Finally a post!

It's been soooooo long!

I've been really busy lately with finishing my internship, final exams, graduation, and now starting a new job! I just got hired as a Case Manager at a halfway house. I'm so lucky to have found a job right after school. In this economy, the job market is slim pickin's. Especially for someone like me, fresh out of school, and with no experience. 

I started work on Monday, and so far this week, it's been nothing but orientation and training. It's been so hard going to bed early and getting up early. My body clock hasn't adjusted! I will say, that I do feel especially grown up everyday with my snappy new professional wear, hehe. 

As for meals, now that i've been working, i've noticed that things are a lot easier. I've been making sure to eat a good breakfast before leaving for work, and my lunches that i've been making to take with me have been wonderful. I get home around 5PM or so, so that leaves dinner for around 8PM and bed time by 9:30PM. It's nice that i'm not trying to put off meals as long as possible like I was before because I never knew when i'd go to bed, and I didn't want to risk eating too early and getting hungry before my day was over. 

Yesterday for breakfast, I ended up having a bacon egg and cheese omelet. It was great! I used 3/4 cup of egg beaters, 3 slices of bacon, crumbled up, and 1 serving of 2% mozzarella cheese. I must say, i'm getting pretty good at the omelet flipping. When I first tried making one, i couldn't get the egg to flip right and pretty much just ended up with scrambled eggs. Now I can do it without a problem, and my omelets come out nice every time. This omelet was HUGE, and it was only a measly 230 calories. A good way to start the day. As you can see from the picture, I almost forgot to photograph it, and didn't remember till i'd already eaten half of it! Haha. 

It's so nice that i've been packing my lunches for work. I get a good lunch without a whole bunch of calories, or fat, or grease like you would see from a local fast food joint. While everyone else goes out in search of lunch (wasting their hour, i say) I'm ready to go, the minute the instructor says that it's break time. I must say, that i've been packing some pretty good lunches. Big and filling! 

This is yesterday's lunch. I packed 1 serving of Trader Joes cheese puffs, and Italian Wedding Soup At Hand, 1.5 servings of grapes, and a wrap that i made with bbq chicken, olive oil mayo, shredded lettuce, and 2% cheese. I had a diet Mountain Dew to drink with it. Since i don't drink coffee, I have to get my caffeine somehow!! This lunch was so yummy!! Total calorie count for this meal came to about 670 calories or so. I'm just estimating because i'm too lazy to go look, haha. But have no fear, this mind has become a bank of calorie counts, and i'm pretty sure that 670 is probably correct within about 5 calories or so. 

Last but not least, the CPR Dummy! She and I were together all day. We practiced CPR, first aid, and the defibrillator machine. I know she looks quite dead here, but believe me...after all the work I did on her, she was most definitely alive by the end, LOL. 

I promise that I will try and post more often. It's just so hard to remember to take pictures all the time! I guess i'll just have to do it more and make it a habit. 

OK OK...

So I haven't been keeping up as promised, but I vow today that I will do better! Don't give up on me yet! Part of the problem was that my computer was broken and i was having a problem uploading photos on my dad's computer. But now that my laptop is fixed, I don't have any more excuses. 

My Thanksgiving was great. I love spending time with my whole family, together. I didn't track on Thanksgiving Day, and kinda fell off the wagon a little bit for the whole weekend. Grrr! I've been disappointed in myself for it, but I know that it's too late to do anything about it now. All I can do is look ahead and keep on truckin'!

In brighter news, I'm officially done with college! I've been to my last class, handed in my last assignments, and now I'm just waiting for graduation and to start my new job. I graduate the 14th and start my job the 15th! That was fast! The position is as a Case Manager at a halfway house. The pay isn't great, but it gets my foot in the door for a state job later on when i've got some experience under my belt. I'm so excited to start!

Anyways, i've been back to tracking since my fallout on Thanksgiving, and i'm here to report that things are going well. Sometimes it's hard to get past the cravings, but i'm sure that as time goes by, it will get easier to either ignore them all together, or to satisfy them in moderation. 

Tomorrow, the show goes on as scheduled. I'm back to picture taking and blogging daily.

Until then...

Party Time!

Tonight was my friend Shreya's 23rd Birthday Party! But before I start in on that, let me start with last night...



Last night I ended up choosing to eat a sandwich instead of my fast and easy Cod Sticks. This really hit the right spot! I used a bulky roll from the package that I picked up at the store a couple of days ago, and into it I packed 1tbs of regular mayo (yes, you heard me, REGULAR!), turkey, honey mustard, bacon, american cheese, shredded lettuce, onion, and tomato. This is one of my "famous" sandwiches that everyone has been raving about lately. I guess working at Subway for 3 and a half years during high school wasn't all in vain, haha. This was 453 calories and worth every single bite! I woke up today and once again immediately picked up the 2nd book in the "Twilight" series. I read for a couple of hours and finally headed downstairs in search of sustinance. I decided that I was in the mood for hot dogs, and so I made some! I used 2 98% fat free hot dogs in 2 light rolls, and split about a tablespoon of ketchup between the two of them. This ran me about 255 calories and was just the thing to hold me over until I ate later before leaving for the party...

I spent most of the day lazing around the house reading more of my book and finally finished it around 5PM. I've read so much this weekend! After I was done reading, i took a shower and got all gussied up to go. Before I left I planned on eating a pretty substantial meal so that I wouldn't be tempted to snack at the party. Snacking is my worst enemy!

I made another of my "famous" sandwiches and added a serving of black seedless grapes and a bag of Sour Cream and Onion potato chips. The entire meal added up to 703 calories. Eating this didn't even make me feel as though I was on a diet! So yummy!

I got to the party tonight around 8 o'clock, and was very good! I brought my own diet soda with me, because all that was available there was alcohol. I'm really not a big drinker. I just don't like it! On the downside, I did cave in and ended up taking a few tokes on a bowl that was being sent around, but I don't think it'll really delay the progress that i've already made towards getting clean, so i'm not too worried. While at the party, I did get a little bit hungry, and ended up eating about a serving of Cheez-It's and a serving of Fritos. I didn't photograph them because there were so many people there and I didn't want to look like the freak taking pictures of food! Haha.

It's about 1AM right now, and i've just gotten home.

Tomorrow i'll be headed to my grandmothers house for a belated birthday dinner, so I probably won't get around to posting until Monday evening. I'll do my best to take a few pictures. My family always makes fun of me for taking pictures of my food, but hey, as long as i'm having fun doing it, that's all that matters, right?

Well i'm off to bed so that I can get up around 10AM and head over there. It's about an hour and a half drive and I have to pack up the dog and take him with me too. He loves going, and get's so excited, but he really HATES the car ride!

Wish me luck! Goodnight...

Christmas Shopping...ALREADY?!?

I got up fairly early this morning to finish up the last couple chapters of "Twilight." "Early" for me though is about 10AM, haha. I stayed in bed till about 11:30, not even noticing that i was pretty hungry, because i was so absorbed in my story. Around the same time that I finished and decided to get up and eat, my friend Rachel called to tell me that she was on her way. We had made a plan to hang out today and go shopping at the mall...

20 minutes later, she showed up at my house, and I still hadn't had time to eat. We had to leave so that I could make it to my appointment for an oil change on time, and on the way out, I quickly grabbed one of these Kashi bars since I knew i wouldn't be getting a real breakfast, and lunch was still a few hours away. These bars are only 180 calories and taste just like a chocolate peanut butter rice krispy treat. While we waited for my car to be done I took a few bites and saved the rest to eat as we hiked around the mall for awhile...

We shopped at the mall till around 2PM or so. I did quite a bit of shopping for little things yesterday to give to my friends and family for Christmas and was really just going to the mall to try and get some ideas for those family members who are harder to shop for. Unfortunately I didn't get much out of this trip, but I did leave with about 5 pairs of beautiful new dangle earrings, and also managed to get my shopping for my Dad's gift out of the way.

After the mall, we headed to Whole Foods for their salad/food bar. Rachel is a vegetarian so when we go out, we need to make sure that where ever we end up eating has options for her as well. Since i'm trying to eat healthier also, this was a good choice. I ended up with this salad containing lettuce, broccoli, cherry tomatoes, chicken, onions, a piece of sesame tofu, and a piece of some other tofu made with a mushroom and pepper marinade. For dressing I chose a really good (put kind of high cal) garlic caesar dressing. There were no low fat or low calorie options for dressing, so I did the best I could with what I had. The entire salad, including dressing, was about 379 calories. A very healthy lunch if I do say so myself!

I found that while I really enjoyed the mushroom/pepper marinated tofu, the sesame tofu really didn't excite me, and so after taking a bite, I left it alone. Also, for whatever reason, I wasn't really feeling the cherry tomatoes either, and left most of them in my plate as well.

Later on after i'd gotten home, and Rachel had left, my friends Steve and Tito stopped by to hang out for a little while. We watched "Get Smart" and while the movie was playing, I made the boys a couple of sandwich's. They raved that they were the best sandwich's they'd ever had, and proclaimed that I should open up my own shop! Haha, they're so sweet! Funny thing is, my dad said the same thing last night when I made HIM a sandwich too. Hmmm...maybe they are onto something here? Possible career change? Hahaha...

Anyways, while I was at Whole Foods earlier, I picked up an additional tasty salad to have tonight. This one only included lettuce, cherry tomatoes, broccoli, and chicken. These ingrediants seem to be my salad staples lately! When I broke out my salad, I added some croutons and Light Caesar dressing. This salad with dressing was another 380 calories. Again, another very low calorie meal!

I've got a lot of calories left over for tonight, and I DO plan on eating something later because I can't be having too many low calorie days like I have been lately. I'm debating over making one of my now "famous" sandwich's or perhaps trying the Cod Sticks aka fish sticks that I picked up at Trader Joe's the other day. Such a dilemma! Haha. Regardless, you'll all know tomorrow what I picked.

Right now i'm off to begin book 2 of the "Twilight" series...i'm sure i'll be up late. My other friend Rachel (not the one i went shopping with) who turned me onto the series has informed me that the next 3 books are even better than the first...i'm excited to get started!

Goodnight, all!

Sorry for the delay...again...

Sorry about being so late in posting again. I expected to update again last night, but never got around to it as I was totally absorbed in "Twilight" by Stephanie Meyer. Such a good book! I couldn't put it down, and I managed to read the entire 500 pages in about 4 hours or so. I just had to go and get the next book in the series today. I'm strongly recommending this book for anyone looking for something that they can just get lost in!

Yesterday for breakfast, i once again had my two pieces of toast with a tablespoon of creamy PB. And once again, it was delicious! I didn't take a picture of it since it would be the exact same as yesterdays, so if you feel cheated and need to see a picture, just go back to my last post!

For lunch, I finally ate the dinner that i'd intended for the night before. Shrimp Alfredo Pasta. I made this with a serving of whole wheat pasta, 2 servings of shrimp (about 18 of them!), a serving of green beans, and a 1/4 cup of garlic alfredo sauce. I then topped it with some 2% mozzarella cheese. I know it doesn't look so good in the picture, but believe me, this dish is to die for, and was one of my main meals back when I was on the right track and losing weight last time. The entire dish turns out to be pretty big, and packs only about 520 calories!

For dinner I ended up with yet another huge salad from Stop N' Shop. What is with me and all these salads lately? I just can't seem to get enough greens!

As usual, this one contained lettuce, chicken, cherry tomatoes, and some diced ham. I left off the broccoli cause it just isn't as good there! I went grocery shopping earlier (hence the salad, haha), and I bought some Rothbury Farms Seasoned Croutons. At first I wasn't sure if this addition to the salad was even going to be worth it, and for the most part it wasn't...until the end...When I eat salads, i tend to pick around all the stuff in the bowl that i really like and save it all for the end. I always end up with all my croutons sitting at the bottom, and this is just what happened this time too. So while eating the salad, i didn't get too many croutons, I had mouthful after mouthful to devour at the end of the meal. It was great. Croutons are the best part anyways in my opinion!


I was so hungry by the time I got to eat this (around 9:30 PM!) that I ended up eating the whole delicious thing. I topped it with Light Caesar dressing, and so far, i'd have to say that this was the best tasting salad of all! For only, 615 calories, i'd say this one wasn't bad at all!

I promise i'll do my best to have an update later tonight. As I said, I bought the second book in the Twilight series that i've just started reading, so don't be mad if I end up too absorbed with that, and don't post till tomorrow. I'll do my best!

Bad things come all at once!

Yesterday was such a shitty day, that I didn't even get around to doing my update until this morning. Don't worry, another update about today will come tonight...

Anyways, yesterday morning, I was using my computer when all of a sudden it just powered off on me, even though it was fully charged AND plugged into the wall. It had done this to me before, but stopped doing it shortly after, and so I had figured that the problem was over. NOT SO! This time it began doing it, and wouldn't stay on for more than a few minutes at a time before powering off again. I called apple customer support and was told that I could pay $50 over the phone on my credit card which might or might not fix the problem, or I could make an appointment at an apple store and take it in to get looked at. I chose to take it in as i'm not about to trust some nitwit over the phone.

Once I got to the apple store, the guy tried to convince me that my problem was as simple as the powercord...that is, until it went off right in front of him while plugged in with his fancy new cord! Long story short, they've taken my precious computer away from me for the next 5-7 days and are hoping that they will be able to fix it. If they do, it'll run me about 600 bucks, but if they can't, i'm going to have to bite the bullet and find some other way to come up with enough moolah for a brand new one. Thank God Christmas is coming up!!!

Anyways, I started my day off yesterday with 2 pieces of toast with 1 tablespoon of Oh So Delicious Skippy peanut butter split between the 2 slices. This is quickly becoming a breakfast staple for me, as it is quick, easy, and not too much food for my sensitive morning stomach. It came to about 180 calories. People ask me all the time if i get sick in the mornings because i could be pregnant, but the answer is NO way! I've been like this my whole life. Never able to eat first thing after waking up.

I was supposed to ride into my internship with my father today. This is usually the plan on Wednesday's and works out well because it saves me the gas. But, due to my unexpected visit to the apple doctor, and the fact that my dad was going into work early, I was forced to come home, and wait a few hours by myself before driving my own car to work. For lunch I had another great salad that I had gotten at Stop N' Shop the other day, but this time I had it with about 2.5 servings of Honey Mustard, and i ended up picking out the broccoli. I've always been a dressing freak. I like dressing and I like a lot of it. Because of this, I often find myself saving extra calories just for my salad dressings so that I can eat them the way that I want. Too little dressing just makes the salad not taste good to me. Because this salad was so big is why I ended up using so much. 5 tablespoons to be exact! In my defense, it IS light dressing, and didn't pack too bad of a punch on the calorie intake scale. The entire salad, dressing included came to about 541 calories.

I didn't finish the entire salad and left about a third of it in the bowl for later on with dinner. I had a great dinner planned and made, all ready to go, but ended up getting side tracked after work. Instead, I went over to my friends Steve and Tito's house for a little Guitar Hero fun, and when I got there, they had ordered pizza. It smelled delicious and looked ooey gooey good in the box, and i just couldn't resist. I forgot to take a picture, but I restricted myself to 2 medium sized pieces, which still would have left me room to eat my dinner once I got home. I figured each slice to be around 190 calories. I'm not sure if this is right, and it seems a little bit high to me, but I guess it's better to over estimate on calories than it is to underestimate, right?


Later on when I got home, I thought about breaking out my delicious dinner, but then I remembered that we don't have that much to eat in the house, and that I have to go grocery shopping. I wasn't that hungry anyways, so I just ended up eating the last third of my salad from lunch, and i've saved last nights dinner to have as lunch before I go to class today.


Overall, I probably didn't eat enough calories yesterday. I only ended up with around 1100 total, but sometimes shit happens, and it's not like i went to bed starving. Today will be a better day, I hope!

Certain results already showing...

Today around 3PM after eating my nice lunch and updating my blog, I chose to take a nap. I didn't sleep very well last night, and knew that if I didn't take a planned nap, that i would end up falling asleep anyways and the result would be that I would stay awake all night, therefore screwing up the sleep schedule that i've worked so hard to get back to normal after my past days as a night owl working 3rd shift. 

Anyways, I set my alarm for 6PM giving me a good 3 hour nap. Of course it took me a little while to actually fall asleep because my room was freezing! I estimate I probably slept off an on for about 2 hours. 

When I woke up I was ravenous! Even though I was full-ish before from my half caesar salad and piece of bread, when I woke up, i could hear my half Asiago Roast Beef sandwich calling my name! I quickly ran down stairs and gobbled it up! 

I usually like to split my lunches in half so that I can eat dinner a bit later. This also helps save me from those midnight munchies as by the time I start to get hungry out of boredom or whatever, it's time to go to sleep and i can just avoid the situation altogether. 

Around 8:30, I finally was feeling a little bit hungry again and decided to break out this delicious salad that I picked up at our local Stop N' Shop salad bar this afternoon. I like to cook, but there are often times where convenience wins out over home cooking. This was one of those days!

 

This salad was made up of about 4 cups of romaine and mixed greens, some broccoli, cherry tomatoes (they're hiding in there!), about 6 oz of grilled chicken breast, and a little bit of diced ham which i used in place of bacon bits! I topped off this HUGE salad with 2 servings of light ranch dressing, bringing the caloric total to about 490 calories. This salad was so large that I was unable to finish the entire thing in one sitting! Instead I put the other half in the fridge and i'll probably eat it later before I go to bed. There are so many myths out there about eating before going to bed...that it'll make you retain weight, and make it harder to lose. Totally untrue! It really doesn't matter when you eat!

If you look closely, you can see Zeus in the background of this picture...following the food as usual!

In regards to the topic of this post...certain results really ARE starting to show! I've always enjoyed ending my night with a bit o' that "wacky tobacky" if you know what i mean...and in the past i've always ended up with a major case of the munchies which would cause me to over eat and make myself miserable. Well, i'm graduating in a month now, and it's time for me to grow up and get my act together. Especially with the types of jobs that i'll be looking to get, they all drug test! I've noticed just in the one day since I made the decision to quit the green, that i'm eating a lot less. In the past i NEVER would have let a half salad sit in the fridge until later! I would have stuffed myself with the entire thing, smoked some more, and eaten even more food when I got hungry later. Hence I would have been over full and feeling miserable by the time I went to bed. 

Hopefully i'll be seeing some more changes in the days and weeks to come!