owwwwwwwwwwwwwwww

that dvd from monday: kicked. my. butt! ouch. i feel like someone cut up my leg muscles. i guess that means the muscles are growing but DAMN. OWWW!! anyone read harry potter? when the kids get injured, they can magically regrow bones. i'm thinking it feels something like this. haha.

anyways....happy hump day! enough with my debbie downer attitude. this morning has flown by. scale is sticking at 136.2 which is fine. i was 137 this time last week so i'll take it! and my google tracker is of course keeping me focused!

BL was great last night! i loved seeing bob & jillian compete and brittany kicked butt on the escalator!! i felt bad for her when she cried about bob not picking her & then only losing 2 lbs. that's gotta hurt. esp since last week she lost like 1 pound since they tried to throw the weigh-in. i really could watch that show every night if it were on, its so motivating! i did arm weights for about 10 mins during the show and i feel the burn today. it feels good. not like my legs burn, like a good burn.

alright...back to work! trying to get to the gym today if my bum legs can handle it. i may just walk on the treadmill or try the elliptical. have a great day!

jiggly legs

i did it! i actually did a workout dvd at home. it's been a while and i definitely will be feeling this tmw. my legs were all jiggly when i was finished. i took a 20 min walk to pick up my prescription so that was good too. something i read on sister skinny today was that katie's friend jeanne said to try to be active every single day. that really hit home for me. just moving around, getting up at the office and going for a walk. i need to start more of that. it's either the gym or nothing sometimes and i need to get out of that habit!

tonight i will doing a little spring cleaning...well winter cleaning...on my closet and donating things i haven't worn in the past year to salvation army. there is just too much stuff in there and i need to make room for all the clothes i do wear. i'm officially out of hangers. so that will be good.

have a great night everyone :) stay active!!

i hate math but i love these graphs

it's monday!! and i am feeling great. the scale said 135.6 this morning. i will take it! even if it disappears for a little while...it will come back. that's what i've noticed this month with water weight and fluctuations. if i see the number at one point in the week, i have ended up seeing it stick around by the end of the week or the following week.

i plugged that into my google 15 tracker this morning (get yours here) and look at the graph!



pretty nifty, huh? the numbers at the bottom are the moving average weight changing~ not the actual weight plus/minuses. it took me a while to figure that out. the moving average is a different number. as long as the blue dot stays below the yellow line you're on your way to your goal weight. i love it. it lets me know what i weigh at this time last week which is a great way to keep the whole weight fluctuation thing in perspective.

onward and upward!! i mean...downward. :)

have a great day! going to try to get to the gym later despite having on a really cute outfit & hair do. like i said, not an excuse!

great weekend

hi everyone :)

so, got my shopping cardio in this weekend. you ladies thought i was kidding. i wish i was. my mom is a power shopper. we shopped for 5 hours on saturday and 6 hours today. we grabbed snacks on the way but were definitely moving. did anyone go to old navy this weekend? they had a RIDICULOUS and i mean RIDICULOUS sale. i got 2 dresses, a jacket, pair of work pants, pashmina scarf, 2 sweaters, jewelry, shirts and so much other stuff and probably spent around $150 - it was a steal. i guess the sale was just this weekend and we definitely took advantage of it. it was great! we had a lot of fun.

we stopped at 7-11 to get sodas and i saw that they had individually wrapped weight watchers muffins & chocolate & lemon cakes. i got the ww blueberry muffin which i've never tried before (3 points) and it was so yummy. big, moist and didn't taste diet-muffiny at all. soo good. it's nice to see that places like 7-11 have jumped on the diet/ww bandwagon. finally.



D knows how much i love my 100 calorie cupcakes and when i told him about the 100 calorie streussel muffins he was on the hunt. he found them for me today!! he is so sweet. he said he could only find the banana (1.5 points) & the blueberry (1.5 points) so i will continue my search for the cinnamon. i tried the banana - pretty damn good! nice and sweet with a crumbly top. i'm a fan. i bet the blueberry will be yummy.

the scale said 136.4 this morning. i saw 136 last week but then stayed in the 137s so we'll see what it says tmw. so far i'm averaging about a pound a week. which i know is normal and i'm happy it's moving downward!

alright...off to enjoy the rest of my sunday night!
ta ta!

fabulous friday

yay it's friday! and i had a half day. doesn't get much better than that. i left work around 11 and made it to the gym. i did 50 mins of cardio and then strength training. my legs are HURTING! but it hurts so good. lol. i did make my goal of getting to the gym 4x this week. woohoo!

my mom is coming up this weekend so that should be nice. lots of shopping cardio is expected.

oh hey - i got the senseo: share senseo. i paid the $15 shipping and handling and it arrived about a week later! i haven't tried it yet but its black, sleek and very cool. i'll let you know how it goes.

and p.s. i'm still loving the muffins (see below)....they are definitely a new favorite.

have a nice weekend everyone!

zeistay-tangay-aucy!

you know when you catch a glimpse of yourself in the mirror and you're NOT sucking in and you think....wow....look at me! that's how i felt this morning as i did my shimy dance to put on my tights. i have a really cute little jumper dress on, hair loosely curled, feeling pretty sexay. haha :) the title of today's blog, let me explain: i love that commercial where the guy is going to mcdonalds and is buying his coworkers snack wrapp. i hear it on the radio all the time. he says he's going to get someone a bbq snack wrap because they're zeist-ay. and he's going to get someone a honey mustard snack wrap because they're a-tang-ay and he's getting someone another because they are sauc-ay. he then says he's getting someone al three because they're zeistay-a-tangy-aucy! hahaha...i know, i'm a nerd but that makes me laugh each time he says it. anyone seen it? anyone? no? the cheese stands alone.

ANYWAY! going to go against the voice in my head that doesn't want to mess up my hair and get to the gym today. i have no excuse besides the cute hair do and as i've said in the past, if that's the only thing i can come up with, it's not good enough.

i had banana/bran muffin today for breakfast with some oatmeal (around 8am) and i am still full (it's 11am)....i love those muffins!! thanks again carolyn for passing that on to me :)



does anyone watch project runway? of course, me, the queen of all that is reality television does. it was good last night - kind of glad to see victorya go. she just wasn't a fav of mine. i think my favorites are christian, sweet pea & jillian. anyone else watch?? if you don't - you should. re-runs are on bravo constantly.

alright...back to work....

i <3 muffins

hi everyone!!
today has gone by fast - didn't get to the gym, took the day off but i'll back in there tmw and friday hopefully. i have a half day on friday so i want to go straight from work.

i just made the muffin recipe that carolyn gave me for anne's bran banana muffins. 1pt a piece! so yummy! and the chocolate chips really make them taste sinful.

anne's 1 point bran/banana muffin

ingredients:
1 1/2 Cups All Bran
1/2 C Skim Milk
1/2 C Water
1 C Flour
1/4 C Splenda
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 ripe banana
3 egg whites
1/2 cup applesauce
1/4 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

Combine All Bran, water and milk and let sit for 20 mins.
In another bowl combine flour, Splenda, soda, powder and cinnamon.
Add egg whites and applesauce to All bran mixture. Add banana. Mix well. Add dry ingredients and All Bran mix. Fold in chocolate chips.
Bake at 375 for about 18-20 mins.

YUMMY and very filling. i had two and i'm stuffed. i want to bring some to work tomorrow too. anyone else have yummy muffin/cookie recipes that are low point? i have all this leftover flour & baking stuff now and i want to use it up.


what did you guys think of BL? i was confused by how the whole night went and mad that the pink team was voted off. not fair at all. i really liked bette sue, she was funny.

alright - off to watch project runway! good night!

google 15

do you ladies (& gents) use the google 15 toolbar?

google 15

i do - i love it. i weigh in daily (butt naked every morning on an empty stomach). know, i probably shouldn't but i think its helpful to me to stay focused. i track what my weigh is in there and it actually helps me to stay motivated - scale wise. i like to look at what i weighed this time last week...which i find is always more. so it helps me to see the big picture! even if the scale isn't necessarily budging.

p.s. i'm in the most boring meeting right now. trying to act like i'm doing something important. lol ;)

i'll check in later!

tuesday check-in

hi all!

not much to report. had a great 50 min elliptical session at the gym tonight. i'm trying to step up my game and i've been to the gym twice already this week. i want to go two more times this week i think.

had leftover breadless chicken parm for dinner. YUMMY! for lunch i had a new smart ones frozen meal: fruit inspirations: honey barbeque chicken with mango and orzo rice. it was pretty good. 5 points. i loved the orzo but could take or leave the mango/sauce combo.

the flatbread melt was yummy - kind of like the panini but definitely good.

scale holding steady at 136 :) i'm happy with that.

BL is on....i'm tivo-ing idol, i'll catch up on that tmw. have a great night!!

another OP weekend

hi everyone!

today is MLK day so i'm off. slept in, D cooked some delicious egg beater/reduced fat feta cheese scrambled eggs for me and light wheat toast. it was very yummy :) i'm loving that we're both on this diet together. he's down 9, i'm down 6. back to my comfort zone of 136. the highest i saw on the scale january 1 was 142.6 - and it definitely scared me. it feels good to be back down.

stayed OP this weekend, only dipped into about 12-15 flex points over the 3 days so that's good. i made some delicious chicken yesterday - breadless chicken parm as i was calling it. i put some chicken tenderloins (99% fat free) in the oven at about 375 with some EVOO & salt & pepper. once those cooked i topped them with store bought spaghetti sauce, little bit of fat free ricotta (which i would cut out next time, since you could barely taste it) and some skim mozzarella cheese and cooked until it melted. it was SO yummy, i surprised myself. and the chicken was so juicy.


at the store i picked up the new lean cuisine flat bread melts: chicken philly & chicken pesto so those will be nice additions to my lunch rotation, i will let you know how they taste :)

i also snagged some new cherry chocolate diet dr. pepper. GROSS. it tasted like tootsie rolls. i'm not a fan.

light dinner tonight with D & his mom. i'm just going to get some soup i think, nothing fancy, i think we're going to panera. and then i might eat some leftover chicken parm from last night. yum!

have a great day!!

sunday workout

got to the gym!! :) 40 mins of cardio

have a great sunday!

Check out Roni’s new contest! I can win a Nutritional Smart Scale from Eat Smart and so can you! Click here for details!

productive sunday

hi everyone!

down a half a pound and feeling good. the scale has either been holding steady or dropping. it feels great. especially during TOTM! my commitment these past 3 weeks has really been paying off.

today i'm going to D's gym, he got me a day pass to see if i like it. it's near my house and only $28 a month so i may join. i go to the two gyms at work for free but on the weekends i can't go because they're closed and sometimes i need to get home from work to beat the traffic and use that as an excuse. also it would be something for us to do together - he's been going a lot lately. if i like it, i think i might join.

so aside from that we're watching football today. no work tmw!! :)

have a great 3 day weekend if you have one!

free senseo coffee pod!

go to sharesenseo.com to fill out a survey to be eligible for a free seseo coffee pod - single serving coffee maker. i received my tracking info from DHL tonight and it should be here by next week. i will let you know how it turns out but so far so good :) it's worth the $15 shipping if you ask me!

take that TOTM!

just got in 60 mins on the elliptical. good way to start off the weekend :)

it's the weekend baby!

cramps & bloating are not good for dieting but thankfully i've fended off cravings. i just had some chocolate quaker mini delights 90 calorie pack, yum. i love those things. and i have a fat free pudding for this afternoon in case my chocolate cravings :)

getting to the gym today - so i will make my goal of 3x this week! next week it will be 4x - so that should be good. scale is holding steady - even during TOTM. i really think giving up wine/drinking has been such a help (obviously).

we saw juno last night - so cute & funny! go see it now!

don't have big plans for the weekend. i want to do some clothes/shoe shopping. and hit up tarjay (target).

have a wonderful weekend!

snowy day!

it's snowing! we got off work around noon and i have to work from home the rest of the day. the plan is to get a workout dvd in and some arm weights so i will do that after i finish up my work.

not sure if anyone is interested in this but there is a site that offers you a free senseo coffee machine (click) - its the single serving coffee makers. you get the machine, coffee and other stuff, the catch is you have to pay the $15 S&H. i paid mine and i'll let you know if it actually comes. i read on fatwallet.com that it's not a scam, several people received theirs. so i'm looking forward to it! :) and if it IS a scam, oh well i'm out $15 i guess!

scale is going down down down...even if it's almost TOTM. nice. my pants feel a lot looser too. love this feeling!

alright...back to work!

we need a change. YEA. do it today. YEA

haha - sorry - i have the biggest loser theme song stuck in my head.

got to the gym tonight: 50 mins on the elliptical! ohhhh yea :)

off to watch BL! night ladies!

back to the gym...finally

good morning! :)

diet is going really well, exercising is picking back up, feeling good! i went to the gym yesterday and rocked out on the elliptical. it felt good! i'm going back today. i feel motivated now that i feel like i have the food part under control again. the scale is being nice to me, the pants are fitting looser than they have in a LONG time. so i'm motivated, and it feels great!

can't wait for BL tonight, i seriously love that show. it motivates me to get buff. my sister and i are suppossed to sign up for a boot camp as soon as she gets home from her business trip, so hopefully she won't back out on me. TOTM is around the corner, i'm going to try to not give in to any crazy cravings i may have.

alright, i'm boring today. just wanted to check in. ta-ta!!

fighting temptations

we had a working-lunch meeting today for a client who wants to do work for us. they provided pizza and when i saw the bag that accompanied the pizza i ASSumed there would be salad in there. but no. my "lunch" was a diet pepsi. i ate when i got back to my desk around 1 but i sure was hungry and the more hungry i felt, the more i wanted that delicious pizza. but i said no, and i'm so happy i did.

plans for this weekend: NONE! going to visit my mom, which means we will do some shopping/errands but nothing too crazy. we might get mexican food but since i have about 27 flex points left for the weekend, i might indulge in some chips. but not too many. going to try to get a run or two in this weekend too. we'll see....

i hope you all have a fabulous weekend! and remember: just say no....to pizza you didn't order

toodles poodles

to do: go to the gym: DONE

i got to the gym today and did 30 mins on the elliptical. it flew by.

note to self: get back in the gym you lazy ass!

just keep swimming....just keep swimming

remember when dory says that line in the movie finding nemo? just keep swimming...just keep swimming. i feel like that sometimes with this whole diet/exercise thing. that little voice that just tells me to just keep eating right, getting to the gym and avoiding temptations. it's hard but it's nice to be back in the zone. i'm down a lb today....so that's always a good feeling to step on the scale and see a lower number than you expected :)

biggest loser couples was great! no one lost hardly any weight though which makes it more real to me for some reason. you don't always get on the scale and see 5-10 lb losses, it's not realistic. maybe if you're severly overweight but you know what i mean. i can't believe bette-sue fell off the treadmill, ouch! i can't lie, i did laugh, it reminded me of the video on anne's page. haha

i bought some rice quakes, apple slices, a fiber one bar and 100 calorie pack of cupcakes for snacks. i doubt i'll eat it all. lunch is at subway and tonight i might do a chicken breast/veggies/one serving of risotto. we have a delicious organic risotto at my grocery store that is 3pts a serving, so creamy and delish.

have a great hump day!!

motivation comes in all forms

hi everyone! :) happy tuesday (this lady at work adds happy-whatever to every day of the week...unfortunately it's rubbing off on me!)

first off: you have to read katie's post, it made me giggle. second off, this being OP thing is great, i'm lovin it. i'm going to try to get back to my flex points though. i didn't do any last week, needed a jump start, but now im back to normal i think. i packed some yummy goodies for snacks/lunch today: almonds, sliced apple, chunky natural peanut butter and my favorite 100 calorie cupcakes. they are my afternoon treat and i will never give them up.

weight is heading downward, slowly but surely. those holiday pounds sure were fun to gain but now i'm ready to get back to normal. the clothes are feeling A LOT better, i just need to see that # drop sometime soon.

i have a friend's bachelorette party in march. all my high school girlfriends will be there. i see them a few times a year at events such as this and holidays. i am using the party weekend as my motivation to drop these LBS. because you know every event you go to is an unspoken competition. am i right ladies? who has lost/gained weight, who has the best jeans, cutest shoes, new haircut, etc. i'm fine in the clothes & shoes department but i definitely want people to ask my FAVORITE question of all time "have you lost weight?" or my second favorite "have you lost MORE weight?" muahah (evil laugh necessary) - maybe that is the wrong reason to want to lose weight. and actually it's not my reason, it's motivation.

alright...back to work. the heels i'm wearing are killing me. the fact that i've guzzling water from my nalgene isn't helping the situation. luckily none of you are here to see me walking -5 mph and wobbling down the hall in these ridiculous things! :)

1 or 2 point tortilla soup

i tried it this weekend, so good. take the progresson light southwestern style vegetable soup, take 2 tortilla chips (or more if you want, just make sure you count the points) and smash them into tiny bits and add to soup. tasted like delicious tortilla soup to me! add chicken if you want too.

i'm hooked!!

100 calorie pack muffins

YUM!!!



hostess 100 calorie pack muffins
according to hungry-girl.com these are 1 point. banana, blueberry & cinnamon. i will be trying ALL of these when i get my greedy little hands on them.

i love the 100 calorie cupcakes, i have 1 every afternoon at work to feed my sweet tooth. yum, can't wait!

OP weekend!

wow....i am surprised at myself this weekend. i've never NOT used flex points. usually my weekends are FULL of flex points. but i have to say this weekend, i've been right on point. i like this feeling.

did you all see the biggest loser couples first episode? all the contestants use nalgenes - which are plastic re-usable water bottles. well this season they are getting rid of water bottles and using nalgenes. i was telling D about it and he bought me one!


it's a pretty blue with a narrow top to drink out of. i've already drank 2 today! i love it and it was so cute how D listens to the little things i say :)

ready for an OP week and ready to get my gym time in. i'm aiming for 3x this week. start off slow and then do 4x next week maybe. the scale has dropped off 3lbs of water weight, thankfully...i was starting to worry for a while there.

hope you all had a nice weekend, later taters :)

on point!

hi everyone! work has been so busy! my boss is out so he put me in charge and needless to say the workload has doubled. but i like it, i enjoy staying busy at work. this also means i haven't been to the gym this week but i'm not worried about it. i'm trying to focus on getting my food under control this week (been OP completely since wednesday) and so far so good. i cut out the alcohol and cheat foods that i was treating myself to before and i think that will definitely make a difference.

i'm going to work on getting to the gym next week. i don't want to start it all up at once, one day at a time seems to be working for me. the scale, screw the scale. that's all i have to say about that. my pants are still tight, as was expected. it didn't take me 3 days to gain weight and it's not going to be 3, 5 or 10 days for me to lose it. it's going to take time and i'm trying to accept that. i'm just so impatient! i'm hopeful though that i will be OP this weekend and will try not to dip into ANY flex points. i can't remember the last time i didn't use ANY flex points. i don't think that's ever happened..

i'm totally loving biggest loser couples. i like bette sue. i can see how she would be annoying but i thought she was so funny when she called bob a booger. haha! im not sure how i feel about everyone else but i do love me some jillian & bob. i'm kind of glad kim's not on this season. she annoys me.

tonight we're going out for seafood, shouldn't be too bad right? steamed shrimp and mussels maybe? no butter! i'll have to check out the menu. then we're going bowling. usually i spend friday nights out at the bars with friends, so this will be a nice and welcome change of pace for me i think.

have a wonderful weekend :)

happy 2008!!

new year and definitely new resolutions. i'm starting tommorow and i can't wait. i'm going to weigh in and then stay away from the scale until next wednesday.

my resolutions:
- run a 5k (and maybe 10k after that)
- lose 10 lbs
- get to the gym at least 3x a week
- lift weights
- read more
- finish a bootcamp
- post more blog entries
- be accountable for what i eat and drink (including wine that seems to always get the "2 point" label in my head even though it's probably more than that

so happy and excited for another new year! :) what are your resolutions?

so excited for biggest loser couples tonight, definitely will help with my motivation. i've been enjoying the biggest loser 2 marathon on today, i love that show!!

alright....that's it for now. see you tmw on day 1 of getting back into my routine. FOR GOOD this time.

happy blog-o-versary to me!

well i've had this blog for a year now, yipee :)

moment of truth: i've been a bad blogger, commenter & dieter lately. but you know what: i don't care. january 1st i am making some changes but i'm gonna ride out this lazy streak until then. suprisingly i haven't gained, i'm still trying to make better choices and needed a break from those damn points! haha

i think i may sign up for a bootcamp that starts january 4th....still contemplating that one. it would be a good way to start the year!

i hope everyone has a lovely holiday!!! :)

smells like christmas!

hi ladies! i've had a busy (and pizza filled weekend) gross! i need to accept that this time of the year is hard and i'm allowed to eat a little bit of crap. well at least i'm allowing myself that.

i've gotten about half of my christmas shopping done! taking wednesday off to work on it. i bought a nintendo wii today at target (couldnt believe they had them) and can't decide if i want to keep it or not? maybe give it to D?

alright...time to relax, hope you all have a great week!

back in the groove

i'm totally in the groove this week and loving it. nothing like a bad week to totally make you focused!! got to the gym today and did my cardio. it felt really good. i need to get my strength training in before the week is over. i'm going to try to get that in tommorow.

yummy product find from trader joe's!



110 calories for 18 white cheddar soy crisps...kind of hard to stop munching but perfect to bring in plastic bags for a work snack.

BL is on tonight, can't wait :)

ta ta!

i need my routine back!!

i have been going going going since last tuesday night. it's been non-stop events. (and non-stop eating...yuck. i'm not even going to go over it, moving forward....) i shouldn't complain, i had a lot of fun. but i need my routine back! i only got in 3 of my 4 cardio days and 1 of 2 strength training does. so i didn't complete the challenge. but its a new week and i'm going for the same thing again. 4 days of cardio (with 2 days of strength in there)

work has been busy and i'm about to start the christmas shopping. i want to try to knock it out this week and be done with it. have you ladies finished yours yet?

got to the gym today and did my 30 mins of cardio. they moved a new elliptical into the gym in my building...the kind i like. so that should be a nice addition to my workouts, wont have to go to the other building to do my elliptical workouts!

happy monday :)

busy bee

busy busy week here! it snowed yesterday which threw a wrench in my gym plans....we were dismissed early so that meant the gym here at work closed down...i went and worked from home for the remainder of the day and went straight to my alma mater's basketball game. we had courtside seats, it was a lot of fun! i'm getting out of work early today to go to the redskins game! go skins!! too bad it's going to be freeeeezing cold. oh well...all for the love of the game!

i have completed 2 out of the 4 days for the challenge. i'm going to do some cardio friday and hopefully sunday to close out the week. :)

not much else to say....trying to get all the work in before my two meetings and then i'm out at 1! ay yi yi!
have a great night everyone!!

challenge day one: complete

woohoo! day 1 finished! 30 mins of cardio and strength training. my legs were shaking but it feels good! feel the burn baby :)

and i want to thank katie-o & this post for being inspirational (as she always is!). it was so cold when i left work and i just felt like packing in and snuggling up under the covers at home. but i went to the gym and thought of all the snow katie drove through yesterday to get to the gym. thank you katie!! :)

let the challenge begin!

today's plan: get to the gym during work and do my cardio & strength training! i love this challenge stuff, it really motivates me!

kind of busy here at work but i wanted to let all of you biggest loser fans know that i heard on the radio starting january 1 or 2nd there is a new season of BL coming on! this time with couples trying to loose weight. it's so much easier when your significant other is in on it with you.....helps you to resist temptations and feed off of each others strengths.

back to work....
happy monday!

low point weekend

hi ladies! so i actually did it, i've had a relatively low point weekend. i've probably used 10 flex points but i usually use 35, so thats a victory. sundays are slow days usually but today i'm going shopping with my sister and we're putting up some christmas decoration so that will be good.

sarah and i are doing another exercise challenge if anyone wants to join. you can set your own objectives but mine is to do at least 4 days of cardio (30-60 mins) and 2 days of strength training, which will be new for me. i hardly ever do strength training and i know how important it is so i'm going to start incorporating it in! be sure to check out sarah's page...she has a great entry about safe amounts of weight to lose & the biggest loser!

after watching biggest loser this week and hearing a lot of talk about sodium, i've started paying more attention. i keep thinking of what kim said, to have around 300 mg of sodium in each meal. well last night we went for sushi and when i looked at the "lite soy sauce" bottle i was shocked to see that 1tbsp of LITE soy sauce had 1500+ mg of sodium! wow. i usually fill up a little dish with it and dunk away. needless to say i didn't use any. i need to do some more research on it.

another NSV: i went out to breakfast with my friends yesterday. why do i always feel like when i do this i need to get an eggbeater omelet, toast, strawberries and usually a bite of my BFs food too! so yesterday i ordered raisin bran w/ skim milk & wheat toast. "thats all your having?" my sister asked and yes, it was. and guess what, i was full all day. i need to eat out less and make smarter choices. that's what i'm working on this week.

happy december :) it's the most wonderful time of the year!!

one of my lamest excuses yet

okay you guys....i was having a GREAT hair day today. i'm talking like the long flowy loose curls like the girls have on tv. it was beautiful. not to brag but my hair has gotten really long and i've finally figured out how to curl it just right to get that "i didn't try that hard" look.



sort of like this

well i have plans tonight to meet up with some girlfriends. i was supposed to go to the gym before i left work. so here is my lame excuse: i told myself i wouldn't go to the gym, i didn't want to mess up my hair and i didn't want to have to redo it.

how conceited! i was actually buying into this excuse for about 2 hours. as i turned out of the parking lot, i felt myself gravitating towards the gym. where i spent 33 good sweaty minutes on the elliptical. the hair is up off my face, but you know what...who cares. i'm not that vain. i just wanted an excuse i could find.

so i did it!! my trip to the gym is done and now i can relax and hang out with my friends.

have a good night!!

blog motivation

i just want to thank all of you who comment and read my blog! it really means a lot to me to have you all as friends and i realized that today. as i was turning out of work, i had the little devil on my shoulder saying "just go home, you can go to the gym tmw"...but what did i do? turned towards the gym...because the angel on my shoulder was reminding me "didn't you promise you would go to the gym to everyone who reads your blog? AND you haven't been in two weeks"....so 30 mins of cardio later, i feel great. and this blog really is to thank for that. it keeps me completely accountable. when i wasn't posting last week, i totally felt a little bit of guilt for not fessing up to my holiday eating flubs! so thank you :)

not much else to say...gotta shower off the sweat & we're going out to dinner for something healthy. last night i made whole wheat pasta with spaghetti sauce (60 cal a serving) filled with boca meat. it was good. i had the leftovers today for lunch.

note to self: cook a big pot of whole wheat pasta and make mini meals to take for lunch and eat for dinner. i need to cut back on the lean cuisines.

alright...have a good night everyone!! :)

turkey day recap

hi all!! i'm back. thanks to my dear friend katie-o for telling me to get my butt back here. now here come the excuses. some more valid than others. i just got back last night from spending tues-sunday at my mom's house. lots of fun up until the point where i caught the worst. cold. ever.

that's right, i went from sore throat to sniffles to coughing to uncontrollable sneezing fits and now i'm back in the coughing/sore chest phase. YUCK! so needless to say, not much going on with diet/exercise. oh well. tis the season i guess.

i ate alright on thanksgiving, took smaller portions and didn't really go for the appetizers. i had this thought in the back of my head from a statistic i heard on tv. the average american eats 2300+ calories at their thanksgiving meal. GROSSSSSS. so i tried to go easy on the mashed potatoes and deliciousness and heavy on the veggies. all in moderation, right?

i did play football with my family at our annual turkey bowl. haha. it was fun and my team won. i also caught a winning pass and ran around like a crazy person. it was a lot of fun but it definitely reminded me that i need to get back in shape. i will weigh myself tmw but i don't think i've gained more than a pound. thats good right?

done well today on the points front. sorry for the lack of posting...i'm so busy at work. i know that sounds like a BS excuse but its not. i'm so busy and i love it. a lot to do and the days go by so fast!

funny story: last night i told D that i hadn't been to the gym in almost 2 weeks. the first and only thing he said about that was "well, what are your blog friends going to think about that? i'm telling them!" haha....he doesn't know the web URL but i already know what you probably think about it and i am making a promise to you, my blog friends, that i will be in the gym tmw. no excuses. there, happy now D? haha

making some healthy spaghetti tonight with D! :) onwards and upwards (well downwards for the scale)....bye ladies!

it's the most delicious time of the yearrrrrr

shame on me...what a bad blogger i've been lately. i haven't even opened my google reader in days to read anyone's blogs. i have been SOO SOO busy at work. it's nice bc the week has gone by fast but at the same time, i haven't had any downtime and when i get home from work i don't always want to go near the computer.

anyway...doing okay on the weight front. haven't been to the gym in a week though :( boo!! i didn't weigh-in for the christmas challenge. unfortunately i'm up 1 lb. but thats nothing compared to what it probably should be. i'm in holiday mode and have been since last friday. oops!! this time of year is a diet killer but i'm going to be working from home wednesday & friday so i'm going to try to hit up my parent's treadmills and get a run or two in.

i hope all of my american friends have wonderful holiday weekends! and i hope my canadian friends have great weekends :)
and i will try to catch up on the blogs over the next few days & maybe even post again before or after turkey day!!
take care ladies!! :)

blahhh

hi everyone!! not much to say, having a blah week :\ i think it's PMS. oh well, hoping for a maintain on friday's weigh-in!! :)

alright...back to work. just wanted to check in so you ladies didn't think i feel off the wagon. i did have a run-in with some peanut m&m's last night but i was able to put them away after a handful. so thats good :)

happy hump day!!

last chance workout

i am such a dork! but i embrace it :) i totally pushed myself in the gym today bc i know weigh-in is tmw. i don't know what the scale will say in the morning but i feel great right now, that's all i know. did you guys see biggest loser on tuesday when they were doing last chance workouts and the lady was moaning and groaning and jillian was like

"SHUT UP. SHUT UP." haha....i love her.

exercise log:
65 mins elliptical = 600 calories burned
woohoo!!

this is going to sound cheesy but you all really do motivate me to get to the gym. the christmas challenge & the accountability have played a big role in me getting back in there and staying OP. so thank you ladies!! i told my boyfriend that i pushed it extra hard tonight bc weigh-in is tmw. he kind of laughed and told me how cute it was that i had blog friends :) haha. he's the best.

the girl next to me asked one of the trainers to tell her how to use the elliptical and i was FLYING away next to her. i saw her glance down at my minutes/calories burned/etc. and i totally remember being that girl. thinking...i can barely do this for 15 mins, how on earth has the person next to me been on this thing for an hour. so that felt good.

another incentive was i'm going for sushi tonight with my sister & her boyfriend and i needed to burn some APs. so done and done. off to dinner. see you ladies tmw and good luck to everyone who is weighing in for the christmas challenge.

lunchin & munchin

it's almost friday!! this week has flown by. i've already gotten in 2 good workouts this week and i'm planning on another one after or during work. haven't decided. i need to do something though! maybe a workout DVD? it sure is cold outside but maybe an outdoor jog is in my future?

i have the munchies today. i'm already up to 9.5 points and its only 12:45. Well thankfully I'm full now and i have grapes in the fridge if i need something sweet later. scale said 137 this morning. i went over my points last night by 4 or 5. i've been playing with eating more points than usual this week which was working. so i will cut back today and only eat 20. see if that works. hopefully i can get back to 136 by tmw. i'll take a half a pound loss, i dont care.

alright...not much to say. i have the after lunch sleepyness going on! ta ta!

new purchase

i just bought this: pink under armour zip up

what do you guys think? it's super cute and pink and it's very warm for running outside. i loveeee under armour. plus, it supports breast cancer awareness!

i think it will be really warm & cute for the winter months.

okay, enough online shopping. goodnight!

happy hump day!

scale: 136.6

yesss :) back down to the comfortable range. hopefully i can stay around 136 by friday, that would be great. plan today is to hit the gym sometime during work...eat my lean cuisine and try to stay low cal. i may go to happy hour tmw, which i might cancel on bc i forgot about weigh-in. i don't want to mess with weigh-in!!

biggest loser was great last night. i'm glad that girl won the car (i forget her name)...how great. i'm glad isabeau got to stay, i like her. is anyone suprised how they all lost more weight than usual (with the exception of one or two people) working out without electric treadmills/ellipticals/etc....thought that was interesting.

alright, may post later. have a great day and here is a good link for you: grab & go: healthy fast food choices

entertainment needed?

well i made it to the gym again this morning. 50 minutes on the elliptical doing hills. about 500 calories. i have to admit, i get bored very easily and to curb my boredom, i always bring magazines to the gym. they help a lot but i definitely go through them fast and magazines are kind of a waste of money, ya know? i have a subscription (that i've bought through coworkers/boyfriend's little sisters school sales) to self, fitness, glamour, lucky & shape. wow, i know. but they go for about $10 on amazon.com (or though the sales for the schools) so i don't think that's ALL that bad. considering i would spend $3 for one copy if it caught my eye at the grocery store.



so my question is, what do you do to stay entertained at the gym? i know, it's bad that i need to be constantly entertained but....i guess it's a generation X thing. i listen to my ipod and sometimes there is something good on tv but i think i need to start reading a soft-cover book on the elliptical. i'm reading harry potter 6 right now but that thing weighs like 6 lbs, i know that won't be making it to the gym with me, and i doubt i could keep it stable while elliptical-ing. :) my dad's gym has individual tvs on all the ellipticals/treadmills....and you can watch 50 channels! i'm jealous!

going shopping later with my boyfriend....i need to find a cocktail dress for this black tie dinner his work is putting on at the ritz carlton. yay baby!!! :)

scale crept down to 137.2 - lets get to 136 by friday! woo!!

and can't wait for biggest loser tonight! i can't get enough of that show

day 1 of 4 complete!

update:

did 32 minutes of cardio: 12 minute run, 20 min uphill walk at moderate pace = about 200 calories :)

kind of off topic but: has anyone seen this picture of katie holmes running the NYC marathon?? she trained for 3 months. isn't that too short of a period of time? i have no clue but i know my friends are training for a marathon now and have for a while now....

and no sports bra!...um hello....that is just really strange to me.

good weekend, cheese fries & the challenge

monday came too fast! i definitely had a great weekend, tried to stay low on the points side....but defintely dipped into some flex points. i did manage to stay at 136.4 on the scale both saturday & sunday, so that's good! hopefully i can be an even 136 by friday's weigh-in!

i'm not sure that the outback steakhouse i ate for dinner last night helped. i had about 10 cheese fries....which isn't too good but at least i tried the whole "everything in moderation thing". my sister has gained a few lbs and wanted one last supper before she starts her diet today. even though i've been dieting, i helped her out with those 10 cheese fries. but i stopped myself and didn't go back for more. it was nice to have that control. by the time my chicken sandwich came out (without the bun), i was full, so i didnt eat it. couldn't have been that bad. the scale was up a little this morning but i'm confident it will be back to 136/137 tmw :)

not much else to say. just a warning though for people who use dottie's weight loss zone restaurant guide for points: i found 2 restaurants where her points listing was off. corner bakery & subway. i ordered the chicken & dumpling soup from subway. on her site she says its 2 points. well after one bite i knew that was too good to be true and it came out to be 3.5 points when i checked subway's website. i know that's not a huge difference but to me it's significant. however, at corner bakery she said something was 15 points and 480 calories when really it was way less and probably 9-10 points so i guess it goes both ways. just be sure to double check the nutritionals on the restaurant website before you eat it!!

i must confess, i didn't succeed at my own challenge! i only worked out 4 of 5 days last week. but hey, i'm happy i tried. i like the challenge. this week i'm going to aim for 4 workouts, i think i can manage that!! :)

hope you all have a wonderful start to your week. i'm definitely getting to the gym today!!

133.8?

you guys, the scale said 133.8 this morning. i'm not even kidding. normally this would excite me but i know its impossible that i went from 137 yesterday to 133.8 this morning. it's just not possible. it's probably from the 3 glasses of wine i had last night :O - i'm definitely paying for it right now at work. needless to say, i was probably dehydrated so i'm not counting it. it was nice to see 133 again though! for my christmas weigh-in i'm going to say i'm down 1 lb. only bc i don't know how much i really weigh and don't want to jinx it by saying 2 lbs. i'm weird, i know.

so....not feeling that great but at work. i'm going to attempt to get to the gym tonight. i definitely feel like crap though :( it's my own doing, i am totally accountable for it but it still sucks.

hope your weighins went well! have a great weekend!

how is it already november?

challenge: day 3 of 5 complete!
25 minutes elliptical
7 minutes treadmill

it's almost friiiiiday! :) which means it's almost the weekend but it ALSO means that it's almost christmas weigh-in #4. i weighed this morning. down 1 lb, so that's good. let's hope it stays that way for tmw. i've been bouncing between 136-139 these 2 months and i'm pretty sick of it! i've gotten my gym time in lately, which feels amazing and i can definitely see the flab melting away. it's so weird how 5-6 lbs will totally change the way i feel, the way i look, and how my clothes fit. i think it has to do with being short (5'2)....5 lbs for me is like 10 lbs for the tall girls out there.

i had a good workout today. i went on my lunch break to the "nice gym" on our work campus. those elliptical machines are great, it doesn't hurt my knees like other ellipticals. and it adjusts with steeper intervals, which i like. i realized once i was all changed that i forgot my towel. um...yuck. lately i've been pouring sweat on the elliptical....so i didn't go for as long as usual and didn't do any inclines. then i walked on the treadmill. i didn't sweat that bad. i took a quick rinse and used an extra (clean) t-shirt that i had in my gym bag to dry off. why does that make me feel like such a hobo? it was clean!! but i'm glad no one saw me wiping my bod with my boyfriend's tshirt. lol ;P

halloween went by smooth & easy. i did have 2 "fun-sized" snickers. fun-sized....lol. for some reason, i think those aren't "as bad for you" as some of the other candy. my exbf (who was training to be a personal trainer....back when we were in high school....lol) once told me that if you couldn't eat a regular meal, you should eat a snickers bc it was high in protein and low on the glycemic index. i don't know why that's stuck with me but for some reason i feel like baby snickers aren't that bad.



wow, look what i found: "1 Fun Size candy bar (Snickers, Milky Way, Butterfingers, etc.)...that comes to 80 calories. You will need to walk 0.8 miles, 1.29 kilometers, or 1600 steps, assuming you cover one mile in 2,000 steps."

how far to walk off the trick or treat candies

interesting. well i had 2 mini snickers yesterday at a work party. and now i'm over it. luckily i'm not big on candy so i don't feel the need to splurge on the leftover candy at our house. a few bites definitely satisfied my "candy sweet tooth". now ice cream/froyo...that's another story.

this week has been good points/exercise wise. i plan on going to the gym again tmw during work & then doing a long walk or some sort of activity over the weekend! i'm loving these exercise challenges, they really do motivate me!

happy halloween!

hi ladies! happy halloween!! i wish it were happier for me. i must have come down with a stomach bug last night. i was throwing up and feeling like crap. i wasn't going to come to work today but i did. i'm feeling okay, but i definitely have no appetite. i had toast for breakfast and i might grab some soup for lunch. not sure.

gym: depending on how i feel after work, i may get some light cardio in, i really don't know. :\ - blah! i hate feeling like this :(

i hope you all have wonderful halloweens! i won't be doing much for it bc of how i feel. try to stay away from the candy everyone!!

exercise class?

challenge: day 2 of 5: complete
40 minutes on the treadmill: 16 min run, 24 min walk on an incline ~ about 250 calories

yipee! off to a great start this week :) i'm pretty sore from yesterdays elliptical session so the running was tough but the walking felt okay. i'm taking a 20 min walk later on with my coworker to a meeting so that should be good for some activity! i'm going to try to do some weights tonights while i watch the biggest loser. i can't wait for that show, kick neill off!!

there are two gyms where i work. a small one in my building which has treadmills, two (old & not my regular kind) of ellipticals and some weights. in the main building there is a bigger gym with tons of ellipticals (the kind that i love) and treadmills, satan machine, pretty much everything. they also offer classes. i think tmw i am going to try to get some elliptical time in and then do the body conditioning class....i'm kind of nervous, i've hardly ever done group exercise classes but hopefully it will be fun!

time for my lunch...have a great afternoon/evening blog buddies!

back on track

so of course, another weekend where i didn't make the best choices. but alas, i am back on track!! i'm below my points (going to have a little snack in a bit) and did 60 mins on the elliptical at the gym. that felt really good.

if you don't know, last week i challenged sarah to 5 days of working out. well mission accomplished. this week i'm doing it again! do you want to join? i think we have carolyn, randi, and lily doing it. all you have to do is post on your blog (of if you don't have one, leave a comment) once your day is complete. pretty much any physical activity counts. i try to do 30-60 mins of cardio & weights. see mine here:

day 1/5: complete
60 minutes on the elliptical = 550 calories

so if you want, you should definitely join. it's a great motivator to get to the gym!

off to shower after my sweaty workout. hope you are all have a great start to the week :)

no pain no gain?

WRONG! i am so sore right now from the cardio/weights i did this week. and what do i get for it? a GAIN. oh well.

so time for honesty: 1.2lb gain.

scale: 138.2

hmm. i don't even know how that happens after this perfect eating/exercise week. i drank 12 glasses of water yesterday people!! i never do that. my clothes fit better, so that's a plus. but shouldn't the scale reflect this? i exercised A LOT this week. more than usual. oh well. i feel good about the choices i made, i haven't dipped into flex points. i have given up my nightly glass of wine (except for last night). so....whatever. i'm over that scale! let the challenge continue :)

today i plan on hitting the gym during or after work. havent decided. 2 meetings on my agenda so who knows. i don't have any plans this weekend except date night with D tmw night. i actually might just stay in and watch a movie tonight. it might sound boring but sometimes that's all i want to do is sit, in silence and relax. i feel like i'm always surrounded my noise...at work, sometimes at home...so it's nice to just have "me-time". maybe i'm a loner, but that's okay.

well hopefully next weeks weigh-in is better....i think i might do the 5 day challenge again next week? or possibly 4 day...what do you think? anyone else want to do 5?? i love a good challenge!

have a great friday! :)

day 4: part 2

so in addition to my 55 mins of cardio i did today (see below), i went on a 23 minute walk this afternoon...had to go to a meeting but whatever, also walked up and down ALL the aisles at the grocery store. i got some major mileage on my pedometer! 16,700+ steps so far. i'm proud of myself.

just wanted to remind myself of how good this feels.

note to future self : when you start to slack off, remember how good you feel right now, burning all those activity points and being in control.

enjoying a glass of wine (as a little reward) with my BF & watching some thursday night tv.

crossing my fingers for tmws weigh-in! either way, gain or loss or maintain, i will be happy bc i know i worked hard this week.

note to friday morning weigh-in self : try to keep that in mind. lol :)

day 4: complete & my chili find

day 4 of 5: complete
55 minutes on the treadmill, ran 18 = 365 calories

i feel like that should be more calories but oh well, i will take it! it felt good to run today. one more day and the challenge is complete. next week i want to challenge myself again. i may cut it down to 4 days since 5 is a lot but who knows. maybe another 5 days of working out are in my future!



has anyone had boca chili? um, YUM!! now, i'm sure this recipe could be homemade but since i'm a busy working girl, i enjoy a good frozen lunch. here are the stats:
150 calories for the whole bowl
20g of fiber. yes, 20
1g of fat. again, yes, 1g.
= 2.3 points.

UM. WOOOW. the nutritionals alone make this a winner and the fact that it is totally filling and a good portion size is even better. it's definitely yummy. i topped mine with some reduced fat cheese & fat free sour cream.

i've been pounding water today since christmas weigh-in is tmw. i think i've been holding on to some water weight. i peaked at the scale today and its gone up a lb. not fair. i've been PERFECT this week. like no joke, flawless. havent gone over my daily points, exercise every day. so mr. scale better be nice to me tmw morning!

have a great day ladies!

day 3: complete!

day 3 of 5 complete
50 minutes on the elliptical = 450 calories

yess :) score!

not much else to say. just truckin along. it felt great hitting the gym today and i was SWEATING profusely. ew. the ride home was kind of stinky. lol. and the rain certainly didn't help. i will be back in the gym tmw, and hopefully again on friday. can't wait to rock this challenge out. carolyn joined too, so that's great!

what did you think of biggest loser last night? that was pathetic, neil needs to go home. +17 lbs, who does that!! and who cheats on that show. it's turning into something negative and it needs to stop. p.s. i love jillian, she's the best.

i did weights last night while watching biggest losers & a few planks too. i can feel it today, but i definitely need to step up the strength training.

alright...see you tmw! happy exercising challengers!!

day 2: complete!

day 2 of 5 complete for the exercise challenge. yess :) it feels good.

i looked back on my exercise logs from 2005 and 2006. i exercised steadily throughout the year but when i reach september, october, november, the exercise slows down and almost stops. i'm glad i'm catching this now before the holidays.

so today was good points wise and even better gym wise. i did 40 mins on the elliptical so i burned 400ish calories. i'm going for a walk/run with my sister later. i'm excited, she usually doesn't exercise and can remain slim (lucky bitch) so it's nice to see her showing some interest.

i'm hopeful for the weigh-in friday. i am going to try to workout every day until then. and maybe once this weekend? not sure yet. as long as i get at least 5 days in, i will be good.

biggest loser is on tonight, i love it! so motivational.

and lastly....cute halloween wallpaper to download: click here

workout challenge: day 1!

hi everyone! hope your monday is more exciting than mine! not much to do on the work front. this gave me an opportunity to hit the gym! 35 minutes of cardio, yeeees! it feels good to be back in there. i challenged sarah to workout 5 days this week. so between now and next monday, i need to do 4 more sessions of cardio/weights. i think i can do it :)

went to the football game yesterday. this means beer & hot dogs. bad, i know. but i was good on friday and saturday, which doesn't happen often. so six good days last week :) hopefully i will see a loss or maintain on friday. i would be happy with that.

not much else to say. i'm enjoying my fake gingerbread latte/coffee creation. i used gingerbread coffeemate. YUM! :) back to "work"...hehe

christmas weigh-in: week 3

christmas weigh-in time! drumroll please.......

scale: 137

woo! yes :) awesome! i saw that on wednesday too so i feel pretty good about it. that means i'm down -2 from last week! sweet. i have to admit though, i wasn't particularly wonderful last night with the eating. all because of this:


apple pie ice cream
oh. my. god. this is so delicious. i will be bringing it to thanksgiving dinner and have it as my desert. it's 120 calories for a 1/2 cup. it has pie crust & apples in it. and it tastes JUST like apple pie. i'm not kidding you guys, this stuff is good. the cashier at the grocery store was like "apple pie ice cream? wow, thats WEIRD"....well guess what's not weird lady, how delicious this stuff is. i love it. you need to try it.

anyway, so yesterday i went over points by 5 or 6 or 7? i'm not sure. i did have a NSV though. went to the movies by myself! i've never done that before. so that was a fun experience. but the NSV was bringing a 100 calorie bag of popcorn & some lay's light chips. about 3 points worth of snacks and delish.

randi's blog challenge: why i'm awesome
(hopefully i don't sound vain...but oh well, all in good fun!)

1. i can run for 45 minutes without stopping (even though i haven't done it in a while)...but i used to hardly be able to run 5 mins without giving up
2. people at work always ask me about my working out & ask for tips about working out
3. my jeans feel looser :)
4. i like my body. especially my curves. i like how they look in clothing.
5. i tell my boyfriend that i grew new muscles in my legs. i might be the only one who can see them but that's all that matters
6. people say i'm tiny. i don't agree but it's a nice compliment.
7. i'm in the same weight range i was in high school
8. i've been working out for the past 2.5 years (taking weeks off here and there). i keep a log on my computer
9. i don't feel like an oddball at the gym, i know what i'm doing and i go often enough that i see the same people.
10. not diet related but still, this make me feel awesome: i'm very tech savvy. but i'm definitely not a nerd. this week i upgraded my bf's new laptop with more memory, after the geek squad guy at best buy told me not to bc i would probably fry the motherboard. HA! i did it! i did it! :)

so i hope everyone has a wonderful weekend. i will probably post tmw, not sure. going to the skins game on sunday so that should be fun! go skins!!

grocery obsession & a new challenge

i have a confession. i go to the grocery store almost every single day during the week. last night i was strolling through bloom at a leisurely pace with my cart, just checking out new products and eyeballing nutritional information on things i would never buy like: donuts, muffins, banana split ice cream, oreo cookies, etc. and i realized, it was very peaceful. i love being at the grocery store. especially at night when its nice and quiet. i looked for at my pedometer 2,000+ steps just from being there. wow! physical activity and i didn't even realize it. i hope my love of everything grocery isn't strange but that's okay if it is.

so, i've had my quick & cheesy quesadilla recipe 3 times this week. and OMG, its just so good. 3 points people! and its very filling! i think the melty laughing cow cheese is the best part, it's just too delicious. you need to try it.

totm finally arrived. i thought it was here bc i had cramps but no. it's here today. so katie, we may now be back on track! haha :)

CHALLENGE!!
over the summer sarah & i challenged each other to get in 5 days of exercise in one week. it was very challenging and fun. i challenged sarah again last night so starting sunday, i am going to get in 5 days of exercise. i love a challenge! wanna join?

scale said 137 yesterday. and 137.8 today. sooo what will it say tommorow with TOTM? who knows...and i dont feel like caring about it. just for this week. no numbers.

quick & cheesey quesadilla receipe

ingredients:

2 - la tortilla factory tortillas (small 50 calorie size) - 1 pt


1 wedge of laughing cow light garlic & herb - 0.5 pt


1 small sprinkling/palm full of monterrey jack cheese - 1-2 pts


directions:
spray pan with pam
spread the laughing cow wedge on one tortilla
sprinkle cheese on top of the laughing cow cheese so everything is spread evenly
top with other tortilla
lightly brown on both sides, flattening out each side, to smush the cheese
cut into four pieces
dip in salsa & fat free sour cream

YUM!!!! this was SOOOOOO good and filling. i wasn't hungry afterwards and could hardly finish the last piece. definitely try this one out! i copied a recipe from sandra lee and added smoked salmon to it as well. very yummy but i think the plain cheese is faster, cheaper & just as delicious.


as i was googling for pictures of laughing cow, i came across "laughing cow squeeze" which is available in the UK! bring it across the water laughing cow!!

other than that, its TOTM. so....i'm ignoring the evil scale. hopefully it's water weight. i need a break from it too, katie!!

back to the gym today? lets hope so....

lasagna & product finds

another monday, another day to get back on track. i have to say i did pretty well this weekend. last night i did indulge a little bit but i was pretty good for the most part!! i'm glad to be back in a routine. i need to get better at packing my lunches though.

today for lunch i tried a new product! eating well: spicy thai noodles. only 2 points and easy to heat up at work. it tasted really flavorful and there were tons of herbs & spices floating around. it was like low fat ramen noodles. i would definitely buy it again. i think it's a safeway brand....but it is called eating well so check out the soup aisle for that!

last winter roni's page introduced me to spaghetti squash. i love her spaghetti squash lasagna. SOOO good. i need to make that this week. i need to figure out how to get the zuchini thinner though so it cooks through more.

also, since it's breast cancer awareness month and being a girl, i love the color pink, here is another product i just bought:



bausch & lomb: renu multipurpose saline solution. it comes with the pink contact case! i don't know about you but i am always getting my case confused with my boyfriends so this will be great. and so cute! :) plus $0.75 from each one goes to breast cancer research. so that's definitely a reason to buy this!

alright....finishing up some work & then heading home. i have a headache so i won't be at the gym today but i plan on getting back tmw!

weekend control

hi everyone!

weight: 138.4

that's good! i can handle that. scale was up to 139 yesterday morning. i feel like i can lose these 4 lbs and get back down to my comfort zone. i am proud of myself, i stayed in last night, ate some lean cuisine mac & cheese (which i add hot sauce to and it totally feels delicious). i think i may have used 4 flex points, which is great since i usually use about 10-15 on friday nights!

going out tonight but nothing too crazy. and no more eating out this weekend. i've had too many restaurant trips lately and i need to start cooking more or picking up some subway if i really don't want to make anything.

so i will try to have some control for the rest of the weekend and start dropping some pounds. they have overstayed their welcome! haha

have a great weekend!

slacky mcslackerson

hi everyone!

slacky mcslackerson here!! this week has not been the best. starting with a 9 course meal on tuesday (i know...more on that in a minute), followed by a girl's happy hour on wednesday that turned into a beerfest & then out to dinner for BF's mom's birthday last night at bonefish....i just feel like a slug! i hate this, i am normally not like this. i haven't been to the gym in 2 weeks and im really getting frustrated with my bad choices.

i brought my gym bag today and im ready to get in there once again. im ready to start eating dinners at home and i need to definitely cut back on the flex points that i keep making up. 10 here, 10 there....way over 35 pts most likely.

so tuesday was our 2 year anniversary. we went to a swanky restaurant located in the mandarin oriental hotel. it was SO nice, we were waited on hand and foot. it's the kind of place where you just order the chef's six course meal and hope for the best. and it was AMAZING. gluttony at its finest. and of course the chef sent out extra plates with extra bites. i couldn't resist and since it was quite pricey i felt like i should just got for it. we had: sea bass, salmon, beef carpaccio, duck mouse (gross), lamb, lobster (omg so delicious), 5 assorted cheeses, guiness bread (wow!), wine, champagne, root beer ice cream thing & then chocolate "pudding" which was more like a gooey delicious chocolate cake. so basically, i ate everything on the planet that night.

wednesday was the girl's happy hour and i totally let myself indulge in appetizers, without a care in the world. last night was bonefish and i definitely gave in to the calamari and bang bang shrimp. i haven't been like this is so long, i feel so out of control. and i know that i'm done with the "eating crap" period. im ready to move on. today, so far so good.

so my christmas weigh-in: 139 - yes, that's right. up a lb. and i'm wondering how its not up 5 lbs but hey, i'll take it. i'm getting back on track starting today. i know its a friday but i have a very low key weekend planned.

hope you are all doing better than i am. i've been eating/drinking crap since july. weddings, vacations, birthday dinners, anniversary.....it's got to stop! every event is not an excuse to pig out! it's time to turn this around before i gain too many LBs. i'm so bloated and i hate this feeling. time to make a change.

did anyone watch the office last night? i love that show! andy was too funny with his conference call serenade. lol. take a chance on meee....haha. i love it.

have a great weekend :)

i <3 nyc

i'm back! and not sure how much i weigh and happy about it! lol. i'm so sick of that damn scale. by the feel of my clothing though, i feel the same. we went to NYC for 2 days and then home to see my family for 2 days. in NYC i did well with eating (did a little drinking though out at the bars). on friday we walked a good 60+ blocks. we walked for at least an hour and a half and all day i went 20,000 steps (9 miles) so i know that burned off the NY pizza i had! and get this, i only had one slice. yay me.

guess who i saw in NYC? josh hartnett!!



we brushed shoulders with him while walking in SoHo. OMG. so cute. i had stare, i couldnt help it. i was totally a tourist and loved every second. i also saw some girl who i recognized from america's next top model but i don't know her name. she was on a few seasons ago. so that was fun, i love a nice celeb siting!

thanks to everyone for the happy anniversary wishes. we are doing our anniversary dinner tonight. my boyfriend planned it himself and its at a super fancy restaurant with a 6 course meal prepared by the chef. needless to say tonight will not be very OP. i have eaten very low point so far today to save up for the grubbing i will be doing tonight. but i am looking forward to getting back OP tmw! no more vacations until thanksgiving so that's good.

alright, hope everyone is having a good week and i will be back in the gym tmw :)

mini vacay!

hi everyone! today is my anniversary with my boyfriend. 2 years together! the best 2 years of my life!! :) i had the day off and i am loving every second. i'm off until tuesday for a mini vacay with my boyfriend! :) i was super busy at work, sorry for the lack of posts. but i will try to stay OP during the vacay. crossing my fingers that there are no temptations!

for my xmas challenge weigh-in i'm just going to say 138 again, which is a maintain. i wont have access to a scale in our hotel or a computer.

alrighty...have a great week ladies! good luck with your weigh-ins :)

OP on a friday & christmas weigh-in

hi everyone! :)



my xmas challenge weigh-in
week one
starting weight: 138.8
1st weigh-in: 138.0

hey, thats good! i still can't belive the scale has gone up so much since the summer but i will admit i had a fun time getting there :) mexican food, pizza, beer, and basically just letting myself slip are to blame. i'm glad i have taken control though.

weight this morning: 137.2 :) yipeeeee - hopefully next week's weigh-in will be even better and i know this because last night i was totally ON POINT! no flexies. on a friday too! i don't remember the last time that happened.

it's partially because i went to the dentist and couldnt feel my mouth for 4 hours, thus preventing me from eating. but when i had the chance to eat i had a gardenburger on a light english muffin with a little bit of hummus. 3 pts and it was very filling. i called it an early night i'm very proud of myself. weekends are my weakness!

this morning i've had a light english muffin with a little bit of natural peanut butter & some coffee. i'm going to the mall and running errands with my sister today so that should be some good activity for the day!

hope everyone has a fabulous weekend, i'm going to try to not use too many flexies tonight, i like the way i'm feeling right now.

alright....bye!

5.5 lbs?

scale this morning: 135.2 -- which im not TOO excited about bc i had a few glasses of wine last night so i know this is probably just dehydration. but hey, it was nice to see :) weigh-in for week one of the christmas challenge is tmw. my starting weight will be the highest weight ive seen this week: 138.8 ~ i'm hoping for a loss!!

i read in SELF magazine that the average weight gain between summer and christmas for women is 5.5 lbs. wow, so it's not just me! that's close to what i've gained since the summer. i need to get it in check though and i really feel like i am :)

i have a work happy hour tonight :\ i'm going to order sushi and red wine. so i should be good to go!
have a great night! the office & greys are going to tivo for me, can't wait to chat about them!!

exercise log: 9/26

45 minutes on the elliptical = 400 calories burned
20 minutes walking on the treadmill = 100 calories burned
= 500 calories burned & 65 minutes of cardio

woohooooo

90 days until christmas!

scale is down! i know, i know, shouldn't weigh in everyday. this girl will never learn. but hey, better than what i saw yesterday. i need to be honest. yesterday i saw 138.8!! AHH!! wtf!! thats what i was thinking. ive stayed at 136 for the past month, whats with the 2.8 lb gain? TOTM is over finally, so i expected to lose. im realizing that i really went off track in august and this month. im so glad to be back ON track. hopefully my body will forgive me and the weight will melt off? i can only hope.

well today i saw 138.2 - so at least that's good, right? i need to stop with the scale, i can tell my clothes feel better, even since monday. like i said, i will never learn.

i did some arm weights while watching the biggest loser last night!! i love that show! jerry looks so great now. anyway, i tried what bob said about lifting weights (stand on a balance ball or one one foot to work more muscles. well i stood on one foot, man, it was hard! but i did it and can definitely feel the burn today. i really like lifting weights but sometimes after i do cardio i just want to leave the gym and shower off. i hate the feeling of being sweaty. you'd think i'd be over that by now, but no.

anyway...possibly hitting the gym again today. if not, definitely tmw. my legs are SO sore from yesterday. i really pushed myself hard and it felt great. we have a work luncheon at a chinese buffet (yuck...i dislike buffets, too many people around food i would be eating) but i scanned the menu (not the buffet, they have a regular menu) and they have sushi, steamed pot stickers & wontons and a vegetable grilled thing that you can hold the sauce on so i will probably get one of those. or maybe 2 ;)

i don't know what my starting weight is going to be for the christmas challenge. i guess 138.8? so, so far so good. down 0.6. gotta restart somewhere i guess....hopefully friday i will at least be down to 137.

alright back to work...have a great day ladies!

exercise log

UPDATE!
today's activity: 60 minutes on the treadmill

30 minute run (15 mins uphill)
30 minute uphill, moderate pace walk

= 450 calories
= 9,000 steps

hopefully this will somewhat make up for the fact that i skipped the gym yesterday :)

shopping is my cardio?

the scale went up this morning. wtf! i hate that damn thing. but oh well...not much i can do about it. i was perfectly on-point yesterday and i think i only ate about 16-18 pts....so i dont know why it went up but dinner was kind of heavy so maybe it was that. hopefully i can just maintain by friday. thats all i want at this point. and no, im not revealing that evil number that i saw this morning. hopefully i will not be seeing it again.

i had a slimfast for breakfast....not sure how i feel about those things but i was in a rush and it seemed like a good idea. i found myself getting snacky around 10am. i looked in my drawer here at work. and nothing looked good. i almost ate a luna bar but then realized i wasn't really "hungry" and would prefer to eat my lunch earlier, because i know it will be more satisfying than a luna bar. so NSV. i didnt give in to mindless snacking, drank a cup of coffee and now feel fine. i think the mental part of being at work and wanting snacks takes over my brain sometimes. but i need to really cut that out.

instead of the gym, i went to the mall yesterday. surprisingly i felt thin while trying clothes on. maybe im not as fat as i feel. i bought a new work shirt from forever 21. some of their stuff is teeny-bopper-ish but they have cute sweaters and stuff for work. its a navy blue mockneck sweater that buttons down on the side of the neck. hard to describe but it was only $14! i'll take it :)

not much else to say....going to the gym today. i feel guilty for not going yesterday and plus, i need it. i love the gym but the devil on my shoulder keeps telling me i dont need to go....go tmw....go for a run after work (which doesn't always happen). i need to listen to the angel on the other shoulder. "get on the elliptical, you like it. more than you like the muffin top that we will be seeing soon if you don't do something!!" haha :)

tarjay & healthy groceries

ohhh tarjay (target)...how i love thee. my sister and i spent about an hour and a half there yesterday. and most of our time was spent in the grocery aisles. i stocked up on healthy food and i'm excited for this week and ready to start doing the damn thing. :) some things i bought: nature's own honey wheat light bread, pickles, special k, crystal lite water bottle packs, 24oz bottle of water, coke zero, 100 cal key lime pie yogurt, 100 cal lemon cream pie yogurt, coffeemate pumpkin spice, fat free pringles (can't resist them), and some lean cuisines. all diet friendly, nothing bad. NSV!

i have 8 lbs to lose by christmas for the christmas challenge. can i really do it? i hope so. i'm going to really try. this morning the scale is down to 137.2. which is good considering on friday it was up to 138....i've never weighed less on a monday than i did on a friday morning. but it also could be due to TOTM. if i can see 136 tmw i will be happy. i actually had a great weekend eating wise. i may have indulged in too many beers friday night but i got myself back on track and saturday was not a complete waste. i babysat with my sister and we split a small microwavable pizza. yesterday we split a greek style pizza from trader joes (150 calories for 1/3 of the pizza). yum!! so delicious. had some red wine but mostly just had pizza as a cheat food.



today's sandwich i brought for lunch:
2 slices nature's own honey wheat bread (80 calories) = 1 pt
99% fat free turkey = 1 pt
spicy mustard = 0 pt
2 pickle slices on the side = 0 pt
20 sour cream & onion fat free pringles = 1 pt

and i have to say, i am stuffed right now. more stuffed than i am when i eat my lean cuisines. i need to start packing my lunch more. gym today after work. i really have no excuse not to go. i carpooled with my sister and i get off at 4 and she gets off at 5 so i might as well get a run in or hit the elliptical :) motivation is still in full force.


product find: pumpkin spice coffeemate
i keep this at the office, i love it! 45 calories a serving, which is way better than starbucks. but definitely not as tasty. it's a nice fake-out though!

alright....back to work! happy monday and let's get this christmas challenge started :o)

BLAH!

blah. that's how i can explain how i'm feeling about this weeks progress. actually i felt really good about it until i stepped on the scale. why do those numbers mean so much to me?

weighing in this morning did not bring me as much joy as i expected. but it is still TOTM so next week will hopefully be better! long gone are my days of seeing 132 though, let me tell you that. the scale said...gulp...137. yikes. ouch. what! damn. those were the thoughts in my head. but you know what? deal with it and move on. i've been a good weight watcher this week. i did go out to dinner last night and eat some mexican food so that could be the reason but like i said, i'm trying and i've made huge progress by already getting in 3 workouts this week and being on-point (except for last night when i used some flex points). but i'm back in the gym this afternoon and not giving up. motivation is key. baby steps.

hope everyone has a fabulous weekend. not much planned...probably celebrating a friend's birthday tonight and then babysitting tmw night with my sister. so that should be low key and hopefully low cal. :)

row, row, row your boat

so yesterday i found myself all alone in the gym. mind you, my gym is one of many in our office complex and this one in particular only has a few treadmills, elliptical machines and weights. nothing fancy but probably could only accomodate 10-15 people who were trying to get their cardio on. i first hopped on the elliptical for 10 mins. then the treadmill for 18. blah. i was bored. i didnt want to do it. and then in the corner of my eye i see the rowing machine.

it was old, wooden, and i have no idea how many calories i burned. it basically only measured time and distance. i was only going to try it for 2 mins (to give me an even 30 mins of cardio...because i'm anal retentive like that). so i hopped on and before i knew it, i was on there for 7 mins. and omg did it burn. my arms were on fire. but a good burn. a biggest-loser-running-in-the-sand-carrying-a-log-over-your-head burn (i imagine). i was so into it, it was awesome. i don't know if i would do it if other people were in there (i'm a shy worker-outer), i was panting pretty hard...turns out (according to sparkpeople.com) i burned around 70 calories, but not bad for 7 mins sitting down, right? but it just reminded me that i need to switch it up every once in a while. try new things.

i really want to work on running more outside since the weather is nice. i kicked my own butt last night and it felt great.

christmas challenge here we come! :)

biggest loser inspired me

after going to the gym today and doing cardio (including the rowing machine...more on that tmw) & strength training...i came home today after work, changed back into my workout clothes and went for a 20 min run! this occurred right after i watched my tivo-ed biggest loser season 3 episode. wow. i was so motivated. if they can do it, i can get off my ass and go for a jog in this beautiful weather.

non-scale victory of the day :)

i heart pumpkins

pumpkin spice lattes are back at starbucks. omg. my favorite. i ordered a tall skim, no whip pumpkin spice latte today before work. i checked out dwlz.com - 4.5pts for a tall! whoa. i thought it would be around 3. from now on i am getting the "short"...its the tiniest size at SBX (im a nerd) and it's not up on the menu but you can order them. i'm thinking that would be around 2.5 pts. yum.

aside from the pumpkins in my latte and the pumpkins i've seen around town, it really is starting to feel like fall. part of me is happy that its sweater season and jacket season...i can hide the couple of pounds i've gained quite nicely. but the other part of me is still motivated. i know, suprising. i'm going down to the gym around 12:45 (i ate some food a little while ago and need it to digest). look at me, back in the gym. it feels great and i love it. AND i have my ipod today, which i did not have on monday. i didn't realize how dependent i am on my iPod for working out and staying in the zone.

still haven't weighed in. i will on friday. i'm thinking im still around 135-136 which is fine. just need to keep trucking and get back to normal!
happy hump day everyone :)

p.s. can't wait to watch biggest loser!! i tivo-ed it! :)

easing my way back in the saddle

hi everyone.

guess what? i went to the gym yesterday! woo!! and it wasn't as hard getting back into it as i thought. i was able to run the same as usual and not feel too out of shape. victory! :) i'm going again tmw. i was going to go today but after a day in a training session, i decided not to push it but will definitely be there tmw!!

not much else to say, i'm a bad blogger lately and i apologize.

plans tonight: going to dinner with my boyfriend and then hopefully watching the 1st season of brothers & sisters (on DVD today!) with my sister. i'm weighing in friday, i'm going to watch what i eat and get to the gym and stop obsessing about that damn scale.

guess what...lindsay lohan works out at katieo's gym!! ah! so crazy. can't wait to hear fun stories if she sees her there :) did i ever tell you i love celeb gossip? i know, so stupid and pointless but hey, its entertaining. poor britney though. ANYWAY!

BB8: it doesnt really matter who wins at this point but i'm thinking daniele will take it home.

alright....later taters.

accountability

weight: 136.6

i was thisclose to not posting today. like i've been saying, my heart really isnt into counting points or working out lately and i've said time and again that i am getting back on track. well i'm on track during the week (except for a few happy hours here and there) but on the weekends i'm bad. well this weekend is the last one. monday i am back on track and i have made a bet with my boyfriend. i haven't come up with it yet...maybe clean his room or something if i don't do it...but i need some kind of motivation. this has got to stop.

i weighed in at 136.6...which isn't bad but its more than my usual and my jeans are TIGHT. im also PMSing so i am kind of using that as an excuse. hopefully i will be done with aunt flo by monday. if not, still going to the gym and still eating right. i always feel slimmer after my period, i dont know what it is. and hardly any cravings. so i think this might just work. i also want to work on dropping 10 lbs by christmas with carolyn and anne so i need to get that started sooner than later!!

i haven't seen last nights BB8 yet so don't tell me who leaves! im going to watch it when i get off work. tonight: going out for drinks/dinner with my girlfriends. saturday: possibly out for dinner with my sister and her friend. and sunday = football. but monday, that's the key i think. focus on that and let myself have one last weekend hurray. sounds like a plan? i hope so!!

have a great weekend everyone :)

better blogger

so i haven't been posting as much as i should but i'm trying! i've been good this week and my pants even feel looser. i will admit i had 3 slices of pizza over the weekend...accompanied with beer...but i wasn't as bad as usual. that's an improvement right? i didn't weigh myself yesterday or today but think i might just post my friday weigh-ins from here on out? i will still weigh everyday though. i think i'm finally getting back into my groove.

my sister and some girlfriends went to "ladie's night" at the melting pot tonight. if you don't know what the melting pot is, it's basically a fondue restaurant that serves a 4 course meal. i said i wasn't going to go, i don't need to eat that, i'm not in the mood to eat that and i'm actually back on track. my sister gave me a guilt trip about how i need to go out and have fun our girlfriends but ya know what? if i can resist melting pot, i think that's a good thing. i know she just wants me to hang out but sometimes the peer pressure is too much.

so i am staying in tonight. i had some brocoli, 3 pieces of sushi and i might have another light snack. my desert is my new favorite ice cream: dreyer's slow churned "american idol: hollywood cheesecake" flavor. Oh. My. God. it is absolutely amazing. i think it's limited edition but that's probably a good thing. it's cheesecake flavored ice cream swirled with strawberry sauce and graham crackers. 140 calories a serving and to die for. better than most "real" ice cream if you ask me.

so i'm getting my eating down and i think it's time to get back into the gym...why haven't i been in 2 weeks? who knows! i've been full of excuses but no more!! tmw is the day. (crossing my fingers i stay motivated)

also a big thank you to my girl carolyn who posted some lovely things about me in her blog! she is such a sweet girl and we are very similar in where we are in our lives right now. thanks girl!! check out her blog now, she's truly a weight-loss inspiration :)

she's alive!

hi everyone....sorry for my absence. i guess i didn't realize how long it's been since i last posted. my reason? going off plan, not exercising and basically just doing whatever i wanted food/drink wise. clothes started to get a little tighter, the scale went up and i became really disappointed with myself for letting myself go. but i'm going to catch it before it gets any more out of hand. the scale is up to about 138 and im not happy about that. that means 3 lbs in like 3 weeks but im pretty sure its water weight. the lbs have been falling off these past few days. so i just need to stick to it. no more weddings, bachelorette parties, for a while and only one more concert! phew!!

not much else is new with me. another one of my friends was married over the weekend so that was nice. i'm just working and living life. my cubicle was moved to a new location so i haven't been commenting on too many blogs at work since there is a lot of traffic behind my desk. i read them all though!!

i have two product finds that i am LOVING

ms. t's perogies


3 good sized perogies for 4 points. they are delicious with fat free sour cream, yum! i love these. apparently they sell mini-perogies that are 7 for 3 points, i definitely need to find these!

american idol: take the cake ice cream


this ice cream tastes like birthday cake. yellow dough with blue frosting and sprinkles. it's very yummy and around 2pts a serving, i love it!!

BB8: i think jessica is going home tonight. and then after her probably eric or jameka unless they win POV which i doubt. i'm not sure what the whole "double elimination" means....so that should be fun to watch!

alright that's it for now, back to work but i will check in tmw and hopefully make it to the gym tonight :)

bad weight watcher :(

hi everyone!! yes, i am alive and well but the bad news is, i've been a BADDDD weight watcher. i think i finally just got tired of watching the points and exercising and totally let myself go for about 2 weeks. but alas, i am back. i've been good since tuesday and plan on keeping that up. i'm missing my routine and being back in the groove. these weddings and BBQs have gotten out of hand!

sorry for not posting but i will be back tmw with some product finds and will be back to my blog reading!!! thanks for caring ladies :)