Back on track...

Weekends always tend to just throw me off eating wise. We've always got something going on and it's just difficult to plan. You know the days when you set the chicken out to thaw and you keep pushing it off until you eventually have to throw the chicken out because it's been 3 days? That was my weekend. We pretty much ate out every night. Unfortunately (and fortunately) I got a weird stomach bug and ended up with diarrea after every meal. Good times! You guys know by now that my TMI level is way above the average person.

Today Ed and Fischer were off to meet my step dad half way (they live in NC) so Fischer can have a week visit with them. Give us a break and give them everything they want: to spoil their grandchild. Then Thursday we are driving up to their mountain house to meet up with them and my sister for the 4th. Should be fun. I'm not sure what I'll do with only one child. Lots of naps I think!

Amelia and I went to the YMCA this morning. I did 20 mins on the treadmill and then a Body Sculpt class. Burned roughly 350 calories (3 APs). I noticed in the mirror that my hips are widening. It was a definite change from last week. I suppose it's about that time. I'm about half way through this pregnancy. I was just hoping to keep my smaller hips a bit longer.... Oh well. I'll get them back after they give birth. :)

I made some Monkey Munch today. As you all know I watch Jon and Kate Plus 8 religiously and I saw her make it and it just sounded so good! So I made some today for me and Amelia. She enjoyed it. I need to figure out the points for it. I'm thinking 1/2 cup would be 4 or 5 pts. Oy! Maybe not. My Calorie King account expired and I need to renew it. It's so easy to figure points up with that site.

Here's my tracker:

Breakfast:
Mocha: 2 pts (didn't drink it all)
3/4 Bagel: 4 pts
Lite Cream Cheese: 2 pts

Lunch:
1/2 Whole wheat publix turkey sub (shared with Amelia): 7 pts
Baked Lays: 2 pts

Snack:
Milk: 2 pts
7 Oreos (ahem): 5 pts

Dinner:
Thinking ground beef stirfry with veggies and cous cous: 7-8 pts

Daily: 32
APs: -3

Total: 29 pts

It's the WEEKEND!!!

My mother in law called me this morning the bestest surprise evah! She wanted to take the kids tonight for a spend the night. Sweet! I love spontaneous childcare like that. So this means Ed and I are going out to dinner with some friends and get to sleep in tomorrow. THEN my stepdad (who lives 6 hours away) is surprising my mom by meeting Ed halfway and taking Fischer for a full week to NC! My mom has been wanting Fischer to come up for a week this summer, so she'll be thrilled. Then Ed, me and Amelia will drive up to their mountain house July 4th weekend to hang out and pick little man up. Should be fun.

I met a friend of mine and her fur baby at a local park to walk this morning. Did 2 miles. Then ran all over town running errands before I needed to bring the kids to their grandparents. We ended up eating lunch at this great place in our neighborhood called Carvers. I always forget it's there. Southern soul food. I sort of chose wisely. Chicken pot pie, mashed potatoes and green beans. And a biscuit. And a sweet tea. So maybe not. It was one of those "I'm been running around and I'm famished so I go with the first suggestion Ed makes that is easiest." Plan to fail.....yada yada yada. To put a positive spin on it I've had this weird stomach thing the last 24 hours. Not feeling ill, just that my food goes right through me. Is that TMI? LIke I care.. So after I made it to my mother in laws house I had a bathroom visit that might have undid the all the damage I inhaled at lunch. Good times.....

Now I'm about to take a heavenly nap because there is no one here to need me. (Other than my pup Penny who is snuggling up with me now) Then I'll shower and have a nice, uninterrupted dinner with my sweet husband and friends. Ah....the life! I think I might just have a glass of wine tonight.

*yawn*

My tracker minus dinner because I have no clue where I'm going. But I promise to make a smart choice!

Breakfast:
1 hardboiled egg: 2 pts
1 WWs muffin: 3 pts

Snack:
Mocha: 3 pts

Lunch:
Chicken Pot Pie: 9 pts
Mashed potatoes: 4 pts
Green Beans: 2 pts (butter)
Biscuit: 4 pts
Sweet tea: 3 pts

Total so far: 30 (Yikes!)
Minus APs: 2 pts

So, 28 pts.

Guess I'll be dipping into Flex for dinner.

17 weeks

Look! I look relatively normal from the front. And then there's the profile shot.....

175 people?

That's the tally on today's stat counter. And that's not page loads. That's unique visits!

Okay lurkers. Fess up! LOL

Mornings are not going well for me...

For some reason the kids are complete monsters in the mornings now. I think it's because they share a room and are rising too early (7am) after talking and giggling too late at night. Anyway, there are at least 5 tantrums thrown by Miss Amelia by the time I get out the door. Very nerve wracking. I was so distracted by the stress of getting out the door for my play group today and I completely forgot to pack our lunch or even eat breakfast! And the last thing you do as a pregnant woman is walk out the door with two crazy kids on an empty stomach.

So... we went to Chick-Fil-A and I got a chicken biscuit and a coffee and the kids got the mini biscuits. I opted to leave out the hashbrowns and just eat the biscuit. Well of course when we got to the park and settled, they had given me an order of hashbrowns with my meal. And OF COURSE I ate them! I was so frazzled it's like I just kept putting things in my mouth. I even ate a few leftover mini biscuits and ate a cookie that someone brought. *sigh* Plan, plan ,plan. That, my friends is what I failed to do. And well know...if you fail to plan, you plan to fail.

So I have 10 pts left for the day. I'm going to a Body Sculpt class at 4:30 so that will earn me roughly 3 APs. So I'll have 13 pts to work with. Tonight might have to be a soup/ salad night. I'm unmotivated to cook anyway....

Here's my tracker:

Breakfast/Lunch:
Chick-fil-A biscuit: 10 pts
Hashbrowns: 5 pts

Snack:
Left over mini biscuits: 3 pts
Cookie: 2 pts

Late snack before class for energy:
Probably a mocha: 3 pts
Bran Muffin: 3 pts

Dinner:
Progresso Chicken and Rice soup: 4 pts
1 roll: 1pt

Total:
Daily used 31 pts
APs: -3 pts
=28 pts

So 2 pts to spare. I'll probably use that on an extra roll or something. Not that I *have* to get those extra points in. Oh and would it kill me to eat some fruit?

Wow....am I popular?

103 unique visits to my blog today! I love Stat Counter...it's like you get to stalk your own blog.

Who are? How did you find this blog? How often do you read it??

I'm so interested in who reads it. :)

Jen

Reading while walking....

I was sitting around on my lap top after putting the kids down and feeling lazy but had all the excuses in the world not to exercise. I looked at my treadmill and tried to ignore it. I've had this nagging headache for the last few days and I kept falling back on that as an excuse to not work out. Then I looked at the treadmill again. It was like the beating heart in Poe's The Tell-Tale Heart. The treadmill got bigger and bigger and I finally gave in. "All right!" I wiped the dust off it and started it up. I grabbed my book and hopped on. I put it on an inclined and began my workout. I have to say, I've always seen women at the gym reading while on the treadmill. To me, that seemed like it would make you sick. I easily get car sick and can rarely read while in motion. But I thought I'd give this a try. It worked. I was able to read and didn't get sick at all. Not only that but I was in a full sweat and 3/4 a way through the chapter in my book when I realized I had already been on the treadmill 20 mins. Time flew by.

Fischer got my camera and took a pic of me. Then I grabbed it and took a pic of my book.



Glad I did it. Now I don't feel so lazy.

I went to my ww's center and picked up some 3 month trackers. I need to get back to writing things down.

Here's my tracker today so far:

Breakfast:
Lowfat Yogurt: 2 pts
Granola: 2 pts
Strawberries: 1 pt

Snack:
Mocha: 3 pts

Lunch:
BLT: whole wheat bread, tomato, lite mayo, turkey bacon and avacado (so maybe a BAT): 9 pts
1 cup whole wheat mac-n-cheese: 5 pts
grapes: 1 pt

Dinner:
ff Hebrew Nat'l Hot dog:1 pts
Bun: 2 pts
Baked Lays: 3 pts
Sugar free baked beans: 3 pts

APs: Walked- burned 200 calories: +2 pts

Total points: 32 pts
Total APs: -2 pts
So 30 pts!

Right on tracker..

Total:

Yikes....

Here's a list of things I've consumed today. Not a good day. Wretched headache all day and I think I thought food would make me feel better. Didn't help that I went grocery shopping with two crazy kids to really push myself over the stress edge. Excuses, excuses....

almonds
mocha
watermelon
veggie chile
1/2 avacado
sourcream
spaghetti O's (yikes)
4, yes, FOUR pieces of pizza

*hurl*

At least I went on a mini walk this evening with the dogs.

Quitting is not an option, so tomorrow I get serious.

Weekend in Sugar....I mean the Mountains!

It was so nice to get away this weekend. Just a change of scenery can do wonders. Unfortunately it involved lots of eating out which usually results in me thinking I'm never ever going to get *this food* again so I might as well live it up. You get the picture. It wasn't all bad, but the last day I basically gorged. You know the drill: club sandwiches, fries, potato skins, ice cream, kettle corn......ahem. The good news is that I got in a 2.5 mile walk on this beautiful trail that circled a lake. The air was so crisp. I have forgotten what its like to breath real oxygen. Not the stale, city air we get here. We passed two groups of people horseback riding. The foliage was robust and bursting with green. It was so nice to be outdoors. Made me want to abandon ship here and move there.

I'm on a peach kick lately. I ate so many peaches this weekend that I'm jonesing to get to the Farmer's Market for more. And strawberries. And blueberries. And.....and,......and. I have a prenatal appt tomorrow and then maybe I'll get my bum to the store and get some fruit. There's a Latin Core class at the Y that I've been wanting to try. I might do that tomorrow. Shall I wear a flowy skirt and bear my belly?

On that note. Here's some pics from this weekend.

Breathtaking view. But you know pictures never give it justice....

Me and the husband

Me, Millie and My mom

Ready for the weekend...

It's Thursday and I'm (as usual) ready for the weekend. We're headed up to Boone, NC for the weekend to see my parent's new mountain house. Should be fun. I'm hoping to get some walking in. Those hills will zap my pregnant ass.

I made it to Total Body Tuesday and really pushed myself. It felt good though. I took my neighbor with me and she basically said she wanted to throw up during the class. LOL I actually thought it was easier than usual. Maybe I'm not a wimp afterall... I did, however, wake up Wednesday intent on doing NOTHING physical. I was wiped out and my muscles were aching.

This morning I woke up early and decided to take the kids and the new dog to a local park and walk while it was still fairly cool. I did about 2 miles. Nothing crazy, but still some activity. The poor dog was beat by the end. Afterwards we hung out at the playground and then I did a Starbucks run.

I met my dad for Sushi (Thank you Corrie for graciously watching my rugrats) for a late Father's Day lunch. I've already got chicken marinading in the frig for dinner.

Here's my tracker so far today:

Breakfast:
Banana: 2 pts
granola bar: 3 pts

Snack:
Mocha: 3 pts

Lunch:
Sushi!: 7 pts
Little fried rice: 2 pt
Tea: 2 pts

Random Blow Pop: 1pts

Dinner:
Grilled Chicken: 3 pts
Broccoli: 0
brown rice: 3 pts

Total: 26 pts
APs: -2 pts

24 pts!

I counted that twice. Yep, 24 pts! So I have 4 pt to work with. I need to stay under 28 pts today. I've been a piggy lately. Looks like I need to get some fruit in. Maybe a smoothie this afternoon...

Off to pack for our weekend!

What are you doing this weekend all you lurking blog readers?

Quick post....

Tracker:

Breakfast:
Lowfat yogurt: 3 pts
Cereal: 3 pts

Snack:
Mocha: 3 pts
1/2 bagel with lite cream cheese: 3 pts

Lunch:
Spinach salad with grilled shrimp: 4 pts
Dressing: 2 pts
Sweet tea: 3 pts

Snack: (I was starving again??!!)
Grilled cheese with tomato on whole grain bread: 6pt
Orange: 1 pt

AP: total body +4 pts

.....24 pts so far (subtracting the APs I'm going to earn in an hour at Total Body)

Dinner:
Not sure yet. Maybe pasta with marinara: 4 pts

Wish me luck in Total Body!

Pumping Iron

Made it to a Body Sculpting class at the YMCA. There were two other pregnant gals in there. I learned some good modifications from them on some of the stuff I thought I had to skip. (Plank, sit ups, push ups, etc) Working out is finally feeling "normal" to me again since the second trimester energy. I'm finding myself focusing more heavily on the sculpting.
Building healthy muscle can help you burn more calories doing everyday things. Fortunately I've been able to maintain the weights I lift. No major modifications. On the other hand, cardio is more difficult for me to maintain. I've slowed down. But I'm listening to my body. No need to push myself if my body doesn't want to do it. I figure between walking and cardio classes, I'm doing some good things for my heart. But man I miss my Heat class! I wish I could go, but I'd seriously be modifying everything and it would just be silly.

Back to counting. Don't you love how back and forth I am??? I'm not a fan of how quickly the scale is creeping up. (Ahem...156 lbs) I'm still trying to find my rhythm with food in this pregnancy. It hasn't been as black and white as it was before I was pregnant, so it's been a whole new learning process. Different stages of pregnancy lead to different hunger levels and preferences. I guess that's why Weight Watchers doesn't have a pregnancy plan anymore. I'm so hormone driven that it's been challenging to just "stay OP." But I can feel a shift in my body and my hormones. Things are stabilizing and I'm feeling much more rational and all kinds of foods are sounding good again. (As opposed to "I need a taco right now. It's all I can imagine eating.") Avoiding mass quantities of processed foods and sugar is still high on my priority list, but keeping a more careful eye on the amount I'm eating. I'm also focusing on getting in some good protein at every meal. That makes all the difference in my hunger and energy level.

Anyhoo, I'm still trying to figure out the right amount of daily points. I'm thinking roughly 28 pts is the magic number. Plus Flex and Activity points. Today I'm going to run by my WW's center and buy some trackers. I need to get back actually righting this all down everyday.

Tracker:

Breakfast:
Handful of almonds: 3 pts
Mocha: 3 pts

Lunch:
Tuna fish salad (made with Lite Mayo) and crackers: 5 pts
Strawberries: 1 pts

Snack: (the plan)
**another change**
mocha: 3 pts
pizza: 7 pts

Dinner: (the plan)
***change**** I forgot I was going out to eat for my good friend's birthday dinner
Chips: 8 pt
Salsa: 0 pts
Cheese dip: 5 pts

Total: 24 pts

Activity Points:
Body Sculpting class: +3 pts


That totals 33 pts (including subtracting my APs).
Used 5 Flex
30 Flex left

Long day

I'll spare you the ugly details, but I had to show up to court to pay a ticket that turned into an all day fiasco. But the good news is that I walked 3 miles from the Municipal Court house to the Dept of Driving Services!! Joy!

Here's my tracker:

Breakfast:
Organic granola bar
Non fat Latte

Snack:
Trail mix of pecans, dried cranberries and dried apples

Lunch:
Salad
Slice of pizza

Dinner:
Grilled cheese on whole grain bread
Steamed broccoli

Snack:
Glass of white wine

Today was great!

Ed gave me an extra hour to sleep and then I loaded the kids up and went (take a wild guess) to the Y! I did a Sculpting class with one of my favorite instructors and it was great. I worked really hard and broke out into a sweat within the first 5 minutes. I can definitely tell my stamina is back up. I know I'm going to be sore tomorrow. I'm itching to go on a run soon. I hate running on a treadmill, but it's been so hot here that I haven't gone outside to exercise. Maybe one evening this week...

So far so good on the food front. I've been very careful to avoid processed foods and stick to the good stuff. We took the kids to Kangazoom this evening then to Willy's for a burrito. I got half a burrtio and steered clear of the cheese dip. I did get an unsweet tea with a splash of sweet. I've been drinking so much water I wanted something different without going the soda (or diet soda) route.

Here's my tracker:

Breakfast:
Organic blueberry lowfat yogurt
Granola
Blueberries

Lunch:
Whole wheat pasta with homemade marinara
Steamed broccoli on top

Snack:
Trail mix of pecans, dried cranberries and dried apples
3/4 a Mocha from Starbucks (Ed treated me before Kangazoom!)

Dinner:
1/2 chicken burrito
Some chips
Tea

Slow moving day today. Wallowed around until I had my mocha then like a crack addict, off I went! Cleaned my bathroom (even used a tooth brush in the tub jets) and did several loads of laundry. Then like a miracle, my neighbor friend called to see if Fischer wanted to go to the pool. Amelia was down for a nap and I had the house to myself. I took the liberty of taking a bath. Blow dried my hair AND straightened it. Now I'm sitting on my computer while little girl is still napping.

Damn it feels good to be a gansta...


Tracker:

Breakfast:
Purely O's with skim milk and blueberries

Snack:
Mocha

Lunch:
Polenta with veggies
Carrots and hummus
Orange

Snack:(didn't eat much at lunch)
Turkey sandwich on whole wheat with lite mayo, mustard and lettuce
Yogurt with blueberries and granola

Dinner:
Something take out only because we're having some work friends over and the plan is to order out. My goal is to make the healthiest choice I can.

:)

Bundles O' Food

The kids had a a dental cleaning appointment today first thing and then we headed to Costco. I really wish the Farmer's Market was closer. I really wanted to go there, but it's 35 mins away and I just wasn't up for it. I needed paper products and diapers and fruit, veggies and meat, so I figured I'd load up. I've come to realize it's really easy to eat processed foods. And boy have I been. And I come to this realization every now and then when life gets busy and I can't think of the last time I ate a piece of fruit. So I went to Costco with the intentions of seeking out some organic stuff and avoiding all the packaged crap. I did find some Bare Naked trail mix and granola. Which is all organic and no preservations. The kids love that stuff and I'm beginning to really enjoy granola and yogurt, which I never have before. I came away with organic cereal, yogurt, yogurt smoothies and whole wheat pasta. And fruits, veggies and chicken ("all natural," but not organic).

Pregnancy wise I'm trying to focus on protein. I've noticed I feel awful when I don't get enough protein. So included that in every meal and snack is something I'm prioritizing. I'm also loosely giving up refined sugar. The occasional mocha will be the exception. I'm following these guidelines. My rough rule is eating whole foods. Things that are not overly processed.

Here's today's tracker:

Breakfast:
Cascade Farm's cranberry and almond granola bar
mocha

Snack:
Trail mix

Lunch:
Black bean and cheese quesadilla on two corn tortillas over a bed of lettuce. Topped with salsa and 1 tbsp reduced fat sour cream

Dinner: (already planned)
Grilled chicken
Grilled veggies-red onion, yellow pepper, mushrooms, and cherry tomatoes
Foil pockets with diced potatoes and carrots-drizzled with olive oil and salt and pepper

I'm headed to the YMCA here in a bit after Amelia wakes from her nap. My plan is to do 30 mins on the treadmill or elliptical and then weights.

Dang it's hot!

The kids and I have lived at the pool this week. Our YMCA has the best pool that has that "beach" decline. It's so easy to sit there in the shallow area with Amelia, throw a float vest on Fischer and just relax. Fischer and I have become so brown that Ed says he's enjoying his new African American wife! :) I love getting dark. I think dark skins is so smooth and beautiful. Plus, we all know fat looks better tan.

I made it to what I thought was a Sculpt class this morning. Turns out it was a Step class. What is happening to me? It's the second time this week I mixed up the classes. It was a good thing though. I got a good cardio workout. One full hour! I was dripping sweat by the end. And the endorphines were great afterwards.

This week has been off kilter. Due to pool fun, I've neglected most of my household duties and we're all currently drowning in laundry and I feel the pull towards take out the last few days. Planning is everything and I've failed to plan. Tonight is pizza night. And not because Thursdays are "Pizza Night," but only because I'm craving Pizza Hut pizza and I have not thawed anything out in the freezer. Remember that fail to plan part?

Here's my tracker:

Breakfast:
Bowl of Purely O's: 3 pts
Skim milk: 1 pt

Lunch:
Chick-fil-A biscuit: 10 pts
Tea: 3 pts

Snack: (I was starving!)
Orange: 1pt
Some leftover Layered chicken Lasagna: 6 pts

Dinner:
Pizza: 10 pts

Total: 34 pts
AP: +3 pts

31 pts

I'm on a yogurt and granola kick lately. Never in my life have I desired yogurt and granola. I've always had to force myself to eat yogurt. But I'm diggin Stoneyfield Farm's Lowfat Vanilla yogurt. I top it with the Farmer's Market granola that has walnuts and cranberries. It's soooooo good! And keeps me full until lunch which is hard these days.

I wanted to share a recipe I made last night that I loved! I made hotwings for dinner and they were AMAZING! You start them in the crockpot and then we finished them on the grill to give them a "crispier" feel. It was seriously some of the best wings I've ever had. I have no clue on the points, but they weren't fried and weren't made with the buttery hot sauce stuff, so I'm thinking they're lower in points than traditional hot wings.
Here's the recipe:

Slow Cooker Chicken Wings

INGREDIENTS
• 5 1/2 pounds chicken wings, split and tips discarded
• 1 (12 fluid ounce) can or bottle chile sauce
• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1/4 cup molasses
• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 3 drops hot pepper sauce
• 1 tablespoon salsa
• 2 1/2 teaspoons chili powder
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 2 teaspoons salt

DIRECTIONS
Place chicken in slow cooker. In a medium bowl combine the chile sauce, lemon juice, molasses, Worcestershire sauce, hot pepper sauce, salsa, chili powder, garlic powder and salt. Mix together and pour mixture over chicken. Cook in slow cooker on Medium Low setting for 5 hours.


I made it to the YMCA this morning. I flaked and looked at the Monday schedule and thought there was a 9:30am Sculpt class. Turns out it's Tuesday and there was a spin class instead. I was not brave enough to try my first Spin class pregnant, so I walked over to the dreaded machines. I walked 2miles (running for a little bit of that) on the treadmill at an incline and at a 4.0 pace (whatever that means). I worked up a good sweat. Then I hit the weights. Felt good.

Here's today's tracker so far:

Breakfast:
Lowfat yogurt: 3 pts
Granola: 3 pts
homemade mocha: 2 pts

Lunch:
1/2 quesadilla with mozzerella, black beans and salsa. Had some chips and non fat greek yogurt on the side. 7 pts
A little Coke: 2 pts

Dinner:
Mexican Layered Lasagna: 6 pts (WW's recipe)
Probably a salad: 2 pts


Oh what the hay, here's the Lasagna recipe:

Layered Mexican Chicken

1 sprays olive oil cooking spray
2 pound uncooked boneless, skinless chicken breast
30 oz canned black beans, rinsed and drained
3 cup fat-free sour cream
2 cup shredded reduced-fat Mexican-style cheese, divided
8 oz chopped green chilies, two 4-oz cans
2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp black pepper
12 medium corn tortilla(s), cut into 2-inch strips
1 cup salsa, mild, medium or hot

Instructions
Preheat oven to 350ºF. Coat a lasagna pan with cooking spray.

Place chicken in medium saucepan and fill with enough cold water just to cover chicken. Set pan over high heat and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and simmer until chicken is cooked through, about 10 to 15 minutes; drain. When chicken is cool enough to handle, cut into 1-inch pieces.

Transfer chicken to a large bowl and add beans, sour cream, 1 cup of shredded cheese, chilies, cumin, and pepper; mix well and set aside.