Monday, May 23, 2011

Keep on moving in this direction, scale!

Last week I lost 2.8 lbs for a total of 17.4.  I did not track my points closely, just tried eating my planned meals as much as possible and not going crazy.  There was one insane day where I didn't manage to eat until dinner, and I was starving (I may have had breakfast, I can't remember, but if so it was 4 pts).  I had time to eat around 4 but by then I didn't want to wreck dinner so just waited.

At any rate I can't keep doing stuff like that, even though it seems to work in terms of weight loss.  Sometimes things with 2 kids just get so crazy and I have so much to do with the remodel that I just don't get a chance to sit down and eat.  Of course, usually later on I'm starving and eat everything in sight, so it's not something I want to let happen very often.  That night, because people were coming for dinner, I managed to be mostly reasonable and not feel guilty about having dessert.

Also:  I wore a pair of pants I haven't worn since my son was born!  They were tight and a good 2 inches of granny panty undies sticks up all around them, but I got them on!  They are just one size smaller than the jeans I bought right before starting this diet, but those jeans have never fit quite right anyhow and now they kind of fall off.  I had 2 pairs of jeans that fit really well but apparently they are old and developed holes in unfixable places, so I was kind of stuck.  Then I remembered the pre-son jeans and decided to try them.  I'm glad I did, because I really did not want to buy new jeans.  Now, when I get into my post-daughter, pre-miscarriage jeans I'll be REALLY excited, because those were the smallest jeans I'd worn in a while.  Heck, I'll just be excited when I can breathe in the pre-son jeans. :)

So, this week is going to be insane.  My kitchen is being torn out either Tuesday or Wednesday (things keep getting pushed back, but I hear this is normal, and there's no point in tearing out the kitchen if the electrician can't be here until Thursday).  I will plan to cook tonight and (if possible) Tuesday just to stock up on leftovers.  I need to look up points on my grilling recipes since we'll be relying on the grill and crock pot a lot for the next 2 months or so.  I'm sure we'll also eat out more than we should, which will make this tricky. 

My favorite thing from last week--well, it's a tie, actually.  I loved the brussels sprouts (although I burned them), the carne bistec, and Curried Quinoa with Chicken and Peas that I ended up making instead of the chicken roll-up things I'd planned and will now eat tonight.

So, my menu for the week will depend on whether the kitchen tear-out is tomorrow or Wednesday (I hope Wednesday).  My thoughts are chicken rollatini, depends on kitchen, pulled pork (must calculate points), flank steak, and more grilled stuff (how's that for specific?).  I'm off to browse Gina's recipes for crock pot/grilling ideas. :)

Monday, May 16, 2011

FINALLY!

According to the WW website, I have now hit my first goal of losing 15 lbs!  In reality, I've lost 14.6 lbs, but we're calling it good and I'm going to celebrate as the website suggests.  How?  I have no idea, but let's hope it's NOT by eating a giant piece of chocolate cake. :)

Interesting fun fact:  I weigh slightly less in my bathroom than I do in my kitchen.  I assume this has to do with the type of flooring or something, but I tried it this week since this time next week my kitchen will be about to be torn apart, so weighing on that floor will no longer be possible, and by the time it IS possible it will be a different floor.  I was .4 lbs heavier in the kitchen than I was in my bathroom, and I weighed myself twice in both locations (I always weigh twice to be sure the scale is actually working).  The weight I entered in WW was between the two--.2 lighter than the kitchen and .2 lighter than the bathroom.  I figure this will minimize the impact next week when I don't have a "kitchen" weight to use.

Clearly, the key to my success is making a plan for the week.  Apparently, it matters more that I have the plan and less that I stick to it, as I had plenty of splurges last week.  Before my planned Wednesday dinner out, I dutifully checked the nutritional info of the restaurant my friends and I had selected and figured out what I should order.  However, when we arrived the wait was 1 1/2 hours and we are all moms, so that didn't work out.  We ended up somewhere else, where I chose a reasonable entree and had an awesome piece of carrot cake for dessert--every last crumb.  I had unplanned Chinese take-out on Friday.  I chose broccoli beef but then ate not one but two of the surprise "free" eggrolls the place included with our order, plus more than one piece of my friend's honey walnut prawns--but I skipped the rice.  Sometimes my decisions crack me up.  I mean, I spent all this time Wednesday night choosing the right entree (broiled fish with a celery puree) but then ate all of my dessert (there was a three-course menu and it was the "chef's choice," and fortunately the traditional cream cheese icing had been "lightened" by adding something--I'm guessing whipped cream--to it.  It still had the cream cheese taste but was not as physically heavy, so I told myself the physical lightness had to mean fewer points).  I figured beef broccoli was a decent Chinese take-out choice based solely on guesswork, and I didn't have rice (5 pts a cup!!!), but I was powerless to resist the egg rolls.

I also had a planned dinner out Saturday where the menu was not in my control (buffet).  I'd say I didn't do too bad other than the zillion pieces of butter-soaked (seriously, it dripped out when you bit into it) garlic bread I ate, and the mediocre piece of chocolate cake.  And the five or six glasses of wine. . .  and that leftover babysitter pizza I had when I got home.

Still, I'm pleased with this week.  I will make a menu for this week during naptime today.  I still have a few things from last week that didn't get made thanks to Friday's unplanned night out and the fact that I forgot we'd be out Sunday as well (I haven't looked up the points, but I had spinach and cheese crepes from Ikea that were worth the $2.99 I paid for them, which isn't saying much).

The WW website has set a new goal for me:  another 12-ish lbs.  I'm just going with the goals WW suggest for now because I don't really have a better way to break it up.  Hopefully it won't take me as long to get there as it did to reach this first goal.  I'm tempted to go change it so that my target weight is a multiple of five, but I don't think it makes that much difference since it's not my final goal, so I'll stick with it for now.  Maybe when I meet this goal I'll let my inner OCD take over.  Or not.

Hopefully I'll have a menu/recipes/etc. to post soon.  I can tell you that the peanut noodles were AWESOME, the zucchini cheese enchiladas were ok that night, not a hit with my husband, and not good reheated as leftovers.  I'm hoping to make the Carne Bistec tonight, and maybe I'll roast the chicken tomorrow.  If it defrosts. . .

Monday, May 9, 2011

Surprising loss.

I lost 1.2 lbs last week for a total of 12.4 lbs.  Basically, I'm back where I was (almost) before the three-four week hiatus.  But I'm glad to have seen a loss rather than a gain, and a loss of over a pound at that (seriously, losing 0.something lbs just seems too easy to be attributable to different clothing, hair products, etc.).  I think it probably helped that I was at the pool with my kids twice last week.  Hopefully the summer will bring more activities that will help in this process.

I'm looking forward to trying some yummy new recipes this week and hope to see a loss next Monday as well.  I'd love to say I'll hit my first official goal, but that would be a 2.6 lb loss, and historically I don't do that.

Also, I got a chocolate mint mousse jello dessert that is sugar-free and delicious.  I also got a dulce de leche one that I don't care for if anyone local would like to take the remaining pudding cups off my hands.  And I'm back on the Coke Zero.  Seriously, folks.  I have kids and don't drink coffee.  I need some caffeine, and the cup of tea in the morning isn't cutting it.

Oh, and can anyone tell me about stevia?  Is it really all that?  Can you cook with it?  I was tempted to buy some this weekend but hesitate to spend $$ on it when I don't know if I'll like/use it or not. 

Sunday, May 8, 2011

Back on Track--weekly menu.

For the first time in several weeks, I'm planning my menu and shopping for the week.  I'm glad to be getting back on track and hope that, by my next weigh-in (after tomorrow, where I don't expect to see a loss and won't be surprised to see a gain).  In addition to my meal menu, I'm throwing in some good snacks to try out.  Let's hope this is the start of good things to come. :)

Monday:  Asian Peanut Noodles  These look amazing.  I am going to pick up some of the Better N' Peanut Butter at Trader Joe's to make these.  After reading reviews for the noodles Gina mentioned, though, I'm sticking with rice noodles, which does make this gluten free.  The Big Geek hates broccoli.  I'm wondering if he'll notice it in this dish or not. . .

Tuesday:  Zucchini Enchiladas.  I am skeptical about these, but we'll see what The Big Geek thinks.  My guess is that he doesn't like them or, at best, tolerates them but has to fill up on snacks later in the evening.

Wednesday:  Out with some of my favorite moms. :)

Thursday:  Carne Bistec and roasted potatoes.  The Big Geek will be happy to see beef on the menu!  Plus, I figure if he's willing to try the zucchini enchiladas, I should reward him with some red meat.  Buying the grass-fed as Gina suggests, so we'll see how much that costs!

Friday:  Leftovers.  I have learned that if I don't plan at least one night of leftovers we end up with far too much food.

Saturday:  Roast Chicken and brussel sprouts.  I'm excited to share my love of brussel sprouts with my family.  Not sure they'll agree. . .

Sunday:  Out (we have a babysitting exchange function).

The snacks I will make this week include Chilled Green Beans (let these sit at least overnight for the best flavor and then enjoy them for a low-point snack!) and zucchini sticks.  The green beans are 3 pts for 1/4 lb. (the whole 2 lbs is 21 pts but the only "points" in the recipe is the olive oil for 14 pts so I have no clue how this works), and the zucchini sticks are 3 pts for 1 zuchhini's worth of sticks.

Shopping list:

Meat:
16 oz chicken breast (cut into strips)
2 oz pancetta
1 1/2 lb grass-fed sirloin tip steak

Dairy:
1 1/2 cups low fat mexican cheese blend

Produce:
1 lime
green onions
broccoli slaw
shredded carrots
1 cup bean sprouts
cilantro
2 medium tomatoes
spaghetti squash (for me to have for lunch with extra sauce or under my carne bistec when the family has rice)
2 zucchini (more if you want to try the baked zucchini sticks)
2 lbs green beans (you can get these at costco clean and ready for steaming)
mint leaves
red onion
1 lb brussel sprouts
ginger (or the tube of grated ginger)
garlic
1 yellow or white onion

Aisles:
14.5 oz chicken broth
honey
8 oz rice noodles
chopped peanuts (optional)
la tortilla factory smart and delicious low carb tortillas
1/2 cup ff vegetable broth (if you want to make truly vegetarian enchiladas)




Pantry:  Sriracha (rooster sauce), soy sauce, salt and pepper, sesame oil, garlic powder, cumin, chipotle chiles in adobo sauce, chipotle chili powder.

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

I'm still here!

Life has been crazy.  We're about to start a kitchen remodel and have been doing some other renovations around the house before that begins.  We also were out of town for Easter.  After my last post I was feeling pretty discouraged.  I didn't count points that week and lost .4 lbs at my next weigh-in.  The I also didn't count points the next week and had gained 1.4 lbs, so I'm still down 11.2 lbs overall.  I've been counting points this week and hope for better results next Monday.

I didn't really plan meals for the week as last weekend we were busy moving all our furniture to the living room and dining room in preparation for new carpet.  Sunday night we were supposed to have turkey tacos, but after the news of Osama bin Laden's death, I didn't feel like cooking and instead had brie and crackers for dinner (glad I wasn't logging pts--I do not want to know!).  Monday friends came over to help move furniture back and we cooked out--hot links.  While that wasn't the greatest choice ever, it actually wasn't too bad and I stayed within my points with only a few of the weekly points for that day.  Tuesday we had turkey tacos, and tonight I had some WW mini pizza things as it's Hubby's guitar lesson night.  I am attending an event tomorrow night which will likely cost more than a few points (there will be wine).  I will try to eat before I go so I'm tempted less by the appetizers there.  I love appetizers. 

Hubby and I also have not one but TWO date nights this week.  One I don't think will involve food, the other probably will, but I can work around that.  At least it will be a real restaurant and not McDonalds!

I'm hoping to plan a real menu next week, but am not sure if that will work out or not.  I'd really like to have those sloppy joes again, and the Asian chicken. . .