Let the Games Begin!!

I am SO EXCITED about the next three days!!  I get to watch my three nephews.  I know I've mentioned them before and the fact that I have a mild obsession with them :)  I won't have to worry about exercise over the next few days because I have a feeling there will be a lot of activity!  I love being with them, they crack me up all the time.  Here's hoping for a fun, safe and happy three days.

New Computer :)

I'm so excited!!  I got a new computer at work today, this is my first post from it :)  I realize it seems silly to be so excited, but this is the first new computer I've had here in almost 7 years.  My old computer was on a very old operating system and on it's last legs.  I do feel like I'm back in 3rd grade again though and learning how to use a computer for the first time.

Last night we made the chicken pot pie from Costco, I liked it, Chris said it was a little bland.  Once he added his hot sauce he was good to go.  Best part of the meal was that it was waiting for me when I got home, thanks honey :)

Whoa!

I knew my birthday was coming, but I didn't realize it was NEXT WEEK!  In a meeting with my boss this morning we were discussing a project and I told him I was rolling it out on March 7 & 8, to which he said "oh good next week."  I was like no it's not next week, it's at least 2 or 3 weeks away, he showed me the calendar, oops!  Not to say my project won't be done, it is already, but I was shocked that March starts at the end of this week.  Where did February go?!?!  

Chris and I went to Costco yesterday.  It was PACKED!  The good thing though was that it was free sample time :)  Yes I know that's bad for someone who is dieting, but it gave us a lot of good ideas for healthy choices that we hadn't previously known about.  We got quite a few of the things we sampled: chicken breasts, healthy chicken nuggets, salmon burgers, salmon fillets were on sale so we stocked up, vegetarian chili, avocados, more of the Special K flat breads, etc.  We spent a pretty penny, but we're now stocked up!  

Life is Short

Today I'm reminded of how short life can be.  It's one of my closest friends birthday's today, unfortunately I'm not able to share it with him.  He passed away almost two years ago.  He and his wife introduced Chris and I to each other and for that I will be forever grateful.  I think about him everyday.  His wife and I remain close and I see him in his little girl.  Recently I've felt his presence more and more and I know he's watching over all of us.  I don't mean to bring the blog down today, but he's been on my mind.  I miss him everyday, but am so glad to have known him, even though it was cut short.  His passing reminds me not to take anything for granted, to live life to the fullest everyday and to be thankful for what you have because you never know when you won't have it anymore.  I love and miss you Marty!

The Joys of....

...working at a communications company.  When it snows, I can work from home and no business is disrupted :)  I knew there was a "snow storm" coming so yesterday before I left work I told my team to work from home today.  Now I'm not sure what happened to the "storm" part.  We did get some snow (or S-N-O as Chris says) but a few inches at best.  Regardless, I'm more than happy to stay in my comfy clothes all day and not have to worry about driving with everyone else who seems to forget how to drive in snow.

Very excited for tomorrow, my friend Rebecca and I are getting mani's and pedi's.  A little girl time is always good.

Thinking good thoughts for overall health today!

Blah

The truth is I've been kind of blah the past few days and my food choices reflect that.  I promised to give the good, the bad and the ugly when I started and I'm hovering between the bad and the ugly right now.  I know I'll snap out of it and will get back on track with my eating.  I don't have anything with me at work today that involves pizza or ice cream, etc.  I know I'll bounce back in a few days, it's just that right now I'm feeling very blah.

Burrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

OMG it's SO cold outside.  We were almost frozen into our house this morning.  Our storm door lock was frozen shut.  Don't get me wrong, I would have loved to have gone back upstairs, get under the covers and go back to bed, but I don't think my boss would have appreciated that :)  Luckily Chris was able to get it open and I was on my way.............or so I thought.  I was running low on gas, so I stopped at the gas station.  The door to my gas tank was frozen shut.  After a few minutes I was able to get it open.  All in all a very cold, frozen morning!

I seem to start off the week good for working out and taper off at the end of the week into the weekend.  I have my gym bag with me today and plan on going to workout after work, I need to keep this up for the rest of the week!

A Bunch of Catching Up

I haven't posted for a few days.  Over the weekend we were house sitting for a friend and I didn't feel well, so I didn't really go anywhere near my computer.  That's not to say that I didn't still track my food, because I did.  Since we were house sitting, we didn't have any of our own food so there was a lot of eating out.  I still tried to stay somewhat close to my calorie count for the day.  Also, when I ordered, I'd only eat 1/2 of my meal and saved the other 1/2 for the next day.  We decided that if we house sit again that we'll be bringing our own food next time :)

Pizza Rears it's Ugly Head Again!

Yep, last night for Valentine's Day we went and had our favorite pizza!  We did make a few modifications.  We did not add meat to it.  After we ordered pizza last time, then we went on my fitness pal and looked it up.  We realized how many calories we could have saved by ordering veggie, so that's what we did last night.  It's not a common occurrence, it doesn't happen all the time, it was a special occasion so I'm ok with it :)

Happy Valentine's Day!!

I love Valentine's Day!  Who am I kidding, I love every holiday!  Holiday's just make me happy and excited.  Today I'm wearing a red shirt, yes I color coordinate to the holiday as well :)  Chris and I decided not to go overboard this year.  We're trying to save money so we agreed to stay within $10.  Chris only spent a few dollars, but it's one of the most sentimental gifts I've ever received.  He got me a picture frame with the word "Memories" across the top and then put in pictures he'd taken of things around my condo that I didn't know he'd taken before I moved out.  He never ceases to amaze me with his thoughtfulness.  Now don't get me wrong Chris, I still like the jewelry and flowers and all that other stuff too :)

Regardless of if you have a significant other or not to celebrate with, today is about celebrating love.  If you were invited to join me on this blog journey (i.e. anyone I emailed about starting up the blog) know that you are loved!!  I love you all :)  Happy Valentine's Day!!

Ash Wednesday

Today starts Ash Wednesday.  That means no meat today or on Friday's, which for a dieter is a good plan :)  Most of the time I give something up - pop, sweets, chips, etc.  This year I'm going to do something a little different.  I'm really going to focus on my health for the next 40 days.  Not that I haven't been already, but I will continue to do that and be far more conscious about what I'm eating and how often I'm working out.

New Food Find

Remember how my acupuncturist told me I needed to start eating dark greens instead of iceberg lettuce?  Well, since then I've been on the lookout for dark green mixes that do NOT contain spinach.  Spinach and I don't get along.  I like it, but it does not like me.  We'll leave it at that :)  Anyway, I just came across this mix and it's really good.  Not only does it contain a mix of different lettuces, it also has fresh herbs - parsley, dill and cilantro mixed in.  I like it a lot, may be my new go to.

Double Food Post

I didn't have my computer yesterday so I'm going to post Saturday and Sunday's food here.  We had a GREAT weekend.  Joey's Mickey Mouse themed birthday was a lot of fun.  Every time I see my three nephews I'm amazed at how big they're getting and how quickly they're growing up.  They always bring such a big smile to my face and I start missing them the second that I leave their house.  It was also nice to be able to hang out with my family!

Saturday night after the party we went to meet up with Eric and Ann.  We stayed in the Oak Brook area for the evening and then went to the auto-show on Sunday.  We had to have walked 5 miles on Sunday!  The show was fun but we all agreed that nothing totally "wow'd" us this year like it has in years past.  Afterwards we took them to Chuck's, one of our favorite BBQ places by our house.  I've gotten pretty good at ordering there.  I had a few of Chris's rib tip appetizers then got the all white meat smoked chicken breast with green beans and a plain potato.  I ate the green beans and potato and by that time I was full so I saved the chicken for today.  I also peeled off the skin because I know that in a moment of weakness I would probably eat it.

Party, Party, Party!!

Today is my nephew's 2nd birthday party.  I always get really excited when it's time to hang out with family, especially my three nephews.  One could say I'm a little obsessed with them :)  They actually provide a lot of motivation for me while I'm working out.  The other day at the gym I was slowing down and one of the songs that we usually have a dance party to came on and that immediately pepped me back up.  I often find myself thinking about them and wanting to get more healthy for them so that I can play with them more and be around with them for a looooooooooooooooooooooong time.  I love them :)

Happy Friday!

What a fun night last night and an awesome weekend planned!  Last night we went out with our friend Kelly (who introduced us).  We went to a Mexican restaurant.  Not the easiest place to stick to a diet, but I managed to do it!  They have the best margarita's and it's always been our tradition to go on Thursday's for 1/2 priced margarita's.  The downside, they are SO BAD for you.  So I swapped out the margs for MDG 64.  One beer with only 64 calories.  Not the best tasting beer I've ever had, but not the worst either!  When we walked in the special board caught my eye - Tilapia was the fish of the day, bonus.  So I limited myself to a few chips and salsa (they are my weakness so I had to have some.)  When I ordered the fish he said it came with rice.  In my research yesterday I found that swapping the rice with black beans is much better, so I went with that.  I was pretty proud of myself at the end of the evening for sticking to my diet.

I'm so excited for this weekend.  Saturday is my nephew Joey's 2nd birthday party and then Sunday we're going to the auto show with our friends Eric and Ann.

   

Noticing a Change....

....in my shopping and eating out habits.  Last night Chris and I went grocery shopping and while we were out went and got something to eat.  I can't say enough about My Fitness Pal and the effect it's had on my choices.  We went to Applebee's and I started looking up food as soon as we got there.  Surprisingly the sirloin steak was the lowest calorie item I looked up.  I got that, some mixed veggies and a plain potato that I planned on eating with ketchup instead of butter/sour cream.  Rusty taught me that trick once.  You put ketchup on fries, fries are a potato in a different form, so save yourself the calories and try it.  Another way I like to eat it is with salsa.  We got the 2 for $24 deal and it came with an appetizer.  I knew I wasn't going to eat the appetizer, but Chris had me look up the calorie content for the pre-selected ones that he could choose from. Spinach and Artichoke dip - 1500 calories!!!!!!  Again surprisingly the cheese sticks were the best thing for the selection and that's what he ordered.  They came and he was nice enough to move them over to his side so I didn't have to see them.  You'll notice on my journal that I did cave and I ate one, but I made sure to count it.  I ended up not eating my potato, I was pretty full after the veggies and steak so I saved it for lunch today.

We went grocery shopping after that.  I used My Fitness Pal again to help me look some of the stuff up and figure out what made most sense to buy.  My biggest revelation - PICKLES ARE 0 CALORIES!!!!!!!!!  Now if you know me, you know I love pickles.  When my grandma would send me care packages while in college, they would have a jar of pickles.  I always seem to have a jar of pickles in my refrigerator.  I guess somewhere in the back of my mind I knew that from a calorie standpoint they weren't that bad, but I don't remember them being 0 calories.  Yes Chris, I know they're loaded with sodium, but I love them and if it helps solve a hunger pain, I'm good with that :) You can bet that a jar made it's way into our cart!

Tonight we're going out to dinner with our friend Kelly (the one who introduced us!)  I'm already looking online to decide what I'm going to have so that I know how many calories to save for dinner!

How to Comment

A few people (mom I'm looking at you!) have said they don't comment because they don't have an account.  After doing some research, I figured out that there was a setting that I could turn off in order to enable anyone to comment.

Now I will dazzle you all with my training skills :)  HA!

If you scroll to the bottom of any post you'll see the comment area (this is an example of yesterday's post).  From here you click on the word "Comments".

The following window will appear.  Type in whatever you want to say and then click on the pull down menu for "Comment As:"  and select "Name/URL"

Then you type in your name (or whatever you want to appear).  You'll see in the example I only put Nicole.  If you want me to know who you are you'll need to be more descriptive than I was :)  You do not have to put anything for URL.  Then click continue.

From here it will bring you back to the comment you left and you'll click on publish.

You are going to have to verify "you are not a robot" (hahaha that cracks me up for some reason) and type in the security words.  If they are too hard to read you can click on the circle arrow (next to the text box) and it will generate a new one for you.  Then you click publish.

That's it!  Then your comment will appear on the blog and look like the below example.  

I hope that helps anyone that's interested in commenting.

I went back to the gym at work again last night.  I sent Chris this picture of my calories burned on my heart rate monitor with the caption "How do ya like me now!"  LOL.

I also realized just how obsessed with pink and sparkly things I was as I got to the gym last night.  I walked in with my pink gym bag (thanks to Aunt Moe and game night!!), and had my pink iPhone cover (I use my phone for music), my pink heart rate monitor and my pink sparkly head band.  Now I just need to save up for some pink workout shoes and I'll be all set :)

One question and then on to the food, what are your favorite post-workout snacks?  Now that I'm working out at work, I still have a 45 minute drive home and I'm usually starving.  I still have some of the fiber plus granola bars, but I think I remember learning from one of my trainers that you need to eat protein right after a workout.  What are you go to post-workout snacks?

Why I Love my Husband and Technology!

I did it, I tackled the fear of working out at work and went yesterday.  It wasn't scary at all.  I left work about 10 minutes before 5 to beat the big rush and was able to get a cardio machine no problem, there were only 3 other people in there when I went down.  I was so excited I texted Chris a picture :)  I decided I was going to do an hour of cardio.  The first 1/2 hour on the elliptical flew by, I love the playlist that I created on my phone so it's easy to jam out.  I decided to switch it up for the second 1/2 hour and got on a treadmill, 14 minutes into it I was tired, bored and wanting to quit.  That's where the loving Chris and technology come in! A quick text to Chris for some motivation and I was back at it.  I love getting a virtual pep talk!

Right after I got the text from him, "Ain't no Mountain High Enough" came on and between the two I was pumped up again!  The gym did get a little busy towards the end of my workout, but I was ok with it.  So ok that I packed another bag and will be going there again tonight.  I burned 666 calories last night (I use a heart rate monitor when I work out so I know my calories, zones, etc.) Chris told me to jump around for another second or two so it didn't end on 666 :)

I got home, made a wrap and some butternut squash and then it was time to watch The Biggest Loser.  I kept my promise to myself and pulled out my weights and did arm exercises throughout the show.  Needless to say, I was pretty motivated yesterday and proud of myself (minus the moment of wanting to quit).

Tackling My Fear..............

..............of working out at the gym at my office.  Chris has finally convinced me not to worry about who I'm working out around and to go workout at the free gym in my office building.  I don't know that he knows that he finally helped me make that decision, but he did :)  I was getting ready for work this morning and he saw me packing a workout bag and I think that surprised him!  I know it surprised me.  I have this weird thing that I don't want to workout with the people who I work with.  I know it's silly, but I really don't want my co-workers seeing me in my workout clothes, sweating up a storm and looking at me while I jiggle all over the place.  I'm going to try and (in the words of Tim Gunn) "make it work!"  I have too many excuses not to work out either in the morning before I leave for work or at night when I get home from work, so I figure if I go straight downstairs to the gym right after work that there are no excuses.  Plus traffic sucks for me all the time, so hopefully after the workout traffic will have died down a bit.

As I mentioned yesterday I have the best friends!  Yesterday's Superbowl food was awesome!  Eve did a great job putting out a healthy yet yummy spread (all mentioned on yesterday's blog)!  She looks great too.  She's lost a lot of weight and I'm so proud of her.

I Have the Best Friends!

Today Chris and I are going to my friend Eve's to watch the Superbowl.  Eve know's I'm trying to watch what I eat, so she planned the menu around that!  I seriously have the best friends ever!  We're having veggies and hummus, edemame, Weight Watchers lettuce wraps, etc.  I love the supportive group of people that I have helping me along the way, it means so much to me.

Fun Saturday!

Today I met my friend Rebecca in Oak Brook and we did some shopping, got pedicures and had dinner.  We went to The Cheesecake Factory.  I was a little annoying ordering dinner.  She wanted to split an appetizer, I asked which one and looked it up.  There are four corn cakes in the appetizer and the whole thing was 1500 calories!!  I said no thank you :)  Then I looked through My Fitness Pal at all of their salads, some of them like TGI Friday's a few weeks ago had 1500+ calories.  I was able to find the herb salmon salad for 500 calories and it was very tasty!  Thank God for My Fitness Pal!

I Left a Party.............Because of Food?

Yesterday was our sales kick off at a bar in the city.  Everything was going great, we had the presentation, I found the light beer on the menu (it was at a brewery and they only have a limited amount of their own beers), I was having fun with my co-workers and then it happened!!  THE FOOD CAME OUT!!  Popcorn covered in bacon and parmesan cheese, soft pretzels as big as my head with cheese dipping sauce, truffle french fries and lots of pizza (one of the pizza's was called "loaded potato").  I tried to avoid it for a little while then as more and more people were walking around with plates, I noticed that I was talking myself into "just one piece of pizza" or "just a bite of the pretzel".  At that point I hightailed it out of there!  I didn't take one bite of food.  I was among the first to leave but I didn't care.  I used my drive back to the suburbs as an excuse.  I know one day I will be able to be at a party and not have to worry about over doing it, but I just am not at that point yet.

The night turned out much better anyway!  My dad was staying out in the suburbs last night so Chris and I met him at one of our favorite sushi places and had dinner with him.  Sushi is much better than pizza and bacon covered popcorn :)  My dad and I split the sushi and sashimi platter for two - all very fresh fish and not to much rice.  It also came with miso soup (which is surprisingly low in calories) and salad.  We didn't finish it all so bonus I have lunch for today!