Normal????

Tight budget, "normal" food, and hopefully some weight loss!

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  • Name: TatumsMom
  • City: Oakland
  • Region: Tennessee
  • Country: United States

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Really Simple Syndication
09/23/2010 14:29

Thursday, September 23, 2010

So here's the plan for today:
 
Lean Machine Smoothie from Tropical Smoothie Cafe. (Today, I have a coupon for a $1 smoothie. Can't beat a $1 breakfast)
 
Big Salad for lunch. (Same as last night's dinner.... not going to re-type specifics.
Maybe 1 cup of grapes
 
Kashi Bar
 
Baked Ziti that we were supposed to have last night
V-8 juice
 
Exercise: None this morning.
 
 

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09/22/2010 22:13

Wednesday September 22, 2010

So today is my day off. I love Wednesdays! My mom took my sister & me to lunch today for our birthdays. (Mine was the 16th & hers the 19th) We went to Chili's. I had my mind made up that I would order the Quesadilla Explosion Salad. It's SOOOOO good. It's also 1400 calories. And I had a coupon for a free brownie sundae, so I knew we were going to eat that. Well.... read on.....
 
I'm still having trouble "remembering" to write down all my food. But what I'm calling a successful day is when I write everything down HONESTLY!!! Not necessarily staying within a certain calorie range or anything like that. I just want to be aware of my eating. That in itself helps a lot of it. So, here is today so far.....
 
2 slices wheat toast
1 tbsp peanut butter
1 banana
 
Chili's:
chips & salsa (I didn't count how many, but between the 3 of us, there were still about half the chips left.)
House Salad w/ avacado ranch dressing
bowl of chicken & green chile soup
Less than 1/3 of the brownie sundae
 
So while this is still a pretty big lunch, it wasn't as much as it was going to be.
 
Dinner is baked ziti. possibly with a salad if I'm hungry
 
EDITED TO SHOW ACTUAL INTAKE:
The baked ziti was still frozen solid. (I made it a few weeks ago & froze it. So... I had a great big salad.
Lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, sugar snap peas, radishes, carrots. Then the "good" stuff: 1/4 cup shredded cheddar, 10 tortilla strips, 1 tbsp bacon bits, 2 tbps Light Hidden Valley Ranch dressing. YUM! And 6 sweet baby gherkins.
 
Exercise: DONE!!! 40 minute wog (2.47 miles) using Cardio Coach Volume 3
 

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09/22/2010 22:09

Tuesday, September 21, 2010 ACTUAL

Here is my actual food intake from yesterday:
 
Strawberry Shredder smoothie from Smoothie King (32oz)
 
Healthy Choice Fresh Mixer Penne w/ red pepper sauce
1 cup grapes
 
Kashi Pumpkin Pecan Fruit & grain bar
 
2 slices wheatberry bread
2 slices cheese
2 tsp mayo
2 turkey slices
1 laughing cow wedge
15??? club crackers
2 more slices cheese
 
I got a little carried away with the cheese & crackers. I was rushing through my dinner, which ironically causes me to eat more.
 
Exercise: None

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09/22/2010 22:07

Monday, September 20, 2010 ACTUAL

So here is my actual log for Monday:
 
Smart Ones breakfast quesadilla
banana
 
2 slices wheatberry bread
2 slices turkey
2 slices cheese
2 tsp mayo
1 cup grapes
15 wavy lays
 
kashi pumpkin pecan fruit & grain bar
 
chicken breast
baked potato
2 tbsp sour cream
2 tbsp margarine
1/4 cup cheddar cheese
 
Exercise: None

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09/17/2010 13:42

Friday, September 17, 2010

I had a great birthday yesterday. My co-workers started my day with doughnuts and chocolate milk. YUM! Then they all gave me presents. Very thoughtful ones. Ones that showed they were listening to me in everyday conversation. They got me lunch. I had this HUGE burrito with cheese and chicken. I only ate half... but I'll edit yesterday's post with my food. (Or what I remember... still need to literally WRITE this stuff down so I don't forget.) Then I got home and JD & Tatum gave me a card. They gave me some really good insoles for my shoes. I've been having issues with plantar fasciatis, so this is a great present!!!! (Plus, we are still, as you know, BROKE! And presents just aren't a priority these days.) I had tons of HBD messages on Facebook. Lots of phone calls and texts. I do feel loved!!! :-)
 
I found out that my ex-brother in law died yesterday. He wasn't much older than I am. Less than 10 years older. He had a heart attack. He was super morbidly obese and ignored his health. He had major high blood pressure and didn't always take his meds. There were other problems too..... He & my sister have been divorced for years, but it's still sad and even shocking. I lived with them for a while when I was 19 & 20. It's just sad. It also has me motivated!!
 
DH took off work last night. So that meant I had options for my morning workout. Gym? Outside wogging? Sleeping in since he could get Tatum ready this morning??? Well, I sucked it ALL up. I sucked up the opportunity to sleep in. I sucked up my fear of the dark! I went wogging this morning. YAY!
 
Plan for today:
 
M1: Smart Ones breakfast quesadilla & banana
M2: Kashi bar
M3: Leftovers from yesterday's burrito
M4: Larabar
M5: TWO slices of pizza (Tatum is having a friend spend the night and we are getting those take & bake pizzas from Wal-Mart)
 
Exercise: 2.01 mile wog (33:57 min)
 
I did the wog with my new insoles. They felt pretty good! I'll just switch them over to my work shoes for today and see how they work!
 
Now to go edit yesterday. It's not pretty! LOL! Somebody said birthday calories don't count and I sure hope they're right. Actually, it doesn't really matter. I can't change what I did. I'm actually still feeling good about things this week. It has been far from perfect and that makes it even better. TO know that I can be accepting of myself no matter what feels good!!!

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09/16/2010 14:34

Thursday, September 16, 2010

Today is my birthday, so I'm not really sure what the plan is. I have a tentative plan right now.
 
M1: Smart Ones Breakfast Quesadilla & Banana
M2: My co-workers are getting me lunch and I think I'm choosing Qdoba
M3: Kashi Pumpkin & Pecan Bar
M4: Not sure. We might just have sandwiches & chips. I didn't plan anything for tonight.
M5: Protein shake
 
Exercise: Walk Away the Pounds DVD Strength Walk that used weights (Already done)

Yes, I got up early this morning and did my exercise. Feels great! I think it's a little symbolic that the first day in a while that I do that is my 35th birthday!!!
 
So I think I have a plan for my workouts.
 
Sunday: Rest or walk
Monday: Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred
Tuesday: Rest
Wednesday: Wog outside or go to gym
Thursday: WATP Strength Walk
Friday: WATP DVD
Saturday: Total body strength training at the gym (I'm having my old trainer work on a routine for me to do.)
 
Okay, now I need to go revise my post from yesterday to show my actual food intake. I really need to write this down during the day, though. I tend to forget what I actually ate. Not on purpose. LOL!
 
EDITED FOR ACTUAL FOOD YESTERDAY:
Let's see if I can remember all of it.
Smart ones breakfast quesadilla & banana
Blueberry cake donut & then a glazed donut
Glass of chocolate milk
chips & queso and half of a HUGE burrito with LOADS of sweet tea!
blueberry cake donut
jolly rancher
cheeseburger, steak fries, and cole slaw from Cracker Barrel

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09/15/2010 16:58

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Wednesdays are my day off. I do love my Wednesdays. I need that reminder when I have to wake up on Saturday morning to go to work. (I'm off Sundays too.) I get to be lazy... or go places by myself.... or be lazy..... LOL! I always try to do a couple loads of laundry. Today I did a quick clean out of Tatum's closet. Just quick, not complete. Still felt good.
 
Plan for today
 
M1: Smart Ones Breakfast Quesadilla (I ended up having 1.5.... Tatum didn't finish hers and I started eating before I thought) THIS WAS ACTUAL AS WELL
M2: Banana THIS WAS ACTUAL AS WELL
M3: Going to Pei Wei with my step mom. Whatever I get, I plan on eating half and bringing the rest home. HUGE portions. I think I want the Thai Dynamite Chicken I assume, though that's probably wrong, that my step mom is paying for my lunch. My birthday is tomorrow. :-) The big 3-5!!!  I ate half of my Thai Dynamite Chicken as planned. We also got crab wontons and I ate two.
M4: Not sure if I'll be hungry for a snack. If I am, I will have a NutriGrain cereal bar I had 16 Ritz crackers and 4 slices of cheese. DOH! This was after I had a venti Pumpkin Spice Cream Based Frappucino made with non-fat milk and no whip.
M5: Poppy Seed Chicken & green beans This was NASTY! I've had the recipe before & it was good. However, I made this ahead of time and froze it. It just didn't taste good. So I had a bologna & cheese sandwich & some Pringles.
M6: If I'm hungry, a shake Try 2 Pixie Sticks
 
I think I updated correctly. I really need to start writing this down during the day so I don't forget any bites & nibbles or BLTs. (Bites, Licks, Tastes)
 
EXERCISE: 2.32 mile wog (37.06 minutes) DONE!!!
 
Now, what I really need to do is make sure I come back and revise this to show my ACTUAL food intake once the day is over.
 
I haven't been to any OA meetings since I started working. There are none that fit in my schedule. I can't go to my Monday meetings. My Saturday meetings are out because of work too. There is a meeting Wednesday evening, but that puts me home too late. So I'm trying to do some online meetings or whatever.
 
Okay, I need to go get ready. I just realized I have 1 hour til I have to leave for lunch.
OH.... I don't have a computer at work. I know, crazy, right??? So I won't be as active on here as I used to be. I would love to comment and read blogs like I used to. But it's just not realistic right now. I'm trying and I do think about you guys.....

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09/15/2010 16:50

Poppy Seed Chicken

4 whole chicken breasts cooked and shredded
2 cans cream of chicken soup (I use the 98% fat free)
1.5 pt of sour cream (once again, low fat)
35-40 Ritz crackers, coarsely crushed
2 T poppy seeds
1 stick softened margarine (I use Country Crock Light and I used less than what was called for.)
 
1. Preheat ove to 350 F
2. Mix soup & sour cream & chicken together.
3. Mix crushed crackers into margarine & poppy seeds.
4. put chicken/soup mixture in the bottom of a 9" x 13" pan sprayed with Pam.
5. Top with cracker mixture.
6. Bake for 30 minutes until bubbly
 

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09/15/2010 16:47

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Tuesday was a bust in my opinion. I say that because I wasn't aware of what I was eating. I didn't pay attention. I just ate..... the good news is that I'm here posting about it, as honestly as possible. I say that because I didn't write it all down, so I might have missed something inadvertently.
 
M1: 2 slices toast, 2 tbsp peanut butter, banana
M2: Starbuck's Pumpkin Spice CREAM based Frappuccino (grande) a co-worker brought this to me and it was SOOO good. It's my fave cold drink. I don't like coffee. Can you get these non-fat????
M3: Lean Cuisine Pepperoni Pizza
M4: Lenny's white chocolate macadamia nut cookie brought in by a patient
M5: 2 slices Domino's Pepperoni pizza (this was at the PTO meeting at school)
M6: cashews, but I am not sure how many
 
Now, I tell you where the food came from, not to blame it on somebody else. I tell you so you know I'm not out buying all this stuff when I say I'm on a budget. Now, don't get me wrong... there WILL be the occasional Starbuck's runs and going out to eat. But last night's dinner was completely out of convenience. They have a concession stand before the Parent Teacher Organization meetings. Each slice of pizza is $1.00. Basically, we wouldn't have had time to make dinner, eat, and then go to the meeting. So we ate there. And really, dinner under $10 for 3 people isn't so bad!!!
 
I look back at this now, and it wasn't as terrible as I thought it was in my head. Don't get me wrong, I know it's not great. But in my head I felt like a failure. This is why I just need to be honest and accountable. It's actually easier and even cleansing to say, "This is what I ate!!!" Rather than pretend it didn't happen. Like I said when I came back here... this is my life. This isn't a diet. This is real food. Real hunger.... real ME! It is what it is. Just hoping I can control portions enough to lose some weight. My little experiment. Because time will pass no matter what I do.

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09/13/2010 14:49

Monday, September 13, 2010 THE PLAN

Food plan for today:
 
M1: 2 slices toast, 2 tbsp peanut butter, 1 banana
M2: Leftover Chicken Casserole
M3: Kashi Pumpkin Spice/Flax Granola Bar
M4: Double Cheeseburger Hamburger Helper with green beans
M5: Protein Smoothie
 
M stands for Meal. So Meal 1, Meal 2, Meal 3 etc.
 
Dinners have to be pretty quick and easy. I don't get home until 6:30. That means DH is doing most of the dinner cooking. It's not that he can't handle intricate recipes. It's just that he works nights, wakes up at 5:00, and picks up Tatum from school. When they get home, there's homework and other normal daily stuff. So I don't want him to have to waste that time cooking. Tatum can take a long time on her homework... even on a good day. So she needs his attention to keep her focused. That and the budget... well, that's why you'll see hamburger helper a lot on our menu. I think the thing is, if I'm going to eat it, I just need to watch portion. So yeah, I know we aren't eating the healthiest right now. I also know this will change. And I think it's still possible to lose weight.
 
OH! Do y'all remember I had high cholesterol a few years ago? Like right when I had my gallbladder removed? It was 234. Well, over the summer, I had some blood work done and it's 154. Alrighty then! Doing something right!!!!

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