Operation :: Goddess

Breakfast: A pumpernickel bagel with cream cheese, green tea.

Snack: A banana.

Lunch: A can of tuna mixed with 3/4 cup black bean and corn relish, six melba toast crackers, an apple, and a cup of sliced cucumber.

Snack: Luna bar.

Dinner: Tequila chicken and spanish rice at the Improv, accompanied by waaaay too much beer.

Posted by Laura at 7:09 AM | Permalink | Comments

Breakfast: Kellogg's Smart Choice cereal with 2% milk, coffee.

Snack: Fat-free vanilla yogurt.

Lunch: A baja chicken sandwich (chicken breast with monterey cheese, guacamole, lettuce, tomato, and onion on a whole wheat bun), five onion rings, and a diet coke. Red Robin! :)

Dinner: I wasn't hungry, so I just had a bowl of Special K with 2% milk.

Posted by Laura at 8:50 AM | Permalink | Comments

Fiber-riffic

I've been reading up on the importance of fiber in diet. The RDA is 25-30 grams - handily, FitDay tracks my daily fiber intake, and lo and behold, I'm not getting enough. So I'm going to try to introduce more of the following foods into my diet: mineral oil (a spoonful cold from the fridge per day is the recommendation - the thought makes me shudder, but I'll give it a go), beans (low-fat preparations), bran (any good bran cereals out there that don't taste like sawdust?), peas (an easy one because I love 'em), berries, broccoli, apples (easy enough, I eat 'em all the time), spinach, almonds, cherries, bananas, brussels sprouts (anybody got a good recipe? I haven't had 'em since I was little, but it wasn't a good memory and I haven't had 'em since).

It's kind of a non-fun subject (waaay up there on the "ew" and "TMI" scale), so I'll just post a link if you'd like to read further.

Posted by Laura at 7:16 AM | Permalink | Comments

Breakfast: Pumpernickel bagel with regular cream cheese (they were out of lowfat, which, you know, broke my heart). Green tea.

Snack: Our group went to see "Blue Collar Comedy Tour" at the movies at 11:00. I limited myself to one, and only one, handful of movie popcorn.

Lunch: A handful of tortilla chips with salsa, a chicken quesadilla with 1 tbsp. each of sour cream and guacamole, a half-cup of some sort of pasta dish with tomatoes and olives, and a diet coke.

Dinner: Two whole wheat soft taco sized tortillas, each with two slices of turkey breast sandwich meat and 1/4 cup black bean and corn salsa, and an apple.

Water: You'll notice that I'm not posting my water intake any more. It was such a pain in the ass to keep track of, so just assume that I'm drinking between 50 and 100oz a day, plus all the green tea I usually consume throughout the day (up to two 16oz cups a day, lately).

Exercise: I did up a new exercise schedule yesterday - what it is about me that thrills me to my little toes to open up Excel and start plotting my weeks' worth of activities? Yeesh, I'm a geek. Anyway, tonight is cardio interval training with upper body weights. Which I did during the State of the Union address - interesting background for a workout.

Posted by Laura at 6:42 AM | Permalink | Comments

Breakfast: 1.5 cups oatmeal with 2 tbsp. brown sugar and 1/4 cup whole milk.

Snack: Oatmeal cookie.

Lunch: Ham sandwich on whole wheat with fat free cheese and mustard, fruit cocktail in light syrup, raw veggies (carrots, celery, radishes, cucumbers) dipped in fat free ranch dressing.

Snack: Oatmeal cookie. I'm going to turn into oatmeal. Then before dinner I had four reduced fat Ritz crackers with small pieces of pepper jack cheese and summer sausage.

Dinner: Tuna and noodles with peas.

Posted by Laura at 12:39 PM | Permalink | Comments

Kicking Ass and Taking Names

I had the best workout today. I did the same on Friday - warming up for five minutes on the elliptical, then doing a set of weights (upper body on Friday, lower body today), then going high-intensity on the elliptical for one minute to raise my heart rate, followed by another set of weights... etc. until I'd gone through all my sets (seven or eight of them), then cooling down for five minutes on the elliptical again. This way instead of going 20 minutes of medium intensity on the elliptical, I have 10 minutes of medium intensity and 10 minutes of high intensity - burns more calories. And instead of doing the weight training with a lower heart rate, I do it with an elevated heart rate, which also burns more calories.

If I can keep this up four or five days a week, I'll be totally svelte by the time we go to Hawaii. And it feels SO GOOD when I'm done. Of course, while I'm in the middle of it, my chest burns and my head feels so hot it seems like it's going to pop.

Posted by Laura at 12:24 PM | Permalink | Comments

Breakfast: Heh. Not much of one - an oatmeal raisin cookie and a cup of coffee.

Lunch/Dinner: We had company over for the Super Bowl, so the day was spent grazing on chips and dip, raw veggies, tortilla chips with bean dip, oatmeal cookies, crackers with cheese and summer sausage, and wine. I tried to estimate how much I consumed when I tracked it on FitDay...

Posted by Laura at 12:18 PM | Permalink | Comments

Food for Thursday, 1/23/03

Breakfast: (8:15) Two slices whole wheat toast with 1 tsp. margerine, coffee, tea.

Snack: (9:45) Two two-inch strips of beef jerkey a co-worker brought to a meeting.

Lunch: (11:45) A ham sandwich on whole wheat with fat-free cheese, carrots and grape tomatoes with fat-free ranch dressing, four ak-mak crackers with 1.5 tbsp. hummus, an apple.

Snack: (2:00) A York's peppermint patty, and green tea. (4:00) Luna bar.

Dinner: (6:00) 1.5 cups chili with 2 tbs. reduced fat sour cream, 1 cup tortilla chips, and a glass of wine.

Posted by Laura at 9:14 AM | Permalink | Comments

Food for Wednesday, 1/22/03

Breakfast: (7:30) 1.5 cups oatmeal with 1/4 cup whole milk and 2 tbsp. brown sugar. Coffee.

Snack: (10:00) Herbal tea and yogurt.

Lunch: (12:00) Ham sandwich on whole wheat with spicy mustard and fat-free cheese, 1 oz potato chips, apple.

Snack: (2:00) 1/2 cookie, then (5:00) a small wedge of mozzerella cheese (sp?) with six melba toast crackers.

Dinner: (7:00) 1/2 small chicken breast on top of a green salad with tomatoes, cukes, red bell peppers, reduced fat feta, and fat-free Ranch dressing. Wine.

Posted by Laura at 7:36 AM | Permalink | Comments

Food for Tuesday, 1/21/03

Breakfast: (8:15) 1.5 cups Kellogg's Smart Start with 3/4 cup 2% milk. Coffee.

Snack:: (10:30) Herbal tea

Lunch: (12:00) Turkey sandwich on whole wheat with fat free mayo, 1 oz potato chips, and an apple.

Snack: (2:30) Luna bar

Dinner: (7:00) 1 cup pork loin roast with 1 cup rice, green salad with fat-free Ranch dressing, wine.

Snack: (8:30) 1/2 orange and one cup chocolate milk (not at the same time).

Posted by Laura at 7:32 AM | Permalink | Comments

Breakfast: (7:30) Coffee, 1.5 cups oatmeal with 1/4 cup whole milk and 2 tbsp. brown sugar.

Lunch: (12:00) 1.25 cups Chili, apple.

Snack: (2:30) 1/4 cup baby carrots, 1/4 cup sliced yellow squash, 1 tbsp. fat free ranch dressing. (5:00) 8oz fat-free yogurt.

Dinner: (7:00) Chicken Whopper, no cheese, no mayo.

Water: (goal = 100oz) 20+1 mug green tea.

Exercise: 20 minutes elliptical.

Posted by Laura at 6:52 AM | Permalink | Comments

Breakfast: (8:30) Coffee, onion bagel with lowfat cream cheese, apple juice.

Lunch: (11:30) Sushi (california roll) and an eeny weenie tiny piece of carrot cake.

Snack: (2:30) Harvest Bar

Dinner: (6:30) Baked Ziti, two slices of garlic bread, wine.

Snack: (8:20) An orange, and about five bites of Calvin's ice cream.

Water: (goal = 100oz) 20+20=40.

Exercise: I suck. None other than normal activities. I've gone WAY overboard on the calories the past two days, too. What the hell is preventing me from getting my butt in gear, I ask you??? I've been too much of a slacker this week. Yoga and Pilates DVD's this weekend!

Posted by Laura at 10:27 AM | Permalink | Comments

Breakfast: (7:45) Coffee, 1.5 cups oatmeal with 1/4 cup whole milk and 2 tbsp. brown sugar.

Snack: (10:30) Banana.

Lunch: (12:00) 1 can of drained tuna (packed in water), mixed with 3/4 cup of relish leftover from last night. Six whole wheat melba toast crackers.

Snack: (2:45) Fat free raspberry yogurt. (5:15) Harvest bar.

Dinner: (6:30) Two hot dogs on buns, with cheese, ketchup, mustard, relish, and onion. A glass of wine (because it goes so darn good with hot dogs).

Water: (goal = 100oz) 20+20 = 40oz.

Exercise: None other than normal activities. Working a twelve hour day doesn't motivate me to work out when I get home. Plus, Angel was on. I really bit it in fat grams today because of those stupid hot dogs. I was too hungry to just eat one. Ah, well.

Posted by Laura at 11:54 AM | Permalink | Comments

Breakfast: (7:15) Coffee, 1.5 cups oatmeal with 1/4 cup whole milk and 2 tbsp. brown sugar. Green tea.

Lunch: (12:00) Two reduced fat tortillas, each with 1 tbsp. hummus, 1/4 cup chicken breast, 1/4 cup portabello mushrooms, and 1 tsp. fat free ranch dressing. 1/2 cup baby carrots.

Snack: 1 chocolate chocolate chip cookie.

Dinner: Dawn's recipe for baked salmon, which is served with a relish made of baby corn, black beans, diced tomato, diced red onion, cilantro, and fat free italian dressing. White rice, a salad with lettuce, carrots, cucumbers, celery, and fat-free ranch. A glass of wine.

Water: (goal = 100oz) 40 oz, plus some tea.

Exercise: None other than normal activities and playing with the animals.

Posted by Laura at 6:55 AM | Permalink | Comments

Breakfast: (7:15) Coffee, Special K with berries, 2% milk.

Snack: (10:00) Fat free peach yogurt.

Lunch: (11:30) 1/2 cup canned peaches, 6 reduced fat Ritz crackers w/1 tbsp. almond butter, 1/2 cup baby carrots.

Snack: (2:00) More like a later lunch, 1 cup of Minestrone Stew, then (4:00) 1/2 cup canned peaches.

Dinner: (7:30) 2 reduced fat tortillas, each with 1 tbsp. hummus, 1/2 tbsp. olive oil, 1/4 cup chicken breast, 1/4 cup portabello mushrooms, 1 tsp. fat free ranch dressing. One glass of wine.

Water: (goal = 100oz) Didn't track.

Exercise: None other than normal activities. I bought it today on the fat grams, but that was because of the almond butter and the olive oil I had today.

Posted by Laura at 6:21 AM | Permalink | Comments

Breakfast: (9:30) Coffee.

Lunch: (11:30) Grilled cheese sandwich made with whole wheat bread, fat free cheese, and Brummell and Brown spread. 1 cup vegetable soup with pasta.

Snack: (1:30) Apple. (3:30) Six reduced fat Ritz crackers with 1.5 tbsp. almond butter.

Dinner: (6:00) Minestrone Stew, with 1 tbsp. sour cream.

Snack: (8:30) Two Milano cookies, 1/2 cup 2% milk.

Water: (goal = 100oz) ~50 oz.

Exercise: 20 minutes elliptical. I sat and watched my new Yoga DVD through, and will give it a go next weekend after I have purchased a mat, and maybe some blocks.

Posted by Laura at 10:58 AM | Permalink | Comments

Breakfast: (8:15) Onion bagel with 1.5 tbsp. regular cream cheese, green tea.

Lunch: (11:40) Turkey on whole wheat with fat-free mayo and fat-free cheese. 1/2 cup cucumber with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Fat free strawberry yogurt.

Snack: (1:30) Two fat free oatmeal cookies. Green tea.

Dinner: (6:15) 1 cup beef stir fry with red and green pepper, onion, water chestnuts, celery. 1 cup white rice.

Snack: (8:30) 2 graham crackers, 1 cup 2% milk with Hershey's chocolate sauce.

Water: (goal = 100oz) 20 + two 16oz mugs of tea.

Exercise: 20 minutes elliptical, abs, stretching.

Posted by Laura at 12:11 PM | Permalink | Comments

A sugar by any other name...

Harvest Bars by PowerBar just aren't good for you at all. I couldn't believe the pure amount of sugars they try to pass off in the ingredients with alternate names. The first ingredient - which means what the thing has the most of - is "brown rice syrup". Translation - "sugar", nicely couched with "brown rice", so that it can be assumed that it's good for you. The ingredients go on to specifically call out sugar (in the "rice crisps" and "chocolatey coating"), evaporated cane juice syrup, fruit juice concentrate, alkalized cocoa, and honey (not so bad). All in all, 20 grams of sugar.

Now, the effects of sugar on the body range from sluggishness and cravings to depressing your immune system and messing with the insulin levels of your body. And when that happens, the end result could be as simple as weight gain, or as complicated as high blood pressure and diabetes (really, this is caused by an imbalance between insulin and glucagon, as explained in Jonny Bowden's book "Shape Up!", but I digress).

So how do we spot hidden sugars? Look for "aspartame", a chemical equivalent of sugar. Little known fact about asparame - it's a protein molecule that breaks down into two compounds - formaldehyde and methanol. The former is a carcinogen, the latter is known to cause blindness. Um? Ew.

Fat free foods, though we love 'em because they don't "count" against our daily tally of allowable fat grams, are full of sugars and "artificial stuff". Something to consider if you're looking into a holistic approach to what you put in your body.

Fruit juices are a pure sugar hit.

Foods high in glucose (bread, pasta) are broken down by the body into sugars.

Sugars to look for in ingredients lists: fruit juice concentrate, high fructose corn syrup, barley malt, brown rice syrup, lactose, maltodextrin, maltose, manitol, sorbitol, xylitol.

Bottom line? Just because the label claims that the product is healthy (and who promotes "healthy" products more than PowerBar, I ask you?), doesn't mean it really is. Investigate, and make the determination for yourself whether a food or a product is healthy for you or not.

Posted by Laura at 12:01 PM | Permalink | Comments

Breakfast: (7:30) Coffee. One cup of oatmeal with two tablespoons of brown sugar and 1/4 cup of whole milk.

Snack: (9:45) An Eggland's Best hardboild egg (lower in fat and cholesterol, high in Omega 3's), green tea.

Lunch: (12:15) Ham on whole wheat with mustard and fat free cheese. 1/2 cup cucumbers with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. 1/2 cup grape tomatoes.

Snack: (1:45) A Harvest bar, then later, (5:15) 4 Ak-mak crackers with 2 tbsp. hummus.

Dinner: (7:00) 1.5 cup leftover beef stew, two slices of french bread with 2 tsp. Brummell and Brown spread.

Water: (goal = 100oz) 20+20+36 = 76 oz.

Exercise: Upper body weights, lower body weights, abs, stretching.

Posted by Laura at 6:55 AM | Permalink | Comments

Breakfast: Coffee. One cup of oatmeal with two tablespoons of brown sugar and 1/4 cup of whole milk.

Snack: Fat-free blueberry yogurt. A mug of green tea.

Lunch: Two reduced fat tortillas with 1 tbsp of hummus, 1 tbsp of feta, 1/4 cup of red bell pepper, and 1 tbsp of fat-free ranch dressing on each. Cucumbers with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. 1/2 cup grape tomatoes.

Snack: An apple and an oatmeal raisin cookie. Then later, after work and before dinner, I had a half a ham sandwich on whole wheat, with mustard and fat free cheese, and a half cup of baby carrots. I have no idea why I was so hungry today.

Dinner: Chicken fettucini alfredo.

Water: (goal = 100oz) 20+20+20=60oz

Exercise: None other than normal activities. I don't get it. After being hungry all day, I get home and eat dinner and poop right out.

Posted by Laura at 6:53 AM | Permalink | Comments

Breakfast: One cup of oatmeal with two tablespoons of brown sugar and 1/4 cup of whole milk.

Snack: Fat-free raspberry yogurt. A mug of green tea.

Lunch: Turkey on whole wheat with fat free mayo, mustard, and fat free cheese. 1 cup of grape tomatoes. 1/2 apple.

Snack: Lowfat coffee-flavored milk. Six reduced-fat Ritz crackers with a small wedge of fat-free cheese.

Dinner: Beef stew. French bread with Brummel and Brown (yogurt-based) spread.

Water: (goal = 100oz) 20+20+20=60oz, plus other clear liquids throughout the day.

Exercise: None other than normal activities.

Posted by Laura at 7:04 AM | Permalink | Comments

Brunch: Calvin's skillet (one cup) - hamburger, hashed browns, scrambled egg, cheese, salsa. Orange juice.

Snack(s): Yogurt. A handful of Doritos. One bite of the really yummy brownies Marie made.

Dinner: 1/2 of a cheeseburger, beer.

Snack: An orange, and a cup of green tea with honey.

Water: (goal = 100oz) 48 oz, plus tea.

Exercise: 20 minutes elliptical machine, plus ~20 minutes of playing with the puppies.

Posted by Laura at 3:07 PM | Permalink | Comments

Doing things a little differently

Up until this point I've made an effort to try to record my food intake, daily, on this page. Per my nutritionist's suggestion, and also because it's too damned hard, I'm going to record my food intake Sundays through Thursdays. Those are to be my "good" days, during which I work out and eat right. Fridays and Saturdays I will be considering my "days off" from working out, as well as tracking my food. Which isn't to say that I'll go overboard and pig out on pure lard during those days, but I will allow myself the treats I will forgo during my "good" days.

With that said, I'm going to make a concerted effort to decrease the amount of fat in my diet. I went all crazy at the grocery store today and bought a plethora of fat-free and healthy foods. Unfortunately, the two different people I've seen at the nutritionist's office have differing opinions on what I should be eating. One says to shoot for 65% calories from carbs, the other says to increase my protein. You'd think they'd get their story straight, since they work together. Ah, well. I'm going middle of the road and am going to try to even out protein and carbs, while significantly reducing fat.

Sundays will be cardio, Mondays weight training (upper and lower body, plus abs), Tuesdays cardio, Wednesdays weight training, Thursdays cardio. Stretching every day. I ordered a Pilates DVD and a Yoga DVD (I heart Amazon - they sent me a $30 gift certificate, so along with free shipping they actually owe *me* money. Heh.) and will probably give those a shot on weekend mornings, while Calvin is still asleep and can therefore not make fun of my contortions.

One hundred and forty-eight days to get myself in shape for Hawaii.

Posted by Laura at 2:59 PM | Permalink | Comments

Breakfast: Coffee, tea, and an english muffin with egg and cheese.

Lunch: Chicken and pasta caesar salad from Fazoli's, with a breadstick and Diet Coke.

Dinner: Sourdough Jack and fries.

Water: (goal = 100oz) Didn't track.

Exercise: None, other than normal activities.

Posted by Laura at 8:35 AM | Permalink | Comments

Food for January 2nd

Breakfast: 1/2 100% whole wheat bagel with low fat cream cheese, coffee.

Snack: Luna Bar, Earl Grey tea.

Lunch: Beef and bean burrito, 1/2 taco, soda.

Dinner: Hamburger Helper, and carrots.

Snack: Four Ritz crackers with Pepper Jack cheese.

Water: (goal = 100oz) 36 oz, plus a couple of mugs of hot tea and some Gatoraide.

Exercise: 20 min. elliptical, 30 min. playing with dogs.

Energy Level: First day back at work after having two weeks of. You tell *me* what my energy is like!




Food for January 1st

Breakfast: Coffee.

Lunch: 1 roll with turkey and cheese, 1 roll with ham and cheese, chips, carrots.

Snack: Chips and dip, two Milano cookies with tea.

Dinner: Steak, baked potato, noodles.

Water: (goal = 100oz) 36 oz, plus a couple of mugs of hot tea and Gatoraide.

Exercise: None, other than normal activities.

Posted by Laura at 1:30 PM | Permalink | Comments