Finding it hard to remember to blog lately

I made this goal to blog daily when I began this new 'get healthy' program - and I was successful for the first couple of weeks - lately, I haven't either been remembering to enter it or I have been way too tired. I want to really put forth a greater effort to write here because I think it's important to. I feel I am getting the hang of finding ways to keep within my allottment of calories, carbs, fat and protein. The hardest part seems to be keeping my fat up and my carb down. What can I day? I'm a carbs girl! :-) I have learned to play around with the things I eat if my meals add up to more than they should. For instance, at breakfast, they tend to give me more than I can comfortably eat - so, I will take some of that breakfast portion and have it for a snack a couple of hours after breakfast. That way I am still getting in my calories, etc, and don't have to worry about having two snacks listed for the day. The one thing that bothers me, though, is that I don't know if I am getting in enough fruit. I love fruit and feel it's important to get a few servings a day. It is often listed at breakfast and for one snack, but not so much during the rest of the day. I like to have at least three a day, so I am trying to fit an extra one in without going over my calories, etc. One thing that shocked me is how many calories and carbs there are in a banana - they suggest to eat half a banana, but who eats half a banana - they would go yucky :-) So, when they suggest a banana, I have a whole one and just cut down somewhere else. I have become much more aware of the calories, etc. in foods - even to the point where I was checking that info on my friend's lunch food the other day. :-) It's good to be aware, but at the same time, I need to make sure that I don't go crazy over all this stuff. Moderation in all things is a good saying to go by. Having said that, I am hoping that when I get on the scales this morning, that I am down five pounds so that I can buy a chocolate bar when I walk up to the store this morning. :-)

How fast time goes!

I can't believe how long it's been since I did a blog and I had planned on doing one every day. Some of the days I was too tired and on Monday I was sick, so that's my excuse. :-) I am pleased to report that I have lost another pound - for a total of four pounds lost so far. :-) I am finding that I can keep up with the menu plan and quite enjoy working out what to eat and recording it. I won't go back and tell you what I have eaten for the past five days. But for today: breakfast - bagel and cream cheese, lunch - egg salad in a pita, green peppers with french dressing, supper - sweet and sour meatballs over rice. Mike and I bought some raspberry sorbet earlier this week and it's a lovely low cal treat - we just have half a cup and it's just enough to satisfy a sweet tooth. I don't think I would want to get used to having some every night, but it's nice once in a while. The exercise hasn't gone according to plan this week. Monday, after yoga, I threw up so there went the strength training. Yesterday, Mike and I did do our ten minute walk. Tonight, however, the weather was not co-operating and so we didn't get in our walk or our strength training (we were both too tired to do it once we got home from Krystal's). We are planning on taking our ten minute walk tomorrow night and hopefully will get back on track starting on Friday.

Only a little hungry

Today I still felt a little hungry, but not as hungry as yesterday. I had a similar meal plan to yesterday, but it seemed to go a little better. I did add an extra fruit today (two pineapple rings) and perhaps that was just enough to make it so it wasn't as bad as yesterday. And I saved my yogurt for after our walk tonight - that helps a bit since it's nice to have something after exercising. Normally, I think it would work better to take our walk before dinner, but I stayed at school late tonight and so by the time I got home, it was 6pm and by the time we got finished with making dinner and eating it, it was 7:30pm. I got my 2 litres of water in today - I found that by carrying it around with me in the classroom rather than keeping it on my desk, it was visible to me and so I drank more. I am rarely at my desk during the day, so bringing it to where I usually am in the classroom made it easier for me to get my water down. Mike and I had a good walk today - 2.2 miles - but now I feel too tired and too strained to do my strength workout. So, I am going to have to do it tomorrow - which is okay since I won't be doing my next workout until Monday so I will still have two days in between my workouts. It's hard on Fridays to get up the energy to do so much exercising, but finding 30 minutes on a Saturday should be workable. Menu today: breakfast - waffles, maple syrup, milk, orange juice, strawberries, lunch - turkey and tomato on a bagel with mustard, pretzels, snacks - pretzels, pineapple, yogurt, supper - pork tenderloin, rice, mixed vegetables. We added half a tablespoon of soy sauce to the rice to make it more tasty since I'm not fussed on plain rice, but I think we needed to add the full tablespoon, so next time, we'll do that and see how it tastes. I decided today that I am going to give myself a treat when I lose five pounds - I think that will help me to keep on track when I am feeling a little hungry. They say that you shouldn't treat yourself to food, but I am going to anyway. :-) I am going to allow myself to have a chocolate bar at that first goal. When I get to ten pounds loss, I am going to get my nails done. I will have to think about what I will do at fifteen pounds.

still hungry today

I really don't like the hungry feeling I am getting - it's been three days now. I wonder if I am eating less calories than I was when I was eating like Weight Watchers. I will give it a little while longer since my body will take some time to get used to this amount of food. I do like eating healthy - I think it's good for the body and the mind. :-) I haven't been eating as much fruit as I would like - for instance, today I only had strawberries for breakfast and in my yogurt and an apple for one of my snacks. I would like to fit in more fruit in the day. I really like fruit and I am sure that I can fit it in somewhere. I didn't get my ten minutes of cardio in today (one of my goals is to do at least ten minutes of cardio a day), but I won't beat myself up about it. It's hard to fit in on Thursdays as I have homework club and then go straight up to Terri-Ann's for my date night with Colin. Perhaps I could walk at lunch time since it's only for ten minutes - hey, that's a good idea. :-) Today's menu: breakfast - 2 pancakes, strawberries, maple syrup, milk, lunch - turkey on a bagel with tomatoes, snacks - strawberry yogurt, jam on crackers, supper - ham, rice with tomatoes and kidney beans, corn, milk.

An ordinary day

I found myself a little hungry today - I might add some fruit to the menu even if it doesn't call for it. Interesting little fact I found out today - some fruit are quite high in carbs (like bananas). Not that that would stop me from eating bananas which I love - just something to be aware of depending on how many carbs I have eaten that day. I do love my carbs - I am trying to eat more vegetables, though. I am going to buy some roasted red pepper hummus and eat it with a pita. It sounds yummy and hummus is a good way to get the protein I need while not eating meat. Menu today: breakfast - regular oatmeal, brown sugar, half a bagel, cream cheese, orange juice, lunch - rice, kidney beans, tomatoes, sour cream, snacks - apple, tortilla chips, salsa, supper - chicken, macaroni, spaghetti sauce, green beans. I have to say that I am enjoying these meals - they are delicious and it makes me feel really good that I am keeping within the goals that have been set for me. :-)

Ate too much again - sigh!

I found today that I was satisfied with the amount of food I had at each meal. I did have my snacks between lunch and supper which is the usual. We had leftover turkey tonight, though - and I ate too much - my tummy is still way too full. I am disappointed in myself, actually. I need to make sure that when I feel full, I stop eating - even if it is a yummy turkey dinner. I reflected on what I ate and I could have done without the roast potatoes, which would have cut down a little from my meal. We did go for a walk with Krystal, Jesse and Alexander today - it was about a 30 minute walk and that felt really good. Menu today: breakfast - shreddies, milk, raspberries, lunch - rice, kidney beans, tomato, sour cream, snacks - banana, granola bar, supper - turkey, potatoes, corn, beans, carrots, stuffing, tomato juice, gravy. I also drank my 2 litres of water today. Not much else to report today - just have to weigh in tomorrow to see how much I lost this week. My friend Jessica says she is hoping to lose more than me in her weigh in tonight. I would love to win just one week against her, but every time we have this competition, it seems to spur her on. Oh well, as long as we are both losing weight, it's a good thing, I guess. :-)

What a day - the key is relaxation!

It's been a very relaxing day - first staying in bed on the computer 'til way in the afternoon, then getting a lovely one hour massage, then my first yoga class. Most of the time on the computer today was getting used to the sparkpeople.com site and planning meals for this week. It's such a great site and I can't wait to find out more about what's available there. I didn't get my strength training done today, but I did manage to almost meet my cardio goal for the day. The yoga class was interesting - we did a lot of stretching and yoga moves and then a ten minute relaxing time at the end of the class. It didn't seem like I was getting much of a workout, but my arms and legs are telling me different. I must have really given my body a great workout during that hour. I love the last ten minutes as well - it's hard to truly relax your body, but, believe me, my body was so relaxed, it was hard to get up and get moving at the end of the class. I did get a ten minute walk in today and drink my two litres of water, plus I kept within my calorie and grams of fat goals, so I would say it's been quite a good day in all. Mike has also signed up on sparkpeople.com and he's excited about following the programs he has signed up for. I'm excited that he's excited - hopefully the two of us can lose weight, become fit and stay healthy. :-) Today's menu: breakfast - shreddies, raisins, milk, lunch - egg salad sandwich, green pepper strips, cucumber slices, supper - jacket potato, sour cream, cheese, barbecued chicken, corn.