DAY NINETY= Healthy Eating Journal

I am officially at the half way mark!! Tomorrow I weigh in and hopefully my Wii weight is the same as the wrestling room scales weight. :) Hopefully, despite my sweet tooth week, I maintained my weight of 149. I really would be happy just to maintain it right now. I want to say "go girl" to a special young lady who has started her own blog now to journal her own daily choices in life and food and sports. She is the kind of young lady who will be an inspiration to many other girls her age who are standout athletes with many pressures. Just don't ever lose sight of the fact that your healhty weight is not determined by society-- check the medical research provided to determine your normal weight range (and it is a range). I used to weigh 128 and I now know that is the bottom of my normal weight range for being 5'8" tall and approx. 48 years old. I was reading an article today that said 50% of all people who diet gain their weight back and biggest loser contestant have an 80% success rate. I think you have to pace yourself and learn what it is that makes you eat what you do.

Is it because that's what you buy? I think that's a big part of it. I also think that food is the American way of saying "I am loved". We constantly eat and think about eating. We should divert that energy to thinking about and serving others. There's a diet tip you won't find in many books. I believe it though. When we stop thinking about what we eat, but remain educated about the calories, sodium, etc. when we do eat, we will become natural eaters and maintain our natural body weight. Our exercise needs to be paced and easy to maintain-- not excessive like fad diets. Both can be dangerous and give temporary effects.

HAMBURGER TIP: You can reduce calories and saturated fat significantly by draining the grease off the hamburger, patting it down with a paper towel, and wiping out the pan before returning it to the pan to make your sauce.

Here's what my day looked like foodwise:
BREAKFAST: Quaker granola bar (chocolate chip)- 100 calories, 1.5 grams Sat. fat, 75mg Sodium
Morning Snack: Wheatables- 140 calories, 1 gram sat fat, 230 mg sodium
LUNCH: Lean Cuisine Shrimp Alfredo- 260 calories, Sat fat- 2grams, Sodium 590mg
SUPPER: Marie Calendar's Low Fat Cornbread Mix (add water) 140 calories per slice, 300mg sodium, 0 sat. fat. W/Honey- 1 tblsp. 64 calories, 0 sat. fat, 1mg sodium and spray butter 0 calories.
Corn- (canned)- ½ cup – 82 calories, .1 grams sat. fat, 3mg sodium
Homemade Spaghetti for Six: (Ingredients)
*Rozonni whole grain spaghetti- 400 (5oz. uncooked) calories, 0 sat. fat, 0 sodium
*Hunts 14.5 oz stewed tomatoes- 105 calories, 1295 sodium, 0 sat. fat
* Albertsons 8 oz tomato sauce- 20 calories, 260 mg sodium, 0 sat. fat
* Zucchini- 20 calories, 12mg sodium, 0 sat. fat
*Pineapple, 1/2 cup crushed - 40 calories, 1mg sodium, 0 sat. fat
* Minced onion- 0 calories, 0 sat. fat, 0 sodium
* Oregano- 6 calories, .1 sat fat, .1 sodium
* Lawry's Garlic Powder w/Parsley- 0 cal. 0 sat fat. 0 sodium
* Low Fat Mozarella- 1/4 cup per person for topping- 80 calories, 2g sat. fat, 200 mg sodium
*1/2 lb. lean hamburger drained in strainer & paper towel before adding sauce (you don't need a full pound)- 400 calories, 80 mg sodium, 5 grams sat. fat (probably less because of draining the fat)
Serves 6 good size portions about 200 calories per person w/cheese
EVENING SNACK: Quaker granola bar (chocolate chip)- 100 calories, 1.5 grams Sat. fat, 75mg Sodium

Total Calories Today: 1100-1200
Total Sat. Fat Today: less than 10 grams
Total Sodium Today: about 1500 mg

Great web site about sodium: http://www.fatfreekitchen.com/nutrition/food-salt.html

DAY EIGHTY NINE- Healthy Daily Menu Choices

Self discipline comes from yourself. That's why it's called self discipline. That thought came into my head about 2:00 a.m. this morning. Why? Because I've said it to my players so many times I can't even count it. Yes, we need coached, we need pushed, we need praised, and sometimes we need our butt chewed, but above all we have to want it enough to have self discipline. So, I'm back on the horse again.... Cowgirl up!

Not only have I become very aware of the calories in certain foods that I frequent and learned better food choices, I have also started paying attention to saturated fat in foods (that's the bad fat) and to sodium. I remember as a child on a farm licking the blocks of salt we set out in the pasture for the cows. I loved salt. New medical research says that reducing your daily salt intake by 3 grams could "reduce the annual number of new cases of coronary heart disease by 60,000 to 120,000, stroke by 32,000 to 66,000 and the annual number of deaths from any cause by 44,000 to 92,000" (New England Journal of Medicine). Healthy adults can have 2000-2300mg of sodium a day (about 1 tsp of table salt), and people w/high blood pressure shouldn't go over 1500mg per day. Children should get even less--1200mg per day. Remember that the next time you pick up the salt shaker. Use pepper, herbs, spices, and lemon juices instead. When dining out ask them to hold the salt. AND start checking your sodium content. I did just that today.

Here is what I ate today:

BREAKFAST: Upstate Farms Yogurt (1/2 cup)- 90 calories (0 sat. fat, Sodium 75mg)
Green apple- 60 (.1 sat. fat, 1 mg sodium)
MORNING SNACK: Wheatables (16) 140 (1 gram sat fat, 230 mg sodium)
LUNCH: Lean Cuisine- Chicken spinach mushroom Panini – 320 (2.5 grams sat fat, 660 mg sodium)

AFTER SCHOOL SNACK: Bowl of Cereal -Honey Bunches of Oats- 160 calories w/ skim milk, .2grams sat. fat, 150 mg. sodium)

DINNER: Wendy's chili w/saltines (8oz). 187 calories 2.3 g sat. fat, 828mg sodium)
Yoplait Lite fat-free Yogurt (50 calories, 0 sat. fat., 42mg sodium)
1/2 banana (50 cal. 0 sat. fat, .1/2 mg of sodium)

Total Calories 1057
Total Sat. Fat. 6.1 grams
Total Sodium 1982 mg sodium

I had planned on trying Jackie's great new recipe for yellow rice, but couldn't find the yellow rice in our small town store and my daughter started having false labor pains again (which we didn't know they were false until we got her in there), thus the stop at Wendy's instead. Is the term "false labor pains" an oxymoron? I vote yes. They measured between 4 and 7 on the baby Richter scale they use these days, but she's not due till May so we have to keep her legs crossed and feet up for at least two more weeks. We stopped at the eldest son's house on the way home because he t-bowed (sp) American Idol and little (I use the term lightly) Relly got to play with the cousins again. He discovered Buz Lightyear and I feared a meltdown upon departure, but he actually did pretty well. The other son and his wife were there to watch the show too. I like Krystal. Didn't like the fake outfit. But, I like her voice. 99% Of the time, I agree w/Simon.

Long day, but on the bright side... no baby coming today and... I sucked it up and did a better job of watching my food choices today. And honestly, I ate stuff I liked and ate it pretty much all day. If we are educated on the calories AND the health part (like sat. fat and sodium) we really can/do make better choices. Now I need to go do my squats and bed crunches and my day will be complete.

CALORIES IN EASTER CANDY

Easter Basket Candy: Calories

25 small jellybeans 140
5 Peeps 160
5 marshmallow chicks (Circus Peanut type) 136
8 robins eggs malted milk candies 170
1 small chocolate bunny - 1 ounce 140
1 medium hollow chocolate bunny - 1 3/4 ounce 260
1 large chocolate bunny - 7 ounces 1050
1 chocolate-covered marshmallow bunny 60
1 chocolate-covered marshmallow egg 100
1 Cadbury Creme Egg 170
1 Cadbury Caramel Egg 190
4 Lindt Chocolate Carrots 210
1 Spongebob Squarepants hollow egg 300
1 hard-boiled Easter egg 76
1/2 deviled egg 73

http://walking.about.com/library/cal/bleastercalories.htm

DAY EIGHTY EIGHT- Healthy Eating Journal

It's easy to think "I'll just have one, or I'll just have a little bit." Problem is... it's mid-season and when I should be pushing the hardest, I'm sliding. I have a major sweet tooth. Went back to school and there set a whole bowl of jelly beans including the orange ones that taste orange. Oranges are healhty.... right? Okay, so you see my problem. So a few jelly beans aren't so bad, and I did just have yogurt for breakfast, but then the sweets just kept popping up today. I took one of my healthy choice frozen dinners (parmesan fish-- really good)and was SO excited because the whole dinner was only 290 calories. But then.... it was someone's birthday and they started passing out the carrot cake someone made. I'm thinking, "It's okay. I only had 290 calories for lunch. Besides, we're talking carrots here." I didn't eat a big piece, but it was normal sized. When I got back to my room I looked up the calories for carrot cake out of the box w/cream cheese frosting. 300 Calories are you kidding me!!?? That's more than my whole lunch was.

Don't forget to check out the Easter Candy Calorie Chart above this post. If any of you have a sweet tooth, Easter is almost as bad as Halloween!

So after the jelly beans and carrot cake you'd think I'd behave the rest of the day. But I swear the whole day was a conspiracy... and I caved so many times there's no way I could face a scale tomorrow. I have to face one Thursday. They fixed the scale in the weight room. Maybe they (the coaches in there) will push me. I need to be pushed. As I was getting ready to go home the eldest son called and they said they'd like to come to dinner. I love having them. Little Relly gets so wound up it takes three days to calm him back down, but I remember being like that when all the cousins came over. So, I didn't do the spaghetti.

They wanted steak and fried potatoes like Gma Shorty fires them. She adds a few onions and she doesn't use 0 calorie Pam spray either. I didn't have regular steak left, but I had elk steak, so I marinated them for 20 minutes then simmered them on medium heat for 15 minutes, then took them out and grilled them just long enough to get the grill marks from the riveted cast iron grill pan. I couldn't use all that oil on the potatoes so I cheated a little. I took half the thinly sliced potatoes and put them in a casserole dish w/a little water in the bottom and microwaved them for 6 minutes. Meanwhile I put a little canola oil in the bottom of a large soup pan that I usually boil the potatoes in and added onions and peppers. Then I added the other half of the sliced potatoes. I cooked them on both sides enough to get some brown on them, then I added the potatoes from the microwave and stirred them in without breaking them. It worked. It tasted like they had all been fried. They were all cooked all the way through and I didn't have to use very much oil at all. I seasoned them as I cooked them.

I had a bunch of hamburger buns I needed to use up so I spread them all out on a cookie sheet, sprayed them w/butter spray, sprinkled them with VERY little garlic powder (have to be careful or it's easy to overdo plus I've been reading that the powder has less sodium than the garlic salt), and broiled them in the oven for a few minutes. The kids loved them and I don't have to worry about how I'm going to eat all that white bread that I don't like anymore. :D I ate half of one and I added some corn to my potatoes. The best part of my day was having my son's family come over. I love being around my family. My son also likes pineapple upside down cake. You guessed it... my daughter made it and I had a small piece. After all... jelly beans and carrot cake (oh and a brownie left over from yesterday was calling my name when I got home) so of course I had to have a piece of pineapple upside down cake too!!! I had a 1700 calorie day!! I haven't had one of those in forever. It may not sound like a lot, but when your body is used to 1200-1300 a day. It feels bloated.

I didn't make very many healhty choices today. I feel very disappointed in myself.

DAY EIGHTY SEVEN- Coaching Journal

Why do we do better/improve when we are coached as opposed to doing it on our own? As humans we are limited in our potential (to do anything) without the help of other humans. It's a simple fact really. Plus, we perform better when we are given goals, expectations, challenges, and the tools and teaching to do better. I could have tried to lose this weight on my own and to change my eating and exercising habits on my own... after all... I'm a coach. But, I'm also a human being. I know from years of experience that if I humble myself and become coachable and accept that life is totally about learning and changing, I will succeed. Having others educate, coach, and support me through this has made all the difference. "This" being my education of healthier food choices, of new approaches to exercise, of how to deal with two households on opposite sides of the state, of living with an 87 year old, living with a two year old, teaching, coaching, everything. When we stop learning... we stop living.

Right now, I am mid-season. All coaches know what that means. DANGER ZONE! and TURNING/TELLING POINT. This is when it's easy to be happy with where we are and to become complacent with the things that we are still not doing well. This is when I need my coaches to push me more, not less. I need more menus, more challenges, more honest feedback, more information about food and exercise, and more stories to inspire me. My championship game happens the first of July and basically I have three months left to get this done. I started needing to lose 27 pounds and that may not seem like a lot, but I want to do it by changing the way I really eat and by not exercising in a way that I can't maintain right at home in my bedroom if I need to. I need a lifestyle change that fits me along with my new clothes. :D I hear about so many people who lose all this weight and months or years later they gain it all back plus some. That's why I'm taking it at a slow pace and doing it in a way that I can really live with. I don't think I've lost more than 2 pounds in any given week. But, I can honestly say, that I think and know a lot about what I eat. Rather than say, don't ever eat that again, I tell myself I can eat it if I want to. Most of the time though, I honestly don't want to. And if I have a piece of pie, or a brownie once in a while or even once a week, well then, I do. I'm not going to any extremes... just learning to build a life plan that works for me.

So how do I step up my game mid-season? Help me out here. I've been thinking about how I've helped some of my athletes mid-season. I had this player once who was averaging double digit figures on boards and points one year (her junior year) and some nights, she was producing 20+ points and most of those were not from the perimeter so they were very physcial shots. She was a beanpole. Then she had a bad mid-season game. Then another one on the road. Whenever we have long bus rides home, I have one-on-one seat conferences with each of my players. As we were talking I could tell that she was struggling. Instead of seeing all the positives leading up to the last two games, she only saw the last two games. She instantly thought she was backsliding. In dieting, we can do the same thing. So do we just throw it all in and say "I gained instead of losing again, so why bother. I can't do this?" I think people do exactly that. I saw that this player had been struggling over the past two weeks and had thought a great deal about how to help her. I had done some things offensively to take a little of the pressure off, but I needed her to get this team to the state championship again. Then I remembered...

I remembered my junior year in track. I had some struggles in life in general and I was distracted. I also had some younger girls threatening my position in some relays. I could fight back or surrender. I saw myself choosing "surrender" and I could have gone down that path and disappeared quietly into the background but my coach didn't let me. My coach challenged me more. Pushed me more. Rode my butt. Didn't give up on me (most importantly). I don't think that coach knows how important it was for me to be a part of something... anything that year in my life. We were on a bus to a desolate town and it was a two hour bus drive to get there. He told me that the only person that was quitting or stopping me from doing my best was me... because he KNEW I could do it. I believed him because he hadn't removed me from the relays. At the time I didn't know that my back would be so bad my senior year that I wouldn't be able to run at all; I just knew that I loved to run. I forgot everything else when I was out there running. It was a small insignificant meet with five or six other schools and cheap little medals. But it was a turning point for me.... a make or break. Long story short, I ran my best split in the 4x4 that I had ever ran and to this day, it's my best time. I ran it again in the open as well. I remember that race even 30+ years later almost meter by meter like it's in slow motion. We were in third place when they handed the baton off to me and it was odd, I just never felt tired, never hit the wall on the final turn, and didn't feel tired on the home stretch. I handed off the baton in first place... because someone else believed in me. So back to my player on the bus. I shared this story with her and I gave her that medal to keep for me. I wanted her to know that no matter what she thought I believed in her and always would. I hope she passes it on some day with her own story because I have a feeling she will be a coach one day. She went on to be a state player of the year and has many trophies and medals to remind her of her worth, but even champions need someone to believe in them and to push them through their tough times.

So, please keep pushing me even when it seems I'm going to make it. :D

DAY EIGHTY SIX- Healthier Eating Journal

Sunshine... on my shoulder... makes me happy. Okay, if you were not singing as you read that... you are too young. :D If you were, hopefully I took you back to happy John Denver days. It was an awesome spring day. All work intentions went out the door. I contemplated a pajama day (a true pajama day involves not even putting your contacts in) and I made it to the half way point and couldn't take it any longer.

Relly slept upstairs in the grandson room to give mommy a break and at 4:30 he whispered "scary" and crawled in bed with me bringing his Thomas the Train blanket and pillow. Then he put his little cheek on mine and fell back to sleep. I waited until he snored then moved him over to his own side so I could breath again. He slept till 7:30 which is about what time he's been waking up every morning this week since I haven't been going to work. We had cold cereal and half a banana (each). He's fine with drinking my skim milk. He got mommy up a little later and she put him in the bath. After I took him out and dressed him we worked on photo albums and he built things with his building blocks.

For lunch I made a spinach salad w/green apple, celery, shredded carrots, red and orange peppers, and craisins. I also grilled some salmon to go with it. I love using the cast iron skillet w/raised rivets to get the perfect grill marks. I cooked it in orange juice concentrate (just enough to cover the bottom of the skillet) and I season it with lemon pepper. I used the 1 calorie per spray spritzer on my salad and that was it for lunch. After lunch Relly took a nap and Mandy and I played solataire against each other on the computer. When he woke up we finished cleaning the house and I took Relly to the park. It was a great day for a walk and he loves the park. They have side by side slides so you can go down with them at the same time and he loved grandma actually going down the slide with him and swinging with him.

When we got home we played outside a little longer and blew bubbles. The bubble wands these days have like 6 or 7 holes in them so you get a horizontal and vertical row all at the same time. Pretty cool. I had planned on going to my school today and cleaning out one of my drama storage closets, but I was watching something on the news last night and this lady who had just lost her daughter was talking about how quickly they can be gone (the daughter was only 4) and how she wish she hadn't been too busy to do more with her. I thought about that a lot today and decided doing things with my daughter and going to the park with my grandson was more important than being OCD about my work closet. I'll do that during work hours.

After our outside time I came in to wait for Mandy's friend Samantha (Sam) who was supposed to cook dinner for us. Mandy asked me if I'd already put the chicken in the crockpot???? Miscommunication red flag... I thought Sam was cooking so I didn't do the recipe on my blog for dinner. Apparently Sam reads my blog too and she wasn't going to cook her Dorito chicken because she read on my blog that I was having crockpot chicken!! And I thought no one read this thing!! Luckily, I'm quick on my feet. I told my daughter we'd just try something new.

We did have the chicken thawed, so I decided I'd try to make chicken wraps... something I've never made before. I searched online for recipes and finally decided to do my own thing and control the calories. First I sliced up the chicken tenders in a glass bowl, then I poured in a cup of orange juice, 1/2 cup of Bountiful Harvest Tuscan Romana Basil and 1/2 cup of Bountiful Harvest Hearty Italian (these dressings have 25 calories per 2 tblsp.) Then I seasoned it with some lemon pepper, a little garlic, and some monterey chicken seasoning (I use the grillmates seasonings-- they're really good). I covered the bowl with saran wrap and stuck it in the fridge for 30 minutes to marinate while we finished getting ready for company. After 30 minutes I dumped everything (including the marinade juice) right in the skillet and cooked it (turning it every 5 minutes) until all the juice was gone). I like my chicken a little browned too, but some people just like it cooked through and not browned. I didn't use any oil, but I did spray some Pam in the pan after the marinade cooked out so I could brown it. It was tender and tasty.

I shredded the low fat mozarella, set out the salad from lunch to use as a filler in the wrap and warmed tortilla shells in the microwave (4-5 in a towell for one minute). Put the cheese in there when the shells still hot, add your chicken, then your spinach leaves, red/orange peppers, apples, celery, shredded carrot and put just a little of your low cal favorite dressing on it or salsa. Avacado smooshed on it would have been good too. Don't forget to use the shells that are only 100 calories-- not the ones that are 150 per shell. It was really good!

Sam said she was going to bring me some ice cream but after reading my blog and seeing how well I'm doing, she felt bad so she only brought Australian red licorice (130 calories in 3 pieces (and they're like 1/2 pieces too). I passed. She said she tried finding the wheatables that I had talked about and couldn't find them. They're right next to the wheat thins because they're a type of wheat thins. She tried some and really liked them. They knew I had a smoothie written as my snack today, so they ran to the store and got the ingredients... awww. No ice cream or chocolate. I had a small cup of a strawberry smoothie that Mandy made. It was good. They also came back with Lays stacks. I warned them what we found out about Pringles, but there was only 1 gram of sat. fat in the Lays stackables and less calories than the Pringles too. My husband will be happy to know that. He was not happy about giving up the Pringles.

After dinner I whooped the girls in a game of hand and foot, then Sam whooped me in a game of liar's dice. It was good to visit with her and to see what a responsible young adult she is. She has two years of college left and has her own place, her own car, and works besides. This on top of the fact that she has C.F. and has had to deal with that her entire life. She's very active and was talking about hiking and a new exercise/dancing type class she's been taking called bodyflow. She takes the class at Gold's Gym. She likes the tai chi too. She said she's not crazy about the wii fit because she'd rather get outside and do stuff, but I explained to her that some of us prefer not to have an audience as we "attempt" to do certain activities that aren't nearly as attractive to watch us do as we get older.

It's funny how you can just pick up your conversation from four or five years ago without missing a beat. It was good to see Sam and it will be fun to have her around again. She said I got a good deal on my PX90 DVD set too ($5.00-- yard sale).

DAY EIGHTY FIVE- Healthier Eating Journal

What a day of ups and downs. The husband cooked breakfast and he made me my eggs w/spinach, whole wheat toast w/butter spray, and bacon. Calories for breakfast...300 Having breakfast with my husband.... priceless. :D So he has to hit the road again. Most of you who follow my blog know he's not a trucker or traveling salesman... you know that we took jobs on either side of the state this year so I could be down here to help with family and both of us will be down here in approximately three months. I orginally thought this was a rare experience, but throughout this ordeal, I have had so many couples share similar stories with me of some time in their life that they had to be separated-- job related for a period. We have been together since we were teenagers, so this has been difficult, but we have survived and if anything, grown even closer and I didn't think that was possible.

Okay, so we got him all packed up and handed him off to the middle son so he could catch a ride back home with them. They were going back home for a baby blessing and wedding. They'll get to stay in one of our vacant bedrooms now in our large beautiful house that we have on the market in anticipation of the upcoming move. After we all said our good-byes Mandy and Relly and I headed home. Mandy pointed out a yard sale sign and we stopped. Guess what they had. PX90-- the set on DVDS (I think there are 6 DVD's total in the case). I talked him down to $5.00 and throw in the used VCR. We still have VHS movies in our house (don't laugh... Relly likes them). I'm going to try out the DVD's tomorrow. Too much going on today.

We ate leftovers for lunch-- a small, think cut porkchop and mashed potatoes from last night (no gravy) with peas. I also had a piece of leftover bacon but it was a cheap brand of that wafer thin stuff, so I'm not even sure I'd count the full 45 calories (but I will). Later on we played cards and I ate some wheatables (10) and half of the 100 count minipouch popcorn. Mandy cooked dinner and made her chicken stir fry with rice, chicken, and zucchini and broccoli. It's always awkward to get myself refocused when my sweetie heads back home. I feel a little lost for the rest of the day. I'm glad Mandy is here with me and little Relly. It helps a lot.

As far as exercise today, I just did my normal bedroom workout with squats, lunges, tai chi moves, crunches and cycles. Mandy's friend Sam is coming over tomorrow to cook us dinner. This is a child who kept me up more nights than I can remember with her laughing and snoring when she spent the night in high school. She's threatened to bring my favorite ice cream and lots of junk food. Well Sam... this chunky monkey isn't going to fall for those food temptations! I might have to whip up some healthy food as backup! :D Of course since I'm cleaning out one of the drama storage rooms tomorrow, I may need the extra calories to restore my strength! j/k

DAY EIGHTY FOUR- Healthier Eating Journal

Shannon's always talking about adding flax seed to her food so I bought some a few days ago and this morning I sprinkled a little in my yogurt. Well... honestly, it reminded me of weevil!! Looked like it before it leaves the shell! Yikes! It was just too disturbing. I could hardly eat the yogurt and the crunch just made it worse! I'm sure it's good for you and I'm sure it tastes good to some people, but it was like having raspberry seeds in my teeth besides the whole weevil look. Maybe I did it wrong???? I had a piece of whole wheat toast for breakfast too.

After breakfast we decided to try out the wii fit and see if either one of us had lost any weight. We were both a little nervous after the crazy eating day!! :D We also wanted to try out some of the workouts. He looked hilarious doing the hula-hoop. Dancing has never been one of his strong points... the kids can testify to this. (Love you honey). It was definitely a workout though. I did it too. Then I did two of the different running workouts and a step workout and something to do with balance. While it says my weight is normal now, I am still a little short of my goal. I started at 167 and today it said I weighed 149. I'm in the 140's!!! :D :D However, in order to hit my 20 pound mark (that is when my husband gets to buy me some new clothes --even though I pulled out my old jeans from a few years ago and they fit--)I have two more pounds to go. My ultimate goal is to be at 140 by July 1st. That is also my six month mark of journaling my eating challenge. So 9 pounds to go and I'm losing less each week. It now takes me two weeks to lose two pounds, but I'm feeling so much better that even at 145 I would not cry if I just held steady there. Okay.... I'm too competitive... I have to go for 140. My husband said I can't go under that though. That's just because the wii said I was normal and he was a little overweight. He had also lost another two pounds though so he's getting closer.

For lunch we went downtown to the Bistro and had some good sandwiches. I had turkey on whole wheat and ate 1/2 of it. I also had 1/2 bag of chips w/it and a small Italian Soda. Oh, and I ate 3 of the pickle spears (15 calories total). I love pickles! And they're so low in calories!! I didn't know that until after I ate them though. :D After lunch we took the daughter in town to pick up diapers and I had to get some picture frames (Mother's Day is coming up). Shopping always burns a few calories :D If my daughter wasn't pregnant, she'd be a toothpick just from the shopping alone! :D Of coure when you're a coupon queen and rarely spend over $10 on any given trip (groceries or otherwise) I suppose that's okay. I just give her my shopping list so I don't have to hear the lectures on what I paid for certain items.

Papa broke down and drove to DQ for a dilly bar for the pregnant daughter (I'm starting to think she's a worse influence than the husband) and a baby cone for the baby. Of course he had an Oreo blizzard (small though, so that's something for him) and I splurged and ate half a small hot fudge Sunday. Just couldn't resist chocolate any longer I guess. You lose a few pounds and you think... what the heck... I can eat that. True, but I'll have to run some more tomorrow. I'm good with that. I've been doing squats and lunges so much now that the running was a piece of cake today. People often think that you just have to go guts out and build endurance by killing yourself and pushing yourself as far as you can run each time. I disagree. Build your leg strength first and your core strength and just walk and do mild things like shooting around or biking. If you do that first, the running is so much easier to ease into and less of a heart risk. That's my unprofessional opinion, but I'm living proof because I've done it both ways and I was shocked when I ran yesterday and today, that I wasn't a bit tired. My legs weren't tired. They're strong. Keep doing those squats and lunges each night along with the crunches and if that's all you did every night... I GUARANTEE you will notice a big difference in your legs and stomach.

Tonight we played some cards with the daughter then I cooked potatoes and gravy (homemade) and thin porkchops (which are actually not too bad in calories at all). We finished the peas off from yesterday too. No dessert tonight.... we already had ice cream earlier. I did have 9 wheatables when we were playing cards, but that's it. Today was more than I usually eat, but I also exercised more than normal and still stayed under 1500 calories, so all is well. Well, I need to go play some cards. I did a puzzles today too. I love that my husband and I have so much in common. Sitting on the couch with our puzzles, doing them alone and together. Playing cards. Watching basketball games. Going for a walk. Just being with my best friend. That's the best part of any vacation. Now I better go make sure he's not thinking about any more ice cream tonight. :D

DAY EIGHTY THREE- Healthier Eating Journal

After eating my oatmeal for breakfast I sat down and tried to run through the music and dances for my spring play. Thank goodness for youtube. I can type in any song and not only can I listen to it, I can see the dance video that often goes with it-- well the newer songs anyway. Surprisingly, I found myself going to some Korean and Chinese bands with some new hits and some great dance videos. The translation was a bit of a challenge, but I was able to find some translation on the words. Music is pretty universal though and so is dancing. I took a break to cook lunch. I made baked potatoes, steamed veggies, and a grilled t-bone steak which I split with the husband.

Then I walked to the school with Relly in the stroller. One of the slightly inclined streets we walked on suddenly seemed more like a small hill when I was pushing a stroller and hefty two-year-old up it. I needed the workout though and work's only a few blocks away. When I got there I set up the display window for the play and Relly played on my classroom stage, delighted in the drinking fountains, and drove the stroller up and down the empty halls. Oh, and he liked the echo of his voice in the empty halls as well. Papa came and got him to go downtown with him. When I finished I grabbed the stack of reserach papers that have been patiently waiting for me. I'll do those this weekend. I decided to jog most of the way home and the hill part was much easier going down. :D I also wasn't really dressed properly-- jeans and a hoodie. I did have my tennis shoes on though so I couldn't resist. Since I've lost weight my pants have gotten looser and today I found out just how much looser when I jogged home. I was reminded of that guy on American Idol who sang "Pants on the Ground". Yeah, it's harder to run when you're holding your belt loop to keep your pants up. I walked the last block to spare the neighbors.

Cooked supper when I got home and Relly woke up from his afternoon nap mid-supper. He was not a happy camper that mommy had gone bye-bye without him and daddy was still at work. Grandma and Grandpa were not in the same category. The only thing that finally calmed him down was when we all sat down to supper. I made up a noodle dish with the 7 grain noodles and McCormick alfredo sauce mix (I add two cups of skim milk to it instead of one and NO butter when I make it). I boiled the noodles and I added a small bag of frozen peas the last minute. I grilled salmon separately with Pam spray and seasoned with lemon pepper. I cooked the sauce when the noodles were on their last minute. After I drained the noodles and peas, I put them in a casserole dish, covered them in the sauce, sprinkled them with the dry container packed romano cheese shreds, and spread chunks of the cooked salmon over it. It was pretty good, but would have been better with asparagus and mushrooms too. I had 1.5 cups of the noodle dish and shared a piece of toast w/Relly. I used the butter spray and sprinkled a little garlic on it (toasted potato bread)and it tasted just like garlic bread. I made a low-cal peach cobbler with the oatmeal topping (no crust) and some lite cool-whip for dessert.

After dinner, Relly went back to missing mommy and a miracle happened during his second meltdown... he saw a small ant on the floor near the window. Normally, I am horrified to see small ants inside my house, but he was instantly intrigued and elated at the same time. I showed him how to squish them knowing there's rarely just one sneaking in, and sure enough, there were four or five. Okay, all you bug lovers... calm down... they're ants. They breed and creep and crawl. Either he squishes them or I squish them. Plus... he stopped crying. Ants and spiders are not my friends. Butterflies... that's a different story. Speaking of stories, I need to finish writing Act IV of my spring play. Spring Break is half over and I still have a few things left on my list of "fun" things to do. If the weather cooperates tomorrow and I can find a tire pump, I'm going on a bike ride. I'm going to paint the grandson room this weekend. I still haven't explored all the little shops downtown yet either so maybe I'll go for a walk with my sweetie tomorrow. So many ideas, so little time.

DAY EIGHTY TWO- Healthier Eating Journal

I felt like a teenager moving out on my own for the first time again!! Go crazy! Food crazy! No plans, no menus, just eat what I want.... Well, I did go a little crazy and it was nice not to think "what did my menu say to eat today" but... I did consider calories when I did eat. And... I didn't think about what I was going to eat today for the whole entire day. Big difference. The husband can be a bad influence, but today, other than the theater popcorn and pop when we went to the movies on a date (that's another paragraph), he was actually the one looking at the calories and saturated fats on labels. When we were in Walgreens he was thinking chocolate and he started reading labels. Holy Saturated Fat! You could have like 3 orders of fries for that! I can feel my arteries clogging as we speak. Another surprising thing he was going to buy and put back after seeing the saturated fat in it was Pringles. You think they're like a healthy type chip and surprise!!! His kettlecooked chips were a lot lower in saturated fat! He bought trail mix instead of candybars and yes, the saturated fat on that was lower.

I can feel that pop we shared sitting on my tummy and I don't see myself doing it again for a while (I've worked too hard to lose the tummy rolls and I'm down to one... so why would I), but it was fun just to eat what I WANT to eat today. That included NOT wanting to eat chocolate and I know all my former players are falling off their chairs in disbelief over that one.

This morning I was set to grab a banana as we headed out the door to my skin doctor appt. and I went breakfastless because apparently the pregnant daughter who lives with me had a banana craving last night! :D So zero calories for breakfast (but not something I'd recommend). I have to go to my dermatologist once a year so he can count the battlemarks of my years of suntanning and working in the fields. He lectures me about wearing the hat on my head, avoiding shorts outside, wearing long sleeves, and using sunblock on my face. He recommends Oil of Olay sunblock and told me that they have it at Costco. He said it won't bother your eyes if you rub it in it and it has good moisturizer in it. He's been my skin doctor for 12 years and he never forgets a thing (including a mole thank goodness). He always asks how my team is doing and then lectures me about the above mentioned if I'm coaching track this year... which I'm not. I'll go watch and help out a little, but I'm not coaching and he STILL gave me the lecture. I will say that he is an excellent doctor though and he stays on top of things. I used to have to go every 6 months and now I'm up to once a year again. In fact, this is the first time in quite a few years that I've left his office without a single mole removed. I count my blessings.... for real.

To celebrate we went to our favorite chinese food place. I ate way too much steamed broccoli and shrimp. I stuck to the two small plate limit and really didn't need to because it would have fit on one. I was trying to "go crazy" on purpose and it just felt weird and unnecessary. As crazy as I could go was having an ice cream cone (baby scoop at that). The husband even did very well and stuck to the two small plates limit and NO ICE CREAM. Okay he had a few bites of mine, but that was at my request. Oh, and I forgot to mention that while I was waiting in the patient room in the doctor's office, I decided that instead of just sitting there... I could do my squats, lunges, and tai chi moves. Okay, call me weird, but why not. It's no different than me doing them during commercials when I'm watching a show at home. Why not use those 20 minutes to work on a few muscles... nothing strenuous or sweaty.

So after lunch we headed to the husband's doctor appt. Another one of those yearly things, but like most men... it's more like every five years. More good news, things looked good for him too. We decided to go crazy and go to a movie (okay it was $1.00 Tuesdays at the cheap theater) so "crazy" is a little strong, but the crazy part was we had theater popcorn AND shared a pop. I could say that I felt bad or it tasted horrible, but we've just never been big pop drinkers anyway, so it felt pretty normal to have one once in a while at the movies. And... the movie was really good. It was Sherlock Holmes. I love a movie that challenges my analytical mind and keeps my interest. I was surprised I liked it as much as I did. From there we went to the eldest child's house to have dinner with his family and the other son and his family came as well. I had a taco salad (homemade) with salsa (no sour cream). And we watched yet another movie-- Blind Side. Everyone has been talking about how good it was. Had some potty mouth going on that we could have done without and it was interesting because it was a true story, but I liked Sherlock Holmes better. Some family members think that lady on Blind Side acts like me and I would disagree because she is 1) WAY prettier and 2) way richer. :D The story was pretty amazing though.

Tomorrow I'm hoping for more sunshine. It was a little chilly again. But today, I'm counting blessings for healthy check-ups and time spent with family. :D

DAY EIGHTY ONE- Healthier Eating Journal

I just typed this entire blog then hit "view blog" without saving....
Sorry... can't do it again.

Long story short-
Breakfast- I cooked my spinach/egg omelet and added orange bell peppers. Split the banana with my husband and drizzled smuckers sugar free syrup on them. Had a piece of whole wheat toast w/butter spray. 300 calorie breakfast
Lunch- I made sandwiches (I had 1/2 sandwich) and finished of my basalmic chips (400 calories)
Supper- We were on the road so the husband had a craving for the A&W rootbeer float. And just when I was bragging on him. He also had a small fry. He did get the 12 oz. float though (320 calories) and the fries (230) calories. I ordered a kid's hamburger and of course it was 250 calories. That's all I had because I had flashbacks of how many calories the Jr. Whopper had been in the past! Then when we went to the store to buy a dvd player (since the yard sale one didn't work) he checked the calories on pie and I was shocked when the chocolate pie he picked up was only 160 calories per slice. Of course after we got it home and tasted it, we found out why it was low calorie-- SUGAR FREE! It was nasty! It was zero calories because no one could swallow it!
So we played a new dice game, zilch, and I had cheese and crackers (200 cal.) instead. Pecan wheatables (140 calories for 19 crackers). They were yummy! Had a handful of pretzels later too-- low cal. snack. Supper wasn't that healthy and it felt like it. 1300-1400 calorie day.

I've decided I think way too much about my meals. Like I've never thought about it before and that's bad... but thinking it about it all the time is just as bad! So... the rest of this week I will still post menus and blog about my day, but I'm going to enjoy my break and make healthy choices within the activities and at the places we end up over the break. Hopefully I won't backslide, but if I do, you'll read about it and help me get back on track again.

I will not be skipping my crunches. I like my strong stomach. :D

DAY EIGHTY- Healthier Eating Journal

It was supposed to be almost 70 degrees today. I've decided the weathermen on this side of the state are not to be trusted. I'm going to start checking my weather info on line-- seems more reliable. It wasn't terrible, but it was kind of gloomy and a little windy. I'm glad we did family pictures yesterday when it was nice. It's supposed to be 49 degrees tomorrow so I'm thinking maybe it'll be 70! :D

It was still a nice day because it was Sunday-- a day of rest, reflection, and spiritual education. I had my cold cereal (found some with 160 calories -- milk included) and cut a small banana into it. Did the same with the husband's cereal. He is really humoring me with this and being a good sport. It may have helped that he's noticed his belt and pants are getting looser. Oh sure... he's lost 8 pounds in two weeks!! Of course he's been reffing and when I asked him what eating habits he's changed he said he's stopped eating the M&M's on his desk every day, cut way back on the treats and replaced them with healthier snacks like raw almonds and veggies. He's also cut out pop and Powerade and he's been doing the crunches every night. I think he's competing with me!! He might catch me too, so I think I'll make him a pie tomorrow! :D Now don't feel bad for him because he made me chocolate chip cookies today. I was going to have one-- I had three! That was after lunch.

We eat lunch late on Sundays after church. I made tacos and used the Lynn Wilson 100 calorie -- 0 Sat. Fat. tortilla shells. I browned the lean hamburger, sprinkled with taco seasoning and added the left over steamed red potatoes from last night (I quartered them into the meat). I sliced up some of the small orange and red peppers into the mixture to cook too. I also used the lowfat Mozzarella cheese, salsa, romaine lettuce, and I tried some of the Romano dry shredded cheese that comes in the containers. It had great flavor and I've never had it on tacos before. Also 0 sat. fat and low calories for a cheese. I only had one taco, but I was still hungry so I had the ingredients without the shell for my second taco. Then the cookies for dessert.

We don't eat supper on Sundays, so we just had the 100 calorie popcorn pouches while we played cards with my daughter and her husband. Minus the small cookies (150 calories) it was a pretty low-cal day.

Today was my first day teaching 11 & 12 year-olds in Sunday school. I had to teach about sacrifice and lead into the story of Abraham and Isaac. I asked them who the oldest child in their family was. They told me. I asked them if they would think their dad was weird if he sacrificed him (literally) to God. Now you would expect that some would be ready to sacrifice their older brother or sister-- then I remembered that they weren't quite teenagers yet... :D So... they were all horrified. And rightly so. But... that is the story. A story of real sacrifice. Now ultimately, he did not have to sacrifice his son, but I asked them to think of the sacrifices they make each day in their life and we all -- myself included-- seemed pretty grateful for how small they are compared to Abraham and Isaac's sacrifice. I also asked them to think of their oldest grandparent. Someone had a grandparent who was 94. She won. I said, okay, add 6 years to her and imagine she's having a baby. Ewww. My reaction as well... plus exhaustion. Well Abraham was 100 when Isaac was born... and as the boys noted during the reading of the story... he was hiking somewhere (at his age) that required at least three days of hiking. By the end of the lesson we were all impressed with Abraham for a multitude of reasons. Isaac too. That's a lot of calories burned and I'm sure Abraham didn't need it, but that's probably one of the reasons he lived so long-- 3 day hikes at 100!

My daughter was having some false labor pains last night so I was helping her out with her lesson this morning for the four-year-olds. I made the name tags for her and of course she made them all beautified with her scrapbooking brads and polka dot paper, etc. but apparently, my mind was not fully alert this morning as I hurried to print them out for her (she was still having some lower back pain). I didn't double check them, but apparently I made a BIG boo-boo. Luckily, her husband caught it and corrected it with a black crayon. In my defense, I have never seen these names before. It's perfectly normal to have a typo when typing so quickly and leaving out one letter isn't normally that big of a deal. Unfortunately, when your name is Morgan and I leave out the "g" it can be a problem. I felt so bad. I'm so glad he caught it. I'm guessing I won't be asked to help with next Sunday's print-outs!

DAY SEVENTY NINE- Healthier Eating Journal

Well the kid friendly breakfast was also grandma and grandpa friendly-- frozen waffles (110 calories per waffle) w/smuckers sugar free strawberry topping (25 cal. per 2 tblsp.) and some real strawberries added in and 2 tblsp. of lite cool whip (20 cal.) for a scrumptious kid delight (or grandpa)1/2 cup of hasbrowns (Reesers) in Pam spray (70 cal.) 1 scrambled egg (90) and two pieces of bacon (90). Grand total=410 and well worth it! After breakfast I handed out a dollar bill to each kid and we headed out to look for a few yard sales.

Our first stop was to return the DVD player that didn't work. No problem- they gave me my money back. The next stop was at Albertson's to pick up water bottles and some flowers for Grandma Shorty. She's been sick and I wanted to make her a bouquet. They had Tiger Lilies and a spring mix that I knew she would love. After we had our water and flowers, we found a few yard sales on the way to Gma's house. Every time we pulled up to one devoid of toys.. Tucker was not a happy camper. He'd quickly return to the car. Just when our time was running out and we thought we'd never find a "toy" yard sale, we stopped at one last one before we hit the road that turned to their house (back to mom and dad). Gold mine!! Not only did they have a little transformer... They had Star Wars the movie! I was excited too because the had Thomas the Train videos and at 3 for $1.00 little Rello would love them.

After we dropped the kids off with their yard sale finds, we headed out to Gma's and my hair appt. Greg dropped me off at the salon and went on to see his Grandma meaning that he was in charge of making the bouquet. Now we've had the talk about not plopping them in without cutting a few inches off the bottom and removing the rubberband or leaving them in the same clumps they came in. He assured me it was beautiful and I'm sure it was... to his Grandma :D Oh and I found a beautiful vase to put them in at one of the yard sales. I had a great conversation with the beautician (they are always such good gabbers) and had plenty of time to contemplate my Sunday school lesson while I was under the hair dryer. Now before you envision an elderly lady w/rollers-- my highlights were drying-- not the rollers.

From there we headed toward home and stopped at Subway to share a footlong for lunch. It wasn't very good. The more I eat the real bread, the less I like the buns of any sort. Greg had eaten soup and pineapple upside down cake at his Grandma's so he wasn't very hungry anyway, but the sandwich was my lunch so I ate most of my half. When we got home we had some time to pick up and get ready for the evening's company. Greg did some honey-do's around the house including hanging the curtains I bought at the yard sale to complete the princess room. Before we knew it, it was time for company.... family. It was good to have all my children together again. We all walked to the park for family pictures. What beautiful children and grandchildren we have. They all have beautiful families. The pictures were cute and the kids got to play.

We went with hamburgers on the Goeorge Forman grill for supper and I skipped the bun on mine. Baked french fries for the kids and steamed red potatoes that I seasoned with lemon pepper then sprayed with butter spray when they came out. They really turned out good. I also had a little of the left-over jello-cottage cheese salad. I had two baked onion rings, but they're only good baked if you get them crispy... can't handle the soggy stuff. Cranberry juice was good too.

We played some games, visited, and looked at pictures when we got home. Mostly, I just enjoyed having all my children together again. It's what makes me happier than anything-- having all my family with us. I ate more than normal today, but I never really sat down much at all today, so I'm sure I lost a little of it. What I didn't lose, I can work off a little more of tonight before bed and tomorrow when I go walking. My sweetie is making chocolate chip cookies for our cookie walk tomorrow and I'm eating one. Only one though. Being happy is no excuse for overindulging. :D

DAY SEVENTY EIGHT- Healthier Eating Journal

No school today. We're on Spring Break. Isn't it funny how when you know you can sleep in and you don't set the alarm... you wake up at the same time you always do. Then you lay there and think, "You don't have to get up. Why are you awake? Go back to sleep." But if you allow yourself to think of one little thing you want to do that day or one little anything other than sleep... You're awake for good.

So, I got up and cooked Relly and my daughter some scrambled eggs and toast for breakfast. I had my oatmeal w/berries and a piece of toast because I had an egg yesterday. After that we decided to take a walk to the post office and what a beautiful day to go for a walk. We even found yard sale signs on the way to the post office. We were a little disappointed when we got there... nothing we wanted to buy... but we had the fever, so we headed home and loaded up little Relly. Imade the orange jello for dessert for later and we left.

We had so many yard sales to choose from (okay 6 or7) that we were pretty happy campers. At one yard sale Mandy loaded up two bags of like-new boys pants for Relly and some for the other grandkids. It was a dollar a bag for as much as you could fit in there. That's our kind of yard sale! On the downside... I picked up a DVD player (the kids need one of their own so they can watch movies because there's no cable TV in the TV they can watch at Grandma's. I know... Grandma's so mean. Unfortunately, she told me it worked... and it didn't. She said I could bring it back if it didn't. I paid $5.00 for it. So I will be taking it back tomorrow. We'll see how that goes. Everything else today was a great deal though. Best place to buy summer clothes for kids. We also stopped at Wendy's for lunch and I had the small cup of chili. I love their chili. That was it for lunch. When we got home I had some Balsamic chips before we headed out the door to pick up the rest of the grandkids.

We picked up the grandkids and took the scenic route back through the country. When we got home I made the noodle shrimp stir fry and added more frozen veggies to the mix. I also added the cottage cheese, lite cool whip, and mandarin oranges to the jell-o. The kids liked the noodles in the stir-fry, but only one of them ate the jello dish because they didn't like they're food "mixed". I was disappointed, but lesson learned. Plain jello it is. The big kids (their parents) are coming tomorrow and I know they'll eat the mixed jello, so it won't go to waste. :D I liked it too.

After supper we took the kids for a walk to the park. Exercise complete! It was fun and we're going to take them back tomorrow. We played dress-up princess in the new princess room (and read the Cinderella story) and papa played the new transformer board game with the boys then everyone was ready to camp on my bed and watch a show. I cut up some apple slices for our show treat. No Wiggles tonight. I've had plenty of exercise today. I will still do my crunches though. :D

DAY SEVENTY SEVEN- Healthier Eating Journal

Some days... I won't lie... it's a pain in the Kiester to log on here and write about my day. Some days.... this is far more demanding than exercising or watching what I eat. But... I didn't just commit to change the way I eat or exercise... I committed to write it down and journal it EVERY DAY. (what was I thinking?!) And of course it's built into me as a competitor to meet my goal. Good thing because with three followers... it'd be easy just to quit. That's why I made myself put it in writing and make it public... accountability outside of myself. Some days I'd like to backslide. Sounds wrong.. doesn't it. But no.... I have to write about it.

Okay... whining's over and I'll "just do it!"

For breakfast my husband made me my one egg omelet w/spinach and low fat mozzarella with a piece of slightly burnt toast-- reduces the calories that way-- you won't eat it. :) Love you honey. I forgot my water bottle today and man what a difference that makes. No flushing my system, keeping hydrated, or making my stomach feel full. VERY BAD. For lunch the lunch ladies watched out for me again. I bounced from line to line and took the brown rice from one line and topped it with steamed broccoli from another and made room for some fresh cucumbers, onions, and tomatoes in a little vinegar. That was my lunch. After school I had a snack because we had P/T conferences again tonight until 8pm. I had some cottage cheese and chips. I also had one of Mandy's homemade blueberry muffins (140 calories). At 380 calories it was more like a mini dinner than a snack! but I only had 250 calories for lunch. At this point I was at 690-700 calories for the day. We got a break at 6:00 for supper. They actually had really healthy food brought in (minus the pizza). I didn't eat the pizza. I had grapes, pineapple, crackers w/salmon dip, and a grilled chicken patty. That was way more than I had planned to eat but still only came out to about almost 400 calories. Today's total was 1100-1200 and that is my goal.

I also walked home and the wind was a little colder than I thought it'd be. I suppose that burns more calories though. :) So now it's SPRING BREAK! I hope the weather is nice so all the students can get outside and enjoy it and I can plant some things and go on some bike rides. Oh, and have a pajama day somewhere in there. Tomorrow the grandkids are coming so that will be tomorrow's exercise. Probably doing the Wiggles workout or the Wii workout... or both!!! That's why they're all toothpicks (except me) :) They're ADD (like me and their parents) :) Love ya Jer. I'm excited for them to see the new bedroom and to be able to play at the park right by my house now that the weather is nice. Even with all the activities I know we'll do, I'll still do my bedroom crunches and squats because I know they tone and strengthen my core. Plus, it's such a good, easy habit now, that it would be silly to stop. Just like writing this blog... it's a pain, but the gain outweighs the pain. :D

DAY SEVENTY SIX- Healthier Eating Journal

I can smell spring break in the air! And what perfect timing for parent/teacher conferences. Anyone who's just "hanging in there" can get caught up (teachers or students) and everyone gets a nature break. I can't wait to get out and plant something. It's a little soon to plant the garden, but we could at least start moving some dirt and cleaning the garage. No, I do not have spring fever.... okay.. I do!
I had the Activa yogurt and a banana again for breakfast. I even remembered to take the left-over spinach salad from last night to work with me. I crumbled up the little bit of salmon fillet that was left as the meat for my salad. Someone made mint (for green) chocolate chip brownies. Interesting. Had a small one, but not a fan... even on St. Patty Day. Got a break during conferences and they fed us tacos, but I skipped the shell and had a taco salad instead. No dessert.

I was anxious to get home because the husband was flying in and would be there. It was grand central station with visitors when I got home, then my sweetie showed up with my son who drove him from the airport since I was at my conferences. It was a full house. We like it that way. I am anxious to have everyone over for dinner Sunday. I'm also excited to have all the grandkids over Friday night. They LOVE to go yard-saling (I don't know who got them hooked) and we're going Saturday morning.

With all the running around my tummy was still a little hungry (not me of course... just my stomach) so I had my 100 calorie mini pouch popcorn for my evening snack (before 8pm). Now I need to go finish writing the play that never ends. I had written in 26 parts and 36 kids tried out. I could cut people, but why? I'm writing the play anyway, so I just need to write in a few more parts. Tomorrow will be new eating challenges with the husband home, but we'll see if he really has been trying to eat healthier... :D

DAY SEVENTY FIVE- Healthier Eating Journal

My body is still on the former time clock. It has definitely NOT sprung forward. No time to cook again this morning so grabbed some low-fat Activa yogurt (cherry) and a box of my new snack-- wheatables. LESSON 501- Do not take an entire box of any type of cracker to work with you to keep in your desk. Instead, take a ziploc bag and put 20 crackers in it. At 10 calories a wheatable-- that's 200 calories worth of snack. That box kept calling my name today and twice I answered. That's 260 calories (13 each time) because I took the whole box instead of just putting some in a ziploc. I am learning SO many lessons. Feeling guilty about the wheatables, I ate a few grapes, some fresh pineapple, an apple and 3 spears of celery w/peanut butter for lunch. I wasn't going to have any peanut butter, but one of the lunch ladies told me I needed protein, so I took 1 tbsp. to dip my celery in. I suggested some of the black beans on the salad bar, but she said they're not a full protien. Man, I learn something every day. Surprisingly, I was quite full. Of course that couldn't be the wheatables!!

For dinner I had 1/2 baked potato w/cottage cheese, green spinach salad w/orange bell peppers, cucumbers, celery, and tomatoes. I went for the crunchy taste salad today. I automatically put my lowfat salad dressing on the side. I only put the oil dressings right on top. I also had a 4oz. fillet of salmon that I cooked in the microwave with some fresh raspberries. It was all very filling. I made little Relly some broccoli and he shared w/mommy, but not me. I wanted to make him some cheese sauce and after the whole saturated fat revelations yesterday I compared the sat. fat in Western Family's velveeta equivalent to real cheese and BIG difference. The velveeta substitute had half the calories (of real cheese) and 1/2 the sat. fat. You can get the low-fat cheese, but you can just add a little skim milk to this W/F velveeta and zap it and you have cheese sauce. I tried a tblsp on my potato. It was pretty good. I wouldn't eat it a lot, but it was another lesson on sat. fat.

I also had a conversation with someone else on a diet and they were asking how I have managed to lose my belly and how I've been getting it to firm up. I'm sure they have ideas of me doing all this hard running and lifting and sweating to death. I set them straight. I'm simply focusing on strengthening my core. I swear by the crunches and squats and tai chai moves. It's more than just losing weight. It's firming your existing muscles. You also have to listen to YOUR body because different things and different foods work more effectively for each person.
True, some are just universal, but for example, when I eat my bananas, my digestive system just works right. When I don't, I can really see a difference even eating all the fruits and vegetables I do every day.

My parting thought is not food related. I have noticed that the thrift stores have really hiked their prices. I mean I looked at a used vase and I almost fell over when I saw the $7.00 price tag on the bottom. I asked a worker at one of the stores why the prices had gone up so much because some stuff-- including clothes-- was cheaper to buy new at a regular store. She said it was because times are just tough right now. Hmmmm. So more people are unemployed and have less money, so we should jack the prices up since these are the main people who shop at thrift stores. Does that make sense? I'm glad yard sale season is officially upon us.

DAY SEVENTY FOUR- Healthier Eathing Journal

Boy, I just keep learning. The more I learn, the more I realize what an unhealthy path I was headed down. People always say, well my dad, or my grandpa used to slap his butter on thick and eat his ice cream and pie every night and he lived to be 95. Well, that may be true. My grandpa did that (and smoked) and was well into his 80's BUT he also didn't set around watching T.V. or working on a computer or at a desk every day. He was outside from sun up to sun down. And he wasn't sitting on machinery most of the time either. He walked and lifted and carried, and shoveled and just rarely sat around. I'm not that active any more.

One of my former players said her and her new husband (they're newlyweds) were concerned about saturated fat because he watched a show that said that 2% milk had more saturated fat in it than French fries. Okay, well that's making things a bit more drastic than they are (yes, med. French fries have 2.7 g for 4 oz and 8 oz. of 2% milk has like 3.1) but French fries has double the calories. 1 cup (8 oz.) 2% milk= 122 calories. Med. Fry (4.1 oz.)= 380 calories. Still, it got me thinking about the "bad fats" v. good fats and I started reading. I read that women naturally store the bad fats more than men "just in case" we need it to have babies... great. We really do need to pay attention to saturated fat content because that's what leads to high cholesterol and clogged arteries.

For example, forget "lite" labels and focus on fat-free. Avoid Coconut... it's the devil. Nuts and peanut butter.... sparingly. Avacados and olives.... very sparingly. Eggs (egg yolks) 2 per week (I'm crying here). Red meat 3 times per week (that's fine). Avoid breaded and deep fried items. Boil and broil instead of frying. Skim milk, not the other stuff. Ice cream and store bought pies, donuts, and cookies are all no-no's. You have a lot more control over content when you make stuff at home and can reduce both the sugar and the fat in food when you prepare it yourself with healhty eating in mind.

I had oatmeal this morning with berries for breakfast. I had my Lean Cuisine frozen dinner and an apple for lunch. The dinner had chicken, veggies, and pasta. Was doing great till I got home from work and saw the chocolate bundt cake still sitting there. Okay, a few slices left. The pregnant lady did not polish it off. I had a skinny slice to hold me over till the bball banquet. When I got to the banquet it was all pasta dishes and desserts. Not good. I scanned until I found a rebel rice dish and took a cup of rice. Then I found some cucumbers and tomatoes mixed in a pasta salad and scooped a few free (without pasta). No, I didn't ruin the dish; I just took a few. The desserts all looked sinfully loaded with calories but my plate was looking like someone on a diet, so I added a thin slice (probably 1/4 cup) of jello with a cream cheese top on it. When I got home I ate some wheatables. 1g of fat in 14 of them and 140 calories. They were really good. I've never had them before. They filled the remaining emptiness in my stomach (that and a water bottle). Next time I need to plan better backup snacks (healthier). Still, I didn't exceed 1200 calories. I need to pay better attention to fat content and the type of fat.

Thanks for making me think Nan. The clock is saying it's almost 11:30, but I know it's not quite 10:30. Unfortunately the alarm says another story, so I better do my crunches and get to bed.

Great Web Site about Bad Fats and Food Chart: http://www.msha.com/body_sibling02.cfm?id=287

Cutting Bad Fats from Your Diet

Twelve ways to cut the fat
1. Bake, boil, broil, grill, steam, roast, braise/simmer, poach, sauté, stir-fry or microwave.
2. Sauté vegetables and meat in water, broth, or wine instead of butter.
3. Skim off the fat or chill soups, stews, sauces, and broths. Lift off the congealed fat (saves 100 calories per tablespoon of fat removed).
4. Trim fat from meat. Remove skin from poultry. (The exception is when roasting a whole chicken or turkey; then remove the skin before carving and serving the meat.)
5. Choose whole turkeys that have not been injected with fats or broths.
6. Drain off all fat after browning meats.
7. Cook meats at low temperatures (325-350o F.) High temperatures seal the fat into the meat.
8. Use water packed canned products (canned fish, chicken, and fruits).
9. For sauces and dressings, use low-calorie bases (vinegar, mustard, tomato juice, fat free bouillon) instead of high calorie ones (cream, butter, oils, and mayonnaise).
10. Use fat free skim, 1/2 % milk, fat free evaporated milk and nonfat yogurt, nonfat sour cream, and nonfat/low fat cheeses.
11. Use egg whites or egg substitutes. Egg yolks can be a major source of dietary cholesterol.
12.Choose frozen dinners, entrees, and desserts that are made especially for low saturated fat, low cholesterol and low sodium diets.
13. Replace 3-ounce serving meat with a cup of cooked beans, peas, or lentils or 3 ounces tofu or peanut or soy nut butter.


http://www.msha.com/body_sibling02.cfm?id=287

DAY SEVENTY THREE- Healthier Eating Journal

I'm not sure some people would consider my eating habits or choices very healthy (like those who don't eat any meat or sugar), so I've decided to change the subtitle to "Healthier" Eating Journal instead of "Healthy" eating journal (because I have no intention of giving up either of them completely). Today I ate my oatmeal and berries for breakfast (no milk) because I didn't feel like cooking. Had too many other things to focus on before church. Plus, I have to make sure I'm eating food that helps my digestive system. It was a beautiful day. Summer is just around the corner. Okay, compared to where I have lived the last four years, this is summer! :D

After church I played some cards with my husband (relax activity) and my daughter and little Relly helped me decorate the granddaughter bedroom (for all visiting granddaughters). It is of course a "princess" theme. Okay, if you've been following my blog, you know it's more like army princess, but it actually turned out just fine. In fact, it's almost cute. Needs some moulding along the ceiling, but that thought was shot down because "it's just a rental" and I need to "calm down". Okay, okay. But the grandsons' room is next and I'm seriously thinking about painting spongebob and spiderman on one of the walls. I'll leave spare paint to cover it up when I leave, so that should be fine.... Decorating is not work.... it's fun and something my daughter and I can do together. It's also been fun (and a reminder of what we can do with our money when we put our mind to it) to pick up second hand stuff to decorate with. That, plus the stuff my daughter already had. I picked up the twin bed at an auction for $45 with box springs and rails and it's in excellent condition. The little white dresser (which Relly put princess stickers on today)I picked up at a yard sale last summer for $10. I'm going to paint the knobs pink. The wooden princess table set (auction $10). The full accessories kitchen with sink and fake oven and microwave ($15- second hand store). Those things are some ridiculous price in the store. Mandy had one princess curtain and I'm making the other out of either a sheet or material (which I will seek out at yard sales next weekend). And that will be it. With Mandy's princess accessories and dollar store black and white frames, we are styling for $105.00 (including the gallon of paint).

I warmed up the hamburger soup for dinner after church and also had a piece of the bundt cake I bought at the scout auction last night. Since we eat lunch kind of late on Sundays (2:30) I just eat something light in the evening. Of course it's only 6:45 right now, but since we had to spring forward, the clock says 7:45. I ate my 100 calorie mini pouch popcorn a little bit ago and had a water bottle. Not that hungry with eating lunch so late. Have a play to finish writing and I am so excited that we start Spring Break next week. Now that will be a challenge considering the husband will be home 24-7 and he likes to eat out a lot. He has started adding up his own calories though (ever since he lost the two pounds over the weekend) and he claims he too is trying to eat healthier. Of course that could mean having one cupcake instead of two!

DAY SEVENTY TWO- Healthy Eating Journal

Spent the morning in a delegate meeting discussing education woes and this year's state of the budget. That's a whole other blog. It seems that our college degrees (including master's degrees) are pretty worthless. We have experienced teachers with master's who are now being told (according to NCLB) that they are not highly qualified. And... they need to take a (PRAXIS) test (which of course has to be paid for by the teacher-- to the state) to prove that we are. What will they think of next to drive more educators from the profession? New teachers just graduating from college with a degree in education can take up to 4 of these PRAXIS at up to $200 per test to prove they can teach. A test to prove you can TEACH. Hmmmmm. So four years of professors, an internship (student teaching) and money paid out for a degree.... what is that for?? What's wrong with this picture! I say we use the same approach with politicians then. Who cares if you went through your campaign and got elected. We'll give you a test (filled mostly with dates and Idaho history/past legislation trivia, along with government questions of course) and if you don't pass, you're out! Okay... not all politicians are bad... but I do like the test for them idea if they continue to find ways to ding educators.

I had a whole wheat bagel at the meeting and was shocked to later find out it was like 300 calories alone. Not doing the bagel thing again. Had a banana for a snack when we took a break. Had a junior whopper for lunch thinking it wouldn't be that much since it was small (370 calories!). I'd hate to see how many calories are in the large whopper. It was good though. Had to stop at a second hand store to find books for one son and king size bed frame for another. The bed frame was $60 brand new so I told them I could find one used for cheaper. I mean it's a bed frame. I found it for $25. After I dropped it off and saw cute little Maddy (she is smiling and cooing now) I stopped in at the other son's house to see birthday boy (Bryton)and drop off the books. Little Jilly is sick, congested. Grandma Shorty was there holding her. She showed me pictures of some new little twins that were born into our family last week. They are so tiny. Grandma loves holding the babies.

After that I headed to the Scout auction and dinner with my daugther and her family. They had BBQ pulled pork sandwiches. That was a challenge, but I learned my lesson from the french dip and #1) only took half of the bun #2) only put half a cup of meat on the bun half. We're talking 180 calories v. 360 that way. Had some green salad on the side and bought a Bundt cake for tomorrow's dessert (and to support the scouts) I didn't eat any bundt cake tonight.. I just bought it. I will do my normal exercises before bed tonight, but I also did some walking today. My husband is going to fall off his chair when he reads this but I PURPOSELY parked three blocks from the building I went to for my meeting today. I made myself walk. No... this does not mean that when it's raining, snowing, or the wind is blowing, that I want to park away from the entrance. I still want to drive around till we get the closest spot when the weather is yucky. Baby steps here. :D

Note: Don't forget to read the info below about breakfast tips, research, and recipes, as well as the the one below that about 29 beef recipes under 300 calories.

ALL ABOUT BREAKFAST

WHY EAT BREAKFAST?
A study published in the February 2002 journal Obesity Research found that eating breakfast was a key behavior among people who averaged a 60-pound weight loss and kept it off an average of six years. Participants told researchers that skipping breakfast made them so hungry that they overate during other meals and snacked on unhealthy, high-calorie foods.

Stretch: Revamp your morning meal so it's low in fat and sugar, high in fiber and protein and has plenty of flavor. One winner: an egg white omelet with salsa and a side of whole grain toast.
Step: Sprinkle a teaspoon of flaxseed (ground or whole) over your breakfast every morning. Next to fish and organic eggs, flaxseed is one of the best sources of healthy omega-3 fatty acids.

BRAN MUFFINS- FOR BREAKFAST
1 cup bran cereal (such as All-Bran or Fiber One)
1 ½ cups mashed banana or unsweetened applesauce
1/4 cup fat-free milk
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup old-fashioned oats
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon honey
2 tablespoons dark molasses
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 egg whites or 1 whole egg or 1/4 cup liquid egg substitute
2/3 cup blueberries or 1/4 cup Craisins and 1/4 cup mini chocolate chips (optional)

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Spray two 12-cup muffin pans with cooking spray or insert paper liners. Combine the cereal, banana, and milk in a large bowl. Let stand for about 5 minutes. Add the flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda, honey, molasses, cinnamon, egg whites, and blueberries and stir until combined. Spoon the batter into the pans and bake for 20 minutes. Serves: 24

PER SERVING
60 calories, 2 g protein, 13 g carbohydrates, 0 g fat, 0 g saturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 3 g fiber, 106 mg sodium

TOP 20 BEEF RECIPES ALL UNDER 300 CALORIES

Yes, I'm still "stewing" about the beef thing... That was definitely a husband-type joke. Here is a great web site for these recipes:
http://allrecipes.com/Recipes/Healthy-Cooking/Low-Calorie/300-Calories-or-Less-per-Serving/Beef/Top.aspx

DAY SEVENTY ONE- Healthy Eating Journal

Most people probably would think... WoW... I've been trying this healthy eating/dieting thing for seventy one days withouth missing a day!! Instead, I keep thinking.... WoW... I've actually kept a journal every single day for 71 days. That's 71 journal pages. There's something helahty about putting feelings down.... as long as they are feelings that you would be okay with the world reading. I think you need to be good with who you are and what you think (obviously) but I think a lot could be said for learning to combine our strong female opinions with thought about what others will feel and think as they read it. I'm not saying you shouldn't disagree or speak up (eating meat), but do it in a way that invites civil conversation. Mostly though, is what we write healthy? I've read some diaries that are just down right mean and full of fault finding. What's the point? Eat healthy. Write healthy. Start thinking healthier. I've seen it be so as I've done this.

This morning seems like ages ago. It was the last day of open auditions for my spring play. I mixed my bowl of instant oatmeal and raspberries (no milk) once I got to school. For lunch I built myself a green salad and had celery sticks and peanut butter on the side. Had my almonds for my snack. No after school snack today because I helped with a track meet after school. The weatherman said it was going to be 59 today. He lied! I can barely move my fingers as I type. I think they are still unthawing. The worst thing a runner faces during track season is not the cold or the snow or the rain... it's the wind. I hated the wind as a runner. My hat goes off to all those student/athletes who sucked it up (literally) and ran their feet off today. And the adults helping out with the track meet were equally awesome. Troopers. In a small town it's so rewarding to see in the timers stand a mix of parents, teachers, a school board member, custodian, a student, and the principal. Only in a small town. Again.... awesome.

When I got home I had to do the quick version of my hamburger soup because I forgot to put it in the crockpot this morning. I crumbled the raw hamburger in the pot, then the diced up potatoes, baby carrots, celery, and seasoning. Then add the two cans of diced tomatoes. Add enough water to make sure all items (except tomatoes because they float) are covered. Boil on high until potatoes are tender (about 15 minutes at a full boil. Turn down to low and add a can of corn (drained), green beans (drained), and olives (drained and cut in half). Sprinkle in a packet of taco seasoning and cook another 5 minutes. Eat. While I was waiting for the soup to cook I ran downstairs and tried out my daughter's new wii fit. VERY COOL. It tells you about your muscle, balance, posture, weight... everything. I set a goal to be at 145 in two weeks and it flashed a warning that I should take longer. So... my goal is 145in 3 weeks. I haven't weighed in a while because the scale has been broken. The wrestling coach told me he fixed it for me today, but I had auditions to finish then straight to the track meet, so didn't have time. So.... last time I weighed I was 154.9 (two weeks ago). Today.... 151!!!! :D :D :D IT'S WORKING... and I had a hamburger last night. :D

DAY SEVENTY- Healthy Eating Journal

I was thinking about meat a lot today because yesterday on the Ellen Degeneres show she had some author on there who was going on and on about how cruel it is that we eat all these poor, harmless animals every day and how they have feelings too. And, she had these people there who had watched when he was on the show before and they were carrying on about how he had changed their life and they were all acting like we're all barbarians or something. I'm sorry, but whether you go for the evolution theory or God created man and gave him dominion over the animals, etc. Either way, it's a natural part of the food chain. Plus, as much as I think some animals are "adorable" I don't think they should have the same rights as an abused or abandoned or neglected child. "Pets" should be treated with love, but if a spider crawls on me... I'm smashing it. If I raise a cow to butcher, I'm eating it. I had a hamburger tonight to protest the excessiveness of animal rights. Now everyone with your cute little dogs (Whit) don't get upset, I'm just saying there are pets and there are animals that are not pets. A cow, is not a pet. We keep goldfish and other types of fish in fish tanks, does that mean we don't eat fish? I eat fish. Okay.... I'll stop. It was just weird to see all these people going off about the animals and how everyone should stop eating meat period. Moderation in all foods, and if you want to go vegetarian.... fine... but don't start picketing for cow rights, pig rights, chicken rights, fish rights. I agree that you shouldn't eat red meat more than once a day and probably every other day would be better so you can get in your fish and poultry and lessen your red meat, but no meat at all!!! I don't agree. Processed meats like hotdogs and sausages are not good for you either and I limit myt intake on those a lot, but if you want to talk about the real killers, let's see everyone give up sugar. :D Or French fries. No animals killed in either of those.

So I didn't have time for the yogurt this morning, but I had my toast with smuckers sugar free jam and the butter spray. It was good. I have noticed that since I've eaten a light breakfast the last two days, I've been a lot hungrier at night. I'm going to make sure I eat 300 calories for breakfast. I have all day to burn it off. I reversed lunch and supper. I had the 1/2 baked potato with 1/2 cup chili and a little cheese for lunch and some greens on the side. For supper I had the grilled hamburger with lettuce, onion, tomato and did not feel any remorse. I tried eating some popcorn at the auction but it was way too salty. I got some great deals at the auction, but it put me home really late and I have one more day of morning auditions for the play, so I better get to bed.(after crunches of course)

DAY SIXTY NINE- Healthy Eating Journal

Since yesterday I've had time to put things in perspective. Most normal people eat 2000 calories a day (okay, young people and people who are exercising more than I am). So, it's not the end of the world, as my husband reminded me. We used to eat that many calories in one setting at Perkins for breakfast. It is good to plan ahead and to know how many calorie choices you have in what you're eating, but it's not the end of the world if I eat a few more calories once in a while. See... I have recovered.

I only had time for 1/2 of my cup of hot chocolate this morning (spring play auditions so I have students coming for morning auditions) and 1/2 of an English muffin. I might have hit 200 calories. Used butter spray on the muffin. For lunch, I just have to say the lunch ladies at my school have been SO helpful to me on my diet. If they don't have calories posted, they find out for me and are so nice about it. Plus, sometimes if they don't have something fixed that I can eat, they make me something. Today they were ready for me and told me the rice bowl with chicken and steamed veggies only had 320 calories. They also told me I probably wouldn't want the eggroll because it was 165 calories by itself. They are really helping me out. The rice bowl was also very good.

When I got home I had a hard boiled egg. I feel like the kids sometimes because we eat lunch so early, that I'm hungry when I get home from school, but I don't want to eat supper that early. I hung some more pictures on the wall, then made a green salad (Romaine lettuce, apples, carrots, tomatoes, and fresh, chopped cilantro). I like my salad dressing that I make from mixing a tsp. of low sugar strawberry jam with a couple of tblsp. of Zesty Italian. I also like to sprinkle sesame seeds in it. I had the other half of the English muffin with it and it was the last of the muffins, so I think I'm done with that bit. After that I painted the trim in the army princess bedroom. Painting white over light 70's green is not an easy task. You should also paint during the day when there's light. It might not be so pretty tomorrow when the dark and shadows are gone to hide my freehand attempt at keeping lines straight. I plan to decoarte A LOT to make up for the less than princess walls. Sorry Daisha Sue!

I'm starting to think that the boys room might be fine the way it is. I hear my husband's voice repeating "It's just a rental. We don't own it. Stop!" I'll just get the walls all painted and decorated in time for school to be out then I'll be back home. Well, at least the next renters will enjoy it!

Another Great Video to Inspire Us

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WEqdr_Awdak

DAY SIXTY EIGHT- Healthy Eating Journal

Lack of planning ahead bites me in the kiester every time!! It is, by far, the biggest lesson I still have to learn. What a setback day! Started off fine. Had my piece of toast and a plum. Lunch was a tuna sanwich on whole grain bread, some celery and baked chips. I also had some almonds for snacks. All of this was fairly normal except that when I was eating the sandwich I kept thinking, "I'm eating this because it's a sandwich, but I should eat half because I'm full." I didn't though; I finished it. Then when I got home from work my daughter and I were going to go to a ladies' church dinner but it wasn't until 6:30 so I had an activa yogurt and a slice of zucchini bread to hold me over a couple of hours. Well that's 200 calories alone. A tuna sandwich you make at home can easily be controlled, but when you eat it somewhere else, you don't know how much mayo is in it. I'm guessing I had 600 calories for lunch and I know breakfast was low (150 + almonds= 230. That's 1030 already going into dinner.

We show up to dinner and I'm expecting salad and spaghetti or something and they have French dip sandwiches with pasta salad. Then they bring out macadamia nut cookies. I'm thinking I should eat half the sandwich, but I get to talking and honestly, I'm just merrily visiting and it's gone! Plus, I really didn't think a sandwich would be that terrible anyway. When the cookies came out I thought "okay they're probably 100 calories, so I had one for my dessert. I got home, went straight to calorie counter and all I can say, is that I need to exercise 30 minutes tonight plus my crunches to at least work off the cookie. The cookie was 200 calories. Those french dip sandwiches are 500 CALORIES people!!! Are you kidding me? And this was the biggest shocker... pasta salad was 300 calories. The only positive was that I drank water and turned down sherbert and M&M's! I've been averaging about 1500 calories (snacks included) each day. Today, I put down 2030! I am so mad at myself. I wasn't that hungry at lunch or dinner. How hard is it to eat 1/2 a sandwich? This isn't about losing weight. It's about eating right. Why eat when you're full? Why eat more calories than you need? Why eat just to eat?

I found another web site that helps you calculate how many calories you burn off doing specific activities and it's calculated by your weight. The web site is: http://www.healthstatus.com/calculate/cbc. The bright spot of the day was that I got up this morning and played basketball for 25 minutes and ended with 5 minutes of stairs. I might have burned 200 calories max, but that's a cookie. The other good news was that I found out that I really do burn calories when I'm coaching. I knew that because I definitely sweat! However, I'm not coaching right now, so I need to do other things. It looks like a stationary bike burns a lot, so I might need to think about getting one. For tonight though, I just need to do my usual stuff for a little longer and be thankful I can work off a cookie in a half hour. Most importantly, I need to learn from today and make better choices. Tuna without bread is fine-- in a sandwich-- loaded calories. French Dips are fine if that's all you're having or some light veggies. Pasta salad I might avoid now because it's a side dish. Mainly though... listen to my body.

I guess that's what I get when I think I've got it down. I let my guard down and find out that I need to put the training wheels back on a little while longer. {:

DAY SIXTY SEVEN- Healthy Eating Journal

Monday.... ugh. Waking up is always the hardest part of Monday, but after that, it's pretty much like any other day of the week. The more I think about the way we eat (as Americans) and why we eat, the more I think we need to do more to stop this epidemic called "obesity" in America. We have mandated warning labels on cigarettes and laws against drinking because of the health/death risks, but more people die every year as a result of clogged arteries and complications due to diabetes, obesity, and other eating related problems. I've been thinking.... what can we do?

1) PE needs to be revamped to include an equal amount of the "E" in PE. It also needs to be required, but PE teachers need to rethink how and what is taught. There is more benefit in teaching something like Yoga and basic cardio workouts than in weight lifting for the general population. I'm not saying eliminate; I'm just saying we need to revisit exercise that can be carried throughout our adult lives and also that all kids can feel successful at. Secondly, the way we eat is an education process.
2) School Lunch! Seriously.... pizza every day as an offering!! No way! There's a new show coming on March 26th called JAMIE OLIVER FOOD REVOLUTION. I hope it's more than a show. I know the Biggest Loser has inspired people, but not everyone can or wants to attack exercise with that intensity. It still inspires us though. I hope this Jamie Oliver show inspires schools to do more than remove junk food and pop machines while still serving pizza every day. I also like how our cafeteria posts the calories for each thing. I think it should be a requirement. Someday, when I become a principal (I just finished my admin. degree) it will be a priority that will not go away until it happens.. cuz I'm that kinda girl. :D
3) Fast food places need to post the calories on their menus including those in the drive-thru. I think if they can see that that doubledecker with all the works is in excess of 1000 calories... they might chose something else or downsize instead of supersizing. It's like the cigarette thing again. Even with warning labels... people still smoke... but at least they were informed and they know they're killing themselves. Sad, but true.
4) Finally, the marketing background in me kicks in and says, schools and farmers need to work together to bring healthy food to the forefront again. Direct markets and local co-ops as well as educating America in a unified front (schools and farmers). Call me crazy, but I can see the whole campaign in my head.
5) People like Oprah and Kirstie Allie need to come to the little people (like me) who deal with this on a daily basis in "real life" without trainers, or the money to buy whatever, or the press to pat us on the back for every step forward we take. Don't get me wrong... I love Oprah. I just think that she could still benefit and help America benefit from seeking out real people to show everyone how to do it in a "normal" household on a "normal" budget.

Okay, so that last one probably won't happen, but the other three are just the beginning of my thoughts on this and are very feasible. I had my oatmeal (no milk) w/berries this morning, for example, and before this journey into healthy changes, I would have wrinkled my nose at the thought. Shannon (today and tomorrow's coach) introduced me to this approach and I honestly love eating it this way now and it actually tastes watered down now if I try to add milk. I haven't had the acid reflux or the ulcer problems I normally have this time of year because of things like bananas, less lactose, less juice, no pop, and no eating after 8:00 pm. However, just remembering to stay up at least an hour (preferably two) after eating is as important as the time. Your digestive system needs time to work. For lunch I had my healthy choice frozen dinner (310 calories) and it's a cheap easy approach that you don't have to do every day, just throw in once in a while.

And I still buy the Girl Scout cookies.... Samoans (sp?) but it'll take me a month to finish the box (unless I share them) because I can't bring myself to eat more than one at a time. And, the thought of eating one every day, makes my arteries hurt, so I'm pretty sure they will end up being donated to someone who can burn off the calories a lot quicker than I can. And yes, I do have to stop and think ... so why buy them? Because I always have. Okay, not buying them next year... just make a donation. For dinner I sought out left-overs (won't see that on Oprah) and had a cup of the chicken spinach lasagna and a hard boiled egg. It just sounded good and I didn't have time to cook the chili (Sorry Shannon) because I had to go to my granddaughter's birthday party. No, I didn't have cake and ice cream and I'm not the least bit hungry tonight... not even for popcorn. I need to do my lunges and crunches (too much rain for a hike today) and I'm off to bed to dream of other ways to save Americans from eating theirselves to death! Wish me luck!

DAY SIXTY SIX- Healthy Eating Journal

Beautiful Sunday morning. Only thing missing.... my sweetheart. How blessed I am to be surrounded by a supporting cast of friends, family, and community members. When I woke up this morning I could see two little eyes peeking at me from the bottom of my bed. Rello was making sure I was up. He loves going to church and he knows it means church nursery, bubbles, and all his little church buddies. His dad made him blueberry and bananan muffins for breakfast, but at 200 calories per muffin I decided to go for the eggs and toast instead. I knew I could have two eggs for the same calorie count as a muffin. I wasn't up to messing up the kitchen for bacon, so I doubled my eggs (two hard-boiled eggs) instead to go with my wheat toast. Every time I smash up a warm hard boiled egg and add the butter and pepper, I'm taken back to the farm and grandpa fixing breakfast before we went out to milk. I know that's why those eggs taste so good and why I love eggs so much. Yesterday I went and bought me some butter spray (well it's I Can't Believe It's Not Butter spray) and was looking for the calories on it. I looked everywhere and finally I found it... right on the front in large print. Zero calories. It's my new favorite thing I'm sure. I sprayed a little on my eggs then little Rello decided he needed his muffin sprayed. My eggs hit the spot.

We all showered after that and Rello got his hair spiked in the front. He is, of course, adorable. I stuck the roast, potatoes, and carrots in the crockpot and seasoned them. Then I added the cabbage on top. If you put the cabbage on the bottom or submerge it too far into the water, it loses a lot of it's flavor and it goes very soggy. I also cooked the pumpkin tartets before I left. They were very, very easy to make. I didn't even use the foil muffin tin liners. I just spooned it right into the sprayed muffin tins. Go ahead and fill the muffin hole clear to the top. Don't waste calories on gingerbread crumbs. We are pumpkin pie lovers so we just scooped them right out onto our plates and ate them without garnish or coolwhip. They were 100% good without all that. My son and his wife joined us for dinner and we all agreed we are keeping the recipe because they were so good.

Here it is again:
100 Calorie Pumpkin Pie Tartlets : 3/4 cup sugar, 1 tblsp. cornstarch, 1 tsp. cinnamon, 1/2 tsp. ginger, 1/2 tsp. salt, 2 large egg whites, 1 can (15 oz.) Libbys Pure pumpkin, 1 can (12 oz.) of FAT FREE evaporated milk, 1 cup of lite coolwhip, 12 small gingersnap cookies- optional (broken into 1/4 inch pieces). Heat oven to 350. Spray your foil baking cups with Pam (or just spray your muffin pan). Combine sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, ginger and salt in small bowl. Beat egg whites in large bowl. Stir in pumpkin and sugar mixture. Gradually stir in evaporated milk. Fill muffin tins to the brim. Bake 25-28 min. Cool 20 minutes. Top with whipped topping and gingersnap crumbs or just eat plain because they're that good and your calories would be even less. Makes 16.

My daughter made a fruit salad and cut up fresh pineapple, apples, bananas, and grapes and stirred in half a tub of lite coolwhip. You don't need the whole tub. We had this with out roast, potatoes, carrots, and cabbage. We had the pumpking tartets for dessert. After that lunch, we really didn't need supper. I enjoyed the company of my son and his family and got to hold little Maddy while we played some games. She is growing so fast and she keeps an eye on her mommy to make sure she doesn't go too far. It's funny how quickly they develop bonds and personalities. We all rested a while, then I popped my 100 calorie popcorn that you're probably getting tired of hearing about. I talked with my husband on the webcam so we could share our day and now I just need to do some schoolwork for tomorrow and some crunches and my day will be complete. The next two days Shannon will be my coach.