May 7

Breakfast {165 calories}":

• Special K w/skim milk 155
• ~2 strawberries ~10
• 1 glass water

Went for a rainy walk/run {mostly walking} with Lucy in the new-to-us jogging stroller this morning. Felt pretty good. Probably should have done more running but whatever. I’m still planning on shredding today too so there’s no need to push myself too hard. I have the Nike+ for iPod, which I quite like. It tracks my speed/distance/time for me and even posts runs on Twitter and Facebook for me. Click the image of today’s run graph the be taken to my Nike+ profile.

After-Workout Snack {121 calories}:

• banana 121
• 1 glass water

Lunch { calories}:

• 170 135 80 +1/2 and 2
• 4 pices pizza x290 each

Obviously I didn’t get this posted Friday. And I took the weekend off. I wanted to see if I could get away with not counting calories on the weekends. Maybe it was because we had a special dinner Adam won from a local radio station, plus Mother’s Day lunch, but I completely sabotaged my progress by not counting calories this weekend. My Wii Fit told me that I gained nearly 3 pounds back over the weekend.

I also failed to do the shred all weekend. @_@ I’ve got, something, going on right now. I’m not ready to blog about it. There’s still too much to prepare. But it’s definitely proving a hindrance to my weight-loss goals. I’m going to try counting calories again this week. But I’m not sure if I’m going to kick myself for missing it. The “something” needs to be ready by the end of the month. The Shred can be done once the “something” is ready. So, we’ll see.

Anyway, I’m just checking in to report my progress. And by “progress” I mean “complete lack of progress.”

May 6

Breakfast {237 calories}:

• 1/3 cup oatmeal topped w/  120
• 1 strawberry 9
• 1/2 banana and 61
• ~1 tsp brown sugar 17
• 3 glasses water
• vitamins
• green tea w/honey 30

Lunch {429 calories}:

• 2 cups orange pepper strips 48
• 1/2 banana 61
• 2 FMMuffins 320

Dinner {990 calories}:

• double cheeseburger 430
• 6 chicken nuggets 310
• 1 small fry 220
• water
• honey/ketchup 30

Snacks {470 calories}:

• bite cookie dough 80
• 1 cupcake 290
• water
• ~1/2 cup pita chips 100?

Total: 2162, higher than acceptable range

A word about dinner and dessert: I’m not gonna lie. I’m an emotional eater. And today was not a good day. When I’m feeling upset, or sad or angry BAM! I crave junk, usually baked goods, but sometimes, like today, fast food. Hence, the McDonald’s for dinner. I tried to make the best of it, choosing the smallest size fries, and opting for 1 burger when I really, honestly wanted two. I also had NO SODA. In fact, since hopping back on the bandwagon the only beverages I’ve had are water, coffee, and tea. And I can’t remember the last time I had soda. Soda will DESTROY your calorie count for the day. And most of the time it’s just not worth it. But I digress. Anyhow, as for the cupcake and pita chips, those were consumed at a get together at a new friend’s place. I knew they would put me over and I made a conscious decision to let it go. I actually would have been under 1800 and therefore within the acceptable range if I had passed on the cupcake. But I’m OK having gone over today. There have been several days this week when I had wiggle room left at the end of the day. So going over this once isn’t going to kill me, especially since I’ve been doing the Shred as well {except yesterday, but all went well today}. I guess what it comes down to is this, I may have lost the battle but I’m still winning the war. I’ve even moved my little running ticker again. :)

May 5

Breakfast {340 calories}:

• 1 cup coffee w/mocha whitener 40
• 1/3 cup oatmeal w/ 120
• strawberries 20
• 1 FMMuffin 160
• 1 glass water
• vitamins

Snack/Lunch/Thing {479 calories}:

• 1 FMMuffin 160
• 2 pieces toast w/strawberry rhubarb jam 125
• 1 glass water
• 1 cup orange pepper pieces 39
• 1 bowl Special K w/skim milk 155

Dinner {~892 calories}:

• $5 Mucho Burrito {chicken, beans, veggies} for Cinco de Mayo ~722 @_@
• 1 glass water
• 1 cup milk 90
• cookie dough ~80

Snack {40 calories}:

• yogurt 40

The good news? Even with that big, honkin’ burrito at dinner I came in under 1800 calories for the day putting me within my acceptable range. The bad news is that Lucy got vaccinations today and pretty much spent the whole day in my lap leaving me no chance to do the 30 Day Shred. That’s OK. I missed one day last time I did the shred too. I just made up for it by going one day longer than I had planned, which is what I’ll do this time.

May 4

Breakfast {241 calories}:

• oatmeal 120 topped with
• 1/2 banana 61
• vitamins
• 3 glasses water {including water consumed during the Shred}
• 1 cup coffe w/hazlenut creamer 60

Snack/Lunch/thing/meal {~384 calories}:

• 1 C red pepper strips 24
• 1 yogurt shared w/Lucy <40
• 2 Full Meal Muffins shared w/Lucy ~320

Second Snack/Lunch/thing/meal {316 calories}:

• PB& banana 261
• apple 55

Pre-Dinner Snack {80 calories}:

• 1 bite cookie dough 80

Dinner {~403 calories}:

• grilled orange pepper 37.5?
• grilled mushrooms 10?
• grilled shrimp 120?
• grilled pineapple 37?
• zucchini 38?
• 1 Full Meal Muffin 160

Snack {355 calories}:

• popcorn with “No Salt” and 250
• 1 tbs. margarine 105

Total: 1779 {within acceptable range of 1500-1800}

Like yesterday, I’m not entirely sure how much I had at dinner. But Adam and I guesstimated the amounts as best we could. So, if our calculated guesses are correct then I came in well within my acceptable range yesterday!

May 3

Day 3/30 of the 30 Day Shred. Day 3 is, not surprisingly, better than day 2. Day 1 is hard of course, but day 2 is harder because you’re so sore from day 1. But by day 3, and maybe it’s just psychological, you’re already feeling like your body is adjusting to the new routine. Adam didn’t get a chance to do it with me this morning. We both had trouble falling asleep last night so we didn’t get up early enough like we had planned. Hopefully tomorrow we’ll both get a chance to shred.

Breakfast {218 calories}:

• 1/3 cup 5 grain hot cereal 140 {like oatmeal but with other whole grains in it} topped with
• 1/2 banana 61
• ~1 tsp brown sugar 17
• 2 glasses water

Snack {24 calories}:

• 1 cup red pepper strips 24
• 1 glass water
• vitamins

Lunch {620 calories}:

• 1/3 cup pecans 240
• 1 PB&banana 250
• 1 bite Full Meal Muffin batter ~10?
• water
• yogurt 40
• 1 bite cookie dough 80

Snack {320 calories}:

• 2 Full Meal Muffins shared w/Lucy 320
• water

Dinner {??? calories}:

• water
• grilled shrimp, pineapple, zucchini and mushrooms
• most of a Full Meal Muffin that Lucy didn’t finish 160ish

Total: ??? I don’t know because I don’t have my count for dinner. But I’m OK with that. I think it was under or close to 1800 today which is in the range I’m aiming for. Aaaand dinner was a nice, healthy meal. It tasted fantastic. And we made it on our new Foreman grill so it was cooked in a healthy way. I’m gonna have to be careful with those muffins though! They’re really good. And while they are healthy as muffins go {no sugar, whole grain, and veggies!} they are pretty calorie dense. Just FYI, I make my Full Meal Muffins with whole wheat rather then spelt and barley flours.

May 2

This morning we weighed ourselves with the Wii Fit before doing our Shred. Despite my recent lapse in healthy habits I’ve actually lost about a pound and a half. Yay! That means I get to move my little runner icon above. :) I’m planning on eating oatmeal every morning, or close to every morning. It should help keep my milk supply up while I’m losing weight. The good news is that Lucy isn’t dependent on milk like an infant is. So I’m betting it’s probably, actually OK if I do lose at the rate I was losing a month or so ago. Most breastfeeding information and guidelines are designed for moms nursing babies, not toddlers, because, unfortunately, there aren’t a lot of moms nursing toddlers in the Western world. So there probably haven’t been many studies done on the mom/toddler nursing dyad. And, just in case my supply takes a dip, I’ve got the oatmeal to help combat that.

Day 2 of the Shred was, not surprisingly, a bit painful {helloooooo sore muscles}! But we pushed through. We know that our endurance will build up and that, in the end, it will all be worth it.

Breakfast {316 calories}:

• 3 glasses water {this includes the water I drank before and during the Shred workout}
• 1/2 oatmeal cooked w/water and topped with 185
• 2 strawberries and 18
• 1/2 banana 61
• vitamins
• coffee w/skim milk, vanilla and a little sugar ~52

Snack {64 calories}:

• yogurt 40
• 1 cup red peppers 24

Lunch {364 calories}

• 1 PB&Banana 100, 100, ~50
• 1 cup red peppers 24
• 1 cup dry Rice Krispies 100

Snack {172 calories}:

• 1 apple {shared w/Lucy} with ~72
• 1 tbs. peanut butter 100
• ~1/2 cup water

Dinner {400 calories}:

• bean and cheese frozen burrito {I know, processed foods = bad, but I couldn’t think of anything else I wanted for dinner} 340
• 1/2 glass water
• 1 square dark chocolate 60

Snack {305 calories}:

• Special K w/skim milk 145
• cookie dough ~160
• 1 glass water

Total Calories: 1621 {within acceptable range of 1500-1800}

May 1

Day one of my month-long habit building challenge. Started the day doing the 30 Day Shred w/ManDork. Muscles feel like jelly now. I added two bracelets to my bracelet habit system, a white one to represent my daily session with Jillian Michaels, and a purple one to represent that I’ve taken my vitamins {as well as having given Lucy her vit D}. I’m really proud of myself for doing the Shred even though I’m fighting off a cold. It’s been hard to motivate myself to care about fitness and healthy eating lately. But, despite having my ass kicked by that workout, I feel really good. I feel good about myself for having done it. I feel confident that I can ditch all this baby weight. And I feel more awake.

Breakfast {388 calories}:

• 2 glasses water
• 2 pieces whole wheat French toast topped with
• 1/2 cup strawberries and
• 1/2 cup banana
• vitamins

Lunch {394 calories}:

• 1 cup homemade sweet potato fries
• 1 glass water
• 1/2 cup strawberries
• 1 leftover piece of French toast, plain

Snack {382 calories}”

• 25 chocolate teddy grahams shared w/Lucy
• 1 banana
• 1 more piece of plain French toast

Dinner {419 calories}:

• 1/2 quesadilla made with low-fat cheese, chicken, and mushrooms
• 1 glass water
• 1 cup raw red pepper strips
• 1 square dark chocolate

Snack {182 calories}:

• Special K w/skim milk
• 3 strawberries

Total Calories Count: 1765 {within acceptable range of 1500-1800}