Review: S'mores Balance Bar

The S'mores Balance Bar is an interesting one.  Good chocolate flavor, and the soft top layer has an odd combination of marshmallow and graham cracker flavoring.  I can't quite put my finger on it to describe it better, but the flavors work overall in this bar.  The marshmallow and graham component makes it not overwhelming with the chocolateness.  I don't know if I feel strongly that this is "s'mores" true flavor, but it's something that I like to eat.  I just don't know if it truly qualifies as "s'mores". ;)  Not sure what I'd call it though, so I guess I'm useless then. :D

Nutrition Facts
Calories 200
Total Fat 7 g
Saturated Fat 4 g
Trans Fat 0
Cholesterol 5 mg
Sodium 220 mg
Carb 23 g
Fiber 3 g
Sugars 14 g
Protein 14 g

(I purchased this bar on my own with no influence from the manufacturer.  Read more about my series of snack bar reviews)

Review: Lemon Meringue Crunch Balance Bar

Stepping away from the chocolate bars, I gave these Lemon Meringue Crunch Balance Bars a try.

I'm torn on recommending them - I only tried one of them, and it was okay.  I liked the change of pace from the chocolate varieties, but the crunch layer wasn't particularly awesome.  The lemon meringue top soft layer was nice though.  The lemon flavor came through without being totally overpowering.  But I guess overall, I wouldn't rush out to buy this one again.  That base layer just wasn't very tasty, and I want the whole thing to be good, not just the soft top layer!

Nutrition Facts

Calories 200

Total Fat 7 g

Saturated Fat 4 g

Trans Fat 0

Cholesterol 0

Sodium 210 mg

Carb 23 g

Fiber 2 g

Sugars 14 g

Protein 14 g

(I purchased this bar on my own with no influence from the manufacturer.  Read more about my series of snack bar reviews)

Review: thinkThin Chocolate Covered Strawberries Protein Bar

Today's entry is the thinkThin Chocolate Covered Strawberries Protein Bar.

First off, you have a visual in your mind that this is going to be a chocolate covered red strawberries bar - but it's not red inside.  It's a pale color (I ate this at 5-something in the morning and in the dawn's early light, I can't tell if it was white or beige), which kinda throws you off a bit.

But honestly, it's not about the color.  If it's tasty, who cares about the color, right?  Unfortunately, it's not too much of the tasty.  It's chalky and the flavor is just odd overall.  It didn't taste like true strawberry, which was a big let down for me.  I appreciated the 15 grams of protein and ZERO grams of sugar, but I wouldn't run back to this bar.  It definitely left me with an artificial sweetener aftertaste.

Nutrition Facts
Calories 200
Total Fat 7 g
Saturated Fat 3 g
Trans Fat 0
Cholesterol 0 mg
Sodium 120 mg
Carb 23 g
Fiber 3 g
Sugars 1 g
Protein 15 g

(I purchased this bar on my own with no influence from the manufacturer.  Read more about my series of snack bar reviews)

Review: Chocolate Mint Cookie Crunch Balance Bar

First up, Chocolate Mint Cookie Crunch Balance Bar.

What's not to like?  It's very minty - seems stronger than a Thin Mint cookie but it's been a long time since I've had those so I could be mistaken. ;) But you do need to really be in the mood for mint to have one of these.  I ate them during my pregnancy a few too many times and kinda burnt out on them.  But they did hit a spot when I was in the mood for sweet-and-minty, and overall they're tasty. Just very minty. ;)

Nutrition Facts
Calories 200
Total Fat 7 g
Saturated Fat 4 g
Trans Fat 0
Cholesterol 0
Sodium 190 mg
Carb 23 g
Fiber 2 g
Sugars 16 g
Protein 14 g

(I purchased this bar on my own with no influence from the manufacturer.  Read more about my series of snack bar reviews)

Snack bar reviews

One of my biggest challenges with being a new mom is trying to eat at weird hours - and to do so quickly.  So for my 3am-6am "oh my gosh I am starving" window, I have been going for nutrition bars.  I can unwrap and eat 'em one-handed, and this has been a lifesaver in those wee hours.  So I'm going to start reviewing the various bars here...

The biggest criteria for me in choosing a bar is the overall nutrition.  I tend to go with something no more than 200 calories and no less than 10 grams of protein.  Some fiber is a good bonus.  I'd prefer to have not much fat (especially saturated fat), but the chocolate-coated bars are generally tasty enough for me to feel it's worth it. ;)

All of these bars are items I've bought on my own with no influence from any manufacturer (though I would love to try new flavors, if you're listening, snack bar makers!) ;)

a new goal

My new goal is to get back down to my pre-pregnancy weight, which is 14 pounds away right now.  My ultimate goal is 85 pounds away, but that's way too much to think about right now.  I'm breastfeeding, so I should in theory drop a pound a week just from feeding my baby - but that hasn't really been happening.  I struggle hard with this, since I fear restricting my calories too much and harming the baby.  I'm hoping to breastfeed him for the first year, and I *really* want to hit that pre-pregnancy weight long before that year is up!  We'll see how it goes...

catching up

So now we start anew.  My weight has been an issue my whole life, and watching the scale go up as I was pregnant was nervewracking.  I had really hoped to not gain too much - and for most of the pregnancy, I was okay - but I put on 20 pounds in that last trimester, for a total of 31.  The first week after giving birth, I dropped a bunch - woo!  But it's stalled since then, and it's been over two months now.  I have no chance to exercise though (some days I don't even get to shower until my husband gets home from work!), so hopefully things will start to settle down a bit.  I used to walk a *lot*, but that went out the window in the last half of the pregnancy due to pelvic separation issues, and I'm still recovering from that now.  I know I need to put a focus on exercising - and also healthy eating - but it is definitely a whole new struggle with a newborn!

I'm also struggling with going dairy-free now - the baby has reflux and the pediatrician told me to cut out the dairy.  Not fun at all, especially since fat-free Greek yogurt and low-fat string cheese were amongst my go-to easy eats.  It's such a difficulty to eat anything when you've got a baby who cries a lot (due to the reflux), and having to eliminate some of the "easy" foods stinks! If you have any dairy-free tips, I'd love to hear them. ;)

Welcome back!

Howdy!  Sorry to keep this blog quiet for so long... but I was pregnant, and now I'm momma to a beautiful 2 month old baby boy.  He's keeping me quite busy these days, but I definitely need to get back on track with the weight loss.  I gained 31 pounds during the pregnancy, and lost 18 of it quickly... and the rest is going to be a challenge.  I hope to get back into the swing of things soon!

Chris Powell

Last weekend, I bumped into Chris Powell. He's the host of ABC's "Extreme Makeover Weight Loss Edition", a show that I have mixed feelings about but overall like. ;) The one thing that I am certain about with that show is that the trainer guy is ridiculous positive and appears to often get great results.

He was pushing a stroller, so I congratulated him on his new addition - two months old little guy. Adorable. ;) I talked to Chris for a couple minutes, telling him about my own weight loss journey and asking for tips. :D He said his top tip about healthy eating is to "Eat Whole Foods!" - avoid processed foods as much as possible.

It's always refreshing to meet someone who comes across as sincere and friendly on television - and they're exactly like that in person. All the best to Chris and his adorable little boy!

August steps

month	total steps	average steps per day	number of steps ahead/behind of pace
January	295,100	9,519	-14,900
February	209,700	7,489	-85,200
March	228,000	7,355	-167,200
April	183,300	6,110	-283,900
May	421,200	13,587	-176,200
June	339,300	11,310	-136,900
July	322,900	10,416	-124,000
August	512,200	16,523	+78,200

Woo, look at me all caught up on my steps! ;)

However, I've started September with not feeling so great, so my steps this month so far are not so great. (I'm averaging 6,800 so far.) But hey, I'm just aiming for that 10,000 a day, and I could catch up to keep that average for this month. We'll see.

Weight, as usual, is staying the same.

Sunday: 525 calories

Today, in lieu of going to the gym to take a class, I went for an hour-long hike up a steep hill. My lower calf muscles were killing me - so much for thinking those dance workouts were magic. ;) The hike burned 525 calories according to my heart rate monitor - 2/3 of those calories on the way uphill. ;)

Total this week: 7051

GOAL MET!

I don't plan to do this crazy goal again this week since I've got jury duty, but I am hoping to catch at least one class/hour-long-workout every day. :)

YAAAAAAAAY STEPS!!!

OK, so I know I've mentioned this in the past - for the last few years, I've been wearing a pedometer every day and aiming for that elusive 10,000 steps a day (the amount that is generally considered a baseline for good health).

In 2008, I walked 3,748,400 steps - 10,241 average per day.

In 2009, I walked 3,836,700 steps - 10,511 average per day.

In 2010, I walked 3,011,694 steps - 8,251 average per day.

Clearly, I had issues last year. ;) New job, new house, surgery recovery - just a lot of excuses. I did get my butt in gear near the end of the year, but I was averaging less than 60% for the first 8 months, so that was pretty insurmountable.

This year, things were kinda falling into the same bad pattern. Got laid off at the end of March and found myself walking even less, and then thankfully a friend pushed me into going with her to some dance workout classes. And this month, I have pushed things into gear...

month	total steps	average steps per day	number of steps ahead/behind of pace
January	295,100	9,519	-14,900
February	209,700	7,489	-85,200
March	228,000	7,355	-167,200
April	183,300	6,110	-283,900
May	421,200	13,587	-176,200
June	339,300	11,310	-136,900
July	322,900	10,416	-124,000

As of today, I have hit 255,000 steps for the month (that's more in 13 days than I did in the entire individual months of February, March and April!)... and that, my friends, has brought me back up to pace! I'm actually 1,000 steps ahead of pace. ;) I have to hope that the weight will eventually fall into line with all of this working out and walking.

Hooray for catching up to pace. 2,251,000 steps done so far, 1,399,000 to go.

Saturday: 740 calories

Kickass dance workout this morning, but then got distracted into chores and other such fun things. ;) 740 calories during the class.

Total this week: 6526

Friday: 649 calories

Only one dance workout today... 649 calories.

Total this week: 5786

Thursday: 907 calories

Did a dance workout tonight (yep, got picked for jury duty, so this will cut down on my classes next week...), but I did get out for a 45 minute walk during the lunch break. 620 calories in the dance workout, and Sparkpeople says 287 for that walk, so I'll count that (couldn't wear my heart rate monitor through the metal detectors!). 907 for the day.

It's going be tough to wrap up 7000 calories by Sunday, but I'm hoping for a dance workout Friday night, one more Saturday morning, and then a long walk Saturday afternoon, and maybe another dance workout Sunday morning if I can get my stuff together.

Total this week: 5137

Wednesday: 1075 calories

2 more dance workouts today - 492 in one, 583 in the other. 1075 for the day.

I've been summoned for jury duty tomorrow(!), but hopefully I'll still be able to join a dance workout in the evening.

Total this week: 4230 calories

Tuesday: 1100 calories

2 more dance workouts tonight - I'm definitely learning the classes & instructors I like the most. ;) I should've burned a lot more calories, but in the first class, I was too crowded to move a lot, and the second class, I really didn't care for the music or the moves. Ugh! At least I stuck it out?

Total this week: 3155 calories

Monday: 2055 calories

3 dance workouts today - 766, 454 and 835 calories burned (the 835 is my highest for a 60 minute class!) - so we're at 2055 for the week!

I overdid it a little today because I know it'll be a challenge to get a class in each day for the rest of the week - but I'm going to try!

New goal for the week: 7000 calories burned

Trying something different - I'm only weighing myself on Wednesdays (the day I always record my weight, back from the ol' Weight Watchers weigh-ins). So instead of focusing on my weight, I'm focusing on something I can actually impact: exercise. I joined 24 Hour Fitness last week, and made it to several classes.

This week, my goal is to burn 7,000 calories in classes (according to my heart rate monitor). Of course, if you do the basic math, that *should* result in a two pound weight loss, too (3500 calories = 1 pound). I'm going to also go back to tracking what I eat in sparkpeople.com - I'm sure my calories consumed have been out of whack lately.

Today is Monday, and I've gone to two classes this morning already! ;) 766 in one and 454 in another - 1,220 to start! Woo!

Augh!

I'm such a bad blogger - sorry! I have gotten just so very frustrated with my lack of weight loss. I don't want to update the numbers on the side of my blog here, but safe to say, I'm at my highest weight in 4 years. And I'm hosting a weekend-long party at my house in a couple days, so that number will undoubtedly edge higher. This month was tough with a lot of time visiting relatives out of state, which threw off my workouts and of course the food was not-so-healthy.

August is the month of weight loss, right? Ahem.

Still working out - doing Zumba or other dance classes several times a week. Did a great pilates class today and will go to another at that studio next week. Trying to use my weights at home twice a week as well. I need to figure out good leg-muscle-building exercises, too. I plan to join my local 24 Hour Fitness early next month and then spend a lot of time there. ;) Diet is going to get strict again after this weekend.

Hope all of you out in blog-land are doing well. Say hi some time. ;)