Dessert at Disney World

Hello all! Well, despite only getting about 6 hours of sleep, I woke up at 6:15 AM for my morning run at Disney World! Believe me, if there’s anywhere you’re motivated to run that early, it’s Disney World. Besides, I wanted to get my run in before the conference started at 8 AM. I ended up going only about 4 miles, due to time constraints.

I won’t bog you down with details of the conference, but I will say that Disney puts on an awesome “show” for business professionals. And, the food is amazing!!! Seriously, I’ve wanted to take pictures of everything, but it does really seem strange to take photos of food when everyone is standing around me. I’m going to attempt to take a few photos on the sly tomorrow.

However, I did get some pics of my fabulous dessert at Citrico’s, a Mediterranean-themed restaurant in the Grand Floridian resort…

This was a banana chocolate lava cake – sooo good, but definitely pushed me from the “I’m slightly full” stage to the “I’m stuffed” stage – totally regretting eating it now. And yes, that dark swirly, crown looking thing was made out of chocolate – and I did try a bite or two! Our server also gave us each a little bag of biscotti to take home as a “gift”. I scored two – yeah!

Heading to bed now. Have to be up and at ’em by 6:15 Am again for that brisk morning run to the Magic Kingdom!

Have a great night!

Practice Self-Indulgence with Self-Control

At 5′ 1”, I really have to watch what I eat. If I have a so called “bad week” of overeating or eating mostly foods that are high in fat and calories, then it really shows on the scale. But, this doesn’t mean that I do not indulge in the foods that I like. I eat plenty of things that are “not good for me” – ice cream, cupcakes, frozen drinks, french fries, etc. Of course I don’t eat like this every day, but when I do, I try to exercise what I call the self-indulgence-self-method.

Remember Spiderman? With great power comes great responsibility. Well, I believe that if you want to engage in great self-indulgence you must also exercise great self-control. Point blank – I plan ahead to eat self-indulgent foods and then I eat them in moderation. So the next time you’re wanting to indulge, consider the following principles of self-indulgence-self-control method…

4 Principles of the Self-Indulgence-Self-Control Method

Daily Compensation – If I know I’m going to overindulge at some point in the day or week, ie. drinks with friends or a dessert reception at work, then I compensate throughout the day and/or week by eating fewer calories and/or going for an extra run. Eating fewer calories or burning extra calories helps to compensate for those extra calories I’m taking in.

Rule of 1/3’s – When I do order something completely indulgence, like lemon cream cake or fried chicken, I try to eat 1/3-1/2 of what I really want to eat (the eyes are bigger than your stomach syndrome). If I’m at a restaurant, I will box up the rest and take it home. Or if I’m already at home, I’ll save the rest for my lunch or a treat the next day. This way, I can get a taste of the great food I want (self-indulgence) only I’m eating less of it (self-control) and fewer calories to boot.

Try a lighter option – Although I don’t do this often, I occasionally try to eat a lower calorie version of the food I really want, such as low-calorie ice cream, chips, or a muffin. However, a word of caution, many low-fat and low-calorie products are full of artificial ingredients. They also may not be as filling or tasty as the full-fat or full-calorie version, which could leave us hungry and unsatisfied. Also, because we are in the mindset that the food is low-fat or low-calorie, we may think we can eat more of the food, ie. a whole bag of low-fat chips. This mindset may actually cause us to consume more calories than what we would have eating with the normal version.

Challenge Yourself – When I think I want something indulgent, I try to challenge myself to:

  1. Wait 30 minutes before eating it – sometimes after I wait, I end up not eating it after all, which means I probably never wanted it in the first place.
  2. Drink 4 8oz glasses of water beforehand – because sometimes when we think we’re hungry, we’re really thirsty.
  3. Eat something healthy right before I eat my indulgence food. By eating a banana or a few almonds before eating my indulgence food, I’m less likely to overindulge.

So, these are the principles that I follow to eat what I want and still lose weight. What’s your go-to tip for eating your indulgent food but still staying on track with your weight loss/maintenance?

Fitbloggin: Exploring Baltimore

Hey all! Yesterday in my Fitbloggin: Saturday in Review, I talked about all the great things from the conference as well as post-conference fun on Saturday night. Now, on to Sunday!!

Rude Wake-up Call at the Baltimore Marriott

Scott and I attempted to get up at 6:45 AM in order to get a head start on our last morning there. But, around 2:30 AM we were rudely awaken (is that proper grammar?) by a party of some sort on our floor which lasted for over an hour! We were so incredibly annoyed!!! So, when we woke up at 6:45, we hit snooze and woke up 45 minutes later!

Pre-Breakfast Run Around Baltimore Harbor

Before breakfast, Scott and I went for an awesome run around the harbor – we went for 40 minutes! Scott is not really a runner but is training for the Chicago triathlon in August. He’s doing such a great job with his training 🙂 On our way back into the hotel we ran into Bookieboo who said that she had the same “party” problem on her floor. She suggested we complain and that’s just what I did. We ended up getting 1/2 off our room from the previous night – awesome! Thanks for the tip Bookieboo! Once we were freshened up and packed, we headed down to walk to breakfast in Fells Point. Unfortunately, the Blue Moon Cafe was a 45 minute wait, so we came back to the Marriott and had an outstanding champagne brunch!

Fantastic Baltimore Marriott Brunch

Although expensive, the brunch included an unbelievable amount of food and all drinks! No kidding – at one point, we had 8 drinks on our table –

  • 2 glass of water
  • 2 glasses champagne
  • 2 glasses of orange juice
  • 1 cup of tea
  • 1 glass of iced tea

Crazy! The food was fantastic! I tried to stick with all healthy things like low-fat yogurt, granola, fruit, etc.

Hmm…not sure how that vanilla pound cake got on my plate 😉 I was pretty full after my first plate, but wanted to sample a few other things, including the oatmeal, breakfast potatoes, and banana bread pudding…

Oh my, that banana bread pudding was dangerous!! If I wasn’t so full, I probably would have eaten a whole bowl of it complete with the vanilla cream sauce – ha!

After breakfast, we had to rush to the airport to catch our 1 PM flight back to chilly Chicago. Back to reality!

Wow, what a fantastic, whirlwind weekend. Loved Fitbloggin and all of the attendees/speakers and loved Baltimore!

Now, I need to get some sleep 🙂

Have a great night!

Fitbloggin: Saturday in Review

Hey All! I’m back from Fitbloggin and had a fantastic time! Saturday morning was the official start of the conference. Instead of going through every detail, here are the highlights. The morning started with a 5K run that was attended by about 50 women. Although it was not a competitive run, I am very happy to say that I was in the top 6-8 of those who finished first!

The run was followed by a fab oatmeal breakfast sponsored by Quaker and then two sessions – one on SEO and one on how to get noticed by traditional media. The morning sessions were followed by a fabulous lunch spread…

We had small sandwiches, fresh fruit, and some awesome mushroom bisque!

After lunch, my husband Scott (who was the Fitbloggin speaker on SEO) and I took a walk around the harbor in Baltimore. We even tried out our new New Balance running shoes…

His and her shoes for his and her bloggers – perfect! My husband is a loyal New Balance customer. I, on the other hand, have been loyal to Nike for YEARS. I’ve been running for a very long time and have been through many brands and styles of running shoes. Years ago when I tried New Balance, I felt that they were clunky and didn’t really offer much support for runners – hence my loyalty to Nike. However, I may be a changed runner! New Balance so generously gave away a pair of their 740 shoes to all conference attendees -woo hoo! They were much lighter than I remember and had more cushion. I really like these shoes and will definitely consider the New Balance brand on my next running shoe purchase. Thanks New Balance for letting us try out your shoes!

On our walk, we headed to the Italian pastry shop in the harbor area…

My obsession with patisseries/bakeries has enable me to sniff out any that are in a 1 mile radius…

I just had to sample a few of the homemade Italian cookies – naturally.

On our way back to the hotel, we stopped off a the historic lighthouse…

The afternoon sessions and keynote by nutrition author Dave Grotto went by so fast! Then it was time to let loose a little with some Jell-o shots!

Ok, not really Jell-o shots, but it was definitely a reception sponsored by Jell-o. There were several flavors of Jell-o as well as their new mousse in caramel, dark chocolate, and milk chocolate – so good!

Scott and I left the reception early to make our dinner reservations at the Mediterranean/tapas restaurant Pazo. We were really torn between restaurants. This one actually had mixed reviews – some people loved it and some people didn’t like it at all. When I first walked into the restaurant I knew I would like it. It had a strong Spanish feel to it which I love!

After ordering some vino, we perused the menu, which was a mix of traditional and modern tapas and main entrees. Scott and I love to eat tapas style, so we focused on the small plates…

We had eggplant puree with some super yummy and salty bread followed by a salad made with hearts of palm, roasted red peppers, and vinaigrette.

I almost forgot to mention the fantastic sunflower flatbreads that we had for a starter…

This is by far the BEST flatbread I have EVER tasted!! We liked it so much we took two containers of the bread home with us!

We opted not to eat dessert there, but instead, walked around Fells Point to scope out the bars and desserts places. I loved Fells Point! The cobblestone/brick streets gave the area so much character. Although there were many dessert places to choose from, we decided on gelato from Pitango and we were not disappointed in our choice…

They had at least a dozen flavors of gelato on display. It was so hard to decide! But the staff were great and were very open to let you test any or even all of the flavors. Thanks guys! Loved the bourbon vanilla and milk chocolate with chocolate chips! We also enjoyed some authentic Italian hot chocolate…

Seriously, this is NOT your mother’s hot chocolate. The consistency was thicker than cream and had a mild, milk chocolate flavor – wonderful! The only thing I would recommend is to have cookies or biscotti in the cafe for purchase so that customers can dunk them in their chocolate!

Ok, that’s all for now. See you all tomorrow with a recap of Sunday – Exploring Baltimore!

Yogurt Sundae

Hello Everyone! Hope you all had a wonderful and relaxing Sunday. After my typical Sunday morning run, I made a super yummy yogurt parfait for breakfast…

I layered the parfait with the following awesome ingredients…

  • 5.3 ounces of Trader Joe’s nonfat Greek yogurt, vanilla
  • 1/4 cup Galaxy Vanilla Almond Granola
  • 1/8 cup blueberries
  • 1 huge strawberry, chopped

My own Greek Yogurt “Sundae”. This was, by far, the best breakfast I’ve had in a long time.

And, if you can believe it, the whole parfait added up to less than 300 calories – now that’s a great breakfast!

Scott and I took the kids to church at 11 AM then headed to Jason’s Deli for lunch. It really wasn’t too exciting, but I did snag a couple of Dr. Kracker flatbreads for a snack at work tomorrow – he he!

After lunch, I headed back out shopping. I am trying to find something fun to wear for Fitbloggin. There’s been a little chatter about going out dancing, which sounds really fun. Unfortunately, my dancing days post-kids are few and far between and my fun, party girl close have taken a hit because of this. I shopped for more than 2 hours at Gap, Banana Republic, Ann Taylor, etc. and only found one thing that I remotely liked.

Is it just me or is anyone else having a hard time finding cute clothes for Fitbloggin and Spring in general??

For dinner ….it was taco night at the RWC house tonight.

Scott makes fantastic turkey tacos – really juicy and just the right amount of spice. He makes it all from memory too. As you can see, I had my fair share of the taco fiesta…

After letting my stomach settle, I hopped on the treadmill again for a fast 2-mile run. I had to shorten my morning workout a bit due to church so I wanted to make up for the lost time tonight. I used to do double workouts/runs quite often – mostly in the few months post-pregnancy. I love how strong the fast bursts of exercise make me feel. However, I stopped doing them so often because running in the evening tends to make it difficult for me to fall asleep.

Anyway, post evening run, I enjoyed a little sweet treat…

Double chocolate Ghirardelli brownies. I cooked them a tad too long, but they were still ooey and gooey!

Time to plan my wardrobe for the week and for Fitbloggin! Have a great night!

PBJ – French Style

It’s hard to believe that two weeks ago today I was just starting my week-long vacation in Florida. How time flies! This morning, I jump-started my day with a 5 mile run outside. Woo Hoo! I love running outside! My calves are killing me though which is so weird since the terrain is pretty flat.

After running, I enjoyed a leisurely breakfast…

I cut a few slices of the French bread I bought last night and topped them with all-natural creamy peanut butter and Bonne Maman raspberry jam. This breakfast was so awesome! I even gave some to Mr. C and Miss M who asked for more. I guess I wouldn’t normally put peanut butter on a baguette, but I really wanted the protein and MUFA. I wonder how the French would feel about peanut butter on a baguette!

This morning was a first for me – the first time I ever ate a fresh plum (that I know if anyway). It was pretty good too – tasted a little like a peach that was not fully ripe. I would definitely buy plums again though, just for a change.

Scott and I took the kids out for lunch today – surprise, surprise. Fridays during Lent are also a little iffy when it comes to meals. I don’t like any type of seafood, so I’m pretty limited on what I can eat. Today, we headed to Go Roma for a veggie panini made with red peppers, spinach and basil, and goat cheese..

Great sandwich, as always. I was in charge of dinner tonight and had no clue what to make. You may find it hard to believe but we did NOT go out to eat again for dinner. I cooked up some whole wheat pasta and mixed it with Newman’s mushroom marinara…

…meatless and adequate – so it met the requirements for today.

I’m contemplating what to do tomorrow…shop for new clothes for Fitbloggin and/or head downtown for a little fun – we’ll see!

Snack-free Saturdays

Hello everyone!

As most of you know, Saturday is a “no run” day for me. Sometimes I do yoga, but most of the time, Saturdays just end up being a rest day for me. Although I’m still active on Saturdays – running errands, etc. – I definitely don’t burn as many calories as I do when it is a running day. So today, I thought I would try to institute a no-snacking Saturday. Honestly, I have been trying to cut back on snacks altogether, but when I’m also trying to keep to 1,600 calories a day (and not cutting back on my runs) I find that having a snack once or twice a day is almost a must. But on days when I’m not running, I really have no reason to snack, other than the typical excuses, like boredom, habit, etc.

So today, on my first no-snacking Saturday, I started off with a sweet beginning…

I was really in the mood for a pastry of some sort for breakfast. So early this morning, I ran up to Deerfield’s bakery – a local favorite – to peruse their daily breakfast goods. They have so much to choose from that it was hard to decide. What I love about Deerfield’s, aside from the variety of pastries they have, is the fact that they have small bites or mini-size items of donuts, danishes, etc. This way, you can get a few small things to try, instead of buying one big coffee cake. I opted for a mini Cherry danish, which was only about 3/4 the size of a computer mouse…

I savored every bite with a bit of Fairmont Breakfast tea (from a stay at the Fairmont a while back). Ahh…so yummy. After I was finished eating, I realized that I had broken one of my rules of breakfast – to always include protein. I debated on whether to have some Greek yogurt or a spoonful of peanut butter but I really wasn’t hungry. And, I’m really trying to only eat when I’m hungry. So – no protein. 

Lunch was simple – a 1/2 salami an Swiss sandwich on rye with some steamed carrots and a few Reduced Fat Cape Cod chips…

Surprisingly, after having such a small breakfast, this light lunch kept me full all the day to dinner. I guess I really am shrinking my stomach!

For dinner, we opted for On the Border. We haven’t been there in soooo long, but decided to give it a try again since we had a gift card.

After having a dozen tortilla chips and some salsa, Scott and I split the chicken fajitas…

I had two small to medium fajitas, which was just perfect. The fajita meat was really good, better than many fajita chicken meat I’ve had – but Scott’s chicken fajitas are still the best. Hmm…can’t wait for summer grilling season!

When we arrived home, we got the kids in bed, then I cooked an oatmeal chocolate chip cookie for dessert…

Ok, this really wasn’t just ONE cookie – can you tell by the shadow? I actually had 3 very small cookies…

Yeah for me! I did it – I actually got through whole Saturday without snacking! Now, we’ll see if this has any impact on the scale tomorrow 😉

Have a great night everyone.

Avoid Weight Gain While Traveling

Today, I booked yet another business trip. This time, I’ll be headed to Orlando in April for a continuing education conference. Finally – a business trip where I don’t actually have to work! If all goes as planned, I will have logged at least 8 business trips this year.

Although traveling for business can get old, one thing I do enjoy is eating at new, fun restaurants in each city I stop in.  This is a great way to explore the city and new foods at the same time. But, it can also be very, very dangerous for your waistline. When you’re out of town on business, you have no choice but eat outside the home. Hopefully, you have good luck in your restaurant choices, but sometimes you’re at the mercy of airport food and ya all know how I feel about that!! Plus, it is very easy to overeat while on business. Most business events are centered around food and drinks and plenty of both! If you don’t pace yourself or know when to stop eating, you’re likely to put on a few pounds by the end of your trip – and all for the sake of your job!

10 Strategies for Healthy Eating During Business Travel

In all of my years of traveling for business and eating at many, many business lunches and dinners, I’ve developed a few strategies that help me eat less and make better choices about what I eat. Although I do not follow these tips religiously, I find that they’ve become almost second nature when order food at restaurants.

  1. Eat an appetizer or small plate – Before ordering, I peruse the appetizer or small plates section. If there’s something tasty in that section, I’ll order one or two smaller dishes as a main meal. And, because they are served more like appetizers (bite size/finger foods), I usually end up sharing them with the table, which means I eat even less.
  2. Order a salad or soup to start – If I am really hungry when I sit down to eat, I’ll order a small, simple salad with a vinegar dressing or a minestrone/broth soup. I find that this takes the edge off of my hunger and prevents me from eating the whole bread basket (although I have done that in the past – ouch!)
  3. Beware the bottomless bread basket – As I mentioned in #2, I have been known to eat more than my share of bread or tortilla chips. This would usually leave me too full to eat a significant portion of my entree. This may sound like I’m balancing calories, but it’s definitely not balancing nutrition. It’s much better nutrition-wise to eat your entree (provided it’s a healthy one) than eating 7 pieces of bread.
  4. Limit alcohol or other calorie-laden drinks – I don’t drink a lot of alcohol to begin with but when I do, I limit my intake to 1 or 2 drinks max. I would much rather save my calories for dessert and sip on ice cold water or a calorie free drink with my meal.
  5. Split an entree – On a business trip, splitting a meal can be difficult. Although, in the last year, I have done this a few times with close colleagues. Even my boss – a man – has been known to split restaurant food – but it’s usually dessert!
  6. Pretend you’re at home – Before you order and especially before you eat, think What would I eat if I was at home? or How much would I eat if I was at home? For instance, would you really eat a pound of spaghetti bolognese after eating calamari and a salad? Maybe, maybe not. At home, would you really make yourself a greasy egg McMuffin-like breakfast sandwich? Probably not, so why would you order it at the airport? Even the worst airports have yogurt, fruit, and cereal.
  7. Plan your calories – If I know that my colleagues and I are going out to a big, fancy dinner with drinks, I’ll eat a bigger breakfast – like yogurt with nuts, fruit, and maybe some toast. Then, I eat lighter at lunch – a cup of soup or a 1/2 sandwich. This leaves plenty of room and calorie cushion for dinner on the town. 
  8. Don’t follow the table – Just because everyone else is ordering multiple drinks, appetizers, and a filet with a baked potato does not mean I have to. I’d much rather feel good about what I’m eating (and not feel bloated/stuffed) than feel like I have to match my colleagues’ ordering and eating habits.
  9. Excuse yourself – By getting up during the meal, your body has time to adjust to the food you’ve eaten and decide if it still needs to eat more. Also, if I’m out to eat with a big group and am tempted by the food a the table, I will excuse myself once or twice to go to the bathroom or to make a phone call. This gives the food on the table enough time to disappear. This could also work during dessert – when the server comes around to take dessert orders, quietly tell the person next to you that you need to make a quick call and that you don’t need anything for dessert. While everyone else is pressuring his/her neighbor to order a dessert (because who really wants to be the only one ordering a dessert?), you will be away from the table and the peer pressure.
  10. Remember, it’s not your last meal – Even if you do end up ordering more food than you’d normally eat at one sitting, it does NOT mean that you have to eat it all. This is not your last meal so don’t act like it by stuffing yourself.

These strategies don’t just work for business trips, but for eating at restaurants in general. I hope to put all (or at least some!) of these strategies into practice during our upcoming trip to Disney World. Wish me luck!

Happy, Healthy Travels Everyone!

An Unexpected Work-at-Home Day

Hey All!

I worked at home today – with the kids! I hadn’t planned on working at home at all and especially not with the kids. But, when push comes to shove, I do what I have to do.

Before Scott left to teach a class, I hopped on the treadmill for about 45 minutes. We have a separate heating system (electric heat) in our basement where the treadmill is. For some reason it is super hot down there every morning. So, I’m usually a sweaty mess by the time I come upstairs.

Breakfast was 1/2 a carton of TJ’s vanilla Greek yogurt, with a teaspoon of all-natural peanut butter and a few walnuts…

I also had the last of the OJ, which was seriously like 2 ounces!!! Why even bother leaving 2 ounces of juice in the carton? I just don’t understand it.

Lunch happened to be leftover homemade fried chicken from Saturday night…

I had two small pieces, although I could have easily eaten more. I paired the chicken with some steamed baby carrots and about a cup of Trader Joe’s shells and white cheddar..

Let me tell you, it is REALLY hard to work at home with the kids! At their ages, they demand all of my attention – which is not a bad thing except when I need to work. Fortunately, they both take naps and can be calmed by a Disney show (desperate times call for desperate measures).

While the kids napped then watched a Disney show, I was heads down in a project for work. Between working a little before getting on the treadmill, and working in the afternoon, I was able to finish my project and put in about 3.5 hours at home. Whew – what a day! I was so busy – and HANGRY – that I just had to have a snack – 2 small homemade chocolate chip cookies and a 1/2 cup skim milk. Plus, right before dinner, I was starving and couldn’t wait. Had a small, snack pack of Sunchips too – blah! Oh well, still under 1,600 calories for the day.

In all of my craziness today, I actually found the time to make dinner…

I tried a new Giada recipe for creamy orzo (at least it was new to me). Minus the peas, I thought this dish was really good, although I had to add a bunch of salt and pepper for taste. I’m glad I quartered the recipe because Scott and my son did not like this AT ALL! That’s ok though – Giada will never know. The kids and I also split a turkey burger which is the reason why it looks so small in the picture!!

Now, I have about 200 calories that I could still eat to get to my 1,600 calories a day – I’m thinking a small brownie and a little Breyer’s vanilla – what do ya think? 😉

Restaurant Diet Update

So today, it has been officially 4 weeks since we started our Restaurant Diet, vowing not to spend any of our own money on food outside of the house. So how did we do? We did fantastic!! By having gift cards from Christmas at our disposal, we were able to get our fix of eating out without spending money. So, for the most part, we really weren’t tempted to stray.

That is, until yesterday. That’s right, we decided to end the diet one day early. We contemplated going to Panera for lunch and using the last of our meal gift cards. But Panera just didn’t sound good. So, we opted for the Italian cafe near our house. Kids eat free on Sunday and we actually had a free meal to boot. So, we spent about $14 to feed 2 adults and 2 children – about $3.50 a person. Not bad!

So how much money did we save? Well, we were regularly going out to eat 2-3 times a week with the kids – blowing about $75. Then, between Starbucks, Barnes and Noble cafe, and going out to lunch, Scott and I easily spent another $25 a week, if not more, between the two of us. Overall, we probably saved about $400 by on the Restaurant Diet, which is well worth the effort!

Gotta get to bed. See you all tomorrow!

Shrinking Your Stomach

Hey All!

As most of you know, I have been trying to stick to 1,600 calories a day for at least the last week. I’m not trying to lose a bunch of weight, but I’m trying to “shrink my stomach” as my husband would say.

What does it mean to shrink your stomach?

It doesn’t mean that I want six-pack abs (very hard to get for women). What “shrinking your stomach” means to us is the process of training your body, your mind, and, hence, your stomach to need and want less food. For instance, after traveling twice in January, I grew accustomed to eating out, eating bigger than normal portions, and eating many, many sweets. However, even when I stopped traveling, I found that my stomach still wanted me to eat like that. If you don’t catch this vicious cycle in time, this can mean big trouble in the weight department.

Although I may have put on a pound or two while traveling in January :-(, the real reason why I’m watching calories is to retrain my brain and appetite to not eat so much, stop eating before I’m full, and not snack as much. Plus, we are leaving in just a few weeks for Disney. I’ve mentioned before that we opted to buy the dining plan, which pretty much means you can eat ALL the time, or what seems like it. Between buffets and fancy plated dinners, to fast food and snacks, we are going to have calories thrown at us faster than the teacups can spin. So, I’m trying to preempt those temptations by making my body not want to overeat.

I figured that by sticking to 1,600 calories a day (about 300-400 less than normal), my body would become more full on less food. And, in just about 10 days, this has actually happened! I find that after just one bowl of soup or one small serving of dinner, I’m pretty satisfied. Dessert is still something I enjoy too, I just eat less of it and make sure it fits into the 1,600 calories (or around 1,600 calories) per day.

So how did I do today?

After my fab run on the treadmill (running an extra 5 minutes), I had about 3/4 a container of Trader Joe’s vanilla Greek yogurt with a few walnuts…

Plus I had a 1/2 cup of OJ (actually measured to be sure), just because I was craving something citrusy…

For lunch, we headed out to a restaurant (we had a free meal!) where I had 1/2 an Italian sandwich plus about 1/2 my French fries…

This ended up being the most calories I ate at one sitting today. I really do prefer eating heavier at lunch than dinner. This gives my stomach more time to digest the food. After lunch, I took my son to yet another 5-year old birthday party. Then, I stopped at Starbucks to pick up a tall mocha frap. My stomach wasn’t feeling so great after a while, so I only drank about 1/3 – 3/4 of it and threw the rest away.

Dinner ended up being about 1 1/2 cups chicken soup – that’s it! Because I just wasn’t very hungry. And then finally, a small (1/2 slice) of birthday cake (unpictured).

Let’s see how the numbers add up…

  • 4 ounces Nonfat Greek Yogurt and walnuts = 200 calories
  • 4 oz Orange Juice = 50 calories
  • 1/2 serving French fries = 200 calories
  • 1/2 Italian Panini with spinach = 500 calories
  • 3/4 Tall Mocha Frap with no whip = 175 calories
  • 1 cup popcorn = 100 calories
  • 1 1/2 cups Chicken and Veggie Soup = 150 calories
  • 1/2 slice cake – 200 calories
  • Total = 1,575 calories

Obviously, the choices I made today were not the greatest as far as nutritional value. For instance, I need to eat more fruits and veggies and fewer sweets – duh! But, I still came in under 1,600 calories and I feel FULL! After doing this for about 10 days, I HAVE actually lost 2 pounds and am now down to my pre-January business travel weight (108 pounds). What I am more happy about is that I don’t want food all day long and I don’t find myself eating mindlessly – aka the Brian Wansink theory.

I’m hoping that I can stick to this way of eating on vacation. But, after all, it is vacation, right? 😉

Have a great night everyone!