Oops

I'm sitting on the couch watching tv after my very long day today and I just realized that I almost forgot to post today! Looks like it may take me a little while to get back into the swing of things.
After realizing that I forgot to post I also remembered that I'm actually supposed to post everything I ate today and a little bit of panic comes over me. Had I remembered this earlier in the day/night I may have made some better choices today. I guess this is why food journaling really works. Just being aware makes such a big difference.
Sigh... well here goes:

6:30am:
Americano w/nonfat milk & splenda. Thank Shara!

9:00am:
Kashi trail mix bar
**Dried fruit and nuts. Very small and may taste a bit too healthy for my liking. I like my breakfast bars to be healthy but still satisfying and delicious. This one was borderline gross. Still ate it though. So whatever that means.

12:30pm:
Leftover chicken breast w/corn, black beans, salsa, and shredded cheese
**This was a recipe I made a few days ago. I almost tossed this last piece out but then decided that in the interest of saving money I'd give it a shot today. Turns out - still good!

2:00pm:
5 Red Vines
**Another weakness of mine. Too bad for me we have a Costco sized bucket (?) of them at the office. Someone needs to get rid of those right away. So far I might be the only one really working towards that goal. Hm?

5:30pm:
One bite of chicken & cheese tamale from Trader Joe's. I love free samples there. Just as much as I love everything else in that place.

6:30pm:
A few handfuls of jalapeno potato chips.
This one is again thanks to Celia from yesterday. You see, there is a reason why I don't buy things that I really like and keep them in the house. Like chocolate chip cookies and jalapeno potato chips. Because if/when I do, they are gone immediately. I have zero self control when it comes to certain foods. Keep that in mind everyone. Stay away from me with your temptations!!!

7:30pm:
Leftover honey mustard chicken from last night. Side of couscous (also from last night.) And steamed broccoli with reduced fat shredded cheeses melted on.
2 bites of a Lean Cuisine - pasta & broccoli in alfredo sauce.

9:00pm:
Mochi. 2 pieces of strawberry and 1 chocolate.
**This is a delicious frozen dessert from TJ's. It's sort of like an Asian version of ice cream. They come in little balls (yes balls) that you can just pick up and bite into. But it's still kind of like ice cream. Anyway, I bought these because I thought I was going to be making dinner for some guests and I had a real fun Asian-y meal in mind so I thought this would be a fun dessert to add to the menu. But when the guests canceled I couldn't resist having some Mochi anyway.

9:46pm (right now):
Snacking on Tajin chili powder. I get a really weird craving for anything Mexican candy like once in a while. And by that I mean pretty much everyday. This is the closest thing I could find to Mexi candy so that's what I'm eating. This should make a nice bloated day tomorrow. Awesome.

SO... lesson learned for the day: Don't forget you'll be posting every little bite you eat for everyone to read each day so... stop being a fat ass.

Side note... I was trying to figure out approx how many calories I had eaten today. I wont get into those details now but by doing this I realized just how many stupid extra calories I ate today that I could've gone without. If I had only left out those silly snacks I would have been right at the number of calories I'm supposed to have. But just those few snacks/bites totally put me over.
Oh well. I guess tomorrow is another day to try again.

Welcome Back to Me

Hi! After a very long break I'm happy to report that I'm back! I finally have a kitchen again. MY kitchen. Clean and well stocked with all of MY cooking essentials. I can't begin to tell you how happy this makes me. With all of the nightmares I have been living recently the worst part was not being able to cook in a nice clean kitchen. Over the 6 months that I was living at home (sort of) I learned that I might be a little on the OCD side when it comes to cooking. I tried to cook a few times in other kitchens but instead of it being the relaxing and enjoyable time that it usually is for me, it quickly threw me into a full fledged panic attack. Unorganized kitchens with not so clean pots and pans, weird smells, other people's food, etc. Ugh it was pretty bad. So anyway, now I have a place of my own again and I get to enjoy my favorite activity in peace each and every day.
It's been a long time. So no major plans yet for a diet. Although I'm sure there will be one soon. But for now I just want to get back into the habit of food journaling. Need to start slow.

Here's what was on the menu for today:

11:00am - 1:00pm:
Snacked on Tostitos and jalapeno cheese dip.
**Very unhealthy, I know, but YUM. Who doesn't love cheese dip?

2:30pm:
Starbucks Americano with a splash of half & half and nonfat milk. And Splenda.

3:30pm:
Salad... Spinach, tuna (mixed with miracle whip light and dijonnaise,) cherry tomatoes, and feta.
Dressing: olive oil, rice wine vinegar, balsamic vinegar (just a splash) and lemon juice. Pretty much my go-to salad dressing for anything.

5:30pm:
Chocolate chip cookie. Thanks a lot Celia.
**Chocolate chip cookies are basically irresistible to me. Like, it's absolutely impossible for me to say no to a chocolate chip cookie. No matter what. Well, unless it has nuts in it. In which case, keep that shit as far away from me as possible. Thanks.

7:30pm:
Honey mustard chicken:
1/2 cup honey, 1/2 cup Brummel & Brown butter, 1/4 cup Dijonnaise, and a dash of pepper. Mix all ingredients together and pour over chicken. Bake at 375 for 45 mins, basting frequently.
Super easy recipe and very delicious. And according to my calculations, which may not be the most accurate but you know, the recipe (if made with 4 chicken breasts) should only have around 305 calories per chicken breast.

Couscous with toasted pine nuts.
Just right out of the box. I highly recommend keeping this in the house at all times. It makes a great side dish for any meal. Great as-is from the box but there is also a ton of very easy way to make it your own. Adding sun dried tomatoes and feta is one of my faves.

Creamed Spinach:
Ok this one is still in the experimental phase so I wont post a real recipe until I get it right. The one I made tonight was decent but it needs a little fixing. I'll keep you updated on this one. I'm excited that I thought of it though. I might have to start cooking with spinach more often. It's so easy and so good for you.

That's it for today my friends. I will hopefully be posting regularly throughout the week so check back often please!
Oh and tomorrow I have a pretty fun new diet gadget to report about so make sure to come back for that.
Thanks for reading. See you soon!

Update

To the few who still click on my blog every once in a while, here is the update:
Due to my abnormal work schedule I have now, I am currently on blog hiatus. Writing this blog has quickly become one of my favorite things to do and I miss it dearly. But since I don't have the time or money to cook or grocery shop or eat healthy right now I just haven't felt particularly inspired to write anything. No one wants to hear about how many times a week I totally give in and order orange chicken at Panda Express and then feel disgusting after. I spend 4 days a week eating lean cuisines and/or really terrible mall food court food. There is no joy in that. I love food way too much to be living like this. But it wont be forever. I will have a pretty and clean kitchen to cook in again someday. And when I do I'll be back and better than ever. The world will be reading this blog! And I'll be a millionaire!! Yay yay yay!
But until then I am officially taking a break. Thanks for reading. I'll be back - promise.

Done.

hi again.
update: for the sake of my sanity i have decided not to weigh myself any more this week. i am officially claiming my bday weight loss plan as a defeat. that's just the way it goes. not every plan works out and you don't achieve every goal you set out to. i'm not happy about it but i need to put it behind me now. the reason i have decided to stop today instead of going until sunday is that i already know what the result will be on sunday. and if i waited until then there is a really good chance i'd be in a bad mood for my bday and we can't have that.
so the plan is to enjoy the next few days as much as possible and get back on track next week after my bday. what i will need to do next week is figure out a way to get out of this plateau that i am in right now. so if anyone has any suggestions that would be great. i think i may need to set up a strict diet plan for maybe like 2 or 3 weeks. just something to get me back to losing.
well that's all. no more crazy person rants for now. at least not until next week when i realize i gained 10 lbs this weekend =)

I Hate Everyone

Including today I have 5 days until my bday. Last week I had said I wanted to lose 4 more lbs before my bday. Well it's been 5 days since then and I think I've been doing a pretty good job. However the scale does not agree with me. Somehow I am up 1 lb today. Awesome.

Ok so here are my thoughts on this. For the most part it's just really frustrating and makes me mad and makes me want to give up. Like, I'm sorry did my body just forget to notice that I went to the gym, the place I hate most in life, 5 miserable days in a row last week?? Um, hello? And as far as eating goes I've been pretty good I think. Not perfect - but certainly better than the week before. So that on it's own should give me at least a pound or two, right?

I feel like one of those fat people on the Biggest Loser who sometimes gain weight one week instead of losing. Like how the hell do you gain weight on the Biggest Loser?? All you do is work out! For like 6 hours a day! What is wrong with you people????

I talked about dealing with plateuas before. To be honest I thought that by adding in the gym to my already pretty good diet that would help kick me out of this phase. Guess not.

On the other hand... well there's not much in this hand but here's what I've got. There is a really good chance that I'm retaining some water this morning. Every meal I ate yesterday was fairly salty. Especially the 2 small snacks I had last night instead of dinner. So you guys should all know how much of an effect that has on the scale for me. So... maybe that can account for the additional pound - maybe 2 pounds. Maybe.

Other than that I'm just pissed. Oh and while I'm at it - you know what else I'm pissed about? I'm pissed about the fact that I am living in a house where I can't control what shows up in the kitchen. Like some days I come home and there's a box of glazed donuts sitting on the counter. And other days, like yesterday, there is a pint of Ben and Jerrys Half Baked Ice Cream in the freezer. Some things I can resist. Like so far I've managed to resist the donuts - not sure how but I have. However, I happen to think that Half Baked ice cream is one of the most delicious things ever made on this planet. And if I had nothing to worry about I would eat it all day everyday while sitting on the couch and watching tv. That's basically heaven to me. So no - I can't resist the ice cream. I had a bite of it yesterday. ONE bite. I promise. And even though I don't think that it had anything to do with the extra pound today it just makes me mad that I even have to put up with shit like this in my own house. Oh wait I forgot, I'm not living in my own house. That's right. I'm living with my mom, her boyfriend (he's to blame for the ice cream) and his daughter. And not only does fat people food show up in my house but my healthy diet food always disappears. I CANNOT LIVE LIKE THIS ANYMORE. SOMEONE GET ME OUT OF HERE.

Ok I'm done. Miss Wilde... I may be taking you up on your Apple Cider Vinegar trick. Cause with the way this week is going, if I dont lose at least one more pound before Sunday, I'm not showing up to my bday. I'll let you know how it works out.

Yay I reached 1000 page views!!! Thanks for reading everyone.

So far so good on the diet/exercise plan this week. I went to the gym for the 5th day in a row today. I mean anyone who knows me understands how unheard of that is for me. I hate the gym. Even just one day there is one too many for me. But I don't really have a choice.

Anyway that's the update for now. I haven't had a chance to weigh myself though cause I haven't been by my scale first thing in the morning for a few days now. I think I mentioned this before - I NEVER weigh myself unless it's first thing in the morning - after I pee and before I drink any water. Otherwise it's totally off. I mean, hello?

Ok that's all. 9 more days til my bday! Yay me!!

It's Crunch Time

Hi Friends! Still here I promise.
Not much time today so I'm getting right to the point. I have 11 days until my 26th birthday. What that means is we're stepping it up into high gear. Last week was not great. And last weekend was even more not great. But that's all in the past now. This Monday I got back on track and as of this morning I'm basically back to where I was before last week. So no big deal there. But I really do want to lose just a few more pounds before the bday. I totally think I can do it. So far this week has been great. I've been to the gym 3 days in a row now and my eating is good. I'm working a ton over the next 10 days which isn't fun but pretty good for the diet. So the plan is pretty simple. Eat less and go to the gym as much as possible. No fancy diet plans or anything. So for those of you who are here in San Diego - your support is much appreciated. And when you see my on my bday feel free to tell me how great I look. Just kidding! But not really.
Ok that's all the time I've got. I'll try to check in again in a few days and let you know how I'm doing.
Oh... and I'm like 15 page views away from 1000 on my blog!!! Woo hoo! Let's do this.

I'm Tired

The story of my life these days can be summed up pretty easily: I'm tired. It's just how I'm feeling all the time. Anyway that being said I don't have anything new and exciting to tell you guys so I'll just stick to the basics. Here's what I ate today:

11:00am: Costco Falafel Balls, Cucumbers, Tomato, and Hummus
** Very delicious lunch or breakfast or whatever. I used Sabra hummus which is soooo good. You can buy it in most grocery stores. I just used the original flavor but all the other ones are great too. Roaster Red Pepper, Sun Dried Tomato, Garlic, etc.

4:15pm: Frozen Yogurt
** Since I had to move out of my beloved little home in Little Italy I've had to find some new fro yo spots. I've been to a lot in San Diego and I still think Yogurtland is #1. Some have come pretty close but none of the others are quite as delicious, cheap, and just overall perfect. Today I went to Del Mar Swirls. For the most part is was great. Good flavors (not as many as Yogurtland) and not too expensive. My only real complaint was the cups. I like my frozen yogurt cups to be a little bit wider. Like not so much tall but wider in circumference. Does that make sense? See if it's wider I can put all 3 of my flavors (I usually get 3) next to each other and mix them when and how I want to. BUT with the taller cups I pretty much have to put all the flavors on top of each other and then I'm just eating each one on its own. SO anyhow.. that was the only issue. Otherwise I was quite happy. My flavor combo today was: plain tart (always,) espresso, and cookies & cream. And chocolate sprinkles on top. YUM.

7:30pm: Roasted Vegetable Wrap w/ Baba Ganoush
** This tasty dinner was courtesy of my home away from home - Trader Joe's. They have a great selection of wraps, sandwiches, salads, etc. Some are better than others when it comes to calories. This one was 390 calories - kind of high on the fat - 12g - which is why it ends up being 8 pts. But anyway - it was very good and pretty filling I think.

It's now 9:30 or so and I was thinking about having another snack before bed but to be honest I'm just too tired to go all the way downstairs and deal with that. Maybe my exhaustion will be good for my diet. OR maybe these are just the early signs of swine flu. Can we do something about this whole thing please? I mean swine flu, really? It sounds terrible and kind of disgusting actually.

Anyway... that's all for me today. It's way past my bedtime.

Yummy Foods

Last night as I was driving home from work I got a surprise invite to sushi for dinner. It's 100% impossible for me to turn down sushi especially when it's being paid for by my wonderful mother. So anyway, we went to a little local spot near our house where the sushi chef knows us all by name. That's always the best way to go. No menus anywhere in sight. We hardly have to say a word before our guy starts preparing a huge plate of sashimi for us. The fish was fresh and delicious. I know we had some Toro (tuna belly,) Yellowtail, Octopus, and then a few others that I didn't know the names of but was instructed to eat without asking any questions. Everything was great. This really isn't the type of place where you'd order any fancy schmancy rolls. You're not gonna get a gigantic dynamite roll where the rice and heavy mayo sauce outweigh any actual fish. I did at one point request just a simple spicy tuna roll and he reluctantly made it for me. It was also quite delicious. 

Anyway the point of that whole sushi story was to explain the reason why when I weighed myself this morning and was up another .5 lbs I didn't panic. As I've mentioned before I always always always retain water after eating lots of sodium aka sushi. So in conclusion - no big deal. Ready to have a good day!

Breakfast: Starbucks Spinach, Roasted Tomato, Feta, and Egg Wrap

** My little sister works at Starbucks and she brings homes stuff from there all the time. Not all locations have this one but I highly highly recommend it when you can find it. It's a great low cal, on the go, breakfast choice. Only 240 calories - 5 WW pts. And very yummy.

Lunch: Rum Jungle Acai Bowl

** I haven't had one of these in a long time and I totally forgot how great it is. Acai was all the rage a little while ago. It's high in antioxidants and supposed to have all kinds of health benefits. The bowl is made with: acai berry smoothie, mixed berries, banana, granola, and topped with a little bit of honey. I've been trying to look up the nutrition info for these bowls but I couldn't really find anything exact. From what I read my guess is the bowl has around 400-500 calories. Seems a little bit high but for a full meal that is still really good for you I think it's fine. You shouldn't really compare this to fro yo but for some reason I kind of feel like I need to. You eat it out of a cup and it's cold and covered in toppings. And delicious. It's higher in calories but it can totally be eaten as a meal whereas fro yo - eh not so much. Anyway it's super good and I'm glad I rediscovered it. 

Oh and for my local San Diegoans... I think Rum Jungle is probs the best spot for an Acai Bowl. They have 2 locations - one in PB and one in Sorrento Valley. Aside from the bowls they make great smoothies, sandwiches, wraps, salads, etc. Definitely check it out! CLICK HERE for their menu and location info.

Well so far that's been it for me today. After writing this long winded post I am pretty much starving. The 2 Chalupa meal from Taco Bell is screaming my name but I'm going to resist and find something healthy - or at least healthier than Taco Bell - to have for dinner. 

Fun at Costco

Thanks to my wonderful friend who has been successfully dieting with me since I began this little journey I have made some great food finds recently that I would love to share with you guys.
They all come from the one and only..... COSTCO! Yay!! We all love Costco, right? I mean who doesn't love coming home with toilet paper to last you a year? Or a bottle of ketchup big enough to kill someone? And obvi we only go on a Saturday or Sunday, right? Um hello... Samples!! What fun. But dieters beware: just because you may not be "counting" that tiny little bite of burrito which was followed by a little bite of a pancake covered in syrup which was followed by a cracker covered in goat cheese.... does not mean that your ass isn't counting it too. Let me tell you something - it is.
Ok back to the food. I've always been a fan of Costco for dieting. You can buy a lot of good healthy food for less. And since you're buying so much of it you'll have it for longer which means no excuses about not having any healthy food at home for longer too. My go-to's there are: Lean Cuisines (obvi,) frozen chicken breast, egg beaters (freeze the ones you're not using and swap them out into the fridge so you'll always have them - thanks lauren), frozen fish fillets, Cedarlane Lowfat Beans, Rice, & Cheese Frozen Burritos (5 pts each - good late night food,) and there are more but of course I'm blogging on a pretty tight schedule these days so I don't have as much time to go through it all. BUT my new items are quite delicious and very worthy of my precious blogging time. So here:
Asian Cucumber Salad
** 1 pt per serving - which I think is around 1 cup approx. It's super low in calories so I wouldn't worry about this one. Great snack on it's own or also as a side to a full meal. Maybe grill some terriyaki chicken and throw it over the salad? Or have it as a side with your TJ's shrimp potstickers? Possibilities are endless here.
Tricolor Chickpea Salad
** I think this one is a little bit more. Maybe 2 pts for 1 cup. A good filling salad. Goes well with the falafel balls below!
VeggiePatch Falafel Chickpea Balls
**1 pt each and totally delicious. Just heat them up in the microwave and eat. Put them on a salad or buy some Flatout Pita Wraps (90 cals each) or Western Alternative Pitas and make yourself a little sandwich.
Mmmm I'm getting hungry just thinking about all that yummy food. So all 3 are premade foods and are all basically ready to eat. Can't go wrong.
Well there you have my mini Costco guide. Hope you liked it!

Oh and about me... well last Thursday I hit a very exciting goal... 10 lbs!! Hooray!!! I am so so happy about it but need to keep it going! I had a pretty indulgent weekend so when I finally weighed myself this morning being up .5 lbs was not too shocking. But to be honest I expected a lot worse. Half a pound is nothing! So I'm back on track this week eating well and trying to make it to the gym.

My birthday is coming up soon so I think that could be my next goal point to make it to. Right now I would like to say 5 lbs by May 24 - but that may be tough. We're getting to one of those plateau phases where I am going to really need to push hard to lose more. Sigh... life is tough. We'll see.

Anyway, thanks for checking in again! Hope everyone is staying healthy!! See you soon =)

Oh my gosh I almost forgot something super important. Everyone must go out and buy the new Hungry Girl Cookbook!! It is full of really great recipes and guess what?? They are ALL under 200 calories! Can you believe it? She is pretty great. CLICK HERE if you want to order one from online. Or you can get off your ass and go buy one in the stores. =)

Happy Holidays!

Things are still on track for the most part. I am still down around 8-8.5lbs. I haven't had the best last few days which means I'm not really losing anything but just maintaining. I'm getting pretty antsy to hit the 10 pound mark though so I need to step it up here soon.
Tomorrow night is the fist night of Passover and we'll be hosting a Seder at my house. For those who don't know - Passover is the one where we don't eat bread for a week. It's basically like going on a low carb diet. After tomorrow I should be pretty good diet wise. I'll spend the week eating some - not too much, matzah, lots of veggies, eggs, lean meat, etc. For the diet that goes over pretty well. Tomorrow night though may be a tough one. When my mom cooks and everyone gets together it's easy to over eat and over drink. But whatevs, it's a holiday and I say I'm allowed.

So for all my fellow Chosen Ones - I wish you all Chag Sameach!!! Oh and I'll be sharing some yummy low cal Maztah Brie and Matzah Pizza recipes this week so stay tuned.

And for the rest of you... enjoy your fatty cadbury eggs this week. Just kidding I actually LOVE cadbury eggs. Like I could probably eat them all day. Anyway if you are going to be enjoying any of those delicious and creamy chocolate eggs - please know that you are taking in 170 calories and 6 grams of fat for each one. Which, on it's own, actually isn't too bad. So if you are nothing like me and have any sort of self control, enjoy one egg and then walk away!

Sorry bout the weird Easter tangent. I'm done now. See you soon!

Weekend Dieting - Or not.

My last visit with my good pal, the scale, was on Thursday morning. Still sittin' pretty at -8.5lbs. Well since then let's just say I've been less than perfect when it comes to eating. So I made an executive decision. In order to enjoy my weekend I am NOT going to weigh myself until Monday morning. Sunday will be a good day to make up for any major mishaps that have occurred in the last 48 hours and are still to come today and tonight.
Anyway, I'll leave you with a quick list of what I've been consuming over the last few days....

Kashi Bar
Banana Smoothie
HUGE Chicken Salad
Fro Yo
2 slices of Pizza
More salad
A various assortment of potato chips
Some sort of delicious orzo edamame salad
Etc...

It may not seem that bad, but trust me, it wasn't good. But not to worry, I'll be back on track by tomorrow for sure.

The question now is... will I keep track of how many drinks I have today/tonight? Hmm.. probs not.

Hi everyone! Unfortunately I have been so so busy lately and my poor blog had to suffer. But I'm back in action now. And even though I wasn't able to blog about it - Part 2 of my challenge has still been going on. I had mentioned before that I like to weigh myself everyday despite everyone's warnings against it. Well... my beloved scale was packed away for a few days so I couldn't keep track lately. I'm sure you can imagine the agony I was in. Finally yesterday I was able to unpack it and with much anxiety weigh myself to see the progress I had made since last week. I am very happy to report that I am officially down 8.5 lbs since I first began my diet! Yay me!! Phew... what a huge relief! So that leaves me with only .5 lbs to lose before next Wed. Seems pretty do-able I think. I need to make sure not to do anything disastrous this weekend. If I can make it though that then I should be good to go for Wed.

Here was the menu from yesterday:

9:00am: Handful of Pretzel Sticks

1:00pm: Wahoos Banzai Chicken Bowl
** Wahoos is a great fast food type mexican place. Kind of like Rubios but better I think. Except for my WW staple, Rubios Health Mex Chicken Salad. Mmmmm...
Anyway... The Banzai bowl has grilled veggies, chicken, brown rice, beans, and salsa. It is quite delicious and quite filling as well. I wouldn't go as far to call this a low cal meal. But it has healthy stuff in it and was very high in fiber I'm sure. The bowl itself is rather large and even though my lunch partner could not finish hers I will gladly admit that I got through about 90% of mine.
I think it's good to sometimes eat your biggest meal in the middle of the day rather than for dinner. I know that this is easier said than done but I'm starting to realize that for dieting purposes it really helps. I have also been trying to eat my dinners earlier in the night when I can. I know it's not always possible but it's just good to keep in mind every once in a while.

4:45pm: Yogurtland Frozen Yogurt (w/sprinkles obvi)
** Yeah that's right. You heard me. Fro Yo for dinner. I can't think of anything better.

So that was my whole day yesterday. I know it may seem a little bit strange but my lunch filled me up so I really wasn't too hungry until much much later. And when you get home at 10 it's easy to just get right in bed instead of eating. Well actually that's not really true. In my fantasy world where I can eat whatever I want and not gain any weight, I would have stopped at Taco Bell on my way home and picked up my favorite 2 Chalupa meal to eat as soon as I got home. Sigh... only in my dreams.

Well anyway I am definitely going to try and keep up with posting as often as possible. Especially cause I know you're all DYING to see how I'm doing.
Oh and I should have the workout song list up pretty soon too. Need to get back to working out. Ugh.

Ok I'll see you all soon! I hope not sporadically!

Wait one more thing... I just checked and tomorrow will officially be 1 month from when I first started doing this. Not the blog but the diet, challenge, whatever. 8.5 lbs in 4 weeks - not too bad huh. I wonder how much more I can lose in the next 4. =)

Part 2 Day 2

Well... big shocker. I gained 1.5lbs. After yesterday I really am not surprised. I have been playing this dieting game for over 10 years now and I have a pretty good idea of how my body responds to certain foods. I think the 2 guilty culprits from yesterday were the 711 sushi (i still love you though) and the chicken. While you would think the chicken was the most innocent thing on my menu I used a lot of salty seasoning for it. So with the high sodium from that and the high sodium soy sauce i just HAVE to pour all over my sushi - the 1.5lbs makes sense. Glad I figured that one out! Now I'm off to go find Carmen San Diego.
Game plan for today: eat very little and drink TONS of water.

9:00am: Tuna & Garbanzo Beans Salad (kind of)
** So I'm getting ready to move out of my apt in a few days which means no grocery shopping. This was a haphazard meal put together with whatever I could find. In case this sounds good to any of you - although I'm almost sure it doesn't - here's what I used for this one:
1 Can of Tuna
1/2 Cup of Garbanzo Beans
Pickle Relish
Splash of Light Rice Vinegar
Dijonnaise
Light Miracle Whip
Dash of S&P

5:00pm: Lean Cuisine

There you have my day. I know it sounds a little minimal but let's be honest here, I'm not wasting away or anything.
And btw, I did violently search through my purse at work for some extra change to get a bag of chips or something but I had no luck. Relax... they would have obvi been Baked Lays.

*** Since I am posting this on Friday morning I can happily report that 1.5lbs is now gone. Yay!! Mission accomplished. =)

Part 2, Day 1

Part 2 started off for me in kind of a less exciting way than Part 1. I sorta forgot all about it until later in the day. I guess this is why long term dieting is so hard. We, well I, get bored. I get the instant gratification from losing the first few pounds and then it just starts to get kind of... blah. Need to figure out a way to get past that phase and keep pushing forward. Sigh....

I decided on a goal weight for the next 2 weeks. As of this morning I am 2 lbs away from that goal weight (I was 3 lbs away last Friday.) I kind of have a feeling though that I may be back to being 3 lbs away after my poor performance today. =/

9:00am: WW Blueberry Muffin

1:30pm: Half Chicken Salad & Half Greek Chicken Wrap - St. Tropez Bakery
** Yum. This was a great lunch after a very nice walk along Hwy 101 with my diet/exercise partner extraordinaire. For anyone in San Diego I highly recommend this spot for breakfast and/or lunch. http://www.sttropezbistro.com/
Although a warning to anyone on a diet with a sweet tooth - try to avoid going near the bakery case. You will be very tempted with the delicious looking pastries and things in there. I am proud to say that today we resisted the temptation =)

5:00pm: Yogurtland Frozen Yogurt
** After a somewhat rough day (not including the walk) I decided that I needed some fro yo to make me feel better. Sprinkes are like therapy. What? It's better than going to get blacked out or something! Geez.

6:30pm: 711 Sushi
** So this is when things start to get a bit out of control. I was forced to go to 711 because SOMEONE (not me) had to have mac & cheese for dinner and we were out of milk. So once I was there I spotted my favorite quickie sushi on the shelf and I just could not resist. I'm weak, I know.

7:30pm: Fiber Gourmet Mac & Cheese and Chicken
** I told you I was out of control. I was pretty full at this point and really didn't need to eat anything else for the night. But once again SOMEONE was hungry and had to have it. So I slaved over the stove like I was some sort of 1950's housewife and made that someone his dinner. Once it was all done I had to have at least some. I didn't take a huge portion or anything but I just didn't need to have it in the first place. Oh well.

So that was Day 1 of Part 2 of my diet, challenge, whatever. Not great by any means. But life goes on. Tomorrow will definitely be a good day. Gotta stay positive, right?

**BTW that someone up there goes by the name of Tim. And I was totally kidding. I can't blame him for my bad decisions. Although I can definitely blame him for those cheese fries a few days ago. C'mon pal.

Hello I'm Still Here!!

Hi Again!
I decided to give myself a little break from the diet and from having to report everything I eat. It was nice but I'm ready to get back. With the great results of my first challenge I've decided to keep it going. Not to downplay my success or anything but anyone who is a regular dieter like I am knows that the first few pounds you lose are always the easiest. As long as you do a diet right you'll always drop something right away. It's the next part that is the hardest. So to keep up with a realistic weight loss plan I have decided to make my next goal 3 lbs in 2 weeks - starting tomorrow. Well actually the goal is to lose 3 lbs from where I was at on Friday. So if I start tomorrow 1 lb up then I have to lose 4 lbs. Make sense? Aside from an unfortunate incident with some cheese fries a few days ago I've managed to avoid any major disasters during my break so hopefully I'll be in good shape tomorrow.

Back to business....

9:30am: Scrambled Eggs w/ Fat Free Cheese
** Blah blah boring. Had to use real eggs cause I haven't been able to go grocery shopping lately and it's all I had. Turns out I'm much better at cooking with Egg Beaters than I am with real eggs. Kinda sad huh?

11:00am: V8
** I have a slight obsession with V8. It's like if I see it in front of me I have to drink it. Like it's out of my control. I kind of feel the same way about tomato juice but I think I like V8 better. Unless I'm on a plane - then it's tomato juice all the way.

3:30pm: Lean Cuisine Pizza
** I came home absolutely starving. My lame 2 scrambled eggs breakfast didn't do too much for me. So I picked the biggest Lean Cuisine I could find in my freezer. I love these pizzas. They're also pretty great for late night drunk eating.

4:00pm: Bush's Veggie Baked Beans
** Soooo I was still hungry after the pizza. Geez. These beans are pretty good. High in fiber, etc. Probably should've waited a little while for that pizza to kick in but oh well.

7:30pm: Half of a Chicken Salad from Baja Fresh
** Pretty light. Lettuce, chicken, salsa, and tortilla strips.

So that's it for today. Hopefully my little midday binge doesn't hurt me too much on the scale tomorrow. We'll see.

The Results

6 pounds lost in 2 weeks.
Done and done.
My next challenge will officially begin next Wed....

Day 14!!

This is it. Today is the final day of my 5 lb challenge. My official weight today is X-6lbs!! Yahoo! If I can keep this up for one more day it will be a great start for my soon to come next challenge.

11:30am: Homemade Cottage Cheese with an Apple
** YUM. One of my most favorite snacks/meals ever. I have this with regular low fat cottage cheese too. 1 apple, cottage cheese, and splenda.

2:30pm: Fiber Gourmet Pasta & Chicken Salad
** Canned chicken, Fettuccine, Miracle Whip, Relish, S&P....

8:30pm: TJ's Chicken Wontons & Brown Rice
** Another success from TJ's frozen food aisle

I'm a little bit worried about my final weigh in tomorrow. I know that even if it goes up a bit it's still ok. I didn't eat badly today but I feel like just to ensure a good result tomorrow I should've stayed away from the carbs and sodium a little bit more. BUT like I said, I will be totally ok no matter what it says tomorrow. I feel good about my progress and I'm excited to keep it going.

There will certainly be quite a few obstacles coming up for me over the next few weeks. First and foremost is money. Having none is an obstacle on it's own but having none while you're trying to eat healthy is a whole different story. I easily drop over $200 every time I go grocery shopping. Well at least every time I go grocery shopping my way. There are ways around spending a fortune on food and even though I hate doing it I'll figure it out.
My next obstacle is called March Madness. Don't ask me how I ever got involved with anything sports related but turns out it's so much fun! I think it has to do with being able to print out my bracket and carry it around with me at all times. And even though for the 2nd year in a row I had nothing to do with filling out my own bracket I still take full pride in "my" picks. And I'm pretty sure I'm gonna win. Ok so anyway... the obstacle here is that watching basketball pretty much always equals sitting at a bar and drinking like a thousand beers. Not so diet friendly. But on the bright (kinda) side, with my TWO new jobs I wont be able to watch all the games. So even though it wont be as much fun as last year, at least I wont totally screw up the diet.
Well there are a few more changes coming up for me that could make this tough but nothing I can't handle.

Thanks for reading. See you soon! =)

I am Jessie Spano

I'm super behind on posting. Turns out you have a lot less time to do stuff you like once you get a job. Especially one where you don't get to play on the internet all day. Sigh.....

Well just to keep all of you up to date... I am officially down 5 lbs! Yay yay yay!! My 5 lb challenge ends on Friday so the goal for the next 4 days is to keep it off.

I should be able to post for real by Thursday, maybe tonight, I don't know. There's just NO TIME! There's never any time!! I tried looking for that video btw but I didn't really have time. See... there's no time! Ok you get it. See you soon!!!!

Day 8

Day 8 Weight: X-4.5 lbs

I made it through the first week of my 5 lb challenge. Yay! Seeing that I was down 4.5 lbs this morning was a great feeling. I know some people think it's crazy to weigh yourself everyday. Most trainers/nutritionists/etc don't think it's a good idea either. For me, especially when I'm trying to lose weight, I think it helps. When I start my day off with a good number on the scale (like today) it motivates me to keep going! Like why would I screw it all up today with a bad day when I'm doing so well? On the other hand when I start my day off with not such a good number on the scale it motivates me to keep going too! It's a good kick in the ass reminder that maybe I wasn't so good the day before and now is the time to get back on track before I ruin it all.

So another Friday is upon me. I think today will be a good day. No plans for happy hours or any other major obstacles that could get in my way. I am scheduled to work all weekend so that will help out as well. It also happens to be St. Patty's Day weekend and I think I owe to myself to celebrate a little as well. We'll see what happens.

10:00am: 1 piece of toast (Sara Lee) with Trader Joe's Egg White Salad
** This is a really good option for a quick and light breakfast. The Egg White Salad from TJ's is another one of my faves. It comes in 2 flavors - Egg White & Chive and Ranchero. Both are delicious. The Ranchero has a little bit more flavor so I usually eat that one first. You can always add some more seasoning to them if you find them bland. The entire container has only 100 calories in it and is super high in protein. I would highly recommend buying one or both of these if you are looking for a good low cal snack. There's nothing better than being able to eat an entire container of something and still know you only had 100 calories max.

12:00pm: Cobb Salad w/balsamic vinaigrette dressing
** Chicken, eggs, avocado, tomatoes, carrots, mozzarella cheese.
I made sure not to eat the entire salad so I could leave room for some fro yo. I didn't get any yesterday so I'm craving it more than ever right now.

3:30pm: FRO YO!!
** It was even better than I thought it was going to be. I am quite happy right now. And for the record I made sure to pick the lowest calorie flavors. I did break down and add some chocolate and rainbow sprinkles to it BUT I looked it up and it turns out sprinkles are not really that bad! Only around 35 calories for a tablespoon. They do have a lot of sugar which isn't too good but who cares - it was delicious.

7:30pm: Broccoli & Chicken Pasta in a Mozzarella Cheese Sauce
** This was a meal put together by only using ingredients I already had in the kitchen. I borrowed some ideas from other recipes I had and just gave it a shot. Turned out to be quite good I think! Here's what I used:
Fiber Gourmet Fettuccine
Broccoli
Chicken Breast
Cherry Tomatoes
Fat Free Mozzarella Cheese/Parmesan/Feta
Half & Half
Garlic, Garlic Powder, Vegeta, EVOO, S&P, Cayenne Pepper
For a meal that sounds like it should be super high in calories but isn't, I think it was quite a success. I will definitely make it again. Possibly using Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Breeze instead of half and half. That will save a lot on the calories and will still taste great. I think any cheese would work for this recipe. I just happened to have a bunch of fat free mozzarella. Goat cheese (my fave), blue cheese, gorgonzola, etc... would all probably be just as good.

I had a pretty good Friday I think. I ate good food without ruining my diet. I do sometimes worry when I have a heavy-ish meal for dinner that it will lead to a gain on the scale the next day. I tried to make sure I didn't eat too too much for that reason. Either way I'll be ok. No diet panic attacks for this girl.

No Day But Today

I am happy to say that my reason for not posting yesterday was not because I was too tired or lazy or bitter. I was out seeing one of my favorite Broadway musicals of all time, Rent. It's an unbelievable feeling to see this show again after so many years. The music and lyrics of Rent have been burned into my brain since the first time I saw it. This time around was honestly better than I remember it. From the minute the show started to the minute it ended my emotions were all over the place - crying, laughing, remembering. One of the show's main messages is "No Day But Today." And after seeing it last night, I can't help but be inspired to live my life a little more like this everyday. No regrets about the past and no fears about the future. Live in the moment and live each day to the fullest.
I have digressed a bit from my intended blog theme. Let me see if I can tie this all together....
Living each day to the fullest to me means spending time, most importantly, with the people I love. No diet is worth giving up time with friends and family. For someone like me who tends to go a little far with dieting - that is an important reminder. However, I want to live a long and healthy life that I can enjoy. I want to feel good about myself. I want to stop wasting precious minutes of my life trying on one thing after the other just to find an outfit that fits. I never want to skip out on going to the beach again just because I am too afraid to be in a bathing suit. Pool parties are supposed to be fun. They are not supposed to induce a panic attack.
So in the end it comes down to balance. I need to focus on my ultimate goal but not lose sight of what is important in life. Find a way to stay on track without pushing your friends away. And for those of you who do not struggle with this as much as others, please remember to support your friends who do. We all love happy hours and nachos - yes. But sometimes going for a walk or cooking dinner at home is fun too.
So that's my transition from Rent to food. For an incredible description of someones experience with Rent (having nothing to do with food) please click here to read my incredibly intelligent and articulate friend Kayla's writing about it.

Wednesday:
Low Sugar Oatmeal
Healthy Choice Frozen Meal
Motts Healthy Harvest Applesauce
Leftover corn & rice & beans
Trader Joes Veggie Gyoza's
A few bites of a Lean Cuisine Frozen Meal

Thursday (so far):
Thai Chicken Salad
Jello Pudding Snack - 60 cal

Since I didn't post yesterday at all I'll go ahead and put this one up now. I'll have a regular full day tomorrow. As far as the rest of the day today goes I'm thinking of getting some fro yo at some point. Mmmmm. Dinner will be healthy. I think. ;)

Thanks for stopping by! See you tomorrow.

PS... Day 7 Weight: X-4lbs (yay!)

And I'm Back... Challenge Day 5

Day 5 Weight: X-4lbs

So I took a little break from posting for a couple of days. For one I was just a little bit tired (this is hard work you know, ) and secondly I was a kind of disappointed with the underwhelming response I got from my last post. I was really looking forward to getting your feedback on the workout songs. So either not as many people are reading this as I thought, or those of you who are reading are just too lazy to respond. Or maybe you guys just don't go to the gym? Either way I have decided to stop pouting and move on.
Thank you very very much to those of you who did take the time to help me out... Ms. Wilde, Tim, Lauren, and Anonymous. Your suggestions are all fabulous and I'll be thinking of you guys when I'm miserable at the gym. I'll have the new play list ready to post soon.

I started my new job this week and in terms of dieting I think it will be a very good thing. It has me on my feet all day and gives me no time to do any kind of mindless eating - which I tend to do when I'm at a desk all day long. We'll see how it goes, hopefully I am right.

1 piece of Rocky Mountain Toast (1 egg & low cal Sara Lee bread)

Persian Cucumbers w/Artichoke Tapenade
** Seems like a weird combo, I know. But I like to mix weird things. It's just a really quick and fresh snack.

Jello 60 cal Pudding Snack
Motts Healthy Harvest Blueberry Delight Applesauce
** These are both really good healthy snack options especially if you are looking for something sweet.

Chicken & Shrimp Fajitas, Red Beans & Rice, Corn
**The chicken fajitas were from none other than Trader Joes. This is another delight from the frozen foods section. You get the veggies, chicken, and seasoning all in one bag and, of course, it's all very healthy. I added in some shrimp too pretty much just for quantity. For the tortillas I used one of my WW staple items - La Tortilla Factory tortillas. The smaller size has around 50 calories and 8 grams of fiber. If you are dieting you need these tortillas! You can use them for anything... wraps, burritos, fajitas, etc.
The red beans and rice were one of those Knorr/Lipton Cajun Sides. It's not particularly low cal or anything but not bad at all as a side dish, especially if you are splitting with someone.
And the corn was from a can.. nothing too special there. I used a dash of cayenne pepper pretty much over everything in the meal just to give it an extra little kick. It all turned out great.

Thanks for reading! See you tomorrow. :0)

5 lb Challenge: Day 2

Day 2 Weight: X - 2.5 lbs

As much as I would like to, I cannot officially celebrate this as my halfway point. My body has a very quick reaction to, well to anything really. Basically my weight fluctuates by 2-3 lbs daily. So just depending on the next few days of eating I could potentially hit my goal early... but the real challenge is to keep it at that weight and then keep going for more. Does that make sense?
Nonetheless, losing 2.5 lbs is a great feeling! With that dreaded happy hour out of the way now I am feeling confident and ready to keep this up.

Just another thought about the diet. Because of my sort of extreme personality I usually tend to go for a much quicker type of weight loss. Like... it's Monday and I need to lose 10 lbs by Friday - that type of thing. We all know that the faster you lose the weight, the faster you will put it right back on. That's why fad diets are not really so good for you. They do not teach you a realistic long term way to eat. It's just a quick fix. Instant gratification.
Since I don't have any major events coming up right now there is no reason for me to go the quick fix diet route. I know I'll be better off in the long run by doing it this way. However, if anyone is looking for some quickie diets with great results let me know. I'll give you scoop.

10:00am: Egg Beaters Omelet w/Corn, Jalapenos, & Fat Free Feta

2:00pm: Handful of Pomegranate Arils (seeds)

4:00pm: Homemade Cottage Cheese w/ Persian Cucumbers & Cherry Tomatoes
** My wonderful mother is nice enough to make homemade cottage cheese for me once in a while. I think it's absolutely delicious and could probably eat it everyday if I had it.
I make this little salad with regular low fat cottage cheese too. The key is to season it with salt and pepper. It's a great and refreshing snack or meal. Great if you are looking for a light lunch.

5:00pm: A few slices of dried pineapple with chili

7:30pm: Artichoke Penne Pasta and Asparagus
** This pasta dish turned out quite delicious. It is made with Gerties Artichoke Tapenade from Costco. I found the recipe on the jar but made a few changes to lower the calorie count. It called for penne pasta, butter, parmesan cheese, and of course the tapenade. I used Fiber Gourmet Penne, Reduced Fat Parmesan, and Brummel and Brown Spread in place of the butter. Brummel and Brown is so good as a butter substitute. It's perfect for baking, cooking, whatever. And the stats are even better... 45 cals per serving.
I saute the asparagus in a pan with some olive oil cooking spray, lemon juice, garlic powder, and Vegeta Gourmet Seasoning. Right before I serve it I sprinkle with a little bit of Reduced Fat Parm.

9:00pm: Yogurtland Fro Yo
** I am very proud to say that I made this dessert as diet friendly as possible. I checked the nutritional info and picked the 2 of the flavors with lowest calories. Then I weighed it out to make sure I didn't get more than I needed. And of no toppings. I do love my chocolate sprinkles (rainbow ones too) but it was just as delicious without them - I promise. It came out to around 110 calories. Totally worth it.

I feel pretty good about my day today. I also got in a great workout thanks to my favorite trainer/bff. I do feel like I ate a little bit on the heavy side in the evening and it may show up on the scale tomorrow. Anyway, I'm not too worried.

One last thing... And this one is important so listen up!! I need to do a little makeover on my Ipod Shuffle and I need your help. I'm looking to put together a super motivating super fun workout mix. So please send me your favorite workout songs. Anything that will keep me on that treadmill just a few minutes longer. Post a comment, send me an email, facebook me, whatever! Once I have it all together I'll post it on here so that you guys can use it too if you'd like. Check out the video below if you need some inspiration. =)

I am depending on you guys so pleeeease don't let me down! Thank you thank you thank you!

Don't Say Diet

Waking up this morning I immediately started thinking of ways to justify pushing back my 2 week challenge. Just a few days... I'll start on Monday. No no no. I start a new job on Monday and the last thing I need is to be psycho about what I eat on my first day of work. Cause I'm always psycho on Day 1. Plus, I'm sick of starting diets on a Monday. This is why I made such a big deal about starting today... Friday! I am ridiculous. Ok I'm starting today. Happy hour is still up in the air. Ugh... life is tough.

So since the challenge was to lose 5 lbs in 2 weeks I need to make sure to document my weight daily.

Day 1: X lbs (you swear I'm posting my actual weight online. ha ha.)

Egg Beaters Scramble w/cheese, onions, and green peppers

Lean Cuisine Fettuccine Alfredo

Ok so I reluctantly agreed to go to happy hour with the promise of free drinks and a NO BURRITO support team at my side. Here's the damage:
3 Amstel Lights = 95 calories each; 2 WW Pts each
1 Shot of Patron = 105 calories
1 Vodka Soda = 100 calories
Southwestern Cobb Salad - Not a healthy salad. Probably could've gotten a burger for the same amount of calories. BUT I prefer salads most of the time and I only ate about 2/3 of it so hopefully that helped a bit.
3 Fries dipped in Ranch

Overall I think Day 1 was not a complete disaster. I guess we'll see what the scale says in the morning but I can tell you this much... It could have been A LOT worse. Like a lot.

At the end of the day, when push comes to shove, it is what it is.

Thursday

My day today began with an inspirational little chat with my one of my favorite dieting buddies. We have been dieting and exercising together probably since we were in our early teens. Having a good friend to pair up with while you're trying to lose weight is always a huge plus. Although I must say that as much as we motivate each other to stay on track, we tempt each other to cheat maybe even more. So maybe it's not a match made in diet heaven but I happen to think it's a whole lot more fun this way.
Despite the fact that this "friend" is trying to convince me to go to happy hour with her tomorrow, I think I may resist the urge and go with my plan to start my diet on Friday. And do you know what that means??? That means that today I get to eat anything I want! Fan-fuckin-tastic.

Nonfat Sugar Free Vanilla Latte
1/2 Bagel w/Cream Cheese
** This wasn't in the plan for the day. BUT it happened to show up in front of me so.. I caved.

NEW Healthy Choice All Natural Entrees Frozen Meal: Pumpkin Squash Ravioli
** When it comes to my frozen meals I'm pretty much Lean Cuisines all the way. I sometimes dabble in the WW Smart Ones but for the most part I'm all about the LC's - only when they're on sale of course. Healthy Choice meals for some reason have always been at the bottom of my list. Well, last time I was at the store I noticed what I thought was a new brand of frozen diet meals. Turns out it's the new packaging on the NEW Healthy Choice - All Natural Entrees. So I decided to give them a try. So far so good! This one was quite delicious. Similar to LC's Butternut Squash Ravioli but I think this one gives you more ravioli and less calories.

Leftover Green Beans & Brown Rice

Passion Fruit
** It's not just a Bath & Body Works scent... it actually is a fruit! My mom grows these in her backyard and is quite generous with them. Dee-lish.

Hebrew National 97% Fat Free Hot Dog w/Kraft 2% Cheese & Low Sugar Ketchup
** This snack comes from the days of Low Carb dieting. Although the Low Sugar Ketchup is new. It's made by Heinz. Ketchup is just one of those condiments you would never think of worrying about when you're on a diet but if you check the stats you'll see it's pretty high in sugar. The low sugar kind tastes just as good (i think) and saves you a little on the calories.

Spicy Pickle Turkey Panini
Spicy Pickle is about a block away from my place in Little Italy. They serve paninis, subs, salads, and soup. This place is good for a quick bite. They have really good turkey and just generally delicious ingredients. I also really like this place cause it reminds me of being in Colorado =)
My panini: Sausalito turkey, roasted red peppers, sundried tomatoes, pepperjack and chipotle mayo
So my dinner was good. Not diet good. But you know, good good. And overall my day was ok. I didn't do anything disastrous but I didn't do anything great either.

I am still being tempted to go to happy hour tomorrow. This is my eternal diet dilemma. Do I give in and go to happy hour, convincing myself the entire time that it doesn't mean I have to go off my diet when really everyone knows that the minute you start drinking it's only a matter of time before you say fuck it and end up eating a California burrito at 2am. OR do I proudly announce to the world that I am, once again, on a diet and unless you want to come get a salad with me then I'll just see you never? What's a girl to do? Sigh...

I Heart Trader Joe's

Light Yoplait Yogurt w/Lowfat Granola

Corn w/Lowfat Cheese
Bush's Baked Beans - Vegetarian
** I know these last 2 sound kind of strange. Sometimes I just really like eating canned food. It's quick and easy and I think it's delicious. Although not all agree so I'll just leave it at that.

Thai Shrimp Gyozas, Prig Khing Green Beans, and Brown Rice
** This was a delicious and healthy Trader Joe's dinner. If there is anyone left in the world who does not shop at Trader Joe's yet, stop what you are doing right now and go. I am a huge fan of this store. For some reason I think a few people group this store in with Whole Foods and assume it's just as pricey - but you couldn't be more wrong. Trader Joe's is some of the most affordable grocery shopping you can do. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE WHOLE FOODS but I can't quite afford it at the moment so I wont get into that right now.
Ok so back to TJ's. I would highly suggest that you start off by taking a stroll down the frozen foods aisle. It is nothing like the frozen foods you would find at a grocery store. It is SO much better. The food tastes better, is better for you, and is definitely cheaper. I just can't say enough.
The Thai Shrimp Gyozas and the Green Beans both came from TJ's frozen foods. I am obsessed with these gyoza's. I have been buying them for years. They come in veggie too. Super low in calories and WW Pts. This was my first time buying the green beans and as expected they were delicious as well. And then obvi the brown rice.. nothing special to report there.
Trader Joe's is always my go-to when whenever I throw a party, dinner party, etc. They have lots of dips and things like that. They've also got a lot of little hour d'oeuvres (that is weird word to spell) in the frozen section. Everything there is just so quick and easy to make you really can't go wrong.
A quick warning about TJ's though... If you buy any fresh produce or fruit there eat it right away. It will go bad quickly. I'm not sure what they do differently than regular grocery stores but I just know it's pretty much always the case. So don't buy more than you need.
Last thing and then I'm done. Don't leave the store without buying yourself at least 2 (or 6) bottles of Charles Shaw wine aka "Two Buck Chuck." No joke - it costs $1.99. It's not the best wine you'll ever have in your life but knowing that you only paid $1.99 for it makes it taste a whole lot better.

Oh yeah that reminds me... I did have some wine with dinner too. Maybe half a bottle or so?

Tuesday

I am starting to think that I may need something new to do. Something to shake things up - eating wise. Maybe like a little lose 5 lbs goal for myself? I didn't really feel like going on any sort of official diet right now but I don't know how much anyone really wants to read about me sitting around eating like a fat ass all day. So maybe just a quickie challenge. Lose 5 lbs in 2 weeks? That's do-able I think. I will think about it some more. Maybe do something really crazy like start it on Friday. I mean... who starts a diet on a Friday? Anyway... we'll see.

Breakfast Sandwich
** 2 pieces of low cal Sara Lee bread, 1 slice of 2% Kraft cheese, approx 1/3 cup of Egg Beaters, sliced tomatoes. Another delicious breakfast. Although I'm starting to think that I need to ease up on how much bread I've been eating lately - even though it is low cal and high fiber.

Went to one of my favorite local sushi spots for lunch. Sushi Fix. The greatest thing about Sushi Fix is that it's located in Little Italy (where I live) and is pretty much the only non Italian restaurant in the whole area. And since Sushi is my favorite food and Italian is least favorite food... well let's just say I'm very happy to have it there. And best of all they deliver. I mean sushi being delivered to my door is really something special.
Anyway, had a very nice lunch here with one my bff's, Lauren, after we went on a very long walk all along the harbor downtown. Between the two of us this is what we had:
- Fire Roll: Spicy krab with cucumber topped with spicy tuna
- Spicy Crunchy Cali Roll: California roll topped with crunchies, spicy and eel sauce
- Cucumber Salad
- Seaweed Salad
- Edamame
I can't really say we made the best choices possible on the rolls, at least not when it comes to dieting. But we didn't finish it all which is quite unusual for me when it comes to sushi. So maybe that made up for it. Probably not but oh well. I never regret a good sushi meal.

Mexican Candy
Ok.. so those who have known me since I was a kid know that this is yet another one of my "food" obsessions. Mexican candy is in no way good for you and I would not suggest that anyone start eating it. Although most people I know (other than a few and you know who you are) think that it tastes disgusting. It's not really that high in calories but it's just not good. It consists of a lot of sugar and chili powder and other unknown ingredients. I don't eat it all the time but when I come across some of my favorite kinds it's almost impossible for me to resist. So I'm just going to leave it at that.

Frozen Yogurt!
Yay I love love love fro yo! I love it all - sweet, tart, whatever. Yogurtland is one of my faves. I made sure to get a little bit cause I tend to go a little overboard when it's self-serve. I did, of course, top it with fresh strawberries and chocolate sprinkles. Mmmm.

A few bites of a Lean Cuisine Pizza

Dinner Salad
This is one of those times when I just dove into my fridge and used whatever I had that was fresh and close to going bad. Not bad yet - don't worry. But I hate throwing away food so I wanted to make sure I used what I had before I had to do that. Here is what I threw together:
Green Pepper
Orange Pepper
Persian Cucumbers
Tomato
Jalapenos
Corn
Grilled chicken strips tossed in buffalo wing sauce
Galeo's Miso Dressing - really good salad dressing. Great for a low cal coleslaw.

That's all I've got. See you later friends!

Uh-oh. Sounds like somebody's got a case of the Mondays

Since it's Monday I feel like I should have some sort of goals set for the week. I think I'd like to focus on getting to the gym this week as well as continuing to eat at home as much as possible. Maybe I should even say that I'm gonna try to not spend any money on food this week at all. Like no grocery shopping or anything. That'll be tough. Maybe impossible?

9:30am: Yoplait Light Yogurt & Low Fat Granola
** This is a really nice, really light breakfast. Comes out to 5 WW pts. I'm pretty picky about yogurt because I absolutely hate when there are pieces of fruit in it. So far Fiber One and Yoplait Light Thick and Creamy are my top two picks.

1:00pm: Leftover Lo Mein
** I decided it was best to save money by not throwing away my leftovers. Plus I went to the gym today so I figured that made it ok.

2:30pm: Skinny Cow Ice Cream Sandwich

4:00pm: Think Thin Bar
** This is a really good high protein energy type bar. It tastes like a candy bar and is actually good for you. All the flavors are delicious but my favorite is anything chocolate or peanut butter. I think it's got around 240 calories or so which makes for a pretty good small meal.
(Yes Sophy this came from your house. Can we consider it my payment for running your errands?)

5:00pm: Quite a few handfuls of Oriental Trail Mix
** This was not in my plan. I was stopping by my cute little local market, which I love even though it's over priced, for some milk. I couldn't help myself when I saw the trail mix because I just love it so so much. So, of course, as soon as I got home I just sat around and snacked on it. It's spicy and delicious. Yum.
(I guess my plan for not spending any money on food this week is shot. Oh well that didn't sound like much fun anyway.)

7:30pm: Amy's Organic Chunky Tomato Soup
** Yum Yum Yum Yum! I was so impressed with this soup. It's low sodium which usually means I'd have to add salt to it (which would kind of defeat the purpose of the low sodium thing.) Anyway, it did not need salt at all. It was very satisfying and only 5 WW Pts for the entire can. It has chunks of tomatoes in it which I think makes it so much better than regular tomato soup. I added some chopped up basil leaves and just a few shakes of low fat Parmesan cheese.
You can find Amy's soups in most grocery stores along with the other canned soups.

Now I must give credit where credit is due. I have always looked around online for good diet and food websites. There are a lot of great ones out there - especially if you're on Weight Watchers. About 4 years ago I stumbled upon a site that quickly moved to the top of my list of favorites and has kept that spot ever since. www.hungry-girl.com is a website and online newsletter which I subscribe to and rave about to anyone who will listen. It's as if the creator, Lisa Lillien, made this site just for me! She sends out daily emails with great tips and tricks for girls like me who love to eat.
A lot of the products and recipes that I use and love have come from Hungry Girl. She also has a great cookbook that is full of recipes as well as a ton of other fun tidbits about dieting and such. I would definitely recommend signing up for the emails as well as getting the book. The emails are free and the book is very reasonably priced. And she's got another book coming out very soon - April I think.
One more honorable mention and I'll be done for the day. For anyone out there on Weight Watchers a really good site to keep bookmarked is www.dwlz.com. Her name is Dottie and from the looks of the site she's been on WW since before I was born. But she's got almost everything covered when it comes to points. When I'm on WW I check this site all the time for restaurant points. She updates it often and has A LOT of restaurants on there. This is a very good resource for anyone who's counting.


Well it's time for me to switch my focus over to the highly anticipated season finale of The Bachelor. Aaaahhh who will he choose?

Thanks for reading! See ya soon. =)

Sunday Funday

After 2 nights of drinking, Sunday Funday takes on a a bit of a different meaning for me than it used to. It means a day to relax and enjoy. And a day to stay away from alcohol at all costs. I just can't hang like I used to, you know?
Just a quick non-food related note... I started my day off by laying at my pool (it was a really nice day here - 75 and sunny) for a bit and continuing my now rapidly growing obsession with reading Twilight. I am reading Twilight thanks to the very high recommendations it got from one of my best friends in life, Kayla, and from my lil sis Casey. I did go see the movie first which made it a bit difficult for me to read the book right after. But now it's been a while and I can confidently say that the movie was great but the book is much much better! Thanks for the tip on this one ladies.

9:00am: Light String Cheese

11:00am: Fiber Gourmet Rotini w/Olives and Marinara
** Pretty small portion of this. I think I only had about a cup of cooked Rotini left from last week.

1:00pm: Mango Chicken Salad from Zanzibar Cafe
** For any local San Diego-ans I highly highly recommend this restaurant. I've been going to Zanzibar since I was a kid when it first opened. There are 2 locations one in Pacific Beach and one in Downtown - East Village to be exact. They serve breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The food is always delicious and fresh. This is what was in my yummy salad:
MANGO CHICKEN SALAD: GRILLED CHICKEN BREAST, SLICED MANGO, CUCUMBER, JICAMA, GOAT CHEESE, ROASTED ALMONDS & SUN-DRIED CHERRIES, SERVED ON A BED OF MIXED GREENS WITH A SIDE OF SUN-DRIED CHERRY VINAIGRETTE
I mean seriously - how good does that look? Anyway, definitely check it out. www.zanzibarcafe.com


4:00pm Turkey & Pickle Sandwich
** Why am I so obsessed with this meal? Again it was made with my low cal Sara Lee bread, Light Miracle Whip, Oven Roasted Turkey, 1/2 of a pickle, and this time I threw in 1 slice of Kraft Cheese - 2% of course.

7:30pm: Sesame Chicken, Broccoli, White Rice, and Low Mein Noodles with Chicken & Shrimp
** Yes - we ordered Chinese delivery. I know this is not a diet friendly meal at all. I mean if I told you the WW Pts in just one serving of Sesame Chicken you would probably die. But like I said, I'm not trying to diet right now so no need to freak out. I still like to make good and healthy decisions when I eat, but sometimes you really just want Chinese delivery. So.
The real dilemma is this... what do I do with the leftovers in my fridge? Reheat them for lunch today (Monday) and have another not so diet friendly meal OR throw them away to avoid the temptation but feel bad about wasting food and money. Hm... any suggestions?
BTW.. if you're looking for good Chinese delivery in San Diego this is the spot. It's called China Too. They don't really have a website so I tracked down another site that's got their menu.
http://www.campusfood.com/restaurant.asp?campusid=527&mlid=244232

Well the weekend is finally over. Can't really say I did too much for my waistline over the last 3 days but at least I had a good time. Right?

I Need A Drink

And it's Friday. Which means less to me now than it once did. But sometimes I still pretend and treat it the same...

8:00am: Light String Cheese

9:00am: Fiber One Bar

10:30am: Leftover Rotini Pasta
** So I woke up really hungry today. Not in the mood for eggs so I just fished around for something else. The first two were good snacks but I was still hungry a bit later. I know some may find it odd that I'm eating pasta in the morning. But the truth is I can pretty much always eat dinner food for breakfast. I mean, I'd eat sushi first thing in the morning if I could.

1:30pm: String Cheese and Skinny Cow Ice Cream
** This is just one of those days when all I want to do is eat. So instead of making real meals I just eat random snacks. It's not very good. But this is precisely the reason why I buy all this "diet" food. That way when I'm having one of these days I know I'm at least better off than running over to Jack In The Box and getting a Jacky's Spicy Chicken sandwich with curly fries and buttermilk ranch dipping sauce. Right? Although that meal is just so delicious. It's unreal.

3:30pm: Kashi Bar

**Disclaimer: It is now Sunday morning. I am going to post as honestly as I can regarding the last day and a half. Or at least what I can remember =)**

The rest of the day on Friday consisted of the following meals and beverages:
5-6 Bud Lights
711 Sushi
1 glass of Champagne
Don't really want to remember how many shots of Vodka and Jagermeister (gross.)

Saturday:
Breakfast Burrito
1/2 of a BBQ Chicken Salad
A few bites of boneless buffalo chicken strips (YUM)
A bite of BBQ Chicken Pizza
(Hi Mike! Hi Tim! Did I get everything?)
String cheese
Broccoli w/ Kraft 2% slice of cheese
A couple pieces of turkey
About an entire bottle of red wine
Lean Cuisine Pizza

Wow. So there you have it. I know it's not very pretty but dammit I'm only human!

Eating In

Since I went to the grocery store yesterday and obvi purchased way more than I was supposed to, the goal for today is to eat all meals at home. With no job and almost nothing to do but job search, there really is no reason this should be a problem. Especially since I have a ridiculous amount of leftovers from last night. Like a lot.

8:30am: Egg Beaters Omelette w/Jalapenos & Reduced Fat Feta and a Persian Cucumber
** Delicious but somewhat small breakfast. I'll probably have some yogurt soon. A little tip for anyone watching their sodium intake... I almost always use Morton Lite Salt instead of real salt. It's got like 50% less sodium (or something close to that) than regular salt. Totally tastes the same and no one ever notices the difference when I use it in recipes. Very low pt meal. 2-3 pts.

1:00pm: Turkey & Pickle Sandwich; Israeli Salad
** I am stuffed. Such a good lunch. My sandwich was made with my low cal Sara Lee Bread, Light Miracle Whip, Dijonnaise mustard, oven roasted turkey, and a pickle.
My version of an Israeli Salad consists of: cherry tomatoes, Persian cucumbers, fat free feta. Dressing: EVOO (Extra Virgin Olive Oil - yes I watch Rachael Ray. I'm unemployed leave me alone.) So... EVOO, rice vinegar, lemon juice, and a splash of balsamic. Season with salt & pep.
Very satisfied. May even hold off eating again until dinner. Although I would love something sweet. After a salty meal like that I almost always want something sweet. Like maybe a WW or Skinny Cow ice cream treat. Mmmmmm....

3:00pm: WW 2pt Chocolate Cookie Dough Ice Cream
Thank God for portion control packaging. Otherwise I'd sit here and eat a whole carton of this.

6:00pm: Light String Cheese and Leftover Asparagus & Red Pepper (from last night's dinner)
** I was starving. I can definitely say that knowing I'd have to put whatever I ate in the journal stopped me from doing anything terrible. Like having 3 string cheeses instead of just 1. So... yay me!

7:00pm: Leftover Cheese Rotini from last night
** Still good tonight. I added a little bit of garlic pasta sauce to it just to switch things up. I forgot to mention last night that the pasta I used to make this recipe is Fiber Gourmet pasta. This is by far the best high fiber light pasta I have ever tried. Only 2 pts per serving and definitely tastes just as good as the real thing. So far I have not been able to find this in stores anywhere so I order it online. It is definitely worth the extra effort of ordering online. If you're placing an order make sure to also get their Mac & Cheese. It's so so so good and totally diet friendly. www.fibergourmet.com

8:00pm: Fiber One Yogurt
**Good for breakfast, snack, dessert... whenever!

Mission for the day accomplished. No money spent on food and overall a good day of eating.

Also - if anyone wants any of the recipes for the foods I'm eating or questions about where to find anything please let me know! I love being able to help people out when it comes to eating healthy. Or just eating in general.

Thanks for reading! See you soon.

PS... Another added benefit I have discovered from doing this is that once I post for the day it pretty much stops me from any late night snacking. Cause I mean if I eat after I post then when would I write about it? And if I don't write about it then I'd be lying! =)

Day 1

So it's Day 1 of my official food journal plan. Keeping a food journal is one thing but keeping one that pretty much anyone can read is quite another. I got up today around 7:45am. It's already been an hour and I have yet to eat anything. Even though I woke up feeling hungry - like stomach growling and everything. Which BTW is one the best feelings in the world when you're trying to lose weight. Well, for me it is. Anyway, it's almost like I'm scared to eat cause I know I'm gonna have to tell you guys about it. But don't worry I'll eat soon enough. Starving myself was never a skill I was fortunate enough to have.

9am: 2 pieces of Rocky Mtn Toast w/ onions and 1/2 of a tomato
** Anyone who has ever been on an overnight with Camp Ramah will know what Rocky Mtn Toast is. For everyone else please let me explain. You put a hole in a piece of toast and crack an egg into it while it's on the pan. I spray the pan a few times with I Can't Believe It's Not Butter Spray first. Fry the whole thing in the pan and you're done. It is DELICIOUS. I know it's sometimes called other things but it'll always be Rocky Mtn Toast to me. You can see the whole thing in the picture. One more thing... I very rarely use real eggs. It's almost always Egg Beaters for me. But this one of those times when you need real eggs. And for anyone who's counting (which is not me right now) this meal comes out to 5 WW Pts. 4 pts for the eggs and 1 pt for the bread (Sara Lee 45 Calories Delightful Wheat Bread.) I don't count points for vegetables like onions and tomatoes.

11:30am: Fiber One Nonfat Yogurt - Peach Flavor
** 80 Calories. Lots of fiber. 1 pt. Yum.

4:00pm: 8pc Spicy Tuna Roll & Seaweed Salad
** I have a major addiction to sushi. Restaurant sushi, grocery store sushi, even 711 sushi - which is different from grocery store sushi. This time around it was grocery store sushi. Once I'm home with my groceries one of my favorite things to do is have a small sushi meal while putting everything away. It's just so good.
Speaking of grocery shopping... if anyone knows of a way that I could get paid to go grocery shopping, please, let me know! Even if I'm shopping for someone else, I still absolutely love doing it. Does that job exist - professional grocery shopper? Probably not huh.

7:00: Creamy Cheese Rotini w/Broccoli & Chicken and Roasted Asparagus w/Red Peppers & Lemon
** Both from a WW cookbook. Everything made with low and fat free cheese and lots of spices. Took a little longer than expected to cook but turned out pretty good. I really love cooking new recipes. Hopefully someday I'll be able to make this stuff without having to follow a recipe, but for now I'll stick to my cook books. For points purposes my guess is it was around 7 or 8 pts total. I didn't really measure out my portion but I think that's pretty accurate.

7:45: Skinny Cow Ice Cream Sandwich
** 2 pts. Great dessert.

Well that's it for me today. Thanks for reading. See ya tomorrow!