Day-to-Day

Congrats to everyone who lost so far this week. Week 4 is always an eye-opener for me, mostly because it's been a "full month cycle" and I can now see where I need work and where I kicked ass. One thing I've discovered about myself in the last 3 years... I need almost 2 Weigh-ins before I recover from PMS. This week, I lost what I'd gained last week and next week, I'll probably drop a chunk. Then a little, then I'll gain, then lose what I gained, then drop a chunk... and so on. A girl can dream, right?

I hit the gym again this morning. I took 2 days off to let my back recover, but decided I should go back and try to work out the kinks. The pain is gone, though I am a little stiff still. My workout was great: Thirty minutes on the elliptical at low resistance, low cross-ramp so I wouldn't whack out my back (and still burned 330 calories!) and some upper body strength stuff (chest press, shoulder press, bicep curls, blah blah). What I really need to do is start doing some moves to make my back stronger. My chaturbate boyfriend has tried to show me back exercises a zillion times (he's all into bodybuilding and the gym if you don't know who he is)... maybe this time I'll actually pay attention. I should really let go of my insecurities and listen to him more. He's got a lot of knowledge. Time to get over yourself, Joelle!

I came home and showered right away (no one likes a girl with The Sweat Stink ) and threw my clothes in the laundry. Is anyone else going through gym clothes like crap through the President? Cripes! I should buy stock in Hanes and Tide.

I also realized I'd stopped listening to my meditation and hypnosis. This could just be a coincidence, but the first week I lost the most and I listened every night. The next weeks I didn't listen at all and I lost very little and/or gained. I'm busting those out again. Fat or not, I could use the stress relief and if it magically shrinks my ass while I'm chillin', hot diggety!

And So It Goes...

I lost 1.6 lbs this week. I should be overjoyed, but I'll settle for mildly satisfied. I'm disappointed again, though not as much as last time. I mean, I didn't gain or anything. And I did slack/splurge a lot at the beginning of the week. It wasn't until Wednesday that I really got my ass in gear. But still... I drank my water, I busted my ass at the gym for 4 out of 7 days, to the point that I threw my back out and all I lost was the same weight I gained last week.

So, for January 2006, I lost a grand total of 5.2 lbs. And while that is probably good and slow and healthy and all that, I still think I can do better. In fact, I know I can do better. I've got 5 weeks until I have to interface with a jillion of my colleagues and about half the damn blogosphere; I want to lose 20 more lbs! I don't see me losing 20 lbs in 5 weeks. I'd have to lose 3lbs a week, at least. But it's not unheard of, nor too outside the realm of healthy possibility. If I don't make it, I don't make it, but I could give it a go.

Of course, that means really putting my nose to the grindstone. Cardio workouts 5-6 days a week and I must do strength training at least 4 days a week. I also have to really punch up the water and the fruits and veggies.

Argh. I want this so bad I can taste it. Ok, bad analogy. smile But I know I can do better. I may not be perfect in my attempts, but I'm going to keep trying. I can do this. I know I can.

Chocolate Cream Pie!

This morning, after I woke up from my muscle-relaxer stupor, I felt slightly more mobile. My boyfriend thought a nice, easy walk around the neighborhood might be what I needed... kind of "get the blood moving" and whatnot. So, we strolled around and headed over to Coco's for breakfast. We hadn't done that in a while and it was nice to get out in the early morning and catch a little bit of sun.

I felt guilty about not going to the gym today, so I'm glad that we at least walked. I didn't break a sweat or anything, not by a long shot, but at least it was active. My breakfast was yummy, too! I had an Egg Beater omelette with tomatoes, spinach, mushrooms and bacon. The bacon was disappointingly flaccid, so I avoided it altogether, which was fine by me. The rest of it was delicious, though. I also got hashbrowns "dry" (no oil) and wheat toast "dry" (no butter). Sounds horribly boring, right? It wasn't, though. Besides, as soon as they put the plate down, I ate the orange garnish and drank a half-a-glass of water so I would not scarf down the bread and browns. I happily ate half of my omelette, a couple bites of hashbrowns and 1 piece of toast with jam. It was really my first venture in dining out since I started back on Plan, so I feel good about my choices.

On the way out, Mike was declaring his love for Coco's French Silk pie. We were considering getting a slice for him to take home, but I just couldn't bear the thought of sitting by while that went on. I told him if he skipped the pie, I would make him one that was much better for him and that I could enjoy, too. Being the doll he is on www.jasminlive.mobi, he said something along the lines of "Bring it on." Heh.

We walked over to Albertson's after breakfast on the way home. I picked up some back heater-upper thingies and ingredients to make a lower-Point pie. I was shooting for 2 Points a slice and you could get that if you wanted to slice the pie into 12 pieces. Whoop dee doo. Two bites of pie! So, I decided 4 Points for a piece of pie that is a decent serving size and tastes like it's triple the Points is a fair trade.

It's one of those recipes that's been around for years on the back of pie crusts, containers of Cool Whip and boxes of Jell-O. You've probably even made it before. This version may even be skinnied up further if you happen to find a low-fat crumb pie crust, though I don't know how much. Maybe a Point or two. But I tell you what, this was AWESOME. I'm going to make this every month, if you catch my drift. Kicks that PMS whore right in the face! Yay chocolate!

Chocolate Cream Pie

Ingredients

6 serving Jell-O Fat Free Sugar Free Instant Chocolate Pudding (prepared with skim milk - one whole box plus 2 1/2 cups of skim milk)

8 oz Cool Whip Free Whipped Topping

6 serving Nabisco Oreo pie crust

Instructions

- Create the pudding by adding 2 1/2 cups of fat free milk to the packet of pudding mix and whisk until it thickens and there are no lumps. The Points were calculated for this assuming the pudding is pre-made.

- Add the entire container of Cool Whip Free to the bowl of pudding and fold in gently using a spatula.

- When it's entirely incorporated, pour into an Oreo crumb crust (or graham cracker if that works for you). Refrigerate immediately.

- Give it a couple hours, then slice into 8 slices. Serve immediately and refrigerate leftovers... if you have any. smile

My boyfriend just asked me for a second helping, so it passed the "Picky Man I Don't Eat Low Fat Anything" Test.

Now, I'm off to whip up the fixin's for dinner: homemade pizza using the recommended Trader Joe's pizza dough. Thanks for the tip!

This week, I'm going to attempt what looks like a scrumptious macaroni and cheese recipe taken from Rachael Ray. I'm going to modify it and get it as low as I can in Points while still being worth eating. I love experimenting!

Get My Walker. No, Really.

So, I went to the gym again today like I said I would. I rocked a 30 minute workout and felt really good about it. I knew I would be able to get my 5-day minimum in. Then...

I threw my back out. downer

What the hell, man? I was standing on the ellipitical, feeling all proud of myself and as I lifted my left leg to step off the machine, my right glute and... damn, I forget the name of the muscle. Extractors? Ex... something? Anyway, the lower back on the right.... seized violently and started to cramp up. I thought I just needed to "walk it off" or "stretch it out". Yeah, good luck with that when I can't even stand upright. I'm sitting here typing and chatting on jasminelive like Quasi Modo.

I broke a sweat just trying to extract myself from the elliptical without screaming and calling attention to myself. Then I just walked gingerly out of the gym, thinking I look "casual", but I suspect I just looked like I had hemrrhoids or something. After I got to the car and sat down, I thought it felt better, so I stopped at the grocery store on my way home. I obviously wasn't thinking when I lifted that gigantic box of Duraflames out of the cart and into the back of my trunk. Big mistake. Huge.

Needless to say, I've just awakened from a 6-hour muscle-relaxer-induced nap. I'm about to go re-medicate, slather my ass in Tiger Balm and convelesce flat on my back.

Man, I better lose at this weigh-in. I don't think the scale is fully prepared for the attitude I'm going to give it if I don't. Stupid back.

Warning: Weekend Ahead

I went to the gym again today, third day in a row. I'm going to do my best to go tomorrow and Sunday, too, so I can get my 5-day minimum in. I slacked a lot at the beginning of the week. Plus, my Weigh-in is Monday morning and I'll be damned if I'm not going to lose this week. Hmph!

Last night's fish was good... all except the actual fish part. I think I'm just not a big cod fan. Or maybe I'm just not good at preparing it. Flakey fish makes me nervous when I cook it at home. Give me something sturdy I can grill, like mahi mahi and I'm fine, but other fish... I'm always just paranoid I'm going to undercook it. I didn't undercook it, though; it just sucked. But, the tomatoes were awesome so I just scrapped the pile of roasted tomatoes from the top and mixed it with my brown rice and steamed artichoke. Good enough.

But, holy cow, I had no idea how much mangoes ROCK! I had had mango margaritas and mango sorbet, but I'd never eaten an actual mango. I got some pre-sliced at Trader Joe's the other day and I enjoyed a few slices with my 1/2 cup of strawberry sorbet last night and I thought I'd died and gone to heaven. Mango... I want to have your baby.

Tonight it's turkey tacos. If it comes out well, I'll definitely share the recipe!

Have a good weekend everyone. Don't do anything I wouldn't do. Ha!

Habit-Forming

I feel the habits forming already, which is great. I had a day or two of sporadic journaling and eating after my weigh-in, mostly due to exasperation and pms drama. But I didn't go overboard. I just didn't remember to tally everything. I find that's my hardest challenge remembering to log every morsel.

I went to the gym again this morning. Two days in a row! It's a miracle! Next you'll see my face in some tortilla in Peru. And, I've had all my water for today. I made myself a deal that I would shun diet soda as much as possible, but when I do want some, I have to make sure I've had at least 64 oz. of water that day. That's the deal. If I haven't had all my water, I will do my best to get it all in before enjoying any diet soda. I did this once before and my soda intake dropped dramatically and my skin looked awesome. Plus, Ive got a 32 oz. plastic tumbler that I drink my water/Crystal Light out of, so two of those and I'm golden.

In case you haven't noticed, I use water and Crystal Light interchangably. I know that pure water is the very best but Crystal Light is the only way I'll drink enough water. Besides, when you dilute it into a gallon of water instead of 2 Liters, it lasts longer and you're getting even more water. Once I've finished the pitcher, I know I've had a gallon of water a day (it's usually around four big glasses).

I'm making cod for dinner tonight. I think I'm going to pour a can of seasoned diced tomatoes over the top, sprinkle with a little bit of italian breadcrumbs mixed with grated parmesan to give it a little crust on top and bake it in the oven. From what I can tell, it would be around 3 Points for the fish, none for my steamed artichoke and 4 for my brown rice. Not too shabby.

That leaves plenty of room for Haagen Dazs Strawberry Sorbet and some fresh mangoes for dessert... dang, I think I'm starting to really like this healthy thing.