A Weekend of Eating

I was very proud of myself for getting so much accomplished on Saturday. I did wash, cleaned the bathroom, and exercised using the free programs offered by Exercise TV On Demand. Jillian Michaels kicked my butt. I'm so sore today! I worked on eating more calories earlier in the day by starting my morning with an egg sandwich. yum. I had an apple as a snack. Then, before I went to eat a heavy lunch, my friend Dani informed me that she was preparing my favorite dinner for me that night, chicken alfredo. It swear I heard a climactic sound effect when she told me this. I thought I was about to ruin my diet. I called my mom to find out just how bad my favorite comfort food was according to WW. Well, it was bad. One cup of fettucine alfredo is 16 WW points, plus 3 WW points for 3oz of chicken. AHHH! 19 points?! That leaves me with like lettuce for lunch! LOL. I was so excited to find out that Dani was conscious of my healthy eating habits when she shopped for dinner and bought the light alfredo sauce instead (2 points for 1/4 cup). Plus, there was tons of spinach added to the sauce, and I piled broccoli on top to prevent me for eating more pasta. It came to 12 points (over estimating for 2 servings) so I still had enough to splurge on a small piece of Wayne's fantastic homemade garlic bread. It may sound crazy, but it felt great knowing that I could eat a great tasting comfort meal without feeling too guilty. This was a big step. Late that night, I snacked on some Smartpop White Cheddar Popcorn. I couldn't believe it was only 2 points. I will defintely buy those 100 calorie bags. Saturday's points total: 27/27

Today, I woke up really sore from my workout yesterday. Again, I had an egg sandwich this morning but on white toast and with 1/2 piece of cheese (6.5 point breakfast). Then, I went to a bridal show where I found it IMPOSSIBLE to calculate points. The had an appetizer station so I had: about 1/4 cup of rigatoni w/ vodka sauce, a large serving of cold zucchini salad (tossed in an olive oil), 3 cheese cubes, and 1/4 cup of macaroni salad. I managed to avoid all of the candy temptations. I have a weakness for free food, but I managed to turn down all of the candy, even the Reese's. Go me! We found some great things at the bridal show: we found these perfect trees for Dani's fall/Halloween wedding next year, I found the perfect earrings for just over $100 but I refuse to pay that much, I got a great limo price quote, saw that V-nech wedding dresses are very hot this year, and saw a great idea for "place cards" thanks to Robin's keen obervation. I can't wait until I have a little more time for wedding planning. I'm a bit behind so I need to buckle down this week.

For my birthday dinner, my friends and I went to The Cheesecake Factory, a dieter's nightmare. Well, their nutrition information is impossible to find, so I'm having great difficulty calculating my points. I had 3 small slices of whole wheat bread (going VERY light on the butter; I used less than one pad), 1 garlic roll stuffed with cheese (smallest on the plate, but still fanastically tasty yet artery clogging), and 1/2 of the gigantic Weight Management endive and pear salad (1/2 of the salad = 6 points). I ordered the low carb cheesecake made with Splenda and a nut crust, but they were out. I was very disappointed. So, I ordered the strawberry shortcake with 3 spoons (to share with the others). I ended up eating just less than 1/3 of it (leaving some on the plate... big step for me) focusing mostly on the strawberries and whipped cream with little biscuit or ice cream.  I'm sure it was bad, but I really think I went about things pretty well. I shouldn't have had the bread, but whatever. I didn't NEED the garlic roll Dani ordered, but it was one... baby steps. Dessert? It was my "birthday." All in all, I don't feel terrible about it. I hate to say it, but the WW thing is really working out... but I say that without looking at the scale. Sunday's points total: who the hell knows.

Two-For-One

Thanks right, two posts in one day. I promise not to write too often.

I wanted to speak about my Truvia experience this morning. Lynn, the woman gracious enough to put me up for an entire semester, doesn't use artificial sweeteners so I went to pick up Splenda the other day for my coffee. I decided to try Truvia, an all natural sweetener that has been advertised a lot lately. To be honest, I think it had a funny aftertaste, which I don't experience with Splenda, but I'm going to give it another chance in case I was just off this morning. Here's the major point, ever since late morning, I have had noticeable stomach discomfort. I think it's gas. Don't be gross! It's all internal. It feels lots of movement in my abdomen and bubbles constantly ALL DAY. I think it was the Truvia because the only other time I felt like this was when I had sugar free muffins loaded with sugar alcohols. Here's the weird part: Truvia claims that it is actually gentler on the stomach... Who knows, but I'm definitely not comfortable.

So, I'm closing out another day drastically under on my points. I reached 16.5 out of the 27 I am allotted.  Not good. I talked with Lynn, and she advised that I aim to eat about 70% of my daily points before dinner (about 18 points I think we calculated). I'm not even reaching 18 points in a normal day! She really had a lot of great tips for me: eat a big breakfast, use peanut butter (rich in protein and points), eat cheese and do it early in the day, eat often (about every three hours), etc. She too assures me that I will lose more weight by eating more. I'm still skeptical, but willing to try.  Now I just need to go out and buy more snacks. For dinner, I had a 1/2 serving of leftover soup and my personal favorite, homemade vegetarian taco salad nachos! I seriously could eat it EVERY DAY. I heat fat-free spicy refried beans, add a bed of lettuce (chopped small), pico de gallo (like fresh salsa), a 100 calorie pack of guacamole (my favorite part), and fat-free sour cream. Then, I eat it all with Utz Baked Tortilla Chips (not my favorite but they do the job with much less calories). YUM! So filling and so tasty.  

Tomorrow I hope to start getting on a set exercise routine. I am excited to get back to weights! It sounds crazy, but because my arms need so much work, I see results there so fast, which I love. I have so much to accomplish in the next 254 days . I thought about it this evening: I'm looking at about a 20 pound weight loss to get into this dress... wish me luck!

Page One: From the Beginning

I have about 9 months until the wedding, and I'm still about a dress size away from fitting into my wedding dress. [picture shows how small the dress was when I bought it in August.] It's time to buckle down, but being away from the gym while I'm out of state is making things tougher. I actually miss the gym. I never believed that I'd say such a thing.

When I talked to my mother on Monday, she informed me of her recent success on the Weight Watcher's point system. She suggested I give it a try. I'll tell you what; I'm sceptical. I know a few people that eat far from nutritiously on that diet. I think it misinterprets many food items, and overall, I just don't think it's a good idea. Well, who am I to know what diet works? I've only been overweight practically my ENTIRE LIFE. So, I'm giving it a try (unofficially). I started on Tuesday (I wasn't going to wait an entire week just to start at the beginning of a week. I need results ASAP). Here's my progress so far:

• Tuesday: 24/27 points (including a fast food breakfast sandwich)
• Wednesday: 16/27 points (snacked instead of lunch)
• Thursday: 38/27 points (going out is my demise)

I found out that my severe point deficit on Wednesday can be as harmful as my severe point overage on Thursday. WW followers say that I need to work toward meeting my points goal daily because if not, my body goes into "starvation mode" and conserve everything I eat thus preventing weight loss. While I understand the concept, I have a hard time eating more in order to lose more. What if it is counter-productive?! I don't have time to GAIN weight. :sigh: We'll see. I'll try. I can tell where I could increase my points. I need to add in small snacks throughout the say (before lunch and before dinner) so that I am less ravenous when I finally sit down to eat. I'll keep you posted on how I do.
I went out with a friend last night. I introduced healthy snacks during the day and was excited to have a loaded salad from Salad Works for dinner. Unfortunately, I had a mini dinner at her house, then the place was closed by the time we got there. I ate:

@ Kate's house:

• 1" slice of meatball Stromboli
• 1" slice of steak and veggie Stromboli
• 2" piece of Italian hoagie

@ Bowling Alley:

• Baked Lays (snack bag)
• Yuengling

@ Wendy's

• grilled chicken go wrap
• value size fry (smaller than a small)

I made relatively sensible decisions, I just ate too many times. I need to work on that. :sigh:

I go harassed about bringing a fork into the court house today. I guess it's understandable that I cannot bring in such a "dangerous weapon" but how else do they expect me to assault my lunch? LOL. The guard's answer: with plastic utensils. Well, that's not quite environmentally friendly now is it?
I'm going down to southwestern Jersey (where I'm from) this weekend to see friends, go to a bridal show, and have a celebratory dinner in honor of my birthday this coming Monday. That's right, celebrating with food... such a bad habit. What makes it worse is that I was hoping to go to The Cheesecake Factory. I read somewhere that it is the most unhealthy chain restaurant in the country, but it's sooo good. Maybe I should reconsider the location...

I'm expecting my veil and cake topper to arrive any day now. I'll post pictures when they get here. I'm sure I am forgetting to mention things, but I've said enough for one day.