Shelley: Day 20 & 21 - Too Tired Last Night!

I was so tired last night I went to bed and then realized I totally spaced blogging.  I'm not hiding anything, it was a good day. We went to Vessel for dinner and I ordered wisely and then I didn't even finish. The food was Ok, and I decided that it just didn't taste good enough to warrant the calories.  I spent the day cleaning out my childhood stuff so I made a lot of trips up and down stairs, so it was a good day. Today was less successful. My mother-in-law is unwell and so we decided to take them dinner. I did well, kept to healthy things, grilled tri-tip, fresh corn (I got my portion before I put butter on it for the others).  I've been doing well so I didn't even consider dessert, but thankfully, we were given a Great Harvest Basket for closing on our old house and I was able to repurpose the pumpkin chocolate chip bread.  The trouble came later. . .

I decided to make chocolate covered strawberries (which are my go-to because I'm a terrible baker).  I am so weak! I didn't snitch at all while making them (I have OCD and that's just gross). But there were a few tablespoons of extra chocolate and I decided to dip some of the left over pineapple from dinner in the warm chocolate. I shared with the kids, but I ate several heavily coated pieces. Ugh. I'd like to point out the strawberries were for a good purpose, I took some to our neighbor who just had surgery and to the person I minister to as well as one other family who brought us a treat. Thankfully, I didn't eat dinner, since lunch was a good size, but it's crazy I got my who day of calories basically in chocolate. 

Today's favorite tip:  Small plates! At every family dinner, I get out the smallest plate I can find. I'll use a teacup saucer if I can find it. There is only so much harm you can do with a little plate, even if you go back for seconds. 

Today's BMR CAL: 1,866- 1,274= 592 Calorie Deficit (This might be estimated a bit wrong. I'm probably closer to a 300 calorie deficit today.  I didn't weigh by chocolate indiscretion).

Here's what I ate today:

Budget 1,614 Food 1,274 Exercise - Net 1,274 Under 340

Breakfast: 123 Blackforest Ham 3 1/2 Ounces 123 Lunch: 448 Tri Tip Steak 6 Ounces 270 Corn, Niblets, 100 grams, 3/4 cup 100 Grams 110 Beans, Green - by grams 139 Grams 43 Carrots, Medium 1 Each 25 Dinner: 403 Hawaiian Sweet Rolls 1 Serving 90 Strawberries By Gram 150 Grams 48 Extra Dark Chocolate Chips 2 Ounces 265 Snacks: 300 Random Snitching 6 Servings 300

Shelley: Day 19 - Night Off

It's Day 19 and I was so excited to 15.9lbs lost this morning! Nearly 16 lbs in 19 days isn't too shabby. I'm just going to keep going and hope for the best. Today was my "cheat" day. I had popcorn, Swedish Fish (I bought a single easter egg of them so it was a finite 110 cal portion) and an easter egg of snickers (for the same reason).  I had steamed veg and a salad with dressing on the side from which I very sparingly dipped my fork and a pile of pulled pork (Wallaby's). Great dinner, and not too bad on the calorie front. 

My favorite tip today is order it the exact way you want it. If you shouldn't eat that roll, or tortilla, make sure they don't give it to you. It's so much easier to let them be your self control monitor. 

Today's BMR CALC: 1,866-1,612= 254 Calorie Deficit (not much but still the right direction for a cheat day)

Here's what I ate today:

Budget 1,614 Food 1,612 Exercise - Net 1,612 Under 2

Breakfast: 236 Blackforest Ham 5 Ounces 175 Blueberries 107 Grams 61 Lunch: 311 Beef, Ribeye Filet, Boneless, Lean, Grilled 3 2/3 Ounces 207 Beans, Green - by grams 210 Grams 65 Squash, Butternut, Cubes, Baked 98 Grams 39 Dinner: 386 Bbq pulled pork 5 Ounces 200 Broccoli, Chopped, Steamed 1 Cup 55 Cheese, Blue, Crumbled 2 Tablespoons 60 Bluecheese Dressing 2 Teaspoons 71 Snacks: 679 Popcorn, Junior Bag, No Butter 1 Serving 200 Small Swedish Fish 16 Pieces 110 Strawberries 10 Ounces 91 Chocolate Bar, Snickers, Miniature 3 Each 128 Random Snitching 3 Servings 150

Until tomorrow. . .

Shelley: Day 18 - Garbage It!

Day 18 - hmmmm. Well, I'm feeling a little crappy and hormonal.  I would normally rely on chocolate and IBU to feel better but I'm trying to make some good changes here!  I had kind of a hefty lunch so I ate lots of squash before I even attempted to weigh my meat for dinner. I have tried to be super circumspect with what I'm eating since I haven't been taking any extra effort on the activity front. 

I am moving down the scale again, but it's not going as fast. I'm going to see how I do this week and then if things are moving quickly again, I'll know it's time to hop back to the gym. I have been waiting for a plateau so I'll have some action to take.

My favorite tip today is to 'Garbage It" when you're done.  First, I try to order things in such a way that I won't really have the option to go crazy, but when we're with friends or there is something like a basket of fries I eat until I'm satisfied (not full) and then discretely destroy whatever is left with a dirty napkin, or whatever I have on hand to keep myself from picking at it. It's a little yucky, but "know thyself" right? My self control comes in small bursts and is fleeting so I either have to act or commit to eating stuff I don't even really want and will regret later.

Today's BMR CALC: 1,866- 1,143= 723 Calorie Deficit (I think I might have snitched something during the day that I forgot to record, so that may be off by 100 cals.).

Budget 1,619 Food 1,143 Exercise - Net 1,143 Under 476

Breakfast: 175 Blackforest Ham 5 Ounces 175 Lunch: 498 Shredded Beef Tostada No Beans No Cheese Inc Dressing 2/3 Serving 498 Dinner: 170 Squash, Butternut, Cubes, Baked 8 Ounces 91 Tri Tip Steak 1 3/4 Ounces 79 Snacks: 300 Baby Ruth Miniatures 1 Piece 53 Random Snitching 4 Servings 200 Chocolate Candy, Kisses w/ Almonds 2 Pieces 47

Until tomorrow. . .

Shelley: Day 17 - Write it down. . . before you eat it. . .

It's Day 17 and I am finally moving down the scale again! I logged in at 14.2 lbs since we started. That's only 1.1 lbs this week, but hey, it's Wednesday, there's still time!  We've got an architect coming tomorrow and I'm super excited! I REALLY want to get moving on getting the reno started. 

So today, here's my tip; Weight it, record it, then eat it.  This does two things, it makes you really consider what you're eating, and you know just how much it's going to cost you.  Case in point, tonight, I made Filet Mignon which is a fairly lean red meat.  I dished up a generous portion and then weighed it and began to enter it, turns out I was very generous with myself. 9oz of Filet was 630 calories!  I did NOT have that in the budget today so I removed two ounces and stuck with a more reasonable 7 oz. Still a good sized meal, but not the day killer it would have been.  I always follow this pattern because I clearly am no good at portion control by just eyeballing it.  I usually try to take my time eating as well, so when it's pre-measured, I know that's all I get and I should enjoy it. By pre-writing it down, I'm committing to that portion and I usually feel better about it when I see the calorie count for the day is in check. 

Hope you guys are having a good week! PS> Heidi, my kids said they saw that bird die. Apparently it rammed into one of the Bracy's windows and fell down and died. Crazy right? Julie, for context, Mia found a dead bird today in the Bracy's front yard:).

Today's BMR CALC: 1,866-1,297= 569 Calorie Deficit - Just got to keep on trucking!

Here's what I ate today:

Budget 1,625 Food 1,297 Exercise - Net 1,297 Under 328

Breakfast: 251 Blackforest Ham 5 Ounces 175 Blueberries 82 Grams 47 Strawberries By Gram 92 Grams 29 Lunch: 280 Sandwich, Sub, Totally Tuna #3 - Unwich Sprouts/mstd/pickle 379 Grams 280 Dinner: 566 Beans, Green - by grams 246 Grams 76 Beef, Steak, Filet Mignon 7 Ounces 490 Snacks: 200 Random Food 100cals/Serving 2 Servings 200

Until tomorrow. . .