Monday, July 30, 2007

Is the weekend really over??

I think so. Mostly because I'm sitting in my office at 8:19 on Monday morning and hating every second of it. I just want to be home, back in bed. Just one of those Mondays I guess where nothing is going my way and everything seems to take forever! Where did the weekend go?? It seems like only 5 mins ago it was Friday afternoon. Guess I should stop complaining and just get on with my work week....

This weekend was a lot of working on the house. Some painting, cleaning, unpacking. It was all thrown in there this weekend. Even though Scott and I decided to "take the weekend" off from painting and such, we didn't sit down all weekend because we were too busy getting things done around the house. On the bright side, we did completely finish out bedroom, the bathroom and a spare room and we also started prepping the kitchen which will be started today. Once the kitchen is done I know I will feel a little more settled and we can start unpacking the massive pile of boxes in our basement.

Food wise....let's see. I didn't do too awful but I certainly wasn't an angel on the food front. Friday night we hit up the Pizza shack that is just around the corner from our place. I got a Caesar salad though and although that certainly isn't a healthy option, not surprisingly, it was the healthiest option on the menu. Washing it down with Peanut Butter cups though may not have been the best idea... Saturday I was busy most of the day so I really didn't have too much time to eat. We aren't able to cook anything in the house so it makes it insanely hard to pre-plan my meals and stick with my plan. We ended up going out for dinner on Saturday night and splitting a few appetizers at East Side Mario's. Bad move but Saturday was basically my "splurge" day and after all the work I had done on Saturday, I deserved it. Sunday was pretty good actually. I ate a healthy breakfast and lunch and had Subway for supper, the only falter I had was those darn Subway cookies...why are they so good??? I seriously cannot resist them whenever I go to Subway. Seriously. Double Chocolate.

We did watch 2 movies this weekend mostly because by 10:00, even though we had a few invites to a bonfire and also to a night out dancing, we were just too tired to do anything but crawl into our PJs, lay on the couch and try to stay awake while the movie played. We watched Number 23 and Premonition.

BB8 last night...I still HATE Dick. Why wont' anyone take him out? I think Dustin played it too safe with his nominations last night. Someone needs to get in there and shake things up. Surprise surprise! Amber cried last night....AGAIN! STOP CRYING!

Well that's it for me. How was everyone's weekend?

Thursday, July 26, 2007

We're almost there...

This week has been one of the hardest I think I have had since I started my new meal plan. Tuesday was a bit of a bust because of the Professional Development Day with my work. We ended up going to someone's summer camp for the day and the food was everywhere! I tried to stick to the veggie tray but I did stray a few times. Then when I got home I wasn't hungry for supper and I had a piece of chicken and at 10:00pm I had an egg salad sandwich...whatever possessed me to do that, I still have no idea! It's so hard when your entire house is a jumble of boxes and paint and you don't even have a stove, microwave or dishes! I am finding it super hard this week just due to the utter chaos that is my home right now.

Wednesday I was doing perfect all day until around 7:00 when my husband decided to BBQ up some hot dogs. I should have said no, I already ate, I don't want one or need one for that matter. But I didn't. The good thing is though after about half of the hotdog I said..."Why am I eating this??" and I threw it in the garbage. Other than my little run in with the hot dog I did pretty well and today I am bound and determined to stick strictly to my plan. I can do this. I know I can do it, I just need to find my zone...need to regain focus. OHH! I also had a NSV last night. Around 8:00pm my hubby asked if I wanted to go down to the store for an ice cream. He had been kind of hinting at it for about an hour. He's on vacation right now so he thinks he can eat whatever he wants...and last night, he wanted ice cream. I couldn't believe the words coming out of my mouth but I actually said no! To ice cream! Then he folded and said "You're right Carolyn, I don't need that junk!" Score one for me! Thankfully we were babysitting our niece and she was fast asleep in the playpen so I couldn't really go anywhere anyway but still, If I had of caved I would have so told him to bring me back one!

The exercise front has been pretty impossible as well this week. Every night when I get home from work, I am either painting or taping off a room or crack filling and last night, I was babysitting all night. But at least I'm not sitting on the couch all night watching TV. I am staying pretty active. I know for the next week or so I won't have much time to exercise but I am hoping to get a few walks in. Scott suggested we go for a walk tonight to check out our new neighborhood so I will definitely take him up on that offer....as long as we get the bathroom painted today.

Well folks...that's it for me for today. How is everyone doing this week? Any NSVs?

Tuesday, July 24, 2007

It's amazing....

what one good OP day can do for your motivation and your confidence. Yesterday morning I was felling gross and to be quite honest...HUGE! The number on the scale also reinforced this feeling. Yesterday though, despite my house being in utter chaos and not being able to cook anything....was great! I stayed OP all day and didn't waiver for a split second. I must say that this morning, I feel much better. The scale is still showing a pretty significant gain but I know that if I work hard, I should be able to get down to where I feel comfortable by Friday. Then comes my weekend plan. I am taking Kelly's suggestion and I am taking Saturday off from my plan (although I'm seriously not planning on going nuts) but Sunday, I am hopping back on the wagon. This has been my problem for the past several weeks I have let Sunday be the wrist day. I have had about 5 or 6 Sundays now that are filled with "The last supper" My last hoorah before I have to get back on track on Monday. Last Sunday I am afraid to admit was filled with pizza, ice cream, pretzels....TOO MUCH FOOD and not the right food either.

Today we are supposed to be going to a camp with my department from work for a "Professional Development Day" but it is kind of rainy out and cold so I'm really not sure if that is going on. Honestly it would suit me just fine if it was cancelled since I know lunch will consist of a potluck and those things are just plain scary. Of course I was asked to bring the dessert! I had grand plans of baking up all kinds of goodies but with my kitchen looking the way it does and all of our dishes still packed up in boxes...I headed to the bakery about bought squares and cinnamon rolls. At least I wasn't tempted to lick the bowl!! Our kitchen appliances are arriving today and Scot went to get our counter top cut today so hopefully by the end of the weekend we should have made some progress in the kitchen and perhaps I will be able to get some cooking done. Although I must say that using the BBQ has been a great alternative!! This is our first BBQ so I can't wait to experiment with new BBQ recipes and ideas. Any suggestions???

Well that is it for now....I just overheard a co-worker say that we are still heading to the camp despite the rain. Wish me luck! I am going to try to make the best choices possible!

Monday, July 23, 2007

Here we go again ladies!

Well we are officially all moved in! We are staying in the new house now and the apartment is gone forever! What a weekend we had. We were crazy busy all weekend and unfortunately I am back to work today. I would love to have the week off and just paint and do things around the house. We are doing some renovations to the kitchen but other than that we just have to paint the whole house. "Just". I'm sure it will be tonnes of work but luckily, Scott's Mom and aunt are both coming over everyday this week to help out. Since I just started my job with the government in January, I haven't built up any vacation as of yet so I am stuck going to work everyday while they work on the house! At least it will be so exciting to go home everyday after work to see what they got done! It is weird staying in a new place....and we have SOOO much more room that our tiny little 2 bedroom apartment!! I'm sure it will tie up most of our free time for the next few weeks/months. There is so much we would like to do!

Diet wise, this weekend was not so good. I knew it would be rough because all of our stuff is packed up and we really couldn't cook anything. We basically relied on the BBQ for hot dogs and hamburgers most of the weekend. Pizza may have made an appearance as well. Needless to say, today I feel totally gross and once again, I am bound and determined to get back on that wagon and stay on. I really need to cut back on the weekend. It has been getting out of hand for the past month but every weekend, I fall into the same pattern. Then come Monday I feel absolutely horrible and regret ever bad food choice I made over the past weekend. Why do I keep doing this to myself? This is ti for me. I need to stop this. This weekend we have nothing planned. We aren't gong out to any parties, we aren't having anyone over, we are just spending a quiet weekend in our new home, probably doing some painting and work around the house and that's it. We decided that Friday or Saturday night we are just going to either hit the movie theatre or Blockbuster and relax with each other. I'm actually REALLY looking forward to it! It has been a while since we have had a night to ourselves. This is the weekend I am going to only have ONE cheat day. I know I can do it now I'll just have to stick to it!

BB...last night. I actuallty think Evil Dick MAY be growing on me. I didn't hate him as much last night. I do like Dustin quite a bit. I think the whole Danielle and Nick thing is ridiculous actually. She obviously has a long term bf at home (I think she is living with him) Nick should respect that but he doesn't. He needs to lighten up. He's known Danielle for 3 weeks and he already wants to marry her! Who are you guys routing for??

How did everyone else make out on the weekend?

Thursday, July 19, 2007

Back to my old self....almost

Today I am starting to feel like I am getting back to my old self. I hate that feeling on Monday morning after you've pigged out all weekend, your clothes are tighter, and you just feel really bloated and huge! I had that feeling on Monday AND Tuesday of this week and I felt terrible! I felt like I had gained about 5 lbs (which is probably true) Today I feel like I am getting back to where I want to be, back to my comfort zone. I have been doing great all week and have been sticking to my plan with NO exceptions. It also makes me feel good to have a plan in place for this weekend. I even pre cooked my lunches last night and they should do me until Monday so I have no excuse for falling off the wagon this time! I've decided to take Kelly's suggestion and to stick with only one cheat day. This weekend it's going to be Saturday. Although Scott and I will have our usually breakfast, we are having a BBQ for lunch and most likely supper so I know I will stray from my meal plan at lunch and dinner. But we should be so busy moving and unpacking that hopefully I won't focus on it being my cheat day and won't want to eat everything in sight!! And there certainly should NOT be any late night trips to DQ. Instead, I may enjoy a glass of wine after all is said and done on Saturday! Maybe even two!


I forgot to mention on my previous posts this week that I went to see Transformers on Friday night! AMAZING movie!! I grew up watching Transformers because I have two older brothers who had no interest whatsoever in watching Jem and the Holograms or Shera! I grew up playing with Transformers and ninja Turtles and I was really impressed by this movie. Going to see this movie was like rekindling my childhood. It was like meeting my childhood heroes! Cheesy I know but what can I say? The characters did not stray far from the cartoon originals. The movie was also jam packed with action...and who doesn't like to watch Josh Duhamel get all sweaty and try to save the world???


Also, who is watching Big Brother this season? I swear I am addicted to that damn show. I can't get enough of it. Although I haven't gone to the lengths that Sarah has...I haven't been watching the after hours shows but I completely would if I didn't have to stay up so late to get them!! I know Joe is probably going home tonight but I really want Dick gone. I can't stand that man. He thinks he owns the house. Even though I'm not a Jenn an by any means, he didn't have to yell at her last episode. She's playing the game...a bit aggressively but still, she's just playing the game. He's making it personal and calling her a b*tch ALL the time, telling her no one likes her and she should just go home. I just can't STAND him!!! And what is with Amber? That girl must cry at least 5 times a day. STOP crying!! Well that's my scoop, can't wait for tonights episode! Who are you guys cheering on??

Wednesday, July 18, 2007

I have a dream!...or at least a plan

2 days full OP and the third one is well in progress! This week has been going great. I have been sticking to my meal plan like bread on butter and I must say I feel pretty good. Last night I also went for a 50 min walk with my friend Amy and honestly it felt like we were gone for about 15 mins! It's so great to walk with an old friend and catch up. We had a great time.

Last night Scott and I came up with a REALISTIC eating plan for the weekend. Instead of chowing down on chocolate and pizza, we came up with a plan that still allows us to indulge but still keeps it all in check. We are moving into our new house this weekend (YAY!!) So we know we won't have access to our own kitchen and it will be difficult to eat in for most of the weekend. Friday night we decided we are going to eat out at Subway. It's quick, it's easy and for the most part, it is pretty healthy. Friday night is always a hard one for us so I'm glad we are hitting up Subway instead of East Side Mario's for pizza and Nachos (a total weakness of mine) Saturday we are going to stick with our normal breakfast of Fiber One cereal or cottage cheese and for lunch we are putting on a BBQ for everyone who helped us move. So far we have picked up hamburgers, chicken burgers and hot dogs. Other than that we will be picking up some pretzels, mutigrain tostitos and salsa, and a few other 'lower fat' alternatives. Has everyone tried the Tostitos Multigrain Nachos? They are awesome and have less fat and calories than the white kind. Definitely a great alternative at parties! I'm hoping that will take up most of Saturdays food consumption and Sunday I will be cooking my meals for the upcoming week so I can snack from those on Sunday. It's going to be a busy weekend but I am seriously going to try my hardest not to let it get out of hand! Any tips or suggestions???

How is everyone's week going?
2 more days and we move into our new house!!

Tuesday, July 17, 2007

Getting There...

So Monday ahas come and gone without one single splurge. I stayed within my meal plan all day even though I was tempted to just fall off the wagon for 'one more day'. I stuck with it. It's amazing how much confidence you can get from one great OP day!

I wanted to get in a walk last night but we ended up going to the bank to sign for our mortgage and then Scott had a ball game so I went and cheered him on. Tonight though I am going walking with a friend so I am hoping to get in at least 45 mins. Walking with an old friend makes the time FLY. I always find my walks way easier when I am walking with someone and chatting it up. Anyone else relate? After my walk tonight, Scott and I are going to try to get some more packing done, and we have to go pick out some paint and pick up a few other odds and ends for the house. I feel like there is still so much to do. But we'll get there. 3 more days and the house is officially ours! We get the keys on Friday! My plan for this week is to walk tonight and Thursday night for at least 45 mins (Wednesday night Scott has another ball game) I figure with the moving on Saturday, I'll get lots of exercise in on the weekend. We are going to start painting on Sunday so I'm sure that will be a great workout! Next week I should start settling into a routine and get back to walking at least 4 times a week.

As for my meal plan, I am planning on sticking to it STRICT for the rest of this week. Friday night and Saturday may be hard as we will be in the middle of moving. I know we will probably just grab something out but I'm promising myself that it's not going to be as bad as pizza and nachos! Thanks Kelly for the idea regarding the one "Cheat Day" I'll give it a try but I find it hard to stop at one!! I think you're right though, I need to come up with a more solid plan and then stick to it! I was NOT comfortable with the number I saw on the scale yesterday morning so I need to change it! I know it will come off fast and most of it was probably water weight from the massive amount of junk I ate on the weekend but still. I feel gross today and my pants are NOT as loose as they were last week! Grrrr

How is everyone else doing this week? Anyone still recovering from the weekend?

Monday, July 16, 2007

Monday....again?

Well here we are again. Monday Monday.

This weekend I defintiely could have eaten better. I did indulge in a few things that I wouldn't have otherwise and the scale did show a gain this morning but I'll deal with it. We went out to East Side Mario's on Friday with a couple of friends of ours and of course I ordered from the appetizer menu and pslit with my hubby. Nachos and Pizza...can it even get more unhealthy than that? I did have a salad on the side but c'mon Carolyn!! Nachos and Pizza. I knew it was coming all week too and by Friday, I would have given my right arm for those nachos. After that we went to Transformers....BEST movie EVER!!! It wasAMAZING! Of course I grew up with Transformers and Optimus Prime was my hero for the majority of my childhood so I may have been biased but it was such a good movie! The rest of the week was spent packing...and we painted our dresser set too. Our apartment is a sea of boxes and paint. I can't wait to get settled again. I hate not knowing where everything is. Drives me crazy. We also got lots of shopping done on Saturday and I'm pretty sure I spend a fortune. But oh well it was all stuff for the house. (I'm still trying to justify spending $150 for a duvet and cover)

Saturday was good food wise until we hit a bon fire on Saturday night and the marshmallows were flowing (as was the wine!) I didn't do too bad though. I just need to shed this stupid weekend mentality that allows me to justify ANY poor food choice because " Hey!, it's the weekend, I ate good all week, I deserve to let loose and eat what I want! " Stupid weekend mentality. I'm seriously going to try to cut down this weekend and limit my splurges!

Somehow, and I'm STILL trying to figure out how, Scott and I talked each other into going down to Dairy Queen last night at 8:30pm to get a Blizzard! A Chocolate chip Cookie dough and Smarties Blizzard with chocolate soft serve. EVIL!

Today is a new day and I'm on the wagon and holding on for dear life. No more splurges throughout the week. Last week I had that Blizzard Smarties cake on Wed AND on Thurs I had a piece of Oreo double chocolate cheesecake. (Someone at Scott's work made it for him to show thier appreciation) No more mid week splruges and I NEED to cut back on the weekends. These are my goals. I can do it. I know I can.

Thursday, July 12, 2007

Wanted: Motivation

It's been a trying few days the last few days. I was doing so great until last night. I skipped my after dinner snack, which is supposed to be 100 calorie Smart Pop Popcorn OR fat free Chocolate pudding....what did I have? A piece of Smarties Blizzard ice cream cake from Dairy Queen. Although the piece was super small (the smallest that I could get)...It's most definitely more calories than 1 cup of fat free chocolate pudding. It was my brother in law's birthday yesterday and we were invited up to the in-laws for a piece of cake...but not just any cake. We are not talking about a regular ice cream cake, we are talking about a layer of chocolate soft serve topped with that amazing fudge cookie crunch and then layered with the contents of a smartie blizzard and THEN topped with crushed smarties, whipped cream and that yummy candy gel that they spell your name out with!! I didn't even stand a chance! C'mon! Dairy Queen has become my enemy. On a side note...the cake was AMAZING!! But I only had a small piece (even though I could have easily scarfed the entire cake)

I got up this morning and got right back on track, ate my meal plan breakfast and then came lunch. I was going out to lunch with an old friend and we decided to go to the city market to grab something quick. Usually when I eat at the city market, I also head to the Wild Carrot to get a huge salad, but today my friend and are were running a bit late and if you get to the Wild Carrot anytime after 12:10, the line is HUGE!!!! So we hit up a sandwich joint just down the market. I got a salad and a turkey baguette sandwich. I could tell the dressing on the salad was not weight friendly and the baguette was topped with butter and pesto and cheese so although the turkey was good and I was technically allowed to have bread at lunch (according to my meal plan) this meal was still out of my realm of "allowable foods". I was supposed to have a whole wheat pita not a baguette brushed with butter!! I felt guilty immediately after eating it, probably because it tasted so good! Then I got back to the office and my boss is coming around with coffee and timbits. I literally contemplated hiding under my desk as she passed my office because I was afraid I would not be able to say no to a timbit. Damn those things. They are just so delicious! Somehow....and I'm still not sure how, I came up with the courage to say no to the doughnuts! Then I spend 20 mins deciding weather or not I should walk out to the hallway and grab one...I already over-ate at lunch right???? What's one more timbit going to do?? But I'm SAYING NO. NO NO NO NO. As you can probably tell, I'm still in my office and the doughnuts are still out in the hallway calling my name. But I'm going to resist. I can do it. Why does weight loss or even maintaining your weight have to be so hard??

Wednesday, July 11, 2007

Crazy busy summer!

I know I have not been posting as much as I usually do but over the next few weeks I will be tied up with packing, moving, settling into our new home!! Scott and I are beyond excited to be moving in. The house is officially ours on July 20 so we don't have much longer to wait fortunately! I have been running around spending money right left and center for the house. Paint, hardware, new bedding, appliances. You name it and I can convince myself that I need it for our new house! It has been a lot of fun though. The thing we are looking forward to the most is our OWN washer and dryer AND dishwasher!! YAY! No more washing dishes every single night! In case your having a bad day and you haven't guessed it, this picture is of our new house!! :)


The weight loss front has been going....ok. I think things were getting a little out of hand up until Monday. I had been working on the philosophy that if I do great all week and eat super healthy, then I can eat whatever I want on the weekends. It was working for a little while and I was basically maintaining my weight but then the weekends started to get just a little crazy. I was using this "free weekend" mentality to basically give me free reign to eat my face off ALL weekend. It was getting out of hand and I would end up eating way too much on the weekend. Not because I was hungry but because I was "allowed to". I also haven't been working out AT ALL. I know, it's horrible. I went from an avid walker to a couch potato! What a difference. I feel sluggish and lazy and all I want to do is lay on the couch! Last night I got back into my walking and I must say, it did feel great! I am definitely on my way back into my old routine! There is just SOO much to do in the summer that, it's hard to stay on track and not falter. But we can do it!!


Have any of you tried the Fiber One Honey Clusters? This is basically what I eat for breakfast almost every morning (besides my cottage cheese mornings!) This cereal is delicious!!!! It is a bit high in calories for those of you who are counting points but it has 14g of fiber per serving so you really can't beat it! AND it tastes great!!!! It may be a little harder to find but it is definitely worth a try, or two!! I miss trying out new products. Anyone have any great food finds lately??? hope everyone is doing great with all of these summer challenges!!

Wednesday, July 4, 2007

Quick update

This buying a house stuff and moving is getting insane!! Scott and I have been running around like chickens with our heads cut off. We are so busy with all of this stuff that we literally can't find a minute to ourselves! Scott has been working crazy amounts of overtime at work too so I have been on my own for basically the past week.

Last weekend I did get a chance to go pick out paint colors for our house though. That was sooo much fun! I also went and bought new appliances for the kitchen and a few other things to make the house feel more like our own. We are moving in two weeks and 2 days. Where did the time go? I also started packing last weekend but only got about 3 boxes done and then I gave up. I'll get back to it this weekend...don't really have a choice. I actually don't mind packing too much I just always make the boxes way too heavy...why does ALL of our stuff weight 100 lbs?? Ahh well I'll get through it.

Last weekend I did OK for food....not great.....definitely not great and by Tuesday (Monday was a holiday up here in Canada so I considered that as part of the weekend and therefore did not get back on track on Monday and waited until Tuesday) Not a good idea. I should have just jumped on the wagon on Monday and then I would have felt much better. Last night I felt so huge and lazy and bloaty. It was awful. This morning I jumped on the scale to see how I was doing and I was up 1.5 lbs from last Friday. I honestly thought it would have been a lot more. It feels like more. It feels like I have gained 5 lbs since last Friday. It is usually pretty normal for me to be up 1-2 lbs following the weekend and I am usually able to take off 2 or more by the next weigh in so I am actually quite pleased at my little mini weight in this morning.....It could have been worse. Definitely.

The thing that gets me in the summer is ...... ICE CREAM!!!!! Why does ice cream have to be sooo perfect for a hot sunny summer day???? Why can't people crave broccoli as a summer treat on a nice sunny day??? Everywhere I go I see an ice cream stand with 100 flavors of yummmmmy ice cream! It's just not fair. As you can tell by this little rant I broke down on Monday night and went for and ice cream with hubby. And I have to say, I loved every single lick of it. Nothing like a big ol fat scoop of Brownies on the Moon!!!

Well that's it for me today girlies! How is everyone else making out with the fight against summer treats??