Walk the Talk Tuesday

Tuesday
Breakfast: coffee w/skim milk, 1/2 c. skim milk, 1 slice toast w/margarine & Nutella
Lunch: 1 serving Campbell's Chicken & Tortellini soup
Afternoon: 1 banana, 1 mug hot chocolate (made w/skim milk, cocoa and sugar)
Supper: 2 small servings Black Beans & Rice, fresh cucumber chunks and cherry tomatoes, 1 c. ice tea

Wednesday
Breakfast: coffee w/skim milk

2.25 miles: 25 min
(walked the 1/8-mile warm-up and cool-down, but jogged the full 2 miles!!)

Afternoon: 1 banana, 2 mugs green tea w/a bit of honey, 2 small fresh carrots (dirt and everything!)
Supper: 1 c. Veggie Cream Soup, 3 cheesey drop biscuits
Evening: another mug of green tea/honey

Yes! A successful fasting day! Finally. (I allowed the banana and carrots because I had no fruit or veggie juice in the house)

Thursday
Breakfast: 1 c. skim milk, coffee w/skim milk (some from the 1 c.), 1 small slice toast w/margarine
Lunch: small serving leftover Hamburger Stroganoff w/spaghetti, 1 orange
Afternoon: 1 fresh carrot, and later, FIVE fresh chocolate chip oatmeal cookies w/1 c. skim milk. Sheesh. How can you tell I rarely bake cookies?! What a treat!
Evening (skipped supper since hubby wasn't home and I wasn't hungry ~ go figure.): one cheese & red pepper sandwich (2 slices bread, low-fat Miracle Whip, 1/2 a fresh red pepper and cheddar slices to cover one piece of bread), 1 c. ice tea...

...and three more cookies w/1 c. skim milk

Friday
Breakfast: 1/2 Tim Horton's chocolate glazed Boston cream donut, 1/2 maple glazed donut, 1 c. skim milk, coffee w/skim milk

Dang it, The Bushman brought home donuts in the middle of the night and I just couldn't resist this morning. The second fasting day of the week is off to a bit of a rocky start!!

2.25 miles: 30 min
(walked 1/4 mile, jogged 3/4 mile, walk 1/4, jog 3/8, walk 1/8, jog 3/8, walk 1/8)

Lunch: polished off way too much leftover tuna noodle casserole AND hamburger stroganoff. And ate 3 more cookies w/a tall glass of milk.
Afternoon: handful pretzels, 2 slices processed cheese
Supper: two small cobs of corn, large serving Crispy Potato Cubes w/fat-free sour cream, small chunk baked ham, 2 large servings cucumber salad
Evening: another FOUR cookies w/a tall glass of milk!

I think we will call this day Tammi and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad DAY!! Yikes.

Saturday
Breakfast: coffee w/skim milk, 1 banana
Lunch: 1-1/2 homemade Egg McMuffins w/ham & processed cheese, 1 c. skim milk

2.5 mile bike ride w/girls: 60 min
(with a stop to visit the horses a mile south of us)
3 mile bike ride to the store in town and back: 20 min
(can't have a hotdog supper without chips!!)

Supper: 2 large handfuls chips, 1 hotdog, 1/2 c. beans, two pieces Fudgy Toffee Bars, 2 c. skim milk

Sunday
Breakfast: medium bowl Alpha-Bits w/skim milk, coffee w/skim milk, 1 small slice toast w/margarine
Lunch: 1 hotdog w/processed cheese, 2 medium fresh carrots, WAY too many chips, 1/2 c. ice tea

2.25 miles: 30 min
(jog 3/8 mi, walk 1/8 mi X 4; 1/8 mi walk warm-up/cool-down at each end)
lawn-mowing: 20 min

Supper: 1 serving Zucchini Casserole (added carrots and ham), 2 Cornmeal Muffins, 1 c. ice tea, 2 pieces Fudgy Toffee Bars, 2 c. skim milk

Ate WAY too much this weekend. Don't remember the last time I felt hungry, but have felt over-full for the last two days already. NOT GOOD.

Monday
Breakfast: too much coffee w/skim milk, 2 c. skim milk (one hot w/sugar & cocoa)

2.25 miles: 45 min
(walked today)

Lunch: 1 fresh carrot, 5 fresh cherry tomatoes
Afternoon: 1 Zucchini Nut Muffin, 1 c. Chai tea w/honey
Supper: small serving leftover Coffee Cup Pork Roast & gravy over mashed potatoes, 1 serving cucumber salad, 1 c. ice tea
Evening: 1 large bowl Mini-Wheats cereal w/skim milk

Total exercise time: 3 hrs, 50 min (avg. 32.8 min/day)
largely moderate exercise this week

Another less-than-stellar week. Man, I'm sure not doin' much to feed the hungry around here!!

Weigh-in Wednesday

Well...

I snacked too much.

I haven't resumed fasting on kindergarten days like I promised.

I'm still waitin' on Ms. TOM (I was expecting her on the weekend, but she's a li'l unpredictable sometimes)...

So, all things considered, I guess a loss of only 0.4 lbs isn't half bad.

No, the problem isn't being happy with a little loss. The problem is that I'm not keeping my promises to cut out habitual evening snacking and to get back into the routine of fasting two or three days a week!

I need a good, swift butt-kicking again!! (any takers??)

I'm no longer in a position where it will be possible to lose 10 lbs this challenge, but I'm still aiming for 7.

Walk the Talk Tuesday

Monday
Breakfast: coffee w/skim milk, 2 fried eggs, 1 slice toast w/margarine & honey

2.25 miles: 30 min
(4 intervals of jogging 3/8-mile and walking 1/8-mile with a 1/8-mile warm-up and cool-down at each end)

Supper: one hotdog bun w/Cheez Whiz and sloppy joes, fresh corn on the cob, 2 c. iced tea, 1 small piece Puffed Wheat Squares

Tuesday

Breakfast: coffee w/CoffeeMate, 1 Banana Chocolate Chip Muffin w/margarine, 1 slice cheddar
Lunch: Sloppy Joe burrito w/one slice melted cheddar, cucumbers, 1 c. iced tea

short bike ride w/girls: 15 min

Afternoon: 1 c. 1% milk w/strawberry syrup
Supper: 1 serving Zucchini Casserole (made w/bacon), large serving cooked, fresh carrots w/a hint of honey & margarine, 1 c. ice tea
Evening: 1 Bacardi Pina Colada Rum cooler

Wednesday

Breakfast (per Grade 2 back-to-schooler!): half-serving Overnight French Toast Casserole w/a drizzle of syrup, 1 c. 1% milk, coffee w/1% milk

2.25 miles: 30 min
(same intervals as Monday)

Lunch: leftovers from yesterday supper ~ very small serving Zucchini Casserole and small serving fresh, cooked carrots. Also had 3 small fresh cucumbers and 1 c. pink lemonade
Supper: 1 serving Chicken with Bacon w/gravy, 1/2 large baked potato, large helping cooked green beans, 1 small piece Chocolate Zucchini Cake w/cream cheese frosting

Thursday

Breakfast: medium serving porridge w/brown sugar & 1% milk, coffee w/1% milk, 1/2 slice toast w/margarine

2.25 miles: 30 min
(walk 1/8 mi, jog 1/2 mi, walk 1/4 mi, jog 1/2 mi, walk 1/4 mi, jog 1/2 mi, walk 1/8 mi)

Afternoon Snack: large handful ripple chips w/ketchup, Oh Henry! chocolate bar
Supper: 1 small piece fried ham, scrambled eggs (2), 3 slices leftover baked potatoes fried, 2 c. ice tea
Evening: 1/3 bag microwave popcorn

Friday

Beakfast: 1 slice toast w/margarine & Nutella, 1 c. skim milk, coffee w/skim milk
Lunch: medium bowl Kraft Dinner macaroni & cheese w/small slice of leftover ham cut in pieces, 1 c. ice tea
Afternoon: 2 small mugs chai tea w/skim milk & honey, 1 piece Chocolate Zucchini Cake w/cream cheese icing
Supper: 1 serving One-Pot Ham Dinner, 1 medium ear of fresh corn on the cob, 3 large fresh cucumber chunks, 1 c. ice tea

lawn mowing: 60 min

Evening: several small Jello jigglers, 1 piece of bread w/margarine & Nutella, 1 large plate of nacho chips w/melted cheddar dipped in salsa & fat-free sour cream. CRAP.

Saturday

Brunch: a few crispy-fried potato slices, two slices toast ~ one w/margarine & Nutella, one w/margarine and fresh tomato slices, 1 c. skim milk, coffee w/skim milk, 1 mug hot cocoa made w/skim milk
Afternoon: two small Jello jigglers
Supper: 1 c. ice tea, way too many Onion Patties dipped in fat-free sour cream, one chicken quesadilla (one 10" whole wheat tortilla, cooked chicken, 1/2 c. shredded cheddar) dipped in salsa and fat-free sour cream

2.25 miles: 30 min
(same intervals as Monday)

Sunday

Breakfast: 1-1/2 slices of toast ~ the whole slice w/just margarine, the half w/margarine & saskatoon jam ~ 1 c. skim milk, coffee w/skim milk
Lunch (accepted a last-minute lunch invitation after church): 2 servings ham, 2 small baked potatoes w/margarine, one ear fresh corn on the cob w/margarine, fresh cuke slices
Afternoon (bridal shower): lots of fruit w/chocolate fondue, one small piece cake w/fondant icing, 3 slices cold cuts, 2 little chunks of cheese, 1 c. ice tea, 1 c. coffee w/real cream

2.25 miles: 45 min
(walked today)

Supper: 8 leftover onion patties w/fat-free sour cream, 1 bowl cereal w/skim milk, 1 piece Chocolate Zucchini Cake w/cream cheese icing

Eeeesh, talk about lethal food combinin'. Yikes.

Monday
Breakfast: coffee w/skim milk, 1/2 c. skim milk

2.25 miles: 30 min
(same intervals as last Monday & Wednesday)

Lunch: one whole leftover chicken quesadilla w/fat-free sour cream & salsa dip, 2 handfuls nacho chips to use up the rest of the dip, 1 tall glass ice tea
Supper: two small servings Hamburger Stroganoff w/spaghetti, 1 medium ear corn on the cob

Evening: 3 tiny pieces of pizza and 1 tiny piece of triple chocolate cheesecake (samples from an upcoming school fundraising project at the parent advisory council meeting)

Total exercise time: 4.5 hrs (avg. 38 min/day)

mostly moderate to hard exercise

Well, I didn't do so well with fasting on kindergarten days, which would have been Thursday and yesterday. (failing miserably might be more accurate!!) I didn't do so well with cutting out snacking either. So despite having done relatively well with exercising again, I'm still not making great progress.

Weigh-in Wednesday

Amazingly enough, I CAN actually report a loss!!!! And somewhat greater than the measely fifth of a pound I was predicting yesterday, too!

I'm down 1.8 from last week, which is ~ considering I'm expecting "TOM" to arrive within the next week, and especially considering the overeating I did while in the city ~

pretty.
dang.
awesome!!!
(if I do say so myself!)

I'm still not quite as light as I was three weeks ago, but I'm down exactly a pound from my starting weight for this challenge, so that means I've earned one pound of non-perishable food items to donate at the end ~ woo-hoo!

Walk the Talk Tuesday

Well, you'll be delighted to know you've been spared reading through my food and exercise journal for the last week! I kept track of absolutely NONE of that, except I know I went for a jog last Tuesday night and then finally again yesterday morning. That's a whopping two times in one week ~ my slackest week all summer, no doubt.

Probably one of the worst in terms of eating a little more than normal, too. (just a little!)

I did so well at the beginning of July when I visited The Big City, but this time, not so much. I ate way too much and didn't exercise once. Oh wait, that's not quite true. I didn't go for a walk or a jog, but I did help one of my sisters-in-law move into her new apartment on the third floor of a building without an elevator. I guess that qualifies as exercise!!! I still ate way too much that day, though. And the day after and the day after that.

All in all, pretty undisciplined and VERY reminiscent of how it used to be all the time.

I stepped on the scale yesterday morning just to see if I'd come anywhere close to losing like I planned to despite being away from home, and amazingly, I might actually manage it. If anything, I'm sure it won't be more than a fifth of a pound, but this time, a fifth of a pound will make me very happy!!

A New Challenge ~ Shrinking for Good

Not just for my own good this time, but for hungry folks as well.

As you may or may not already know, the ladies (and man) over at The Sisterhood of the Shrinking Jeans run weight-loss challenges and issue prizes for biggest losers and whatnot, but this challenge is a little different. Yes, the goal is still weight-loss, but we're also shrinking for a cause beyond ourselves this time.

For each week's loss ~ assuming there will BE a loss, of course!! ~ we will go out and buy a non-perishable food item of roughly the same weight so that at the end of the 7 weeks, we will (hopefully) have a pile of great food which we will then donate to our local food banks! Isn't that a great idea?!

And you know, it's great for a few reasons ~ not only to give to those less fortunate and to give us more incentive to lose, but it will also help us see a little more literally how much weight we've lost. Those ounces and grams add up to more than we give ourselves credit for and now we'll actually be able to see just how much!!

Personally, I think this is the best challenge yet because it's going to make me think more about why and how much I eat, what I really don't need, and who needs it so much more than I do.

I started this challenge out at 160.8 on Sunday, and today I'm UP .8 at 161.6, but I've been having a lot of meltdowns this last week, so it's really no surprise. This week, I've started "getting back to basics" and next week I expect to report a loss, even though we'll be visiting family for much of the duration.

I'd LIKE to drop a total of 10 lbs by the closing date of October 17, but since I'm within about 15 of my target weight, I'm not sure I'll be able to shed at a rate of 1.4/week. That seems like it might be a little unrealistic, but I'll give it a shot!!

Walk the Talk Tuesday

Tuesday
Breakfast: coffee w/skim milk, 2 slices toast w/margarine (one w/saskatoon jam, one w/honey) 1 c. skim milk
Afternoon snack: two fresh cucumbers, large handfuls nacho chips
Supper: 1 large serving Garlic Salmon Linguine, fresh cukes and tomatoes, 1 c. iced tea, 1 c. skim milk, 2 small pieces Puffed Wheat Cake

lawn-mowing: 45 min

two miles: 35 min

(1/2-mile jog, 1/2-mile walk, times 2)

Evening snack: 1 bowl cereal w/skim milk

Wednesday

Breakfast: coffee w/skim milk

Lunch: fresh cucumber chunks, 1 c. V8 Splash, a few nacho chips (limp ones leftover from THE BUSHMAN'S evening snack last night that he didn't bother putting back in the bag)

Supper: 1 large serving Caesar salad (w/croutons, parm cheese, and homemade dressing, 1 serving Bieners 'n' Cornbread, 1 c. iced tea, 1 piece Butterscotch Coconut Squares (semi-sweet chocolate variation ~ cuz I didn't have any butterscotch chips), 1 c. skim milk

two miles: 35 min

(jogged 3/8 mile and walked 1/8 mile four times)

Evening snack: two large bowls of plain ripple chips, two Ovation chocolates (wow, I so didn't pay anywhere CLOSE to that much for my box!!!! Yikes.)

Thursday
Breakfast: coffee w/skim milk, 1 c. skim milk, 1 bun ~ toasted w/margarine and a thick, juicy, slice of FRESH GARDEN TOMATO on each half!!!, 2 thin slices of cheddar
Lunch (at a friend's house): 1-1/2 croissants w/margarine, 3 small slices cheese, 1-1/2 c. delicious homemade chicken vegetable soup, fresh cucumbers, two saltines, 1/2 c. apple juice, 1 serving fresh cherries, strawberries, & blueberries, 1 Chocolate Cream Cheese Cupcake
Afternoon: small Tim Horton's Iced Capp (hubby gave me a QuickPay Tim card for my birthday)
Supper: large serving King Ranch Casserole, large serving cucumber salad
Evening snack (Alicia took me out for my birthday ~ back to Tim Horton's!): 2 large coffees with double cream, 1 Blueberry Bloom donut

Friday

Brunch: coffee w/skim milk, 2 pancakes w/syrup, 1/2 c. skim milk

Afternoon snack: small handful of Puffed Wheat Cake crumbs (had to cut one of the girls' pieces so they'd be EVEN!), 1 large plum

lawn-mowing: 45 min

Supper: one serving Coffee Pork Roast w/gravy, 1 small baked potato, large serving fresh cooked green beans w/margarine, 1 c. ice tea, one piece Butterscotch Coconut Squares, 1 c. skim milk

two miles: 30 min

(jog 3/8-mile, walk 1/8-mile X 4)

Evening snack: large bowl plain ripple chips, TWO bowls of cereal w/skim milk. Ugh. So much for moderation!!

Saturday
Breakfast: coffee w/skim milk, 1 slice toast w/margarine & honey, 1/2 c. skim milk

two miles: 40 min

(jogged 1/2-mile, walked 1/2-mile X 2;

wow, I could SO feel it that my last run was only 12 hrs ago!!!)

Lunch: small serving leftover Garlic Salmon Linguine, 1 c. V8 Splash
Supper (Alicia invited us to stay for supper since I was there canning peaches all afternoon): 1 hamburger w/processed cheese & condiments, 1 large c. iced tea, 2 rather large servings taco dip w/chips (of course!), 1 medium serving macaroni salad, two large chunks watermelon

two miles: 40 min

(walked together with Alicia)

Oh my goodness, did I ever lose it in the evening once I got home! You know what it was though, right? I was finishing up this post on getting back to the basics and fasting and gearing up to be more focused in my pursuit of those last 15 pounds this fall. It was kinda like a "last hurrah"-type feeling.

Evening snack: 1 bun w/peanut butter & honey, 1 c. skim milk, 1 small handful of snacking crackers (to finish out the bag), 1 bowl of cereal w/skim milk

Sunday

Breakfast: 1 slice toast w/margarine & honey, 1 c. skim milk (part of which ended up in my coffee)

Lunch: 1 large c. iced tea, 1 c. Mud Soup, 2 slices cheese toast

Afternoon snack: 1 large plum

bike ride w/girls: 20 min

Supper: 1 serving leftover King Ranch Casserole, fresh cucumbers, two huge chunks of watermelon

one mile walk (saunter!) w/girls: 30 min

Evening snack: one large bowl Frosted Flakes cereal w/skim milk, TWO pieces Butterscotch Coconut Squares (made w/semi-sweet chocolate chips instead of butterscotch), 1 c. skim milk

Monday
Breakfast: coffee w/skim milk
Lunch: 1 c. iced tea, 1 small serving leftover King Ranch Casserole, fresh cucumbers

Supper: 1 serving Tuna Noodle Casserole, 1 c. iced tea, more fresh cucumbers and a couple cherry tomatoes

two miles: 30 min

(jog 3/8-mile, walk 1/8-mile X 4)

Total exercise time: FIVE hours & 50 minutes!!

(avg: 50 mins/day mostly moderate to difficult exercise)

We're heading off to The Big City tomorrow to visit both families before the girls to back to school, so you might get a break from reading this kind of post next week again!!