Hakuna Matata

I was so completely ready to take this weekend and the holiday. I packed a cooler of food to take home with me so my healthy ways would continue throughout my time in Sandusky. But then I met Tommy Turkey in his Easter costume. He was all honey roasted and moist.

Tangent 1 - I HATE the word moist. I hate the way it sounds, it's just a weird, gross word. Why, you ask, then do I use it to describe something as beautiful as a Honey Baked Ham Smoked Turkey? Because I have no other adjectives that are floating around in my noggin right now, that's why.

Back to Tommy. He was the first meat I've had in 40 days and totally num nums! I think I had half a turkey myself, NOT GOOD! But I knew that I would be a bit of a pig over the holiday weekend so my sister, Colbie and I went for a "run" Saturday morning. By "run" I mean I ran with Megan for all of five minutes before I stopped and started my spurts of walking and the spurts of running. Colbie was dead by the time she finished with Megan's five mile run.

So after Tommy, I had some Gorant's chocolates, Coconut Cream Pie, a cupcake, a tiny bit of scalloped potatoes and tons of brocolli, califlower and carrots. I definately made sure to fill up on the veggies so I wouldn't OD on the bad stuff. Sadly, I only have one picture from the feast, the beautiful cupcakes my cousin's girlfriend made... so pretty!!


This past week has been decent, not great but not bad. I've had some delicious food and some blah food. But I do have a new morning snack that is filling and wonderfully packed with some healthy protein... behold, the toasted peanut butter, banana bagel!


Also, one night prior to Easter weekend, I enjoyed my new Cosmo with some hummus, veggies and a sandwich thin grilled cheese sandwich using Kraft Fat Free Singles.



Today was weigh in day, and to be honest I wasn't too concerned and I think I should have been. I was extremely bad yesterday in my restraint. I hit the gym and then decided I needed a spur of the moment dinner out. I called my friend Bridget and we hit up Red Robin. It's not my favorite place, but I was craving some fries (hence the badness) they're endless, and I had two helpings with a lettuce wrapped veggie burger. I essentially cancelled out my work out and had a few more calories than alloted. I will get back on the wagon today and eat correctly. The moral of my story is that I lost one pound. Better than a gain based on my consumption levels over the past four days.

Happy Hump Day and Hakuna Matata!

Happy Easter

Today is my Friday! I took tomorrow off so I could drive back to Sandusky tonight and be able to attend Good Friday services with my Mom & Dad tomorrow. I always cry, it's always such a huge thing to do the readings and reenact the Crucifixion as part of the mob. To know that the people cried out for Jesus' blood in return for a common criminal. I plan on listening to my favorite of the Bach 4 on my way home tonight, St. Matthew Passion... which brings back the memories of Bach Festival and BW and all my friends whom I miss and adore. Sigh.







This weekend brings the introduction of meat back into my diet! We'll be having honey ham and turkey (my fav) with scalloped potatoes and tons of veggies. I'm excited and nervous all at once. I'm afraid that introducing chicken, beef and pork back into my diet will result in either a halt in weight loss or even a gain. I know that those sources of protein are supposed to fill you up more, but I love them all so much I don't know if I'll have an issue stopping when I should!

I've been thinking long and hard on this and believe that I will very rarely purchase meat to cook at home. I am thoroughly enjoying my meatless ways as it means I can consume "more" veggies. I will still continue to order meat when out and it is readily available, I will randomly buy some to cook with if the mood strikes me, but overall, I'm going to keep my carnivorous ways to a minimum.

I wish everyone and their loved ones a very Happy Easter. Safe travels and remember the true reason we celebrate Easter!

It's that time again... weigh in Wednesday!

Please forgive the two posts in one day, technically the previous was a drugged rant so it doesn't count as a full post ;)

I'm still exhausted this morning due to the drama of last night so a tall cup of black coffee is in order. But first, let's get down to business! Last week consisted of only three days at the gym due to sickness claiming my energy from Thursday on. Despite the lack of physical activity I was able to drop three more pounds by just watching my calorie intake like a hawk and making sure I wasn't going above my alotment. I'm so excited with that outcome because there will be weeks when I can't get to the gym everyday but being extra careful with what goes in my body completely makes up for that. My trainer says weight loss is 80% diet and only 20% excersize. The lesson learned here is to remember to eat your meals/snacks and to drown yourself in water to keep that metabolism going!


Here's a meal I had last week, can't remember what day, but it was pretty tasty. It had to be on a workout day since this is a ton of food. I had some asiago filled tortelloni, california blend steamed veggies and a Morning Star veggie burger, bunless of course :)

I'm so excited to head home to Sandusky for the Easter holiday! My pup has been at the parent's house for the past two weeks due to my heavy time commitments to the conference. She's been in ball chasing heaven but apparently when cars that look like mine pull into the driveway she sits down and waits for me to appear. I can't wait to see her face again!!

Storm Chaser!

Not.

I love watching Storm Chasers on Discovery, it's one of my favorites along with Deadliest Catch. I like to try to tell myself I'm not afraid of tornadoes. It's a badly told lie. I've had a weird fascination with them since I was a child and swore I saw one when out playing. To my credit there were water spouts that day on the lake, but no reported tornadoes. I've also had this reoccurring dream featuring one of those twisting terrors, which usually results in the death of my family and dog. Not fun. Last night's dream was a bit different. I dreamed that I dreamed about five huge tornadoes circling around a field near my house. Once the dream me dreamed that, she then experienced it "the next day" and took it as an omen. That means real me had to take dream me's omen and doubly apply it to my life.

As you know, I've been sick since Wednesday of last week and I'm still having issues with breathing through my nose. I took NyQuil and a sleepy time pill this evening to help me sleep the night through. I clearly didn't think over that decision very well knowing that there were some potentially dangerous storms headed my way.

So of course, the sirens go off at 2:40am. I've been coasting on half asleep since I heard the hail and wind pick up but turned into major alert mode once those screaming sirens kicked in. I immediately started shaking from the adrenaline and got myself to the basement and continued to quake and shake the drugs right out of my system. I'm now back in bed after 15 minutes of sirens on, off, on and finally off. Anytime the wind starts whistling through my window I think it's the sirens and tense up. I think I'm more scared of those sirens than anything else...

I know you are questioning my sanity at this point and I would like to blame the pills :) The moral of this post is, I'm a total wuss and will definitely run in the face of a tornado, especially at night when visibility is zero. I leave you now in hopes that I'm able to reclaim my drugged sleep although I sincerely doubt it.

Weekend Update

Well, my yearly sickness has arrived. Apparently my allergies went on the rampage and are rallying to convince me that they are no longer allergies and are in fact the plague. I sound like a man, am congested times twelve and and I ran out of tissues two toilet paper rolls ago. Even though I can not taste the deliciousness I'm about to show you, I persevered through the untimely death of my taste buds to bring you these delectable photos in hopes that some one's mouth will water as mine surely didn't.


Friday evening's weather was warm enough that I was tempted to grill out. I had just gotten paid and splurged on a second box of Morning Star Burgers, this time I went with the original flavor vs the garden veggie. Still didn't hit the spot like I wanted and needed it to. Thus is the life of a carnivore turned leaf eater, the juiciness of a meat burger, whether beef or turkey, will never match veggies mashed into a patty. :( I also tried my hand at zucchini chips, and I failed miserably. I cut them too thin and baked them too long. I kept the recipe healthy by dipping the chips in skim milk vs egg. They were decent but I would have preferred those new natural cut fries from Wendy's... nummy.


I know I mentioned it before but, Sara Bareilles rocks! She is just so talented. So my sister and I decided I wasn't allowed to purchase a shirt unless it was perfect. What is more perfect than this...


I mean, it's aqua!!! Well, teal, but that is a close second and a color I quite enjoy!

Today was a bit challenging, as I attempted to work at the OG with my man voice. I didn't feel well in the fact that I couldn't breathe through my nose so I was sucking on cough drops like Edward longs to suck on Bella's neck. This resulted in my tables wondering if I was a chain smoker or if I was hiding something from them. I left work early and came back here to cut up some of the fresh fruit I bought this weekend. The pineapple was fantastic, it was the only one I could taste. Enjoy the snack and have a good Sunday night!

Hello 1 lb...

F OFF! We all knew this week would be rough and possibly bring on a pound or two, that doesn't change the fact that I hate it :( I gained one pound and am attempting to fix that with a good week followed by a good weekend. Feel free to berate me as you see fit!



I completely forgot to include you on my Monday lunch visual aid. I had the remaining butternut squash tortellini with some carrots and hummus to satisfy my crunch factor. I really, really love that tortellini... I might have to go back to that restaurant with my parents to try it again ;)

Last night after my treadmill and weight work out I decided I was in the mood for something a but more goopy. I decided this was ok because I had burned at least 600 calories... I don't know if it's good to reward my work out with a "food prize" but if I'm craving something I'm going to eat it, sparingly, but I'm going to satisfy it or risk the pizza situation all over again! Last night I just made some whole wheat pasta with a light ranch/2% cheddar cheese sauce that was mixed with steamed broccoli and peas.



I'm not able to work out this evening due to attending the Sara Bareilles concert at the Newport, but I asked my sister if we could walk there and back vs driving so I could get some quality walking in for the day. We plan on eating dinner at Potbelly so I can get a low cal dinner. I hope everyone has a wonderful night and I'll see you next week!

Weekend Worries

This weekend has not been kind to my health kick. The conference turned out to be a great hit but as far as healthy food choices go, well, let's just say that I might have a gainer week vs loser :(

It all started Friday night. I was helping stuff conference materials before our evening social event and hadn't eaten anything since noon. I was tired, dizzy and slightly head achy. Bad Lindsay, eat regularly you scream! I know, but it was such a crazy, hectic week that I forgot to pack snacks! We ordered pizza to tide us over before heading out to the cocktail hour and I literally scarfed down four pieces. FOUR PIECES!! I have held my huge pizza maniac in tight rein for months and it finally got the better of me. On top of that sin, I then proceeded to drink a Black Beer from Gordon Biersch. It was an "early" night, got home at 9ish and couldn't fall asleep, so I lay awake til about 1ish, got up at 5:30 to head out for Day 1 of the conference.

Day 1 Food - 1 Cup of fresh pineapple and 1 piece of ww toast for breakfast. Special k bar for my morning snack. Lunch was horrible... I had a spinach veggie wrap (the veggies were "grilled" but I think they were sauteed because they were SO GREASY) with TWO cookies and 1/4 cup of macaroni salad. My afternoon snack was a sandwich thin with half a banana and 1 tbsp of jif natural. Working at a conference limits your control over main meals and dinner did not occur until 10PM. Yes, you read it correctly, I did not eat a main course dinner til 10PM. We did have a few snacks/appetizers prior but I tried to stay away so I wouldn't flood myself with needless calories. I had 3 little breaded calamari, a piece of fluffy wonderful white bread with fresh pesto, two glasses of wine, a salad with balsamic vinaigrette followed by butternut squash tortellini. ALL of that was amazingly prepared and so delicious. I did well by only eating two of the tortellini and saving the remaining five for lunch this week.

Are you disgusted yet? I feel fat just reading all of that!

Day 2 Food - Fresh cut pineapple and cantaloupe for breakfast. Special k bar for my morning snack. Lunch was another boxed option but I went with tuna salad and ate both of the pieces of whole wheat bread, 1/4 cup pasta salad and again, the two freaking cookies! I had another special k bar for my afternoon snack and then came home to beautiful weather that just begged for a grilling session despite my lack of energy. I made three garden veggie burgers ate them bunless and just topped with tomatoes, ketchup and mustard, drank 5 glasses of water, started laundry and then crashed in bed.

Again, are you disgusted by my serious intake of calories?? I know I HAVE to hit up the gym tonight after work but I am still so exhausted from only getting 10 hours of sleep since Thursday night that I don't know if I can make it through a cardio and weight resistance work out. I am going to try, but we'll see.

I'm tired from writing and know that this post is completely wack and written poorly but it's all I have :(

Happy Friday!

I have a busy weekend ahead. I'm helping put on the Midwest UX Conference starting this evening from 3PM to about 9PM. Tomorrow from 7AM to about 9PM and then Sunday from 7AM to 7PM. I'm sure it will be a lot of fun but exhausting and time consuming. After this conference is over I will have my Wednesday evenings back and available for working out and getting my pup out for some quality outside time!

I'm so grateful for all the support and positive comments! It's so helpful to have a great group of family and friends that are there to keep me in line and positive on this journey! THANK YOU!!!

I leave you with my attempt at displaying my morning snack in the most artistic way I have available to me in my cube.

ICC Fit Biggest Loser Final Weigh In

I know I said I wouldn't update til Friday but I couldn't resist sharing the news! I had my official weigh in for the ICC Fit Biggest Loser contest this morning. It is a "bodpod" exam where you essentially just sit in this egg with a window and it scans your body fat percentage. I think the lady conducting my screening thought I was a bit strange because she asked if I had on brown underwear and I said, well, I have on navy underwear, is that ok?? Turns out she asked if I had on a bra and underwear... soo yes, my navy underwear was fine :) So I sat in the egg with the window, showing off my navy under garments and sporting the really hot blue swim cap. Next time I'll have them take a picture of this so you can follow me visually... it's a bit odd, I know.

Remember how yesterday I had lost 29 pounds and I was excited yet wishful that I could have rocked out a 30 pound loss? I DID! This morning I weighed in at 224, scoring my goal! I lost 6.9%body fat and gained .2% lean mass. I am dissapointed in my lack of muscle gain as a fellow female competitor of mine gained 6 lbs of muscle! I'm going to really need to step up my weight lifting game just like Heather told me. It will certainly help in my overall weight loss.

I'm so excited about my progress, still hoping I won the contest, but the great thing is I get my $50 entrance fee back due to losing 5% of my fat weight and can use that refund to enter the next contest and step up my game!

Forgive the blurry photo, my stupid Droid Incredible is not the best for taking self portraits!

Happy Thursday everyone, enjoy the rest of your week!

WOAH! OMG!

I lost 4 lbs last week! I was totally joking in my last post that getting to the 30 lb. mark would be fun for my last weigh in for the contest but golly gee, I'm at 29 lbs down with one day to go! I am having a good day, let's hope the luck keeps flowing!! This morning is just a quick post to share the good news, I'll check back in on Friday morning after I've had the chance to cook another awesome healthy meal Thursday night. I have a meeting this evening til after 8PM and I believe that they are providing yucky pizza, ah! I'll be taking some snackies to get me through :) Lets try for one pound by tomorrow morning ;) JK!

Happy Wednesday Everyone! I hope you have as good of a morning as I have!

Screw this...

I'm combining my two blogs into one... when I try to evenly balance posts between them one always seems a bit light for the week. I have a link to my previous veggie tail posts featured over on the right for your viewing pleasure.

In other news, I braved mother nature's fury yesterday and grilled on my deck. I had finished with a wonderful 30 minute inclined treadmill workout and was quiet sweaty. Since I was already glistening I figured getting a few rain drops on me while grilling wouldn't be a challenge. Correction, it was a stupid, stupid idea. I ended up rolling the grill right up to the sliding doors to encounter as little rain as possible, but as soon as I did that the wind changed direction and blew right into my house... everything was wet.


BUT I did get my wonderfully tasty food! My first homemade veggie burger (nothing special... is was a bit dry and tasteless) paired with some honey teriyaki marinated kabobs. Enjoy the visuals!

Golly Gee

Grapes... they are wonderfully fresh, plump and tasty.



I also made some semi yummy food yesterday after work, you can read about it here!

Go buy some grapes! Happy Monday!