See you soon!

I'm taking some time off for a week or so. Its crunch time with the thesis. I'll weigh in Monday per the usual. Hope you have a great weekend!

Y2 W10 D1: Weigh In

Hooray! Down another 1.8 lbs this week. That's 7.2 lbs in the last 3 weeks! I was not kidding when I said I was ready to say goodbye to the 160's for good. It feels good to be making progress. I wish I were making the progress through food an exercise instead of just one dimensionally through food. I am still tucked away in my bat cave everyday trying to crank out this thesis. must. graduate...I think I repeat this in my sleep.

My food Monday sucked. I stayed around a 4 on my fullness scale. I wasn't really paying attention to what I was eating. I worked on my thesis all day and sent my advisor 1/3 of the thesis for edits last night at 2am. Needless to say- exhausted today! I wish I could say I was far enough to feel good, but I still have several more full days of work before I'm where I need to be to graduate. Keep sending thoughts my way! Breakfast was a drippy egg sandwich 4pts and 204 calories.

I had a snack of humus and veggies (I went back for seconds so there was a little more than this) 2pts and 100 calories.

Little Bear hung out around my feet under the desk all morning until I brought his pillow into the room. He was nice company.

Although my eats weren't ideal diet-wise, they were SUPER TASTY! I completely recommend trying them (maybe just not all in one day). For lunch, I put my freshly made arugula pesto to work on some whole grain linguini with grape tomatoes, artichoke hearts, and steamed asparagus. I added ~2 Tbsp of heaving whipping cream to the pesto before sauteing all of the ingredients together. I am definitely making this again. 6pts and 300 calories.

My snack was unnecessary. I picked up a soda when dropping off the car for an oil change and got a small fry from Wendy's for 7pts and 340 calories. 

Dinner was a repeat, but with added chicken and less rice noodles. The hubby really enjoyed it so it is male approved! 8pts and 480 calories. In the mix is rice noodles, steamed broccoli, steamed asparagus, sauteed onions and garlic, 1/4 tsp peanut butter, teriaki sauce, grilled chicken, and scrambled egg. Talk about protein heavy pasta.

I had a chewy granola bar around midnight for 2pts and 100 calories which is not pictured.

Check out my post on the 17 day diet from yesterday and vote on whether I should try it on the right hand side of the blog!

Monday Stats: 

Water: 66 oz. / 80 oz. 

Points:  29 / 22

Calories: 1,520

Weekly Points: 7 used today / 28 remaining

Exercise: none

Activity Points: 0 today / 0 week

Weekly Weight Loss: -1.8 lbs / 43.6 lbs total 

Hope to see less of each other next time!

C

Y2 W9 D7: Sunday Funday

Sunday morning Matt and I opted for evening church in favor of savoring our pillows. We didn't roll out of bed until late morning. Since we slept through breakfast, we decided to grab an early lunch at Chipotle. 

I haven't been to chipotle since we moved to c-ville almost 3 years ago. For some reason, I decided I hated the food and wouldn't go back. I am so glad I changed my mind!!! Matt suggested chipotle- which he does every time I ask for restaurant suggestions- which I always shoot down immediately, and I thought I'd throw him a bone and make myself a salad at home if I didn't end up eating whatever I got. I wanted to go to Barnes and Nobel in the same parking lot anyway. I checked out the nutrition menu before going to get my bearings and ordered a "burrito bowl" to save on the 290 calorie tortilla. 

The bowl was 578 calories. I had 1/2 for lunch and 1/2 for dinner for 5pts each or 10pts total. Matt and I also split chips and salsa for 245 calories and 5pts also. In my burrito bowl was: chicken, cilantro lime rice, medium salsa, corn salsa, pico de gallo, black beans, cheese, romaine, and 1/2 serving of sour cream. Delicious!

[Skip down to next bracket set if you don't want a rant about diets, or hear about me doing something new.]

I picked up a copy of The 17 Day Diet at B&N today. I've read reviews about it and thought I would check it out. Its gotten a lot of hype as far as diets go from being featured on the Dr. Phil show. A few weeks ago when I was up and down a bit, I had a few people suggest the diet to me, some having followed it for a short period of time with great weight loss to report. I was intrigued.

I am not going to lie- I don't like the concept of dieting. Its frustrating. It has rules. I feel like I'm being punished when I diet. Isn't being fat punishment enough?! Come on- let me have fries and beer too! Not to mention- how are you supposed to learn to use food in the right way if you don't have the same freedom while dieting as you do while maintaining? What's to keep you from getting on the yo-yo dieting track? But then, take all this with a grain of salt, because I have never actually tried a "diet." The thought has always overwhelmed me and filled me with this huge sense of dread. 

I eat food for comfort! Yes, I do. And I don't think its a bad thing! Being satisfied on a physical level does provide emotional comfort. It makes us happy. Tasty food makes me happy too- on a level beyond knowing that it is good for me. It feels good. But, I think its normal. When diets tout eating for comfort or tell you that you need to stoically ignore these "bad" impulses, I think its crazy. I don't think that's how we're designed. However, I do understand their point- that we've gone nuts with comfort eating and stuff ourselves until we're unhappy little porkers wondering why we can't sleep well and can't get a date. So, my diet is what weight watchers refers to as a "lifestyle change." Its the idea that educating ourselves on what food can do for us motivates small changes that result in a healthy body over time. Its definitely worked for me in the past and I still use it now. 

That said, I do like "experimenting" with my body. I like thinking of this blog as a lab and measuring what food and exercise do to me, how they make me feel, and discovering more about how I work. I also like losing weight- a lot. :) I mean, that's a big reason I'm here. The 17 Day Diet claims fast results while maintaining balanced nutrition. I read 90% of the book yesterday and it seems like this much is true. (I'll review the book tomorrow.) Also, as I said earlier- I have never been on a diet with rules about what to eat. I am considering starting the 17 Day Diet in a week or so and comparing the results with what I've seen on it to my current regime. I'm curious what could happen, what I would feel differently, and what a diet is like to follow (ahk). If I do commit, I would only commit to one 17 day cycle and would recommit after that based on how I feel and what I find/like. 

So what do you think? Would you like to see me try The 17 Day Diet and document my results, or do you like my plan just as is? 

I am taking reader input on the right hand side of the blog in a poll. I would also love feedback via comments. I'm not saying the results of the poll will decide it for me, but you're input does impact my decisions.

[Rejoin us, uninterested parties.]

Like I said- leftovers for dinner.

I had a granola bar as a snack later 2pts and 100 calories.

I also made my own pesto! It is nice and spicy and a fun alternative to traditional basil pesto, although now that I know how easy this is to make, I will be trying some other versions in the future. Recipe makes ~ 1/4 cup pesto and seems like its between 2-3 servings depending on your purpose.

I had some broccoli with some humus as a snack late 1pt and 50 calories.

Sunday Stats: 

Water: 60 oz. / 80 oz.  (too bad I can't add in my beer ounces)

Points:  18 / 22

Calories: 978

Weekly Points: 0 used today / 4 remaining

Exercise: grocery shopping

Activity Points: 0 today / 2 week

Weekly Weight Loss: -1.2 lbs / 41.8 lbs total 

PRESTO PESTO

I was so surprised when reading from Mrs. How Sweet the other day that pesto is actually easy to make, doesn't have to be made with basil, and you can make it at home on the cheap! All things that are up my alley. (Basil and I are not always friends.) I made a half batch of the Arugula Asiago Pesto and calculated out the nutrition details for you! It makes ~ 1/4 of a cup total and has a nice spicy flavor from the arugula. 


My sister told me that this is 7 weight watchers points plus for the entire recipe.

What you need:

2 cups arugula (or basil), gently packed down

1 1/2 cloves garlic

1/4 cup asiago cheese (or parmesan)

2 Tbsp olive oil

What to do:

1. Shove everything except olive oil in your food processor and pulse until finely combined.
2. Stream in olive oil 1 Tbsp at a time until mixture is smooth.
3. PRESTO PESTO!

Nutrition Information: (whole recipe, ~1/4 cup)

Calories: 320

Fat: 24.5 g

Carbs: 3 g

Protein: 6 g

Fiber: 1 g

Y2 W9 D6

Saturday was the first day in a while I woke up refreshed. I slept in until 10 which part of me regretted, but I felt really good. I went straight to starbucks for coffee for 4pts and 180 calories before starting in on the thesis.

Lunch was a chicken wrap 5pts, but then I ate the other 2oz. of chicken that I didn't use in the wrap for another 2pts and 350 calories.

The day was spent editing, which will hopefully pay off when I send a few chapters to my advisor for her edits this week. Fingers crossed! Matt and I had plans for a date night so I worked through most of the day. I did stop for a bit to change nail polish. (If you want something to spur a nail polish addiction, and also like reading about food, check out Erica's blog.)

Nail polish break, thesis work in the background

For our date, we went to Fox and Hound Gastropub for some great food and equally great beer. I had a beer with dinner 4pts 200 calories. We had some calamari for an appetizer. Estimate 5pts and 200 calories for what I ate. It was good, but pretty typical for calamari.

Dinner on the other hand was out of control. I had the Pan-Roasted Salmon with fresh corn creme, roasted cippolini onions and sauteed spinach. The highlights were actually the onions and spinach. I wasn't as big of a fan of the corn creme. The salmon was also delicious with a crusty outside and tender inside. My estimate is 6pts for what I ate and 280 calories.

I ate everything except the corn creme- "corn weird cold
thing" is what I called it last night.

Matt enjoying his beer

Matt got the fish and chips. Two giant pieces of beer-
battered Tilapia with 3 dipping sauces and skinny fries.

After dinner, we had planned to attend the Restoration Ball at the Lawn. The event sounded fun, with a live band, cash bar, and black tie optional attire. It was to raise money to restore the lawn and rotunda area. It turned out to be a bit of a flop- the 21 and up lounge was no where to be found! :( We stayed for all of 10 minutes before deciding we could enjoy ourselves just as much at home. 

It turned out to be a good decision, because on the way home the rich food hit me and I didn't feel so hot. I forgot how much heavy foods can affect you when you haven't had them in a while! I was glad that a couch and comfy pants were in my future! On a side note- I was happy about the dress I wore. It was a size 8 from the Loft. I got it on sale a week ago! Further- just bitten lip stain by revlon is not kidding when they say long lasting. Sunday morning, my lips still look like fie-yah.

Matt and I finished our date by reading another chapter of Harry Potter to each other. (Call us little kids, but I love the Harry Potter books.)

Saturday Stats: 

Water: 60 oz. / 80 oz.  (too bad I can't add in my beer ounces)

Points:  26 / 22

Calories: 1,122

Weekly Points: 4 used today / 4 remaining

Exercise: walking around the lawn area on our date

Activity Points: 0 today / 2 week

Weekly Weight Loss: -1.2 lbs / 41.8 lbs total 

Y2 W9 D5: Celeb Crush

Oh my goodness, I had 10 hours of amazing sleep last night and feel like a person again. I was dragging Friday. I had a drippy egg sandwich for breakfast Friday which I proceeded to drip on my pants on my way to work :(. 4pts 204 calories.

Work wasn't too busy, which was actually nice. The weather was so great that I was going a little stir crazy being inside though. I had a Lean Cuisine Steamer- chicken poblano- for 6pts and 300 calories. It was delicious and I'm definitely going to get this again.

I didn't get home from work until 7:30, and was exhausted. I wrote a little and sat around a lot. Matt went to a baseball game so I had the house to myself. I snacked on broccli and humus 2pts 100 calories for the humus and 0pts 30 calories for the broccoli.

I ate dinner pretty late because I was avoiding getting up and cooking for one, but I finally threw together some asian-y pasta and veggies. 2.8 oz. of rice noodles "stir-fried" with egg, steamed broccoli, asparagus (I know, odd), teriyaki sauce, peanut butter, and onion. It turned out to be really good for 9pts and 400 calories.

I watched love and other drugs while editing. It was a cute movie, but I am biased because I love Jake Gyllenhaal. He's so dreamy. I've had a celeb crush on him since Donnie Darko. My sisters and I were remeniscing about old celebrity crushes the other day- names like JTT, n sync's Lance, and a younger Harrison Ford came up.

Who is your celeb crush either past or present?

http://zainad.blogspot.com/2010_09_01_archive.html

Friday Stats: 

Water: 90 oz. / 80 oz.  wowza

Points:  21 / 22

Calories: 1,030

Weekly Points: 0 used today / 8 remaining

Exercise: none

Activity Points: 0 today / 2 week

Weekly Weight Loss: -1.2 lbs / 41.8 lbs total 

Y2 W9 D4

Happy Friday! I completely do not want to be at real work today. I'd rather be working on my thesis and trying to wrap it up. There's an end in sight now! It is an absolutely beautiful day outside and I am wasting away under florescent lights and as usual- behind on my writing. 

I took the night off writing last night in celebration of St. Patty's Day. I had a drippy egg sandwich for breakfast. 4pts and 204 calories.

Sporting my green

Lunch was a mixed veggie salad with a little light ranch 1pt for the 30 calorie ranch, none for the 50 calories of veggies (grape tomatoes, bananna peppers, broccoli, and romaine. I had some humus too for 1pt and 50 calories.

Since we were planning on going out, I had half a pb&j for 3pts and 140 calories.

We got our green beer on at Mellow before grabbing some guiness and bl at Trinity with Allison, Brad, and company.

Hooray frivolous reasons to drink! Beer estimate 11pts 600 calories.

I stole some of matt's pesto pizza at Christian's. It was super yummy! 3pts and 130 calories

Mcdonald's fries- late night necessity (not) 340 calories 8pts.

Thursday Stats: 

Water: 70 oz. / 80 oz.  wowza

Points:  31 / 22

Calories: 1,544

Weekly Points: 9 used today / 8 remaining

Exercise: none

Activity Points: 0 today / 2 week

Weekly Weight Loss: -1.2 lbs / 41.8 lbs total 

Y2 W9 D3

Another quick one here. Eats were sub par. I am underwater with work so food is on the back burner. I had to be at work at 7:30 Wed morning which came way too early. Not to mention- the event I was working was a little boring compared to opening speaker of the book festival I had been planning to attend in the morning. (I'm not bitter...much.) 

I met Matt for brunch at Bodo's. I had a light egg ham on a plain bagel with cheese est 6pts 400 calories.

After the event, I worked on the thesis until heading back to work to meet with students. I snacked on a granola bar in the afternoon for 2pts and 100 calories. 

When I finished work, I had the remaining 2pts and 100 calories of my pasta from the other night.

I had a hot dog 5pts and 250 calories with a side of lays chips 6pts 300 calories for dinner. Kind of gross- but I needed food quick and got back to my thesis. 

I also had a small slice of Matt's pizza for a snack while working. This I did not need and was just eating to distract me from my work and my headache (3pts 150 calories). I had a headache all day today which started the night before and didn't go away with medicine. I felt like I spent all day trying to push through the pain and doing anything I could to distract myself. Food happened to be one of the ways I tried to solve it- turns out no- not food related. Hopefully I'll feel better tomorrow. I'm going to try and get more sleep and keep the sodium of foods (today was out of control) under control tomorrow and see if either of those help.

A lot of the food today was estimated and not measured, unfortunately. 

What could I have done better today? I wasn't prepared food-wise for the full day of work and ended up making poorer choices out of convenience. I had the pizza somewhat as a comfort food which was short lived- lets be honest, if I'm going to indulge for comfort, it has to be french fries or alcohol or its not worth it. 

What did I do well on today? I did want to hit up McDonald's for fries when in transition from lab to work, but bypassed (albeit barely) since I had already "splurged" on my breakfast and knew it would be tight for the rest of the day since I had a lot of work ahead. Also- I'm almost finished with the chapter of my thesis I've been working on! 

Wednesday Stats: 

Water: 100 oz. / 80 oz.  wowza

Points:  23 / 22

Calories: 1,300

Weekly Points: 1 used today / 17 remaining

Exercise: none

Activity Points: 0 today / 2 week

Weekly Weight Loss: -1.2 lbs / 41.8 lbs total 

Y2 W9 D2

Throwing this one up quick. Y'days breakfast was a cliff bar on the way out the door 2pts 120 calories.

Marley nail polish by Zoya

Lunch was Amy's Light and Lean veggies and pasta 4pts and 210 calories.

Of course I got off work later than expected...as usual...and I was ready to gnaw my arm off. I had leftover Italian chicken and rice for 3pts and 124 calories with a ton of baked organic fries 10pts and 550 calories. One neat thing I realized about todays eats- all of them were organic or local! I hadn't planned that. I always like buying organic foods and meat from local farms with proper treatment of animals- better for us, better for our animal friends- hooray, but its been slowly phasing in these foods as I learn where to buy them/ prioritize spending arms and legs on what looks like the same food. It was nice to see a whole day was comprised of the foods I want to eat without having to think about it. 

I wasn't feeling hot so I called it an early night after a little thesis work because I had to work an event this morning (Wed) at 7:30...way earlier than this night owl is used to.

If you missed Monday's weigh in results, find them here.

Tuesday Stats: 

Water: 50 oz. / 80 oz.  wowza

Points:  19 / 22

Calories: 1,140

Weekly Points: 0 used today / 18 remaining

Exercise: none

Activity Points: 2 today / 2 week

Weekly Weight Loss: -1.2 lbs / 41.8 lbs total