Chipotle night!

I know I've written about Chipotle, but I must tell you one more time...it is one of my favorite places.  Now that I'm watching America's Next Great Restaurant (or something like that), and I see Steve Ellis, I feel like I need to communicate to him how much I like his restaurant.  It's so yummy...and inexpensive (nice word for cheap)...and fast.  Just as much as I like to have boneless buffalo wings after a bad day, I like to have Chipotle.  The bonus is that it has far fewer calories than boneless buffalo anything.  I like most Mexican food, but so much of it is so heavy and greasy, I don't eat it often. But Chipotle is an indulgence that's totally worth it.  Rice, chicken, corn salsa, tomatillo salsa, and cheese.  Yummy!

My menu today:
Breakfast:  cereal bar - 160 calories
Lunch:  200 calorie pizza, salad (50 calories), grapes (50 calories), 100 calorie cake
Dinner:  Chipotle chicken bowl (630 calories), chips (200 calories)
Dessert:  ice cream - 130 calories

Total for the day: 1520 calories - and I worked out!

I love pasta!

Have I mentioned that I love pasta?  I wouldn't last 10 minutes on the Atkins diet because I love pasta too much (plus sugar...I love sweet things, too).  I could go months without red meat, but pasta?  No way!  I do try to use Smart Taste or whole wheat pasta or veggie pasta.  That makes it better, right?  So tonight I'm making chicken parm.  It's been on my list for a week and I'm finally making it.  It's chicken cutlets covered in Italian Shake and Bake.  I love the buffalo Shake and Bake, so I'm hoping this one is good.  Then, I cover the chicken in my homemade tomato basil sauce and mozzarella and broil it.  Yum!  I serve it with a side of spaghetti (also in the tomato basil sauce).  I haven't eaten it yet (it's cooking right now!), but I'm starving and this sounds great. 

My menu today:
Breakfast:  cereal bar - 160 calories
Lunch:  leftover cowboy spaghetti (400 calories), grapes (50 calories), 100 calorie cake
Dinner:  chicken parm (400 calories)
Dessert:  ice cream (130 calories)

Total:  1240 calories

Just Another Manic Monday...

Not much to report today.  I was pretty good, and I went to the gym. 

My menu:
Breakfast - cereal bar (160 calories)
Lunch:  leftover chili, grapes, 100 calorie cake (550 calories)
Snack:  angel food cake, strawberries, light cool whip (150 calories)
Dinner:  cowboy spaghetti - tomato sauce, ground beef, bacon, and spaghetti with scallions and cheese (just a little) on top (450 calories)
Dessert:  ice cream - 130 calories

Total:  1480 calories

Starting again...

Well, it's been a food weekend for me. Friday I had Ippolito's (Chicken and Sun-dried tomato stuffed shells...yum!), and then a peanut butter molten cake (or half of one).  Saturday I went to Conyers to get my hair highlighted and cut, and I had lunch from Glenn's BBQ (turkey sandwich and small brunswick stew) and dinner from Dynasty (Glen and I split szechuan and sesame chicken).  Yum!  But alas, I didn't lose any weight this week.  So tomorrow, I start again.

I used to say I wasn't an emotional eater.  I was so wrong.  When I get frustrated or upset, I want to indulge in something.  Unfortunately, this week I was frustrated or upset almost every day, hence the menu choices. I did go to the gym three times this week, though, which is probably the only reason I didn't gain weight.

Anyway...it will be hard to figure out my calories today because I had leftover Chinese food for lunch (Hey, we got two meals for me AND Glen out of that). 

My menu:
Breakfast:  cereal bar - 160 calories
Lunch:  leftover szechuan and sesame chicken
Dinner:  chili - 400 calories
Dessert:  ice cream - 130 calories

Mustard and Pickles Sandwiches...

Okay, so I've already confessed my pickle addiction.  You know I eat pickles with everything...but you may not know that one of my occasional pickle treats are mustard and pickle sandwiches.  Yum!  Low calorie too!  I mean, if you have light bread, you're looking at about 55 calories for the whole sandwich.  Less than an apple! Don't knock it until you try it.  I recommend wheat bread, mustard, and a Claussen pickle.  Slice into quarters and put them on your bread.  Don't you love that I included directions for this?  No, I'm not pregnant.  I just like the sandwich.

Tonight Glen surprised me with a date!  He called my mom and asked her to come over so we could go out after my terrible week.  I anticipate lots of calories.  I may score that molten peanut butter cake tonight. So far I've only had 560 calories today, (see Wednesday breakfast and lunch...identical) so I'm not too worried about it.  Plus, I skipped dessert last night, so you can subtract 130 calories (now 1460) for yesterday.

But I'm still not expecting to lose weight this week. 

Pizza dude!

Ten points if you can name the show the title comes from! 

I'm not going to be losing much this week.  Tonight, since Glen wasn't here and I didn't know it until I was already home, I ordered a pizza.  Originally, I planned to have chicken parm, which I will be having tomorrow night so stay tuned for that, but then when it was just me I didn't want to make all that food.  So, I ordered a crispy thin pizza from Domino's. Their thin pizzas have way less calories than regular crusts.  But, I'm pretty hungry...I have to save at least half for Glen, though.  That helps.  Plus, I worked out today. Watch me lose like 5 pounds the week I splurge multiple times.  That would rock...won't happen, but would rock.

My menu:
Breakfast:  cereal bar - 160 calories
Lunch:  leftover poppyseed chicken (400 calories), grapes (50 calories), 100 calorie cake
Dinner:  thin crust pepperoni pizza - Domino's has a handy food calculator.  It's about 750 calories for 3 slices.
Dessert:  lowfat ice cream - 130 calories

Total for the day: 1590 - not bad!  only 90 calories over!

Mmm...Peanut Butter

So I didn't blog yesterday because I knew my calorie count was uh, over my goal.  I had a rough day yesterday, so after work Caleb and I met Glen at Chili's.  I love Chili's.  I know it's a chain, but it's still one of my favorite restaurants.  Why?  Three words...boneless buffalo chicken.  Boneless buffalo chicken wings.  Boneless buffalo salad.  Boneless buffalo fajitas.  I love spicy food, and for whatever reason, I love anything buffalofied (new word!!).  So anyway, since Caleb and I got there and had to wait for Glen, I ordered chips and salsa.  They have yummy chips.  We chowed down for awhile.  Finally, Glen got there and we ordered.  I got boneless buffalo chicken wings and lowfat ranch (because that made it all better).  They were delicious.  Perfect amount of sauce, super tender, and the ranch made it perfect.  Yum.

I had planned on dessert.  Chili's has a peanut butter molten chocolate cake.  I knew this would be delicious.  Unfortunately (for me), Caleb decided he was done (you know 22 month olds...when they're done, it's time to leave), so I didn't get the cake.  I was so sad.  I love peanut butter.  I would totally eat it every day if it wasn't so fattening.   I particularly love peanut butter desserts.  Anyway, I will be returning to Chili's (probably this weekend) for a repeat meal. I won't blog that day, either.  :-)

My menu today (much less exciting)
Breakfast:  cereal bar - 160 calories
Lunch:  200 calorie pizza, salad (50 calories), grapes (50 calories), 100 calorie cake
Dinner:  poppyseed chicken (400 calories) I made the whole dish, and realized I was out of poppyseeds.  Caleb and I had to make an emergency trip to Publix.
Dessert:  ice cream with a crushed tagalong - 200 calories

Total for the day:  1160 - and I worked out too!  Making up for yesterday...

Buffalo sandwiches!

I ended up making pasta last night, so I made the buffalo sloppy joe chicken sandwiches tonight (it's a Rachael Ray recipe).  I forgot to add in the bun to my calorie count, so the sandwiches and potatoes are 500 calories, not 300.  The buns have 200 calories (they're jumbo).  I can't convince Glen to buy the low calorie bread because it's like twice the price.

My menu:
Breakfast:  cereal bar - 160 calories
Lunch:  leftover pasta (500 calories), 100 calorie cake
Dinner:  buffalo sandwiches, smashed potatoes with cheese (500 calories)
Dessert:  ice cream - 130 calories

Total for the day:  1390 - and I worked out too!

Cheesecake Factory

This is going to be my weekend update. Last night, I had dinner at the Cheesecake Factory.  I LOVE this place, but as you can imagine, you can easily eat two days worth of calories in one sitting.  I recommend not going to see the calorie contents.  It will just make you sad.  They do have "weight management salads", and they are probably great, but I didn't order one.  However, what I do recommend is not eating the entire portion you are given, and splitting a piece of cheesecake with someone.

First, I would like to provide an ode to Reese's Chocolate Cake Cheesecake.  I didn't even actually order it (because I would have been the only one eating it, and I totally would have eaten the whole thing).  I just saw the picture...and YUM! It has layers of cheesecake, chocolate cake, and peanut butter.  I'm totally going to find a friend to go and share it with me.

I ended up ordering the chicken and sundried tomato pasta.  It was yummy...I ate all the chicken out of it, and about 1/2 of the pasta.  Then I split a piece of Dutch apple caramel cheesecake with my dad...mmm....

My Sunday menu was less exciting...I didn't work out yesterday or today.  I made it to the gym 4 times last week, and I lost a pound.  I did, however, pulled out some capris today that I haven't worn since the summer of 2007.  That's happy!  I guess the good thing about my closet is that I have clothes sized all the way down to a 6 and up to a 12/14 so I don't have to go buy clothes as I lose weight. 

Saturday menu: 
Breakfast:  cereal bar - 160 calories
Snack:  Twizzlers (100 calories)
Lunch:  Chick-fil-a grilled chicken sandwich (300 calories), fruit cup (100 calories)
Snack:  a few french fries at the zoo - I shared an order with my dad, Glen, and Caleb...Caleb probably ate the most of them. (Side note:  Caleb LOVED the zoo!)
Dinner:  Cheesecake factory chicken and sundried tomato pasta, 1/2 piece apple caramel cheesecake

Total calories:  don't know...don't care

Sunday menu:
Breakfast:  cereal bar -160 calories
Lunch:  Wendy's grilled chicken sandwich (370 calories), small chili (220 calories)
Dinner: Probably ziti with tomato-basil marinara and asiago cheese sauce (500 calories)...or buffalo chicken sandwiches with mashed potatoes (300 calories)  This meal is surprisingly low.  It has chicken, celery, carrot, onion, garlic, tomato sauce, and hot sauce on a bun.  The potatoes are mashed with skim milk and some cheddar cheese.
Dessert:  ice cream - 130 calories

Total:  I don't know...depends on what I make tonight - 1330 for the ziti and 1030 for the sandwiches.  Whatever I don't make tonight I will make tomorrow night.

Finally Friday!

All I can say is...thank goodness it's Friday.  I don't have much to write tonight...but here's my menu from today.

My menu:
Breakfast:  cereal bar - 160 calories
Lunch:  leftover poppyseed chicken (400 calories), 1/2 apple (30 calories), 100 calorie cake
Dinner:  Chicken burrito bowl from Chipotle (630 calories), chips (200 calories)
Dessert:  ice cream - 130 calories

Total for the day: 1650 calories - just a little high...but not bad.

780 Calories?!

So this afternoon after I left the gym, I went by Chick-fil-a to get Caleb dinner (our Thursday night ritual, apparently), and I really, really wanted to try the banana pudding milkshake. I knew I had been really good today (570 calories between breakfast and lunch) so I looked up the calorie content on my phone. A small banana pudding milkshake has ....780 calories!!! Are you kidding me?  I can name all sorts of fried or fattening foods that have less.  So, I skipped the milkshake. I could probably create one myself for way less. Hmmm...I know I could...130 calories for lowfat vanilla, half a banana (50), vanilla wafers (say another 75) and maybe some cool whip (fat free has practically none). What is Chick-fil-a putting in these milkshakes?

My allergies are killing me today, so I just took two benadryl. Good thing Caleb's bedtime is soon because I will be asleep shortly.

My menu:
Breakfast:  cereal bar -160 calories
Lunch:  200 calorie Digiorno pizza, salad (50 calories), apple (60 calories), 100 calorie cake
Misc:  100 calories - three french fries (small ones!) and some of Caleb's goldfish.
Dinner:  poppyseed chicken with rice (400 calories), squash and zucchini
Dessert:  ice cream -130 calories

Total for the day:  1200 and I worked out too!

The Quesadilla Effect

After I worked out today, I went to the grocery store to pick up a few things before I went to get Caleb.  I was only in the grocery store for a few minutes, but because it was at the end of the day and after a workout, I was super hungry. I started looking around at the food and daydreaming about all I could eat. Little Debbies?  Crab cakes?  Pizza?  Candy bar?  Fruit?  I was so hungry.  I decided I was not buying anything extra, so whatever my snack was going to be had to come out of the bag. Most of the things were ingredients for dinner, plus some 100 calorie cakes and apples. I decided to go for the apple. When I put it in the back of the car, I opened the bag and took one (thinking briefly about how it had chemicals all over it and needed washing), which I began eating on the way to return the cart.  The apple was practically gone before I made it back to the car.

Allow me to introduce you to the "quesadilla effect".  When I lived in Texas, one of my good friends, Sarah, and I always made dinner together after we worked out. One night, when we got back to the dorm (I lived in the dorms at seminary for 4 months...that's a whole different blog) there was a message from another friend who wanted to see if we wanted to go out to dinner.  I was always up for fun, so I called Sarah to see if she was in.  Sarah said sure, but when I went down to her room to get her to go, I found her sitting in front of the tiny refrigerator, door open, eating a cold quesadilla left over from a restaurant. "I was so hungry and it's going to be like an hour before we get our food!" Sarah told me.  I laughed really hard. So...whenever you are so hungry that you will tear into something without worrying about warming it up (or in my case..washing it), that's known as the "quesadilla effect".  I know some of you have come home and starting eating something out of the fridge the same way.

My menu today:
Breakfast:  cereal bar - 160 calories
Lunch:  leftover cowboy spaghetti (400 calories), 2 tagalongs (140 calories)
Snack:  one dirty apple (60 calories)
Dinner:  Shrimp pasta - this stuff is great.  Garlic and sundried tomato pesto mixed with shrimp and penne (Smart Taste!) with some feta sprinkled in (400 calories). 
Dessert: ice cream - 130 calories

Total for the day:  1290 - and I worked out, too!

Sweet Tooth

I have a confession to make:  I have a sweet tooth.  I love sweets..candy, doughnuts, ice cream, etc. So, knowing this, I would like to announce my small victory today:  I passed up cake!  We had a cake at work this morning (from Costco, who makes surprisingly good cake), and I passed it up.  I've never been a big cake eater, but I honestly would have eaten a piece if I wasn't counting calories.  Then, the cake was still around at lunch time, and during my after school meeting, and I never did eat any. Good thing too, because I ended up dangerously close to being above my target of 1500 again.

Tonight I made Cowboy spaghetti for dinner.  Cowboy spaghetti  is pasta (Smart Taste!) and the sauce has 1/2 lb of lean ground beef, grated onion, garlic, hot sauce, tomato sauce, and bacon.  I top it with a little grated cheese and scallions.  It's delicious!

My menu:
Breakfast:  cereal bar - 160 calories
Lunch:  chicken noodle soup (220 calories), salad (50 calories), apple (60 calorie), 2 tagalongs (140 calories)
Snack:  a couple of handfuls of popcorn and a small brownie (150 calories)
Dinner:  Cowboy spaghetti (400 calories)
Dessert:  the final piece of pie...it comes with two slices in a box...300 calories

Total for the day: 1480 calories

I didn't go to the gym today because I had a meeting after school, followed by allergy shots.  I'll go tomorrow and Thursday, though.

Happy Pi Day!

It was pointed out to me that today is "Pi Day"...cause it's March 14 (3/14, 3.14).  I had a Homer Simpson moment when I heard this because I thought, "pie...mmmm..."  Chocolate pie, cherry pie, apple pie, key lime pie, lemon pie.  I started craving pie, which was fortuitous because when I later sent Glen to Publix to pick up something, he came home with pie.  And I didn't even tell him about my Homer Simpson episode.

Caleb has started eating, or being served rather, the same meals that Glen and I are eating most of the time.  It isn't going too well...Caleb wants chicken nuggets.  Tonight I'm making chicken cutlets using Shake N Bake, (buffalo for us, original for Caleb), so I'm hoping once I cut it up he'll think it's chicken nuggets.  We're also having risotto (Caleb has eaten risotto in the past...but we'll see if he likes it).  He has to learn "this is what's for dinner", but that's harder at home because he knows what is really in the pantry.

My menu:
Breakfast:  cereal bar - 160 calories
Lunch:  leftover lasagna (450 calories), 100 calorie cake
Dinner:  chicken cutlets (250 calories, risotto (350 calories), asparagus
Dessert:  PIE!  300 calories

Total for the day: 1610...a little high...but I did go work out today!

Spring Forward!

Isn't it amazing how much of a difference an hour makes?  I'm sure whoever came up with springing forward thought, "oh, it'll be great! We'll just take away an hour in the middle of the night and no one will notice!"  Well, Caleb noticed.

I went running today in the beautiful weather. It's the perfect temperature for running, even a little on the warmer side.  I always feel so good about myself when I finish running. Tonight for dinner I'm having Lazy lasagna...broken up noodles mixed with sauce, cottage cheese (fat free), and mozzarella (part skim).  SO excited!

My menu:
Breakfast:  honey nut cheerios - 150 calories
Lunch:  two hot dogs with chili (430 calories...I only used two spoonfuls of chili per hot dog, and it was left over from my homemade chili the other night)
Dinner:  lazy lasagna - 475 calories
Dessert:  ice cream - 130 calories

Total for the day:  1180 calories

Mmmm...Fini's

I weighed myself this morning, and I lost another pound.  I'm trending 1-2 pounds per week, as long as I continue going in the right direction, I'm happy. Tonight we are going to Fini's, which is an incredible Italian restaurant with some friends.  Well, actually Fini's will probably come to us.  It's easier that way with little ones...

My menu:
Breakfast:  Honey nut cheerios - 150 calories
Lunch: 2 hot dogs (190 calories apiece, so 380 calories), 100 calorie cake
Dinner:  I'm going to order cheese ravioli, a salad, and eat one roll.
Dessert:  ??  probably ice cream - 130 calories

Total:  Don't know...but figure it will easily be below 2000.

I heart Chick-fil-a

So last night, I stopped by Chick-fil-a to get Caleb a kid's meal for dinner, and I decided to get myself a sandwich for lunch today because I knew we didn't have anything. So I did my research and found out that a regular sandwich with no butter is 380 calories. Not bad! A grilled sandwich is 300...definitely better, but I didn't know how good the grilled sandwich would be cold. Plus, I wanted the regular one. So, I ordered the food and came home.  Once I got home, I realized that I forgot to say "no butter". No!  That was going to save me 50 calories!  I was very sad.

Then, today when I opened my sandwich at lunch, I realized...they gave me a no butter sandwich!  How did they know? Yay!  I was so happy...although some poor person must have ended up with my butter sandwich. I also realized this morning when I got to school that I forgot my workout clothes at home. I ended up asking Glen to pick up Caleb and just came home and went running right after school, so I still got my workout in today. 5 days this week!

My menu:
Breakfast:  cereal bar - 160 calories
Lunch:  chick-fil-a sandwich (380 calories), salad (50 calories, 1/2 apple (30 calories), 100 calorie cake
Snack:  a can of coca-cola (I had a headache...140 calories)
Dinner:  Fajitas (400 calories..for three...)
Dessert:  ice cream - 130 calories

Total:  1390 calories

Side note:  I haven't actually eaten dessert the past two nights, so my calorie counts the past two days can be deducted by 130.

I have no willpower...

I think that my profession helps me to control my snacking.  Because eating during the day (except at lunch) isn't really feasible, I rarely snack between meals.  This definitely allows me to eat more during meals because I don't have to count my snacking calories. Many people say to lose weight you have to eat 4-5 small meals through the day.  Not entirely true.  To lose weight you have to burn more calories than you consume.  I know there is probably a science to metabolism and the whole 4-5 meal thing.  I'm sure it works...but I still think it works because you are controlling your total number of calories.  Anyway, I don't have time for 5 meals. I barely have time for 3....the first one takes place in the car!  But, I digress. Today I had a half day meeting with various food in front of me to snack on.  There were doughnut holes, wheat thins, pretzels, and pita chips.  Since I rarely snack because I'm teaching, I don't usually have to worry about allowing for those calories.  But, I have little to no willpower when you put it in front of me.  Hmmm...doughnut holes.  But, I ate wheat thins. 

I don't think I could work at a job where I sit at a desk all day because I would eat.  All day.  I worked at the DHR in college, and the highlight of my day was lunch and snack time. So...my hat is off to all of you who work at those jobs and don't consume an extra 1000 calories.  I totally would.

I did go to the gym (fourth time this week! yay!).  Tonight Glen and I are actually BOTH going to be home tonight, so I'm going to cook and we're going to catch up on television we have on the DVR.

My menu:
Breakfast:  cereal bar - 160 calories
Snack:  wheat thins - 140 calories
Lunch:  leftover chili - 300 calories, 100 calorie cake
Dinner:  buffalo chicken cutlets (250 calories), risotto (350 calories), balsamic marinated asparagus
Dessert:  ice cream - 130 calories

Total for the day: 1430....stupid unplanned wheat thins...It's funny, I get upset about that...but stay tuned for my lunch fiasco tomorrow! 

Hot dogs?

So because Glen is at church on Wednesdays, I'm always on my own for dinner. Frequently, though, Glen is hungry when he gets home (depending on what they have for dinner), so I try to make something with leftovers.  Tonight, I was debating between shrimp pasta (shrimp, rotini, tomato-basil pesto, low-fat feta cheese), which I never make because Glen is allergic to shellfish, and hot dogs with homemade chili. For some crazy reason, I was craving hot dogs, which is really funny because I NEVER crave hot dogs.

Anyway, once I realized the chili would generate leftovers for Glen tonight AND for my lunch tomorrow, I went with the hot dog/chili.  I found light beef hot dogs (90 calories each!) and light whitewheat buns (also 90 calories each). 190 calories for a hot dog seemed really good. I would have bought turkey hot dogs (which only have 40 calories), but I knew we would probably eat them again for lunch over the weekend and Glen won't eat anything turkey - no turkey hot dogs, no turkey bacon, etc. So I made chili and put it in the crock pot and tried to feed Caleb a hot dog (cut up appropriately, don't worry).  Caleb rejected the hot dog. I can't get that kid to eat anything.  He'll eat everything they serve at daycare, but nothing for me. 

Anyway, I'm pretty excited about my dinner...hot dog with a little chili from my bowl, onion, and a side of chili.  Such a random dinner.  Oh, and I entered the chili on my recipe calculator, and however I did it last time must have been wrong, because it came out to like 298 calories per serving.  We'll just say 300.

My menu:
Breakfast:  cereal bar - 160 calories
Lunch:  chicken noodle soup (220 calories), salad (50 calories), apple (60 calories), 100 calorie cake
Dinner:  hot dog (190 calories), bowl of chili (300 calories)
Dessert:  ice cream - 130 calories

Total: 1150 (or 1340 if I end up with a second hot dog). Either way...not bad.  Ooh, plus I worked out today!

Happy Mardi Gras!

I promise...good blogs will be coming.  But not today. 

My menu:
Breakfast:  cereal bar - 160 calories
Lunch:  leftover ziti (500 calories), 100 calorie cake
Dinner:  Chipotle - chicken burrito bowl (630 calories), chips (200 calories)
Dessert:  Starbucks nonfat hot chocolate with no whipped cream (190 calories)

Total: 1780 calories

A Case of the Mondays

I don't really have anything entertaining or insightful to say today.  It's Monday...so I'll blame it on that. I did go to the gym, so that's twice in two days. Go me! 

My menu:
Breakfast:  cereal bar - 160 calories
Lunch:  leftover poppyseed chicken (400 calories), apple (60 calories), 100 calorie cake
Dinner:  ziti with tomato-basil marinara and asiago cheese sauce (500 calories)
Dessert:  ice cream - 130 calories

Total for the day:  1350 calories

Weekend update

So despite the fact I only made it to the gym twice last week, I did lose 2.5 lbs this week.  Success, I say!  It's so strange to me that the weeks where I am less diligent I experience the best results.  Anyway, I'll take it.

Caleb has been sick this weekend (well, he's been sick all week) so I didn't go to the gym yesterday.  I am going today, though.  Last night I had Genghis Grill for dinner,and though it was yummy, someone has seriously got to redesign that restaurant.  You stand in line to put together your stir-fry bowl, but the line is very long and slow and you're literally standing in front of people who are trying to eat their meal.  The good news is that the nutritional information is on one of my restaurant apps, and my bowl was only 400 calories!  yay!

Anyway, here's yesterday's menu:
Breakfast: none
Lunch:  quesadilla (300 calories) with chips(150 calories)
Movie snack:  Reese's pieces (190 calories)
Dinner:  Genghis grill (400 calories)
Dessert:  Ice cream - 270 calories - it uh, wasn't low fat....
Total:  1310 calories

The calorie count is fine, but a lot of calories came from sweets, you can tell I had a bit of a sweet tooth yesterday...

Today's menu:
Breakfast:  cereal - 150 calories
Lunch:  Subway sandwich (320 calories) with chips (140 calories), chocolate chip cookie (210 calories)
Dinner: poppyseed chicken with veggies (400 calories)
Dessert:  Ice cream - 130 calories
Total:  1250 calories

Too many sick people

I have a sick toddler and a sick husband.  Calories don't count tonight.  (Yes, I do realize I am sabotaging all the great progress I've made this week. No, I don't care). I'll be good tomorrow....or better...

Breakfast: cereal bar - 160 calories
Lunch:  Chargrilled chicken sandwich (290 calories), soup (190 calories)
Dinner:  Chili's boneless buffalo chicken salad with lowfat ranch (ummm...1100 calories).
Dessert:  ice cream - 130 calories
Total: 1870 calories

Didn't go to the gym.  Too many sick people in my house.

More weight loss! Yay!

So I cheated today and got on the scale.  Sometimes I do that in the middle of the week to see how it's going.  I know people say don't weigh yourself daily, and I don't, but I've never been very good at being patient.  Plus, if I weigh myself on a Thursday and don't like it, it doesn't have to count. Obviously, that didn't happen today or you wouldn't be reading about it.

So, I've been pretty good this week, save one night where we had Chipotle.  I haven't been to the gym as much (although I'm still hoping for four times by Saturday), but I haven't eaten as much.  Anyway...I lost two pounds!  yay!  I guess the real test will be to weigh myself this weekend and see if I've still lost two pounds.  My weight tends to fluctuate up to five pounds within a day...at least on this particular scale. 

I'm super excited about dinner tonight. We're having buffalo chicken cutlets and risotto, which is yummy in itself, but I'm making a side of marinated asparagus. It's a recipe I got from a friend at work, and the asparagus marinates in a mixture of balsamic vinegar and spices.  I love balsamic vinegar and it smells so good.  I rarely (read: never) get excited about vegetables, so you know this has to be good stuff. 

Breakfast:  cereal bar - 160 calories
Lunch:  spaghetti - I didn't eat much because my tummy was bothering me...(300 calories), tagalongs (140 calories)
Dinner:  Chicken cutlets (250 calories), risotto (350 calories), marinated asparagus
Dessert:  pie (300 calories) - Glen bought me an individual piece of pie because of my rough week.  :-)  There are two pieces in the box, so the second will be making an appearance this weekend.

Total calories:  1500

The logic in my head...

It's so funny how all reason goes out the window when I get hungry enough.  My day was really busy, and resulted in nothing to eat between 11:30 and 8:00 tonight. By the time I was ready to eat dinner, I was so hungry I would have eaten anything put in front of me.  Luckily, I really didn't want to have to get Caleb out and in the car again so I came home and made the spaghetti I was planning on eating from the beginning. The good news?  I didn't blow on my calories on a pepperoni and feta cheese calzone (oh, if you only knew how close I came).

My menu:
Breakfast:  cereal bar - 160 calories
Lunch: 200 calorie Digiorno pizza, salad (50 calories), 2 tagalongs (140 calories)
Dinner:  Spaghetti - with Smart Taste spaghetti - a regular portion is probably about 400 calories, but I ate a little extra (remember...8 1/2 hours since my last meal), so I'm going to estimate 600 calories for dinner.
Dessert:  Ice cream - 130 calories

Total for the day:  1280 calories

No gym today...but I've been up since 3am (Caleb's asthma has been acting up) and on my feet most of that time, so it has to count for something, right?

Crash and Burn

Terrible day.  See below.

Breakfast:  cereal bar - 160 calories
Lunch:  This is a bit confusing...I started off with leftover chicken parm, but I threw it away after a little of it (200 calories..ish) and got some asian chicken bites (going to guess 300 calories), 100 calorie cake
Snack:  Popcorn and trail mix - 150 calories
Dinner:  Chipotle - 630 calories for the burrito bowl, 200 calories for chips
Dessert:  Ice cream - 130 calories

Total for the day:  1870.  Good news is that it's still probably less than I used to eat in a regular day.