I was afraid this would happen...

That's right. I was afraid this would happen. What would happen?? That I would get all involved in school and not blog my food. Well, the good news is that I've got all the pictures and will post them tonight. The bad news is that I've got a bunch of reading to do for class tomorrow, so I'm going to be very brief tonight.

Before posting pictures, I'll share with you my most amazing news E-V-E-R!!!! I can call it official...I've lost 11 pounds since starting my blog!!!!! I love results and I love seeing my body change and I love that my clothes fit better and I love that I feel good about myself and I love that I felt comfortable enough with my own body to buy some fairly fitted summer dresses!! Most of all, I love that I'm looking forward to continuing this journey with you!!!

5/29/11

Standard regular breakfast...I'm gettin' a little heavy on the fruit though!

mmmm, Greek salad with cucumbers, bistro onion soup, bread and cranberry hibiscus tea!

I love berry freeze!!

Look at all those veggies!!! I have to confess, I threw away a full bottle of ketchup. I read the ingredient list and there was high fructose corn syrup in it. Now, why on earth would you put that crap in ketchup??

Oh well.
In case you're wondering, Hunt's makes ketchup without HFC...so does Trader Joe's.


5/30/11

Um, do you think I eat at Panera a lot?? They all know me! It's like Cheers, without the beer...

See, it gets better!!! Greek salad with cucumbers AND a new soup!!!! Garden vegetable with pesto (that green stuff on top). It was yummy!!! The veggies were nice big chunks, they were grilled and there were plenty of them!! There was also barley...all for about 110 calories. What a deal!

My leftover veal from Saturday night...I was hungry and couldn't wait for dinner. The white stuff is the little bits of mashed potatoes that stuck to the meat.

Something NEW!!!!! Wow! Look at those veggies!

I did a salad with a homemade mustard dressing and a stir fry with chicken and brown rice...low sodium soy sauce too.







5/31/11

Back to (somewhat) normal breakfast...notice the lack of a whole grain though? It probably accounts for why I was hungry early today.

Normal lunch salad, no surprises there.

Dinner...a pork golubki and broccoli.

What's a golubki?? It's Polish--pork and rice rolled in a cabbage leaf with tomato sauce. YUMMY!!!!

And, my craving...I gave in! Every so often, you've got to give in!

Good day, good eating

What a day! This morning, I had my second weigh in at a new low weight...hoping for #3 in the next day or so! When I get it, you'll know.

I tried a new Panera today and got a wonderful surprise! One of the managers who knows me has transferred to the new location. Another woman who knows me from the Fenway location stopped in as well and said hi. I see these women weekly and they have become a part of my life that I look forward to.

After studying all day, I walked through the Public Garden and saw my first baby ducklings of the year! These little guys swim right up to you like it's nothing and their mom's don't get all bent out of shape. The geese could learn something from the ducks!

Lastly, I saw the swans...and their eggs!! Could baby swans be on the way? Probably not, and here's why.

Pre-breakfast snack...I couldn't wait!

The weekend usual...Panera for a breakfast power sandwich, 2% milk cappuccino, fruit salad






There was a second cappuccino after breakfast too.

OK, new menu items at Panera!! the salad was lettuce, strawberries, blueberries, pineapple, pecans and chicken. I skipped the dressing. French baguette and the soup is lemon chicken and orzo.

Some bread and olive oil before dinner

Tomato and mozzarella salad with balsamic vinegar.
Fried calamari and hot peppers with tomato sauce

Dinner! veal with mushrooms, potatoes, and green beans. There was also a bowl of pasta with red sauce


At home, popcorn and kashi 7 grain crackers.

Proof positive

Today's got me thinking about growth. Not like height, but emotional growth, personal growth. It's strange how we don't see our growth except upon reflection. Sometimes, someone is kind enough to point it out to us. And sometimes, someone is mean enough to point out how we used to be without acknowledging how we've grown. This happened to me today. Combine me taking a comment personally with being hungry and overtired and I had the recipe for a pizza craving and a good cry. Luckily, neither came to much of anything.

However, here's some reflection that I kinda stumbled upon tonight. When I was at the doctor this week, she decided to check my cholesterol and blood sugar because I didn't have any on record in a number of years. When I looked up my results, I found some older tests and the results were vastly different. First what you need to know, is that I've been trying consciously to eat healthier and exercise for roughly four years now. So, back in November 2005, I had the following results (categorization is according to WebMD):

• Overall cholesterol 246--High
• HDL (good cholesterol) 48--Low, risk factor
• LDL (bad cholesterol) 147--Borderline high
• Triglycerides 255--High

Well, that was NOT good...In March of 2006, things were looking better, but not great:

• Overall cholesterol 211
• HDL 48
• LDL 129
• Triglycerides 171

So, where does that leave me today??

• Overall cholesterol 188--Desirable
• HDL 62--High, optimal
• LDL 106--near optimal
• Triglycerides 100--normal

What a difference diet and exercise make!!! I love results that I can see and have proof of. It kinda goes along with that trust thing that takes me some time and experience. It's why I weigh myself often and measure my waist. I want proof of the results. My blood sugar was in a normal range too and my blood pressure that day was 118/69, just under normal. When I was working out more often, it was lower, which is also normal.

I am, perhaps, more excited by these results than maybe I should be. Why? Because my family has a history of high cholesteral, high blood pressure and diabetes. To me, this is proof positive that these diseases are preventable. I'm not doomed to repeat my family history if I don't want to be.

Changed breakfast up just a little--oatmeal with cinnamon, scrambled eggs and white beans with salsa, fresh fruit (watermelon, cantaloupe, and pineapple)

Morning snack

Lunch at Panera---greek salad, black bean soup, french baguette and cranberry and hibiscus iced tea

A giant pink lady apple after boxing class

small chicken breast, potatoes fried in olive oil with ketchup, steamed broccoli and frozen mixed veggies. To help make the taters delicious, I sprinkled them with garlic powder and cayenne pepper.


As a snack while writing, I had a 100 calorie lite popcorn and kava tea

Once again, 2 for 1

I've got a lot on my mind this evening...school, work, exercise, eating, warm weather, ways in which George Bush has ruined our country, missed opportunities, confidence, benchmarking change, sleep, shopping and how to accomplish everything I need to do.

I recently had an opportunity to reflect on where I was mentally and emotionally two years ago and where I'm at now...So much has changed, so much is still the same. Whether it's in my school, work or personal life, I've noticed that my levels of self confidence and my self image rises and falls with my level of experience in a given area. I've noticed that I sit back, watch and wait. I participate hesitantly at first. Once I have a little experience, I jump in wholeheartedly. I wonder, how do I get to a point where I can trust myself enough to just jump?

Wednesday 5/25/11

Plain non-fat yogurt with berries and uncle sam cereal and an egg for breakfast


There was a standard salad with some steak on it for lunch...I forgot to photograph it though.

Fruit salad for a snack....I had dinner plans that didn't happen   :-(

Since my dinner plans fell through, I had a snack of some cheese and an apple.

Thursday 5/26/11

For breakfast, some scrambled eggs with salsa and oatmeal with cinnamon

Panera!! Greek Salad, bistro onion soup, french baguette, and cranberry hibiscus iced tea

A little fruit and cheese at the office party. I also had a scallop wrapped in bacon and a bite size chicken chile empenada


For dinner, I had my usual lunch salad (that I forgot to photograph)

At home, was having a carb craving. When the popcorn didn't do it, I had these berries and a few pieces of cheese

2 Days in 1 post!

Hi all!! Tonight's gonna be short and sweet and a bit like a BOGO Sale...you know, buy one get one. Except you don't have to buy anything to read my posts. Anyhow, I'm having two late nights in a row...last night of freedom last night and class tonight. I guess it's good practice though for what my life and posts will be like during the semester.

I heard about something called the Blood Type Diet today. I have no idea what it is and plan to do a little poking around soon...All I've heard is that it's total bull, but I'm curious!

MONDAY 5/23/11

Nothin' new here...

I think there's somewhere between 20 and 24 raw almonds. I looked up what a serving is and went by that.

Told ya you'd see that Abe and Louie's steak again!! And look! Spaghetti squash!












Hey wait! Where's dinner??? Well, I inadvertently skipped dinner. Yes, inadvertently. I went to the movies and had popcorn (no butter) and water.


TUESDAY 5/24/11

Oatmeal with cinnamon and scrambled eggs

Greek Salad with baguette. I only used one of the dressings.

Damn cafeteria closes early on summer schedule. Had to go to Bolocco (it's closer than Panera). SO, I got me a buffalo chicken burrito for dinner.









OK, so, this week my new goals start...main goal is go to boxing class on Friday night. I'd also like to commit myself to 1 run (4-6 miles) per week and at least one purely social activity per week. It is OK to combine a workout with J or H to make a social activity. Boxing class, however, does not count as purely social, but dinner with my classmates and/or the instructor does.

So, that's the plan for now through the month of June. I've got some good habits going, need to keep them up!! More tomorrow when I'll hopefully have more time...lots of homework though. Gotta love grad school!

We all need help with our goals

What a wonderful weekend!!!! It kicked off with a boxing class and ended with a 5 mile run with J. I've had some time to do a little reflection this weekend too...maybe it's because I start classes again in a couple of days, maybe it's because I like to self-observe, maybe it doesn't matter why. So, I did a little reflection on my semester break these past few weeks, and you know what? Overall, I've been happy, not stressed, relatively carefree, I've spent time with my friends, I've gotten lots of exercise, and I've seen my body change with a little bit of work. I want this to continue! My challenge is to find a way to make part of all that happen while taking classes at the same time.

We all need balance in our lives and some are better at finding it than me. I'm working on it. Trouble is, when I find something I like, I don't know how to give less than 110%. I love school, I give it all of my time and thoughts. There's not much room for much else. So, how am I going to try to find some balance here?? Well, for the short term, I have my fitness goal of continuing to go to boxing class on Friday nights. I also asked J for her help. She and I have a bit of a tradition of Sunday night dinners. I asked her for help in keeping this up, to make me accountable to her. Spending time with friends is just as important to her as it is to me. We both have races coming up too, so the goal is to run and eat a healthy dinner.

We all need help to achieve our goals, no matter what they are. If my goals are school-related, I need the help of my classmates, my professors, and sometimes my boss. For my eating and fitness goals, I need and lean on my friends, instructors, followers and readers. I need you, because you help me stay on track. As we were running tonight, J and I talked about how we're good running partners for each other. We both push each other and we both feel that we need to push ourselves to be better for ourselves and for each other. We have a sense of accountability to each other.

For my eating and food plan, that's what you all are to me. If I wouldn't want to post it here, I probably shouldn't be eating it. Especially during the upcoming months, help me out. Let me know that you're reading. Post comments of encouragement, of how you identify, of your struggles, of your triumphs, of what you do to sit through a sugar craving, of how you motivate yourself to work-out when you'd rather watch tv, of anything that you're thinking about or wonder about or whatever. Just let me know that you're reading, I need that.

I actually went to a different Panera today...not going back though. I like 'mine' so much better. I didn't stop to get any fruit and they were all out. I did have a cappuccino, but it was in a to-go cup because they didn't have any clean real mugs. Like I said, I won't be going back to that one.


I grabbed a non-fat latte at the 'Bucks after this.

My friend A and I treated ourselves to brunch at Abe and Louie's!! I started with the fruit salad which was in a liquid that had honey in it...sooooo good! Of those pastries, I ate one mini cinnamon scone and one mini carrot-raisin muffin. YUM! Doesn't the whole thing look so elegant??

OK, before you freak, I ate less than 1/2 of those eggs and less than 1/2 of that steak. (You'll see the steak reappear on my salad tomorrow!) I put a little butter on the english muffin and added some ketchup to the potatoes.

The dinner that J and I made! Thin-sliced chicken breast with a light coating of bread crumbs, spaghetti squash, and salad with Ken's Italian dressing (some version with garlic and asiago cheese)

And, I'm having a 100 calorie bag of popcorn with some Kava tea as I write.

Short post for 5/21/11

Well, folks, it's late, so tonight is another short short post.

I went to see my friend kickbox tonight. She is FIERCE!!!!!!! I think I wanna be like Killer Bee and kickbox! I even e-mailed my boxing instructor during the match...all he had to say was 'told ya so told ya so told ya so'. See, I got all the moves those girls were doing. I just need some training using them on another person and I could be fierce too. Although, when J first met me, it was in boxing class and she was afraid of me. Maybe I already am fierce? Just gotta finish school first...

This has been a pretty interesting eating weekend so far...and it's gonna get better tomorrow at brunch! A and I have reservations at Abe and Louie's. After brunch, it's totally time to get back on track. I bought a new bathing suit today. If I expect to be able to wear it in public, I've got a few more pounds to lose!

Panera!!!! The raspberries were on sale for $1.99!!! So, I added them to my fruit. Raspberries are probably my favorite fruit! Did you know that they have something ridiculous like 2 calories each?

Greek Salad from the Paradise Bakery. Best part?? First nice day in Boston in FOR-EVER and A and I ate outside!!

Dinner at Fire and Ice--stir fry of beef, yellow squash, zucchini, snow peas, green onions & peppers with some kind of spicy mushroom sauce, hot sauce, white rice and 2 flour tortillas. Salad--lettuce, tomato, cukes and corn with balsamic vinaigrette. THEN, I caved and had a virgin lava flow to drink---it's a coconut and strawberry frozen drink. So far, no massive sugar cravings...I'm not going to tempt it further though!

All healthy until dinner

OK, so I'll just apologize up front...I forgot to bring my camera to the restaurant...and it was too dark to use my phone, so I don't have a picture of dinner. I'm sorry.

In other news, I had a good workout tonight. What's that? Four so far this week with boxing lined up for tomorrow too!

Tonight my mind is on what I need to do to prepare for school...so I'm going to focus on that tonight. However, here is what I ate today:

The cafeteria was closed this morning...there's skim milk in that cup and I had cheese instead of an egg.

That was a whole orange...and those are the pink files that my office is infested with. I have a stack about two feet tall just waiting for me!

Salad with chicken. A little cheese tortellini with alfredo sauce and grilled zucchini.











For dinner, I had:

• 2 fried chicken wings
• 3 pork spare ribs with BBQ sauce
• collard greens
• macaroni & cheese
• corn bread with butter

And it was delicious!!!

On track

Today was an uneventful day as food goes. It was also a day off from the gym. My plans had been to go see a play, but I ended up taking my cat to the vet. He's fine. He was due for his yearly check-up, but also has a small bald patch on his butt. I was afraid that his anal gland was about to abscess. It happened last summer and he had to be on antibiotics for 8 weeks! The poor little guy felt sick the entire time! And poor me had to put ointment on his ass for a good portion of that time. I'd rather not put ointment on my cat's ass again.

Anyway, I made three work-outs this week!! Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. Tonight ended up being a night off. Tomorrow is boxing and Saturday is boxing. Tomorrow night is also BBQ night...let's just say that it won't be on the food plan. I did stay on plan today though!!! And see, for me, I need to stay on plan day to day so that I can have those 'special occasion' nights. BBQ is a special occasion night. Oh, I won't order dessert, but there'll be mac and cheese, ribs, BBQ sauce and corn bread! Even the collard greens can not be considered to be on my food plan...

My concern is not so much the fat in the ribs as it is the sugar in the sauces, or the baked beans, or the carbs in the mac and cheese. Luckily, I tend towards the spicier sauces more so than the sweet. But because I know the reaction that sugar and carbs set up in me, I'm concerned that eating them tomorrow will make me want more than my usual during the weekend. It's a slippery slope to watch out for with classes beginning next week and I'll be returning to a mainly sedentary lifestyle.

Speaking of classes beginning next week, it's time to set a new exercise goal. My first class meets two nights per week from 6pm to 9pm and runs through the end of June. So, during my first class, I want to go to boxing on Friday nights at minimum. Here's the thing, I'm usually so mentally exhausted at the end of the week that I'm not going to do schoolwork on a Friday night. I might as well try to go to boxing for a little exercise and some social time. So, classes start May 24th. Starting then, I commit myself to continue my healthy eating habits and working out once per week. I really need to get a run in at least once per week...so, either boxing or a run and if I do both, it will be a bonus.




Don't those blueberries just look delish??

Pretty normal salad. I did have some salad dressing today, champagne vinaigrette. Adding corn yesterday worked to fight off carb cravings, so I did it again today.

A thin sliced pork chop, steamed green beans and some fried potatoes with garlic, adobo, cayene pepper and ketchup.


After dinner, I had popcorn and a bunch of mango. All that thinking about sugar is enough to make me want some. I don't actually have any sugary snacks in the house, but I can reach for fruit!