2008

Steps walked: 3,748,400 (over 1560 miles)
Pounds lost: neglible (within a pound of where I was a year ago)

This has been a very difficult year, but hopefully 2009 will see me finally hitting my weight loss goals.

10,000 steps a day - 2008 goal met, now what?

At the start of the year, I set a goal of walking 10,000 steps a day - 3.66 million steps for the year. I hit that goal last week (yay for ahead of schedule!)... but despite walking over 1500 miles this year, my weight is the same. I have had the plateau from hell, but I liked having the big goal to shoot for throughout the year.

Any suggestions for a 2009 goal that I can work towards? I liked the 10,000 steps but feel like I should do something different (since I'm not losing weight). I thought about maybe aiming for an hour of exercise a day (or 365 hours total for the year), but not sure how I would best measure this - a two or three hour walk (which I usually do on the weekends) doesn't seem fair compared to an hour kickin' butt on an elliptical.

Suggestions welcomed! Thank you :)

Campbell's Chunky Healthy Request Grilled Chicken and Sausage Gumbo

I *love* gumbo. Progresso makes two different gumbo soups that are pretty good (and I'll review them next time I eat them). Of course, none of these canned soups are anything compared to real homemade gumbo, but I don't have that kind of patience. This is the type of soup I turn to when I'm cold.

This soup from Campbell's was pretty good. I think I prefer the sausage in the Progresso soup more, but their soup has more than double the sodium and considerably less fiber and protein. Hrm. I will definitely pick up a few more cans of the Campbell's variety next time I'm in the store.

Nutrition Facts (per cup, about two cups per can)
Calories 140
Fat 2.5g
Saturated Fat 1g
Cholesterol 15mg
Sodium 480mg
Potassium 600mg
Carbohydrate 21g
Fiber 3g
Sugars 4g
Protein 8g

Campbell's Chunky Healthy Request New England Clam Chowder

I really enjoy clam chowder, but it's not exactly the most diet-friendly item. I've had some of these "light" chowders before and they've been terribly disappointing. This one, however, was good. I got a little bit of a gritty texture once, but that's not surprising for a clam soup. The soup was somewhat creamy - not luxuriously so but it's also not 800 calories! ;) I would (and indeed already have) buy this again. It definitely hit the spot when a craving for something warm and creamy hits.


Nutrition Facts (per cup, about two cups per can)
Calories 120
Fat 2g
Saturated Fat 0.5g
Cholesterol 10mg
Sodium 480mg
Carbohydrate 20g
Fiber 2g
Sugars 2g
Protein 6g

Campbell's Chunky Healthy Request Sirloin Burger soup

It's cold out here, so that means soup time to me. I've got a ton of cans that I'll be trying and I'll post reviews (always helps me remember which varieties to not buy again in the future!) :)

First up, Campbell's Chunky Healthy Request Sirloin Burger soup. The nutrition facts on it aren't too bad - especially the sodium, considering it's a canned soup. All these "Healthy Request" soups are 98% fat free and 40% less sodium than their regular product. However, this one just plain did not taste good. The little sirloin patties were kinda nasty - tasted burnt to me. The texture to them was not right as well. I wouldn't buy this soup again.

Nutrition Facts (per cup, about two cups per can)
Calories 130
Fat 2g
Saturated Fat 1g
Cholesterol 20mg
Sodium 480mg
Potassium 990mg
Carbohydrate 18g
Fiber 3g
Sugars 3g
Protein 10g

The latest news

Got laid off, and my weight is within three pounds of where it was a year ago. If now ain't the time to get the weight off, I don't know when is. (Oooh, love that grammar!) :)

On the good side, I am less than 200,000 steps until I hit my goal for the year. Woo!

NaBloPoMo fail

Eh, so I've failed on the posting-every-day thing. Ah well. Frankly, I love the motivation of posting daily, but without any replies or comments, it just ain't all that motivating. But never fail, I'll still post when something interesting comes to mind. ;)

Not the best cardio workout ;)

Shockingly, Electronic Interactive Whac-A-Mole is not a very good cardio workout. ;) But satisfying to hit the little guys on the head with a plastic mallet! :D

Ow.

I walk a lot - but with the silly weather and of course the joy of daylight savings ending, I haven't walked a lot since returning from vacation a few weeks ago. Saturday I did about five miles, so yesterday I upped that and walked about nine miles. All fun and good, until I got home and took off my shoes. I had blisters on the inside part of my feet that were so big you could see them through the socks! Looked like nasty bunions or something. Ow.

I need to get some new shoes, clearly! Ow.

Fiber One Toaster Pastries

I admit it, I like Pop-Tarts. They're tasty, but oh-so-not-healthy for you, so I rarely eat them. Pop-Tart has a new line of "whole grain", but they're still pretty high in calories and fat, so I skip 'em. But when I saw the new Fiber One Toaster Pastries, I thought I'd give 'em a try. I went with the brown sugar cinnamon flavor - with frosting! Woo!

Well, maybe woo. Though the pastry is tasty, it's still un-fulfilling to eat just one (and of course they're wrapped in twos). It's not as tasty as a Pop-Tart, but it's not a bad replacement. Nutritionally speaking though, it's not a miracle food - only 5 grams of fiber doesn't seem like the typical Fiber One way there. One of these did not fill me up at all. Two filled me up a bit, but I thought about how much I could've eaten for 380 calories and 10 grams of fiber, and was really disappointed.

Fiber One Toaster Pastry 190 calories 4 g fat 1 g saturated fat 140 mg sodium 36 g carbs 5 g fiber 16 g sugar 4 g protein

Whole Grain Pop-Tart 200 calories 7 g fat 2 g saturated fat 170 mg sodium 34 g carbs 3 g fiber 14 g sugar 3 g protein

Another note: the Fiber One Toaster Pastries are six to a box, and Pop-Tarts are eight to a box.

Alternative Bagels - Cinnamon Spice

I love Western Bagel's "Alternative Bagels" - seriously fabulous and healthy treat. I've tried all of them, but today I'm focusing on the flavor I just ate. ;) Cinnamon Spice is tasty, and as with all their bagels, it tasted great once toasted. They're ok if you don't toast 'em, but much better when toasty. I hit this with a few sprays of I Can't Believe It's Not Butter, and I'm good to go. Tasty breakfast with some scrambled eggs (two egg whites and a regular egg). :)

These bagels are available online and in select west coast grocery stores. Super Wal-Mart locations sometimes carry them too (sadly my closest one is about an hour away).

Nutrition Facts
Calories 110
Total Fat 0g
Saturated Fat 0g
Trans Fat 0g
Cholesterol 0mg 0%
Sodium 220mg
Total Carbohydrates 26g
Dietary Fiber 7g
Sugars 1g
Protein 7g

Movie theatre eeeevil

So sad that movie theatres frown upon you bringing in your own food. We went to the movies tonight and there are just no good options at the concession stand! Ugh. If only you could get some air-popped popcorn instead of the oily action. Doh.

On the good side, I got a nice walk in today and that made me happy. ;)

Tasty snack

• one medium pear (preferably ripe, not as crunchy as an apple like mine way)
• 1/2 cup fat free cottage cheese
• 1/2 cup fiber one cereal

nutrition info:

• 204 calories
• 2 grams fat
• 47 grams carb
• 15 grams protein
• 17 grams fiber
• 5 grams cholesterol

tasty and hopefully filling! :)

Well then!

Diet-related: shockingly, not walking and eating crap causes weight gain. Stop the presses!

Raisinets snack packs for Halloween are cute - only 200 calories for 3 packets. However, resisting eating more than a couple of those packs is really tough... glargh.

Aie!

No weight loss news today - the election is everyone's focus right now! Wonder if the new president will do anything to help raise the health level of the country...

Bacon jelly beans

Bacon jelly beans, courtesy of our friends over at Archie McPhee.

These are truly nasty. ;) They taste just like liquid smoke - joy. Think you can save some calories by enjoying bacon jelly beans instead of real bacon? Think again. ;)

But they are a cute gift! ;)

Soup!

Made soup last night from Cook's Illustrated's "Best Light Recipe" cookbook - cream of mushroom soup. Took a long time, but was potentially tasty until the husband poured in waaaay too much sherry at the end. Doh. Now I need to find a way to use up the rest of my half-and-half. ;)

NaBloPoMo!

I'm not creative enough to attempt NaNoWriMo, National Novel Writing Month, but I can try for NaBloPoMo, National Blog Posting Month! ;)

So what's new with me? Well, this week marked the 100th week since I started dieting. I weighed in at 85.8 pounds gone, so that average kinda blows. This year has been a massive diet struggle, and I'm glad to be "maintaining" so to speak, but I've walked well over 3 million steps for the year, and I'm so very frustrated that it hasn't moved the scale. With daylight savings ending tomorrow, it'll be even harder to get in the exercise. Hopefully watching what I eat more closely will help.

More on the Jillian game

So I played it again, this time not using the Balance Board. It sucked less this time - I wasn't thrown off as much by the game not responding to my movements on the Balance Board. However, this really defeats the purpose of the game to me - I wanted another fitness-oriented game that uses the board. It's still not accurate in its responses all of the time - in the game where you have to kick, I had to do it several times when kicking on the left side. Grrr.

Happy to see the Amazon reviews get more balanced, but disappointed that they apparently rejected my review (despite not mentioning this blog at all) - lame!

Jillian Michaels Fitness Ultimatum 2009

Jillian Michaels Fitness Ultimatum 2009

I've been looking forward to this game for awhile - even though I enjoy the concept of the Wii Fit, it frustrates me that I don't get to link their mini-games together. After every one, you go back out to the menu and have to choose another one. Fooey.

So I went out and bought this game the day it came out. I've played it awhile tonight and I'm pretty darned disappointed.

First, you set up your character - choosing a male or female, and then you can choose between two items for your shirts, pants and shoes - ooh. A few different colors, too. Very, very minimal customization here.

If you've got the Wii Balance Board, you can use it to enter your weight, and then use it for all the games too. Onto the games...

There are 11 games total, and you can link them together to do one right after the other (two minutes minimum on each) and also choose light, medium or hard intensity. The games are:

• Paint Grenade Toss: pick up paint grenades and throw them - basically, squat and then throw. Easy and very repetitive and dull.
• Cannon Attack: load cannon balls and aim and shoot the cannon. More squats and then lean to aim. Boring.
• Handcar pump: squat repeatedly and pump your arms up and down to move the handcar down the track. Yet more squats and you need to flick your wrists sharply to get it to register.
• Tire trail: run through a set of tires. Lean on the balance board and then flick your wrists to one side or the other. Not much of a workout, just flicking.
• Rowing: row a kayak by sitting on your balance board and moving the controllers to each side. Again, flicking is the key here. Painful because you keep hitting yourself with the cord between the controllers...
  
• Monkey bars: climb the monkey bars by leaning to the sides and putting your arms above your head and move them back and forth. Not too hard, but CONSTANTLY hitting your head with the cord between the controllers. Glargh.
• Log jump: jump from log to log by doing yet more squats
• Log walk: hold your arms out to the side (as much as the controller cord lets you) and balance while walking on a log. Dull.
• Boxing: need to jog essentially to "work up" to throwing a punch or kick as instructed. Really annoying because it did not register many of my kicks. Grrr.
• Punching bag dodge: run and then dodge as instructed. Again, didn't register most of my jogging or dodges, so this was a pain.
• Running: run, duh. But the character doesn't respond to the pace I was keeping, and sometimes it just plain didn't register.
  

Overall, I'm really disappointed - this had potential but the game just plain doesn't register everything you do and that's deeply annoying. I don't see myself playing this a lot, and that's extra disappointing because it was $40!

Two months later...

Wow, time is really flying but my weight is staying the same and/or climbing. Doh. I've been continuing to walk a ton, but my weight is being stubborn. I'm hoping to really pour myself into this delightful weight loss battle again soon. For now, just keep taking it day by day and trying to not make foolish food choices too often. ;)

Getting back into things

So, 2008 hasn't been a particularly great year. February 3, I hit my lowest weight in a decade in the morning, and in the afternoon, my grandfather passed away after a long and slow decline. While I went out to be with my family, my husband's mother was diagnosed with stomach cancer. Right after I return home, we find out it's stage four. She fought hard, but less than four months later, cancer took her.

So you can understand why my blog was abandoned for awhile there. I got way behind in my walking obviously, but have busted my butt to catch up and get ahead (which came in handy when I had a stomach bug two weeks ago and spent a few days in bed). My weight loss has definitely stalled - I'm about 7 pounds down for the year, which also means I'm now at a less than a pound lost per week pace. Fooey. I've walked over a thousand miles this year, so this makes me even more frustrated that I just can't shed the pounds appropriately. Hopefully the rest of the year will be nice and quiet and calm and I'll start seeing the pounds disappear.

Wii fit fun

Bought the Wii Fit last week - today is day 8 with it. I love it! It's got four main components: aerobics, strength training, balance and yoga. The aerobics has things like step, hula hooping and boxing. Strength training includes push ups and other things. Balance has some wacky games where you tilt all over the place. Yoga is straight-forward and difficult.

It seems to be a bit off from my scale, but within a pound. I wish it didn't have such an emphasis on BMI & weight, but otherwise it's a blast. More to come...

stats update

Haven't posted in ages due to all kinds of familial crisis, but gotta get back into the swing of things.

As of this morning, I'm down 91 pounds total, and I've also caught up on my steps for the year! Might just be able to hit my goal weight by the end of the year.



Hopefully the good weather will continue and I can keep up with all the walking (and also the Wii'ing!)

Checking in

Checking in - these days, my weight is very stubborn and does not wish to leave me. Fooey. I've been increasing my steps to help catch up from the big deficit I built the past two months. Oops. Hopefully my weight will fall in line soon too. I'm still over 85 pounds down, but that's been the story for quite some time.

Yay for good weather and more walkin'.

Triple Chocolate Chunk VitaTops

Ahhh, Vitatops. These folks aren't fooling around - one of these treats has 50% of your Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Iron, Vitamin D, Vitamin E, Folic Acid, Vitamin B12, Vitamin B, Biotin & Zinc! And 5 grams of fiber for 100 calories - color me intrigued.

I'm a big fan of Hungry Girl and she raves about 'em so I ordered this special pack with the flavor she developed with them, Triple Chocolate Chunk. You buy 'em by the case and throw 'em in the freezer (and the box is taking up most of my small freezer!). Anyway, you microwave one and enjoy the warm chocolatey goodness. However, they don't look like the picture at all and I was let down by that. Most of mine have maybe 4 or 5 chips on top - I've had several that had no white chocolate at all, and they're certainly not overflowing with chips like the picture would lead you to believe. But they are a tasty treat. I find them to be dry, so I usually top one with a tablespoon of Marshmallow Fluff or my favorite sorbet. Today I topped one with strawberries tossed in balsamic and that rocked. ;)


Nutrition Facts
Calories 100
Total Fat 1.5g
Saturated Fat 1g
Cholesterol 0mg
Sodium 150mg
Potassium 130mg
Total Carbohydrates 23g
Dietary Fiber 5g
Sugars 10g
Protein 3g

weight roller coaster

Ah, my weight is not my friend these days - I have been stuck in a five pound range for the past three months (and probably an eight pound range for two months before that!). Feh. I need to get more strict about my eating and hopefully that will kick things into gear. I've been walking more, and think I did something smart today - instead of going for one really long walk, I did two shorter walks (around the mall (4000 steps) and later to Costco (4000 again)) and then went for my typical walk (8000 steps). No foot or ankle or knee pain yet, so maybe I should keep that plan going for the time being. Hopefully I can get some walks in during the workday going forward as well, and do that typical 8000 step loop several nights after work.

Tonight's delicious dessert: I topped a chocolate Vitatop with strawberries that I sliced and tossed with balsamic vinegar. SO YUM!

Reality used to be a friend of mine.

So, reality has not be a friend of mine lately, and my weight loss has stalled big time. I'm basically where I was two months ago, and my walking ground to a halt. I had a weird foot injury, combined with being out of town for family issues and then being swamped at work - yesterday I was 98k behind pace for that 10k-a-day, but today I walked 17k so I'll start chipping away at that big deficit. With the good weather and later sunsets now, I should be able to walk after work and catch up on the steps... and along with that, hopefully the weight will also get back into the swing of things.

Good luck to everyone on their journeys! :)

On hiatus

My mother-in-law has been diagnosed with stage 4 gastric cancer, so our world has been turned upside down and we're helping her start treatment. I'm trying to keep up with my steps and my healthy eating, but it's difficult - she's having such a hard time eating anything, so we're all about getting more protein and calories into her, so there are all kinds of diet-killing-items around here.

Good thoughts appreciated...

Keeping pace

I assume my weigh-in tomorrow will be quite unpleasant - family visit + my birthday dinner + 2 birthday lunches + 3 different birthday cakes = gain!

At least I'm keeping pace with my steps - 10,000 a day for a goal of 3.66 million steps for the year. As of tonight, I've done 503400 steps - needed 500,000 to keep pace, and that's where I am.

I have light healthy breakfasts & lunches planned for the next two days, and then I have to go out of town again. Doh. Hopefully I can keep getting those steps in at least - it will pay off eventually, right?

I am down 50 pounds from what I weighed last birthday. It would phenomenal to be down 50 pounds more next birthday.

Catching up

Sorry for not posting for a little while there - I was out of town with family after my grandpa's passing. I did get a couple of workouts in while I was out there, but I won't be surprised if my weight bounces up a bit - especially with my birthday tomorrow! Woo!

I want to finish up more posts about kitchen essentials - and then little tips about ways to cut calories. Hopefully I'll get to these this week.

Hope all is going well for everyone out in blogland! ;)

Kitchen essentials: in the fridge

I'll be out of town next week and I've been thinking about food a lot - what do I consider my essential items? Let's start with the fridge:

• eggs! I am a huge fan of eggs - egg whites in particular. I'm usually starting my mornings with three eggs - either hard-boiled (tossing out the yolks) or scrambled (one complete egg and two extra whites).
• skim milk - I've been drinking skim for well over a decade so I don't taste any difference.
  
• salad - baby spinach always, plus usually some romaine hearts or mixed greens
• Kraft 2% Milk Sharp Cheddar Singles - yes yes, it's processed, but it's 50 calories and melts like a dream. I don't use it often, but when I do, it's oh-so-good
• light sour cream - LOVE it!
  
• non-fat Greek yogurt - Trader Joe's house brand is great, as is Fage. Love the thick texture and I toss in some Fiber One cereal or fruit and it's a great treat.
• English cucumbers - thin skin, but I still get rid of the seeds before using. I make my own tzatziki with the Greek yogurt, garlic, and dill with the diced cucumber. Yum!
• Laughing Cow light wedges - hooray, tasty cheesey substance and low in calories and a decent amount of protein.
  

Next, freezer and then pantry...

Another week, another 2.2 pounds gone!

Despite the stress and sadness this week, I was able to lose another 2.2 pounds (though I did gain 0.6 from Sunday's big low). I also walked 71700 steps, so I'm only behind 3900 on the year to hit 3.66 million steps. Would love to break even by next week - at least by the end of the month!



Big weight loss challenges ahead - heading back home for five days to be with family after my grandpa's passing, so I'm imagining some less-than-healthy foods and below-freezing temps so no outside walks. And less than two weeks until my birthday - CAAAAAAAAKE!

Nice temperatures here for the rest of the week, so more walks in my future!

Inspiration for healthy living

My grandfather was an avid golfer and loved to take those long walks in the morning. He was very active throughout his life, until a shoulder injury he sustained while on a walk started to rob him of his health. After a long battle, he passed away this afternoon. He would've turned ninety this spring.

This morning, I hit my lowest weight in at least a decade. I was so elated about that - and I know that my weight loss is happening in good part due to my decision to walk more. I wasn't able to share my weight loss success with my grandfather, but I know he'd be proud of me for this. Until he got injured, he had a long and healthy life - and I know that his walks (with a little white ball) and good diet had a lot to do with that. I want to have good health and be involved in my future children's and grandchildren's lives, and I'm working towards that now.

Thank you, Grandpa, for setting a great example.

No dining out for the obese

Saw this headline today: Mississippi To Ban Fat People From Eating In Public!?
"The Mississippi State House is proposing a law that would ban restaurants from serving people with a BMI higher than 30."

Found a good post about it over at Junkfood Science where she contacted the legislator who submitted the bill.

I'm sure the blogosphere is going to go wild over this. My BMI right now is 30.6 - but if I lose 5 pounds, I would be allowed to eat there. But that's only if I'm naked. I'd probably need to lose 10 pounds to be able to wear clothes. Or maybe less if I wear sandals and shorts.

Of course, I'm immensely curious to Representative W.T. Mayhall, Jr.'s BMI, and his wife, "the former Minnie Melton".

More numbers in the right direction

Yesterday's weigh-in shows another 1.6 pounds down - hooray! In addition, I walked 77000 the past week, so I'm catching up on the 10,000 steps a day pace. If the rain will go away, I hope to be totally caught up this coming week.

(I started my official weigh-ins on Wednesdays because that was when we had the Weight Watchers at Work meetings and I've continued to use Wednesdays as my day to update everything.)

My eating the past two days hasn't been great - actually eating less than I should, and what I have eaten hasn't been the greatest. Hope to get that back into place tomorrow.

Winter - enough already! ;)

I am so over this cold and rainy weather! I really like walking, but the weather lately has been ridiculous. I did make it out for a walk yesterday, and found that my shoes and the bottom of my jeans were all nice and muddy. Ah well. ;) If this weather would warm up and dry out a bit, I would be able to move more - and hopefully help the scale move in the right direction.

Brrrr!

Fiber One Honey Clusters

Everyone needs to work on getting enough fiber in their diet. I'm aiming for 35 grams of fiber a day, which is definitely a challenge. I bought two varieties of Fiber One - the original pellet-y variety and the Honey Clusters. Oooh, I like the honey clusters. Little clusters of oat-y type things and big sweet flakes of bran, I assume. Tasty stuff. A bit higher in calories than I usually go, so I've been having a half-cup of this along with something else. Tonight I had the half-cup with a container of light yogurt and a diced pear. Good stuff.


Nutrition Facts (1 cup serving)
Calories 160
Total Fat 1.5g
Saturated Fat 0g
Cholesterol 0mg
Sodium 280mg
Potassium 320mg
Total Carbohydrates 42g
Dietary Fiber 13g
Sugars 6g
Protein 5g

Wonton pizza bites!

As I posted yesterday, wontons have been calling my name. So I took inspiration from Roni's recipe and had fun tonight. I didn't pay enough attention to all the quantities, unfortunately. Here's what I did, roughly:

• Sauteed half a package of sliced mushrooms (I think the package is 1/2 pound? - about a cup) in a small non-stick skillet until all the moisture was gone, and put aside in a small bowl. I minced these up later.
• Sauteed a minced small yellow onion in the same skillet (after wiping it clean) until the onion was cooked. I put this aside in another small bowl.
• Sliced up eight slices of light salami ("Gallo Light Italian Dry Salame is made with turkey and pork and has 60% less fat and 40% fewer calories than regular dry salami") into teeny tiny pieces and then sauteed them to cook out some of the moisture.
  
• Added a chunk of tomato paste (sadly way too much, I think about 1/2 of the can) to the skillet, then added two garlic cloves, minced. Added back in the mushrooms and about half of the onion.
  
• Heated this through, and then added 1/2 cup of light mozzarella, finely shredded. Bad idea - I should NOT have put this in with the hot items, it was a horrible idea and made making the wontons very much a pain.
• On each of the wonton wrappers (I used the round variety, 30 total), I put a small scoop of the mixture, wrestling with the melty cheese. Sealed 'em up and finished them all.
• I put them on a foil-lined cookie sheet, after spraying first with non-stick spray. I also did another light coat of spray on the wontons after I put them on the sheet.
• Into a 450 degree pre-heated oven. Seven minutes was one minute too long.
• They're hot when you take them out of the oven. ;)

Good stuff! Sauteeing everything ahead of time took some effort, but the wontons weren't soggy at all. I didn't taste much of the salami, and the cheese flavor was overwhelmed - too much tomato paste for sure.

total nutrition info for the whole shebang:
30 wonton wrappers: 480 calories, 1.5g fat, 3.0g fiber, 18g protein
1 cup mushrooms: 15 calories, 0 fat, 0.7g fiber, 2.2g protein
1/4 cup onion: 12 calories, 0 fat, 0.4g fiber, 0.3g protein
8 slices light salami: 90 calories, 6g fat, 0g fiber, 10.5g protein
1/2 can tomato paste: 64 calories, 0 fat, 5.2 fiber, 2.6 protein
1/2 cup light mozzarella cheese: 160 calories, 10g fat, 0g fiber, 14g protein

totals:
821 calories
17.5g fat
9.3g fiber
47.6g protein

or for 10 of 'em, 274 calories, 5.8g fat, 3.1g fiber, 15.8g protein

Will definitely be making these again!

Wonton!

I've been in a wonton phase lately - we made oodles of wontons at a friend's house last weekend: chicken, pork, and TVP (a vegetarian protein), and ate them in homemade chicken and vegetable stocks as appropriate. So very tasty.

Wonton Pizza Bites? I haven't tried these yet, but Roni made them & they look fantastic. Check out Green Lite Bites for the recipe and instructional video.

I really want to make some crab rangoon this weekend - also baked, of course, but with tasty crab and cream cheese melty love inside.

It's so cold and rainy out here, I think wontons of many varieties must be enjoyed... :)

physicsdiet.com

I'm a total numbers geek (though I hated statistics class in college). When I heard about physicsdiet.com I was intrigued. You enter in your weight, calories consumed and calories burned each day, and then it gets with the geeky - calculating all kinds of averages and rolling figures and such. It really helps to show you the trends - and to show you to not jump off a ledge if your scale shows a 2 pound gain overnight.

I know there's a lot of discussion about how often one should jump on a scale. I do it every single day, in the morning before I shower, before I eat or drink anything. For me, I need that daily feedback - and physicsdiet.com really helps to show me the trends and to not obsess about one day's numbers.

It's free - check it out!

Yay dramatic weight loss

Though I love losing 4.4 pounds in one week, I know this is not sustainable. ;) I finally back to the weight I had at the end of November, so hopefully we'll see the numbers slide down from here. I'm trying to eat better - more salads, more fiber, etc. Still having a bit of chocolate every day (or I'd lose it!) :D

I'm trying to average 10,000 steps a day this year, so I made a little ticker for it:



Geek that I am, I see that I am short 12600 steps of where I should be - too many work days with less than 5000 steps really hurts that total.

Here's to another week of healthy eating and hopefully more walking (if this rain ever stops!)

Fad diets

TiVo'd an episode of E's "THS Investigates" a week or two ago - this episode was all about fad diets. Pretty interesting stuff - at the end, there was a few minutes about my site of choice, Sparkpeople.com (and yes, it's a very sane site and one that they said was helpful).

More interesting than the things that worked were the crazy diets that people used that didn't work, including people back in the late 1800's who basically drank liquid dynamite! Shockingly, many died because their bodies overheated. Doh. Crazy to think that our society's obsession with weight started all that time ago.

Scariest diet they showed: a tapeworm diet! AIE. Now, I'd love to lose ten pounds without dieting, but sheesh, I'm not going to eat a tapeworm! Ew. Ew!! More on that fabulous diet over at Big Fat Deal.

Tastiest diet they showed: the cookie diet. :D Sadly, not like the one I'd prefer with actually tasty cookies in addition to your other food - this was eating a couple of nasty-looking cookies for breakfast & lunch, and then a "sensible" dinner. As the ever-so-observant husband pointed out, sure, anyone would lose weight if they only ate one full meal a day. ;)

Back to my food tracking on sparkpeople and going for yet another long walk in the cold today...

Thanks, wacky body!

Aaaaah, what the heck? So yesterday, I ate in my calorie range, but the choices weren't so great - a cheeseburger (no bun), steak fries, etc - and what happens this morning when I weigh myself? I've lost three pounds overnight. Wha? Silly body. Let's see if those pounds stay off for a week. I'm still two pounds higher than I was at the end of November (or as I like to call it, before my friend's birthday when I started gaining weight for the holidays that still hasn't come off...)

Here's to a healthy weekend!

Still treading water

Argh, this plateau just won't quit. So I've bought yet more 'healthy' food - more reviews coming, for sure! It's so flippin' cold outside that getting some walks in is difficult, especially with it still getting dark early.

Any tips for breaking through this joy? ;)

Not losing weight, feeling not-so-great

I hate plateaus. I really do. I've been bouncing around the same five pounds for the past two months and it's driving me batty. The holidays are over so there are no more excuses, right?

I was out of town for a conference earlier this week - walked an average of seven miles a day for three days while I was there, but ate crap and gained weight! Doh. I walked a lot today as well, so hopefully it will help the scale comes to its senses and show me a better number soon. ;)

Here's to more salads, more walking, and less weight.

Smart Ones Traditional Lasagna

Another Smart Ones entree, this one is great! It's a "traditional" lasagna with meat sauce and is really tasty. It's three layers with ricotta and seasonings between each, and tomato sauce with tiny meatballs on top. It's a good sized portion and a great solution to that pasta craving I get every now and then.


Nutrition Facts
Calories 300
Total Fat 6g
Saturated Fat 3g
Cholesterol 25mg
Sodium 780mg
Total Carbohydrates 43g
Dietary Fiber 5g
Sugars 8g
Protein 17g

Smart Pop Butter Popcorn

Mmmm, popcorn. I love popcorn, and the Smart Pop line from Orville Redenbacher's is pretty darned tasty. A good amount of salt and a light butter flavor is great. I buy this by the case from Costco and we usually share a bag at least once a week. Good stuff!



Nutrition Facts
Servings Per Container: About 2
Calories 120
Fat 2 g
Saturated Fat 0.5 g
Cholesterol 0 mg
Sodium 350 mg
Carbohydrates 25g
Dietary Fiber 4 g
Protein 4 g

FYI:
Roni over at Weight Watchen is running a contest to win some tasty new popcorn from the folks at Orville. Would be fun to try their new stuff - the garlic flavor is calling my name. :)

Deep & Velvety Chocolate VitaBrownie

These VitaMuffin products are really pricey, but they're 100 calories for chocolatey goodness - had to try them. Stored in the freezer, you microwave them when you're ready to eat. I really, really want to like these but they're just okay. I don't care for the walnuts on top, but I do love a warm chocolate treat. I like to top one with a dollop of whipped topping or Marshmallow Fluff (surprisingly low in calories!). I like other VitaMuffin products better than this one.



Nutrition Facts
Calories 100
Total Fat 2 g
Saturated Fat 0.5 g
Cholesterol 0 mg
Sodium 120 mg
Potassium 190 mg
Total Carbohydrates 23 g
Dietary Fiber 6 g
Sugars 8 g
Protein 4 g

Miss Meringue Peppermint Crust Minis

I'm a fan of the Miss Meringue products, and I love candy canes, so why not? Well, they're not very good. They're the mini vanilla meringues with some crushed stale candy canes sprinkled on the top. No mint flavor in the meringues. The candy cane bits tasted really stale and not all that good overall. Meh.



Nutritional Facts
Serving Size: About 9 Cookies
Calories 110
Total Fat 0 g
Saturated Fat 0 g
Cholesterol 0 mg
Sodium 20 mg
Total Carbohydrates 25 g
Dietary Fiber 0 g
Sugars 25 g
Protein 1 g

Trader Joe's Chocolate Chip Meringues by Miss Meringue

OH HOW I LOVE THESE!

Trader Joe's is selling them again - I stocked up, seriously! They re-brand select products from the Miss Meringue company, and this is one of my most favorite items. (My ultimate favorite was a mint chocolate chip they haven't sold for years.)

Anywho, they satisfy my sweet tooth nicely. I nibble on them, and let the meringue melt on my tongue. So tasty.

Nutrition Facts (per 2 pieces)
Calories 60.0
Total Fat 0.8 g
Saturated Fat 0.5 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 0.0 g
Monounsaturated Fat 0.0 g
Cholesterol 0.0 mg
Sodium 8.0 mg
Potassium 0.0 mg
Total Carbohydrate 12.5 g
Dietary Fiber 0.5 g
Sugars 12.0 g
Protein 1.0 g

Keebler Right Bites Grasshopper

These come 13 tiny cookies to a pack - they look like chocolate covered Froot Loops (they're tiny, I tell you, and there's a hole in the middle). Actually, they're only coated in chocolate on the bottom, but the tiny cookie itself is dark brown and has little ridges on it. This is crying out for a cup of milk on the side. Oh. My. Gosh. They're fantastic. The smell is right. The flavor is right. The chocolate is good. The mint is good. They're ALL GOOD, people! I will so be buying more of these. Awesome. Go Keebler!

Nutrition Facts
Calories 100.0
Total Fat 3.5 g
Saturated Fat 2.5 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 0.0 g
Monounsaturated Fat 0.0 g
Cholesterol 0.0 mg
Sodium 70.0 mg
Potassium 0.0 mg
Total Carbohydrate 14.0 g
Dietary Fiber 1.0 g
Sugars 5.0 g
Protein 2.0 g

Smart Ones Salisbury Steak with Mac & Cheese

This is one of my favorite Smart Ones so far. It's not the biggest portion of either food - but it's also only 260 calories. The mac & cheese is tasty. The salisbury steak is your typical ground beef patty thing, but the onion gravy works well with it. Two thumbs up here!

Nutrition Facts
Calories 260.0
Total Fat 7.0 g
Saturated Fat 3.0 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 0.5 g
Monounsaturated Fat 3.0 g
Cholesterol 40.0 mg
Sodium 820.0 mg
Potassium 0.0 mg
Total Carbohydrate 26.0 g
Dietary Fiber 3.0 g
Sugars 2.0 g
Protein 23.0 g