Tuesday, October 7, 2008

Weight loss: 11 lbs
Mood: tired and icky

I am coming down with something which is I just know is going to have a negative effect on my weight loss. I tend to overeat to try and gain comfort when I am sick – though I am going to do everything I can do avoid this. It will also put a damper on my weight loss since I won’t be able to exercise as intensely as I need to – though I have a feeling that this isn’t going to stop me using the elliptical as soon as I can. I am going to tape The Biggest Loser tonight and save it for when I am feeling better and will be able to spend the time working out at the level I feel is required. Until then, I am going to work on getting my 2L of water in everyday – I have been slacking on this big time lately.

There is a new challenge going on in the weight loss forum I am a part of – Plump Your Pumpkin. Essentially every pound each member loses goes onto a pumpkin. There are also weekly challenges to get bling for said pumpkin. I have put the url for my pumpkin below and he should update as I complete the challenge: isn’t it cute so far.

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Sunday, October 5, 2008

Weight loss: 11 lbs
Mood: Tired

I now spend my weekends (for the most part) walking around taking photographs. This weekend I spent both Saturday and Sunday in different locations - downtown Ottawa and Stony Swamp Conservation Area (Beaver Trail to be exact). I enjoy taking photographs there but it is also a great way to exercise without even noticing it. I walked around for about 3 hours each day and am so sore and tired when I get home and yet I barely noticed it while I was there. It is an excellent form of exercise and I wish I could do it everyday (I can't since I get home at 5pm and the lighting is awful for the photography I take).

I also did pretty good with food this weekend. The walks actually helped with that as I didn't have anything with me to eat and am completely preoccupied anyways. Went to Subway twice, bad for the budget but good for my diet.

All in all, it was a good weekend in terms of my weight loss. I am hoping I can get as many of these weekends in as possible before the weather turns nasty cold and I am left to do others things - or invest in some snow pants and keep going at it.

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Friday October 3, 2008

Weight loss: 10 lbs
Mood: Delighted

Less a week left until I get my basement (and therefore gym) back. I am so excited about that and absolutely can’t wait. Unfortunately we are leaving that weekend for our Thanksgiving extravaganza.

I haven’t really thought about how I am going to handle the abundance of food during that weekend but am hoping I am able to control myself at least somewhat. I guess I will just be depending on some intense workouts to counteract some small indulgences that weekend, but I will figure it out closer to the date – make myself a plan and do my best to stick to it.

Yesterday D, C and I went shopping at Bayshore and I was able to resist the temptation of several treats – though I did get us all Yogenfruz (I got the no fat version which for a small is only 2 points). Pretty healthy treat if I do say so myself – not that expensive either. I actually could go for more right now – dang it.

This weekend my plan is to try and get out and take some photos, which means I will be walking around and I am going to try to not sit and be lazy too much. I am not entirely sure where I want to go to take the pictures but I am trying to think of a place that where I will have to walk around to be able to get the type of pictures I want – just not sure where that is yet.

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Greek Rice

Yesterday I was able to stay on track with my food and not overeat. I made a delicious new meal that Kraft Kitchens sent to my inbox for me: Greek Rice. It was made with the salad dressing that I love so much so I didn’t even have to buy anything out of the ordinary.
It turned out really well and actually tastes like Greek pilaf rice that one would order from a Greek takeout restaurant except this version is much better for you. Kraft stated the calories at approximately 350 calories for ¼ of the meal. I had about a 1/3 last night so it was more like 460 calories, but still pretty good for a meal that fills you up and consists of 3 food groups.

Here’s the recipe for anyone who would like to try it out:
Ingredients: 1lb chicken (cubed), 1/3 cup Kraft Greek Dressing with Feta and Oregano, 2 tsp oregano (I left this out), 2 cups vegetables, 1 ½ cup minute rice, 1 can (10 fl. oz) chicken broth.
Directions: Cooked cubed chicken in skillet until cooked but not browned. Add salad dressing and vegetables and allow to simmer for a few minutes. Add chicken broth and bring near boil. Add Minute Rice and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Turn off heat and let sit until rice is cooked. Enjoy.

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Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Weight loss: 10 lbs lost
Mood: uplifted

This morning on the drive into work I realized my life is pretty good. The few areas in which improvement are really possible at this point are in fact few. One of the major areas though is my weight.

I have stated my reasons for losing weight before and for the most part they are the same now as they were when I started this blog: I want to be healthier, happier and prettier. I realize the latter one isn’t all that important in the grand scheme of things, but I am being honest and that is something that is driving all this, though not as much as the other two factors.

Though I was able to eat properly yesterday, I was not able to get in my exercise. One thing hurting me in this area is the fact that I am not getting enough sleep. I don’t go to bed until 11pm and am awake at 5am and out of bed at 5:45am to drive Dave to work. I am a person who needs at least 8 full hours of sleep to be at my best and I am just not getting that right now. So I am going to have to learn how to work our ‘new’ VCR and tape anything that can’t be watched online and get to bed earlier. The other factor in all this is that I have lost my elliptical. We have someone living in our basement which was supposed to be my gym and I just can’t use it right now. This factor will be gone soon though and hopefully then I will be able to get back on track. I am also hoping that, having not been able to use my elliptical for so long now, it will be like I just bought it again – when I couldn’t stop using it, now that would be really advantageous.

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