Yam Fries...I love you

(Not my yam fries)

I baked some of those sweet orangalicious bad boys for the first time last night, and mmmmmboy were they good! I didn't want to have them with ketchup or solo, so I tried making a garlic aioli. We used light mayo (45 cal for 2 tbsp), 3 cloves of garlic, a hint of chili powder and a splash of lemon juice. Totally delish. I tried to go easy on the stuff because, well, still mayo! I was a bit disappointed that the fries didn't get crispy, but a chat with my friend the home chef and we figured the oven temp was too low. I will try them again, despite the amount of cursing that was done while I peeled and cut the yam. Holy crap was that annoying! I couldn't peel some parts due to the freakish shape of the thing, and then cutting it was like trying to slice into a tree trunk. I shoulda taken pictures of the hatchet job I did slicing them. Oh well, they still tasted amazing...and were super filling! I gave hubby way more than me, and then I was eyeballing his greedily once I tasted them. But in the end, I couldn't even finish mine! The rest of dinner was a spring mix salad with five small croutons (yes, I counted) and light dressing and a small BBQd chicken breast. I was STUFFED.

I have been eating super well this week, and I am proud 'o me. Nothing baked or in bar form for this girl! The great thing is I haven't been longing for baked goods at all. At. All. Total switch from the past few weeks, where I wanted baked chocolate anything for my next fix.

Some of my eating transgressions of the past few months (all things I would say no to before):

• buying cookies at Mrs. Fields- 6 minis- and eating them all (did that twice)
  
• buying a giant chocolate muffin every Sat. at Bread Garden while tutoring and calling that lunch
• buying a slice of pizza in the lounge every Friday after I'd already eaten lunch.
• having two (small) pieces of pie in the staffroom on two separate occasions, and one piece a third time
• snacking on yogurt bars, granola bars etc. instead of fruit/veggies
• eating handfuls of chips whenever they are presented to me
• eating fat-free pudding cups with Go Lean Crunch cereal sprinkled on for dessert instead of my single chocolate square (or in addition to TWO chocolate squares)
  
• eating husbands 90 cal fudge pops instead of my single chocolate square.
• eating most of my french fries when out instead of only a few (don't try to take my fries away from me...I'll cut you).
• making choco cake in a cup- did that three times? Somthin like that.
  

So yes, you can see that all these little extras added up to me not losing any weight. And they truly are extras. I wouldn't eat these things while I was losing those 60 lbs. I didn't GAIN weight until I stopped running for that 1.5 weeks. My food and exercise kept me in balance. Now, I am back to trying for a deficit. So far the school scale has me down nearly a pound. I will weigh again on Tues to see for sure. Home scale (you know, the evil fucked up one) shows zero change.

I haven't heard back from the Nutrisystem people, so maybe they took me outta the running already. She asked me for a screen shot of my "metrics and systemics" or some such thing. Wha? I looked up that shit online, thank you google, and figured she means like my hit counter, # of followers, #of posts, etc. I asked her to explain, and she didn't write back. Maybe me too stupid for Nutrisystem people? Oh, so if you hadn't figured it out, I said yes, consider me for the program. I figure I can still say no if I don't like what I hear. A few people have mentioned their food is high in sodium. I checked out some info on a few foods, breakfast, lunch, dinner, snack, dessert and added up the daily percentages. Didn't come out high, but that's something I'd ask about for sure. The other thing I don't love is all the baked goods. Here I am on the baked goods wagon all happy with myself, and this is what I am faced with: cake, brownies, cookies, muffins, scones? Yipes. Sooo yeah, we'll see where this leads.

I am sad to say that despite my video, I didn't win Tricia's awesome 300 things giveaway. However, because she is such a rockin' generous chick, she is giving me a consolation prize 'cause I was the only one who did a video. Yay! You can check her blog to see what it is. ;)

I guess that's it for me today. Have a fabuloso weekend.

I'll leave you with some pics from the wedding...

Waiting for the ceremony to start. My sister is sooo mature. Hee hee!
Sorry honey for cutting off your head!

The (wayyy too) gorgeous bride and groom. I've known the groom since we were 4.

Me by the fire that warmed up my freezing azz. Ahhhhh.

Shout out to Tricia and a video

This is my official video to garner entries into Tricia's 300 things giveaway that is celebrating her reaching 300 followers. Whoo for 300! You should follow my advice in the video and check out her blog here. Just could ya please excuse the frizz-o-rama mess that is my hair? I got caught in the rain that day, and really didn't pause to see the aftermath before recording. Ugh.





Love ya Tricia-baby!

Chickened out...for now

Yup, I chickened out yesterday. I know. Sad. I didn't face Jillian M. and her dastardly and debilitating 30 Day Shred DVD. I did an excellent workout with my 17 yr-old trainer-girl (she's a student in my class who wants to be a personal trainer, so she's working with me to gain experience). She scared me a little after our session though. She said, "Next time I'm increasing the intensity...I'm gonna make you sweat. No, I'm gonna make you CRY." Um. Eeep. Being the sweet girl she is, she quickly backpedaled and said, "Well, I won't make you cry, 'cause that's mean, but I will make you sweat!" Yayyyyyyyy.

So anyway, I dragged my tired ass home and then considered the DVD. The last time I started out with Jillian et al. my legs were useless masses of pain-filled jelly for a few days. So my brain conspired against me and convinced me that doing the Shred the day before a running day would be misconceived at best. Perhaps I should start the torture Shredding on a Saturday as to have a bit of a break before running. I'm afeared of the Shred.

I just read Lyn's post at Escape from Obesity, which you can read here, if you haven't already. She mentioned The Bethany McDonald Memorial Blogroll, which is a place where bloggers can connect and hopefully form friendships and gain support in their struggle to lose weight. Such an amazing idea! So I hope you will take a minute to check out some new blogs, and hopefully follow them and comment on them. Lend your support to a blogger in need, or even one who's doing great and on a roll!

Huh, that's interesting. I just received an email asking me if I'd be a blogger interested in working with the Nutrisystem program. All I know right now is she said I'd receive free food, counselling and a maintenance program. Hrm. I've asked for more info. What do y'all think?

Slip sliding and clawing my way back up.

I am feeling very neglectful of my little blog these days. Here I am to rectify!

Confession: These past weeks, heck, months I've been playing the game a little less and less. I've been losing it, people. I slipped into maintenance mode a while back before re-committing to lose 10 more lbs (remember the great scale debacle of 2010? If not, read it here. You may need a tissue for the tears of pity). Since then, I've upped the exercise by running the Couch to 5k thing and weight training with my trainer-girl and all that, but the eating pretty much stayed the same. I won't say I've been pigging out or anything, but I have been indulging more. A lot more. I used to eat cookies or other baked goods maybe a few times a month. Now, it's a few times a week! I used to ignore treats and desserts for the most part, and now my greedy ass is circling them like a buzzard lookin' for some tasty entrails (ok, ew). Chips? I've eaten them. Pizza? More than two or three slices to be sure. Chocolate? Oh, I've indulged once or twice. Water? What's that again?? I give in. I cave. I don't say no. And I got so good at saying no! It's so true that the more you say no, the easier it gets, and, conversely, the more you say yes, the easier that gets. Dang it!

I haven't gained a lot of weight due to the nasty eating, but I have gained a pound or two. I took 2 weeks off the running and had two indulgent weekends in a row. First was the partay weekend (no gain apparent at the time), and the second was this past weekend. I went to the US with hubby and we ate at a buffet. I didn't really censor my eating much beyond I stopped when I felt kinda too full (NOT GOOD!). I tried to mitigate this large lunch with a small dinner (a wrap made from light Italian Flat-Out bread, spring mix, chopped tomatoes, sprinkling of reduced fat cheese and a bit of chicken). Although, I think that's the night I also ate some of the hubby's dang Easter chocolate he bought on sale and is hoarding. I still went to bed with a bit of a growly stomach. We also had a wedding to go to on the weekend. I ate a few little crustini appetizers, about 2.5 rolls (omg, so freakin' good hot out of the oven!), my main course of a LARGE chicken breast and a few roasted fingerling potatoes, and the lemon tart dessert. Ugh. Full. Again, small dinner to make up for daytime gluttony.

The aftermath of my indulgence?

• I am hungry. All.The.Time.
• I crave baked goods daily.
• I will give into cravings much more easily.

The worst part? I had all that shit totally under control before I started this mainenance crap.

Oh wait, it still gets worse...I almost forgot. I got super lazy and totally lost my running mojo for nearly 2 weeks. Last time I ran, I knocked out 28 minutes. After 2 weeks, I could barely do 17. CURSES! So I lost ground there too.

This week I have started a new phase. Yesterday I didn't give into any cravings. I ate only healthy snacks, and I ate only one square of dark chocolate after dinner.

Here's the plan:

1. Eliminate the following as snack options:

Yogurt bars (blah with the sugarfest and calories)
Package of oatmeal (see above)
Bag of Smart Pop popcorn (again, too many calories, not enough nutrition)
Cookies/pie/any other crap lying around the staff room
Crap from the vending machine (even if it gives only "healthier choices" i.e. no chocolate bars, and baked chips only).

2. Incorporate the following snacks back in:

Raw carrots
Humus (in moderation)
Bananas
Sliced red pepper
Almonds (10 max)
Unsweetened applesauce
Spring mix salad with low-fat, low-cal dressing

3. Drink a lot more water (at least two full 27oz bottles during the day and cups of home-brewed green tea iced tea in the eve).

4. Keep with running schedule despite being a lazy ass and make up lost ground so I can kick butt in the 5k in July.

5. Incorporate more cardio exercise on non-running days (hellooo 30 Day Shred, my old friend. Can't wait to get my ass kicked by week one again!).

My goal is to lose these pesky 10 (now more like 15) pounds by end of June, or at the very least by July 10th, which is the Underwear Affair 5k run.

Today has gone well so far! I've had a banana and about 4 gorgeous strawberry tomatoes along with my usual Kashi Go Lean Crunch (deliciousnesssss) cereal and meal replacement bar (I know they are too high in sugar and fat, but I'm way too lazy to make a lunch and it's portion/calorie control, and high in vitamins and minerals. Also, I lost 60 lbs eating them for lunch five days a week, so suck it nay-sayers!). I still have to drink more water (almost one full bottle down- way too slow!) and eat my carrots. And yes, I am very hungry right now.

Going to go work out with trainer-girl, and then maybe throw down with some Shred before hubby comes home (good distraction to keep the snack monster at bay!). I lost 6 lbs in Dec. doing the Shred every day, so I am hoping doing it, say, 3 days along with 3 running and 2 strength training days will help!

And awayyyy we go!