Stalled Out

I took a peek at the scale today, as I always do mid-week, and it says the same dang thing it said last Fri, 231.0.  Of course, I know exactly why.  I've been eating too many calories this week.  I haven't had any binges...I've just noticed weirdo cravings that aren't my norm, like wanting something salty...so I had a few chips and some cashews.  Then wanting something sweet, so I ate a big chocolate chip cookie....the whole time wondering what's up with that?  I NEVER eat chips or nuts.....they're just not my thing.  And I've never had a big sweet tooth.  Usually, if I have a chocolate craving, one little piece of chocolate takes care of it and I'm fine.  The one exception to the sweet rule is brownies.  They're my kryptonite, so I don't keep them in my house.  You might remember that I encountered a pan of homemade brownies at my sister's house last week and ate 2 of them on the spot. 

So anyway, I've been snacking and picking at things like this all week, confused and irritated, and then they hit me.  Cramps.  Ahhhhh....finally!!!  Now I know what's up....Mother Nature is preparing for a visit.  But here's the REALLY stupid thing.  I do this every month.  Every single month.....and I FORGET every single month, until I get hit with a wave of cramps.  Unfortunately, thanks to my PCOS, cramps are a lot more like pregnancy contractions...more fun than the law allows....but that's just one of my curses in life.  But that's always what it takes to remind me of why one of my weeks is always a "snacking on weird stuff" week.

As soon as the "fun" is over and M.N. has gone on to torture some other poor girl, I forget all about it.  I have a fabulous weight loss one week (if I'm doing things right and on track, that is), get all excited, tell myself, "Hey!!  I'm gonna' lose 20 lbs this month!!  I'm feelin' great....YEAH BABY!!!  But that's just not the case.  I have a couple of decent weeks, and a couple of not-so-hot weeks.  Such is life.  The important thing is to keep the positive mindset to continue downward on the scale.  And my mind is still in a good place.  Well, mostly.  I'll tell you one thing.  I'm sick to dang death of this weather.  I'm so over it.  I hate it with a passion, really, and I crave sunshine more than any brownie I've EVER craved.  I want warmth, and sunny days, and outside hikes, and new green leaves on the trees, and pretty, colorful flowers popping out of the ground.

I'm still unemployed from my last job layoff.  I really cannot believe it's been this long.  Feb. 20th will make one solid year with no work.  Unbelievable.  Baffling.  Mind-blowing.  But I'm still applying for jobs every single week, and ONE of these days, someone's gonna' HAVE to call me for an interview and let me charm my way into another job.  :)  Until then, I'm trying to stay positive, keep an upbeat attitude, focus on the weight loss, and not let the other factors in my life pull me down.....especially the things I can't control, like the weather and the unemployment.  Oh, and Mother Nature.  How do I hate thee?  Let me count the ways....ah, forget it....I don't have enough fingers and toes. ;)

So anyhoo, this is where I'm at this week.  I'm waiting to hear back from the publisher to see if he's willing to mail any copies out of the country.  When I find out tomorrow, I'll let you know who the winners are....I might have to re-draw the names!

I'm leaving you with a couple of pics of some chicken soft tacos I've made over the last couple of days.  One is my version of Mexican when I want something a little spicy.  I sauteed some chicken breast that I cut into strips and then added a can of Rotel tomatoes and green chiles to it and let it simmer until all the liquid cooked out of it.  Added some reduced-fat sour cream (1 Tbsp...20 cals), and some shredded lettuce.  The other version is to satisfy my Greek cravings.  I sautee chicken breast with fresh spinach and chopped up artichoke hearts, then sprinke with a little Romano cheese and 1 Tbsp of reduced-fat sour cream.  Both of them were eaten on wraps that are only 50 calories!!  Enjoy!!

Quote For the Day:

"Big shots are only little shots who keep shooting."  -Christopher Morley

I'm Over It

Thanks for listening to my little tantrum last Thursday.  I felt much better the next day and I'm over it now.  I'm not going to do the 2200 like the nutritionist and trainer suggested.  I'm going to do 1800 this week and see what the scale says this coming Friday. 

I counted my cals on Friday and today (1800).  Friday was my off day from the gym.  I had good workouts Sat and Sun.  I threw a birthday cookout for Dwayne on Saturday and we had a small group of friends.  I didn't count calories that day...just watched my portion sizes all throughout the day.  Dinner for me was 1 pork sparerib, 3 oz. pc of chicken breast (both grilled), 1 serving of baked mac 'n' chz, a spoon of green beans and 2 deviled eggs.  I had a small pc of the birthday cake. 

This evening I gave another birthday dinner for a family member and stayed within my 1800 calorie range.  Instead of a traditional birthday cake, I served one carrot cake and one chocolate overload cake, both purchased at the Publix bakery.  I was very proud of myself for having neither.  No cake today, period.  Go me.  :)

Tomorrow is the dreaded trek back up to my sister's house.  Yes, I dread it every single week.  Have I ever mentioned how much I hate babysitting?  I did?  Oh ok, sorry. ;)  I've decided to let whatever I take with me for dinner up there to round out 1500 cals for the day....and to get to the 1800 limit, I'm leaving the extra 300 cals available for the stress snacking I always do when I'm up there. 

I had a couple of people tell me the Superbowl kick off was either 7-7:30p tonight.  We turned on the TV a few mins ago and they're already in the 2nd quarter!!  No biggie....I don't have a team in the game anyhow.  One thing we (Shane and I) are not doing, and have never done, is use Superbowl as an excuse for ridiculous eating/snacking.  We watch the game every year and we've never made it a food event, even if we were out watching it at a sports bar.  I have enough trouble with things that are already eating events, such as Thanksgiving, the whole month of December, family reunions, etc. without voluntarily adding another item to the list to feel guilty over the next day.  :) 

By the way, I peeked at the scale this morning before I headed to the gym to see if there was any damage from the last couple of days (especially Saturday's cookout).  I'm down another 1/2 of a lb.  Woo hoo!  So here's to another good week already under way.  'Nite friends.  :)

Quote For the Day:

"When you get into a tight place and everything goes against you, til it seems as though you could not hold on a minute longer, never give up then, for that is just the place and time that the tide will turn."  -Harriet Beecher Stowe

Soggy Saturday

For anyone who has been watching national news, then you know we had steady rain here in Georgia from Sunday through Tuesday of this past week and had some MAJOR flooding issues. I've had my fill of rain, BUT it rained again ALL DAY TODAY!! I had fully planned on walking at least 4 miles today, and hopefully 6 if I could talk Dwayne into going back to the park this afternoon. Well Dwayne's not big on exercise, and surely not in the rain, so I knew an afternoon walk wasn't going to happen. However, it was up to me to get out in the downpour and get at least 4 miles done today.

I did it!! It totally sucked, but I got 4 miles under my exercise belt today. I was completely soaked to the bone within the first 1/2 mile. It rained the entire time...it rained all day. I had 4 miles worth of gravel in my shoes when I got done, and 4 miles worth of blisters on my toes, but by golly I did it!

It's been a pretty decent weekend so far. I stayed within my calories yesterday, but today wasn't perfect. No bingeing or anything like that, just a little too much snacking. I went over my calories, albeit I did it with healthy snacks. I know that some people don't count calories for produce...fruit and veggies. I say whatever works for you, go for it!! But to me, a calorie is a calorie, no matter how you eat them. It doesn't matter if it's 1 Snickers bar or 5 bags of carrots, lol. No, I didn't eat 5 bags of carrots, but you get what I'm saying.

Nothing special planned for tomorrow. Meeting up with my roommate Shane and his g/f for breakfast tomorrow morning, then headed to the park to do my 4 mile walk. Lord, I hope it doesn't rain again tomorrow!!! It if it does, then I'll leave Scarlette at home when I do another 2 mile walk tomorrow evening...if not, I'll take my baby with me. She seems to be doing much better today. I'm thankful for that. It just breaks my heart to see my baby sick and not feeling good. I don't have any human children, so I have a completely unhealthy attachment to my puppy. Oh well......there are worse things in life. I just wish I could make her live forever. :)

Quote For the Day:

"The definition of insanity is continuing to do what you've always done and expecting different results." -Anonymous