Thomas Bagel Thins

I LOVE a good bagel in the morning for breakfast. I came across these last night in the grocery store. I found them in the deli section. The whole bagel is only 110 calories! I got the whole wheat brand.

I made a bagel this morning for breakfast with banana and peanut butter. I love peanut butter in the morning. It seems to fill you up all day.

Here are the nutrition facts for the bagels from the Thomas website:

Red Lobster A++++++++++++

(Please excuse the sad looking picture, I had to take it with my camera phone) We made it to Red Lobster tonight and I have to say it was amazing!! We ended up having to wait 45 minutes but it was so worth it. I started with a side salad and the fat free raspberry dressing. I had one BITE of a cheese biscuit. Then I ordered the create your own feast: grilled shrimp, crab legs, salmon, and broccoli. I was a little concerned at first because the shrimp and salmon said it came with a buttery sauce on top. I asked the waiter and was able to get my food grilled with no butter! Score!!! It was an awesome dinner. Seriously the best crab legs I've ever had. According to the RL website my whole entire dinner was 530 delicious calories =)

It cut me off!!

In keeping with my SWEAT goal this week, I came home from work, popped in a DVD and got on the treadmill. I didn't have a specific time in mind, I just wanted to go for as long as possible. Before I knew it, I had set a goal to walk the whole way through the movie!! I got to the very end, walked 99:99 minutes. At this point I was curious what would happen when I got to 100 minutes since there are only 4 spaces for times on my treadmill. Well when I got to 100 minutes, the treadmill shut off!! It beeped at me a few times and turned itself off! Oh well, I almost made it through the whole movie. And of course I was sweating like a pig so goal reached!!! Now it's time to shower and head out with the DH on a date. I got my Red Lobster menu picked out! Shrimp and crab legs here I come...

Red Lobster Website Rocks

Red Lobster Smart Meal Calculator

Friday Lunch

Friday's lunches are usually a hodge podge of whatever I have left in the kitchen. Today was no exception. I had a chicken sandwich, cheese stick, mild cheddar lil'crunchies (best flavor!!!), sugar free jello and a sugar free hershey's dark chocolate.

Now I'm off to research some local restaurants websites. Going out to eat tonight and need to figure out where to eat the healthiest...

BBQ Crockpot Chicken

I love BBQ chicken!! And cooking it in the crock pot is one of the easiest ways. This morning I put three chicken breasts in the crock pot and covered them with low sodium chicken broth to cook on low all day. Then I drained all the broth out and used a fork to shred the chicken. It shreds so easily when cooked all day in broth. Then I added some BBQ sauce and put the lid on to finish cooking.

While the chicken was heating back up, I sliced some brussel sprouts and a small sweet potato. I sprayed them with calorie free vegetable spray and added a little kosher salt. I baked them in the oven for 15 minutes, turned them over and baked them for another 10 minutes. I like my sprouts on the blackened side =) Turned out to be a great dinner!!

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BBQ Chicken Pizza!!!

I had planned on having Tilapia for dinner tonight but couldn't get pizza out of my head so I decided to make me a nice BBQ Chicken pizza. I started with a Joseph Lavash bread that I crisped in the oven for 5 minutes. I boiled a chicken breast until it was done enough to shred. I shredded it and added bbq sauce. I topped the lavash with the bbq chicken and sprinkled a little cheese on top. Popped it into the oven just enough to melt the cheese. It was so tasty!!! Best part is, the ENTIRE pizza had 420 calories. According to Papa John's website, one SLICE of their bbq chicken pizza has 440 calories! Holy cow! =D

Morning Fuel

I indulged a little high carb snack this morning since I had a small breakfast and a workout coming up at 11am. I took a bowl of Chobani Greek Strawberry Yogurt, added a Larabar Peanut Butter Cookie bar and some Banana puffs for a great mid-morning snack!

Dessert Coffee

I found this coffee in the grocery store today and knew I needed to try it since it was Cinnamon Crumb Cake. I brewed myself a cup as soon as I got home and boy was it good!! Hit the spot on a chilly afternoon

Joseph Lavash Bread

I found the Joseph Lavash Bread next to the Flatout Wraps at the grocery store in the deli section and thought PIZZA crust!! You can't tell from the picture but the squares are huge! The bread is made out of flax, oat bran and whole wheat flour. Here's the nutrtion facts for 1/2 a Lavash:

Yummy, Yummy, Yummy, I Got Pasta Love in My Tummy

I had MAJOR pasta cravings today!! This morning I put chicken breasts in the Crockpot with some fat free Italian dressing to cook all day. The house smelled AMAZING when I got home from work today. I steamed a bag of Birds Eye frozen vegetables (broccoli, carrots, water chestnuts, and sugar snap peas) in the microwave. To satisfy my pasta craving, I boiled just 1/2 cup of cheese tortellini pasta. Put it all in a bowl with a little parmesan cheese and called it dinner!!! So yummy and I satisfied my pasta craving with only 100 calories of pasta =D

Grocery Shopping 101

1) Assess your pantry and fridge - Go to your pantry and fridge and make a list of things that you have and need to be used. That way you never buy something then come home to find you already have it. Keeping a running pantry / fridge inventory list is also helpful if you update it everytime you use something.

2) Put it on the List I keep an on going list throughout the week that I can add to anytime I run out of something. For instance, if I use the last of the peanut butter, I go ahead and add it to my list right then so I don't forget.

3) Make a weekly menu - Organize your coupons, sales ads, and what you have on hand into a weekly meal plan. Add things you don't have to your list

4) Rethink Quantities - Do you really need that huge bunch of bananas or a whole pound of deli meat? Buying in bulk is not always the most cost effective option if the food is never eaten! Instead, I buy what I need for the upcoming week. For instance, I buy 1/2 pound of deli meat, which is usually more than enough for my husband and my lunches for the week. Plus, if we run out, we can always pack something else for lunch, which is much better than throwing away spoiled deli meat.

Warm Afternoon Snack

The chilly, cloudy day had me craving something warm and comforting for snack this afternoon. I sprinkled some cinnamon and splenda on a cut up golden delicious apple and microwaved the slices for 3 minutes. I put 1/2 tbsp of natural peanut butter in the middle. Along with this I had a nice big mug of Cinnamon Crumb Cake coffee!! Now my belly is full and warm!

Morning Sweat and Randomness

In keeping with my SWEAT MORE mantra for the week, I woke up this morning, put on some warm clothes, and jumped on the treadmill. After warming up I set it on the highest incline and started walking. I walked on the incline for 25 minutes. Felt like a great workout. For breakfast I was craving an unusual combo of foods. I cut a Flatout wrap into triangle "chip" shapes, sprinkled cinnamon and sugar on them, and baked them in the oven. With that I had a banana, a grapefruit, and a Babybel light cheese wedge. Strange but it was yummy and my tummy is good and full!!

Weigh In - Week 7 - 2/22/10

Week 7 is over! It was a great week. I stuck to my goal of working out more than I had before and I think it really helped me this week. I was nervous since I would be out of town on the weekend but I think the extra workouts before I went really helped. According to my home scale, weighing in first thing in the mornings, I lost a total of 3.1 pounds this week. At the weigh in tonight I came in at 2.4 pounds lost. Of course, I go with my morning weigh ins =) That puts my total weight loss in 7 weeks at 28.8 pounds! I hit a very big milestone tonight and moved down a decade. Very exciting! I also tried on a pair of jeans this weekend that were 2 sizes smaller than what I normally wear and they fit perfect!! I was shocked!! So all in all this has been a fantastic week!!!!

FAST FOOD BOYCOTT STATUS: I still have yet to visit a fast food restaurant! Even with being out of town for 2 days this weekend I was able to pack my own food and only ate 2 meals out at restaurants, however, they were not fast food. Today is day 53 since eating fast food!!! My goal is one year =)

NUTRITION GOALS WEEK 8: This week I don't really have any new nutrition goals. I want to keep my calories per day under 1300. I really want to get a little more creative with my meals. Tonight's pizza was a great start.

WORKOUT GOALS WEEK 8: SWEAT!!!! This week my goal is to SWEAT as much as possible. I don't sweat very much even though I drink lots of water. Instead of doing several small workouts during the day I am going to focus on 2 more intense, longer workouts. One before work and one after work. I plan on wearing pants and sweatshirts to hopefully bring out the sweat more!

Chocolate Cake w/ Cool Whip Icing

So I tweaked the chocolate cake recipe a little to get the calories down even more. The cake plus the cool whip comes in at an amazing 100 calories. Here's the recipe:

In a microwave safe cup mix:

1/2 scoop 100 calorie chocolate protein powder

1 tbsp cocoa powder, unsweetened

1/4 tsp baking powder

3 packets Splenda

1 tbsp applesauce, unsweetened

1 egg white (NO YOLK!)

Heat it up in the microwave for 60-70 seconds. It will bubble so keep a good eye on it. If it starts to bubble over the cup stop it and wait for it to go down then finish heating it up. I add a hefty scoop of Cool Whip FREE for icing.

Veggie Pizza

This veggie pizza was oh so good and after not having pizza in 8 weeks it tasted like heaven!!! I used Joseph Lavash bread for the crust. I baked the bread in the oven for about 5 minutes to get it crispy. Roasted brussel sprouts, broccoli, and green peppers in EVOO, salt, and pepper for about 30 minutes. To assemble the pizza I smeared 1/2 cup marinara sauce on the bread, topped it with all the veggies and added 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese on top. Put it all back in the oven to melt the cheese and heat the sauce up! The whole pizza weighs in at 364 calories!!! A Pizza Hut veggie pizza is 230 calories A SLICE!!!

Even Better

For an even better potato chip flavor and texture try the Gerber Graduates Lil Crunchies!!! I've had the mild cheddar and veggie dip. They are simply amazing. Like little cheetos. Party in my mouth!! They're made with whole grain corn. They also come in zesty tomato and apple cinnamon. Check this out:

One Serving (18 pieces)

35 Calories

2 Fats

4 Carbs

0 Sugar

Embrace your inner child!!!

Craving a snack? Potato chips? Snack on some baby food!!! That's right these containers of graduate puffs from Gerber are one of the healthiest snacks around. They have several different flavors. Sweet potato is my favorite. They are perfect for munching on during a movie or while watching TV. I like to put a few on my sandwiches for some crunch in place of potato chips. They are made with whole grains and real fruit. They come in flavors: strawberry-apple, banana, sweet potato, sweet corn, cherry, peach, and apple cinnamon. And check out these stats!!! You can't beat this:

For one serving (1/2 cups or approx. 68 puffs)

25 Calories

0 Fat

6 Carbs

1 Sugar

AMAZING!!!

Dinner 2/19

Don't let the crummy picture fool ya, dinner was awesome tonight! My sweet hubby brought home a pound of bison meat from the Earthfare store. I mixed it up with some mozzarella cheese, turkey bacon, and BBQ Seasoning and fried it up. Very good! I also roasted some sweet potatoes, tomatoes and brussel sprouts to go along side it. I had forgotten how good brussel sprouts were!

Chocolate Cake?? Yes Please!!!

A little afternoon snack pick me up! big piece of chocolate cake. The picture does not do it justice. I mixed chocolate protein powder, cocoa, egg white, applesauce, and baking powder together. Heated it up in a microwavable mug. The whole thing only took about 5 minutes. It was amazing!!! and only around 110 calories!!! WOW!

BBQ Lunch! Yum Yum

I have been looking forward to lunch all day! I knew my favorite BBQ Chicken sandwich was waiting on me. I took the picture of my lunch here and realized something. I forgot a veggie! BAD!!! Oh well, guess I will double up for dinner tonight =)

Bowl Full O Goodness

After 30 minutes on the treadmill this morning I fixed myself a big bowl of yummy goodness for breakfast. Something about oatmeal and peanut butter in the morning sticks with me all day. I cooked 1/2 cup oats in 1 cup almond milk. Topped it off with 1/2 banana, 1 tbsp peanut butter, and 1/2 apple pie Larabar. Great start to the day!

Herbal Teas

I have an obsession with herbal teas. I drink at least one cup of herbal tea every day. I love all different flavors but my favorite is Yogi Tea Mayan Cocoa Spice. It has cocoa shells, cardamom, clove and cinnamon bark. The flavor is amazing!!! I just have to be really careful what time of day I drink this one. It gives me energy =)

My Favorite Dinner

Okay I have to admit, my favorite food EVER is BBQ Chicken. Simple right? I could eat it every single night!! I heart BBQ Sauce and Chicken. But BBQ Sauce is very high in sugar and HFCS so I try not to eat it very often. I came across a KC Masterpiece BBQ Rub today at the grocery store. I boiled a chicken breast, shredded it, then cooked it with some of the BBQ Rub. It was a winner!!! I piled it onto a Natures Own Select Thin Sandwich, spread some Laughing Cow Light Cheese on it and called it a BBQ Chicken Sandwich. It was like a party in my mouth. I also, of course, ate a big serving of veggies with it. I sprayed some Salad Spritzers Ranch Dressing on the veggies, hence, the white color. This is so good, I made an extra for lunch tomorrow =)

Lunch and Afternoon Snack Today...

Well I made it through the Biggest Loser Last Chance Workout this morning plus 2 30-minute power walking intervals later on in the day and I am pooped!! I planned on doing more today but my body is yelling me to stop so I think I'm going to call it a day at that.

Lunch consisted of: a sweet potato, laughing cow light cheese, Flatout wrap with chicken, spinach, and salsa, a sugar free jello and a piece of Dove dark chocolate!

For afternoon snack I had an apple creation. It was so good. I microwaved a cut up apple for 2 minutes. Chopped up some natural almonds and a small piece of 70% dark chocolate. I sprinkled that on top of the apple and heated it up for another minute.

Mid-Morning Fuel!!!!

I just got done doing a 30 minute interval jog. Now for some fuel! A Dannon Light & Fit Vanilla Yogurt and Larabar. Yummy!

Gaining Weight after Exercising??

Yesterday I stuck with my more exercise plan for this week. I did 3 seperate 30 minute jogs, 30 minutes strength training, sat on my exercise ball the whole time I was at work (around 5 hours) and a 30 Minute workout with the DCC On Demand (Love it!) I ate a modest 1,481 calories. So I feel fairly confident that Week 7 is off to a great start. Got up this morning and I was so sore! My thighs especially. I stepped on the scale at the usual time and weighed 2.9 pounds more than yesterday morning! What in the world?!? So I of course starting googling. Turns out this is very common after an intense day of exercise and if you are sore. According to run4change.com, sore muscles are retaining water to help in the repair process. Most sites agree that if you are properly hydrating during workouts, it is possible to weigh as much as 3-5 pounds the next day. So this makes me feel a lot better. I am going to keep up with my intense workouts today - Saturday. No exercise Sunday or Monday for the weigh in.

Also Day 3 on the Exercise Ball at work!! I didn't sit on it much Monday, everyone wanted to try it out and I really didn't have that much time to even sit down. However, yesterday I sat on it almost all day long as I was glued to my computer all day. I think that is a big reason why my thighs are so sore today!

Dinner 2/16

Dinner tonight was very tasty and filling. I had 12oz broccoli, 1 cup yellow squash, 1/2 red bell pepper, 1 Sargento Low Sodium String Cheese, 1/2 cup brown rice and 4oz pork chop. I cooked the pork chops all day in Panda Orange Sauce.

470 Calories

49 Carbs

14 Fats

43 Proteins

Dove Sugar Free Dark Chocolate

I found a bag of these little chocolates on clearance at walmart so I decided to try them out. They are so good!!!! One piece has:

38 Calories

3 Fats

4.4 Carbs

0 Sugar!

Week 6 Results!!!

Well I have made it to Week 6! It was a tough week because of my weekend schedule. We had a lock-in with the Youth students Friday night so I had to stay up all night and sleep Saturday. That messed my eating / workout schedule up so I was a little worried about the weigh in. But! The weigh in went great! I ended up losing 4.2 pounds by their scales this week! That brings my total year to date weight loss at 26.6 pounds. I am also still keeping up with my Fast Food boycott. It has now been 46 days since I have ate fast food!! I ended up in 6th position at the weekly weigh in, I am 7th in the overall competition.

My plan for Week 7 is to step up my workouts. I hope to workout a lot more this week and hope it will pay off on the scales. I also have an out of town trip planned Friday night and Saturday. I am planning on bringing all my own food so I will not have to eat any fast food. Since I am going out of town, I am going to skip my Wednesday rest day and workout that day. The hotel does have a gym but I don't know how much time I will have to be there.

Monday Night Splurge

So here is my dinner tonight. I usually splurge a little on Monday nights after weigh in as a reward to myself. Plus I have all week to work it off =) Tonight I had a taco salad: 10 Tostitos Scoops, 4oz 96% ground beef w/ taco seasoning, 1 cup corn, 1.5 cups shredded lettuce, 1/2 cup fat free shredded cheddar cheese, and 1/2 cup salsa.

586 Calories

67 Carbs

16 Fats

51 Protein

Lunch 2/15

Sweet potato with laughing cow light cheese, sugar free Jell-o, and a wrap. I used a flatout grain wrap with 2oz chicken, 1 cup spinach, and 1/4 cup of salsa.

335 Cal

47 Carbs

5 Fat

30 Protein

Breakfast 2/15

Breakfast today consisted of: 1/2 cup Fiber One Cereal, 1 cup skim milk, 1/2 organic banana, 1 tablespoon organic natural peanut butter. (Yes I am a closet McD's plate collector. I eat on them everyday and they make me smile =) and Yes I eat my cereal in a Pyrex measuring cup, so easy to measure and not dirty a bunch of dishes)

290 Calories

54 Carbs

10 Fat

14 Protein

308 Sodium

16 Fiber

How to Increase Your Metabolism Sitting at a Desk All Day

Having an office job, I sit at my desk probably 6+ hours a day. I recently saw a study on the news about how sitting on an exercise ball while working a desk job will help you increase your posture, alleviate back pain, and could burn up to 350 calories a day! I even saw a report on how 1st graders at a school in my area are now sitting on exercise balls in the classroom instead of desk chairs! So I decided to research this and found a lot of positive information about sitting on an exercise ball instead of a desk chair at work. So I trooped out to WalMart last night and found a pretty, green Gold's Gym exercise ball for only $9 bucks. I plan on taking it to work today to sit on and see what I think. While doing my research, here is what I found out about sitting on exercise balls:

• It forces proper spine alignment
• Reduces damage caused by prolonged sitting in the same position
• Improves balance
• Improves circulation
• You'll feel more energetic
• Burn up to 350 calories per day
• Strengthens your core
• It's Fun!!

I also came across this list of How to Increase Your Metabolism at Work on hubpages.com that I thought was interesting:

• Bring your own healthy lunch and don't indulge in fast food
• Desk Exercises - google "desk exercises" and you will find several ideas
• Ride your bike or walk to work if possible
• If you walk to your desk, choose the furthest route. If you use an elevator to get to your office, use the stairs instead
• Wear a pedometer
• Put your cell phone as far away from your desk as possible so you have to walk to get it

Simple Wrap Dinner

Dinner tonight was a simple wrap: 1 "Flatout" grain wrap, 1 cup spinach, 1 Laughing Cow Herb cheese, 3oz grilled chicken

235 Cal

19 Carb

5 Fat

32 Protein

339 Sodium

9 Fiber

YUM!!! Very simple and satisfying

Snap Pea Crisps

I discovered these yesterday at the Earthfare store. They were so cheap, like $1.80 a bag so I thought I would try them. They are fantastic!! It's like getting to eat a potato chip. I will be sending my hubby back to the store this week to pick me up some more =) (He works close to the Earthfare store) They are very healthy. The only ingredients are green peas, corn oil, rice, and salt. 1oz serving has:

150 calories

8 Total fat

14 Carbs

5 Protein

2 Fiber

No sugar!!

125 Sodium

Check it out at www.snacksalad.com

Afternoon Snack

I normally don't eat an afternoon snack this large but it is Sunday and my eating schedule is a little messed up so I needed a bigger snack. This covers all the food groups: veggies, fruits, protein, dairy, and chocolate of course!!! It's snap pea crisps, laughing cow light cheese, 10 almonds, a pear cooked in cinnamon, and Hersheys sugar free dark chocolate.

272 Calories

36 Carbs

14 Fats

8 Proteins

5 Fiber

323 Sodium (260 of that is from the cheese!)

Dinner at the Acropolis

Grilled Tilapia, Grilled Shrimp and Broccoli. Yummy!!!!

Larabar Peanut Butter Cookie Bar = A+++++++!!!

The only ingredients are: dates, peanuts, and salt. Full of fiber, protein and 1/2 serving of fruit plus 3 grams of Omega 6!!! The taste is amazing!!!!

Dinner 2/12

Dinner was so good tonight I had to share. It included:

• Italian Chicken - 4oz
• 1/2 Red Bell Pepper
• 1/2 c yellow squash
• 1/2 c brown rice
• 1 bag Birds Eye Steamfresh Broccoli, Snap Peas, Carrots mix

I put boneless, skinless chicken breast in the crock pot this morning with Kraft Free Italian Dressing and cooked it all day. It tastes amazing and makes your house smell so good all day!!! The brown rice is just Uncle Bens boil in a bag. Frozen yellow squash that I boiled, 1/2 of a red pepper cut up microwaved, and an entire bag of steam in a bag frozen vegetables. It made for a huge, healthy dinner!!! And so yummy. Everything totaled:

324 Calories

39 Carbs

3 Fat

33 Protein

577 Sodium

8 Fiber

Afternoon Snack = Apple Pie!

Crustless Apple Pie

1 Medium Apple

1 Packet Splenda

1 tbsp Cinnamon

Core the apple and slice. Arrange on a microwave safe plate. Sprinkle the splenda and cinnamon on the apples. Microwave for 3-4 minutes.

Total Calories: 81

This was so good for an afternoon snack!! Low cal plus cinnamon and apples are metabolism boosters. I ate this with one piece of sugar free dark chocolate.

Carry it in your purse!!!

Tips for Weigh In

Did you know according to 24hourfitness.com, your weight can fluctuate 5-10 pounds in any given 24 hours? The best time of day to weigh is right when you wake up. I weigh every morning as soon as I get up. According to my digital scale at home, for the week of 2/1-2/8, I lost 5.5lbs. So I went to the weigh in Monday night 2/8 confident that I would get a good number. Stepped on the scale, according to it I had only lost 2 pounds that week! I was very frustrating. Weighing in a night is not very accurate because your weight can fluctuate so much based on what you eat and your activity level that day as well as the day before. Here are some tips I have found to help with a weigh in:

• Reduce sodium intake the day before, sodiums makes the body retain water


• Limit weight training the day of weigh in. Weight training causes muscles to swell and retain water


• Limit water and liquid food intake on the day of a weigh in

The Effects of Fast Food

In my quest to loose weight I have stumbled onto a different personal challenge. Fast food. Before 2010 I probably ate fast food at least 3 times a week. Maybe more. I would eat it for lunch a lot. I have not had ANY fast food in the last 42 days. At first it was because I didn't trust myself enough to order something healthy, now it is a personal challenge. How long can a person go without HAVING to stop at a fast food place? Not WANTING to but HAVING to? I am determined to go as long as possible. It has nothing to do with weight lose at this point, it is just a personal challenge I have set for myself.

I watched the documentary, Super Size Me, yesterday. It was entertaining and a little eye opening. It will for sure make you look at McD's in a different way. I am not picking on McD's. I am boycotting any kind of fast food joint. In the documentary, he focused on McD's specifically. He, Morgan Spurlock, at nothing but McD's for breakfast, lunch and dinner for 30 days! He ate everything on the menu at least once and if they asked him to super size it, he automatically said yes. He had blood work taken at the beginning and end of the experiment and he was weighed often. He ended up gaining 25lbs in the 30 days and his blook work indicated he went from a very healthy person to a very sick person. It was very interesting, but extreme and a little unrealistic. The thing that hit home to me more than the fast food was that he visited a few school cafeterias around the country. It was horrible what the kids were eating for lunch. One cafeteria he visited gets their food directly from the goverment for a cheap price. It is all pre-cooked and frozen. All they do is heat it up everyday. The closest thing they had to a vegetable was tater tots. The documentary is worth watching just to see the part about the school cafeterias. Very eye opening....

I also watched this documentary called McLibel. It is about a British group that takes McD's to court over serving junk food. It was interesting. I think it is a little ridiculous to sue a fast food place because of what they serve. Just don't eat there!!! I also watched a special about 12 year old girls who are getting full body liposuction because they can't quit gaining weight. Scary!!!!

Here are some interesting facts about 2 popular fast food places, McD's and Taco Bell (info taken directly from company websites):

• A Big Mac has 540 calories, a McD's Crispy Salad with Ranch Dressing has 700 calories
• The highest calorie item at McD's is a large chocolate shake: 1160 calories
• The lowest calorie item on a McD menu is a side salad no dressing: 20 calories
• Highest Calorie at Taco Bell, Volcano Nachos: 1000 calories
• Lowest at Taco Bell, Fresco Crunchy Taco: 150 calories

Attack of the Killer Sodium

So these past 5 weeks I have been very carefully watching my caloric intake. Analyzing every calorie in and out. Yesterday morning I got up, weighed first thing as usual, and I had gained an entire pound since Monday morning! This has not happened in at least 2 weeks so I went back to my food diary to see if I could determine the cause. As I printed off my SparkPeople report for the day, a number caught my eye. Sodium. I haven't given much thought to sodium intake. I have been eating lots of protein with fresh fruits and vegetables so I didn't think I could be taking in much sodium. I couldn't believe my sodium intake in one day, Monday, was 3736 grams! I had made one change in my diet that had caused this. I ususally eat a bag of frozen broccoli florets every night with dinner, however, when I grocery shopped Saturday, my grocery store was out of it. So I got a couple of bags of broccoli with cheese sauce, the calorie differene was only 30. I did not bother to look at the sodium content. Turns out the plain bags of broccoli florets have 100g sodium per bag, the "lightly sauced" broccoli with cheese has 1110g of sodium!!! WOW!!!! No wonder I gained a pound. Case in point, always check the sodium contents before buying.....I have learned......

Known facts about sodium: (From the Mayo Clinic)

• Aim to have between 500g - 1500g per day
• Too much causes weight gain
• Too much increases blood pressure
• Too much increases risk of heart attack & stroke
• Too little could cause muscle weakness
• Too little could cause heat exahuastion
• Too little could cause cramps

Best ways to cut sodium intake:

• Eat less processed foods
• Remove salt from recipes whenever possible
• Limit use of condiments
• Use herbs and other spices to flavor food

Week 5 Weigh In

Last night was the Week 5 weigh in. I'm very happy to report that I lost a solid 2 pounds exactly. I am really feeling it in my clothes this week. I had to start wearing a belt with my jeans to keep them up and my hubby told me Sunday that my shirt looked like a tent on me. Best compliment ever!! That brings my total weight lose in 5 weeks to 23 pounds!!