September 2008

My head hurts. It’s almost 9:00AM and I have been sniffling and sneezing for about 5 or 6 hours now. Ugh! We have an appointment with our accountant at 1:30PM and I hardly got any sleep last night; about an hour and a half. This is totally going against our current sleeping schedule, so I’m going to be very cranky by the afternoon lol. Not to mention, hungry. I don’t feel like eating right now though. My head is throbbing and my stomach is a little queasy. This always happens when my sleep is incomplete. I feel “hungover”, even though I didn’t drink any alcohol. Yuck!

I was supposed to go to the doctor last Friday, but I rescheduled at the last minute for next week. I didn’t feel like going. I’m so naughty sometimes. lol But rescheduling it for next week just added more stress onto this week’s schedule; accountant on Monday, attorney on Wednesday and doctor on Friday. I think that covers most major diplomas lol. Hubby is taking me out to lunch and shopping after the accountant today, if I have enough energy.

My scale was delivered on Friday or Saturday, I’m not sure. We came home from shopping on Saturday night and my mother left a note: “Forgot to tell you that UPS came, delivery from Healthometer in garage.” Good thing it wasn’t a “live” delivery. lol

This is my husband being a good sport and trying out the scale:

He’s weighed the same amount (170-175 lbs) for almost 2 years without even trying, even though he eats and drinks 3000+ calories a day. Lucky him!! lol! On the bright side though, just like the one at the doctor’s office, this one also says I weigh less than my digital bathroom scale. 4-5 lbs less actually, which is cool… I guess lol. Never thought I’d be fond of a doctor’s scale. haha

I made this last night:

EVIE13 from Sparkpeople.com (Hi, Evie! ) posted a comment on my SparkPage about a Mexican casserole that she made. It sounded delicious, so I gave it a try without knowing exactly how she made it. I winged it, basically.

I started by boiling 2oz brown rice (fusilli) pasta (210 cal) and browning 4oz ground turkey breast (120 cal) in a nonstick pan with 2 teaspoons olive oil (80 cal) and then I added in: 30g diced red onion (15 cal), 3 cups (85g) fresh baby spinach (20 cal) and lots of cumin. When the spinach cooked down, I added in 1 diced plum tomato (15 cal), ¼ cup Eden no salt added black beans (55 cal) and ¼ cup Fage Total 2% plain yogurt (40 cal). I drained the pasta and added it into the pan with the other ingredients, then added 1oz shredded Cabot 75% reduced fat cheddar cheese (60 cal) and mixed it all together. Then I transplanted it into my single-serving oven dish, added 1 more oz shredded Cabot 75% reduced fat cheddar cheese (60 cal) on top and popped it into my preheated 425F oven for about 12 minutes.

It was REALLY yummy!! I couldn’t even finish all of it; I ate half and left the rest for my mom to eat (like a little kid lol). For just 675 calories, this was a delicious, belly-stuffing meal that could easily be leftovers for lunch the next day. YUM! I’ll definitely make this again.

I was planning my menu for the upcoming week and thought I’d show you how I go about it:

I usually do it in that order. It makes it super simple, especially because I plan ahead how many calories I want to spend on each meal or snack. I love menu planning! I could do it for like 10 hours a day LOL. It’s fun!

So, I guess I’ll go get ready for our appointment. Maybe I’ll make a cup of espresso or tea or… I dunno lol. I’ll do another update later tonight; this isn’t “Monday’s update.”

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I feel so free after taking bodybugg off! It feels great to take a shower without having to take it off, clean it and then hurry to put it back on or just to take my shirt or bra off without it getting in the way. *sigh of relief* Ahhhhhh! I feel like I just got off of house arrest ROFL. Honestly, I couldn’t even tell it was on most of the time; I usually forgot it was there, but it was always in the back of my head. I’d try to be sure I got all my cardio in before midnight when the day changed over and other silly things to make sure my burn rate was up to par even though it didn’t track everything with absolute precision and my heart rate monitor actually shows that I burn more than bodybugg for most activities. Maybe I’ll put it on again sometime down the road when I get down to a much lower weight, but for now, I’m going back to the way I did it before.

I’m doing a 2 day update now; so I have quite a few pics of food to show! First, let’s start with my steak dinner inspired by a spinach recipe someone posted on TDP the other day. They said they saute it with olive oil, garlic, and pine nuts. That piqued my curiosity instantly and being I was reading it first thing in the “morning”, I went right out and picked up spinach, beef tenderloin and sweet potatoes.

By the time I got home, I was ravenous! So I shamelessly nuked my sweet potato in the microwave because I couldn’t wait an hour in the oven LOL. I bought a cast iron griddle sometime this past summer and I’ve been wanting to try it out. I preheated it, then I weighed out 5.5oz very lean filet mignon (~350 cal before cook), then I rubbed Mrs. Dash garlic & herbs, paprika, and black pepper into it and then coated both small pieces with 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil (40 cal) so it wouldn’t stick to the grill.

My husband could care less about side dishes; he usually only eats the meat portion of his meal lol. So, I didn’t nuke a sweet potato for him; just for mummy and me. While the steaks were grilling and the sweet potatoes piping, I sautéed 3 cups (85g) fresh baby spinach (20 cal) in a nonstick pan with 1 teaspoon olive oil (40 cal), 1 minced garlic clove (5 cal), 7g pine nuts (50 cal), and then mixed in 14g feta cheese (45 cal) when it was done.

When the steak was done, I plated my shriveled 196g (before cook) sweet potato (168 cal) with ½ cup Friendship no salt added cottage cheese (90 cal) and the creamy spinach. I was so hungry while we were shopping that I just HAD to pick up a loaf of Le Brea honey whole wheat bread. I had 2oz of it (130 cal) with this meal. I made little sandwiches on it with a layer of spinach and a few slices of steak. OMG, DELISH! It came to 938 calories, but it was worth it!! I wish the sweet potato was made in the oven, but all in all, it was still fantastic! A wee bit more calories than I had planned for “breakfast”, but it kept me full for a long time. And it could easily be split into 2 meals for 469 calories.

Later on, I made a beautiful pasta and spinach dish:

I boiled 2oz whole wheat penne pasta (210 cal) while I cooked 4oz crumbled ground turkey (120 cal) in a nonstick pan with 1 teaspoon olive oil (40 cal) and 30g diced red onions (15 cal). Then I added in another teaspoon of olive oil (40 cal), 3 cups (85g) fresh baby spinach (20 cal), 1 diced plum tomato (15 cal), 5 Lindsay low sodium black olives (25 cal), garlic powder, crushed red pepper and dried oregano. When the pasta was done, I drained it and added it to the pan with the veggies and mixed in 14g feta cheese (45 cal). When I transferred it to my plate, I sprinkled another 14g feta on top (45 cal). For only 575 calories, this was a YUMMY pasta dish with so much variety and flavor. Can you tell I was in the mood for spinach yesterday? lol It was such an enormous portion of food, that it could have easily been 2 meals for 285 calories each serving. But of course, I ate it all. YUM!!!

Tonight’s menu consisted of my favorite “comfort foods.” It’s been raining all day, so that means it’s time for something yummy in the tummy!! And what’s yummier than PIZZAAAAAAAAAAA?

I made a single serving batch of whole wheat pizza dough with white whole wheat flour:

½ cup whole wheat flour (200 cal)
1 teaspoon yeast (10 cal)
1 teaspoon honey (20 cal)
1 teaspoon olive oil – coat bowl with this (40 cal)
2 tablespoons warm water

1. Combine honey, yeast and water in bowl;mix
2. Add in flour; knead until dough forms
3. Coat bowl with olive oil; let sit (covered) in warm place to rise

1 serving, 270 cal

I started by chopping and prepping my veggies:

78g eggplant (20 cal)
80g green bell pepper (20 cal)
60g red onions (30 cal)
1 cup Birds Eye broccoli florets (30 cal)
1 minced garlic clove (5 cal)

I added these to a large bowl with 1 teaspoon sesame oil (40 cal) — yes, sesame oil and Mrs. Dash garlic & herbs. Then I put it all inside a nonstick frying pan with 2 more teaspoons olive oil (80 cal) and let it all cook down. Towards the end I added in 1 diced plum tomato (15 cal).

Then I spread my dough out on a baking sheet lined with nonstick foil and piled on the veggies and 2oz fresh mozzarella (160 cal). I popped it into my preheated 425F oven for about 14-16 minutes on the bottom rack. The last 2 minutes I moved it to the top rack.

I wanted to try something different to give my veggies some flavor without salt and sesame oil worked like a charm. It gave them subtle flavor and went REALLY well with this. I LOVED IT! It comes out to only 670 calories. And again, it could definitely be 2, maybe even 3 servings for 335 calories or 223 calories each serving. I cut it into 4 pieces and enjoyed every last crumb LOL. SO GOOD!!

My heart rate monitor results for my very late night walk:

Summary:

01:11:17
567 cal burned
142 max HR
131 avg

I decided to listen to an audio book while I was walking, so I ended up going a little slower than usual. It was a lot of fun!! The one I’m listening to right now is 8 hours long, so it should last a week or so. I wish I thought of doing that sooner… it sure makes the time go by.

After my very late night walk, I made a turkey burger and potato salad:

The potato salad:

170g (before cook) red potato (125 cal)
1 large cage free egg (75 cal)
¼ Fage Total 2% plain yogurt (40 cal)
1 teaspoon Grey Poupon dijon mustard (5 cal)
30g diced red onion (15 cal)
14g shredded baby carrots (8 cal)
Squeeze of lemon juice (2 cal)
Black pepper
Paprika
Fresh dill

1 serving, 270 cal (135 each for 2 servings)

I made a 4oz ground turkey breast burger (120 cal) on my cast iron griddle and added on 1 slice Sargento reduced fat swiss cheese (60 cal) when it was done and let it melt with the heat off. Then I placed it on 1 Martin’s 100% whole wheat potato roll (80 cal) with 1 TBSP Hellmann’s olive oil mayo (50 cal), 1 cup Bibb lettuce (5 cal) and 2 thick slices tomato (15 cal). With my very tasty potato salad — that I wouldn’t even guess didn’t have mayo in it — this was a very filling post-walk meal for only 600 calories!

And last but not least, my bedtime snack:

1.5 servings Cheerios oat cluster crunch cereal (165 cal) with 1 serving (30g) Bear Naked peanut butter + chocolate granola (140 cal) with ½ cup skim milk (45 cal). Perfectly crunchy bedtime snack for just 350 calories. I hear a lot of people eat granola as cereal, but the serving size is sooo small that I’d have to eat like 7 or 8 servings to get a meal out of it lol. It’s yum yum added as an extra crunch though!

Ok, I’m really teepies!! I’m going to spend this lovely, rainy morning (and afternoon) in bed. I loooooooove rainy days. Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

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I’m doing this update very late (next day) because our kitty had to go to the vet. She had a big pink bump on her mouth and we found out she has an inflammatory disease. She’s on antibiotics now. *sigh* She weighs 16 lbs and the vet said she should only eat 1/3 cup of food a day! That’s not very much. Well, if vets are anything like medical doctors when it comes to nutrition, I wouldn’t take them too seriously. Most doctors don’t have much nutrition training, sad but true. She’s always been a big kitty; ever since she was a kitten. We used to say that she looks like she has Cushing’s Syndrome and the vet actually said today that her inflammation could be from that. We’ll have to find out. Always something!!

I was reading “The New Rules of Lifting for Women” in bed last night and I’m thinking: “Why am I still wearing this bodybugg?!” What’s it actually doing for me? It’s not telling me anything I don’t know or couldn’t figure out by just listening to my body and monitoring my body’s reactions to certain things. It’s always within a certain burn range depending on how active I am, but honestly, I think the Harris Benedict equation is just as effective at predicting your caloric needs. So, I’m going to keep my bodybugg web site subscription, but I’m not going to wear the armband anymore. I was doing great for nearly a year, then I got this thing and I haven’t been the same since! I either worry about influencing the calories burned for the day or I use a high burn rate as an excuse to eat more when I’m supposed to be in a deficit lol. I think I do better without it and my arm sure could use a rest. The skin is red and irritated underneath and I’m sick of cleaning it all the time. I think I’ll just go by the Harris Benedict equation from now on, like I was from summer 2007 to May 2008. I’ll probably wear it in the future, just out of curiosity, but ultimately I need to just do things the “old school” way being that’s most effective for me.

From June 2007 to May 2008 I lost 98 lbs with simple calorie counting, calorie cycling, using my food scale to measure portions, cardio, strength training and my old reliable bathroom scale. And of course “free days.” Simple is best. The bodybugg just over-complicates it all; especially because it’s not 100% accurate. I know that it doesn’t track every calorie I burn and can under-report by a few hundred calories a day. This has been the greatest and simplest guideline:

http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/

http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/harris-benedict-equation/

1. Find your BMR
2. Multiply your BMR by your activity level

This is what I based my caloric intake around for months and months and it worked like a charm.

My last BodyBugg results for awhile 9/24/08:

I’m not disappointed with bodybugg or anything like that, I still think it’s a cool gadget, but I don’t need it right now. I feel better both mentally and physically without it. So, it’s time to revert back to the way things were. I want to focus on strength training, cardio (HIIT), NEAT (Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis) and paying more attention to how I feel and how my clothes fit. I’ll use my scale as a guideline, like I always have, but I’m not going to obsess over the numbers. I’m going to eat an average of 2200-2500 calories a day on average via calorie cycling and adjust things as needed. Does that intake seem high to you? It’s not, trust me! Depending on their age and activity level, most women can and should maintain a healthy weight range on 2000-2500 calories a day. Of course, this is different for everyone. If you’re very small and very inactive (desk job, 105 lbs, no planned exercise, etc.) then there’s exceptions to the rule(s). I’m a believer in eating at or close to your goal weight’s maintenance calories, including your activity level.

Lift heavy and feeds your muscles. Most experts recommend 18 calories x your body weight, plus proper nutrition and strength training of course. You won’t build muscle eating Lean Cuisine and 100 cal packs everyday lol. Diet is important, but don’t make it unpleasant. You don’t need to subsist on egg whites, spinach, and protein powder. Be creative! There’s unlimited healthy, delicious food combinations out there!

Speaking of which, I made another protein pancake:

I wanted it thicker than the last one, so I made it with:

72g Bob’s Red Mill extra thick oats (285 cal)
1 large egg (75 cal)
¼ cup Polly-O fat free ricotta (50 cal)
½ teaspoon vanilla (6 cal)
1 medium banana (110 cal)
¼ teaspoon stevia powder
Pam olive oil spray (30 cal)

= 556 calories, 1 serving (2 if you’re not that hungry hehe)

Then topped it with 2 TBSP unsalted almond butter (190 cal). SOOOOOO GOOD!! I want to eat this everyday — several times a day!!

My mother cooked a turkey breast, so I decided to use some of it to make a big salad:

I made a lettuce bed with 4 cups (112g) mixed lettuce leaves (20 cal), then I piled on: 1 plum tomato (15 cal), 30g red onions (15 cal), 1oz baby carrots (15 cal), 4oz cooked turkey breast (120 cal), and 2 slices Sargento reduced fat swiss cheese (120 cal). I toasted 2 Joseph’s 100% whole wheat mini pita breads (160 cal) in the toaster, then cut them into little half-moons. I drizzled 3 TBSP Bolthouse Farms Thousand Island dressing (105 cal) and red wine vinegar (10 cal) over it before I ate it. OMG, AWESOME! It came out to just 580 calories and could easily be made into a half serving for only 290 calories. DELICIOUS! It took me awhile to eat lol.

I’m going to take this bodybugg armband off. It’s going to feel good to have my arm back! lol

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Hubinator and I did a record amount of cleaning, rearranging and redecorating in the past couple of days, but we’re not even close to done! I cannot believe how much STUFF 3 people can accumulate!! I don’t know how, but I managed to fill 6 bags of garbage from our bedroom alone. Mainly hangers and boxes/packing material from things I have bought in the past few months. I had 5 bags of brand new clothes just sitting on my bedroom floor for over a month now and I finally got around to taking all of the price tags off and putting them away. In fact, I went through every single clothing item hubby and I have; threw out whatever was old/didn’t fit/didn’t like anymore and then made 2 huge bags to give to the Salvation Army with whatever else was left. We spent 6 hours revamping our bedroom and there’s still more to go. The last thing I have to do is put the new sheet and blanket set on. I didn’t want to do it tonight because I have a rash (chub rub rash ) from walking and my skin being irritated by it. I have been putting diaper rash ointment on it and I don’t want it to get all over the new sheets and blankets. As soon as it gets chilly out, my skin dries up like a raisin! I bought a tube of Chap Stick the other day; it had an avocado on the box, which looked cool. I like it.

So, anyway… I’ve been very busy the past 2 days and I haven’t done much cooking. My kitchen is upside down, literally. I redecorated half of it, but there’s still things all over the place. Now that the bedroom is almost done, I’ll tackle the kitchen tomorrow — hopefully!

Even though the kitchen is a mess at the moment, I made even more of a mess experimenting with new recipes. I’m sure everyone has heard about protein pancakes by now. They always sounded sort of gross to me, but I hear so many rave reviews about them that I decided to finally give them a try. This is what I came up with:

I’m hooked!! It was AWESOME! Most recipes I have seen use cottage cheese, but you know I have to be different and go my own route. I made it with:

½ cup (48g) Bob’s Red Mill extra thick rolled oats (190 cal)
½ cup Egg Beaters (60 cal)
1 medium banana (110 cal)
¼ cup Polly-O fat free ricotta cheese (50 cal)
¼ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon stevia powder
2 TBSP (32g) Trader Joe’s unsalted almond butter (190 cal)

29g protein in the pancake + 8g protein in the almond butter = 37g protein

I mixed all the ingredients in my Magic Bullet blender, then added all of the batter to a nonstick pan that I sprayed with Pam olive oil cooking spray (30 cal). I cooked it on low heat until it was browned on one side. It’s not so easy to flip a REALLY BIG pancake, so it crumpled up a little, but I managed to get it to my plate with minimal damage lol. Then I spooned 2 TBSP almond butter over it and popped it into the microwave for 15 seconds to melt the almond butter a little. WOW! It tasted like very moist banana bread! The almond butter tasted so sweet and delicious. It came out to 630 calories total, but it could seriously become my breakfast staple! I was surprised by how much I liked it. I thought it would taste like… well, pan fried protein lol. But nope, it was YUMMMMMMY!

Being yesterday was the first day of Fall, I felt very domesticated and wanted to bake something. So, I made a batch of zucchini muffins:

3 cups whole wheat flour (360g) (1221 cal)
1/2 cup (100g) sugar (387 cal)
1 teaspoon baking powder (2 cal)
1 teaspoon salt free baking soda (2 cal)
1 teaspoon cinnamon (5 cal)
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
56g Fage Total 0% (fat free) yogurt (30 cal)
1 large egg (75 cal)
56g skim milk (25 cal)
196g zucchini (30 cal)
28g chopped walnuts (185 cal)

1957 calories

/ 12 servings

= 165 calories each

(rounded up from 163.5…)

I tried to (evenly) fill each muffin cup up with batter. Then I baked them on 350F for about 15-18 minutes. They look very light because I used white whole wheat flour, but they still came out VERY dense! Like little bricks lol. They didn’t taste like the zucchini bread that my mother makes, but I think they’re really good! I like anything bread/cupcake/muffin-y though lol.

Nothing tastes better on zucchini bread than cream cheese:

1 zucchini muffin (165 cal) with 1 TBSP Philadelphia 1/3 less fat cream cheese (35 cal) = 200 calories and delish! I came up with this recipe on my own, so I need to figure out how to make them lighter. I like them as is, but I think they’d be a little better if they weren’t quite so dense. I’ll experiment; ’tis the season after all.

Tonight I made a quick bagel sandwich:

1 Thomas’ 100% whole wheat mini bagel (110 cal) with 1 oz Shop Rite no salt added swiss cheese (100 cal), 18g Hass avocado (30 cal), 1 plum tomato (15 cal) and a ½ TBSP Hellmann’s olive oil mayo (25 cal). With 14g Kettle Bakes baked BBQ potato chips (60 cal), this was a creamy little sandwich and chips meal for just 340 calories. Did I mention that I LOVE avocado? I sooo do!!

We bought a mini fridge for our office:

I can’t believe how much room this thing has! It even has a little freezer at the very top! So cute! It was only $124; my husband has wanted one for the office for a while now. Mainly so he didn’t have to go very far to feed his Coca Cola addiction. *sigh* lol

My BodyBugg results for 9/23/08:

I took a walk earlier this evening. I wanted to see if I liked it better when the sun was still out, but I don’t think I do. I don’t know lol. I’m undecided!

My heart rate monitor results for the walk:

Summary:

01:11:08
667 cal burned
156 max HR
143 avg

I love walking! Oh, and strength training. I did full body on Monday for the first time in awhile — OMG! I was sooo hungry the entire day! I wanted to make like 10 of those protein pancakes LOL. I forgot how ravenous strength training makes me. I started reading “The New Rules of Lifting for Women”; I’m only a few pages into it, but I’m hoping to come up with some new stuff from it.

It’s after 9:00AM right now and we haven’t slept yet — weird schedule and all. This isn’t going to be fun when I have to be at the doctor’s 9:30AM on Friday lol. Ah well… I’ll do more updates. This time last year I didn’t have a blog and I never realized how summer/early Fall are busier than usual for us. I guess it’s always been that way and I didn’t realize it. Things are definitely simmering down though. Not as quickly as I had planned, but that’s ok. Slow and steady is good!

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