500 posts and counting!

this is my 500th post! can you believe it? seems like just yesterday i was writing my first post... actually, what a lie. it doesn't.

first up for this fantastic friday, a shout out to cat and her awesome post on concealer. last night i went straight to shopper's drug mart after work and bought the smashbox photo finish primer. i like it A LOT. thanks cat!

second, bi0nic was asking what kind of bum exercises i do on the mat, so without further ado, here they are:

les exercices du clochard

1) on the mat, get into an "all fours" position like this girl below:



don't pay attention to her movements or her band, just the body position.

2) i do each "exercise" 10 times, and do all the exercises on one leg (to feel the burn) and then switch it up and do the other leg. the worst feeling is putting the first leg down after doing the exercises. here are the exercises:

a) from the "all fours" position, straighten one leg out behind you. flex the foot and with the leg straight at all times, bring it down to the ground so your toe almost hits the ground but not quite. repeat ten times.

b) now, bend your straight leg and bring your knee into the chest without any part of this moving leg touching the ground. from this bent position (like the picture above), straighten your leg up as far back as it will go. repeat ten times.

c) now keep your leg straight out behind you and flex your foot again. this exercise is sort of like the first except when you bring your leg down (keeping it straight), you are going to cross your leg over the other one. so, if you are doing exercises with your right leg, it's going to cross over to your left. remember to keep your foot flexed here. repeat ten times.

d) finally, keep your leg up in the air behind you but bend the knee and keep it bent. for this exercise, you are going to pump your foot up to the ceiling, almost straightening your leg with each pump but not quite. i do twenty repeats of this one. the first ten are not too tough and the last five are brutal.

then, sink back into a child's yoga pose for a stretch
and repeat on the other side.

in other news, i forgot to talk about this amazing product i found at the whole foods market. maple flakes! they are only 10 calories for 2 teaspoons and are absolutely delicious. i have started sprinkling them on my oatmeal for a little added sweetness. amazing!

this morning for breakfast i tried a carrot cake clif bar. i had to use it as a meal replacement bar instead of a snack, because it was 5 ww points and my breakfast is usually around that. it was filling, but not good. too artificially sweet. i only read after that it's a nutritional supplement bar with 10g of protein. i love protein but not when it comes out of nowhere! it had a long list of ingredients too. i bought it because i LOVE the clif kid z bars i bought in the states. sorry carrot cake clif, i don't think i will buy you again.

this weekend should be pretty good. tonight i plan on relaxing and watching this week's episode of project runway canada that i taped. tomorrow, i might be shopping for a new winter coat (a warm one, not a fashion one... any recommendations?) and hopefully going dancing. it's supposed to rain on saturday but be unseasonably warm outside. what are you doing?

baloney man

last night i went to costco to pick up a few things. a big container of woolite which i haven't been able to find in regular stores lately, a combo pack of larabars, a big box of 100-calorie packs of ritz and cheese nibs, and a box of 12 individual microwave packs of edamame.

i wanted to try the woolite because my clothes are constantly fading and it's driving me crazy. and i kept seeing those television ads with stacy from what not to wear. marketing works on me obviously.

normally i am against 100-cal packs because usually they are grossly overpriced and have no nutrition value whatsoever, but the ritz and cheese nibs called to me. so salty and delicious and sometimes cheesy. how many people do you know that can stop at the suggested serving size of delicious salty ritz? how many crackers is that anyway? three? not enough.

the edamame is such a great idea and very useful. i can bring these packs to work and not worry about having to pre-cook them at home. the only bizarre (and annoying) thing is that each "bowl" is 1.5 servings, and the nutritional information on the box is for 1 serving. outrageous! it's irritating when companies do this. are they just not thinking, or are they trying to make their products seem healthier than they are? like those breakfast cookies at second cup - two servings per cookie. no one eats 1/2 a cookie. also outrageous!

in other news, i recently stumbled across this new funny blog the grandly spectacular and fantastically phenomenal fad diet experiment. this guy is going to spend the next 18 weeks trying 14 different fad diets for one week at a time, with a day off between each diet. it kind of annoys me that he's listed weight watchers as a "fad," but other than that it's very amusing to me and i'm pretty interested to see what happens to him. i'm not too concerned about the danger of this experiment - he's a grown man and can do what he wants!

and finally, this morning i tried the yoga booty ballet series dvd that i took out from the library. this dvd had two discs: goddess booty (25 minutes) and yoga core (30 minutes). the goddess booty workout was tough! my bum was really aching and i had to stop several times. does anyone have an extra pillow for me to sit on? at the beginning of this workout i was not into it, but by the end i came around. the yoga core workout wasn't really for me. i'd say these moves would be very difficult, if not impossible for beginners, and i've had much better core workouts from windsor pilates, and from the carmen electra fit to strip dvd. a few times during this video i felt dizzy and lightheaded... not good. the women in the video are alright, although they are VERY into the meditation-we-are-all-one-with-the-universe mumbo jumbo. sometimes i like it and sometimes it seems like a baloney sandwich.

becky bloomwood

yesterday as a side dish for dinner i made near east taboule wheat salad . it's a yummy Mediterranean dish kind of like couscous but with more flavour. it's bulgar wheat, and the season is onion and garlic and spearmint and citrus. it takes a long time to make but 99% of that time is just sitting in the refrigerator. you pour a cup of boiling water over the mix, stir, and let it sit in the fridge for 30 minutes. then you add a chopped tomato, a tablespoon of fresh lemon (i only had not fresh lime but it still worked), and a tablespoon of olive oil. and then refrigerate for another hour or overnight. the result is an exotic, healthy, flavourful side dish. 1 serving (about 2/3 cup) is 120 calories with 5g fibre (if i'm remembering correctly) so only 2 points.

in other news, i have started running again! i've been feeling a bit better lately and last night i finished week one of the couch to 5k running program. i'm doing the program again because i don't want to push my health. if that bum pain came back because i chose to run too far too fast i wouldn't forgive myself. well i would, but it would be an incredibly stupid thing to do. i love running so much. of course it's way easier the second time around, because i am not completely out of shape yet.

today i am very busy. i have a job interview later (not something i really want, and kind of far away), and i am writing a "test" for another job. the test is difficult. i have to write an article for a finance magazine. does the name "becky bloomwood" ring a bell to anyone? she is the character in the shopaholic series, who wrote for a finance magazine but didn't know anything about finances!

so anyway, that's that! hopefully today i can get a swim in.

first day, not so great

well, day one back on plan wasn't so hot. i managed to stay on track all day, eating within my points, exercising, feeling great about myself, then hit the cupboards at 12am. i could have gone to bed too. i made the choice. boo on me!

but today is a new day. it's not like i "failed" yesterday because that would mean giving up and i'm not doing that. but still... the idea that i can't even stay on the plan for one day is pretty disheartening.

in other news, i went rollerblading yesterday and really REALLY shouldn't have because afterward my bum pain (sciatica) which was pretty much gone, was back with a vengeance. it's not feeling as bad today so i think it was just a scare telling me not to go rollerblading just yet.

my mom gave me a package of mccain oven roasted sweet potatoes and they were SO GOOD. and pretty good points wise as well. i think for 3/4 cup or 85g it was only 100 calories. and so yummy. did i mention yummy?

i need some excitement today so i am going to 1) whole foods (yes, there is one in toronto but i hardly ever go and 2) canadian tire to get some sort of beach chair. i want to make the most of the summer we've got left by reading on the beach. with sunscreen and a wide-brimmed hat of course. i just really want to be leaving the house. so i'm doing those two things, then i will come back and go for a swim, and then maybe hit up the beach. by beach i mean lake ontario.

today i will stay on plan. i will i will i will. and my allergies are out of control today. is anyone else experiencing this?

good morning... oops

it's after noon. i'd like to say that i was awake before noon but that would be a lie. i was feeling kind of sick last night. i had lunch with my friend outside and then we lounged in his pool for a couple of hours. i could hardly keep my eyes open on the drive back downtown (seriously dangerous!)... i think too much sun for sure. but sleeping really helped. and i am a summer girl :) so i might as well enjoy it.

thanks for all of the really nice comments about my hair! my favourite one was that i look younger (hehe). people often think i am the younger sister which is so funny to me because my sister is only 22 and i am 27. my sister is so pretty... and for the record if i had long hair it wouldn't look nice and wavy like hers, it would look like a big frizzball instead.

today (in a few moments), i am going for a nice swim downstairs. i might go to the gym first and do some situps. i don't really have to do too much arm lifting when i'm swimming so much because swimming is a really great resistance (as well as cardio) workout. when i am swimming consistently, my arms seem very defined. i like it!

tonight is date night and i am going back to my boyfriend's apartment. on monday i walked there which is 2.5 miles or about 4 km... today i will probably ride my bike, just so coming home is easier. i think that's all i have to say today.

in other news, the company that let me try the zune mp3 player is letter me try another cool product: whitening listerine strips. they are kind of like the crest ones, except they dissolve on your teeth after about ten minutes, so there is way less waste. i've tried them and they definitely work. it was a bit hard to get the strip on my bottom teeth, but after a few days it was much smoother. you can click HERE to get your own free trial pack and an $8 coupon too.

ZUNE ZUNE ZUNE

ok. today i'm going to do a bit of a product push.

a couple of months ago i filled out this online survey to get a free mp3 player. i am always filling out tons of surveys and i love free stuff. i don't even care what it is. if i don't need it, i'll give it away to my friends or family. well anyway, someone from the mp3 player company called me, and decided i was a good candidate to receive this player, because i could talk about it on my blog. isn't that wild? it kind of blows my mind actually.

anyway. the mp3 player is from the brand microsoft and is called ZUNE, and basically it's the greatest thing of all time. i think it's already available in the states but new to canada, although i've already seen it in stores. if you think your ipod is a good mp3 player, you need to check out zune, because it really blows ipods out of the water. i like my ipod, but the battery life is SO BAD. seriously, if i don't unplug it directly from the charger before working out, it stops working during my workout/run. crappy!

this is what the zune looks like:


so why is the zune so great? here is a list of reasons:

1) it's little and cute. mine is black.

2) it comes with different storage. mine is 8G.

3) the screen is colour.

4) it plays video.

5) it stores pictures.

6) there is an fm radio which picks up stations from the area you are in. (really good feature.)

7) the battery life is LONG.

here is where it becomes really cool...

8) it has some sort of wireless technology that allows you to download songs from your (or any) computer without a plug or wire.

9) it has wireless sharing capabilities which means that if you and your friend "greg*" both have zunes and are standing within range of each other, you can up and download each other's music to your player. *could be any name.

so anyway. i am really enjoying my zune. and obviously this company wants me to talk about it and spread the news. but seriously, if i thought it was not a good one i would say so. after all, i already have it and stuff.

and now, if you want to (only if you want to please), you can log on to ChatThreads.com and type in Conversation ID 102 986 0145. there is a short survey and you can have ChatThreads donate up to $5 to charity OR enter to win $500 in amazon.ca gift certificates. the point of the survey is word of mouth... this company just wants to know how word of mouth spreads. but seriously, only do it if you want to. and honestly i really love my zune. although i wish they sent me a sports arm-band!!!!! (that would be very useful.)



in other news, last night i walked for 5 miles on the treadmill, then did some strength training. this morning i had a quick 3-mile run and then did situps. it is so hot now, even in the mornings (not complaining), that running outside can be really draining.

tonight i have a "date" and i am making my boyfriend dinner. we are having quick carne asada and instant mexican rice... i think it is that brand. yes, i'm all about the instant. maybe some refried beanies too. from a jar. :) it's "mexicali" to prepare us for our upcoming cali vacation.

hair cuts and product reviews

today i got a haircut. since i am a lady of leisure i should take care of these things while i can. actually, scratch the leisure part. i need the structure of going to work everyday to avoid going mental.

last night i stayed up really late finishing my work. i had to courier it (it's book proofs that we are checking for errors before sending to the printers) this morning to my boss. now i am waiting for more work. EDIT: i just got a call from the courier and it won't be here until 8pm... hmmmm... that isn't very leisurely!) after couriering it i went on a five mile run. woohoo. it was long and not the easiest but it felt good to do it. then i had the fastest shower humanly possible, scarfed down some instant oats and rode my bike to the hairdresser. i didn't really know what i wanted, but he said he liked the length so wouldn't chop that much off. i have a pretty specific way that i want my bangs cut and i thought i explained it pretty well. apparently not.

this is what my hair used to look like (this is last sat):

i straightened it before going out but it was so hot in the dance place it went a bit wavy. it's alright, but the ends are gross.

now it is quite a bit shorter. and the bangs are SO SHORT. i feel a bit ridiculous actually. i can't take a picture now and show it. why? because i just watched a scrubs episode on dvd and one of the nurses died and i was blubbering like a whale. ah, vanity. tomorrow i'll try.

last night i bought a new hair straightener/flat iron on ebay. if you don't have one of these you are seriously missing out. i had a nice red chi but it broke :o(. i bought a karmin brand one this time because it has "tourmaline" ceramic plates, instead of just ceramic ones. it wasn't more expensive or anything.

after my hair appointment i rode to my office to see if my heart rate monitor had arrived because it finally said "out for delivery in toronto" on the canadapost website. it's true, i still don't have it. it wasn't there yet (at work) and i didn't want to hang around in the danger zone so i just came home.

here are my product reviews for today:

ONE: special k satisfaction cereal

description from the website: Special K* Satisfaction* is a delicious cereal with a great blend of wheat bran flakes, crispy rice puffs, rice-soy squares and crunchy oat clusters that is a source of food energy. It is a good source of protein and high source of fibre, with one gram of fat per serving.

my review: this cereal is quite delicious, but it didn't keep me "satisfied" for very long. in the commercial there is this woman who can pass muffins at the mid-morning meeting because she's "just not hungry." well, i'd be hungry. next!

TWO: pita gourmet high protein pita pockets
click here and then click on "pita pocket: whole wheat" in the yellow category, then click on "high protein: 284g"

my review: yum yum and healthy too. each pita has 140 calories, 1g of fat, 10g fibre, and 10g protein. they are a pretty decent size and while i wouldn't advise breaking them open and stuffing them, they are great to make a folded taco-style sandwich. they are thick like real pitas. :) i found them in longos. yesterday i had the above mentioned sandwich and today made a pita pizza.

today's menu:
all bran bar (2)

oats with mango (3)
(5)

5 pickles (0.5)
(5.5)

pita pizza:
pita (2)
1/4 avocado (2)
2 slices ff cheese (1)
spinach (0)
sun dried tomato (0)
tomato paste (0)
(10.5)

2 source yogurts (1)
strawberries (0.5)
special k satisfaction (1)
(13)

dinner: ?

yawny mcyawn

why do i do this to myself every weekend? i stay up way too late and don't sleep enough and suffer the consequences in a major way on monday. i feel like a dead person today... zombie-rific! i did have a good weekend though. friday dancing, saturday running and more dancing, sunday parental visiting. my boyfriend and i signed up for an introductory package of dance lessons. on saturday we learned more swing (fun), the foxtrot (fun), and the waltz (boring).

i think i'm going to get one of those heart rate monitor watches. my first opinion was that they are unnecessary and sort of silly, but i find myself thinking about them a lot and looking up prices on ebay and froogle, etc. it would be really neat to know if i'm reaching my target heart rate and find out how many calories i'm burning. i wonder if you can wear it all day to find out how many calories you burn in just a normal day, without exercise. does anyone know if this is possible? what is your opinion about heart rate monitor watches? i'm leaning toward the polar f4 if anyone is wondering. it's about $100 including shipping on ebay. maybe that's a lot... i don't know.

in other news, i went running this morning. i didn't really want to but i sure as hell know that i won't feel like going tonight. ;o) and it wasn't so bad... it felt great to have done it (4 miles). i might do some strength training in the gym downstairs tonight but that's a big maybe.

my nice boyfriend bought me two larabars, one banana something flavoured and a cocoa one, too. i tried the banana one and it was really tasty, but really little for 210 calories. it's only banana, prunes (i think) and almonds mashed together. that's it - not one other ingredient which is pretty amazing. however, i think a) the price ($2.99 each) and b) the size (too small... i like some volume) outweigh the taste and nutritional value for me. i am still excited to eat the chocolately one though. :)

today i'm eating:

1/2 larabar (2)
almonds (1)
(3)

oatmeal with flax (3)
slivered almonds (1)
(7)

yogurt (1)
clementine (0.5)
(8.5)

yogurt (2)
more oatmeal (2)
(12.5)

grapes (1)
yogurt (1)
(14.5)

dinner? veggie burger with peas maybe.

swimming

good morning everyone. another rainy day in the city! last night my book club went to the movies - to see the other boleyn girl... it was alright but i was not that impressed. it was really different from the book, which is always the case. i should see the movie before reading the book.

one of my friends in the club leant me the boleyn inheritance so i am looking forward to reading that after i finish eat pray love.

last night after the movie we went out for drinks and dinner. i ordered a personal pizza. red curry sauce on thin crust with zucchini, apples, and goat cheese. it was so good and hard to stop at just half (but i did). i didn't get home until 11:30 though - taking the transit home late at night in the cold wet rain really is the pits.

on the way to book club i walked to canadian tire to get more paint brushes. they had packs of five brushes on for 75% off ($2.50). i can't pass up a deal like that. and now after i paint i can just throw out the brush and not wash it out (i hate that - it never gets clean enough and takes so long). i also got new swimming goggles. i actually just got a pair of $10 speedos but returned them because they really hurt my face. i looked like a victim of abuse. so i spent $20 and got a pair of speedo vanquisher for women googles. i had this kind before and it is superior to all other brands and types i've had in the past. i used to have blue but this time i got pink. seriously people it's the best.


i also found this sugar-free caramel syrup for coffee. yes, at canadian tire. they had more flavours but only sugar-free in caramel which really i'm not complaining about. :o) i forget the brand but it was there.

this morning i went swimming for about 45 minutes. i'm not sure about the distance because i don't know how long the pool is. i'm looking into it though! it was fun.

today i'm eating:

banana bread oatmeal and frozen berries

yogurt and grapes and carrots and baby tomatoes with hummus
cheese sandwich

lean cuisine skillet sensations for dinner
and probably popcorn too

oh my god, the weather

this weather is driving me crazy. seriously there is another snowstorm? why oh why? yesterday i had a LONG day at my uncle's. but a lot was accomplished, i think. and i took this weird mood light from his apartment. it's called go lite mood relief and it's for seasonal affective disorder (SAD) and no one else wanted it so now i have a funny blue light on me.

today is going to be another very long day. i got up early and was going to walk on the treadmill for 80 minutes, but after an hour i was bored, so i finished my workout using the stationary bike, which was actually a really nice change of pace. here i am at work, but i start that photoshop course tonight, and it doesn't end until 10pm, so i won't be going home until then.

yesterday my eating wasn't that great. breakfast was oatmeal and peanut butter, lunch was tons of those sashi heart cookie (not joking) and dinner was chicken soup and chicken on a kaiser at swiss chalet. not the best but under the circumstances it was how it had to be. i *should* have planned ahead and brought healthy snacks, so i wouldn't have eaten those cookies, but it's over now.

for breakfast today i'm trying something new and it's soooo good and i can't believe i haven't tried it earlier. red river hot cereal. it's a nutty delicious blend of wonder. i made it at home, then at work added a bit of unsweetened almond joy and reheated in the microwave. i added a tablespoon of splenda too.



here is today's menu:
breakfast:
1/3 cup red river hot cereal
banana yogurt
frozen berries

lunch:
low fat vanilla yogurt
vegetable cocktail
banana bread oatmeal

dinner:
ham and swiss sandwich
activia yogurt
muffin bar thing

cookies and creme oatmeal

this is cookies and creme oatmeal:



i couldn't find ANYTHING about it on the quaker site, and this photo is from a site called "canada only" so.... that sums it up. it's for kids and by the "dino eggs" oatmal... it's ok nutritionally, but not really tasty enough to make the switch. i always thought this one would be super tasty and it's pretty tasty but nothing to write home about.

EDIT: now you can buy canadian products online WTF and have them shipped anywhere. hahaha. for some reason this really amuses me. maybe because i think of canadians being so gung ho for american products. i recommend the swiss chalet homestyle gravy hahaha.

http://www.canadaonly.ca/

freitag (that's german for friday)

i have a lot to talk about today, so i'm going to do it in a list format.

1) friday weigh-in day: gained 1.6 and now am 120 pounds. note to self: stop mindless snacking immediately.

2) yesterday i bought this online. it is a starfrit electronic digital kitchen scale. it was only $19.99 with free shipping, and it has a tare function. my current kitchen scale is not electronic, not digital, has no tare function, and is so tiny. so can't go wrong.


3) last night i had an excellent run: 5 minutes walking, 35 running at a 6.2 mph pace, then 5 minutes walking cool down. and then i went to tap class for an hour.

4) after tap last night, i hit up shoppers drug mart and the grocery store. i noticed that the dominion has lean cuisine paninis now, but i didn't buy any because my freezer is full. i did buy diet chocolate cherry dr. pepper though. i don't drink pop on a regular basis, just when mixing drinks and stuff.

5) at shoppers drug mart, i bought this clearance oil of olay in-shower body lotion. you put it on in the shower and rinse it off. i've only used it once (this morning) but seriously people it's wonderful.


6) this morning i did A LOT. i woke up at 6:13 am, walked on the treadmill with interval inclines for 80 (yes 80!) minutes, made a giant pot of homemade soup, made oatmeal (the kind that takes 15 minutes), showered, got ready for work, and here i am.

7) i made a modified version of a hungry girl 0-point soup. i made this soup to have with meals, in a hope that it will deter me from stuffing my face unnecessarily.

ingredients:
1 onion, chopped
1 can plum tomatoes, diced
1 can sliced carrots
3-4 cups cabbage (i used bagged)
leftover adzuki beans
4 cups (i used 900mL) fat free vegetable broth
salt
pepper
mrs. dash original
many shakes of frank's chili lime red hot sauce

directions:
in a large pot sprayed with non-stick spray, cook onion for 2-3 minutes, chop the tomatoes from the can, add everything including tomato juice. cook for 2-3 minutes on medium. add carrots, cabbage, beans, broth. bring to a boil, season accordingly, reduce heat and cover for 5 minutes, and voila! the original recipe made five 0 point one cup servings. mine made a lot more than that and probably 1 point per cup, or something because i added the carrots and a few beans... maybe. does it matter? no, it does not. the hot sauce made it really good.

8) tonight i am going to see 27 dresses with my main gal pal. am looking forward to it!

9) my mom wants me to take her car (instead of mine) to niagara falls this weekend. hers has automatic doors and windows, an automatic starter (from a remote), and heated seats. mine has none of these things and makes funny sounds.

10) what does everyone think about these?

11) today's menu:
1/2 cup oats with milk and pumpkin
orange
homemade soup
turkey and swiss sandwich on rye
caramel yogurt
more soup
grapes
popcorn
something chocolately

product review: aveda comforting tea

another post you lucky people. at work in the afternoon i like to drink this aveda comforting tea to relax and because after 4pm i start getting the bored munchies. this tea is SO DAMN GOOD. not joking. i enjoy tea but think herbal tea is only okay, but this tea blows my mind. it has peppermint and licorice, is caffeine free (although i like caffeine myself), and is 100% organic. i have the loose leaf kind and put it in one of those metal balls that sits in your tea, although it also comes in bags. the loose leaves scatter in the mug, even with a tea ball, so don't let this scare you. it doesn't need milk or sweetening or anything. it's perfect just the way it is.

Did I Forget To Post Yesterday?

What is coming over me? I had to apply for a passport and get an emissions test, so maybe I was just busy?

Here is yesterday's menu:

Breakfast: chocobran (2)
shreddies (2)
4/19

Snack: grapes (1)
all-bran bar (2)
7/19

Lunch: michelina's frozen something or other (4)
2 slices caraway rye bread (2)
13/19

Snack: chocobran (2)
raspberries (1)
16/19

Post-gym: fruit squiggle (1)
wine (2)
almonds (2)
cadbury thin (2)
23/19

Not the healthiest of all days. I wanted more gardenburgers so I went to No Frills after my emissions test. I know Loblaws carries them and I thought that Loblaws and No Frills were the same company because they both carry PC products. But they weren't there! So I did some shopping and THEN went to the Loblaws. They had 2 boxes of gardenburgers and I bought them both. I would have bought more if they had them. I love veggieburgers - and you can't go wrong for ONE point.

I weighed-in today and lost 0.8 whoohoo! Go me!

Here is today's menu:

Pre-swimming: smoothie made from light silk soy beverage, chocolate yogurt, blueberries and strawberries (2)
2/19

Breakfast:
1 cup cheerios (2)
1 cup light silk soy bev. (1)
berries (0)
5/19

Lunch:
ww bun (2)
gardenburger (1)
veggies w/cheese sauce (1)
9/19

Snacks:
all bran bites (2)
lemon yogurt (1)
apple (1)
13/19

Dinner: Not sure yet. Maybe another veg. burger. I LOVE veggieburgers!


I also bought this kind but have never tried them before - 2 points each.

Wings and Menu

Last night my boyfriend and I had a sports night. We both aren't really into sports but like to pretend we are, so we watched a few minutes of hockey - and ate wings. Sports nights are an excuse to eat wings. I found a brand that is pretty much 1 point per wing.



Pinty's!

I am not going to the gym today (gasp!) because my bf slept over and because tonight I am going to the Keg Mansion (YES!) with some of my girlfriends. I am trying to eat super low point all day so I can splurge tonight.

Breakfast: chocolate chip banana bran muffin (1)
1/19

Snack: lemon meringue yogurt (1)
2/19

Lunch: I have to go to the Dominion across the street and see what's up. Maybe soup, or tuna. Or, I've seen these cute little mini pitas that I want to try but probably not today.

Dinner: Keg Mansion and all of it's delights.

Good Morning Monday

I had a very nice weekend and managed to stay on plan (for the most part). I went to a bring-your-own-meat bbq on Saturday and had 2 veggie burgers (2 points each) on weight watchers buns (2 points each) and grilled red pepper and zucchini.... yum. I tried a new kind of veggie burger and was really impressed.





It's the Amy's Texas veggie burgers. They bbq'd pretty well and tasted really good. I'd definitely eat them again. And I will because they come in a box of four and I only had two. One is probably enough for a regular dinner.

Here is today's menu:

Pre-gym: 2 slices ww bread with butter spray (1)
4 almonds (0.5)
1.5/19

Breakfast: coffee (0)
apple cinnamon oatmeal (2)
8 blueberries (0)
3 strawberries (0)
3.5/19

Snack: yogurt (1)
4.5/19

Lunch: 2 slices rye bread (2)
Leftover turkey salsa sloppy joe mix (2)
8.5/19

Snack: more yogurt maybe (1) or quaker crunchems (2)
9.5/19

Dinner: whole wheat spaghetti (4)
chicken breast (2)
tomato sauce (0)
parmesan cheese (1)
16.5/19

Snack: popcorn (3) - or something.
19.5/19

Activity: gym this morning - 4 points

Tonight there is a free Hawksley Workman concert at the Harbourfront Centre and I'm going - exciting!

Frustration

For some reason this morning I was 2 pounds heavier than the last time I checked. NO FAIR! But I have been exercising a lot, and eating salt without reason, so it's probably water retention. Since my weigh-in is tomorrow I'm trying to be conscious about drinking copious amounts of water and limiting my salt intake.

Tonight I am going to a board-games party, so I have to stay strong in terms of not drinking or eating too many snacks. My problem is, once I start chomping down snacks, I can't stop!

Here is today's menu:

Pre swim: 1 chocolate banana bran muffin (1) Thx to Angie for directing me to the recipe and Mandy for coming up with it! =D
1/20

B: 1 cup fiber one (2)
1/2 cup skim milk (1)
1/2 cup strawberries (0)
4/20

L: M & M's chicken breast, breaded (4)
lettuce (0)
2 tsbp fat free ceasar dressing with lemon juice mixed in (1)
9/20

S: 2 slices ww bread (1)
2 tbsp PB2 peanut butter (1)
1/2 cup strawberries (0)
11/20

D: 1/2 PC blue menu stoned baked pizza (5)
steamed veggies (0)
16/20

I am hungry now but I want to leave some wiggle room for booze and snacks. I haven't eaten dinner yet. I also have a snack of popcorn (smartpop) and an apple if necessary.

Activity: 4 swimming 40 minutes.

In other news, last night I tried the PC Blue Menu Stoned Baked Pizza - Chicken and Red Pepper variety. I added sun dried tomato (hello sodium) and green peppers for added yumminess. I thought I could eat at least 3/4 of the pizza but it turned out that 1/2 was enough, for 5 points. Whoop!

Feeling Good

I am in a great mood today. Just feeling really good. Last night I made the Salsa Sloppy Joes from the 3fatchicks website and they were much better than expected. And only 4 points per Joe, including the BUN.

My bf also really liked them.

Also, I tried these PC Blue Menu Sea Salt and Cracked Pepper Rice Chips. Pretty tasty, but even more so with a bit of fat-free sour cream dip mmmm.

Today's Menu:

B: 2 slices pumpnickel toast (2)
2 tbsp PB2 peanut butter (1)
3/20

L: 2 slices rye bread (2)
leftover turkey sloppy joe slop (2)
leftover veggies (0)
7/20

S: carrots/cauliflower (0)
fat free sour cream dip (1)
all-bran bar (2)

D: I am making tortilla pizzas (2) using weight watcher's tortillas, tomato sauce, lean ground turkey, sun dried tomatos, zucchini and mushrooms. And cheese. This with a side caesar salad. Mmmmmmm. I haven't calculated the points yet but I'm confident it won't be too bad. And if it is, I'll use less cheese. CHEEEESSSEEEEE.

Menu Day 3 plus Food Find

Yesterday I went shopping at No Frills and bought TONS of yummy products. Specifically, 2 of the new stone baked PC Blue Menu pizzas, blue menu chicken burgers, pumpernickel bread, 100 calorie luna cakes YUUUUMMMM (although I haven't tried them yet haha) and more.

I also found these potato chip like things at Shopper's Drug Mart.
They are 1 point per cup, and 6 points for the whole entire bag. Granted they are not filling at all, but pretty damn tasty! I've tried the lime ones and they were really good. And I bought the sour cream and onion ones today.

B: english muffin (2)
2/20

S: 4 multifibre melba toast (1)
3/20

L: 2 slices rye bread (2)
2 slices ff chicken (1)
carrots (0)
cauliflower (0)
ff dip (1)
7/20

S: carrots and cauliflower (0)

D: 3 fat chicks turkey sloppy joes - 2 of them (8)
veggies (0)
15/20

The rest of the points are for booze. Sad but true.

Activity: I might walk home from work for 2 points. Who am I kidding, haha, I probably won't. It is a great day though and I did buy inserts for my shoes. Hmmmmm. :o)