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 :)