Whine and Dine

So this was a disappointing week for me. I thought I was doing so well and looking back at my daily reports, I was. But when I saw what my scale had to show me the other morning, I felt completely defeated. Weird for me, really, since I can usually be pretty reasonable about weigh-ins. I know that my weight can fluctuate a lot. I know that it's not realistic to expect a 2+ pound weight loss each week. I know that when I skip meals it doesn't necessarily add up to weight loss for me. For some reason, though, all that reasonable-ness went out the window and I had more than one whine and dine moment over the course of the last couple of days--you know where you whine about not losing fast enough and then dine on whatever you want just to prove that...um...you aren't losing fast enough? I'm not pretending that this all makes sense, I'm just telling it like it is for me.

But this week's weigh-in convinces me that I need to track in a different way. It's apparently not enough to eyeball my portions and write it all down. I need to be more precise so I'm going to take Peggy Sue's lead and track calories--at least for now. I started today. I downloaded an app onto my iPhone that will help me track calories and I'll know at a glance how many more I have left for the day. I can already tell that it will make a difference for me to track this way since I attended a birthday party earlier today and passed on cupcakes and other goodies. I took one look at my calories I had left for the day and I knew that I didn't want to waste them on junk.

I'll still focus on getting my calories from whole foods, but even whole foods, if you eat too much of them, will make you fatter than you want to be. I can't promise that I can quit whining about this all together, but I'll try.

Day 31: Daily Report

Breakfast

• 2 slices sprouted bread
• 1% cottage cheese

Snack

• banana
• 1T peanut buter

Lunch

• 1 cup ceasar salad
• garden burger
• 2 slices sprouted bread
• tomato & lettuce

Snack

• 1 small tootsie roll (everyone else was having bday cupcakes!)
• ww pretzels
• nf latte
  

Dinner

• smart dog
• ww bun

Water

• not enough; didn't track very well

Exercise

• zilch

Calories: 1592 (goal 1600)

Victories: Coming out of my slump. Tracking calories and hitting my goal right on the nose.

Defeats: No exercise. Not enough water or veggies.

Observations: see me earlier post, "Whine and Dine"




Breakfast

• 4 small homemade waffles
• 8 oz. milk

Snack

• banana
• 6 oz. fat free yogurt

Lunch

• Lean Cuisine entree with added reduced fat sour cream, grape tomatoes, black beans

Snack

• banana

Dinner, sort of

• 1/2 peanut butter sandwich
• 2 small brownies
• 2 small lemon bars
• 4 Hershey kisses
• 8 almonds

Snack????

• 2 small waffles

Water

• 64 oz.

Exercise

• YES!!!! Finally!!!! 1 hour Total Body Workout

Calories/Fat/%: 2410/61.5/22%

Victories: Hmmm...just exercise, I guess.

Defeats: Just about every eating session.

Observations: I'm starting to get out of control again with eating. I have been hungrier the last few days AND baby Elvis has been too, wanting to nurse more often than his usual 2 hour span. Gotta be a connection there. Doris Day (13) and Obi-wan (10) had a piano recital, and that's where the candy and bars came from. I don't know why I ate them...they weren't that good and I knew they wouldnt' be. But I ate them anyway. Go figure. I think I've had a brownie in some form over the last 4 days. What's up with that?

Weigh-in: Week 4

I'm beyond bummed. I feel like I tried hard and stayed track all week. The week actually got better as it went along. I have no idea why I gained. Was last week a fluke weight? Am I way off on my portions? Am I sleep eating? Is my scale battery going dead? I just don't get it. I haven't been perfect, but I've definitely been careful. So disappointed this week. I need to regroup and figure some stuff out and quick! Losing weight is so hard. I HATE IT.



I guess I'm going pretty steady here. I really didn't expect to see much weight loss this week, with baby Elvis' antics I was spending a lot of the time couch-bound. I don't think the next weigh-in will be that kind to me though. But maybe I can break 215.

Day 30: Daily Report

Breakfast

• small whole grain bagel egg sandwich (1 egg) with 1 oz lf cheddar
• iced nf latte
  

Lunch

• 1 cup 1% cottage cheese
• banana

Snack

• handful of blueberries

Dinner (Fresh Choice)

• huge spinach salad w/egg, cabbage, garbanzo beans, peas, sunflower seeds, balsamic vinegar/olive oil
• 1 corn muffin (small)
  

Dessert

• 1/2 cup vanilla soft serve

Water

• 60 oz

Exercise

• no

Victories: I kept the dessert situation under control at dinner. I sent all leftover pizza from last night in lunches so there wouldn't be any to snack on (cold pizza... yummm)

Defeats: Not enough in the middle of the day and I was starving my the time we had dinner. Not getting my exercise in!

Observations: I didn't feel well yesterday and started off the same today. Headachey, sorta dizzy. I feel better now, but I was really up to exercising.






Breakfast

• 1 c. pears
• 1/2 c. cottage cheese

Snack

• 6 oz. fat free yogurt

Lunch

• Lean Cuisine pizza
• spinach salad with 1 Tbsp. dressing
• banana
• 100 calorie peanut butter cookie pack

Snack

• Sabotage Sandwich: 2 slices bread, peanut butter, 1 banana, 1/4 c. mini mallows (cooked grilled cheese style)
• 6 oz. milk
  

Dinner

• 1 1/2 c. cheerios
• 8 oz. milk

Snack (out to a movie with a friend)

• Outback: 2 crab cakes with 2 tsp. Remoulade sauce
• Outback: Shared the dessert trio sampler with my friend
  

Calories/Fat/%: lost track after dinner

Water

• 60 oz.

Exercise

• AAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH....um, no.

Victories: Did okay through lunch. I took a small bag of chocolate chips to the movie with me to keep me from buying any movie snacks, but didn't eat them.

Defeats: Sabotage sandwich. Outback.

Observations: Not good eating for weight loss over the last few days. However, considering the damage I would have done before we started this blog, it was a reasonable indulgence at Outback. I figured the 2 crab cakes were better than the Bloomin' Onion or the Cheese Fries. They were really good. The dessert sampler has a smaller than normal (for Outback) portion of 3 desserts, and we split that. So probably 1/3 or less of their normal dessert portions.

Day 29: Daily Report

Breakfast

• 2 ww waffles w/1/4 c cottage cheese and 1 T fruit spread

Lunch

• popcorn. a lot of popcorn
• apple
  

Dinner

• 3 pieces cheese pizza

Water

• not enough

Exercise

• none to speak of

Victories: Can think of any

Defeats: Um... did you read above?

Observations: Clearly, it was horrible day. It all started when I weighed-in and saw that after staying on track all last week and getting extra exercise is and more water, etc, etc. I'd GAINED 1.4 pounds. I didn't plan on blowing it. And I don't plan on continuing to blow it.






Breakfast

• Nutrisystem granola packet
• 6 oz. fat free vanilla yogurt
  

Snack

• 1 c. cheerios with 6 oz. milk
  

Lunch

• 1/2 banana
• wraps: 2 ww tortillas, 3 oz. chicken, 1 oz. Jack cheese, 1 c. spinach, 2 Tbsp. corn, 1/3 c. black beans, salsa, lite sour cream

Snack (here's where I start to blow it)

• 3 100 calorie packs
• 4 large marshmallows
  

Dinner

• 2 ladle-fuls homemade potato-corn-carrot-ham chowder
• 2 homemade biscuits
  

Dessert

• 1 brownie with 1/2 c. lite ice cream and drizzles of chocolate syrup and caramel...yeah, that's right, I said it...CARAMEL!

Water

• 40 oz.

Exercise

• nope. I don't know what's going on with me this week.

Day 28: Daily Report

Breakfast

• 1/2 cup 2% cottage cheese
• apple

Snack

• SoyJoy bar

Lunch

• vegetarian chili
• mixed greens, red bell peppers, 1 oz cheddar

Snack

• SoyJoy bar (different, but not better, flavor)
• 1"square dark chocolate
  

Dinner

• 1 cup cottage cheese
• granola bar
• tangerine

Water

• 3 liters

Multi-vitamin

• affirmative

Exercise

• 4 miles walking

Victories: No coffee!

Defeats: Not a great dinner.

Observations: I have the worse headache on earth. Not sure if it's due to lack of coffee or lack of dinner. I could eat more, but it's late now... the evening got away from me.






Breakfast

• 1 c. Kashi 7 grain flakes with milk

Snack

• 1 cinnamon raisin whole wheat english muffin with 1 tsp. butter

Lunch

• 6 oz. yogurt
• Lean Cuisine Orange Chicken frozen entree
• 2 100 calorie packs pretzels

Snack

• cheddar cheese on toast
• 4 large marshmallows

Dinner

• spinach salad: 2 c. spinach, 8 grape tomatoes, 4 oz. chicken, 2 Tbsp. lite dressing

Dessert

• 1 c. lite ice cream with 1 Tbsp. chocolate syrup

Water

• 70 oz.

Exercise

• none...again...but a good amount of housework

Calories/Fat/%: 1875/50/24%

Victories: Staying pretty close to the calorie/fat goal. Having a salad for dinner instead of what my family was having. Eating lite ice cream instead of full fat, full sugar.

Defeats: Exercise. Water. Not enough fruit and veg.

Day 27: Daily Report

Breakfast

• Luna Bar- Iced Oatmeal
• pear

Lunch (out for a work lunch)

• tinga de pollo (shredded chicken cooked with onions, tomatoes, chipotle chilis-wrapped in a kind of crepe and topped with chipotle sauce and cheese*)
• 2 3" corn tortillas
• 2 T guacamole

Snack

• handful of raisins

Dinner

• 1 cup steamed broccoli
• small baked potato
• salsa

Dessert

• 1 cup grapes

Water

• 3 liters

Multi-vitamin

• yes

Exercise

• 4 miles walking

Victories: Keeping the guacamole in check at lunch. *Scraping the cheese off my tinga.

Defeats: Still struggling with balancing everything. Some days my food is spot on and my exercise is off and some I don't get me water in but I get all my exercise in. Little by little, I'm getting better, though.

Observations: I looked at the resatuarnt menu before I left for lunch and I was planning to have a fish dish. The tinga is something that I love and was the special of the day. I didn't expect it to have cheese on it or I would have asked them to hold it... that was the most fattening part of the dish by far. I think I did the bst I could once I had it in front of me, but the tuna carnitas would have been a better choice, so I should have stuck with me plan. Next time I will.




Breakfast

• 1 package Nutrisystem pancakes made with one banana
• 8 oz. milk

Lunch

• Chicken salad sandwich
• Spinach salad with 1/2 oz cheese and lite dressing
• Banana Blackberry Spinach Yogurt Smoothie*

Snack

• 100 calorie pack Oreo golden cakesters

Dinner

• Lean Cuisine Mac and Cheese
• Spinach salad with 3 oz. chicken and lite dressing

Dessert**

• 2 100-calorie chocolate covered pretzels snack packs
• 1 cupcake
• 2 pieces almost fat-free cake with cream cheese frosting

Calories/Fat/%: 2260/81.5/32%

Water

• 70 oz.

Exercise

• NO!!! Dangit!!!
  

Victories: At the grocery store, getting a box of 100 cal. packs to share among me and the kids, instead of a candy bar, or donuts, etc. I did really good until dessert.

Defeats: Eating the cupcake and fat free cake. Not getting my water goal or exercise in.

Observations: *If you haven't tried this smoothie, you should. You can make a yogurt smoothie with banana and any other fruit of your choice, then put in a big handful of raw spinach, blend, and enjoy! The spinach just disappears and you can't even taste it. But you really need the banana in it. **Okay, so I had the 2 pretzel packs in an effort to be full and done before getting to church because I knew there would be food there. I was there for an event for 13yo daughter Doris Day, and I went to go nurse baby Elvis halfway through. My youngest daughter, Shirley Temple, brought me a cupcake from the refreshments. I ate it. I stupid. It wasn't even good. Overcooked. So then, to make myself feel really guilty, I went and ate two pieces of that Bean Puree Cake I was telling you about the other day....with frosting. Yeah. I are smart.

Day 26: Daily Report

Breakfast

• 1/4 c lf granola
• 1/2 cup lf yogurt
• 1 apple
  

Lunch

• egg salad (mixed w/ 1t smart balance mayo and 1T dijon mustard)
• 2 pieces sprouted bread
• couple of bites of brown rice w/broccoli, chicken, and cheddar that made for the kids lunch
  

Snack

• 3 cups popcorn

Dinner

• nf latte
• oatmeal cookie
  

Water

• 3 liters!

Multi-vitamin

• yes!

Exercise

• None. Such a crazy Monday

Victories: Water. Three liters of water is my goal and I almost NEVER get there. Not eating each and every cookie in the pastry case at the coffee shop while I tried to finish my work.

Defeats: Eating one cookie at the coffee shop while I tried to finish up my work. Oh and not eating dinner because it go too late.

Observations: Mondays are always tough, but today, with one son out of school for a staff work day and the other running amuck and climbing bookshelves all day, it was particularly trying. I realize that's no excuse for the day's eating, but there you have it.






Breakfast

• 1/2 c. cottage cheese
• 1 banana
• 5 aebleskivers

Snack

• 4 aebleskivers

Lunch

• 5 saltines
• wrap sandwich: 1 ww tortilla, 1 oz. cheese, 2 oz. chicken, homemade salsa, 1 c. spinach
• 1.5 small baked potatoes with twice baked filling

Snack

• 1 banana
• 6 oz. Yoplait fat free yogurt

Dinner

• 100 calorie Oreo cakesters
• homemade hashbrowns
• 2 egg omelet with homemade salsa, black beans, corn
• 1 c. spinach with homemade salsa dressing

Completely Unnecessary Sweet Tooth Driven Snack

• another 100 calorie cakesters (these 3 cake sandwiches are disturbingly small)
• 2 large marshmallows

Water

• 50 oz.

Exercise

• none

Victories: Not completely blowing it today after a very stressful visit to the pediatrician's office.

Defeats: Not enough water. Again. That last snack of the day. Stupid, but not a huge deal. Not getting exercise in.

Observations: Ever since I said I was gonna up my water intake, I have had the hardest time just getting in the bare minimum! What did I do, curse myself? Anyway, after dinner I was at 55g fat and EXACTLY 1800 calories!!! I was so proud. Until snack #3. Oh well. The aebleskivers? Well, I gave Neo an aebleskivers pan for Christmas (hey, he asked for it) and I wanted to try it out. They're okay. I like them better cold.

A Puree of Hope in a Fatty World

Here's the recipe for Bean Puree Cake. Don't give me that look! It's really good! I triple-dog-dare you to try it.
Any Cake Mix Bean Puree Cake
(I just recently tried the spice cake...very good)

• pinto bean puree exchanged for same amount of oil called for in recipe (use liquid beans were cooked in to get right consistency)
  

• 1 box cake mix

• eggs as needed on box

• water as needed on box

Substitute bean puree for all the oil. Mix and bake as usual (if using a white or vanilla cake you can do the same with navy beans, black beans for chocolate cake). Frost.

This is a recipe for using dried beans from food storage. I'm sure you could work with canned and give that a try. But we Mormons are always looking for ways to use up and rotate our beans, wheat, etc., so this is a great idea.

Do You Know the Way to San Jose?

This week's exercise/activity brought me to San Jose, California on our Journey to Shamrock map. (My route, of course, is on the left and Peggy Sue's is on the right. Double click on the map to zoom in.)

So let's see... what can I say about San Jose? Not a whole lot. I don't go there very often. When I was little, we used to drive through San Jose on the way to my grandparent's house (we lived in Central California, back then) fairly often and there was a huge freeway project that was put on hold due to a state budget crisis (not unlike the one we're having now... strange). Anyway, there was a big crazy overpass thing that was built but not connected to the freeway for years and years. To this day, it freaks me out to drive over it... the 9-year-old in me remembers that creepy overpass to nowhere.

Creepy, right? As I searched for this photo, I learned that it was referred to the California Stonehenge.

Years later it looks like this:

Not sure if that's an improvement now that I look at it. But San Jose isn't all about freeway exchanges. It has played an important role in California since 1777 when it became California's first civilian settlement and then went on to be the state's capital during the gold rush in the mid 1800's. Prior to the Spaniards settling there, it was home to the Ohlone Native Americans. It served as an agricultural hub for the west coast (Del Monte was it's largest employer for years), then an industrial center beginning in the 50s and now is the heart of Silicon Valley.

So there you have it: San Jose in a nutshell. But how could we talk about San Jose without a little Dionne Warwick? Enjoy!

Day 25: Daily Report

Breakfast

• 2 scrambled eggs
• 1/2 cup sauteed potatoes, onions, garlic

Snack

• large handful of dry roasted peanuts

Lunch

• orange
• iced mocha
  

Dinner

• kale (fresh from the garden yesterday!) sauteed in olive oil and garlic. This just in: I don't really like kale
  
• garden burger, tomato, lettuce on 2 pieces sprouted bread
  

Water

• 85 oz
  

Exercise

• 6 mile hike-very hilly

Victories: Not passing out during or after that hike. Seriously. It's a big hill.

Defeats: Too many peanuts. Not enough lunch. Stupid mocha has way too much sugar... I don't really like mochas but my Marido brought it home to me thinking I would like it. It was a moment of weakness after the hike...but the moment was long enough to inhale the whole thing.

Observations: The hike was the same one I did last Monday. I don't know why it seemed harder. Maybe it was the wind and the rain.





Breakfast

• 1 c. multi-grain cheerios
• 6 oz. milk

Snack

• 6 oz. Yoplait Strawberry Shortcake yogurt
• 1 banana
• bites of dishes cooked from food storage items (2 scoop Tostitos with homemade salsa, 1 itty-bitty Dixie cup with white bean soup, 2 1" x 2" pieces spice cake with frosting)

Lunch

• 6 oz. Yoplait Pineapple Upside Down Cake yogurt
• 2 large marshmallows
• 3 ww tortillas
• homemade salsa with corn and black beans
• salad with 1 c. spinach, 1/2 oz. cheddar, 2 oz. chicken, salsa for dressing

Dinner

• 8 oz. milk
• 3 pieces homemade french toast with syrup

Dessert

• 2 large marshmallows
  

Water

• 74 oz.
  

Exercise

• day off

Calories/Fat/%: 1895 calories/25.5 g fat/13% fat

Victories: Stayed pretty well on track today. Fat grams under today, but averaged with yesterday it's perfect. Brought a banana to eat in the car on the way home from church so I wouldn't inhale the entire kitchen upon walking in the door at lunchtime. Homemade salsa was so good.

Defeats: Still not enough water. Too many carbs, not enough produce.

Observations: The food storage items--in our church we really encourage people to store food for emergencies, whether they be natural disasters or loss of income. But sometimes learning to cook with those items in order to rotate them can be tricky. So one of the ladies at church has started bring samples of food made with these items to help people see that there are lots of things to make with them. The cake was made with bean puree instead of oil, and it was SO good.

Day 24: Daily Report

Breakfast

• toaster waffle sandwich (2 multigrain waffles, 1T peanut butter, 1/2 banana mashed)

Snack

• orange
• 10 raw almonds
  

Lunch

• Progesso Light Zesty Santa Fe Soup
• 2 pieces sprouted bread toast* w/ >1T butter
  

Snack

• two cups popcorn
  

Dinner

• huge portion of salad-romaine, chicken, lf cheddar, chopped apple, lf raspberry vinaigrette

Dessert

• 3/4 cup choc soy "ice cream"

Water

• 85 oz

Exercise

• 2 hours weeding, mulching, turning over soil in son, Indiana Jones', school garden-8 miles
• 1 mile walking (.5 to school, .5 home)
  

Victories: Getting over the school for garden day. It was pretty drizzly this morning and it would have been cozier at home, but I'm glad we went. It was a good day overall.

Defeats: My waffle sandwich, while yummy and satisfying, is probably no the best breakfast combo.

Observations: Gardening is hard work! But it was great to leave Young Zorro home with Marido and hang out with Indiana Jones for a while. He cracks me up.

*The sprouted bread I buy has no processed flour in it so doesn't metabolize like a normal piece of bread would. Plus, it only has 90 calories for two pieces.







Breakfast

• 3 4" pancakes with homemade syrup, butter
• 8 oz. milk

Snack

• 1 Lindt truffle

Lunch

• Chicken Caesar salad with 1 oz. parmesan, fork-dipped into dressing (1 Tbsp?)
• 1.5 slices cheese pizza from personal pizza

Snack

• 100 calorie pack chocolate covered pretzels

Weird Dinner

• 100 calorie pack nutter butters
• 3 oz. assorted cheeses
• 3/4 c. bran flakes in milk
• 1 c. multigrain cheerios in milk
• 2 3" pancakes with homemade syrup, butter

Water

• 70 oz.
  

Exercise

• 45 minutes Wii Fit: step with weights (35 min), yoga poses, balance exercises
  

Calories/Fat/%: 2192 calories/111.5 g/46%!!!!!!!!!!! Wha?

Victories: I chose the salad at Target's snack bar while out shopping, and I only dipped my fork lightly in the very thick dressing. It was actually not bad for a Target salad. Added wheat germ and sweet potato puree to the pancakes to make them a little more healthy.

Defeats: Hmmm, where to start. The Lindt truffle by itself is not bad, and I was pretty proud of myself all the way up to dinner. I dont' know what happened. I just lost it. I ate the cheese while shredding about 12 pounds that I had bought in block form at the store. And what was up with that carb fest? There were pancakes left from breakfast and I get a silly thrill out of making sure leftovers get eaten...I ate the last two. Stupid. It was like I was on auto-pilot. And I obviously have an addiction to cold cereal. Still not getting water.

Observations: I cannot be trusted. Okay. It was just a bad evening for food. Moving on. I didn't get the exercise I wanted to get in today. Apparently no one wants to sell step platforms around here. I'll have to order online. And I didn't get to exercise until 10pm, but I did it!! It's really important to me to follow through because I'm so good at excuses.

Wheat "Thins"? Yeah, Right.

Sure, you look all healthy and stuff. What with your whole grains and your low fat. And, you are super delicious when I dip you into cottage cheese or hummus. You even have the word "thin" in your name. But you're sneaky (and snacky!). Even if I carefully portion you out (16=130 calories) and tell myself that I can stay away from you if I put your box back in the cupboard, you call to me all day. And on days like today, when I'm working from home, you beg and you whine until I put you out of your misery. My only saving grace this time is that I packed you in kids' lunches all week so there weren't many of you left.

So that's it! I'm recycling your box for the last time and I'm not buying you anymore. I'm sure we'll cross paths again, but just let's just pretend we don't know each other. I'll stay out of your aisle and you stay out of my basket and we'll get along just fine. Farewell, crunchy friend.

Day 23: Daily Report

Breakfast

• 1/2 banana
• 1 c 1% cottage cheese

Snack

• 16 Wheat Thins
• cottage cheese for dipping

Lunch

• quesadilla (2 corn tortillas, 1 oz lf cheese, salsa)
• handful of blueberries
• 
  

Snack

• pear
• handful of wheat thins
  

Dinner

• 1/2 cup quinoa
• 1 cup steamed broccoli & cauliflower

Dessert

• 1/2 cup choc soy milk "ice cream"
• 10 raw almonds

Water

• 70 oz

Exercise

• 2 miles walking

Victories: Bidding adieu to my good friend with the initials W.T. Buying the soy "ice cream" 1/2c =150 calories (and less sugar) instead of the real stuff.

Defeats: Slacking in the water and exercise departments.






Breakfast

• 1 1/2 c. bran flakes
• 1 c. 1% milk
• 1 tsp. sugar

Snack

• 8 oz. berry yogurt, fat free
• 1 slice toast
• 1 oz. cheddar cheese

Lunch

• Lean Cuisine Orange Chicken entree
• salad: 1 c. spinach, 1.5 oz. roasted chicken, 1Tbsp. Greek vinaigrette, 1 oz. mozzarella cheese
• 1 banana

Snack

• 8 oz. vanilla yogurt, fat free
• 1/2 c. Kashi GoLean Crunch cereal
• 4 graham cracker squares
  

Dinner

• 4 oz (raw weight) baked flounder filet
• sauteed asparagus, mushrooms, onions
• cauliflower
• 1 3" dinner roll

Dessert

• 1 c. chocolate cherry nut truffle ice cream (yeah, i know)

Water

• 60 oz.

Exercise

• None
  

Fat/Calories: 65.5 grams/2220 calories.....27% from fat (actually a good percentage, but went over calories by 400...gee, the same amount as the ice cream...huh...I wonder if there's a connection there)

Victories: Sticking to plan....until dessert, that is.

Defeats: Not getting water in again. Having 400 calories of ice cream on a whim (should've read the label first. I was shocked.) Not getting to exercise, but mostly because of baby Elvis.

Observations: I was much hungrier today. Had a bit of a rough day with Elvis, constantly starting something only to have to stop to deal with his fussiness. That always stresses me out. He manages to get fussy just when I'm on a roll with something. I'm glad tomorrow is Saturday....I can get some good workout time in.

Weigh-In: Week 3

Hooray for Peggy Sue! She hit the 5 lbs. mark! I'm at 3.8 for three weeks. Pretty average, but I can't complain. I have been trying but I've also been resisting the "d" word and insisting on eating normal portions of whole foods. The only problem is, I haven't stuck to my plan very well. I think it's time to revisit my original goals and get back to the basics. I've made some ok mental progress in the last few weeks, so I'm feeling not so bad about 3.8 pounds.

As for last week's exercise challenge, I didn't quite hit my mark of 3.8 miles per day. I did increase average mileage, but I did go from 2.8 to 3.2 miles. It'll be harder now that it's raining, but this week I WILL DO IT.




Now I have reached the 5 pound mark! Over three weeks I suppose that's not too shabby. When I break 215 I'm going to buy myself this apron. The last two days of calorie counting have gone pretty well, considering that that is an activity I really hate. It has made me so much more aware of what I'm eating. I tend to be a mindless eater. But with exercise I have a unique challenge. Time. No, I know, everyone has that challenge. But with a baby who wants to be held ALL THE TIME, I can barely get a shower in most days. Time for a new plan. I'll work on that this weekend. I'd like to take a bike ride tomorrow, but the forecast calls for rain. I'm going to buy a step platform tomorrow, and see what else I can get set up. Exercise is going to be key for me in controlling my PCOS and in losing weight. Wish me luck!

Welcome to Lizard Lick!!

Unlike Betty Lou, I don't have any large cities to post about just yet. But that won't stop me. My exercise journey to Shamrock, Texas, has brought me to Lizard Lick, North Carolina. I've never actually been IN Lizard Lick, but I have driven past it many times on the highway en route to Raleigh, the state capital.

There's not much to say about Lizard Lick. Here's what I know. It is a small unincorporated community that has its own highway program, a mobile university, and even a tiny TV station -- WLIZ. It keeps company with other "lick" named towns like Big Lick and Lickskillet. In 1998, Nintendo video game company called to say they wanted to use Lizard Lick as a back drop to unveil a new game called "Yoshi's Story". And I know that it has an unusual name.

Many states have towns with funky names, but that is especially true of southern states. So I would like to share with you my Favorite Funky NC Town Names Top Honors Lists, in honor of my journey so far. Enjoy.

Best Food Town Names

1. Meat Camp
2. Burgertown
3. Pumpkin Center
4. Soda Hill
5. Chip

Best Foreign/Exotic Wannabe's

1. Gretna Green
2. Scotland Neck
3. Egypt
4. Vashti
5. Honolulu
6. Bahama
   

Best Animal Names

1. Bat Cave
2. Possum Trot
3. Duck
   
4. Cat Square
5. Tick Bite

Best Whatever Names

1. Toast
2. Hairtown
3. Floral College
4. Beautancus (pronounced bow-TANK-us)
   
5. Hardscrabble
6. Jugtown
7. Elf

I love North Carolina!