Today's Food

Here's what I'm eating (or have eaten) today:

BREAKFAST:
2 slices bacon
1 slice Applegate Farms turkey
1 oz. white cheddar

LUNCH:
Jimmy John's BLT Unwich

DINNER:
Taco Bake
Roasted Garlic Cauliflower


SNACKS:
1 cup strawberries
2 T almond butter
1/2 medium apple

TOTALS:
1604 calories
30.65 net carbs

11% carbs
69% fat
20% protein

Couple of things

Just wanted to throw a couple of things up on the blog so that I don't lose them:

FatSecret.com is a much better food tracking program than FitDay. I've never liked FitDay.

Also, here's recipe calculator that is quick and easy.

Wednesday's Meal Plan

I'm trying not to weigh this week, because I was way up at the beginning of the week because of all of my carbs combined with the normal time-of-the-month weight gain. So I"m not going to worry about weight this week and just keep eating the way I'm supposed to.

BREAKFAST:
Sausage Quiche - 2 net carbs (I think it might be time to replace this breakfast!)

LUNCH:
Leftover Italian Meatball Burger
Leftover roasted green beans

SNACK:
1 oz. pecans

DINNER:
Lemon Pepper Pork Chops - 1. 2 net carbs
Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes
Salad greens
1/2 c. cucumber
1/4 c. onion

Back on the Wagon

OK, I haven't really "fallen off" the wagon, I've just gotten a little loose with my carb counting since I'm getting close to my goal of 164. I think now that I'm close to 164, I need to go back to thinking of 150 as my goal. Because I don't think I'm at a weight where I'm comfortable, and I'd really feel better if I could get to 150 or 155. I don't want to think of 164 as my goal and only ever make it to 170, when I could think of 150 as my goal and make it to 155 or 160. So, I've just decided to reset my mindset and make 155 my goal. That still means I have about 15 pounds to lose, which is a manageable amount, and it'll keep me from coasting too much.

My weight has been all over the place since Friday, when I weighed 171. That's probably because I've been eating some seriously bad carbs, including taco shells, and beans, which I just don't think are going to agree with me in the long run. I can never seem to eat them and still lose weight.

So, I'm going to try to get back into tracking and COUNTING what I eat, and I'm going to try to add in another 5 carbs this week, so around 30 carbs per day. I'll stick with the foods I've been eating, and I might add in some berries.

Let's see:

BREAKFAST:
Sausage Quiche - 2 net carbs

LUNCH:
3 cups butter lettuce - 1.9 net carbs
2 slices bacon - 0 net carbs
1 hardboiled egg - 0.56 net carbs
1 oz. pecans - 1.2 net carbs
1 oz. cheddar - 1 net carb
2 T ranch dressing - 2 net carbs
I was out of cucumber  :(

DINNER:
Italian Meatball Burgers
1 cup roasted green beans - 4.1 net carbs
1 cup butter lettuce - 0.63 net carbs
1/2 cup cucumber - 0.93 net carbs

1  hardboiled egg - 0.56 net carbs
1 oz. cheddar - 1 net carb
1 oz. pecans - 1.2 net carbs
1 T ranch dressing - 1 net carb

SNACKS:
1 cup strawberries - 8.7 net carbs
1 fl oz cream, whipped - 1.3 net carbs

TOTAL: 28.08 net carbs

Back Down

OK, so this morning I was back down to 172. That's only 8 pounds away from my initial goal of 164 and 22 pounds away from 150. Yay!

Now to keep losing!

BREAKFAST:
(a bunch of random stuff)
1 oz. pecans
TJ cheese stick
1 slice of turkey
2 slices bacon

LUNCH:
Went to Bravo's and had a Taco Salad ... ate about 1/2 of the shell because it was delicious. Estimated nutrition with FitDay ... possibly way off.

DINNER:
Baked meatballs - 0.5 net carbs + pasta sauce?
Cauliflower mashed potatoes - 2 net carbs

SNACKS:
3 pieces sugar-free Reese's PB cups
2 pieces sugar-free Hershey's miniatures

TOTALS (not including pasta sauce, because I don't have the jar with me):

Calories: 1,309
Fat: 96.5
Carbohydrate: 65.3
Fiber: 16.9
Sugar Alcohols: 19.6
Net Carbs: 28.8
Protein 59.8

Not bad

So, I didn't blog on Friday before we left for the weekend, but the scale said 172, which was awesome. This morning, after a weekend of indulgences, I was at 172.5 -- not too shabby. I was prepared for that to be much higher ... and maybe it will continue to creep up as the week goes on. We'll see.

Here's my menu for the day:

BREAKFAST:
Flax cracker w/ 1 oz. cream cheese - 1 net carb
3 slices bacon - 0 carbs

LUNCH:
HUGE salad with:
1.5 cups romaine - 0.8 net carbs
1 hardboiled egg - 0.39 net carbs
2 slices bacon - 0 net carbs
1 oz. cheddar - 1 net carb
1 oz. pecans - 1.2 net carbs
1 oz. turkey lunchmeat - 1 net carb
1/4 c. onions - 3 net carbs

DINNER:
Not sure ... just realized I forgot to take out any meat, so it may be leftovers or dinner out. I'd love to try that BOGO coupon from Ruby Tuesday again. We'll see!

=8.39 carbs + dinner

Big Loser

OK, so Tuesday I was at 174.5, and yesterday I was at 174.5, and then this morning I was at 173. So that's a nice little dip ... just in time for another weekend away, wherein I will probably eat too much of too many bad foods and will be right back at 174.5 on Monday. Fingers crossed that won't happen.

One thing I have started doing is adding flax into my diet. It helps, ahem, keep things moving, but it's also almost like a grain, which means I can cook it up in a way that is sort of cracker-like and then spread things on it. It's a nice change from my other snacks, and it's pretty tasty. Here's the recipe I use: http://blog.yourlighterside.com/2009/05/flax-cracker-recipe.html. Mine doesn't actually get particularly crispy, but it's something to smear some cream cheese on!

OK, today's meal plan:

BREAKFAST:
Flax cracker - 0 carbs
1 T cream cheese - 0 carbs
2 pieces bacon - 0 carbs

LUNCH:
Asian-style pork chop - eh ... 1 carb, maybe
1 cup snow peas - 3 carbs

DINNER:
Baked meatballs - 0.5 carbs
Pasta sauce - 2 carbs

Eh.

So, on Saturday, I was down to 173.5. Now it's Tuesday, and I'm back up to 174.5. Sigh. This is getting old. I'm not changing what I'm eating or cheating AT ALL, and yet I'm essentially stagnant. One step forward, two steps back. And now Paula Abdul is in my head. GREAT.

Here's something kind of weird, though: I wasn't hungry this morning. So I didn't eat breakfast. And here it is after 11, and I'm still not really hungry. I feel a little foggy-brained, maybe, but I'm not hungry. I'm trying to respond to my body's cues and only eat when I'm hungry, but this is not what I expected. I had a snack last night at about 9, maybe a little before 9, so it's been 14 hours since I last ate anything. It'll probably be another couple of hours before I eat lunch, unless I get hungry before then.

OK, so my meal plan for the day:

BREAKFAST:
Nothing

LUNCH:
Hamburger with cheese - 1 net carb, 1 oz. cheese
1 cup cucumbers - 2 net carbs, 1 cup salad veggies
Salad dressing - 1 net carb
1.5 cups romaine - 1.2 net carbs, 1.5 cup salad veggies
2 T onions - 2 net carbs
0.5 oz. cheese - 0.5 net carbs, 0.5 cup cheese
1 oz. pepperoni - 0 net carbs
Caesar dressing - 0 net carbs

DINNER:
Hamburger with cheese - 1 net carb, 1 oz. cheese

TOTALS:
8.7 net carbs
2.5 oz. cheese
2.5 cups salad veggies
1,689 calories

Not Much to Report

There hasn't been much downward movement on the scales -- yesterday and today I was at 174, which is exactly where I was a week ago when we left to go out of town. I felt like I was good all weekend, but I think I just ate too much and didn't drink enough water. I went back for a lot of seconds, which I don't normally do. So, lesson learned -- a weekend off means a full week of recovery. Sigh.

Anyway, back on track now! Here's my menu for the day:

BREAKFAST:
Same ol', same ol' -- 2 net carbs, 1 oz. cheese

LUNCH:
Lunch at Chipotle for a meeting. I've got a plan, though, and looked up all of their nutritionals.
Salad with romaine, chicken, sour cream, cheese, green salsa and fajita veggies. NO DRESSING (it has 11 net carbs in just 2 oz.!) -- 9 net carbs, 1 oz. cheese

DINNER:
Leftover Green Enchilada Chicken Casserole -- 4 net carbs, 2 oz. cheese
1 cup green beans -- 6 net carbs
1 cup romaine -- 0.4 net carbs
1/2 cup cucumber -- 1 net carb
1/8 cup onion -- 1.4 net carbs
Caesar dressing -- 0 net carbs

TOTAL:
23.8 net carbs, 4 oz. cheese

Just a Slight Blip

OK, so it turns out yesterday was just a slight blip, and I'm back to CLOSE to where I was on Friday -- 174.5. I'll take it.

Still trying to add in more veggies today. Since I averaged around 17 net carbs per day over the past few weeks, I'm trying for around 23-25 net carbs per day for this week. I didn't really go grocery shopping for this week, so we're just eating what we have. I'll have to go buy some higher carb veggies so I'm not eating the same thing every meal to try to get in enough carbs!

BREAKFAST:
1/8 Sausage Quiche -- 2 net carbs, 1 oz. cheese

LUNCH:
Hamburger with cheese -- 1 net carb, 0.5 oz. cheese
1.5 cups red leaf lettuce -- 1.5 carbs
1/4 cup onion -- 3 carbs
1 cup sliced cucumber -- 2 carbs
0.5 oz. Monterey Jack -- 0.5 carbs, 0.5 oz. cheese
2 T Ken's Caesar dressing -- 0 carbs

DINNER:
@Ruby Tuesday
Lettuce - 2 carbs
Onion, broccoli, cucumbers -- 4 carbs
Ham -- 1 carb
Cheese -- 1 carb
Ranch - 1 carb
Cheeseburger - 1 carb
Green beans - 3 carbs

TOTALS:
23 net carbs, 4 oz. cheese

Weekend away

So, after a long weekend away from my scale, not drinking enough water and sitting on my butt, I'm not going to accept what the scale said this morning as real. Also, we didn't eat dinner until after 8 last night, and when we did eat, it was a BIG dinner, so I'm hoping that had something to do with it. Anyway, it was only up to 175.5, so hopefully a ton of water and eating right today will get rid of that extra 1.5 pounds. And I'm staying close to my scale from now on ... it keeps me accountable! :)

OK, so here's my meal plan for the day. Despite the weekend "gain," I'm going to head into OWL and add back in 5 grams of carbs in the form of more veggies this week. I might have to explore some higher carb veggies, since there are only so many big salads I can eat!

BREAKFAST:
1/8 Sausage Quiche - 2 net carbs, 1 oz. cheese

LUNCH:
1/8 Sausage Quiche - 2 net carbs, 1 oz. cheese
1 1/2 cups red leaf lettuce - 1.5 carbs
1/2 oz. Monterey Jack - 0.5 carbs, 1/2 oz. cheese
1/8 c. diced onion - 1.5 carbs
1/2 cup cucumber - 2 carbs
1 T Ken's Ranch dressing - 0.5 carb

DINNER:
Cheeseburger - 1 net carb, 1 oz. cheese
1 cup green beans - 6 net carbs
1 1/2 cups red leaf lettuce - 1.5 carbs
1/2 oz. Monterey Jack - 0.5 carbs, 1/2 oz. cheese
1/8 c. diced onion - 1.5 carbs
1/2 cup cucumber - 2 carbs
1 T Ken's Ranch dressing - 0.5 carb

TOTALS: 23 net carbs, 4 oz. cheese

Only 10 lbs. until "normal"!

So, I'm 174 this morning, which means I'm only 10 pounds away from the "normal" weight range. Josh insists that this does not carry over into any other aspects of life; the "normal" just applies to weight. We'll see.

I'm SO excited about this! Ten pounds is so little! After that, I'll probably want to lose another 10-15 pounds to get to a size I'm comfortable with, but I'll cross that bridge when I get to it :)

Anyway, here's my meal plan for the day ... it's a little mixed up because we're heading out of town. And I HOPE I can keep up my losing streak while we're gone!

BREAKFAST:
1/8 Sausage Quiche

LUNCH:
We're eating out, possibly at Greek Fiesta. I need to look at their menu.

DINNER:
Eh? Something in Fayetteville.

Hello, 174!

Well, the scale showed another loss this morning, so I'm down to 174.5. If I lose another half a pound, I'll be 10 pounds away from my first goal!

Today's menu:

BREAKFAST:
1/8 Sausage Quiche (2 net carbs, 1 oz. cheese)

LUNCH:
1/8 Sausage Quiche (2 net carbs, 1 oz. cheese)
1 cup cucumber (2 net carbs, 1 cup foundation veggies)
2 T Ken's Ranch (1 net carb)

DINNER:
Bacon Beef Roll (2 net carbs, 0.5 oz. cheese)
1 cup green beans (6 net carbs, 1 cup other veggies)
1 cup romaine (0.8 net carbs, 1 cup foundation veggies)
0.5 oz. cheese (0.5 net carbs, 0.5 oz. cheese)
1 T Ken's Ranch (0.5 net carbs)

TOTALS:
16.8 net carbs
2 cups foundation veggies
1 cup other veggies
3 oz. cheese

Another Loss

OK, so I was down again — to 175 — this morning, despite my lunchtime travesty yesterday. I did remember that there were croutons on my salad, which I didn't eat, which would have contributed to the 41 carbs. So at least it wasn't QUITE that many.

I'm back to where I was before I started gaining in the past week, and out of the plateau that had plagued me for a month before that, so that's good. I'm feeling positive here, so hopefully I'll actually see a brand-new, never-seen-before number on the scale sometime this week. (Dare I hope for tomorrow?) Only 11 pounds to go until I'm in the "normal" weight zone!

Here's my menu for today:

BREAKFAST:
1/8 Sausage Quiche - 2 net carbs (1 oz. cheese)

LUNCH:
Hamburger w/cheese - 1 net carb (1 oz. cheese)
1 cup green beans - 6 net carbs (1 cup other veggies)
1 cup romaine - 0.8 net carbs (1 cup foundation veggies)
0.5 oz. cheddar - 0.5 net carbs (0.5 oz. cheese)
1 T Ken's Ranch - 0.5 net carbs

DINNER:

SNACK:
1 cup cucumber - 2 net carbs (1 cup foundation veggies)
2 T Ken's Ranch - 1 net carb

TOTALS:
13.8 net carbs
2 cups foundation veggies
1 cup other veggies
2.5 oz. cheese