Long time no see!

Yes, I'm still alive. I have been a terrible, terrible blogger.

Weight: 134.0 lbs

You read that right. 134.0 lbs. I just got weighed this morning at the OB's office.

Yep, you read that right. The OB's office! I'm pregnant! 19 weeks and 1 day today. Shocking, right??

"Shock" is an understatement as to what J and I were feeling when we found out we were pregnant. 3 years of infertility treatments, 5 IVF cycles + 2 frozen cycles with no sticky pregnancies and then we get knocked up on a natural cycle. Go figure. God works in mysterious ways, but He is good!

Anyway, so needless to say, I'm not on WW anymore and the layer of fat on my tummy can attest to that. I know there's a baby in there that's now very quickly growing, but I gotta admit, it was hard to watch that scale go up. 5 more pounds and I'll be at my WW starting weight. gulp.

But I know this time the weight gain is for a good cause. :-)

I'm still alive!

hi there! I probably don't have any readers left, but I'm still checking in! :-)

I'm still loosely following WW and I weighed in at 121.6 lbs this morning. I've been hovering at this weight for a while now. Only six more weeks until my trip to Mexico so I really should kick it up a notch since I'm almost on the home stretch!

I'm also 7 weeks into my 10 week running program. Last Monday I ran 2.5 miles straight! No walking! I was shocked that I could do it. I was supposed to do two 2 mile runs this week but I've made all sorts of excuses. :-(

I leave on Monday for Manchester, England. Unfortunately it's a work trip and not a "for fun" trip and I'll be missing my running class. I'm not sure if I'll have time to do my homework runs while I'm in England. That'll be 2 weeks of no running! ACK!! I'm going to do two runs this weekend! I MUST!!

Otherwise, same old, same old. I've been working on projects around the house, trying to keep busy until Samuel comes home.

tight pants

my pants feel tight today. It could have been all the food I ate this weekend... and all the "no working out" I did.

hmph.

sabotage

Do you ever feel like people are trying to sabotage your weight loss?

ok, maybe sabotage is a harsh word. How about this instead: Do you ever feel like people don't respect your wishes in regards to trying to lose weight?

There are many food items I find incredibly difficult to resist. One of which is the original glazed Krispy Kreme donut.

A co-worker of mine (who knows I've been following WW) brought in a warm box of original, glazed Krispy Kreme donuts today. She asked if I wanted one and I said,"oh, no thank you! I can't."

A couple of minutes later, she comes into my office with the entire box, opens it and waves it under my nose saying, "Oh come on, you know you want one..."

Well, you know how that story ends.

weigh-in

I finally made it to another WW meeting today. I weighed in at 121.2 lbs. My "official" WW goal is 120 lbs and I just have to hit that before I can start my official maintenance phase so I can become a lifetime member!

I love the meetings. It's such a great reminder for how important tracking points are, which I have NOT been doing lately.

I'm finding it hard to track my dinner points. I've been consistent with breakfast and lunch during the work week, but dinner and weekends are another matter. I've just been cooking one meal for J and I, and although I try to eat smaller portions, I find myself nibbling when I've cleared my plate.

For example, last night we grilled chicken breasts (weighted with bricks. I learned this cooking technique in a cook book I have. It's awesome! the chicken gets crispy on the outside and stays juicy in the inside b/c the brick helps flatten the chicken to the grill). Very healthy, right? I also made a salad with baby spinach, romaine lettuce, carrots, cucumbers, red onion, beets, and avocado slices. Also very healthy! But because J needs some carbs, I made some instant mashed potatoes (I know, I'm lazy!).

I finished my chicken breast and my salad, then I started nibbling on the mashed potatoes. I should have just spooned out a small portion onto my plate, eaten it, and called it a meal... but instead I was like,"oh, I'll just take one spoonful". That became several spoonfuls (I lost count) and who knows how many points.

My WW "coach" suggested I try the "filling foods" plan where I eat as much of the green diamond foods as I want and am limited to 35 points a week of everything else. Maybe I'll give it a shot.

WW is currently doing a "Walk-It Challenge". On June 6th, 2010, WW is challenging all its members to walk a 5K. It's great timing for me since I'm training to run a 5K on May 29th! Maybe I should sign up for another 5K race on June 6th. hmmmm....

I'm a slacker, I know

It's been a few weeks since I've last posted, I'm such a slacker blogger!

Ever since I've stopped tracking my points strictly, I've been a bit of a slacker here since i had been using the blog to track my points.

Anyway, so let's see. what's new with me? I'm still loosely following WW. I still pay my monthly fees although I haven't been to a meeting in 3 weeks. :-( I will try to go tomorrow!

I've been pretty much hovering between 119-121 pounds the last several weeks so I'm maintaining my weight. yay! I've definitely been looser with my eating, but I'm still watchful of my portion sizes and when I go out to eat, I choose healthier options.

I still have a problem with eating everything on my plate when I go out to eat... and that's definitely not good. Especially considering portion sizes are ridiculous at restaurants.

I did start my running class though. Tonight's class is week 4 and our first "1 min walking / 3 minutes running" class. Starting next week, we'll just be running. I'm nervous! But it's been a lot of fun. Everyone is so nice and supportive.

Only 6 more weeks until my first 5K race in 10 years! eeek!

anyway, here's a iphone snapshot of today's lunch:



I made a pasta recipe I found in "Cooking Light" magazine. I used whole grain penne to up the fiber and the recipe was really simple: I just sauteed chopped shallots and garlic in evoo, then tossed in a can of rinsed and drained garbanzo beans and one container of grape tomatoes (sliced into halves), squeezed in the juice of half a lemon and the zest of one whole lemon, tossed in the cooked penne, some feta, tore some fresh basil leaves, and salt and pepper. Very light and yummy! 1 1/2 cups is 9 points but if you use lowfat feta and whole grain penne, you may be able to bring that down a point.

I also had some fresh canteloupe (1 pt), an individually wrapped prune (0 pt) and a small WW chocolate snack (1 pt).

For my pre-run snack, I'm going to have a banana smeared with 1 Tb of reduced fat peanut butter.

Monday, March 29, 2010: What I Ate

Breakfast:
low cal/high fiber english muffin + 1/2 T pb (2 pts)
coffee w/splenda and non-dairy creamer (1 pt)

Lunch:
1 oz Baked Ruffles (2 pts)
6" roast beef sub on Italian w/American cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, onion, banana peppers, red hots, red wine vinagrette from Subway (6 pts)
2 bites apple (0 pts)
1 mini WW choc snack (1 pt)

It's been awhile, crocodile

I'm still alive! (in case you were wondering)

Sorry for the lack of posts. Work had gotten really busy and then life took over.

I've been a bit of a WW slacker ever since my meetings at work ended. I haven't been tracking my points on paper. I've just been trying to stay mindful of what I eat, which means I'm probably eating more than I'd like and my weight loss progress (or lack of) shows it. I've been good about sticking to my usual breakfasts and lunches, although I do cheat a bit more on weekends than I used to. Dinners are where I have been bad. :-(

I haven't lost any weight in at least 2 months. I haven't gained any either, which is great... but then again, I haven't weighed myself since last week and today my pants are feeling tighter than usual.

Anyway, in the hopes that it would give me the motivation to lose those last couple of pounds, I re-joined WW. I've only been to one meeting in the last 3 weeks though. :::blush::: I don't enjoy it as much I enjoyed our on-site meetings, and I still haven't re-started tracking my points.

ok, I must be more disciplined! Please make me accountable.

So, in order to start tracking points, here's what I've eaten today:

breakfast:
low cal English muffin with 1/2 T pb (2 pts)
coffee w/splenda and non-dairy creamer (1 pt)

lunch:
Smart Ones lasagne (6 points)
5 cucumber slices and ~10 baby carrots (0 pts)
1 nectarine (1 pt)
1 WW chocolate/pretzel/caramel bar (1 pt) (these are SO yummy! I bought them on sale at the WW meeting)

snack:
I'm having chocolate cravings. AF must be on her way!
1 snack-size twix bar (1 pt)

"A light at the end of the tunnel..."

I've had a crazy week at work. TGIF!!!!!!!

I was in a workshop all week with colleagues from the UK and Germany. That meant I was holed up in a conference room from 9am-5pm all week without any internet surfing breaks. My brain hurts.

On top of that, we had to be hospitable hosts so twice this week I had to go to dinner with our out-of-town colleagues.

On top of that, we had an ISO inspection that I had to participate in so I was running from one conference room (workshop) to another (ISO audit) for most of Wednesday.

On top of that, performance evaluations were due this week and I always procrastinate on doing them because I HATE THEM, so on the days I didn't have to go out to dinner with my colleagues, I worked late trying to get the performance evaluations done.

On top of that, the next upgrade for a database that's used globally in my company is supposed to be issued Monday morning and they had asked me to perform four test cases for it so while I was in the workshop, I was also running test scripts.

On top of that, I had two 7am conference calls this week with my colleagues from Japan... and I am most definitely NOT a morning person.

Anyway, I just got out of my last meeting for the day and I bumped into my VP in the hallway. My poor VP travels overseas every other week and looks absolutely exhausted and I tried to encourage him by saying "there's a light at the end of the tunnel" and he responded with,"yeah, and it's a train."

LOL!!!!!

I guess I should be scared, but I'm too tired to be scared.

What I ate last weekend (a lot!)

I've been terrible at updating my blog! :-( I've been really busy lately but I'm still trying to stay on WW. I haven't been as vigilant as I used to be about tracking points, but I'm always mindful of what I'm eating... even though that doesn't mean I've been eating smart. :-(

Having said that... I was a mess this weekend. I went up to NJ again to visit my friend so it was hard to stay strictly on WW. Let's see if I can remember what I ate.

Saturday, February 20:

breakfast during the car ride:
low cal english muffin + 1/2 T pb (2 pts)
coffee w/splenda and non-dairy creamer (1 pt)

breakfast #2 when we got to NJ:
1 pancake
3 slices of thick-cut bacon (the regular pig kind, not turkey)
blueberries

snack
chips and salsa (~5 chips)
Baked Ruffles (~ 2 oz)

late lunch/early dinner:
1 cup mac and cheese (not a WW recipe. Very buttery and cheesey and bad for me)
1 cornflake and pecan crusted chicken tenderloin (Cooking Light recipe... awesome!)
salad (mixed greens, spinach, carrots, beets, cukes, tomato)

post-late lunch/early dinner appetizers (after eating with the kids, we went out for drinks... and ordered appetizers so the waitress wouldn't give us dirty looks):
mussels and clams steamed in beer and garlic (yum!) ~5 mussels, 3 clams
1/2 cup fried calamari
small slice of bruschetta
3 thin toast crisp things
mint tea


Sunday, Feb 21st:
snacks during car ride home:
1 small slice homemade banana bread
2 slices asian pear
1 coffee w/splenda and non-dairy creamer

lunch
Lean Cuisine (6 pts)

dinner (book club at Hard Times Cafe):
chili nacho appetizer (~10 chips w/chili)
Chili Mac (cincinatti chili over spaghetti w/onions and tomatoes)


I weighed myself this morning and surprisingly I'm still at 122.2 lbs. I wonder if my scale is broken.

What I ate yesterday (Thurs, Feb 25)

Breakfast:
low cal English muffin w/ 1Tb lowfat pb (2 pts)
coffee w/splenda and non-dairy creamer (1 pt)

Lunch:
WW beef and bean chili (6 pts) I'll post the recipe soon! I loved this recipe!
cucumber slices, green and yellow pepper slices, carrot slices (0 pts)
7 lowfat Triscuits (2 pts)
handful of blueberries (0 pts)

Dinner:
I met my high school BFF for dinner at Cheesecake Factory (eeek)
1 slice french loaf
1 slice dark loaf (darn that bread basket!!)
2 1/2 Vietnamese summer rolls
2 lettuce cups w/grilled chicken and veggies
1/2 cup fried calamari with cocktail sauce

I can't even count all the points b/c I don't know how much it all was. I tried to pick healthier items but my friend said she HAD to have something fried to eat or else she'd feel like she hasn't eaten at all. She's one of those ridiculously skinny girls who never ever gains weight. I'm not kidding, she probably weighs 90 pounds soaking wet and she's my height.

Of course, it's not like she held my jaws open and shoved fried calamari down my throat... ::::blush::::

Hellooooo!!! :-)

I'm still alive!!

It's been a busy few weeks. I won't bore you with all the details, but in a nutshell... my 14-yr old nephew and 21-yr old niece stayed with us for almost a week b/c of a family emergency, we dug ourselves out of two major snowstorms (30 inches for blizzard #1, 18 inches for blizzard #2), I missed a week of work b/c of snow and other person business...

personal business such as... WE HAVE A BABY BOY!!!! :-) Well, he's not actually with us, he's still in Korea and won't be home with us until this summer... but we were matched and we accepted the referral!! He just turned 6 months old and has the cutest chubbiest cheeks and I can't wait to get my little hands on him!!

Once we officially accept the referral (lots more paperwork and papers to be notarized) I'll share pics of our Samuel. :-)

We are naming him Samuel because the name means "God hears" and God heard our (and our friends' and our family's and many strangers on the internet's) prayers and answered them. God is good!! All the time!! :-D

Plus one of the most famous infertiles in the Bible is Hannah and when God blessed her with a child she committed him to God and named him Samuel b/c God heard her prayers too.

anyway, so we've been busy busy busy!!

I'm back at work now but am totally swamped with work so I haven't had much time to keep up with my blog. (it's bad that I usually update my blog at work, I know...)

As for WW... YAY for Shana that you're almost to your 5% mark!! That is so awesome!!! You can do it, girl!!!!!

Our weekly work meetings are over now and I'm on my own. I'm finding that not attending meetings means I'm slacking off more. I haven't eaten strictly within my points the last couple of weeks, but I haven't gone nuts either. I still weigh myself every morning and I've been fluctuating between 122.2 and 122.6 pounds for the last couple of weeks, so I'm not complaining! I guess my current consumption rate is good for maintaining, but if I want to take off the last few pounds, I'll have to bite the bullet and start monitoring more closely again.

anyway, I'm off to NJ again this weekend to visit my friend who is recovering from surgery. I will probably not be eating as cleanly as I would like to, but I'll try to be good!

oh, and I also started exercising... at last!! I'm alternating 30-Day Shred workouts with treadmill runs. I've only done it for 4 days though so I'm not patting myself on the back just yet.

My running class starts in 3 weeks though! eeek!!

Hope everyone has been well!!

WW Recipe: Chicken, Sausage, and Capers

2 tsp olive oil
3/4 lb skinless boneless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces
1/4 lb hot Italian turkey sausage, cut into 1/2-in slices
2 T red wine vinegar
2 green bell peppers, seeded and cut into strips
1 onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp dried oregano
2 1/2 cups canned crushed tomatoes
1/2 cup low sodium chicken broth
2 T capers, rinsed and drained
2 T grated parmesan

1. In a large nonstick skillet over medium heat, heat the oil. Saute the chicken until golden and cooked through, 6-8 minutes. Transfer to a bowl with a slotted spoon.



2. In the skillet, cook the sausage, stirring frequently, until cooked through and browned, 8-10 minutes. Pour in the vinegar; cook until the liquid evaporates, 1-2 minutes. Add the bell peppers, onion, garlic, and oregano; cook, stirring until the peppers are tender, 4-5 minutes.



3. Stir in the tomatoes, broth, and capers; bring to a boil. Return the chicken to the skillet and sprinkle in the cheese. Reduce the heat and simmer until the sauce thickens slightly.

Per Serving (about 1 1/2 cups): 220 Cal, 8g Fat, 1g Sat Fat, 0g Trans Fat, 73mg Chol, 633mg Sod, 13g Carb, 2g Fib, 24g Prot, 98mg Calc.

Points Value: 5



I poured my serving over 1/2 cup of white rice. I think it would be better over pasta, so that's how I'll eat it tomorrow for lunch. :-)

This recipe was good, but not great, and I probably wouldn't repeat it just b/c there are so many other recipes I'd like to try.

I also added a couple of teaspoons of salt (it was really bland) and a couple of shakes of red pepper flakes b/c I like my food spicy! :-)

Week 11, Day 6: What I Ate

breakfast
low cal english muffin + 1/2 T pb (2 pts)
coffee (1 pt)

lunch
Lean Cuisine (5 pts)
grapefruit (1 pt)
7 lowfat Triscuits (2 pts)

snack
2 cinnamon ginger cookies (2 pts)

dinner
WW Chicken, Sausage, and Capers (5 pts)
1/2 cup white rice (2 pts)


Total Points Consumed: 20 points (2 flex points)

Week 11, Day 5: What I Ate

breakfast
coffee w/non-dairy creamer and splenda (1 pt)
low cal english muffin w/PB (2 pts)

lunch
Bumble Bee Tuna Sensations, Spicy Thai Chili w/crackers (6 pts)
Grapefruit (1 pt)
Banana (2 pts)

lame-o lunch. :-( I was planning on going out to lunch today w/my co-worker so I didn't pack a lunch, but she called in sick today so this is what I've scrounged up. I brought the grapefruit and banana for snacking and I had the tuna in my desk drawer.



dinner
Still on the Korean food kick...
2 cups oxtail soup (just the broth)- I have no idea how many points this is, but it would be similar to beef broth. I put it in the fridge overnight so I could easily skim off all the fat
1 cup rice (4 pts)
handful of sliced green onions (0 pt)
kimchi (0 pts)

I used the list! I cleaned my closet and avoided temptation

Instead of grabbing a snack b/c I was bored, I decided to consult my list of "Things to do instead of emotional eating" and organized my closet instead.

It took 3 hours. My closet was a mess.

Before:


After:




I ended up with two kitchen-sized garbage bags of clothes for Goodwill (or a yard sale if I get around to it) and one garbage bag of clothes to toss. I also organized all of my dresser drawers. It took so long b/c I tried on almost everything I haven't worn in awhile to see if they fit or if it was still worth keeping.

It took forever, but it was really gratifying! By the time I was finished, I was physically hungry and not just emotionally hungry. :-)

and just b/c he's so darn cute, here's my Benji

Week 11, Day 4 (Sun, Jan 31): What I Ate

breakfast
no breakfast, didn't wake up until 11:15am. Eek!!

lunch
We were still on our Korean food kick so we ate Bibimbap. "Bibimbap" literally means "mixed rice". It's rice with a bunch of veggies, some meat, and a fried egg mixed with a spicy pepper paste.

Here it is before I mixed it:


clockwise, starting at noon, there's some mixed lettuce greens (0 pts), fern brakes (I have no idea what this is, but I googled it. It's some sort of veggie)(1 pt), bean sprouts (1 pt), julienned zucchini (1 pt), marinated lean ground beef (2 pts), shredded radish kimchi (0 pts), sauteed spinach (1 pt), a fried egg in the middle (2 pts), and there's 1 cup of white rice (4 pts) underneath all of it. I didn't finish it, I ate a little more than half. (9 pts eaten)

I gave some of the veggies 1 pt b/c they were sauteed in a little oil.

And here's the hot pepper paste (2 T = 1 pt):


and here it is all mixed up:


It looks like a mess but it's yummy! :-)

dinner
"homemade" pizza. I put homemade in quotes b/c the dough is from the grocery store and the sauce was from a jar, but I assembled it. does that count as homemade? ;-)

the ingredients assembled:


and the pizza cooked:


The half to the right is mine and the half to the left is DH's. My side has the following:
1/2 cup sauce (1.5 pts), whole wheat crust (12 pts), 14 slices turkey pepperoni (1 pt), 1/4 cup low fat Italian cheese blend (2 pts), 1/8 cup grated parmesan (1 pt), 2 sliced mushrooms (0 pts), and 1/4 sliced onion (0 pts). That means my entire half of the pizza is 17.5 pts, but I only ate two slices. I'm saving the others for lunch tomorrow.

I also ate a salad with a lowfat Italian dressing (1 pt)

Total Points Consumed: 19 pts (1 flex point)

DH's side is loaded with lots more cheese and pepperoni. He needs to gain some weight!

Week 11, Day 3 (Sat, Jan 30): What I Ate

breakfast
mini bagel, toasted (1 pt)
2 slices turkey bacon (2 pts)
1 fried egg (fried in EVOO) (2 pts)
1 apple slice and 4 slices banana (1 pt)

I made a little egg and bacon sandwich. It was yummy!!



Doesn't it look like a lot of food? :-) I put my food on salad plates instead of dinner plates so the portions look bigger and I feel less deprived.

In comparison, here's DH's breakfast on a dinner plate (he had already started eating when I took the pic). He had 2 blueberry waffles with syrup (instead of a mini bagel), scrambled eggs (instead of over easy), 3 pieces of turkey bacon (instead of 2), and fruit.



DH was craving Korean food today so we made a trip (through the snow) to the local Asian market to buy groceries to make some Korean food.

snack
3 pieces kimbap (pre-made, picked up at the Asian market. This is like a sushi roll but w/o raw fish. Instead it has veggies and beef) (4 pts)

dinner
1 1/2 cups soondooboo jigae (Korean soft tofu stew. I got the recipe here: http://www.maangchi.com/recipe/soondubu-jjigae)

I don't know points for this dish, so I broke it down by ingredients that have pts and adjusted according to my portion size:
soft tofu (2 pts)
1/2 cup rice (2 pts)
1/3 cup mixed seafood - shrimp, mussels, squid (3 pts)
sesame oil (2 pts)
egg (1 pt)


Total Points Consumed: 20 pts (2 flex points)

Week 11, Day 2: What I ate

breakfast
mini bagel with 1/2 T peanut butter (2 pts)
coffee w/splenda and non-diary creamer (1 pt)

lunch
2 cups Progresso Lite Beef Veggie Soup (2 pts)
7 reduced fat Triscuits (2 pts)
1 honeycrisp apple (1 pt)

dinner with the girls
Pattaya Noodles from Tara Thai - shrimp, crabmeat, squid and mussels stir-fried with wide rice noodles and string beans in a spicy roasted chili sauce (WW points? guessing 10?)

Dessert
decaf coffee w/skim milk & equal (1 pt)
skinny mini fruit parfait from Le Madeleine's (2 pts?)
1 bite french pastry (2 pts?)
1 bite chocolate sacher cake (2 pts?)

Total Points Consumed = 25 points (7 flex points)

Should I stay or should I go?

I signed up for WW through my work and our 9 week session is coming to a close. We skipped a couple of meetings b/c of the holidays which is why I'm on Week 11 but our meetings are on week 9. Anyway, next week is our last session.

However, if we can get 15 people to sign up again, they will continue to have meetings on-site. Except this time it costs $168 and it will run for 12 weeks.

I was initially planning on rejoining b/c I really love the program, but I've been getting some comments from my co-workers that makes me feel like they think I don't belong there anymore.

I know that there are people there that have a lot more weight to lose than I do and I can understand how they may see me and think,"sheesh. what's she doing here?" but it's not like WW rejected me. When I started, my weight was over the "normal" range, but b/c I'm still relatively "petite" I can see why they might have been a little annoyed to see me there. And whereas they hid their annoyance in the beginning, I feel like it's beginning to show itself more.

I'm thinking I should just not sign up again for the on-site meeting... but if I fall off the wagon b/c of the lack of accountability, I'm signing right back up and I don't care what they think of me!

Week 11, Day 1 (Thurs, Jan. 28): What I ate

breakfast
mini bagel with 1/2 T pb (2 pts)
coffee w/splenda and non-dairy creamer (1 pt)

lunch
WW Pasta fra Diavlo w/shrimp (7 pts)
1 honeycrisp apple (1 pt)
baby carrots (0 pts)
Jello pudding cup (1 pt)

dinner
Fajita Steak with Chile-lime dressing (from Let's Dish)

The meal description from the Let's Dish website:
"Low carb! Our signature flank steak marinated in delicious fajita spices then drizzled with a yummy chile-lime dressing and served with a side of rice. Eating light? Toss your favorite salad greens with the dressing, and top with the steak slices for a delectable entree salad."

Here's the Let's Dish photo of it:


and here it is as I made it. This is DH's portion on a dinner plate:


He actually had seconds, but the photo is of his first plate. He ended up eating a double portion of meat (14 pts) and probably a cup and a half of the rice (4 pts) and a lot of sauce (3 pts?)

and my portion on a salad plate:


1 serving of meat (7 pts) and sauce on the side that I didn't finish. I just wanted a taste of it. (1 pt)

Instead of the rice, I ate mine with my usual big salad w/ balsamic vinagrette (0 pts)


DH looked at my meal and asked,"Are you full after eating that?"

The answer is,"yes!!" :-)

Although I'm starting to get sick of this same salad day in and day out. I need to either find some good recipes for low point dressings or buy a low point dressing so I can mix it up a little. I cannot wait for summer when I can have some locally grown veggies!! or better yet, veggies from my own garden!

Total Points Consumed: 20 pts (2 flex points)

WW Challenge of the week: 10 Things I can do instead of eating

Today at our meeting, we learned to tell the difference between eating b/c we're hungry vs. eating because we're feeling emotional.

i always thought I wasn't an emotional eater, but they included boredom and happiness in "emotional eating" and I definitely eat when I'm bored and when I'm happy. I just don't eat when I'm sad, anxious, or angry. Stress is another emotional eating category, and I guess I do tend to munch when I'm stressed. For example, I feel a strong urge to visit the candy bowl at work when I'm feeling swamped with work.

Anyway, so our assignment is to make a list of 10 things I can do this week instead of eating when I'm not physically hungry.

I'm supposed to stick the list on the fridge or pantry door, or wherever one keeps their munchy snacks.

ok, here we go. Ten things I can do this week instead of eating b/c I'm bored or happy:

1. Read my book club book (The Power of One)
2. Walk on the treadmill (one can dream...)
3. Play with or work on obedience training with Benji
4. Organize my closet
5. Surf the internet
6. Change the linens in the guest room
7. Take Benji for a walk
8. Go shopping for new clothes (heh heh...)
9. Soduku
10. Call a friend or my sister

That was surprisingly harder than I expected.

ok, so now I challenge you to write your list and post it on your fridge or pantry and when you feel the need to eat b/c you're bored, sterssed, angry, anxious, sad, or happy... do one of the things on your list instead! Good luck! :-)

WW Weigh-in Day: I got my 10% :-)

Current weight: 125.0 lbs!

I have officially lost 13.2 lbs and hit my 10% goal!

I was so excited to get another sticker, but I got a keychain instead! fancy schmancy!

WW Recipe: Pasta Fra Diavolo (w/shrimp)

2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 (28 oz) can diced tomatoes
3 tablespoons tomato paste
2 tablespoons dry red wine
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4-1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
1/2 pound linguine

1. In a large nonstick saucepan over medium heat, heat the oil. Add the onion and garlic; cook, stirring frequently, until golden, about 8 minutes.

2. Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, wine, sugar, salt, and red pepper; bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, until the flavors are blended and the sauce is slightly thickened, about 20 minutes. Stir in the parsley.

As usual, I also threw in a big handful of baby spinach to add more veggies


3. Meanwhile, cook the linguine (I used whole grain spaghetti) according to package directions. Drain and divide evenly among 4 plates. Spoon the sauce over linguine.

I added peeled and deveined shrimp (3/4 lb) into the simmering sauce for added protein.



1 serving = 1 cup pasta and 3/4 cup sauce

Nutritional info for pasta and sauce: 300 cal, 3g fat, 1g sat fat, 0 g trans fat, 0 mg chol, 411 mg sod, 59g carb, 6 g fib, 11 g prot, 59mg calc.

WW Points = 5

w/ Shrimp: Add 2 points

This was a really quick, easy and super yummy recipe! Definitely one to keep in the rotation. Even my husband gave this one a thumbs up. :-)

No Boundaries

Today I signed up for a running program called "No Boundaries" with a local running shop! eeek!

It starts March 22nd and runs through May 31st and we meet once a week... and it's for running newbies! At the meetings we will go through a training plan together and have weekly coached runs. The coach will also teach us proper running techniques. I need that! In the past, I just jumped on the treadmill and ran until I got tired... which was usually after only a few minutes. :-( I always get stitches in my side too so I know I'm not breathing properly. Hopefully I'll learn some good breathing techniques too.

On May 31st (last day of class) we run a 5K together. It should be interesting...

Anyway, I figured since I haven't been able to self-motivate to run, this would give me the push I need. We'll see how it goes...

Week 10, Day 7: What I Ate

breakfast
mini bagel w/1/2 T pb (2 pts)
coffee w/non-dairy creamer and splenda (1 pt)

lunch
Progresso Lite Chicken Noodle Soup (2 pts)
7 lowfat Triscuits (2 pts)
baby carrots (0 pts)
1/2 apple (0.5 pt)
Jello pudding cup (1 pt)



(I didn't eat all those carrots, just a handful. I just brought a big container of them to keep in the mini fridge at work for lunch and snacks)

snack
1 oz baked Ruffles (2 pts)


dinner
Pasta Fra Diavolo w/shrimp(7 pts)

Total points consumed: 17.5 pts

Week 10, Day 6: What I Ate

breakfast
1 mini bagel w/1/2 T pb (2 pts)
coffee w/skim milk and splenda (1 pt)

lunch
Lean Cuisine, Beef Chow Fun (6 pts)
baby carrots (0 pts)
small honeycrisp apple (1 pt)
handful 94% fat free popcorn (0 pts)

snack
the rest of the bag of the popcorn (1 pt)

dinner
2 cups Progresso Lite veggie beef soup (2 pts)
1.5 oz Baked Ruffles (3 pts)
baby carrots (0 pts)
mini lowfat bagel, toasted (1 pt)

snack
3 pieces dried fruit (1 pt)

Total Points Consumed = 18 pts

Week 10, Day 5: What I Ate

breakfast
lowfat mini bagel + 1/2 T pb (2 pts)
coffee w/non dairy creamer and splenda (1 pt)

lunch
tom yum soup w/shrimp (2 pts)
green papaya salad (vegetarian style, no shrimp) (3 pts)

snack
1/4c dried fruit (2 pts)

dinner

big salad (baby spinach, mixed greens, carrots, cucumber, beets) (0 pts)
3 oz broiled chicken tenderloin (3 pts)
balsamic vinegar for dressing (0 pts)
1/2 cup corn kernels (1 pt)
1/2 cup steamed broccoli (0 pt)
1/2 cup mashed potatoes (2 pts)

Total Points Consumed: 16 pts (this seems low to me... I think lunch might have been more points b/c the papaya salad was pretty big)

Week 10: What I ate this weekend (Ski trip)

Saturday

breakfast
1 slice french toast (4 pts)
fruit (blueberries, banana slices, strawberry slices) (1 pt)
3 slices turkey bacon (3 pts)
coffee w/1% milk and splenda (1 pt)

snack #1/lunch
5 tortilla chips dipped in nacho cheese sauce (4 pts)
2 bites pepperoni pizza (1 pt)

snack #2
5-6 baby carrots (0 pts)
3 T hummus (1 pt)
3 tortilla chips dipped in salsa (1 pt)
7 Baked Ruffles chips (2 pt)
1/8 pita (1 pt)

dinner
mixed green salad w/1 T raspberry vinagrette (1 pt)
grilled shrimp (2 pieces) and scallop (1 piece) kabob (red pepper slices, mushrooms) (2 pts)
1/2 cup rice pilaf (4 pts)

Activity: 2 hours skiing, 1 hr tubing, 45 minute walk w/Benji

Total Points Consumed: 26 points (8 flex points)

Sunday

breakfast
1 slice french toast (4 pts)
1 egg, scrambled (2 pts)
1 slice turkey bacon (1 pt)
fruit (banana slices, blueberries, grapefruit sections)(1 pt)
coffee w/1% milk and equal (1 pt)
2 slices fried plantain (1 pt)

lunch
1/2 KFC grilled chicken breast (3 pts)
side of green beans (1 pt)
1 KFC hot wing (2 pts)

snack
diet ginger ale (0 pts)
1 oz baked Ruffles (2 pts)

dinner
I decided to pass on Book Club. I was just too tired and sore to drive another 45 minutes there and back. So instead, I ate a cornish hen soup that my MIL left for us.
1/2 cup white rice (2 pts)
1/2 cornish hen in broth (3 pts)
kmichi (0 pts)

Total Points Consumed: 23 points (5 flex points)

Love Dare (Day 3) and weekend plans

Nothing new to report on the Love Dare. I still haven't done my last task of doing an "unexpected act of kindness" towards J. Who knew that something so simple would be so difficult??

Can anyone help me out? What should I do for J that would qualify as an unexpected act of kindess?

As for weekend plans, J and I are going snow tubing and skiing this weekend with our friends Jen and Jason. Cosmo (their dog) and Benji (our dog) are coming along with us! Should be fun!

I haven't gone skiing in probably 15 years, so I'm just praying none of us break any bones! you know, we're not spring chickens anymore!

As for food, we're making breakfast at the condo and I'm in charge of this meal, so I am planning on making french toast, turkey bacon, and scrambled eggs. I'm also taking lots of fruit and my lowfat mini bagels so I can pass on the french toast. Jen is in charge of drinks and snacks and she's a pretty healthy eater, but just in case I'm going to bring a big bag of baby carrots, microwave popcorn, and Baked Ruffles so that I'm not tempted to eat junky stuff.

We'll be eating lunch on the slopes, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that there are some healthy options there. If not, oh well... at least I'll have earned a couple of activity points from the skiing and I always have my 35 Flex points. :-) Gotta love WW!!

Sunday night I have book club. We're meeting at a Mexican restaurant called Rio Grande. I've been googling nutritional info for this restaurant but I'm not finding anything. hmmmm....

Week 10, Day 2: What I ate

breakfast
coffee w/non-dairy creamer and splenda (1 pt)
1/2 serving instant grits w/splenda (1 pt)

lunch
WW baked meat ziti (5 pts)
1 oz baked Lay's (2 pts)
apple (0 pt)



edit: yuck. my apple was all brown and funky inside. :-( I took one bite and threw it away. I feel nauseous. ::::shudder::::

snack
6 wasabi and soy sauce almonds (1 pt)
2 hershey kisses (according to google, 3 kisses is 2 pts... so using my algebra, 2 kisses = 1.33 pts. I'm rounding that down to 1 pt)

dinner
WW baked meat ziti (5 pts) (Can you believe I'm not sick of eating this yet?)

snack
94% fat-free popcorn (1 pt)
1 oz Baked Ruffles (2 pts)

Total Points Consumed: 19 (1 flex point)


I haven't posted any recent photos of me, so here I am 12 pounds down from when I started. I actually have a waist again and almost all the belly rolls are gone. yay! As I was getting dressed this morning, J said to me,"wow, you actually have a figure again!" Translation: you have a waist and hips!



I used to muffin top over these jeans and now I need to wear a belt to hold them up. I'm still amazed that you can really lose weight by eating less! I really do need to start adding in some exercise though! I need some motivation, please!

Week 10, Day 1: What I ate

breakfast:
mini bagel w/ 1/2 T peanut butter (2 pts)
coffee w/nondairy creamer and splenda (1 pt)

lunch:
WW baked meat ziti (5 pts)
baby carrots (0 pts)
7 lowfat Triscuits (2 pts)
1/2 apple (0.5 pts)

snack
small banana (1 pt)

dinner
WW baked meat ziti (5 pts)

snack
1 oz baked Lay's (2 pts)


Total points consumed = 18.5

The Love Dare, Day 2... again

I didn't end up doing an "unexpected act of kindness" for J yesterday, so I didn't move on to the next dare yet. I'm still at a loss as to what to do for him.

I didn't do the act of kindness, but I did resist saying anything mean, so I guess one out of two dares isn't too bad.

One of the things we bicker about is how J is a saver and I'm a spender. Anyway, I need to renew my passport and J had been occasionally nagging me to hurry up and get it done. I needed to get my photos re-taken, so when I was at the post office yesterday mailing a package, I saw that they did passport photos. I figured since I was there already, I might as well do it... even though it cost $15 for two measly pictures.

So I came home from work and told J I took the passport photos. The conversation went like this:

me: I got my passport photo taken today at the post office...

J: what?! why didn't you just ask me to take them for you? How much was it?? [it's so annoying b/c anytime I buy anything the first thing he asks is,"how much was it?"]

me: It was kinda expensive... it was $15, but at least I got it done!

J: [with exasperated look on his face] See??! that's the difference between you and me. You have no sense of money. Why would you pay $15 for a photo that we could have done at home for free?!! [I could tell he was annoyed. Previously, I would have shot back,"OMG, seriously? It's $15, it's not going to break the bank." But I refrained...]

me: You're right, I should have done it at home, but I wanted to just get it done with. Besides, when I took your passport photo at home it came out terrible, remember?

And then we laughed b/c his photo is TERRIBLE. The flash whited out his face so he's as white as a sheet of paper, but his lips are red and his eyes are black. He looks really bizarre. Every time we travel and I look at it, I bust out laughing. One time, an airport security guard looked at it and laughed!

So it worked! When I didn't respond defensively or angrily, we didn't fight. hmmmm.... interesting...

WW Weigh-In Day: Back on the wagon again!

Today I weighed in at 126.8 lbs, so I'm down 12.4 lbs since I started. woot woot!!

I lost 1.2 lbs this week... which means I lost the 0.2 I gained last week plus an extra pound. Not too shabby considering I was traveling for 3 of the 7 days and I ate out several times.

Now I'm more sure than ever that 1 serving of Bang Bang Shrimp does not equal 1 shrimp. :-) I'm still avoiding that dish from now on though.

Only 0.6 lbs to go until I hit my 10% target! :-)

WW Beef Stew Recipe (for Shana :-) )

4 tsp olive oil
1 shallot, finely chopped
1 tablespoon finely chopped carrot
1 tablespoon finely chopped celery
1 pound beef round, cut into 1 1/2 inch cubes
1 cup chopped canned plum tomatoes, with juice
1/2 cup dry red wine
1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh thyme, or 1/2 tsp dried
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp salt
freshly ground pepper, to taste
8 frozen pearl onions
2 carrots, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
4 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
1 cup hot water
1 cup thawed frozen peas
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh oregano or marjoram

1. In a medium nonstick Dutch oven or heavy saucepan, heat the oil. Saute the finely chopped onion, carrots, and celery until translucent, 5-6 minutes. Add the beef and saute until browned, about 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes, wine, thyme, bay leaf, salt, and pepper; bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer gently, partially covered, stirring occasionally, about 45 minutes.

2. Add the pearl onions, carrot chunks, potatoes, and water. Cook, covered 40 minutes.

3. Stir in the peas; cook 4 minutes, then add the parsley and oregano and cook 1 minute longer. Discard the bay leaf.


Nutritional info: (per serving, 1/4 of stew): 356 calories, 8g fat, 2g Sat Fat, 1g Trans Fat, 51mg Chol, 511mg Sod, 41g Carb, 7g fiber, 25g protein, 75mg Calc.

WW Points Value: 7


You can also make this in a slow cooker:
Saute the finely chopped vegetables and beef in a large nonstick skillet as directed. Transfer the mixture to a 5 or 6 quart slow cooker and add the remaining ingredients except the water, parsley, and oregano. Cover and cook until the beef and vegetables are tender, 4-5 hrs on high or 8-10 hours on low. Stir in the herbs just before serving.


I thought this stew tasted better the second day after the flavors had more time to meld.

The Love Dare

I had heard about this book from a friend of mine. It's a Christianity-based book that challenges you to do a 40-day "love dare" to (hopefully) strengthen your marriage.

John and I are pretty happily married (no complaints from my end) and so far we haven't had any major issues, but I can definitely see us falling into a bit of a rut. We've been married for almost 7 years now so it's not like we're still feeling butterflies in our stomachs when we see each other. We don't even have kids (which I know is a huge added stress to relationships) but sometimes I come home from work and we barely say three sentences to each other before we go to bed.

Our conversations go something like this:

me: hey babe, I'm home.
J: hey! [as he continues to play his first-person-shooter game from the den]

I go upstairs to change into my sweatpants and big t-shirt. I come back downstairs.

me (yelling into the den as I rummage through the fridge): what do you feel like eating for dinner?
J (hollering back from the den): I don't care, whatever you want to make

then I cook dinner and call him to dinner. He comes out of the den. We turn on the TV and sit down to eat.

I eat faster than J, so I clear my dishes, grab the laptop and make myself comfortable on the couch. J finishes his meal, clears his dishes and either goes back to play more Call of Duty or he sits on the couch with me and we bicker over what show to watch.

So it's not like we don't get along, we get along fine. We don't have major issues and there's still a lot of love there, but I can easily see how this could head down an ugly path if I don't snap out of it.

Soooo, since it's a new year, I figured this "love dare" might be something interesting to try out. What have I got to lose, right?

I'm on Day #2. My dare from Day #1 was to go the entire day without saying anything mean to J. Easy Peasy.

I don't think you're actually supposed to tell your spouse that you're doing this "love dare", so I haven't told him about it... but at the end of the night as we were in bed, I couldn't help but ask him,"babe, just out of curiosity... did I say or do anything mean to you today?"

He gave me a funny look but just replied,"nope". So far so good! :-)

Today's dare is to again not to do or say anything mean to J, and to also add an unexpected act of kindness. I'm having trouble thinking of something to do. He's always asking me to take a bigger interest in our finances, so maybe I'll pay some bills tonight. Or is that lame? hmmm... maybe i'll offer him a back massage!

I'll report back tomorrow...

Week 9, Day 7 (Wed, Jan 20) and a new WW Recipe!

What I ate:

breakfast
1 mini bagel with 1/2 T peanut butter (2 pts)
coffee w/non-dairy creamer and splenda (1 pt)

lunch
Lean Cuisine (6 pts)
2 apple wedges (0 pts)
baby carrots (0 pts)
7 lowfat Triscuits (2 pts)

snack
1 small banana (1 pt)

dinner
WW baked ziti (5 pts)

Total points consumed = 17 points


Baked Beef Ziti (with some modifications)

12 oz. uncooked ziti (I used whole grain penne)
2 tsp olive oil
2 medium garlic cloves, minced
1/3 pound raw lean ground beef (I used 96% lean)
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp dried rosemary (I should have left this out, not a huge rosemary fan)
1/2 tsp table salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
28 oz canned crushed tomatoes
1 cup part-skim mozzarella cheese, shredded (I used a lowfat Italian cheese blend)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cook pasta according to package directions; drain and set aside

Meanwhile, heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat; add garlic and saute 2 minutes. Add beef and cook until browned, breaking up meat with a spoon as it cooks, about 3-5 minutes; drain off any fat and set pan back over medium heat.

Add oregano, thyme, rosemary, salt and pepper; stir to coat beef. (I also added some red pepper flakes, I like my food spicy) Cook until herbs become fragrant, about 2 minutes. (I also added some chopped onion and sauteed it with the ground beef) Add tomatoes and bring mixture to a boil; reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes. (during the simmer, I added a can of sliced mushrooms and 2 big handfuls of baby spinach to get a couple servings of veggies in)



Spoon a small amount of beef-tomato mixture into bottom of a 4-quart casserole dish (just enough to cover surface); top with half of cooked ziti. Next, layer with half of remaining beef-tomato sauce and half of mozzarella cheese. Layer with remaining ziti and then top with remaining beef-tomato sauce; sprinkle with remaining mozzarella cheese. Bake until cheese is golden and bubbly, about 30 minutes. Slice into 8 pieces and serve. Yields 1 piece per serving.

WW points value = 5



Here's one portion:


it was really filling and yummy! I'll take some for lunch tomorrow and freeze the rest in individual portions for future quickie meals. This recipe is a keeper!

Week 9, Day 6 (Tues, Jan 20)

What I ate:

breakfast
1 mini bagel w/ 1/2 T pb (2 pts)
coffee (1 pt)

lunch
Lean Cuisine Mac & Cheese (6 pts)
baby carrots (0 pts)
1/2 apple (0.5 pts)
1 jello pudding cup (1 pt)

dinner
1/2 cup white rice (2 pts)
1/3 cup Trader Joe's Swarma curry sauce (1 pt)
2 oz chicken (2 pts)
2 oz shrimp (1 pt)
handful baby spinach (0 pts)
zucchini (0 pts)

snack
1 clementine (0.5 pts)

Total points consumed = 17

Bang Bang Shrimp

ok, I'm a big dummy. After discussing my "Bang Bang Shrimp" fiasco with my husband, he pointed out to me that "Serving size = 1" refers to one serving of the Bang Bang Shrimp Appetizer and not literally one piece of shrimp.

duh.

Week 9, Day 5

What I ate:

breakfast
Starbucks tall, skinny cinnamon dolce latter with soy milk (3 pts)

lunch
Chipotle, burrito bowl with rice, black beans, chicken, tomato salsa, corn salsa, lettuce (11 pts)

dinner
1 piece chicken tenderloin* (5 pts)


large salad: mixed greens, cucumbers, tomatoes, radishes, carrots, beets (0 pts)
balsamic vinegar for dressing (0 pts)

Total points consumed = 19 (1 point over)

*Last week I went to "Let's Dish" and assembled some meals. Last night we tried the Pretzel Dusted Chicken Tenders. They were good! I was so excited to see that they now list WW points for all of their dishes!!

Week 9, Days 2-4 (Fri- Sun)

I was up in New Jersey this past weekend visiting a dear friend of mine. She is having surgery next week, so I wanted to go up and smother her with some love before the surgery. I told her I would cook for her and her family all weekend so all she had to do was keep me company.

The great thing about being the cook, is that I get to control what goes into the food! :-)

I knew I wouldn't be able to stick to my 18 daily points, so I tried my best to minimize the damage by choosing healthier snacks and using lean meats whenever possible.

I had planned on lasagna for dinner, so I made the sauce using 94% lean ground beef but used the regular fat-full Italian sausage. I also used low-fat cheese. I didn't want to put her entire family on a diet since my friend needs to be fattened up a bit before she has her surgery, but next time I make lasagna at home, I will try making the sauce with Italian turkey sausage and use a whole-grain pasta instead.

I packed lots of greens and baby spinach and I served a big salad with all the meals (except breakfast).

So, here's what I ate on Friday:

breakfast
low-cal english muffin with 1/2 tb peanut butter (2 pts)
Diet coke (0 pt)

snacks during the drive:
popcorn (1 pt)
baby carrots (0 pt)
1 cup berries (1 pt)

pre-dinner snack
9 baked Ruffles (2 pts)
1 small banana (1 pt)
~5 slices of red pepper (0 pt)
~4 slices of cucumber (0 pt)

dinner
1 small slice lasagna (6 pts)
1 big salad (baby spinach, mixed greens, grape tomatoes, cucumbers, red and yellow pepper slices, beets, and garbanzo beans) ( 1 pt)low-fat, low-cal salad dressing (1 pt)

It also happened to be my friend's birthday week, so a couple of her friends wanted to take her out for drinks and munchies and I tagged along. This is where things took a turn for the worse.

I didn't want to be a bossy dieter, so I just let the others take the lead and order the appetizers and desserts since the plan was to share everything.

We went to Bonefish Grill and they ordered the Bang Bang Shrimp (battered, fried shrimp tossed in a spicy sauce) and a big, fat flourless chocolate brownie smothered in whipped cream, vanilla ice cream, and chocolate sauce.

I decided to try "just one" Bang Bang Shrimp. I ended up eating four.
I just looked up the nutritional info for the Bang Bang Shrimp. Can this really be right???

1 serving = 1 shrimp
Calories = 484
Fat = 8.3g
Fiber = 0.9g

According to my handy WW Calculator, that means 1 shrimp is 10 pts???!!! REALLY??

Please excuse me while I pick myself off the floor...

I also ate 3 bites of the brownie. (6 pts?)

Total points consumed = 15 for my meals plus 6 for the brownie and 40 for the shrimp = 61 points!! (43 points over! EEEK!)

Lesson Learned = Look up WW points BEFORE eating!!!! Had I known one shrimp equaled 10 points, I never would have eaten any!


Saturday

breakfast
5 slices turkey bacon (5 pts) I kept grazing! :-(
coffee w/non-dairy creamer and splenda (1 pt)
3 slices apple (0.5 pts)
1 slice asian pear (0 pt)
3 slices banana (0.5 pts)
1/2 slice french toast (5 pts)

snack
2 whole grain tortilla chips (1 pt)
1 T salsa (0 pts)
9 baked Ruffles (2 pts)
1 small banana (1 pt)

lunch
big salad w/low cal dressing (1 pt)

dinner
salad (mixed greens, baby spinach, carrots, tomato, cucumber, avocado slice, beets, garbanzos, low cal dressing) (2 pts)
1/2 cup white rice (2 pts)
1/2 cup coq au vin italiano (w/1 skinless drumstick) (4 pts)

dessert
1 tollhouse cookie (3 pts)

Total points consumed = 28 (10 points over)

Sunday
breakfast
1 cup cantaloupe (1 pt)
coffee w/non-dairy creamer and splenda (1 pt)
2 slices turkey bacon (2 pts)
1/2 slice french toast (5 pts)

lunch/dinner (informal "baby shower" for my neighbor)
Veggie Burger at Eggspectation restaurant (10 pts?)
fruit cup (1 pt)

Total points consumed = 20 pts (2 points over)

In conclusion, I should not be surprised if I'm up again at weigh-in this week. :-(

Lesson learned: Look up points on-line BEFORE going out to eat!!!! :-(

Week 9, Day 1 (Thurs, Jan 14) What I ate

breakfast
coffee (1 pt)
low fat english muffin + 1/2 T pb (2 pts)

lunch
WW beef stew (7 pts)
1 clementine (0.5 pts)
10 baby carrots (0 pts)
1 cup fresh berries (1 pt)
7 lowfat Triscuits (2 pts)

WW Weigh-In Day: Uh oh, my over-consumption has caught up with me

Official WW weigh in = 128.0 lbs

Yep, that's right. I GAINED 0.2 pounds this week. :-(

I've still lost 10.2 pounds so far, so my WW leader didn't try to take away my 10 pound sticker, but I wonder what would have happened if I had gained 0.5 pounds. Would she have revoked my sticker?? That would have been really embarrassing.

I shouldn't have been surprised that I had gained weight considering I went over my daily points 6 out of 7 days and probably way over my weekly 35 flex points as well... but I was still surprised to see a gain. I know I may sound delusional, but since I had still been weighing myself (albeit in my PJs with an empty stomach first thing in the morning) and I was still down from my last official weigh-in, I just assumed I'd still come in under. ::::sigh:::: I was wrong. :-(

ok, Rose, don't collapse. You've just had a small lapse. I can do better next week!!!

Although....I'm worried that I might over eat this weekend. I'm going up to NJ this weekend to spend time with a close friend of mine who has recently been diagnosed with breast cancer. She is having a double mastectomy on Monday so I wanted to go up and smother her with love and to take care of her before she has her surgery.

I also want to fatten her up b/c she's a tiny little thing and I know with the impending surgery and subsequent treatments, she will probably start losing a lot of weight. I want her to be strong, so I plan on making some hearty home-cooked meals for her.

I hope I won't be too tempted to join in on the hearty meals, but rather fill up on my low point value "filling foods". That means I plan on eating a lot of salad. and beans.

While everyone else eats homemade lasagna, homemade pizza, homemade Italian chicken stew, french toast, waffles, and lots of bacon. :-(

But I'm being sneaky and I will be using turkey pepperoni for the pizza, turkey bacon for breakfast, and lowfat cheeses for the lasagna and pizza. I will also take the skin off the chicken before I make the stew. :-)

Week 8, Day 7, What I ate

breakfast
coffee (1 pt)
instant grits with splenda (2 pts)


lunch
1 serving WW beef stew (7 pts)
Triscuit crumbs (the remainder of the box). Definitely not 7 full pieces, so I'll say this is just 1 pt.
2 clementines (1 pt)
1 cup berries (1 pt)
water



dinner
1 serving WW beef stew (7 pts)

Total points consumed = 20

Week 8, Day 6: What I ate

breakfast
coffee (1 pt)
instant grits w/1 tsp splenda (2 pts)

lunch:
Lean Cuisine (meatloaf. it wasn't good... but I still ate it all) (5 pts)
10 baby carrots (0 pts)
7 lowfat Triscuits (2 pts)
1 cup fresh cherries (1 pt)

snack
Quaker mini delights (2 pts)

dinner
Lean Cuisine, butternut squash ravioli (5 pts)
big salad (baby spinach, mixed greens, cucumber, grape tomatoes, carrots, beets) w/balsamic vinegar (0 pts)

Total points consumed = 18 points

Week 8, Day 6 (Tues, Jan.19)

Weight = 126.6 lbs (in PJs with empty stomach)

whoa! how can it be that I lost weight after all that eating??

Maybe I'm just getting used to how much food I'm supposed to consume (my 18 daily points)that when I consume more than that, I feel like I'm over-eating, when in actuality, I'm not really over-eating?

Or maybe my body is just getting back to how it's supposed to "naturally" be (meaning: how it is if I eat normal portions rather than the double/triple portion sizes I used to eat) so that's why the weight is still coming off?

who knows, but I ain't complaining!!

I have a feeling I'm going to plateau really soon though. I really have to start exercising. I promised a friend of mine that I'd run a 10K with her at the end of March!! eeeek! What was I thinking??? The longest distance I've ever run is a 5K and that was like 10 years ago!!!

It's so hard to get on the treadmill that first time...

What I ate (Mon, Jan 11, 2010)

breakfast
coffee (1 pt)
low-cal english muffin + 1/2 T pb (2 pts)

lunch
Lean Cuisine (6 pts)
1 cup fresh cherries (1 pt)
10 baby carrots (0 pts)
Jello pudding cup (1 pt)

snack
Starbucks Tall skinny cinnamon latte (2 pts) Why oh why didn't I just order a tea instead? I really did not need this drink, I just ordered it b/c I was with my friend and we needed to kill some time before dinner. grrrr.

dinner
I met a friend at the Baltimore Harbor for dinner. We decided to pick the restaurant when we got there since we didn't really know what was up there... which means I couldn't google in advance.

We chose Houlihan's because I figured they'd at least have some salad with grilled chicken options. Their menu specified "healthy, low-cal meals" with a star. I was surprised when not a single salad entree had a star next to it! So I ended up getting the Grilled Jumbo Shrimp entree. It was described as jumbo shrimp marinated in lime juice over a bed of greens with grilled asparagus and panzanella bread.

It looked like two skewers of grilled shrimp over an arugula salad with a few spears of asparagus, tossed with some sort of vinaigrette. And two slices of toast on the side. I skipped eating the toast, but polished off everything else.

I just got home to look up the nutritional info online so I could calculate the points... and it's a whopping 12 points!!!! WTH???? Sure, it was relatively "low-cal" at 556 points, but what's the deal with 26 grams of fat???!!

seriously? that's false advertising!!!

UGH. that's what happens if you don't do some googling of the restaurant menu before eating out. Let that be a lesson learned, ladies.

And holy cow!!! I just checked the nutritional values of the salads at Houlihan's! Pre-WW, I wouldn't have thought twice to order the Buffalo Bleu Salad (buffalo chicken strips over a salad) and that thing is a whopping 36 points!!!! THIRTY-SIX!!! OH MY GAH!!!!! No wonder it didn't have the "low calorie star" next to it!

I wonder how many people out there think they're eating something healthy b/c they ordered a salad entree??! I know I used to!! I might as well have a greasy burger!!

Suddenly my 12 point shrimp meal isn't looking that terrible! I'm definitely crossing Houlihan's off my list of acceptable places to dine out at.

I'm fully expecting the scale to go up tomorrow. ::::sigh::::

I really need to start adding in some activity points.

How do I get motivated to exercise??

Week 8, Day 5 (Monday, Jan 11, 2010)

Weight = 127.4 pounds (in PJs on an empty stomach)

I'm relieved to see that I haven't gained too much weight since my food-fest weekend. Since I weighed myself first thing in the morning while wearing PJs and on an empty stomach, had this been a WW weigh-in day, I'm thinking I might have been up 0.4 pounds or so. eeek.

Although I shouldn't complain considering how much I ate this weekend. I'm just surprised I didn't gain more.

Maybe it's because even though I ate more than I normally would while on WW, I was still very conscious and aware of what I was eating? I'm sure it helped that I limited myself to just a couple of bites of the good stuff (birthday cake and apple crostada) and tried to fill up on the veggies and lean protein (even the the lean protein was in a butter sauce, oops!) and stuck to 1 serving portion sizes of the pasta. (1 cup = tennis ball came in handy!)

And Thank God for the 35 flex points!!!

today I'm back to my usual breakfast and Lean Cuisine lunch, but I'm meeting a friend for dinner in Baltimore tonight so it may be tough to stay within my points again. :-(

We'll see how it goes...

Week 8, Day 4 (Sunday, Jan. 10, 2010)

I wish I could say I strictly stuck to my 18 points for the day. Alas, I cannot. :-(

My BFF called asking if DH and I wanted to come over for an early dinner to polish off the Maggiano's leftovers from Saturday. (It was BFF's son's birthday party) Never one to say no to an invitation from the BFF, I accepted.

After dropping Benji off at the groomer's for a much needed haircut, DH and I decided to go to Mimi's Cafe for brunch.

I don't mind going there b/c they have a "lite" menu that are smaller portion sizes and that include nutritional info.

I had the Petite Citrus Salmon - 6 pts

I offered to bring a salad to BFF's b/c I wanted to be able to fill up on zero point veggies in the hopes I would keep my pasta consumption under control.

Dinner:
big plate of salad (mixed greens, romaine lettuce, baby spinach, carrots, grape tomatoes, cucumbers) tossed with low-cal/low-fat dressing (1 pt for the dressing)
1/2 cup spaghetti with marinara sauce (3 pts)
1/2 cup linguini with white clam sauce (3 pts)
~3 oz salmon with spinach (when I ate this on Saturday, I thought it was the healthy option for protein. When I saw the cold leftovers, I realized there was a lot of butter in this dish. gah!! It's yummy though (obviously, considering the amount of butter in this thing), so I took a small piece that was sitting on top and not immersed in the buttery sauce. (6 pts?)
1 cup red grapes (1 pt)

Total Points consumed = 20 pts (gah!! over again!!)

Week 8, Day 3 (Saturday, Jan.9,2010)

I knew Saturday was going to be a tough WW day for me. For lunch, we had a 1st birthday party to attend at Maggiano's, a local Italian restaurant that serves its food family-style (meaning: humongous portions). My strategy was to eat a huge salad before I went so I could fill myself up a bit with zero point food before I went.

Unfortunately, we were running late so all I had time to do was throw a handful of baby carrots into a ziploc bag to eat in the car.

I was relatively disciplined though (although clearly I could have been better) when I got to Maggiano's since I knew I had pretty much eaten all my flex points the night before at Korean BBQ.

What I ate:

snack
10 baby carrots (0 pts)

lunch
2 cups spinach salad. It was already tossed in dressing (a delicious one at that) and I'm not sure how many points the dressing was or how much of it was on my salad, but I'm just going to take a guess and say this was about 3 pts.
1 cup spaghetti with tomato sauce (6 pts)
3 baby clams (I picked them out of the linguini with white clam sauce dish) - 1 pt
~3 oz portion of baked salmon with spinach (~7 pts?)
2 bites birthday cake (1 pt?)
2 bites apple crostada (2 pts?)

So even though I tried to stay within my daily allotted points, I couldn't. :::sigh::: And I hadn't even eaten dinner yet! And we had dinner plans with my mom! (which means I couldn't go home and just eat a handful of carrots and popcorn and go to bed)

dinner
Soon-doo-boo-jigae (spicy Korean tofu stew)
I shared this with John so I only ate half-ish (if that). But I did eat about a 1/4 cup of rice. I'm guessing all this was about 10 points, tops.

Total points for the day = 30 (points allotted = 18)

::::gulp::::

hmmm... I need more dairy

I just took a good look at my food log, and I'm not consuming nearly enough dairy and I need to add at least 2-3 more servings of veggies and fruits to my daily intake.

The fruits and veggies shouldn't be too difficult. I could easily add baby carrots as a snack (10 for 0 pts!) and it's pretty easy to sneak in baby spinach (0 pts!) to pretty much any kind of entree. I've put it in spaghetti sauce, chopped up into meatloaf, I throw it into curries, and of course raw tossed into a salad.

I don't drink milk on its own (blech!!) and yogurt makes me shudder, but I do love cheese. Maybe I can start adding lowfat string cheese as a snack, even though I try to keep my snacks to 1 pt a serving.

I guess I could also start adding skim milk to my coffee rather than using non-dairy creamer...

Anyway, one of the main reasons I really like WW is because of the 35 flex points! I'm only allotted 18 points a day and it's so easy to use them up, so the freebie 35 are awesome. Although, in the 7 full weeks I've been on WW, I think I've only used up all 35 flex points in 3 of the weeks (Thanksgiving week, the weekend I was in L.A. and NYE weekend).

But I will definitely be using them all up this week!

Tonight for dinner, I'm going to my favorite Korean restaurant for Korean BBQ. They provide lettuce leaves, thinly sliced slightly pickled radish slices and thinly sliced rice cake sheets to use as wraps for the grilled meats. Pre-WW, I only ate the rice cakes and radish slices. Tonight, I'm forcing myself to alternate between the lettuce (0 pts), the radish (0 pts), and the rice cake (I'm guessing since 1 cup of rice = 4 points, two rice cake wraps should equal about 1 pt) so I don't waste a gazillion points just on the wraps.

Tomorrow, I'm going to a birthday party at Maggiano's, a family-style Italian restaurant. yummers. Since I can't control what will be ordered (the menu has already been selected by the hosts), I will have to make sure I keep my portion sizes under control. (1 cup of pasta = size of tennis ball = 4 pts!)

I also plan on eating something filling and healthy (perhaps a big salad with mixed greens, baby spinach, carrots, tomatoes, cucumbers, and beets drizzled with balsamic vinegar all for a whopping 0 points?!) before I go so I won't arrive famished and eager to stuff my face.

We'll see how it goes.

Week 8, Day 2 (Friday, Jan.8, 2010)

What I ate:

breakfast
coffee (1 pt)
instant grits w/splenda (2 pts)

lunch
Lean Cuisine- some sort of Asian ginger chicken pasta. It was pretty good. (5 pts)
1 orange (1 pt)
7 lowfat Triscuits (2 pts)

snack
94% fat free microwave popcorn (1 pt)

dinner
pig-out session at Korean BBQ Restaurant (all my 35 pts for the week?)

Here I am with DH waiting for the food to arrive:
As you can tell by the huge smile on my face, I was super excited. I haven't had Korean BBQ since I started WW!


Our friend, Ray, and all the ban-chan ("ban-chan" is basically little Korean side-dishes or condiments that you eat with your meal. They're mostly picked vegetables).



Grilling the meat (DH's friend in the background)


The ban-chan isn't many points b/c they are mostly just pickled veggies, and the meat slices are very thin, but they are pretty well marbled with fat so I'm sure I was inhaling points left and right. oh well... it was worth it. :-) It was sooo good!! I'll have to only treat myself to Korean BBQ on special occasions... like when I hit the 15 pound mark! :-)

WW Weigh-In Day: yay!! I'm actually doing it!

Official WW weigh-in: 127.8 lbs

I made my 5% goal and my 10 lb goal!! I got TWO stickers today! woot woot!!




It feels so good! :-)

Week 8, Day 1 and Project Benji Day 2

Weight = 127.0 lbs (in PJs, empty stomach)

I'm amazed at how much my weight can fluctuate in a day. I know that's normal, but I've just never noticed before since I used to never weigh myself! and now that I'm trying to lose weight, every 0.1 pound counts! I guess this is why they tell you not to weigh yourself every day.

Anyway, today is weigh-in day! We haven't had WW meetings at work for the last 2 weeks b/c of the holidays so it's been awhile. I hope I can reach my 10 lb goal!

an updated picture that I took this morning. I'm standing sideways though so it's not showing my true width. ;-)


ok, here I am face-on. Now you can see my true width. And I say "true" loosely since I am looking into one of my notorious "skinny mirrors".



As you can see, I'm a "hip, butt and thighs" girl.

What I've eaten today:
breakfast
coffee (1 pt)
lowfat english muffin with 1/2 T pb (2 pts)

lunch
Lean Cuisine (6 pts) I had the beef chow foon. It was yummy! Usually they're just "ok", but this one was good.
1 cup fresh cherries (1 pt)
7 lowfat Triscuits (2 pts)

dinner
Trader Joe's Thai Red Curry Simmer Sauce. I also added two big handfuls of baby spinach into the simmer sauce to get an extra serving of veg in (2 pts)
3 oz chicken breast (3 pts)
1/2 cup green beans (0 pts)
1 cup white rice (4 pts)

Total = 21 points (3 flex points)

Project Benji:
Last night Benji was in the mudroom for 20 minutes. He barked and wimpered for about 5 minutes, then stayed quiet. (yay!!) he was super excited when we let him out though.

I still don't know where we'll find a child to help us with homework assignment #2. :::sigh::::

Week 7, Day 7 and Project Benji Day 1

What I've eaten
breakfast
coffee (1 pt)
low-fat english muffin with 1/2 T pb (2 pts)

lunch
Lean Cuisine (5 pts)
1 cup cherries (1 pt)
7 lowfat Triscuits (2 pts)

snack
popcorn (1 pt)

dinner
leftovers from the previous night. Salad with one serving of marinated flank steak. (7 pts)

Weight check - 127.6 lbs (nekkid, empty stomach)

Day 1 of Project Benji
Last night we put Benji in the mudroom for 10 minutes. (baby steps, right?) I left him with a treat so he was quiet for a few minutes before the wimpering started. He only wimpered and barked for a little while. When John let him out, Benji came out tail wagging and happy. So far so good.

Weight Watchers
I tried out a new recipe last night. I got a WW cookbook for Christmas so I tagged a bunch of recipes I wanted to try. I'm going to try to update my blog with pictures when I cook a WW recipe. :-) (although I've misplaced the battery charger for my camera so I'm stuck with iPhone pics for now) I had some flank steak in the freezer so I made an Asian marinade. It was 6 points per serving (3 slices).

The recipe said to marinate it for up to 24 hours. I marinated it overnight and all day. I definitely marinated it too long. I think the citrus in the recipe made the meat too mushy. The flavor was good, but next time I'm just going to marinate it for a couple of hours.

I put my slices over a salad and made a steak salad. Drizzled with some balsamic oil and it was a tasty meal for about 7 points (1 pt for garbanzo beans that I added to the salad).



John got a double portion with a side of butter-laden mashed potatoes. He needs to put on some weight. It's challenging to be on a diet while at the same time trying to fatten up the DH.

Project Benji

We adopted Benji from a local rescue about 3 1/2 months ago. He is an awesome dog and we love him so much already. He's great with most other dogs and is very friendly with adults and big kids, once he has a chance to sniff them out sufficiently.

John and I are also in the midst of adopting a human baby from Korea. We finished our home study and are now just waiting to be matched with a baby. If all goes well, we should have a baby home with us by late Fall 2010.

So in order to make sure Benji would be comfortable with a little one in the house, I've been reading a lot of books on preparing dog for baby. One of the things the book highly recommended is to expose the dog to well-behaved children as often as possible.

So I recruited all my closest friends and asked them to help us out with "Project Benji". Everyone was eager to help us and we had kids lined up to visit us. (I've got awesome friends, if I may brag...)

Sadly, Project Benji has been a massive FAIL.

Let me re-cap:

Exposure #1: BFF arrived with her two little ones. 5-year old M and 7-month old J. We had M lavish Benji with treats and all went well at first. Then we let our guard down. :-( Benji was playing with a toy moose (that he stole from J) and J reached over to get his moose and Benji froze (I should have jumped in when I saw the freeze) and next thing I know, Benji is lunging towards J. :-( Luckily, Benji barely made contact and other than a small pinkish area on his arm, J was ok. Crisis diverted...or so we thought.

Exposure #2: Other BFF arrived with her two little ones. 5-year old A and 3-year old B. A LOVES dogs and was so excited to meet Benji. We had her give him lots of treats and Benji seemed to warm up to her a lot. She threw tennis balls for him and he returned them to her. All seemed well. We let our guard down. As Benji was chewing on his bully stick, A reached over to pet Benji and he lunged at her and clamped down on her forearm!! He left teeth marks and a bruise, but didn't puncture skin. HUGE FAIL. We were so upset!

After the second incident, I spoke to Benji's obedience trainer. She told me to put away all of Benji's treats and toys when little ones were around b/c based on the two incidences, it seemed that Benji was a resource guarder. This surprised me b/c Benji lets me and John remove food from his mouth, take away toys, etc without as much as a snarl. He is the most non-resource guarder with us! But how he is with us, is clearly not how he is with kids. :-(

So this past Sunday leads us to Exposure #3. Our good friend L came over with her two little ones, 5-year old H and 18-month old P. We let H lavish Benji with treats and the initial meeting went well. P even hugged Benji several times. (big mistake... in hindsight) Anyway... long story short, P got BITTEN in the FACE by Benji!!! There were two puncture wounds, one on his cheek and one by the corner of his mouth. We rushed him to the Urgent Care center. Thankfully, the wounds ended up not being that deep and the doctor recommended that L just wash P's face with soap and water 3X a day to keep it clear of bacteria. No stitches needed.

I also had to fill out a form for our county Animal Control with Benji's information. I think he's on the county sh!t list now. :-( I'm expecting a call from Animal Control any day now...

John and I were so upset and traumatized by the whole thing. It seemed like the injuries Benji was causing were getting progressively worse!


So last night after obedience class, i stayed late to speak to the trainer. I told her about our impending human baby adoption and my huge fear that Benji will continue to bite children. I told her that re-homing Benji is our absolute last resort and that we were willing to do whatever it takes to work with Benji.

We were given two homework assignments:
1. Start crating or putting Benji in a closed off area (our mudroom) away from us while we are home for short periods of time, eventually extending it to an hour or so.

She said when our baby arrives, there will be many times when we will be so preoccupied with baby (crying, diaper change, feeding, whatever) and won't be able to supervise Benji, so we need to be able to put him away in another area where he won't get stressed out or feel like he's being punished.

He needs to know that being crated or being put into the mudroom doesn't mean we are leaving him or punishing him. It's a happy, quiet place for him instead. All he knows now is that when we put him in the mudroom, we're leaving the house, so we need to work on getting him used to being crated or in the mudroom while we're home.

2. Expose Benji at least 30-50 times to different children. Have Benji on a leash and step on his leash. Have the child stand far enough away so that Benji can't reach him/her. Have child stand so that he is not directly facing Benji, but rather so that the child is perpendicular to Benji. Have child toss a high-value treat towards Benji and then walk away. let Benji eat treat. Have child return to standing position, toss another treat and walk away. Let Benji eat treat. Repeat. 100x.

That was not a typo. She said to repeat it 100X!! But then she said,"well, you know what I mean. do it A LOT."

Then we put Benji in his crate or in the mudroom so he can rest in his "peaceful spot" and he is not allowed to play with the child.


The trainer said to contact her once we've finished these homework assignments and then she'll give us the next step.

the hardest part will be finding parents that will be willing to have their kids help us!! Benji is starting to develop a reputation (rightly so) as a biter of children! :-( I'm hoping my neighbor will be ok with her daughter helping us...

We'll see how it goes!! Please keep your fingers crossed that this works!!

Week 7, Day 6

weight = 128.0 lbs

nekkid, empty stomach, of course. It's amazing how much my weight can fluctuate day to day.

food consumed today:

breakfast
instant grits (2 pts)
coffee (1 pt)

lunch
Lean Cuisine (6 pts)
1 cup fresh cherries (1 pt)
7 lowfat Triscuits (2 pts)
non-fat Jello pudding cup, dark chocolate flavor (1 pt)

dinner
1 serving asian flank steak (6 pts)
salad - mixed greens, baby spinach, cucumbers, carrots, grape tomatoes, garbanzo beans, red beets (1 pt)

Total points= 20 (used 2 flex points)

Week 7, Day 5

Weight = 129.2 lbs

I was up to 130.4 lbs over the weekend, so at least I should be glad I'm back in the 120s, albeit barely. I really wanted to make my 10 lb goal by my next WW meeting, which is on Thursday.

I have been bad this weekend. I made it through Thanksgiving and Christmas on the WW wagon... I was patting myself on the back... then NYE arrived. And New Year's Day and the weekend following New Year's. :::sigh:::

I didn't even keep track of all my food b/c I lost count of points. :-(

John and I had a small group of friends over on NYE for munchies and games.

the problem was the munchies:


I couldn't stop munching! And I didn't take my own advice to fill up on carrots and healthy snacks beforehand. Instead, I ate meatballs, cheese, cheese, and more cheese, spinach dip (although I did use low fat sour cream and low-fat mayo in the recipe), bread, bread, and more bread... need I go on? :-(

I did feel better when John won the jackpot in "left, right, center" (a silly drinking/gambling game):


but I was disappointed in my lack of self-control.

oh well, I can't wallow in it forever. It's a new day, right?

breakfast
instant grits (2 pts)
coffee (1 pt)

lunch
I went to Noodle & Co. for lunch with my best friend from work. She's been out on maternity leave since October and today is her first day back. We used to have lunch together every single day which definitely contributed to my weight gain. She knows I'm on WW now so hopefully lunch out will be the exception and not the norm!

Small Bangkok curry with shrimp (6 pts)
cucumber salad (2 pts)

snack
7 low-fat Triscuits (2 pts)

dinner
my dinner was more of a snack b/c I got home late after Benji's obedience class and was too tired to make a legit meal. Plus I wanted to stay within my points for the day.
1 orange (1 pt)
5 baby carrots (0 pts)
Instant grits + 1 tsp honey(3 pts)

Total points consumed = 17