Oh No, It's Here!
Easter candy that is. What is it about Easter candy that is so tempting???!!!! It drives me insane! I can make it through any other holiday without eating 2 tons of chocolate, but not Easter. I've come to the conclusion that any candy shaped into a bunny or egg is far superior to all others. I don't really even like Snickers that much, but those Snickers eggs are mighty tasty. The ultimate temptations for me: Russell Stover caramel-filled bunnies, Cadbury Mini Eggs, Cadbury caramel eggs, Starburst jelly beans, and the ultimate King of all Easter candies....the Reese's peanut butter egg. Sweet Baby Jesus do I love the PB egg. I don't know why, but it is so much better than just a regular old PB cup. They have PB hearts at Valentine's Day, but again, no match for the PB egg. PB Christmas trees? Nope, I prefer the PB egg any day.
I'm not sure how I'm going to make it through this holiday without eating at least a few of my favorite candies. I have such a sweet tooth and resisting anything chocolatey is hard enough, but Easter candy is on a whole new level. I'm sure I'll break down and have to have a few things, but hopefully I can find the willpower to just avoid it altogether. My kids will receive approximately 3-4 Easter baskets this year, as they do every year thanks to the grandparents, and they will be filled with candy, and good stuff too. I'm thinking the ones I make will be filled with something other than mounds of candy. Pretzels, a few pieces of chocolate, popcorn, ring pops...???? I'm not sure yet, but I know that if candy is in my house I will find it and I will eat it, so I just need to avoid it.
My motivation has been low again this week, maybe that's why I'm writing about candy. Sick kids, gloomy weather. I haven't been to the gym since last Thursday and I feel terrible about it, physically and mentally. I'm not really sure what's going on, but I need to snap out of it, and quick! The Cabo countdown is down to 9 days! I can't wait. Sunshine here I come!!!!
Posted by: heavymetalmama on 3/09/2010 at 8:03 AM | Comments (0) | Permalink
Tags: easter candy, motivation, temptation, weight loss
Excuses, Excuses
I'm full of excuses this weekend, both for eating poorly and for smoking. My biggest and first excuse is that my husband was out of town, and when the cat's away the mouse will play...or eat (and smoke) that is. On Friday night I knew he would be gone so I decided to treat my boys to McDonald's. Fine, they have healthy choices on their menu. My favorite is their Southwest Chicken Salad. It is fantastic...spicy, crunchy, zesty. I love it. Do you think I chose the Southwest Chicken Salad? Nope, I chose the most disgusting thing on the menu, the quarter pounder with cheese, medium fries, and a medium coke. Blech. I felt so wretched just eating that thing. I did end up buying a bag of Baked Cheetos...what can I say, they're my fave. I also bought a regular size bag of peanut M&Ms, just the regular size that they have at the checkout, not the big one. Okay one night isn't going to hurt anything right? Right. Except that yesterday for lunch I ended up just having Cheetos and some caramels I found hiding in the pantry, probably from Christmas when I intended to bake something yummy and gooey, but didn't. I was busy cleaning and breaking up fights between my boys and keeping them busy, so making myself lunch just fell to the wayside I guess. They ate the last of the Nutrigrain waffles for breakfast and lunch (they like waffles), and I just didn't have anything else quick to make in the house. At least my breakfast was healthy yesterday. Dinner was another issue for me though. My girlfriends and I are fans of the Fargo-Moorhead Derby Girls, so we of course attended last night's bout, but that left dinner up in the air. My friend picked me up at about 5:45 and my husband was barely getting home and I was so busy during the day I didn't make dinner. I had a Fiber One muffin and a banana quickly before we left. I knew I needed something because I can't go to a roller derby bout and not drink PBR pounders! I had 2. I didn't even look to see how many calories were in those, enough I'm sure. I'm just glad I stopped at 2....I ran out of money.
Now today, Sunday, the husband is home and is taking me out for lunch (my idea). As I actually write this out I'm completely disgusted with my choices this weekend. I need to learn that I control everything I put into my mouth and I can make the choice to fuel my body with good things or bad things. I really do prefer the good things, but sometimes those bad things are just too tempting and easy. I know I am an emotional eater and eat out of boredom, I should have known that my husband's absence would be a trigger for bad eating. I realize that instead of having an empty fridge and freezer before my husband left I should have gone to the grocery store and stocked up on healthy options. Even deli turkey for sandwiches would have been better than what I gorged upon. I will make healthy choices today. I will go to the gym today. Today is a brand new day and I am in control, no more excuses.
Update: Down 2 pounds at last week's weigh-in!!!! Plus the 60-minute gym workouts with my trainer are going excellent. I feel great afterwards!!! I think I'm even going to try and attend a spinning class on Monday, but I'm a little nervous about that.
Posted by: heavymetalmama on 3/07/2010 at 10:06 AM | Comments (0) | Permalink
Tags: choices, excuses, weight loss
The Big 3-0
Friday was my 30th birthday. I have to admit in the weeks leading up to the landmark birthday I was feeling incredibly stressed and unmotivated. I can't even tell you how many times I felt like giving up on my healthy lifestyle journey. I had zero motivation to exercise. Just getting to the gym was painful for me, and its something I really enjoy. I wanted to veg out on the couch with some Hornbacher's peanut butter cookies and Baked Cheetos and watch The Real Housewives of Wherever. I'm not really sure why I had this reaction to turning 30. I mean, really, who cares?! I keep hearing that a person's 30's are some of the best years of their lives. I guess for me it was just a symbolic end to being "young," even though I've been married and have had children for 6, going on 7, years. My "being young" stage was over long ago. I really can't put my finger on why I was freaking out over it, but literally over night I was over it and back to being motivated (thank goodness). I'm going to be positive and I'm looking forward to all that is in store in the next decade...A new baby perhaps? A move to a different town? New friends? Back to school and career change? Will Joaquin Phoenix fall in love with me and marry me? Um...okay that last one was just a fantasy. Good-bye 20's and hello 30's! Please be good to me!!!
I went to the gym on Sunday and Monday, and today I have a weigh-in and group meeting plus an hour-long session with my trainer tonight. I'm actually quite nervous for those 60 minutes, but really pumped as well. Last night as I was rockin out on the rowing machine I realized my forearm muscles are fabulous, but I was also feeling defeated because I still haven't managed to gain enough courage to get onto the elliptical. My husband thinks its hard for me because my legs are short. I have ridiculously short legs....I guess I don't see how that would matter, but it makes me feel like less of a wimp, so I'm gonna go with that for now.
Anyway, hopefully the scale at weigh-in this afternoon shows some progress. My home scale certainly has, 10 pounds since beginning the program in January. The hospital scale isn't quite as generous usually. Fingers crossed!!!!!
Posted by: heavymetalmama on 3/02/2010 at 9:21 AM | Comments (0) | Permalink
Tags: 30, motivation, weight loss
SSDD
At the beginning of each week I try to make a mental note of the meals I would like to prepare for the upcoming week. As I go through my food logs it seems I have a pattern of eating the same things every week. Booorrrrinnng. I have my favorites of course, but more often than not its a time issue. Jobs, kids, and trying to get to the gym on a regular basis is a test to my time management skills. With that said, I thought I would list a few of my favorite things to eat. At least they seem to be my faves since I eat them all.the.time.
Breakfast: My all-time favorite go-to breakfast is a smoothie made with 1 cup of light chocolate soy milk, a banana, and 1 cup of frozen strawberries. Whip that up in the Magic Bullet and enjoy with an Thomas 100% whole wheat English muffin with a half serving of reduced fat chive and onion cream cheese. FABULOUS! Another breakfast I love is a Fiber One chocolate chip banana muffin (freezer section) with a banana and usually a cup or 2 of coffee w/ a flavored creamer of course. Measure, measure, measure the creamer though, it is so easy to use a ton of that stuff and drink way too many calories. If I have time I will sometimes make an egg wrap w/some veggies, small amount of bacon or ham, using 1 egg plus 1 egg white wrapped in a whole wheat tortilla. There's a brand I like found in the Wal-Mart refrigerated section near the cream cheese, but I can't remember the name of it for the life of me right now. Fiber One honey clusters cereal or Kashi honey puffs are my fallback cereal choices that I have with fruit, or instant oatmeal with 2 tsps of slivered almonds. I'm also a fan of Jimmy Dean D-Light bowls, preferably the turkey bacon one. With a cup of coffee its a great quick breakfast or lunch!
Lunch: This is my hardest meal of the day. I hate, and I mean HATE any type of Lean Cuisine or Smart Ones meals. I will eat them occasionally, but after eating them for months when I lost weight after my oldest was born, they pretty much make me want to throw up. I think I have 1 in my freezer right now. They do work well for portion control and are an easy meal when you are crunched for time, but I prefer just to avoid them if at all possible. There are some that are okay, but nothing to write home about. The Lean Cuisine szechuan shrimp is tolerable, and the breakfast quesadillas are good enough, but anything else I just can't stomach anymore. Amy's cheddar cheese burritos along with some lettuce and half a serving of light sour cream and salsa is a perfect lunch for me. Quick and satisfying, not to mention packed with fiber (I'm a fiber junkie). Deli turkey with a little mustard on an Arnold 100% whole wheat sandwich thin with sliced tomato, cucumber, and lettuce is a good quick lunch. Sometimes if I have time I will whip up a breakfast wrap (above) or scramble an egg plus 1 egg white with a serving of potatoes O'brien and a little cheese. I'm stuck with lunch though. I need to start coming up with some new lunch ideas and preparing them ahead of time. I do enjoy making soup and so have homemade soup at least once a month. I don't do canned soups. I found some questionable goop that smelled of an industrial lubricant in a can of tomato basil soup one time and that was the last time I bought a canned soup other than ones to cook with, and even then I inspect them very very carefully. It scarred me for life.
Snacks: Triscuits with laughing cow light swiss cheese triangles, Sargento RF cheddar cheesesticks with an apple or a serving of RF Wheat Thins, Slim Fast sweet and salty chocolate almond bar, Light and Fit Apple Pie yogurt, or any kind of yogurt, an apple with 1 TBSP peanut butter, a serving of cashews, light popcorn, veggies with Hidden Valley Ranch dip made w/light sour cream, a banana. I'm sure I have lots more of these up my sleeve, but apparently my memory is failing me today. I prefer baked Cheetos and M&Ms, but well, my hips don't like them so much and sort of defeat the purpose of a healthy lifestyle.
Dinner: Another one where I'm stuck in a rut. I try to be as kid-friendly as possible as I hate having to make 2 meals (which I seem to do anyway since I am the parent of the world's pickiest eater). Tacos made w/extra lean beef or turkey, measuring everything!!!, penne w/diced tomatoes, mushrooms, and feta; spaghetti, lemon parsley shrimp, chicken, chicken, chicken, meatloaf, beef stew, roast. I basically just watch my portion sizes with dinner. My kids are starving by 5:30, so I'm typically pressed for time at dinner. We also LOVE to make a chicken, bacon, artichoke pizza with feta...waaaaay better than Papa Murphy's and much healthier too since I can control everything. I always make a minimum of 1 vegetable with each meal, usually 2. My littlest guy loves green beans. My husband and I also really love the Green Giant brussel sprouts in butter sauce! Suprisingly tasty! There is a Hungry Girl recipe that I've been meaning to try. Its a slimmed down version of a Chili's entree apparently; chicken, bacon, BBQ sauce, and cheese. I also make a chicken sandwich using thin chicken breasts and Shake N Bake, with tomato, lettuce, dijon mustard on a bun. My husband has been asking for this a lot lately.
The above is a sampling of some of my favorite foods and some that I eat because they're quick and convenient and easy, if I wasn't running out of time I would write down more or be more specific, but what can I say, time management... Up for tonight: Ham, asparagus, corn, mashed potatoes and maybe sweet potatoes too. Then gym time! I was severely lacking in gym attendance last week since midweek I got struck with a cold and was miserable for a few days. I've got to step it up a bit this week, 3 more weeks until we leave for Cabo and I want to fit into some cute capris!!! With the leftovers sounds like I'll be making one of the above-mentioned breakfast wraps for either breakfast or lunch! Hooray!!! If anyone wants clarification on a recipe or if you have any recipes to share with me, please feel free to leave a comment or whatever.
Not smoking isn't going so well. I've pretty much been smoking regularly since last week. Argh. I feel like crap because of it too. Less energy, shortness of breath, stinky, and just overall shitty. So why not just quit, right? If you've never smoked, you probably can't understand. This addiction has its claws in deep! My 30th birthday is Friday, and I know I will be smoking that night for sure, so after this weekend I'm going to try the patch. Cold turkey just isn't cutting it this time. If the patch fails, then my best solution is to get pregnant. That always get me to quit.
Posted by: heavymetalmama on 2/22/2010 at 3:25 PM | Comments (1) | Permalink
Tags: fiber, food, smoking, weight loss
Sweet deal!
I decided to venture to Sam's Club this morning after my heart-pumping 45-minute workout at the gym. I got some good eats including Arnold 100% whole wheat sandwich thins, Thomas whole wheat english muffins (last one!!!!), and some delicious looking asparagus. The BEST find, however, was an ultimate pilates set that included a mat, exercise ball, 3 resistance bands, and a workout DVD, for $6.91. Can you freakin believe it!? I about peed myself I was so excited, especially since I had a Pilates DVD with resistance bands in my cart already. Needless to say I put that back. I can't wait to use it!!!! I heart Pilates. I don't love how I feel like I'm going to fall down the stairs for 2 days after a Pilates workout.
Tonight on the menu for dinner is....pita pizzas! I'm going all veggie on this so I hope its good. A whole wheat pita with a serving of pizza sauce, orange and red pepper, red onion, baby bella mushrooms, and asparagus, with a little bit of mozzarella. I think it sounds great even though I'm not a huge pepper fan, but I'll suck it up, especially since I was correct yesterday in saying that I would gain my 2 pounds back...and wouldn't you know at weigh-in yesterday I gained 2 pounds. Damn it all to hell! I hope I can make up for it this week by working out extra hard. Goal for this week 3-4 times of 45 minutes of cardio, plus at least 1 other night of weights. I already have 2 workouts done, so it should be no problem! Maybe I'll even venture onto the elliptical (my nemesis). I hate that damn machine. I'm more of a rowing machine and treadmill kinda girl. We'll see. If an 80+ year-old man/woman can do the elliptical, then by god I can do it too. I may be crying halfway through 10 minutes, but I can do it!
UPDATE: The pita pizzas were excellent! However, I will definitely leave off the peppers next time. My gag reflex was in overdrive. I just can't eat peppers, they are truly disgusting. Once I picked off most of the peppers it was quite delicious. Baby bellas and asparagus are sooooo good. I'm estimating here, but I'm thinking the whole personal pizza was less than 300 calories. The pita itself was only 110, about 20 for the sauce, probably less than 75-50 for the veggies since it took very few to fill up the pizza and it was filled with veggies, and about 75 for the amount of cheese I used. Wow!!!! And I was FULL from the pizza and a FF yogurt. I'm going to double check the calories later, but I would be surprised if it was over 350. I need to get back on track with my food logs ASAP!
Posted by: heavymetalmama on 2/17/2010 at 1:41 PM | Comments (2) | Permalink
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