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. 

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.

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...

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!

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?