Arrgh!

OK, I admit, I never liked computers... I am trying to follow you, Deb, but when I check in on this blog, I honestly can't always tell when it's you posting. Do you think you could come up with a clever and consistent opener for each entry so your followers immediately know that it's you talking? Just a thought...

So, I had a very busy week subbing for 2nd grade. I tried to fit in exercise every day but have to admit, I didn't. You know I've NEVER been a morning girl and to fit in my workout, I have to get up extra early... I'm trying! I did pack a healthy lunch every day. I also just put in an evening workout to make up for missing 2 weekdays. Tomorrow is a must too, I know.

Is there an easier way to post? I feel like I am all over the place trying to find a way to post...Do you have to sign in, in order to post each time?

I posted last night but it went to an older comment...

Have a great weekend....

Well Deserved...

I was trying to figure out how to comment on your post, Deb, but everything I clicked was leading me in the wrong direction. Hence, another post from me tonight.

I think it's wonderful that you had such an enjoyable day! It's days like those I do not feel guilty for indulging! Good company and good food... :) What else could ya ask for!? I am proud that you were able to list every single thing! And I imagine it's rough to have a normal dinner when half of your family is at an event. I am really trying to stick to a weekly plan (drawn up ahead of time) of preparing dinners and purposefully having left overs for nights/lunches I know I'll want to cheat.

And, kudos to you for not eating the pizza! I would have at least had to have 1 bite! (Which of course would of led to an entire piece...).

Can we please get the ice cream out of the house!?

So let me tell you all the whole reason why cookie dough ice cream even entered our home... my husband came home from deployment 2 weeks ago so I stocked the house with all his favorite goodies! To my surprise, those 7 months did not only his body well but his whole mindset on eating! He is literally a changed man! The Scooby Snacks and Hot 'n Spicy Cheez-its were a necessary evil to get rid of as quickly as possible. He somehow or other though, has not touched the ice cream! So, after a week and a half I laid into it the other night (when I confessed via this blog) and then I had some more last night AFTER eating my pizza... and sadly more tonight. I have to say though, the ice cream (which is so clearly my weakness) was the only thing "bad" I ate today!

I started off my early morning with a bowl of oatmeal with agave and cinnamon... oh how I love that! I taught Spin (at Area 2 for those of you with tots!) which was great. It's in the third week of trying out a Turn 'N Burn (Spin followed by Yoga) and the women are really loving it! Nothing motivates me more to become a better instructor than their encouraging words! And, I have to give all my thanks to Deb, who really, honestly gave me the final "push" I needed to get certified early last fall. Thanks, Deb, for everything you've helped me accomplish! Anyway, after Spin I enjoyed my usual post work-out snack: Organic Valley 1% Vanilla Milk. It's so delish! For lunch I had turkey, cheese (and yes, Miracle Whip... any suggestions on what I might use instead?? I don't care for plain mustard!) on whole wheat bread. Before teaching Yoga this afternoon I had a protein shake with banana and peanut butter. Dinner was fantastic! I had slices of steak, onions, peppers and mushrooms slow-cooking all day. We enjoyed our "Philly Steak" on some whole wheat sandwich rolls, which turned out to be too hard for my liking so I fed most of my bread to the dogs. I enjoyed a homemade cheese sauce on top as well, which was supposed to be my treat for the day... until I reached in that freezer for the ice cream! I think I should get up right now and put it in the trash... yes, that sounds like a fantastic idea! If it's not here I can't eat it! And, like I said, the only reason I bought it was for my husband, who clearly has no interest!

And finally, tomorrow I'll be teaching spin and body blast followed with a luncheon... which happens to be at my favorite place! I don't know that I can turn down a pizza or a good bowl of pasta... we'll see what tomorrow brings! :)

Today was not a good day for my body but good for my mind....

I started off great with spin and my usual protein/fruit shake, but then at lunch, it went down hill from there.  I had lunch with Aya at school so I had breaded chicken cutlets (I'm told they were not fried, but they sure had me fooled), then two cappuccini at Stradella's with a wonderful friend that led to a play date with same friend that included prosecco and her tasty banana/raison bread.  Once home for dinner and getting my son out the door for Scouts, I embarked on salsa and chips, which, sadly, turned into my dinner.  Aya was thrilled to have a Crisp N' Tasty frozen pizza which I had decided I had no excuse for eating, so I didn't.
So, I am drinking water, water, water and calling it a night!
I'll try again tomorrow when I am scheduled to meet with some wonderful ladies for lunch at San Giorgio Restuarant.....lentil soup or salad, perhaps???   All that being said, I enjoyed my time with my friend immensely, so who's to say it was a bad day after all?  

Will I eat the pizza or not????

Started the day off with my usual strawberry/blueberry protein fruit smoothie and snuck in a very little nibble of peanut butter and apple as I was making my daughter's peanut butter and apple sandwich for her school lunch.   Have to be careful with serving sizes of PB, that's for sure!  Had a great Body Blast and Afterburn class this morning and then had some almonds on the way home.  As I'm making my lunchtime protein shake (can you tell I really love these shakes?), I'm also nibbling on that Bar Harbor Blend mix that I love and have successfully managed to seek out and destroy (inhale) the chocolate covered almonds!  Gone....

Today's big hurdle to get over is that I have a pizza party at Vlad's school at 2:30 this afternoon, so I'm already planning my defense.  I WILL NOT eat a piece of pizza!  Did you just read what I wrote?  My plan is to go over and get a small skinny latte from Deja Brew before I go.  That will be my lesser evil indulgence and I can even justify the calcium and antioxidant benefits from the latte.  That's my plan....we'll see if I stick to it! 

Jessica,  I am impressed that you have a kitchen scale and have considered one for sometime now.  Hmmm, maybe I'll give it more thought now that I know someone who actually is using one.  For pizza tonight,  consider a veggie pizza and perhaps you could avoid eating the entire crust (some, of course) but then just eat the topping?  That's usually my strategy if I am tempted to eat the whole thing.  
Okay, I sort of succeeded....sort of.  I did get a latte as planned and DID NOT eat the pizza at the school party. But, I did take home some extra pizza for us all to eat for dinner and I did eat two pieces...........................and another 1/2.   The 1/2 was the one part I didn't want to own up to!  
So, key here is have a plan.  But, then what do you do when the plans change and then, on the spot, you don't have a plan?   Now there's another dilemma to ponder on.  I should have instead had another shake.....


See you in the gym in the morning!  


  

Guilty!!!

I found myself purposefully not logging on to this blog yesterday because I felt guilty that I would have to include the 2 servings of cookie dough ice cream I ate after dinner! I really think though, that if I do log it I will not do it again! So, here I am letting you know that I ruined my perfectly good day yesterday (exercise/eating concerned) by shoveling spoonfuls of ice cream into my mouth! I didn't even enjoy it that much! Here's to hoping today will be better! I started my (very late I might add) morning off with a small bowl of granola and skim milk. I use a kitchen scale for nearly everything so I know exactly how much/how many servings I am giving myself. As for today, I had 1 serving of cereal with 5 oz of milk. Wish me luck on the rest of my day! My husband and I are getting ready to head to the gym... I love working out with him! Tonight, I know, will be a challenge. We have a going away dinner to attend at a pizzeria... not sure exactly what I should order??!

I think this is a really good idea...good luck!

Thanks for the feedback you guys! I think we're getting somewhere.

A few of you left comments but couldn't get them to post.  I had to go into my dashboard to "approve" them before they would post.  So, after some research, I've found that I can invite folks and those that want to participate can, but only up to 100 people. But, you must have a google account or create one (it's free).   Kindly request someone try to reply or post to see if this works.  

I thought today was a great workout.  I felt like we worked really hard in spin class today.  You guys are such a fun bunch!  I've realized how much I rely on my heart rate monitor (now that I don't have it due to battery replacement).  It tells me the same thing every day but I rely on it to confirm to myself that I have "trained".  


I ate fairly well today.  I had a protein/fruit shake for breakfast, a handful of almonds & a Monster coffee after spin class (impulse while doing the BX/Post Office rounds), another protein/fruit shake for lunch, small amt of chocolate milk mid afternoon, and a chicken salad w/ balsalmic vinegar, using the leftover chicken from last night.  The family ate it too, I just added some canned soup for the kids. My husband just now gave me a bite of baklavah and snickered, "now you have to put it down in your blog"!  He's evil!  
I have to say, now that I've committed to logging everything to the world, it makes me think twice before I eat something.  This afternoon, I decided against that Starbucks sugar-free skinny latte when Aya was at gymnastics because I didn't want to have to log it! 
So, give it a try and log your daily intake, your training and other fitness activities and whatever else you did that was good for you today.  Be as specific or general as you want.....You could say, "I ate too much cookie dough ice cream", or you could say, "I ate the whole darn carton".  You're call.  The point is, you know you overdid it, you can admit it, and know you just need get back on the right track.  But, when you know the rest of us are also dodging the same daily temptations, you can hopefully laugh at yourself (and us) in the process.    Whatever you think is going to keep you on track is what you tell everyone else who supports you.    All that matters is that we use this thing to hold ourselves (and each other) accountable to the healthy lifestyles we've committed to, right?  


Here's to another day!  See you at the gym!  

Dinner and more stuff

Dinner was rosemary roasted chicken (first I've ever roasted and so easy), fresh green beans sauteed in olive oil and balsamic vinegar and a bag of frozen steamed corn for the kids, and water.  Water & milk are the two things we drink most of in our family.  Well, except the occasional wine and mixed cocktails.  The kids and I all shared a few bites to finish off what was left of a chocolate cake given to us by a friend.  (Some friend, huh?)  I made sure the kids finished it or I would certainly have HAD to.  Had to get that thing out of the house!  

Okay, three folks following the site now, but no comments left.  I need to know if you are able to to know if my settings are correctly set.  They're a little confusing so please help me test this out.  

Thanks, gang.  Hope to see you in spin class in the morning!  

Let's face it, it's great to read magazine articles, blogs and diet menus from random people we don't know, but when it's your gym buddies you see at the gym everyday, I think it has the potential to be more meaningful and effective. The key to all this... you MUST be HONEST with yourself. Let's be real here. None of us are perfect, we're all a work in progress and we should be able to REAL and laugh at ourselves and others, supportively, that is. So, go ahead. Tell us, your gym partners, how your nutrition went today, what went wrong, and what you did to improve your health today.


Now off to roast that chicken that's been defrosting for a few days in the refrigerator. Share your healthy recipes, too!

Okay! I think this can work....

Just thinking about starting this blog and what I would have to add to it made me think twice before deciding what to have for my after gym snack and lunch today.  And that was BEFORE even creating this thing.  I actually think this might work!  

So, before I go get my kids at the bus stop, let me add what I ate so far today.  This will take a some time to get the format down, I'm sure, so let's all be patient and please feel free to share any comments or suggestions.  I just want to have fun with this and see if we can inspire one another to eat more healthfully so that we can each meet our goals.  

Breakfast--a protein shake with skim milk and 1/2 cup of fruit. 

Snack (at the commissary) - 1/3 bag of Bar Harbor Blend snack mix (cranberry, dark chocolate covered almond & vanilla almond mix).  Admittedly, too much, but I was hungry while shopping and opened the bag!  

Lunch- Protein shake with skim milk and 1/2 cup of fruit.

More later!