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I’m beginning to realize that I have a very hard time distinguishing between actual hunger and what I will call the “munchie feeling.” The munchie feeling is physical, just like hunger pangs, kind of a little nudging in the tummy area. But I just ate lunch an hour ago, so I can’t really be hungry.

I’m not bored. I’m not emotional. I’m certainly not hungry. I just want to put something in my mouth.

UGH — frustrating. But at the same time helpful...the munchie feeling, I’m quite certain, is the source of most of my weight problems. Being aware of it and making note of it instead of rushing to the pantry is a HUGE step in the right direction.

I need to be working on my Shakespeare paper, but I think sitting here near the kitchen is encouraging the munchie feeling. So I think I’ll go clean.

I always get reeeaaally tidy when I have a big paper to write. Hmmmmm.

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3:00 — resisted
3:24 — resisted
3:40 — almonds
4:00 — resisted
4:16 — resisted, drank water bottle
4:32 — resisted
4:54 — peanuts

I never realized until now how CONSTANTLY I get the munchie feeling. And I had my ADD pills today, which act as an appetite inhibitor. Since it's been a very long time since I've paid attention to the munchie feeling, and have been in the habit of satisfying it immediately, I have a feeling that under normal circumstances, I would have been eating something during all the above times I resisted.

Of course, the fact that I resisted it probably made it occur more frequently than usual...I'm used to eating until I'm satisfied, which means to excess, and my body (or my brain) is obviously protesting to the change. The small handfuls of nuts helped it, but it's pretty hard to ignore...the most effective thing was getting up and cleaning, doing laundry, focusing on something else. The munchie feeling attacks when I'm sitting at the computer, especially when I'm doing something I don't want to be doing, like a Shakespeare paper. :) So I think heading it off at the pass is best - cleaning or taking a walk or whatever, because I think idleness makes me want to eat.

To be completely honest, it's very likely I'll eat something else before bed. Not only is night time when I usually get super munchie feeling, but if I go to bed hungry I can't sleep. I'm going to try to drink lots of water and eat some veggies or something else low calorie. The good news is that all the bad stuff is out of the house, so I can't get into too much trouble!

Thanks again, everyone, for your support. It means SO much. So, so much. I love you all!

And forgive me for the huge post! I meant to have fun pictures to break it up. Hopefully my camera connector will come soon!