May 28

I really need a more interesting title for these reports, but as these entries really aren't that interesting, I say ah well.

Breakfast:  bowl of GrapeNuts/HoneyNut Cheerios combo (skim milk)

Snack:  a few chocolate chips, 1 string cheese (which I never string.  I always just take bites.  Is that odd?)

Lunch:  1 quesadilla, cauliflower

Snack:  cauliflower, a few peanut butter M&Ms, a couple chocolate chips 

Dinner:  frozen burrito with salsa and a slice of cheese, cantaloupe (mmm)

Snack:  brownie and pretzels

May 27

Exercise:  1.55 mile run, .36 mile walk (don't know how many minutes); ~20 minutes of stretches

Breakfast:  bowl of Grape-Nuts/HoneyNutCheerios combo (skim milk)

Snack:  1 chocolate chip, string cheese

Lunch:  toasted cheese sandwich, celery with peanut butter

Dinner:  tortilla with cheese, tortilla with cream cheese

Snack  McFlurry (supposedly "Reese's Peanut Butter McFlurry" but it was really vanilla with bits of peanut butter cup crushed on top.  Sad)

May 26

Exercise:  10-15 minute run (1.3 miles), ~30 minutes of STRETCHES

Breakfast:  bowl of cereal (GrapeNuts/HoneyNut Cheerios combo)

Snack:  an apple wedge with peanut butter I stole from my son's plate, 2 chocolate chips

Lunch:  toasted cheese sandwich, two bites of a corn dog, half of an apple

Snack:  a few chocolate chips and an otter pop

Dinner:  Scrambled eggs and roasted potatoes

Snack:  5 chocolate chips

May 25

I need to come up with more interesting titles for my reports.  Oh well.

Breakfast:  bowl of Cookie Crisp

Snack:  Reese's Crunchy something or other, some of which I shared with one of my offspring (we were running a million errands and were each starving, but Osh doesn't have healthy food by the cash register.  If I justify it it makes it right...)  String cheese when we got home.

Lunch:  a couple of Wheat Thins, peanut butter and honey sandwich, a bite of Brent's corn dog, chocolate chips

Snack:  chocolate chips

Dinner:  tex-mex chicken strips, bread

After dinner:  chocolate chips, otter pop

Hmm.  If I could cut out the chocolate chips I might be doing better...

May 24

Ok, 'twas a crazy weekend so I'm not even going to try to remember what went on.  Let's start fresh this week.  It is Monday again, after all.

Breakfast:  bowl of Lucky Charms with skim milk

Mid-morning snack:  apples with peanut butter, string cheese, eight chocolate chips

Lunch:  crunchy peanut butter and strawberry jam sandwich on white bread.

Exercise:  ~ 15 minute run (1.3-mile run, .15 mile walk)

Afternoon snack:  string cheese, chocolate chips, tortilla with two slices melted cheese

Dinner:  1 1/2 corn tortilla chicken enchilada

Snack:  microwave popcorn, chocolate chips

May 21 record

Breakfast:  bowl of Honey Nut Cheerios/ Honey Nut Shredded Wheat combo

Snack:  Yikes -->  a few chocolate chips, several (several...) marshmallows, toasted oat marshmallow treats (2... or 3... or maybe 4...)

Lunch:  tuna and cheese sandwich, celery with cream cheese, another marshmallow treat

Dinner:  2 corndogs

Exercise:  1 hour of gardening this morning

So obviously today definitely underscored my doctor's words that it's all about diet.  I blew it today. 

May 20 record

Breakfast:  a bowl of cereal (Shredded Wheat/Lucky Charms combo) with skim milk.

Late-morning snack:  apple, string cheese, about 8 chocolate chips, three generic Triscuits

Lunch: ham and cheese quesadilla, celery with peanut butter, yogurt, 4 York pieces (like Reese's pieces)

Snack:  yogurt, chocolate chips

Dinner:  2 grilled tuna and cheese sandwiches with celery chopped up inside (yes, two.  I was hungry), celery with peanut butter

Dessert:  bowl of Lucky Charms

Exercise:  gardening for 30 minutes or so.  Should've run but gardening did me in.

PS.

By the way, yesterday on my way to the endocrinologist's office, I was listening to the John Tesh radio show. He quoted some of Dr. Oz's weight-loss tips, one of which was to avoid grazing. HOWEVER, I'd also just read an article that stressed that grazing IS beneficial to weight-loss, because if you eat small amounts throughout the day, you don't overeat at mealtimes, and your body's metabolism stays steady. Or something like that. So what's the deal? I know that I have to eat throughout the day due to my medical conditions; on days when I have thought, "Only eat three meals a day.  That's it!" I have felt so sick and have totally eaten too much when mealtimes finally came around.  I'm getting so many mixed answers...  No wonder I'm so frustrated!

"Exercise has nothing to do with weight loss or management. It's all about diet."

That's what my endocrinologist told me this morning.  I was confused, to say the least.  I know he's qualified and all that, but I still believe that exercise has to be a key factor in successful weight management.  The whole circle of life is disrupted otherwise.  However, I do know that I haven't been the best about my diet either.  I'm not eating donuts for every meal or drinking shakes as if they were water (alas.  That sounds yummy), but I do have a weakness for Guittard milk chocolate chips, so when I'm feeling hungry, I grab a handful and tell myself that since it was 1) a snack and 2) only a handful and not baked in something else, the calories are minimal.  Yea, if only.  So, I think it's high time I start being accountable.  Besides, this ol' blog is gathering dust in the annals of Blogdom, so why not attempt to resurrect it in hopes that it'll help me shed some pounds? 

At this point, I would love to lose 15-20 lbs.  That would get me back to my pre-most-recent-pregnancy weight, which was where I was my happiest.  Then, any pounds shed would be bonus.  My doctor told me this morning that that's where I should be, so that's what I'm going to aim for.  I felt fit then.  I felt attractive.  I felt like me. 

Brent and I have taken up running.  We ran a 10K this last weekend, coming in at 67 1/2 minutes, roughly.  We try to run 3 times during the week; I try to get in at least a half hour, or about 2 miles, depending on how much time I have free.  I would like to build up to 3-4 miles during the week in an hour or less.  On the weekends we run longer distances; we have done up to 10 miles together before.  However, that was a doozy for me so I can tell I still definitely need to work up to that.  What's weird is that I have been able to do 6 miles no problem, and when we ran 8 miles, I felt good. I don't know why the extra two miles did me in so bad.  We have signed up to run a half-marathon in August (!!!) so I've got to conquer that ten mile demon.  I feel my heart getting stronger though, which is a plus.  It's exciting seeing how far I have come in so short a time (since January).

The only problem is my back.  I've had back problems for the last 6 1/2 years, and running does a number on it, and I can never find time during the day when I won't be interrupted to stretch.  I haven't been to a chiropractor since October or November, and even when I went regularly, I wasn't seeing a lot of improvement.  I wish I could see the chiropractor I was seeing regularly 5 years ago; I think he was magic, 'cause he worked wonders for me.  However, his office is too far away now for me to make it a regular thing, so I must do the best I can on my own.  Hopefully this new accountability (I am hoping I now have anyway!) will help me remember to just do it, get my stretches in, even if it's midnight before I have free time.

I guess that's it for now.  My eating is shot for today (bowl of cereal this morning, candy bar after my doctor appointment -- I was starving and that's all I could find at the home improvement store), salad, probably 3 or 4 handfuls of chocolate chips, a string cheese, a couple slices of cheese, a couple pieces of bread, celery with peanut butter) so I will start documenting thoroughly tomorrow.

Carpe diem!

August 26 food and exercise

Breakfast: bowl of cinnamon streusal shredded wheat with skim milk.

Snack: 3 Pringles, some apple quarters with peanut butter, and one tortilla chip, a bite of ice cream

Lunch: watermelon/plum salad (plain, just the fruit), salad (lettuce, broccoli, cauliflower, peanuts, sunflower seeds, raisins, tomatoes, carrots, ranch Spritzer dressing), slice of banana bread.

Snack: snitches of zucchini cake batter and snitches of cream cheese frosting (my weakness). Bite of a zucchini brownie.

Dinner: salad, an attempted bite at a very gross eggplant/mozzarella/tomato thing (I think I added waaaay too much vinegar and oil), a few bites at overcooked corn on the cob (yea, I failed in the kitchen at dinnertime!).

Snack: piece of zucchini cake and a couple of bites of ice cream.

August 25 food and exercise

Ok, I am starting this post in the afternoon, instead of in the morning and adding to it each time something happens, so I hope I can remember everything.

Breakfast: bowl of cereal, skim milk.

A few ranch Pringles (YUM. I really love Pringles).

Lunch: crispy taco, salad, and strawberry yogurt. A couple of tortilla chips and a couple more Pringles.

Snack: more Pringles (alas, the can is almost gone now...), and a salad made of cut-up watermelon and plums. Quite refreshing. A few bites of southern pecan ice cream.

Exercise: 20 minutes (plus warm-up and cool-down) of aerobics.

Dinner: spaghetti.

Exercise: 20 minutes (plus warm-up and cool-down) of weights. Stretches and a few exercises on the ball.

Snack: some ice cream

Exercise: another 20 minutes of aerobics

April 19 food and exercise

Breakfast: bowl of cereal with skim milk

Snack: 1 Reese's peanut butter cup that I so sweetly shared with me, 1 string cheese, 1/3 slice of multi-grain bread, and a few chocolate chips

Exercise: vacuuming (couldn't do that last night as the Boys were already abed)

Lunch: strawberries and fiesta rice taco. A few tortilla chips

Exercise: a few races with the Boys

Snack: string cheese, a couple chocolate chips, and some snitches of no-bake cookies

Dinner: asiago fettuccine. And I'm ashamed to say I had a few cookies too. Time to exercise...

Exercise: 1.25 miles on the elliptical, 638 calories and up to resistance 8 (or so it claimed...). Stretches on the ball.

August 18 food and exercise

Breakfast: bowl of homemade granola with a few slices of banana on top, with skim milk.

Snack: 1 Life-Saver gummy that my son shared with me.

Exercise: 20-minute workout with weights, as well as stretches.

Snack: a few gummy bears, two string cheeses, and pretzels

Lunch: fiesta rice tortilla and vanilla yogurt

Snack: slice of berry bread, 2 Skittles

Exercise: 50 minutes, 502 calories, 1 mile on elliptical. I have no idea what my resistance was, because the elliptical has been going screwy the last couple of days. I usually warm up at level 1 or 2, and that's always a piece of cake, just slightly more resistance than walking around on the ground. However, lately, resistance 1 feels like resistance 15, and the machine only goes up to 10! So I worked up to resistance 8, but I have no idea if that is accurate or not. All I know is, I was sweating like a pig during my warm-up and it just got worse after that. So maybe the calorie count is off too. Who knows. Hopefully it's off in my favor. Stretches and exercise ball exercises

Snack: 2 gummy bears

Dinner: corn on the cob and asiago chicken fettuccine.

Snack: a few chocolate chips and some bites of mint sundae brownie, and popcorn. Yea.

Exercise: house-cleaning (including mopping the 6 moppable floors by hand, as my mop is retarded)

April 13 food and exercise

Breakfast: bowl of Kix with raisins and skim milk

Snack: a few apple wedges with smidgens of peanut butter, a few chocolate chips, and some tortilla chips

Lunch: nachos

Snack: I can't remember (I forgot to write it down as soon as I ate it). There might have been a few dry-roasted, unsalted peanuts, a bite of graham cracker, some snitches of cherry bread (YUM. Another of those cases where the dough is better before it's cooked...), a bite of homemade granola.

Dinner: corn on the cob, mashed potatoes, and salad.

No exercise today I'm afraid. I was busy doing other things all day. But my feet hurt from standing, if that means anything. :)

August 12 food and exercise

Breakfast: bowl of Kix with raisins, skim milk.

Snack: graham cracker, some mints, and an oatmeal-raisin square

Lunch: Tortilla with cheese and salsa (YUM), and some peach- and apple-quarters.

I meant to exercise this morning, but I've had the chills and my back felt tweaked. We'll see how the afternoon goes (this is written at 12:42 pm).

Snack: a few miniature marshmallows

Exercise: Ok, I did exercise after all. 1.25 miles at resistance 3, 485 calories, 60 minutes.

Snack: a handful of dry-roasted, unsalted peanuts, some Ritz crackers.

Dinner: mashed potatoes.

Snack: a few chocolate chips.

Exercise: 0.75 miles, resistance 2-3, 285 calories, 36 minutes. Stretches and exercise ball.

August 11 food and exercise

Breakfast: bowl of Kix with a smidgen of RaisinBran mixed in, with a few extra raisins on top. Skim milk.

Snack: 1 oatmeal-raisin square, as well as some crumbs left over from it (it's very crumbly).

Exercise: 48 minutes, 524 calories, 1.25 miles at resistances 3, 4 and 5.

Lunch: peanut-butter and jam sandwich, salad.

Exercise: Stretches, sit-ups, etc.

Snack: Otter-pop, some peanuts and some mints.

Dinner: Cheesy bow-tie treasures, 1 oatmeal-raisin square.

Snack: Nachos and about 6 Guittards, and a few marshmallows.

Exercise: 66 minutes, 1.50 miles, resistances 3-6, 665 calories, a few stretches on the exercise ball.

A Declaration

Ok, I am thoroughly upset at myself for letting myself go from being 2 pounds away from a mini-goal-weight I had (back in January, 4 pounds lighter than when I started on the Glen) to being back in the next-heaviest decade of weights, and 12 lbs. away from that mini-goal, so I am trying to start fresh this week. Saturday I exercised twice, for a total of 3 or 4 hours, and it didn't kill me, so this week, a week when I have nothing to do and nowhere to go and neither do the Boys, I am attempting to workout more than I ever have: I am hoping to exercise each day (morning and evening) twice, again for a total of at least 3 or 4 hours. If there are any Glenees left, I hereby make it official: I am going to be an exercising maniac this week, and you all are more than welcome to egg me on, nag me till I croak, pester me with emails or phone calls or telepathic messages, even voodoo dolls if necessary, to get me to meet my goal, at least for this week, and we'll see how the week turns out. So here goes nothin'.

July 20 food and exercise

Breakfast: bowl of Cheerios with skim milk, 1 slice zucchini bread.

A mint during church.

Lunch: 1 slice zucchini bread, chili and Fritos with cheese. Grapes and cherries.

Home Evening treat: strawberries with a dollop of Cool Whip.

Dinner: 1 slice zucchini bread, 4-cheese ravioli, and "fried" zucchini (zucchini slices dredged in beaten egg and flour, and cooked with a bit of olive oil).

Snack: some Guittards, a few mints, and some Fritos.

July 19 food and exercise

Breakfast: Granola/Cheerios combo with raisins, skim milk.

Snack: Bite of brownie

Lunch: Tortilla with cheese, pistachios, and a brownie.

Dinner: 1 slice of pizza.

Snack: 1 slice zucchini bread.

Exercise: 60 minutes of weights and stretches.

July 18 food and exercise

Breakfast: Reese's Puffs/Cheerios combo, skim milk

Snack: String cheese, 1 bite of M's banana

Lunch: Tortilla with cheese, 2 raspberries, 3 strawberries, some peach yogurt, and about 8 Wheat Thins.

Snack: Some Wheat Thins, a mint, and some Guittards.

Dinner: 1 slice of pizza, 2 breadsticks.

Some Guittards. Some Wheat Thins. Some almonds. Brownies.

Exercise: Walk with the Boys to Daddy's work, to Little Caesar's, and back home with the pizza for dinner