30-Day Plan: Day 30

August 4, 20162 Comments

Wow, I can’t believe I’ve made it to the “end” of my 30-day commitment to myself! It hasn’t been as “perfect” as I had originally thought it would be but it has absolutely given me the kick-start I needed to get back into a healthier, more nutritious lifestyle! In reflecting on the past month, I wanted to share what I thought went well and what I think I still need to work on.

What went well….

I kept track of all my food and points in my food diary every single day (not just on the blog, but I actually have a notebook where I write down everything).
I researched lower-points options and looked up points before eating some things to make a conscious and informed decision about whether or not I truly wanted to have it
I was active at least 3-4 days a week
I drank way more water than I had been
I stopped eating sugary cereal (and don’t really miss it) and started my day off with a protein-loaded breakfast
I cut back on sugar
I really cut back on carbs
I are way more vegetables
I planned ahead for events that I knew would have many food temtpations
I packed my own food when I went on vacations so I’d have some healthy options
I meal planned and prepped food so I’d have something healthy on hand
I tried new foods and new ways of preparing certain foods
I attended my Weight Watchers meetings
I didn’t let the number on the scale discourage me when it went up
I allowed myself to have some treats without feeling too guilty
I felt encouraged, determined, motivated, positive, confident, and happy 99% of the time!

What I will continue to work on….

Seek more healthy recipes so I can eat a variety of healthy food
Continue to cut back on sugar
Plan ahead for treats – look up the points before having them instead of waiting until after
Try new foods and recipes
Obtain a healthy balance between treating myself and eating healthy
Establish more challenging workout routines (maybe start running again?)
Build healthy habits so that they come more naturally and don’t require so much conscious work and effort
Track every single day in my food journal

With that being said, here’s how Day 30 looks:

Breakfast: I finally found a granola that is not too high in points! A friend of mine suggested this Nature’s Path peanut butter granola and 1/2 cup (which is more than enough per serving!) is only 5 points (not bad at all!) I mixed in 1/3 cup Source vanilla yogurt for a delicious and satisfying breakfast (and a nice change from bacon & eggs!)

Since we are leaving town tomorrow, I had a long to-do list today to get ready to go. I started by tidying up the house, doing dishes, and sweeping the floors. After just those minor tasks though I was feeling really sluggish and tired (maybe not enough energy from my breakfast or maybe it’s the crazy humidity?) I drank some more water and took a quick social media/ TV break.

Lunch: For lunch I ate my usual grilled turkey burger, sautéed vegetables (in a bit of EVOO) and a sprinkle of feta cheese. The veggies were nice and fresh (I just bought them yesterday at the market) and were so good! I topped lunch off with some more water and big slice of juicy watermelon.

After lunch, I had to tackle a job that I had been dreading, and that my husband and I have both put off for months – cleaning out our SUV! While away last weekend, I noticed that the filth and dirt inside had reached an all-new high and I just couldn’t take it anymore, so even though it was 37 degrees with the humidity today (eek!) I lugged my cleaning supplies out to the garage and got busy! An hour later, I was sweating like crazy but at least we have a nice clean ride ready to go when we set out again tomorrow! Plus, I am sure I earned at least a few activity points completing this task!

After that job, I came inside and took another social media/water break (drinking water has made all the difference – I rarely drink anything else now, except coffee and a diet pop once in awhile as a treat!) Then I got to work cooking and prepping some food my husband and I plan to take on the road with us. I grilled turkey burgers (we’ll also take lean hamburgers), cooked a pack of turkey bacon, and cooked a container of bow-tie pasta to make a pasta salad with. Then I chopped red/yellow/green peppers, zucchini, mushrooms, sweet potatoes, and red onions and packed them all in individual containers that will fit easily into our big cooler. I also plan on taking: eggs, yogurt, granola, lettuce, salad dressing, feta cheese, coffee, cream, mini rice cakes, and a pre-bought meat & cheese tray (as a little treat). We’ll probably eat a couple meals in restaurants as well and may have to re-stock on groceries next week, but this will definitely help us to save some cash while on the road and will help me continue with my weight loss goals!

After all that food prep, I decided to take another little break (I love the slow-moving days of summer!) so made myself a coffee (with cream) and sat down to check social media and watch some more TV. Oh, I should also mention that I started another book – Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer and it’s really interesting so far! I am really going to miss all the free time for reading when school goes back in!

Dinner: For dinner, my husband and I ate leftovers out of the fridge. He had hotdogs while I had some boneless, skinless chicken breast and made one of my taco salads with light Italian dressing. My salad and chicken came to a total of about 8 points.

Workout: We had another softball game tonight (we lost by just a few runs). It was still pretty hot out so it wasn’t hard to work up a sweat! This earned me about 6 activity points.

Snack: When we got home from softball my husband I were both really hungry! I wanted something filling and satisfying so decided to have another 1/2 cup of peanut butter granola and 1/3 cup vanilla yogurt – it totally hit the spot and filled me up! Plus, I guzzled a bunch more water.

Well guys, that’s it! It’s the end of my 30 days! I still can’t believe I actually stuck to this (and blogged about every single day!) I weighed myself this morning and I was down another couple pounds so I’m estimating that I lost about 10 lbs over the last 30 days! I am really happy with that result seeing as in the past it would have taken me months to lose that much! I have already noticed that my clothes are fitting better and I’ve already had to buy a few items in a size smaller! My energy levels haven’t changed much but I think that has more to do with the lazy days of summer than anything (hopefully when I get back to work, I will feel the effects of better nutrition when it comes to having more energy!) The biggest transformation though has definitely been on the inside. I am so proud of myself for doing this and for seeing it through to the “end”. I feel more confident and motivated knowing that if I can do it for 30 days, I can keep on doing it until this becomes habit. I know it will never be “perfect” but that’s not what I am striving for. I am striving for doing better. I want to be mindful about how I am treating my body, how I am nourishing it, and how I am challenging it. I know that that will take work and effort on my part. But I think the biggest, most important thing to remember at the end of all this is that everything happens one day at a time. As I have mentioned in previous posts, in the past I always fell victim to the “all or nothing” mentality. I’d always let one bad meal become a bad day, which would become a bad week, bad month, etc. I thought if I couldn’t eat “perfectly” I might as well throw it all away and just not do anything about it. Clearly, that was not working for me.

So now, after the last 30 days, I can honestly say I am excited and very motivated to keep going! I’ve seen nothing but positive results this past month and if I am being perfectly honest, it really hasn’t been that hard (after all, I did indulge several times in the last 30 days!) More importantly, I know if I keep working at it, one day at a time, I will establish healthy routines that will be good for me mind, body, and soul. That’s the ultimate goal.

30 days complete! I DID IT!

30-Day Plan: Day 29

August 3, 20162 Comments

First of all, I can’t believe it is the second last day of my 30-day plan! Tomorrow marks the “end” of this journey but it is by no means truly the end. In fact, I feel like I am just getting started on my path back to a healthier lifestyle – this thirty days was just the kick-start I needed to introduce some healthy habits back into my daily life. I’ve already started considering news goals. I really like the idea of a small commitment (like 30 days) because it makes things feel much more attainable. If there is no “end” it feels overwhelming and like I will never make it. That being said, as I already mentioned this so-called end isn’t really an end. I know that the habits I am trying to develop now need to stick around for life if I want to remain healthy and maintain a healthy weight. But I also know that what’s key for me in being successful is taking it one day and one step at a time. Here’s how Day 29 has gone:

Breakfast: I only had one slice of turkey bacon left this morning so I decided to make two eggs and have a bit of vanilla yogurt on the side with it. I ended up not really eating the second egg though, so my breakfast was a total of only 4 points.

I only ate about half of these eggs

After breakfast, I met a friend of mine at a local coffee shop where I ordered a coffee with a caramel shot and then added 2 tbsp of cream. I have no idea how many points this would be but I am approximating it to be about 5 points which is what my cream at home comes out to. I had planned on visiting with my friend for about an hour and then hitting Power Yoga at the gym, but I really should have known better because whenever me and this friend get together we just can’t stop talking! Sure enough 2.5 hours later, we realized what time it was and said our goodbyes – fortunately no parking ticket for me even though the meter had run out an hour previous!

After our coffee date, I headed to the public library to return some books and check out some new ones. Here’s a snap of the books I plan on reading over the next few weeks before school goes back in!

Hope I can finish all these before school goes back!

Lunch: After the library, I was starving so I zipped home to grab something to eat. When I got there, I realized that my plan to just live off whatever was in the fridge for the next couple days, was not really a wise one – there really wasn’t much in there! I was too hungry to go and do groceries at this point though so grabbed for the only thing available – a leftover hotdog (I checked later and couldn’t believe that one hotdog is 8 points!) It’s also super hot and humid again today (we’re actually under a heat warning) so I had a 1/2 cup of chocolate frozen yogurt. Not a healthy lunch at all! This totally happened though because I did not plan carefully and should have gotten groceries yesterday so I would have had something healthy prepared for today. Plus, I waited much too long to eat and was ravenous so just grabbed whatever was the fastest and most easily available! Ahh, it happens.

After lunch, I headed to Walmart to stock up on some healthy eats. My husband and I are already planning to pack groceries when we go on our trip and to do as much of our own cooking as possible (as I mentioned in a previous post this is easier on the pocket and the waistline so it’s a win-win!) I grabbed some more turkey bacon, turkey burgers, fresh salmon, eggs, rice cakes, coffee, some deli meat, buns, and diet pop. After, I swung by the market and got fresh produce – mushrooms, peppers, zucchini, lettuce, spinach, sweet potatoes, and watermelon. Now we are stocked up and will be able to eat healthfully!

Dinner: After picking up my son at the beach, we headed home. Once again, I didn’t have anything planned for dinner (oops!) For some reason, this hot weather makes me crave a nice, deli sandwich so we threw those together for dinner. On mine I had a bit of deli meat (pepperoni and ham), cheddar cheese, 1 tbsp light mayo and some mustard. Even though this doesn’t seem like much it adds up to about 10 points (ugh!) Of course, this didn’t fill me up so I just had another 1/2 cup of frozen yogurt (I swear I could just live off frozen yogurt in this weather!!! But at least it’s not ice cream!) Dinner came to about a total of 14 points.

Stupid high in points but it hit the spot!

It’s so hot that I want all the frozen yogurt!!

It’s now early evening and I am over my points for today and haven’t done any physical activity. I missed my class at the gym and it’s so hot outside. I could do a workout in my basement but honestly after a busy afternoon of running around, I am feeling like I just want to take it easy this evening. Plus I have that stack of new books to get through! Haha. If it cools off early enough though, I may try to take my dog for a walk. Otherwise, I will have to use some of my “bonus” points for the ones I went over today. I am okay with that though. Although I am not sure if I will be able to resist more frozen yogurt seeing as I feel like I could eat the whole tub right now!

Well, tomorrow marks the last day of my 30-day plan! I am unsure yet whether I will immediately start another 30-day plan or wait until I am back from my holiday – we are leaving town for 10 days and although we will pack healthy food there will still be a lot of temptations! We are hitting a friend’s cottage for the weekend, Toronto for three days (where we will catch three Blue Jays games!!!) and then a long weekend of camping with my family! I definitely plan on enjoying my vacation and indulging but also don’t want to go crazy either and erase all the hard work I have done over the last month! It’s all about achieving a healthy balance – something I am still working on.

29 days down, 1 to go!

30-Day Plan: Day 28

August 3, 20161 Comment

Sorry for the delayed post but I was quite busy last evening so didn’t get a chance to get on here and write. I am happy to report that I got right back on track yesterday. Here’s how the day went:

Breakfast: 3 slices turkey bacon, 1 fried egg, coffee with French-Vanilla cream, and water.

After breakfast, I was feeling really tired from the weekend’s adventures so I took things easy and watched TV while scrolling through social media.

Lunch: I returned to my tried-and-true low-points lunch and had a turkey burger, sautéed vegetables, and a sprinkle of feta cheese. It was delicious but I was craving something cold (it has been so hot here lately!) so I also had a 1/2 cup of Chapman’s Dutch Chocolate frozen yogurt.

After lunch, I caught up on some laundry from our vacation, swept the floors, read a little and caught up with one of my friends online.

Workout: Since it was Tuesday, I hit my regular gentle yoga class at my gym. It turned out I was the only one who showed up so it ended up being a private class! The instructor still pretty much carried through her regular series of stretches and poses but we did do some stretches on the wall that we don’t normall do that felt really good. Either way, I always leave this class feeling relaxed and rejuvenated! Also, this class earns me about 3 activity points.

Dinner: After yoga, I grabbed a roasted chicken at the deli and flew home to have a quick dinner before my Weight Watchers meeting. I whipped together my taco salad (lettuce, green onions, red/yellow/green peppers, shredded cheese, tortilla salad topper, and low-cal Italian dressing) and ate a chunk of the chicken breast with it.

(I forgot my phone in the car so didn’t get a picture of dinner.)

After dinner, I attended my Weight Watchers meeting and weigh-in. I wasn’t surprised to see that I was up 1lb. In fact, after all the indulgences over the weekend, I had kind of expected it to be a lot worse! Plus, I had a significant loss last week so being up 1lb was really no big deal. Not only that, but I know the number on the scale isn’t everything – there are so many factors that play into one’s weight. So although I wish the scale had gone down, I am really not letting the minor gain upset me. I know this is a slow and steady progress full of ups and downs and I am confident in my efforts lately and that’s all that really matters!

Workout 2: After Weight Watchers, I had a softball game which usually lasts just over an hour. By this time it was pretty cloudy but the humidity was still unreal. Man, did I ever sweat while we were playing! I earned about 6 activity points.

By the time I got home from softball, I wanted something cold again so I had another 1/2 cup of chocolate frozen yogurt. After, I was really tempted to have another serving but instead distracted myself with social media and was able to forget about having any more.

28 days down, 2 to go!

30-Day Plan: Day 24, 25, 26, 27

August 1, 20162 Comments

Warning: Long post ahead. Four days in one post!

Well, we finally made it back from our long weekend family get-away and what a wonderful time it was! I didn’t take many food pictures this weekend but I did document our time with family and friends so I will share some of those! Also, I will admit right away that I definitely went over my points and indulged quite a bit this weekend but I still made mostly conscious choices and wanted to enjoy our mini vacation to the max! Here’s a break-down of how things went!

Friday: Day 24

Breakfast: We had stayed at my Mom and Dad’s the previous night, so it was easy to have breakfast before hitting the road. I had an egg and turkey bacon and made a coffee (with cream) for the road. I consider this a win because normally I would have just hit the road and grabbed a bagel and butter from Tim Horton’s instead. I am glad I stuck with my healthy plan!

On the road! My teenaged stepdaughter was driving!

Workout 1: Upon arriving in North Bay, we met up with my first-year university roommate and best friend! She is home visiting from China and had to drive two hours to meet up with us so I was so thrilled to see her! We enjoyed a lovely stroll along the waterfront and even got to hear Hedley doing their sound check!

Lunch: After our hangout at the waterfront, we went out for lunch at Boston Pizza. I had planned for this meal and had looked forward to indulging: I decided to have a 1/2 Boston Brute sandwich (toasted panini bread with pizza sauce, mozzarella, and various Italian meats – basically like a pizza sub), a side Caesar salad, and a Diet Coke. It was delicious, I enjoyed every single bite, and best of all, I got to chat with a long-lost friend! Lunch was a total of 20 points.

Waterfront walks with my bestie!

After lunch, we said a goodbye to my friend (such a short but sweet visit!) and headed to the mall to do a bit of shopping. Then we returned to my husband’s best friend’s place to cook dinner and rest up before the night’s festivities!

Dinner: We had planned to cook dinner at our friend’s place to both save money and to eat healthier. My hubby and kids had burgers and macaroni salad while I had one of my grilled turkey burgers, veggies and feta (that I had packed in a cooler and brought with us). Dinner was 5 points.

Healthy and easy dinner at “home” instead of eating out.

After dinner, we walked to the concert venue and stopped at Tim Horton’s along the way. The others ordered iced cappuccinos and chills (like milkshakes) but I decided just to have a bottle of water. Another success!

That night we surprised our kids (12 and 17) with tickets to a Hedley concert (for my American readers, Hedley is a pretty famous Canadian pop-rock band). The concert was amazing and I now have a slight obsession with Hedley going on (especially the super sexy lead singer Jacob Hoggard!) Honestly though, this guy’s voice is so powerful and amazing, and unlike many other bands they actually almost sound better live! Needless to say we had a blast (despite my son’s little episode of dehydration – a little water and escape from the crowd had him good to go in no time!) After the concert, we walked back to our friend’s place (about a 30-min walk) and then I had to go rescue my parents who had missed their bus back to their campsite! By this time, it was after midnight and I was literally ravenous. My hubby had taken the kids out to grab some McDonald’s so I decided to grab some for myself too. I wolfed down a kids’ McNuggets meal and a Diet Coke which turned out to only be 9 points so not too bad at all.

Sorry for the poor picture quality, however I strongly recommend seeing this band live!

We met up with my Mom, Dad and some other family at the concert. Here’s me and my Mama loving the music!

Saturday – Day 25

Brunch: We slept in the next morning so had brunch at our friend’s house before hitting the road again. I had an egg and turkey bacon with water but also treated myself to a piece of Texas toast and butter! I made my coffee (and cream) for the road though because we had just over an hour’s drive to my in-laws. With my coffee, brunch came to 16 points.

Dinner: On the way to my in-laws we stopped in to say hi to my brother-in-law at his shop and ended up staying there for two hours! By the time we left, we were all quite hungry! I could tell my husband really just wanted to grab some fast food so we could get going to his mom’s but I really didn’t want to eat takeout again (too many points!) so we decided to just cook once we got there. Once we arrived, I warmed up the leftover burgers and decided to just have one of those with everyone else instead of making my usual turkey burger and veggies (I even had a bun!) I tried some of the macaroni salad too but didn’t like it so only ate a few bites (was not going to waste calories on something that wasn’t even that great!) Instead, because it was easy and convenient, I munched on some Quakers mini rice cakes and had a Diet Coke to go with my burger. Dinner was a total of 17 points.

My MIL and hubby.

After dinner, we got to hang out in my in-laws backyard which is gorgeous! My MIL is a gardener and grows all kinds of her own vegetables, fruits, and flowers. They have a cozy, furnished outdoor living space, and best of all, a beautiful in ground swimming pool! The weather has been amazing lately so it was a gloriously hot summer evening. My son and I enjoyed a dip in the pool and then we hung out with the family. My MIL brought out some chocolate-peanut butter squares for dessert and guys, let me tell you, these things were massive! I couldn’t resist chocolate though so I cut a tiny piece off and had that instead.

Snack: So my in-laws also live down the street from Dairy Queen which we don’t have where I live. It’s a tradition to go there at least once whenever we’re visiting so we headed down there for a treat! I had planned for this indulgence too, so I decided to go with the chocolate milkshake. Only later that night when I looked up the points did I realize it was 37 points!!! I couldn’t believe it. I knew it would be a lot of points but I was thinking about 20, not 37! Anyway, I had already enjoyed it (and it was delicious!) so it was too late. But I will definitely have to keep this in mind next time we hit Dairy Queen! Needless to say, when we got back to the house and decided to have a campfire, I was able to convince my kids that the s’mores we had planned on making could wait until the next night!

So many points!!!

We couldn’t keep this kid out of the pool if we tried!

Sunday – Day 26

Breakfast: We cooked breakfast at my in-laws and I stuck with my usual turkey bacon and egg. (Side note: turkey bacon is so easy to pre-cook and then easily warm up either in the microwave or a stove-top!) I made my coffee (and cream) and enjoyed it on the ride into town for an afternoon of shopping with my daughter!

Lunch: After a few hours of shopping, we decided to grab lunch at the food court in the mall. I decided to have Mr. Souvlaki since this is again not something we can get at home and I absolutely love Greek food! I ordered the chicken souvlaki plate which is basically a chicken souvlaki kebab, tzaztiki sauce, rice, Greek salad, and roasted potatoes. I ate almost all of it except for a bit of the rice and potatoes! I also had a Diet Pepsi with it (I have been trying not to drink Diet pop but considered it a treat while on holidays, plus it’s 0 WW points). Lunch came to a total of 18 points.

Food court lunch

Snack and Dinner: After more shopping (I bought the cutest, native-inspired dress!) we decided to grab a treat before heading back to my in-laws. I chose a fat-free frozen yogurt waffle cone from Laura Secord but was a little disappointed when I later found out it was still about 15 points! However, it was incredibly yummy (probably even more so than the previous night’s milkshake!). Then we grabbed some groceries to take back to cook for dinner (again, budget- and waist-friendly). My daughter wanted sausages so we grabbed those and a veggie tray and headed back to my in-laws. By the time we got back, I was feeling pretty tired again. Everyone was lounging by the pool and although I had intended to make one of my turkey burgers and veggies for dinner, my father-in-law offered to grill up the sausages and then set it out with the veggie tray and potatoes. Being tired and having dinner set out in front of me makes it really hard to say no, so I caved here and had a sausage (with bun) for dinner. I had a few of the carrots and dip and some more rice cakes as well, for a total of about 21 points (ugh!) After dinner, my daughter had busted open the cookies we bought to make s’mores so I had one of those for another 2 points.

By the pool

After dinner, we hung out in the backyard by the pool, visited with family, and had a lot of good laughs! Later in the night we had another campfire and this time me and the kids made s’mores. I had planned on having just one but it was so good that I had a second. By then, I felt so full and kind of disappointed with myself for indulging so much! So then, when my daughter brought out a bag of chips a little while later, I snuck a small handful. Between the s’mores and the chips, I figure I tacked on another 11 points to my day.

Family by the pool

Monday – Day 27

Brunch: We slept in once again and then had brunch at my in-laws. I stuck with my usual egg and turkey bacon but couldn’t resist the Texas toast (I had two slices with butter!) I also made my usual coffee (with cream) for our road trip home.

Lunch: A few hours later we decided to make a stop for lunch. To keep it cheap, we hit Wendy’s. I am not going to lie – I didn’t really put much effort into making a healthy choice this time. At this point, I had that old, familiar feeling of the weekend is “blown” so what does it matter now? I ordered a Junior Bacon Cheeseburger, small fries, and Diet Coke. It was quite yummy but I don’t think it’s really worth the 21 points it cost me! (Yikes!)

After lunch, we hit the road again with another four hours of driving ahead of us! About halfway through I munched on some mini rice cakes and drank another Diet Pepsi (see how easily that habit creeps back in?!) We didn’t stop for dinner though so by the time we got home I wanted something fast and easy. My solution? Hotdogs (of which I had two). Man, it’s so easy to eat badly when you haven’t planned out your meals!

All in all though despite going way over my points and not really staying on plan this weekend, I did do some things right. For example, I still tracked all my food and calculated my points (even when they added up to scary realities!) I did make some conscious decisions and cooked at “home” quite a bit which definitely saved me from consuming even more points. Also, I learned some things: I learned that meal prepping and planning is essential and that it is way too easy to eat crap if you don’t plan and wait until you are too tired to care before eating. I learned that DQ milkshakes are delicious but still not sure if they are really worth more points than my regular daily allowance! And most of all, I learned that it is okay to have a blast of a weekend with your family, indulge in way too many treats, and then get right back to healthy eating – which is exactly what I am going to do tomorrow!

Everything was worth it for quality time with these three!

And all this being said, tomorrow is Day 28 which means I only have three more days until my 30-day plan is complete! Tomorrow is also weigh-in (I’m totally expecting to be up after this weekend) and this coming Friday, my husband and I leave for our annual, kid-free, anniversary vacation! Can’t wait!

27 days down, 3 to go!

30-Day Plan: Day Twenty-Three

July 28, 2016Leave a comment

Well, we are on the road again! We’re staying briefly at my Mom and Dad’s tonight and then headed on our weekend trip with our kids (ages 12 and 17) tomorrow! There are definitely going to be some food challenges this weekend but I’ve planned ahead and hopefully I am prepared for most of them! I can’t believe I am one week away from reaching my 30 days! Here’s what today looked like:

Breakfast: I stuck with what works again this morning so had my usual fried egg and 3 slices of turkey bacon (I keep forgetting to mention, I always drink water with breakfast). After, I sipped my coffee (and cream) while watching morning talk shows and reading. Normally, I like to move pretty slow in the morning but today I had lots to do so it wasn’t long before I was up and getting in the shower to get ready to start my day!

After dropping off my daughter, I zipped out to Walmart to grab some groceries and a few other things for the weekend. I had contemplated whether or not I’d pack food this weekend and finally decided that I may as well. Not only will it help me to stay on track with my 30-day plan, but it will save us some money too! Here’s some of the things I picked up at Walmart: turkey bacon, turkey burgers, mini rice cakes (my alternative to chips), eggs, some Diet Coke (a little treat for me), Pepsi (treat for my hubby and kids), and some small tinfoil containers with lids to pack my veggies in. When I got home, I pre-cooked the turkey bacon and burgers so it’d be easy to heat up while on the road. Then I prepared three of the tin-foil bowls with my diced veggies so they’d also be ready to go. In my cooler, I packed these things along with a few eggs, coffee creamer, yogurt, lettuce, and feta cheese. I also brought along my rice cakes, tortilla strips (in case I want a salad – they add the perfect crunch!), and some almonds to snack on.

Food prep underway!

I pre-portioned all my diced veggies for a quick and easy meal

Lunch: I had to grab lunch on the fly today so I quickly grabbed the leftover sweet potatoes and chicken from my fridge. Admittedly, I kind of over-cooked the potatoes so they weren’t as good as usual and even the chicken wasn’t hitting the spot but I ate it anyway so I wouldn’t be hungry. I had one last piece of watermelon in my fridge so I figured I’d eat it up so it didn’t go bad while we were away but unfortunately it was already losing it’s ripeness. I ate about half of it and tossed the other half. I grabbed a bottle of water and raced out the door to a couple of appointments I had scheduled for this afternoon.

Pretty unsatisfying lunch but it held me over until dinner.

After a very busy afternoon of errands, appointments, and packing we were just about ready to hit the road. Since I wanted something quick for dinner and had pretty much already cleaned out the fridge, I decided to grab something on the road. Before doing this though, I spent some time (while sitting at the hairdresser’s this afternoon!) to scroll through my Weight Watchers app so that I could make an informed choice. I had considered Subway (pretty safe bet for eating healthy if you are careful not to add to many sauces and cheeses), but then decided I wanted something hot, so went to Wendy’s instead. There, I ordered an Ultimate Grilled Chicken sandwich (8 points), a kids’ order of fries (6 points) and a small Diet Coke (0 points) for a total of 14 points. Yes, that’s pretty high for dinner but compared to a lot of things I could have had at a fast-food restaurant it was actually pretty decent! Some of the sandwiches alone are over 20 points! Plus, the burger was a significant size so I knew it’d keep me full long enough.

After our quick dinner, we hit the road and arrived at Mom & Dad’s about 8 p.m tonight. As soon as we got inside, I could smell something baking! It turns out, Mom had just taken fresh banana bread out of the oven! Not that I need to say any more than that, but I don’t ever bake at home so having fresh-baked anything from the oven is a real treat! I had one piece and estimated it to be about 6 points, putting me at a total of 37 points for the day.

Workouts: Unfortunately, I didn’t do any workouts today. I had planned to go to Zumba but then slept in too late and wouldn’t have had time to get all my other errands done. I’m a bit disappointed in myself for not making time for it but also realize that these things happen so not really dwelling on it.

Okay, it’s off to bed I go so that I can be well rested for the weekend’s adventures! I will try to update while we’re gone but if I don’t get a chance then you’ll hear from me on Monday when we get back (including everything we did and everything I ate!) Happy Long Weekend, everyone!

23 days down, 7 days to go!

30-day Plan: Day Twenty-One

July 26, 20162 Comments

Well yesterday may have been a tough one, but today was a lot better for several reasons. First, I didn’t get any headaches or feel hungry or cranky today (win!) Second, I found out that I am going to see my university roommate this Friday! (She’s home from China but we haven’t been able to coincide our schedules and summer travel plans yet – today we figured out we can meet up this weekend! Yay!) And third, I got some awesome results at weigh-in tonight (read on if you want to know… I have to build some suspense!). In the meantime, here’s how today went:

Breakfast: So this makes no sense to me but today I only had a fried egg and 3 slices of turkey bacon for breakfast (no sweet potatoes) and I felt more satisfied when I was done. Then again, today I decided to have my coffee (and cream) right after breakfast. It tasted so good and it was so relaxing to sip on it while I checked out social media feeds and watched morning talk shows. Man, am I ever going to miss these lazy, slow-moving mornings come September!

I’ll admit I wasn’t very active today – normally after breakfast I head out for a walk but since I slept in and lounged around, breakfast today was more like “brunch” and by the time I was done it was 32 degrees outside before the humidity! So I opted not to go. Instead, I did some more work for school – today’s fun: working on my timetable and long-range plans!

I’m going to be very prepared come September!

Lunch: When I drove my daughter to work today (she works at Tim Horton’s) I had a fleeting thought of grabbing a sandwich or a bagel for lunch. Of course, it was just a little mini daydream though. There’s not really many low-points options at Tim Hortons! Lucky for me, the idea passed quickly and instead when I got home I whipped up my chicken taco salad using leftover chicken from yesterday. With it, I had 2 sizeable chunks of sweet and juicy watermelon.

Workout: After lunch, I worked some more on my timetables before I headed to my gentle yoga class. Admittedly, gentle yoga is not much of a physical workout. It doesn’t get my heart rate up and I don’t sweat, but it does feel really good for my body! It’s mostly a series of stretches, a lot of deep breathing, some easy yoga poses, and relaxation exercises. Really, it’s more of a “mental” workout than it is physical but I absolutely love this class either way! After, I feel peaceful, poised, and rejuvenated – really can’t complain!

Dinner: When I left the gym, I started thinking about hamburgers (does that happen to anyone else? I randomly think of food all the time for no apparent reason!) More specifically, I started thinking about hamburgers with buns. It’s been so long since I’ve had one! Plus, I only had about 25 minutes to grab something for dinner before I had to hit my WW meeting. When I got home, I decided that I was going to have a burger for dinner. I hadn’t planned anything else and by this time, I really wanted one. Since I didn’t have enough time to grill one at home, I grabbed my phone and checked local fast food restaurants using my Weight Watchers app. I thought, for sure I could find a fast-food burger that wasn’t that high in points. Well, all I found was a junior burger at Wendy’s for 10 points. And while 10 points for dinner is not too bad, I knew that tiny little burger would not fill me up so I’d have to have something else with it. Before I knew it, I’d be at 15 points which would put me over my points for the day and not leave anything for an evening snack (or the frozen yogurt I was craving). I decided not to have a burger and instead checked my freezer for something to have. Right there on top was a Giuseppie frozen thin-crust, deluxe pizza. Yum. I figured with it being thin-crust it wouldn’t really be that bad so I used my app to check again and discovered that 1/5 of the pizza (and they aren’t very big pizzas) is 7 points. I’d want to eat at least 2 which would mean a total of 14 points, again leaving me no points for snacking later. Finally, after some consideration, I tossed the pizza back in the freezer, and ate my leftover chicken taco salad from lunch. I added a bit more chicken and some extra tortilla strips as I was wanting a little more crunch. Then I had 1/2 cup Chapman’s chocolate frozen yogurt for a total of 11 points for dinner and dessert! Man, am I ever glad I didn’t eat that burger or pizza!

This is the pizza I wanted but decided against.

I had leftover salad instead.

After dinner, I headed to my weekly Weight Watchers meeting. Guys, I am a huge advocate of Weight Watchers. For me, it’s mostly about the accountability. Checking in each week, discussing various topics with other people going through the same thing as me – it’s so inspiring. Yes, we weigh-in every week and I am still not entirely sure how I feel about that. I have been reading more about ditching the scale and I have to say I agree with it in some ways. There are so many other ways to tell if your body is changing and getting healthier – how your clothes fit, looking at pictures of yourself, what you can do physically – to name just a few. I’ve read a lot about women who eat clean and lift heavy weights and although the number on the scale is higher than it used to be for them, their body composition has changed entirely and they actually appear way more fit and thin. Here’s an example of what I mean from a fitness blogger I follow on Instagram (@thesweatlife):

She was 145 in first pic, 122 in second pic, and 140 in last pic. This is what people mean when they say “skinny fat”.

Anyway, all that being said, weighing yourself can be good or bad. When you’re down, it’s motivating and satisfying (because as I’ve mentioned before, losing weight is hard), but when you’re up it can be very discouraging and depressing and sometimes even make you want to give up. So I try not to get too hung up by the number on the scale. However, WW does require that you weigh-in once a week, and guys, I am so excited to tell you that at tonight’s weigh-in I was down another 5 lbs! That puts me at 8 lbs gone since I started my 30-day plan, and 15 lbs since I started back at Weight Watchers several months ago! (I figured I was past 10lbs now because I bought a pair of shorts recently and had to get one size smaller than normal!). I am obviously thrilled with this result! It’s funny that it comes the day after I was complaining about how hard it is to lose weight. And after having had so many treats last week while at my parents’ house, I was really not expecting to see such significant results on the scale (that being said, sometimes it takes more than a week to see results – so if you’ve been working hard and haven’t seen the results yet, KEEP GOING, because they will come!

Perfect message for today!

In addition to all that, it’s just been one of those days where I can feel the results of my efforts. You know when you have a “fat” day and just feel big and gross and uncomfortable? Well, I’m actually feeling the opposite of that today! I feel like my weight loss is starting to be noticeable (at least to me) and I felt skinny today! A pretty great feeling!

So the other thing about my WW meeting is that it totally re-inspires me for the coming week. This weekend we are heading out of of town again and I know there will be some food challenges. But my 30-days won’t be up, so I am not throwing in the towel. Instead, I am going to do what I did last time – plan ahead, bring some of my food, save all my “bonus” points, and make the best choices that I can while still enjoying myself!

21 days down, 9 days to go!

Kelly Malley

Inspire. Uplift. Empower.

Tag: meal plan