Goal 4, Calories

So week three went pretty good. My goal was to not eat out for lunch for the entire week and eat what I brought for lunch. I was able to do it. I even ate the salad I brought to work the day my boss ordered pizza for the entire branch. I did eat a couple of pieces of pizza for and my salad. It was so hard on other days to not get sick of what I brought for lunch. There were days that all I could think about was just going across the street to have a sandwich from Subway. It took a lot of discipline to just sit down and start eating what I had. It was hard.

I had a small glass of soda some time last week. It just didn't taste good. It wasnt that it was too sugary, it just tasted like chemicals. I thought I would rather have a glass of water. Go me!

So my goal for this week is to count my calories. This is the first goal that doesn't involve giving up anything. The first three weeks have been challenging at times but so worth it. I'm curious what the scale is going to tell me in the morning. It would be nice to be down a couple of pounds.  I have never been good at tracking calories. I think it's because I never have really put my mind to it. Last week's goal, ultimately, was to get myself to eat fewer calories. I didn't track last week but I would assume I was able to lower my daily calories. So how am I going to track my calories?

Hubby and I picked up iPhones on Friday and I downloaded the Myfitnesspal app to start tracking everything. After inputting all my information, I was told I need to net around 1400 calories a day.  Any food eaten counts towards those calories and any amount of exercise takes away from those calories. As of 9pm, I am at net 1009 calories. Does that mean I need to eat another 400 calories before I go to bed? Do I need to wish I had a Snickers bar hidden somewhere in my house? Or is it ok if I didn't make it to my calories for the day?  I guess I'm not sure what the right answer is. So if you know, please fill me in. Count my calories every day and be truthful about it.  I can do that.

Some positives that have come out of this weekly challenge:

1. I no longer crave pop yes!
2. If I distract myself during my lunch break, I will forget about the candy sitting on the back counter.
3. I’ve learned that McDonalds breakfasts should be a rare occasional meal. I can live with out it.
4. I’ve been eating until I’m full and then stopped.
5. I opened a hard cider a few nights ago, took a couple of sips, and then dumped it out. I know I’m a beer waster but I needed a glass of water instead.
6. I need to drink Gatorade before I work out to avoid cramps.

Please let me know if you have a goal for me. I have ten weeks until the New Year and I only have 5 more goals on the list

Counting Calories

I haven't posted in a little bit of time. I think I've been at a mind blank again.

So last week, I worked out four out of seven days, which isn't all that bad for me. I thought I was watching what I was eating, but I must not have too closely because I actually GAINED weight last week. Maybe it's that I watched it go into my mouth but wasn't really watching whether or not it was healthy.  I think it's a small accomplishment for me that I only went to Subway (which is located across the street from work) once last week. I used to go there atleast twice a week and sometimes more. Now I just need to be successful in staying out of the candy box at work. I know how to solve this, with a bag of Jolly Ranchers, sucking on one when I need a sugar fix.

Anyway, the goal for this week is to write down everything I eat and count my calories. I really don't have a clue what amount of calories I should be eating each week but the Biggest Loser for Wii tells me I should be eating 1620cal/day. I think this is doable, especially if I work out. I noticed when I went to the grocery store this weekend, I was really paying attention to the calories on things I bought. I'm struggling a bit because I have been wanting to stay away from artificial sweeteners but the calorie counts on some full calorie products are so much higher than their counterparts. So for now I will pick and choose what Lite products I will eat.

So here is to counting calories this week AND continuing to work out. *We're supposed to have some beautiful weather this week!*

Don Lee Farms

I was at my parent's house this weekend and I needed a quick meal while I was running out the door. So my mom warmed up a Veggie Burger for me that she had gotten at Costco. Now, I've had Boca Burgers and these were so much better. Theses are actually vegan as well. I was impressed. I had it on a whole wheat sandwich flat. Just the patty and the flat. It was extremely yummy. Now I just need to find someone who has a Costco membership so I can go get some soon! Oh and 170 Calories per patty! Great snack!

Eating Out

Pat has been a little stressed lately so when he got home, he didn't really want to spend time making dinner. So we went out, something quick and easy of course. Noodles it was. I have always thought that Noodles has some good food on their menu, good meaning healthy. I always order either their Pad Thai or Pasta Fresca. Tonight it was Pasta Fresca, no tomatoes and grilled chicken breast. I never remember that Noodles has a small sized bowl for all of their dishes. So I ordered a regular. I ate until I was full, leaving about 1/3 of my total meal there on my plate which is now in the fridge.

When I got home, I brought up their website on my computer and I pulled up their nutrition facts. I shocked at how many calories are in a regular bowl of Pasta Fresca, and then I added grilled chicken on top of that. Tonight's meal, had I eaten every last bite would have been over 900 calories. I have decided I either need to stop eating out or I need to do what Jen over at A Prior Fat Girl does. If she is going out for dinner, she pulls up the menu ahead of time and decides what she is going to eat before she even gets there. I thought this was an amazing idea! Now I just need to make sure I do it. Had I looked at their menu and nutrition facts ahead of time, I probably would have gotten a small size of some meal. Or their Tomato Bisque soup (which I hear is really yummy).

Oh My God!

I went to Panera yesterday morning and had a cinnamon roll and a frozen coffee drink. I just used their website to track my calories. In that teeny tiny meal, I ate 1200 calories. OH MY GOD!

Here is their evil website that gives you the calorie counts

http://www.paneranutrition.com/

Calories

So I thought I had a really bad day as far as food goes. I binged a bit at my lunch and went to Subway again, this time ordering a foot long turkey and ham sub which is a whopping 600 calories. AND then I didn't have a diet soda with my meal AND I ate a bag of Cheetos. Now that is bad. I added up my calories for the day and I'm still at a fairly low number of calories. I estimate that I ate 1300 calories today. I didn't think that was all that bad.

I had some delicious crockpot chili for dinner. I love how much the protein in beans fills up my belly. The serving that I did have is making me feel so full right now.

As for the calories, I'm not really sure how much I'm supposed to be eating every day. I suppose I am going to have to figure that out from doing some research.

Watching the Biggest Loser right now.