For my frequent readers: this post has nothing to do with my weight loss. Sorry that I have not updated in the past few weeks…it has been crazy around here! Will update in the next couple of days.
This post is to display some of the t-shirt designs that I have put together over the past few years. The volleyball ones are recent.
First off, in spite of my best attempt at last night’s BBQ feast to add a couple of pounds of weight on to my shrinking frame, I failed miserably. I weighed in at 222.2 today!!! I have broken through the 60 lbs lost mark, and then some! On to the teens! March on Mr. Metabolism, march on.
Secondly, here was my meal plan for the day:
10 am – made pancakes for everyone, and made two pieces of whole wheat toast, 2 tablespoons of reduced sugar grape jelly, and 2 eggs over medium.
Noon – worked out at the West Y.
1:30 – Apple
3:00 – 1 tbsp of Peanut Butter, 1 tbsp of Flax Seed, 1 Banana, 6 oz of Skim Milk, 1.5 scoops of “Chocolate Smoothie” Amplify (GNC), 1 cup of Ice – Thrown in a blender – Instant SMOOTHIE!
6:00 – Taco Night! 2 Whole Wheat Tortillas, 4 oz of lean ground beef, 3 tablespoons of Corn/Rotel/Black Bean mix, 1/2 cup of chopped tomatoes, 1/4 cup of chopped black olives, lettuce mix, 6-7 tortilla chips, Salad (Red Leaf, Spinach, Romaine), 1/2 TBSP of Thousand Island, 1/4 cup chopped tomatoes.
9:45 – 2 cups of Lightly Frosted Mini Wheat Cereal with 1.5 cups of Skim Milk
SALAD. So basic. So versatile. So undereaten.
I don’t know if it is because we get bored with it, or if it is just easier to go to the drive-thru, but salad definitely does not get the love that it deserves from us! It is one of the healthiest meals that we can give ourselves. So, we need to give it more attention!
I thought that I would devote a couple of minutes to writing some thoughts down about how I go about doing salad, since it is such a big part of me losing weight.
Like most Americans, I grew up on Iceberg Lettuce, which is science’s best effort to giving the American’s the “crunch” they so desire in a sandwich or a burger. Other than that, it doesn’t really have anything going for it…especially in the nutrition department. When I decided to change my eating habits, I started looking for the best mix of greens for nutritional value, and for dollar value. I did a lot of reading on the internet and decided that pre-made bags from the grocery failed in the price value category. However, they had the nutritious mix of greens that I was looking for.
At Carpenter Place, we don’t have to buy our own groceries, which is one of the perks of the job. Twice a week, I put in a grocery list, and veggies are always on it! We enjoy serving the girls vegetables and having them try them in new ways. So, naturally, I was excited to see what the girls would think about preparing and eating fresh (not bagged) salad day-in and day-out. The response has been good. Here is what I have done.
Once a week, we ask for a head of Romaine Lettuce, a head of Red Tip Leaf Lettuce (Red Leaf), and a bundle of fresh Spinach. I have the girls help me cut out the parts that won’t be used, rinse them, dry them, and then cut them down to bite size. We put all of it in to a large plastic container, refrigerate it and then use it throughout the week. I enjoy getting to teach the girls that come through our house, how easy it is to prepare something that is so completely healthy for you AND tastes totally delicious!
This holy grail of dark green, leafy lettuce is packed full of vitamins and nutrients that our bodies crave. French fries can’t and never will provide this for our bodies. So, instead of chips or french fries accompanying every meal (like you’ll get from a fast food restaurant), we add in salad. We use this salad mix every day of the week. This is the lettuce that we use to put on sandwiches, burgers, and tacos. We use it as the base for various salad dishes, and use it as a side salad at nearly every meal.
A side note, worth mentioning here, is that when you are preparing your plate at your next meal, vegetables and fruit should take up at least 2/3 of the volume of food on your plate. Obviously, I don’t always get this right, but I try pretty hard to be close.
What are you doing? What lettuces do you use? Got any tricks that you can share?
I came in at 222.8 today…so close to 60 lbs of weight loss…watch, it will probably take another week to lose .2 lbs!!! So, here was lunch today – 
It was pretty delicious. Definitely better than eating a couple of corn dogs and a heaping pile of mac & cheese!
HaHa! So tonight, we had a BBQ on campus with one of the other houses. I decided that I was going to EAT. I had 2 brats (one bun), ketchup, mustard, baked beans (with bacon), potato salad, potato chips (first time since I started FBF), and a big scoop of cookies and cream ice cream. I definitely ate hard core, but not nearly as much as I used to eat! So even though I cheated AND gave myself ALL that I wanted, I still did not eat near as much as I would have eaten at a BBQ, 6 months ago.
Last Saturday, one of our residents asked me to cut a circle in her toast and fry an egg in the middle…hummm…never done that before. So, I looked all around for a circle cookie cutter and came up with a handful of Christmas shapes. The best I could do was a star, so I made Star Toast. Behold, the new Wonder of Breakfast Sandwiches -
I suppose that this is all for tonight. I look forward to working out tomorrow!!!
Well for the most part, it was a pretty lazy day around Barrett Cottage. Being that this was the first day of Summer Break for the girls, we had them sleep in. I was able to get several things done and/or started that I had on my “list.” Weighed in this morning at 225.4 lbs.
For meals today, I had;
9:30 am – 2 Pieces of Whole Wheat Toast, 2 tablespoons of reduced sugar Grape Jelly, 2 Fried Eggs over medium
12:30 pm – 1/2 cup of tuna salad (tuna, mayo, relish), a handful of grapes, 5 Whole Wheat Saltines, a few Baby Carrots, thick slice of Tomato
3:30 pm – Small Baked Potato, 1/4 Tablespoon butter, 1/2 cup of Hot Chili Beans (drained and rinsed)
7:00 pm – 3 cups of Romaine/Red Tip Leaf/Spinach Salad, 5 Baby Carrots, 2-3 oz of Cajun Turkey Breast, 1 tbsp of Light Ranch Dressing, 2 Tomato slices
10:30 pm – Smoothie! 1 tbsp of Peanut Butter, 1 tbsp of Flax Seed, 1 Banana, 4 oz of Skim Milk, 1 scoop of “Chocolate Smoothie” Amplify (GNC), 1 cup of Ice
I walked 3 laps around the campus with the girls tonight while Melissa stayed with the boys (they were in bed) — 3 laps is exactly 1 Mile! At about 9:30, I went to the West Y and hit the weights for my mid-week weight lifting session. It only took me 31 minutes, which is pretty normal. Here is the breakdown:
Squat Press – 195 lbs x 10
Leg Extension – 110 lbs x 10
Barbell Deadlift – 130 lbs x 10
Leg Curl – 120 lbs x 9
Chest Press – 125 lbs x 10
Fly – 70 lbs x 10 x 2 (definitely going to up this to 80 for Saturday)
Seated Pulldown – 130 lbs x 10
Overhead Press – 75 lbs x 9
Arm Curl – 80 lbs x 9
Overhead Dumbbell – 50 lbs x 10
Calf Machine – 190 lbs – 10
Abdominal Machine – 135 x 10
Blessings and Peace!
Watching The Biggest Loser finale and enjoying it! Just ate dinner and enjoyed a Red Tip Leaf Lettuce wrapped Cheeseburger, a fresh Pear, 10 Tortilla Chips, a 1/2 cup of homemade guacamole and a few baby carrots. I have lost 19.96% of my body weight since March 10. If I whittle myself down to 175 lbs of lean muscle, I will have lost 38% of my body weight.
9:00 am – two pieces of whole wheat toast, 2 tablespoons of sugar free strawberry jelly, and two eggs over medium
1:00 pm – bone-in chicken breast (without skin), mixed romaine and red tip leaf lettuce salad, <1 tablespoon of fat free catalina salad dressing, 2 tablespoons of chopped onion, medium banana
5:45 pm – 2 chicken tacos: 2 flour tortillas, 3/4 cup chopped seasoned chicken, 1 cup corn/black bean/rotel mix, chopped lettuce mix, 2 tablespoons of salsa, 2 tablespoons of grated cheddar/monterey jack cheese mix, 3/4 cup of guacamole, 20 tortilla chips
9:00 pm – Mini Cheesecake and 6 oz of Skim Milk
I was working outside all day, and this majorly messed up my eating schedule. I am going to have to rethink how I do this on days when I am working outside the home… :-/
Positive note: I burned a buttload of calories today! Also, I work out tomorrow!
Lowfat Strawberry Banana Yogurt – 8:30 am
1 cup mix of cranberries, almonds, sunflower seeds, pistachios, raisins, and peanuts – 11:30 am
Medium Banana – 3 pm
50 calorie mozzarella cheese stick and a pear – 4:30 pm
Baked bone-in chicken breast (no skin), small sweet potato, and 1/2 cup of peas – 6:15 pm
2 cups of Frosted Mini Wheats and 1 cup of Skim Milk – 9:30 pm
I worked real hard this afternoon outside, and was feeling downright weak at around 6 pm. I came in and thought that I might pass out. I DID NOT get enough calories in the first half of the day… Oh well, it is all about learning.
