Catching up!!

April: Haha, thanks for the BIDIA You know, I felt a little silly nominating myself after I typed it. I think sometimes my days in general are less crazy than many of those here, so in the end I felt like I was patting myself on the back a little too much. But I appreciate it! Hi-5 for hair splurges. I think doing a perm is one of the only things I have NOT done. I don't have the bone structure for it at all.

On Nutella: ...Am I the only person here who doesn't like it? >.>

Darlene: Thanks for the empathy on allergies! They do stink, and they're hard to describe to non-sufferers (I envy you your non-crazy immune system!)

Cassie: Ack!! Sounds like you had a Terrible Horrible No Good Very Bad Day. Things always improve with the last batter up, two outs, the game on the line -- I think you'll smack it out of the park!

Hope: Oh dear, big hugs for you. I hope you get over your flu/fibro soon and are feeling in better health. I'm glad to hear things have been going better with your DD.

Rose: Those pictures are AMAZING, so beautiful, you've caught the beautiful romantic light so well! I too am jealous of your entire trip and your visit to the Anne Frank house. So often I think we forget those emotions and how horrible of a time it really was in the world. I'm glad you were able to touch on that, even if it brought you to tears. I'd rather be emotional and touched and in-tune with that than distant for sure! You're right, I shouldn't have gotten on the scale -- I should be a BEAST like you this week! Look at you go, girl!!!!

On History: I too am loving all of these stories about the WWII era and families in general. My grandfather was in WWII in the Army Air Force in the European Theater. He was not a pilot, but as I understand it he did maintenance on the aircraft and the communications equipment. He also brought back some trinkets from Europe - the prize being an "anniversary clock." As I understand it those sorts of clocks got mass-produced after WWII once people discovered them in America, but having an original pre-war or war-era one is highly prized! I remember one day I was visiting my grandparents, and they were having someone come in to appraise their old tallboy, hutch, and sideboard as they were thinking of selling, and the furniture was antique. They keep the anniversary clock by the front door. The man came in, saw the clock out of the corner of his eye, did a double-take, and said with a straight face "I will give you $3,000 for that clock right now."

My grandparents politely declined as they said they wanted the clock to be heritable. But it's things like that, little pieces of history that you can connect with, that make it so interesting and worthwhile. I heartily agree that history needs to be taught in a "living" way, with personal stories rather than staid dates and facts. Kids don't care about that stuff, but they DO care about people doing extraordinary things. I love the sound of that water jug, quinn. What a beautiful keepsake!

Amy: 20 bucks on you against that teacher. I think you've got all the passion and motivation, whereas she's just trying to do what is "easy." Go get her, Mom!

quinn: LOVE the Taco Bell Fresco menu. It has saved my butt more than once. They should really advertise it more!

On plying men with baked goods: Hilariously, I am set to make peanut butter cookies tonight for a mechanic that works with BF - he fixed a window problem on my car and didn't charge me. Works every time

Mike: Glad to see your ex didn't stiff you!! Maybe you should make her donate again just to be sure!

Mern: Thanks for the vote of confidence! I hope it's off by Thursday - I avoided the scale this morning!!


Food, Exercise, Lifestyle Goals (Monday thru Thursday)

1) Calories averaging between 1,200 and 1,400 - no day over 1,500 M: 1,332 T: 1,330 (Week Average: 1,331)
2) Exercise 2-3 times M: Zumba Sculpt and Tone T: Day off
3) 80 oz. of water daily M: yes T: yes
4) Multivitamin daily M: forgot T: yes
5) Achieve a deficit of 2,000-3,000 calories M: -997 T: -504 (Week Total: -1,501)
6) Weigh on Thursday morning M: N/A T: I peeked - I shouldn't have done it!

Other Goals

1) Make an effort on my appearance daily M: yes T: yes
2) Clean one room a day M: Did a lot of laundry - half-counts? T: Kitchen
3) Take some "time out" for myself daily M: sorta T: yes
4) Call my grandmother M: No T: No


I think the "unexpected bill bug" just bit me in the rear end - or, in a roundabout way, anyway, as it hit my BF! Luckily it's a fairly minor bill in relation to those going around here ($150) but it still stinks, as we are in no way out of the woods in our current tight financial situation. There goes the contribution to savings for the month, plus a little bit extra. Oy. Hopefully we can get through this vacation/wedding unscathed... the good news is that we'll be staying with my parents, who will probably insist on paying for everything while we're up there. This time, I won't let pride get in the way and happily take it...

Also, of course, I am starting to BREAK OUT right before I go home for the wedding. I'm not doing any makeup today and Thursday and giving my skin a chance to sort itself out. Don't hold it against me!

Happy Wednesday everyone~

~Terri

I have to force myself to get off of here and do some work. I'll post my numbers and catch up later this evening.

For yesterday:

1.) Under 1550 calories/day: 1651/1832
2.) Water!: OK/Good
3.) Exercise 3 times: Meant to, but was at the office so late
4.) More protein!: Not great/Still pretty low
5.) Finish Astro 502 HW by Wed: Done

I'm having some trouble with my snacking when I get home. I'll have a sensible dinner, but then I just can't seem to stop eating. Ugh, I know you guys know what I mean. It's like, eating this food is in no way going to make me happy, and I'm not hungry, but in that instant, I'm just so satisfied that I'm not telling myself "no." Stupid inner child, always getting what it wants. So, my calories have been very up and down (mostly up) the past couple of weeks, so I'm trying everything I can think of to remotivate myself. It's not like I've fallen off the wagon, it's just that it feels like such a drag having to eat healthily. I want to get back to how I was a couple of months ago, when it felt good to eat well. As we all know, these things come and go, so I'm just gonna keep pushing through it.

So, bottom line, for those of you who are doing well, send some of that this way!

Here ends the vent.

Joanna, I know EXACTLY what you mean. I, too, have days when eating healthfully seems like such a drag. But then other days eating healthfully makes me feel good physically AND mentally. I can't give you any advice except to hang in there and do the best you can. I DO have a healthful snack I can eat in the evenings that satisfies my hunger AND my sweet tooth, but most of you would find it yucky. It's a serving of dry chocolate low carb protein shake mix mixed with 8 tablespoons of flaxmeal and made into a thick pudding-like consistency with ice water--there's whey powder in the shake mix so it's not watery tasting. I also enjoy pork rinds sprayed with butter spray and sprinkled with artificial sweetener and cinnamon. I can do those MOST days, but sometimes I wind up with a snack cake or something totally off plan... Best wishes. Do you have any healthful snacks you know of that you could have on hand all the time that would satisfy both your hunger and sweet tooth--or salty tooth--or whatever "tooth" you use for snacks?

April Way to go on your exercise today! If you get to race you will have post pic’s for me that sounds like so much fun.

Mern I hope your Grandson is ok please keep us informed.

Nailkita Glad to hear the animals are getting along. Hopefully you will get the time to at least start your office project today.

Mike It’s nice to know your ex did donate.

Terri I do not get the nutella thing either but maybe that’s a good thing. Sorry to hear about your unexpected bill. I think it’s a good idea to give your face a couple days to breath before the wedding. I can’t wear makeup even hypo allergenic for very long without my face turning into a big red splotch so I guess that’s where my immune system is messed up my skin is crazy sensitive.

Hope Wishing you well.

Jjeand Nice chocolate and a good calorie day way to go.

Joanna Sorry to hear you are struggling. Snacking after dinner is also a struggle for me right now, I am trying to have my protein drink in the evening it’s chocolate and I add a little milk so it feels like I am drinking chocolate milk and a piece of fruit cut up really tiny so I get that hand to mouth thing that makes me feel more satisfied. So far it seems to be working for me I am in my calorie goal and not starving every night I hope you find something that works for you.

Well I better get my day started I have errands this morning and my daughter has a Dr’s appointment this afternoon I have not exercised yet and I am determined to get these tomatoes started today.

Hope you all have a great day.

I have the same problem, too, sometimes, Joanna. Three things help for me, maybe one might work for you. First, I have to make sure I don't get too hungry during the day. I think I used to hoard my calories, if that makes sense, so I could eat more snacks in the evening when I preferred, but then I just wouldn't stop snacking. Making sure I eat enough during the day really, really helped with that.

I also usually plan for three snacks in the evening. I know that sounds like a lot, but I'm usually up till midnight or 1 and we eat dinner about 6:30-7, so that's a lot of time before bed. Usually one snack is fruit or nuts, one is a "low-impact" snack like carrot sticks or cucumber slices, and then one is free choice but has to fit in the calorie chart overall for the day. I drink herbal tea in the evening, too, or a sugar free vitamin water or something, and that helps, too.

Third thing (and I've had way too much experience) is to really force myself to have a good couple days of really, really tight eating after I've gone off like that, just to break the cycle. I think my body physiologically resets itself if I can get a couple clean days in, so I do whatever I have to (ask for help from the people I live, tack my bathing suit to the pantry door, get out of the house) just to get through a couple days and start fresh.

I hope things turn around for you soon. Sending positive vibes!!!!

Thanks for the encouragement, guys. Another thing that makes it difficult is that I'm SURROUNDED by cookies and candy here at work. There's a daily tea break that involves cookies, weekly colloquia that involves cookies, and a communal candy basket in my office. I do okay with resisting, but even one cookie is more than I would eat were I not surrounded by all this food, if you know what I mean. Anyway, I just have to get better at remembering that a gross little pre-packaged cookie will make me more sad than happy.

Work temptations are rough! I work in the food industry. All day long I am selling cases of food to restaurants & bars. The cooks & chefs come in and they smell so good. The worst are the ones from pizza shops for some reason. I have just learned to completely abstain from those sort of things because I will only want another.

One snack that I love to have in the evening (won't work if you are a low-carb person) is a 90 calorie multigrain flat roll with a little mayo and lettuce & tomato. I get a sandwich but other than the mayo the contents have practically no calories. So it is maybe 150 calories. I usually toast the roll too for extra yumminess!

Snacking is rough. My "danger zone" time is actually the afternoon - I'm a morning person, so I usually eat breakfast fairly early, and lunch by 11:30 or 12:00 -- and then I wait until 8:00 (or later) most nights for dinner because BF usually works until 7:30 or so (and wants to shower before he eats). I'm normally ready for dinner by 5:30!!

What I do when I start to get my munchies is sort of in order:

1) I will very quickly down about 16-20 oz. of water and see if that helps. Sometimes I'm not hungry so much as thirsty. Plus, the water shock expands my tummy and can "trick" me into not feeling hungry for another couple of hours.

2) I tend to work out around this time, sometimes specifically to curb the hunger cravings (or to head them off at the pass). If I'm sweating and grunting, I'm not focusing on my munchies.

3) If I am still hungry after working out, and there's over an hour for dinner, and nothing else works, I allow myself a 100-200 cal snack and then eat a little less dinner. I try to make it a "mixed" snack with carbs, proteins, and fats - a multigrain thin bagel or wrap with peanut butter and/or a sprinkle of cheese and veggies (like a light sandwich) is common, as is a cup of greek yogurt with fruit. I don't like nuts, but they would be perfect as a snack, too.

I find activity/drinking helps a LOT, but everyone is different.

I also find that eating a big lunch helps me a lot. My lunches actually average around 6-700 calories (my dinners are usually 4-500 and breakfasts 1-200). I know that it might seem odd to eat such a big lunch, but it really seems to help me eat a smaller dinner and feel more even-keeled into the afternoon and evening.

All of your suggestions were spot on, but I find that this one really helps me. If I go overboard, the only thing that really gets me back on track is to eat really clean (like I am this week). Half punishment, half tough love. lol It really helps me reset. My calories have been really low this week, but I ate so much over the weekend that I'm not worried.

As far as snacks, I'm seriously considering throwing a few of those Taco Bell fresco chicken soft tacos in the fridge. It feels like a cheat, but at 150 calories it might do the trick. I usually ask for extra lettuce and picco de gallo. (Is that how you spell it?? )

I've been having a lot of problems with my heart racing this week and found out today that the Crystal Light that I've been drinking by the bucket has caffeine... duh . I thought all green tea was decaf. Wow... no matter how long you've been at this, you always learn something new.

Making a supper delivery to a guy whose wife is in the hospital and he can't take hospital food any more. I didn't want to tell him that I sometimes sneak into the cafeteria just to enjoy their fantastic salad bar. lol