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It's like I never left…

March 8, 2010 by

Hey All! Going back to work after being on vacation always seems a bit hectic. I didn’t check a single work email for ten days, so I had to sift through about 600 email messages – non of which were too urgent.

Luckily, I anticipated a very long day and started out on the right foot. I jumped out of bed just before 6 AM for a 4.5 mile interval run on the treadmill. Then, it was an energizing breakfast  – 3/4 cup Kashi Go Lean Crunch with flax..

I know flax is supposed to be good for you, but does anyone else think it leaves a weird aftertaste in your mouth?

On the way to work, I wanted to treat myself to a new Starbucks drink – the cherry mocha. Has anyone tried this yet?? Because I was running late for work, per usual, I was hoping to zip in and zip out of the ‘buck. However, as fate would have it, there was a sign on the counter that said they would only be making brewed coffee and tea drinks today due to equipment problems. Foiled again, Batman!

Work ended up being a pretty normal day – like I never left. I don’t know if that’s a good sign or a bad one???

For dinner, Scott made another one of his specialities – chicken fajitas!!!

This is usually his go-to summer dish, but for some reason he was craving fajitas – maybe it has to do with March Madness ;-). Scott makes his fajitas with all the fixins, like bell peppers, mushrooms, onions, lettuce, and guacamole. I made a fajita salad in order to avoid unnecessary calories from the tortilla.

Now, it’s off to bed for me. But wait!  Stay tuned tomorrow for a peak at my new 1154 Lill bag. It was delivered to my door the day we arrived home from vacation – how’s that for timing?

Have a great night!

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My Peanut Butter Reality

February 22, 2010 by

Evening everyone!

I had a great early morning run today – started before 6 AM which I haven’t done for a while. After 4.5 sweaty miles running from 7.0 to 7.6 on a 10% incline, I was sooo ready for breakfast. I couldn’t wait to try my new Oikos nonfat Greek vanilla yogurt…

Hmm…not so good. I really wanted to like this yogurt because it’s a little more accessible than going to Trader Joe’s and it’s a little cheaper too. But there was just something about it I did NOT like. It almost tasted too sour – like it was on the verge of becoming bad, although the expiration date wasn’t until mid-March. I tried adding some peanut butter to it and that didn’t help, which totally goes against my peanut butter reality (that peanut butter makes everything taste better).

I only took a few bites and then gave the rest to Miss M, who didn’t like it either. And that is saying a lot considering this is a girl who loves Trader Joe’s vanilla Greek yogurt. Oh well, I only bought two – I’m hoping the strawberry flavor is better. To compensate for my blah breakfast, I had 1/2  Luna bar on the way to work. Luna – so dependable! Then it was on to Starbucks for a skinny vanilla latte – I needed it after only getting about 6 hours of sleep!

Work ended up going by really fast today, which is always nice 🙂 Lunch was an unpictured can of soup and a banana, and then another Luna bar for a snack.

Dinner was one of my favorites tonight – homemade pasta sauce made with ground turkey…

Plus some homemade garlic bread on the side. Scott made it and it was sooo good – doesn’t this look like Texas toast??? But it wasn’t, it was the leftover three-cheese bread from La Brea.

I had about 1 1/2 cups of pasta plus 3/4 cup sauce. I really wanted MORE, but I refrained knowing that there is a brownie in the house with my name on it.

So let’s see how I did…

Jen’s Calories for Monday, February 22:

  • Few bites of yogurt = 50 calories
  • 1/2 Luna bar = 90 calories
  • Skinny vanilla latte – 90 calories
  • Banana – 90 calories
  • 1 can of chicken soup = 150 calories
  • 1 Luna Bar – 180 calories
  • 2 small pieces of garlic bread = 200 calories
  • 1 1/2 cups cooked pasta (measured) = 300 calories
  • 3/4 cup pasta sauce (measured) – 200 calories
  • 1 cup steamed broccoli = 50 calories
  • 1 brownie = 200 calories
  • Total calories = 1,600

Not too bad as far as calories, but the majority of my calories were consumed after 5 PM (950 calories), when I am at my least active. Not so good for my metabolism. 

Gotta read a few articles before heading to bed. See you all tomorrow!

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Weather Obsession

February 11, 2010 by

You all would have been so proud of me today! While driving into work, I was really craving a Starbucks mocha frap. I somehow managed to justify stopping just one more time this week, but at the very last second, I said “no”, and went straight to the office! Plus, after dinner tonight, Scott and I played the who wants to go out to get a treat game. I offered to go at first, but then decided we didn’t need to consume the calories or spend the money. Again, so proud!

OK, can I be more obsessed with the weather these days. And it’s not because of Chicago’s recent snowapalooza or the fact that it is bitter cold. I have been obsessed about the weather for my vacation to Florida. I feel like I’m going onto The Weather Channel site every hour, just to see if Orlando’s forecast has magically change. Will it rain or snow? Will it be sunny or cloudy? Will it be warm enough to swim or wear shorts? Only time will tell. And, as soon as it does change, I am going to be the first one to know because I’ve got the Weather Channel booked marked. Strangely enough, I feel like one of those retirees who can only talk about the weather or sales at the grocery store. I’m not alone though. I’m going to guess the folks in the mid-Atlantic states are pretty obsessed with their weather right now too.

Enough of the randomness. I’m off to bed. I have a big day of running, shopping, and studying on tap for tomorrow. Then Saturday, it’s a surprise activity that’s just for all the single ladies – hint, it involves purses!

Have a great night everyone.

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Shrinking Your Stomach

January 31, 2010 by

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!

Filed Under: Fitness Tagged With: , , ,

Like Being in College, Except You Get Paid

January 29, 2010 by

Happy Friday! Don’t know about you but I am really ready for the weekend. I stayed up until 12:30 AM last night to finish a project for work. I felt like I was in college/grad school again, playing beat the clock against a mid-term deadline. Back in college, I used to think that all that work and pulling all-nighters wouldn’t be so bad if we got paid for it. Well, now that I AM getting paid for it, I wish I was getting paid MORE! 

Despite only getting about 6 hours of sleep, I had a great run this morning on the treadmill. It really is too cold to run outside here in Chicago – at least in my opinion. Although I complain about running on the treadmill day after day, I really am thankful that I have one.

Breakfast was a hearty bowl of oatmeal, with a tad of brown sugar and a few chopped walnuts…

I had to make a Target and Costco run for things for the party tomorrow, which consumed most of my morning. But I did cash in my Starbucks giftcard for a tall mocha frap. Instead of drinking it right away, I put it in the fridge to stay cold until after lunch…

Since I’m trying to stick to 1,600 calories a day for the next few days, I’ve been really watching my portions. As you can see, I had a 1/2 sandwich made with reduced-fat salami and a 1/2 slice of Swiss, plus a few carrots and chips to balance it out.

While the kids napped, I savored my mocha frap and spent the better part of 2 hours perusing the menus at Disney World. We have been very strategic about our restaurant choices, trying to balance quality food with a fun atmosphere for the kids. You’re probably thinking that every restaurant at Disney provides a fun atmosphere for kids – well, not really. Some do a better job than others. This balancing act also includes trying to split our meals between a la carte menus and buffets. Here’s the catch, most character meals are buffets and most of these get pretty low ratings for food. But, when you have small children, you want to go to character meals to make it more fun for the kids and not just like going out to eat back home.

As I checked out the menus online, which are very accurate by the way, I was contemplating some of the healthier choices for both me and the kids. On the dining plan, the kids have to order off the kid’s menu. And wouldn’t you know it, nearly all of the menus include hot dogs, pizza, chicken fingers, burgers, and mac and cheese. Come on – I know kids are picky but couldn’t you be more original than that? That’s not to say that my kids won’t eat those things because they absolutely will – but twice a day for seven days?? Even my kids would get bored with that. And what is even more strange is that the appetizer for the kids (the kid’s meal includes an appetizer) they can choose from a salad or carrots sticks. I know that those are healthy choices, but how many kids do you know (especially those 5 and under) who eat salads or carrot sticks for an appetizer? It seems like it should be switched, give them something a little more “fun” for an appetizer and give them a healthier choice for the entree.

Anyway, dinner ended up being homemade chicken noodle soup, which tasted really good on a cold day. Before soup, we actually started with a little white cheddar and crackers…

Again, because I’m watching my portions, I had one small cup of soup – about 10 ounces. But it looked really good in my fancy smancy cup…

I’m off to go finish up a few party things before bed. See you all tomorrow!

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Working and Working Out

January 24, 2010 by

Hey there!

I don’t know about you but my Sunday just flew by – probably because I spent most of the day either working or working out. I started with a 45 minute interval workout on the treadmill (the rain kept me inside today – blah!). The run was followed by a 15-minute ab workout. I love ab-toning exercises. They not only make you look really in shape, but they are great for strengthening your core.

Next up, a little breakfast…

And yes, it was little, probably too little. It was about a 1/3 cup of Trader Joe’s vanilla Greek nonfat yogurt, with about a teaspoon of peanut butter and a teaspoon of chopped walnuts. I know that this was not enough because about 45 minutes later I was starving! I grabbed a few pretzels just to take the edge off until lunch.

And speaking of lunch, I had leftover turkey chili with elbow noodles..

I don’t know what was with me today, but I just could not judge portions sizes. This ended up being only a 1/2 cup of chili and about 1/2-3/4 cup noodles. After such a small breakfast, this was way too small of a lunch for me. But Scott very nicely offered to share his turkey burger, so I decided to take him up on his offer and have 1/4 the burger.

The rest of the afternoon was spent working – and I mean working! Because of all the craziness at work with this potential new project, I am working in overdrive. I headed to Barnes and Noble – my office away from home – for some quiet work time. I did enjoy a nice mocha frap while I was there – via gift card of course!

Dinner was a household favorite, Italian sausage with peppers and leeks…

I LOVE this dish – it just never gets old. Although tonight, the sausage seemed a little underdone. I guess we’ll all find out if we get sick in the middle of the night!

After our stomachs (and the kids) were settled, Scott and I headed into the basement for a little workout. No, not that kind of workout (get your mind out of the gutter 😉 ) He’s been going on the treadmill at night pretty consistently for the last few weeks. He’s trying to increase his fitness level for some of our big trips we have planned in the coming months.

Many of you have posted on how you do double workouts a few times a week. I have done this in the past and, although it’s hard to keep up with on a regular basis, I do find that I can keep my weight down fairly easy when I do this. So tonight, I thought I’d try doing the eliptical. I haven’t been on the eliptical in YEARS!!!! Let me tell you, doing the eliptical was so much HARDER than running. Not only was I dripping wet with sweat after just 10 minutes, but I could barely make it through the 20 workout – on no higher than level 4 – yikes! And I thought I was pretty in shape.

Funny thing is, I was extremely tired at the end but it said I only burned 90 calories. I burn about 400-450 calories after 40 minutes on the treadmill! I think it’s safe to say I’ll be sticking with running.

Now, completely exhausted, I’m about ready to dig into some of my father-in-law’s leftover almond crunch cake…

Ahh, so good, and definitely just as tasty as it was last night.

That’s all for now friends. See you on Monday!

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Washington, DC: Congress, Coffee, and Cupcakes

January 20, 2010 by

Hey all!

I’m blogging from Washington, DC! Before landing, I enjoyed my go-to airport breakfast nourishment….

This was actually a combination of breakfast and lunch. The  yogurt cup is actually a pretty healthy choice as far as airport food goes. 

Upon arriving at the DC hotel, I was overwhelmed at how many “suits” were in the hotel lobby. I actually felt quite out of place in my jeans, so I hustled up to my room without looking at anyone. But then, I decided to venture off for a little 30-minute walk to find my next cupcake destination…Red Velvet Cupcakery…

Don’t let the plain jane box fool you. Because when you opened it, there were these two lovelies inside…

My signature cupcake, the Red Velvet, and the Lemon Coconut cupcake. Hmm…so yummy! And, I would know because I ate both of them while sitting in my hotel room working. That’s what happens when I don’t eat a real lunch. Plus, on the way back from the cupcake shop, I stopped off to pick up a skim mocha…

This, unfortunately was NOT very good. It had a funky taste so I drank about 1/3 of it and thew the rest out. Blah! But hey, I didn’t have to pay for it!

Now, I’m off to meet my friend Prachi for dinner! I’ll be back later to fill you in on our dinner escapades!

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Toes Are Free To Run

January 13, 2010 by

Hi All! Glad to see you’re all intrigued by the concept of barefoot running. One reader, Neal, mentioned a very unique type of running shoe/sock that is supposed to allow the foot to move in a more natural way but still gives you protection from the road/trail and related elements. Neal wrote…

I’m a big proponent of the Vibram Five Fingers. You should give them a try if you are serious about exploring the barefoot running thing. 

I have to admit, when I saw this “shoe” it kind of creeped me out a bit. But then it also reminded me of the toesie socks that were so popular a few years back! It really makes sense though – having all of your toes “free” allows them to flex and grab the ground, hence making it easier to balance and putting less stress on the ankle and legs.

I’m sure we could talk for hours and hours about this, but let’s move on for now. My morning started off with a quick treadmill run. Wednesday is usually my day off, but after last weekend’s indulgences, I felt like I needed an extra day of calorie burning! Running was following by a little Cheerios for breakfast…

1.13.10 Cheerios and blueberries

Ahh…so healthy and colorful! On my way to work, I was really wanting a Starbucks but resisted the urge and temptation (after all, I am into Week #2 of the restaurant diet!). Instead, I tried out my office’s coffee/hot chocolate machine for a little frothy, chocolaty milk…

1.13.10 Hot Chocolate

Adequate, but not Starbucks quality. I had back-to-back meetings this morning (you haven’t heard me say that in a while!) so, on a break, I managed to snack on a lemon Luna bar…

1.13.10 Lemon Luna bar

I LOVE lemon cookies, cakes, etc, so I was pleasantly surprised with the taste of this bar. It’s also a nice change from chocolate and peanut butter – whoaa, did I just say that?

Lunch happened to be an unpictured bowl of Trader Joe’s shells and white cheddar followed by TJ’s vanilla Greek yogurt in the late afternoon…

1.13.10 Greek Yogur and Tazo Tea

I mixed in some homemade granola and blueberries for an tasty and protein-filled treat. Plus, a little Tazo Awake tea to keep me going. I’ve discovered another new feature of my office’s gourmet coffee maker. It has a frothed milk option! So, I fill up a mug about 1/4 way with frothy milk then fill up the rest with hot water. I add my Tazo and voila – instant Tazo Awake Latte – not bad for spending no cashola!

Dinner was quickie because I was not in the mood to cook…

1.13.10 Minestrone soup

I’m so thankful we had minestrone soup still left in the freezer, otherwise I would have probably resorted to peanuts.

We are nearly out of all things chocolate in our house, except for the chocolate/peanut butter Cliff bar that I put in Scott’s Christmas stocking. He was not very willing to share his treats, even though he ate most of the chocolate truffles from my stocking – blah! He needs to go back to kindergarten. 

Ok friends, I must be off to bed. I have a date with the treadmill in the AM as well as a yoga session at noon. Have a great night!

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From Snow to Sun in 3 Hours

January 8, 2010 by

Hello everyone!

Well, I’m here in sunny Scottsdale! I guess it’s not really sunny right now but it was definitely sunny when I landed at the Phoenix airport earlier today. Anything is better than the 20 degrees and 8 inches of snow I left in Chicago! It’s amazing that in just 3 hours, I went from SNOW to complete SUN – and 70 degree weather.

I’m here in Arizona for the first of 5 meetings that I will be attending in the next 5 months (all in different locations). I’m so busy that I will most likely NOT get to enjoy the gorgeous weather 🙁 But, I did manage to snag one of these babies from the pool bar…

1.8.10 banana mango smoothie

As you can tell, I didn’t waste any time sucking down this banana mango smoothie. It tasted soooo good but I’m sure it was loaded with calories from all of the sugar. Oh well, I just off set the calories by having something very healthy at lunch…

1.8.10 grilled chicken salad

A fantastic dinner salad with hearts of palm and grilled chicken – OMG – it tasted soo good. That is where my healthy eating stopped for the day. I won’t get into details on dinner/snacks, but let’s just say that it was a two dessert kind of a night! 

I wasn’t able to fit my running shoes or workout clothes in my VERY small carry on (good thing I ran before I left this morning!), but I’m hoping to get up early tomorrow and walk around the resort for a bit before my meeting. Oh yeah, there’s a Starbucks just up the road – a perfect walking destination! And, actually buying a Starbucks wouldn’t even break my restaurant diet rule because my company is buying – woo hoo! I can see a tall skinny mocha in my very near future….

Night all 😉

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A MUFA-licious New Year

January 2, 2010 by

Afternoon everyone!

Yesterday, Scott and I spent most of the afternoon taking down all of the inside Christmas decorations. I didn’t put out as many as I normally do, so it wasn’t as bad as last year taking them down. I will miss how pretty my house looked, but I am glad to have it back to normal.

This morning, Scott left early to attend an Illinois v. Gonzaga basketball game in downtown Chicago. But, I managed to convince him to take a picture of me in my new Lucy shirt before he left…

1.2 Jen Breathe shirt 10.1

Thanks shman.

Blah, I just saw that Illinois lost. I didn’t go to U of I and, frankly, college basketball is NOT my thing. But I still want the Illini to win. Scott usually goes to the big game every year and hangs with all of his old college buddies. You think I would like basketball, even a little, after playing 4 years of b-ball in high school. Thanks, but I’ll pass. 

I didn’t end up going to yoga this morning like I planned (too cold to venture outside at just 6 degrees of bed separation). Instead, I started the morning with a few lunges, squats, and leg extensions. I usually start doing these in March to gear up for bikini season. But, seeing as I’m headed to Florida at the end of February then twice again in April, I figured I should get a head start! I also munched on some super nummy yogurt…

1.2 Trader Joe Greek Yogurt 2

Instead of buying individual 5.3 oz of Trader Joe’s nonfat vanilla Greek yogurt, I bought the big carton. I’m trying to really watch portion sizes this year, and I feel that the individual yogurts are a little too much for me. With the full-size carton, and a handy dandy 6 oz ramekin, I can fill up the ramekin 1/2 way, then add granola and blueberries. Honestly, this is ALL I need to get me started on most mornings.

1.2 Trader Joe Greek Yogurt 1

As for watching portion sizes, I’m not really trying to lose weight – I don’t have much to lose at just 107 pounds. I’m also not really the type to do New Year’s resolutions. But, every year, I try to start the new year off right with some of the basic principles of healthy eating…

  • Watching calorie intake
  • Loading up on fruits and veggies
  • Eating more fiber-rich foods
  • Cutting back on junk food
  • Saying “yes” to MUFA (monounsaturated fats)
  • Reducing diet coke
  • Kicking my Starbucks habit (I wonder if there’s a Starbucks support group I could join?)
  • Opting for all-natural foods, when possible
  • Limiting snacks

For instance, for lunch, I knew I’d be satisfied with a 1/2 reduced-fat salami sandwich, so that’s what I had (reduce portions – check). I made the sandwich on Brownberry double fiber bread (add fiber – check), and plus I threw in a few cherry tomatoes for the huge vitamin C but also because they are fruit (add fruits/veggies – check)

1.2 Salami Sandwich with olives 2

It’s a little strange eating lunch without Scott on a Saturday, considering we are almost always together on the weekends. No matter though, I had olive eyes watching me…

1.2 Salami Sandwich with Olives 1

Not to mention a beautiful a bird sitting in my tree who kept his hawk eye on me and my food…

1.2 Wild Hawk

I named him Nicholas Nickleby – Nick for short. Don’t ask me why, I was just in a Charles Dickens kind of a mood today. 

Tonight, I plan to do some major studying at Barnes and Noble and then tomorrow starts our 30-day restaurant diet – more details to follow 😉

So, what’s your healthy eating goal for the year?

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