Beach Challenge Food Pics Day 19

Well....I've got some good news and some bad news.  Let's talk about the good news first! 

Late last night while perusing a few blogs I found out about Tony "the Anti-Jared" challenging Jen at Prior Fat Girl to do 99 mins on the stairmaster.....and as a further challenge, she was to get 200 people to commit to doing at least 60 minutes of exercise today, April 20th, no matter what the exercise was. 

So that was my inspiration to get to the gym this morning and hit the treadmill!!  I walked 4 miles at a 3.5 speed and it took me 68 min 43 sec.  Woo Hoo!!  I met the challenge!!  The other cool thing I realized while doing this is that it always takes me 1 hr. 10 mins, or 70 mins, to walk 4 miles at the park, which means I've basically been keeping up the same 3.5 pace there as I do on the treadmill.  Groovy.  :)

Breakfast was a Jimmy Dean lite breakfast sandwich with turkey sausage, egg white, cheese on a whole wheat bagel.

Calories:  260

After breakfast I got ready to go to the gym.  I had let Scarlette out in the front yard to play for a bit.  What I didn't know is that she was busy digging a hole to China, and was covered in dirt....so I had to give her a bath before I left for the gym.  Rotten baby.

Lunch was at 1:30pm.  I had a sandwich on a Thomas Everything bagel w/ 4 oz. Boar's Head low sodium ham, 1 Tbsp of lite mayo, tomato, red onion & dill pickle.

Calories:  275

 

An hour later I had a Chobani pomegranate yogurt.

Calories:  140

Then I had 1 c. of grapes.

Calories:  96

At 4:30 I made an egg salad sandwich with 2 boiled eggs, 2 Tbsp lite mayo and a little s&p on a whole wheat sandwich thin.

Calories:  340

I bought a bag of Easter candy, Hershey's chocolate eggs, a couple of weeks before Easter, and put them in the candy dish on my mantle over the fireplace.  I figured Shane and Dwayne would devour them.  For some reason they didn't. 

So I got tired of walking past them today and threw them in the trash.

Dinner was at 6pm.  I had 5 oz. of broiled cod w/ garlic power & Cajun seasoning, along with 1 c. of stewed cabbage and 1 c. of roasted radishes w/ garlic powder, black pepper & reduced fat Parmesan cheese.  If you haven't tried roasting radishes yet, you are really missing out.  There's some kind of magic that happens when you roast them that takes ALL the heat and fire out of them.  I call them little roasted Parmesan cheese buttons now, lol.  Damn tasty.  :)

I will be having 2 Hershey's dark chocolate nuggets w/ almonds with my decaf coffee this evening...as always, the creamer in the coffee will be 30 cals.

Calories:  90

Total Calories:  1452

I'm a little low today, but I just didn't feel like eating anymore.  That sounds hilarious coming out of my mouth, lol.

Water Intake:  (5) 32 oz. glasses

Exercise:  Walked 4 miles on the treadmill in just under 70 mins.

Ok folks....onto the bad news...or at least irritating news as far as I'm concerned.

About 3 weeks ago I injured my right arm in the gym.  I know exactly how I did it.  I usually carry a 7.5 lb. weight in each hand when I do my 20-30 min walk on the treadmill, after my 30 mins of weight training.  Well that particular night, our trainer had us doing ALL arm work, so I was shredded by the time I got on the treadmill.  When I went to grab the weights, the 7.5's were taken...and I grabbed the 10 lb. weights.  Bad, bad idea.  I only made it 10 mins into my walk before I just had to put them down.  It was way too much of a strain.

Well....that injury has gotten worse instead of better.  I haven't messed with any weights in a while....it's the every day use around the house that's hurting it.  It's WAY worse than it was 3 weeks ago.  It throbs when I'm just sitting doing nothing now.  I've dropped a couple of 32 oz glasses of water on the floor because I can't handle the strain.  I even noticed it hurt last night when I pushed the handle down to flush the toilet....which means it's getting ultra sensitive to any kind of pressure at all. 

I know it's either a strained muscle or torn tendon...so I don't see me wasting any money to go to the doctor and have him tell me to put it in a sling.  I can buy a sling at Walgreen's.   I was talking to Dwayne about it this afternoon and he's all twisted up in knots over it.  He instructed me to put it in a sling TONIGHT...and not do another damn thing for the next week and a half before we go to the beach.  Yes, those were his exact words.  I told him I have to cook...he said he didn't care, find a way around it.  I told him I have to clean...he said he didn't care, wash dishes and clothes with your left hand only or leave the house dirty.  I told him I have to type out my blog post each night because besides myself and my own goals, I've got 30 other participants that are counting on me.  That one really upset him.

He told me to drop the challenge right now.  He already thinks that the 12.4 lbs I've lost in the last 2 weeks is MORE than enough.....he told me if I lose another 3-4 this week alone, then it's going to be EXCESSIVE....yes, he really said that.  Have you ever heard of a guy complaining because his girlfriend is losing TOO much weight??  Seriously????  His issue is he doesn't want me doing any typing...he doesn't want me doing one single thing with my right arm/hand...period.  He told me if it's not better by Friday, he's taking me to the doctor kicking and screaming and I can be as pissed off at him as I want to, but he can't stand to see me in pain and he's not going to let me prolong it any longer.  (We'll see about that).

I have absolutely no intention of dropping this challenge.  However, I really don't know how this one-handed thing is going to affect things.  I tried lifting my pots and pans while I was baking chicken breasts, boiling eggs, and cooking up 5 different kinds of veggies this last Sunday...with my left hand...and I just suck at it.  I really do.  I'm so totally uncoordinated, it's unbelievable.  I can't even open a can of tuna without using both hands.  I already know that when I put that sling on tomorrow morning, I'm going to be in tears by tomorrow night simply out of frustration.  

I'm going to have to learn to adjust using my left hand.  I don't know if that will mean less cooking and more convenience foods (more sodium), or what will happen just yet.  If Dwayne had his way, I'd be eating nothing but pudding cups and sandwiches every day.  All he's concerned with is me healing...not how I'm going to run my life WHILE trying to heal. 

He planned this beach trip more for me than for him.  He wants me to thoroughly enjoy it, and he fears I won't be able to do that if I'm in pain.  He noticed what a hard time I was having with it when he was here last weekend, because he happened to be standing right beside me when I nearly dropped the half-full coffee pot.   

Who kows....maybe I'll figure out how to manage in just a day or two....I sure hope so. 

On another note....I hopped on the scale this morning, as I always do mid-week, and usually I see some progress by then.  Not this morning.  I am still exactly the same as I was last Friday...228.6.  Hmmmm.  I know I'm doing everything right, so I can't get upset over it.  I'm thinking my body might be saying, "I gave you 12.4 lbs in 2 weeks...time to even it out...you're gettin' nothin' this week sister!"  lol  I don't know...maybe something will fall off by Friday.  But to compound that little issue....I have to go have lunch with my cousin tomorrow...at a restaurant...2 days before weigh day.  Damn.

I'm responsible for putting together our family reunion, but Jennifer and Mom are helping me pay for the place I rented.  Jennifer has a memory problem and although I've reminded her a couple of times, she can't seem to get the check in the mail to me.  So I'm going to go get it tomorrow.  She said we could meet for lunch.  I asked her where, so I could go ahead and look at a nutrition guide and be prepared.  She said she didn't know yet...she'd have to think about it...and would tell me tomorrow when I'm on my way.  My worry is not about the choices...it's about the sodium.  It is beyond stupid for me to eat a restaurant meal 2 days before weigh day knowing how my body holds onto sodium.  However, I am counting on the fact that EVERY restaurant will have some kind of salad on their menu...so I'm kind of pre-planning for a grilled chicken salad w/ lite dressing on the side...and chasing it with 5 glasses of water, lol.

So from now on, my posts are probably going to be much shorter...not a lot of gabbing...just posting my food pics and calorie/exercise stuff.  I also won't be able to jump around and comment on anyone else's blogs and I really hate that part.  I hope you all understand, but I've got Dwayne on my a$$, and he can be a real bear when I'm sick or hurting.  'Nite friends.  :) 

Beach Challenge Food Pics Day 18

I planned on walking 4 miles at the park this evening and was about to head out the door when my roommate Shane walked in with a life crisis and needed to talk.  That took an hour and my exercise plans got nixed.  So this turned into an unplanned rest day.  Bummer....but sometimes plans don't always work out.  The good news is my calories were FANTASTIC!!!!

Breakfast was at 8:30am, and you guessed it, another egg white scramble.

Calories:  271

I was out and about today so lunch was at 11:30am at Larry's Subs.  I didn't get my usual ham and turkey this time...I got the roast beef instead, which just happens to be a few less calories.  I ate half of my 8" sub before I remembered to grab the camera out of my purse and take a pic, lol.

Calories:  525

At 2pm I ate a leftover grilled italian chicken sausage from Saturday night's dinner with Dwayne.

Calories:  100

I had a lemon torte parfait at 4pm.

Calories:  100

Dinner was at 6pm.  I found some frozen crab cakes on sale at Ingles last week that I decided to bake in the oven.  They were ok, but not fantastic enough to buy again...at least not this brand.  Shane, on the other hand, LOVED them.  The crabcakes were 153 cals each.  I also had 1/2 c. of steamed carrots, tomato slices, and some grilled asparagus.

Calories:  388

Dessert was at 7:30pm...I had 1 c. of fresh pineapple.

Calories:  76

I'm brewing my decaf coffee now....the cals for 2 Tbsp of creamer is 30.

Total Calories:  1490

Water Intake:  (4) 32 oz. glasses

Exercise:  Unplanned rest day

Have a GREAT night everyone!!  :)

Beach Challenge Food Pics Day 17

Another great food day in the books!!! 

Dwayne and I each bought a cheap pair of tennis shoes at Payless this weekend for our beach trip.  I walked 3 miles at the park today to break mine in....I can tell they're cheapies, but they feel pretty decent.

 

Breakfast was at 9am.  I had a scramble with 3 egg whites, 5 oz. of baked chicken, mushrooms, onions & bell peppers with 1/8 c. of 2% shredded cheese.

Calories:  271

At 1pm I had a sandwich on a Thomas Everything bagel thin w/ 3 oz. of Boar's Head low sodium ham, 1 Tbsp of lite mayo, tomato, red onion & dill pickle.

Calories:  250

At 3pm I made some baked chicken wings w/ Mojo marinade on them, which is a garlic and lime blend...totally delicious!  I took the skin off before I ate them, and ate 7 wings...Scarlette ate the last one.  :)

Calories:  280

I had a sugar-free Jell-O chocolate pudding at 4:30pm.

Calories:  60

Mom invited me over for dinner at 6pm.  I measured out 1c. of jasmine rice, which is 320 calories.  I guesstimated the gumbo to be 180 cals.  It has chicken, tomatoes, onions and okra with a gravy that was thickened with flour.  Mom is a FANTASTIC cook!

Calories:  500

When I got home from the park I had a Chobani peach yogurt.

Calories:  140

I'll be making my 2 c. of decaf w/ sugar-free creamer when I finish this post...the cals are 30.

Total Calories:  1531

Water Intake:  (4) 32 oz. glasses

Exercise:  Walked 3 miles at the park

I am 3.6 lbs away from hitting my 16 lb. goal that I gave myself for this month-long challenge.  I'm hoping to win that goal with my weigh-in this Friday!!!  Wouldn't it be cool if I could end up losing 20 lbs total this month???? 

I also noticed on my ticker on my sidebar that I'm only 2.9 points away on the BMI chart from being merely overweight instead of obese.  I set out on this journey to beat the living tar out of Morbid Obesity until he was dead and gone forever....as you can see....his days are numbered.  :)

Hope everyone is right on track and giving it their all for these last 2 weeks!!  :)

Beach Challenge Food Pics Day 15

I had every intention of eating all 1800 of my calories today, and I dang near made it.  I knew I wanted spaghetti for dinner, but wasn't sure if I could make it work.  My idea of eating spaghetti is to pile up my plate with mounds of it and eat it until you're so stuffed you can't move.....my all-time favorite food.

At 9am I had a scramble with 3 egg whites, 4 oz. baked chicken, mushrooms, bell peppers and shredded mozzarella cheese.

Calories:  261

At 11am I headed out the door to go grocery shopping and grabbed a cold 4 oz. chicken burger leftover from last night's dinner to eat on the road.  Since I cooked it in extra virgin olive oil, I added 50 cals to it, like I did last night, for whatever oil stuck to it after I took it out of the pan.

Calories:  170

I shopped at 2 different stores today to get the best sales, Ingles and Publix.  I usually do most of my shopping at Publix, but Ingles had boneless skinless chicken breasts on sale for $1.88 lb....well I couldn't pass THAT up!!  When I got to Publix, I started drooling over their Cuban sandwiches in the deli.  I LOVE sandwiches, and especially these ones, and hadn't had one in quite a while.  I decided I needed one and did my best to guesstimate the calories, even emailing Pam, to try and be as accurate as I could.  I ate this around 2pm.

Calories:  700

Around 5:30pm I decided I just couldn't wait for Dwayne to get here to eat dinner with him (which is around 7:30pm), and I had to make 2 different sets of spaghetti anyway (he doesn't eat any veggies...and I wanted a few veggies in my sauce), so I made mine and ate it at 6pm.  I'll give you the entire calorie breakdown so you can see how I pulled this off, lol.

I weighed out 4 oz. of extra lean ground beef (93/7).  I've never been able to find the calorie count for the extra lean on sparkpeople, so I emailed Pam a few weeks ago and asked her if she knew.  One blogger told me it was 40 cals per oz, but that sounded a little low to me.  She told me she thought it was more like 45-50 cals per oz, so I go with 50.  The sauce I used was 100 cals per cup...I used 1 c.  I counted the 3 fresh mushrooms, little bit of bell pepper and diced red onion as 30 cals.  The Dreamfield's spaghetti has a lower glycemic index (for us diabetics) and it's 190 cals for 2 oz...I measured out 3 oz. for 285 cals.

4 oz. 93/7 ground beef:  200 cals

1 cup of Classico tomato & basil sauce:  100 cals

mushrooms, bell pepper, red onion, minced garlic:  30 cals

3 oz. of Dreamfield's spaghetti:  285

Calories:  615

OMG this was sooooo good and totally cured my spaghetti craving. 

I'll be having my 2 c. of decaf coffee with Dwayne later this evening and the creamer will be 30 cals.

Total Calories:  1776

Water Intake:  (4) 32 oz. glasses

Exercise:  Rest day

There are still over half of the challenge participants that haven't reported their weigh-in.  Make sure you send it to me either in a comment or through email so I can update our list.  Hope everyone has a fabulous weekend.....only 2 weeks left to win that tacky souvenir!!!!  :)

Beach Challenge Week Two Weigh-In

I DID IT!!!!!!!!!!!

I haven't seen the 220's in 3 1/2 months, and then I only dropped in them for one week, and was right back up to the 230's.  I finally made it back there today and I hope I NEVER see the 230's again!!!

I weighed in this morning at 228.6 for a loss of 4.4 lbs.!!!!!

This is also a significant weigh-in, because I NEVER lose this much on a cycle week...EVER!!! 

I'm starting in on my 2nd week of my cycle (long story....my body is just effed up and always has been)....so we'll see what kind of results I get at the next weigh-in.  I'll go ahead and tell you that my cramps are in FULL FORCE today and this is the worst I've felt physically all week long....the fun just never ends....thank you Mother Nature (grrrrrr).

But I did it....I overcame....and I hope that I can hang in there this coming week and not let this junk weigh me down.  I hope I can overcome again this week.  I'm definitely going to give it my best shot!!!

Don't forget to leave me your weigh-in today!  I hope everyone is doing fantastic.  We are at the HALFWAY point for this challenge.  We've got 2 measley weeks left, so let's kick into high gear!!  It's all downhill from here baby!! 

Have a fantastic weekend everyone, and I'll be back later tonight with my food pics for the day.  Make good food choices, drink PLENTY of water EVERY day, and get those buns MOVING!!  :)

Beach Challenge Food Pics Day 14

I had a busy day today with a couple of temptations, but I made it through.

Breakfast was an egg white scramble with 3 egg whites, 4 oz. of baked chicken, mushrooms & 1/8 c. of 2% shredded cheddar cheese.

Calories:  241

Right after I finished eating, around 8:30am, my sister Brandy sent me a txt saying, "I'm going to be about 5 mins late....Elijah peed on the bed".

Wha...?  OH HOLY CRAP!!!!  I told my sister last week that I'd meet her to pick up the kids today so she can go to school!!!!!!  I totally forgot.  Threw on a ball cap and some shoes and ran out the door.  Picked up the kids and she gave me $20 to take them to McDonald's for breakfast.

Normally I avoid fast food places now....just tell myself they're disgusting and gross as I drive by them...and they're not near the temptation that they USED to be when I first started my weight loss journey.  However....all of that changes when you're sitting inside and watching people stuff their faces with pancakes, scrambled eggs, chicken biscuits, egg mcmuffins and breakfast burritos.  The aroma's wafting up your nose, and suddenly...it doesn't seem so gross anymore.  In fact....it seems downright tasty!! 

I let the kids play on the indoor jungle gym for almost an hour and then made them sit down to eat.  Elijah ate the chicken off of 2 chicken biscuits, and Grace ordered a bagel with cream cheese.  I didn't eat anything.  Oh I wanted to....but I told myself if I could hold out and resist THESE calories, then I'd go get some OTHER calories when we left.  By the way, have you ever noticed how slow kids eat??  Between the playing and the eating, I was tortured inside the McD's for over an hour and a half, lol.  But I resisted!

We went to a couple of stores to look around....Belk's and TJMaxx, and then I got to Larry's Subs around noon and had my usual ham and turkey sub that I get when I'm stuck out at lunch time.

Calories:  589

While we're leaving the Larry's Subs parking lot, the kids spy a Bruster's....ice cream!!!!  This would be Temptation #2 for the day.  I took them over and we sat outside in the sunshine while they slurped down their vanilla cones.  Sweets aren't normally a real big temptation for me (unless it's a brownie)...but the week of my cycle....anything and everything is fair game.  Not to mention I saw a huge a$$ picture of a brownie sundae, lol.  But I just white-knuckled the picnic table we were sitting at and let them eat their ice cream.

We stopped by the Dollar General and I picked up a couple of tank tops for $6 and got the kids each one Easter toy that was on sale for 50% off.  We got back home and while the kids were playing with Scarlette, my sister called to say she'd be there in a few mins and did I want to come back up to town and meet her at the Chinese buffet???? 

Oh.

Dear.

Lord.

Temptation #3...and the worst one yet!!!  I hesitated for about 5 seconds....then I turned her down.  I knew tomorrow morning was the weigh-in, I already had Chinese earlier this week, and this weigh-in won't be as near as hot as the last one due to my cycle.  I decided not to sabotage myself completely. 

Brandy got to the house, and instead of picking up the kids and leaving, she sat around on the sofa for a while and we chatted a bit while the kids destroyed my house and terrorized my puppy dog.  The first half of the day was fine, because I purposely kept the kids out shopping and not at my house where they could stress me out.  But I didn't know they were going to be there until 4PM!!!  I snacked a lot while they were there (secretly praying they would LEAVE so Elijah would stop trying to pick Scarlette up by the neck).  But I did take pics of everything.

I attempted to eat a Chobani strawberry yogurt, but Grace tasted it, and decided she needed the other 1/2 of it, so I only got half.

Chobani:  70

Then I had a boiled egg...

Calories:  75

Then some sugar-free lime Jell-O.  These are perfect for when you can't seem to stop snacking, but you don't want to blow your calories. 

Calories:  10

They finally left at 4pm and my nerves were shot.  I wanted to eat and eat and eat....just like yesterday.  So again...just like yesterday....I took a nap.  When I woke up, I made chicken burgers for dinner that I cooked in some extra virgin olive oil.  I had it on a whole wheat sandwich thin w/ 1 Tbsp lite mayo, a little ketchup & mustard, lettuce, tomato and red onion.  Yummy!

Calories:  405

Dessert was a navel orange that I shared with Scarlette.

Calories:  62

I'll have my 2 c. of decaf coffee later this evening with the sugar-free creamer.

Total Calories:  1482

Water Intake:  (4) 32 oz. glasses

Exercise:  None

Tomorrow's the weigh-in, so don't forget to stop by my weigh-in post tomorrow and leave me yours!!  Good luck to everyone....I don't know about you, but I'm glad this crappy week is almost over, lol.  Next week has GOT to be better!  :)

Beach Challenge Food Pics Day 13

One of the super fun things about your cycle is the moody hormonal bullsh*t that comes along with it.  You know it's going to be a bad day when you wake up pissed off at the world for no good reason, lol.  Today was one of those days.

Dwayne came over last night and gave me the tax money, and as appreciative as I am, I was pretty much feeling like a loser.  Saying "thank you" was feeling pretty inadequate and pathetic, and I'm sure that's what set the tone for my mood this morning.

I had breakfast at 8am....an egg white scramble w/ 3 egg whites, 2 oz of baked chicken (I ran out...time to make more tonight!), 1 chicken sausage link, spinach, onions, mushrooms, 1/8 c. 2% shredded cheddar cheese and a diced Roma tomato on top.

Calories:  281

I headed out the door soon after w/ severe cramps and a poor mood.  Dwayne told me to go to the post ofc and get a tax form to sub for me not having my W2 from the company that laid me off.  It never came, and after several attempts and phone calls and an online request for a duplicate, it still never came.  The post ofc didn't have any forms so I headed to the library.  They had 8,000 forms EXCEPT the one I needed.  I got a lady to help me look it up online and print it off, and I made some copies while I was there.  I filled it out, drove back up to the post ofc, and got it mailed. 

My mood was really bitter, my abdomen and female parts were hurting and I didn't feel like running errands today....but I had to run around town and pay a couple of bills.  I'm kind of partial to electricity and running water.  It was around noon by the time I got everything just about wrapped up and I was driving down the road feeling bitchy, feeling like a loser and embarassed in front of Dwayne about the tax money, stomach was growling, and by the way, WHO THE HELL IS FRYING THAT CHICKEN????  I SMELL FRIED CHICKEN DAMMIT!!  I look over....KFC....bastards!!!  Can't you SEE I'm trying to lose weight?  Can't you SEE I'm trying to win a challenge??  Can't you HEAR my stomach growling???  What the hell is WRONG with you people....trying to sabotage someone's healthy eating plan like that??!!  EFFING BASTARDS!!!  (I told you I was in a foul mood, lol).

I resisted the grease-drenched, calorie-laden yumminess and ran on home.  At 12:30p I whipped up some tuna salad and had it with 16 Wheat Thin crackers and an icy cold Coke...ahhhh...Heaven.  I was tired of water and I think an average of one Coke a week is a good example of moderation, especially considering I used to drink 3-4 of these a DAY.

Calories:  595

My baby is always more than willing to help me shave a few calories off of each meal.  She eats damn near anything.  Here she is enjoying a bite of tuna salad on a wheat thin...she had several bites, lol.  So precious.

As soon as I finished lunch, I decided to put on my swimsuit and go lay out in my sun chair on the front sidewalk and just chill out...catch a few rays.....hope the day and my mood would improve.  I was laying my towel out on my chair when I look up and see the front gate standing wide open....and Scarlette was gone.  Time to freak.  Scarlette is not trained very well....which is totally my fault...another loser moment for me...because she won't come when you call her if she gets outside of her boundaries....as in the fence in the front yard.  She looks at you when you call her and then takes off running. 

I ran through the house, grabbed a bag of treats, and then out the back door in my swimsuit and barefeet, fat just a'flyin'!  I found her next door in Mom's back yard....then she moved over to the neighbor's yard...then she crossed the street...and down into a salvage yard.  Great.  I was trotting down the road in my swimsuit, boobs a'bouncin' and bat wings a'flappin', people driving by.  Fun stuff.  I got in the driveway that she ran down and was hobbling around on gravel and broken acorns and my feet were torn up.  I knocked on the door of the house in front of the salvage yard to see if someone would help me catch her, but nobody was home.  I was calling to her, offering her treats, but she wasn't interested.  She was off on a grand adventure!  The further she ran, the more my heart sank.  The salvage yard butts up to a big patch of woods (with coyotes, by the way), and I knew I wasn't going to catch her barefooted. 

I stood and called her, and watched her run further away until she ran into some brush and was out of sight.  My heart sank and I just broke down bawling.  I knew I wasn't going to catch her barefooted, so I went back home, changed my clothes lightning fast, slipped on a pair of shoes, grabbed TWO bags of treats, my car keys, and back out the door.  I got in the car and drove down to the salvage yard and got out of the car, looking around and calling Scarlette, scared out of my mind.  I couldn't see her anywhere, but I finally heard her tags jingling on her collar.  She popped out of a bush several feet away from me and when I started walking towards her, she jumped into another bush.  She was having the time of her live and momma was having a friggin' heart attack!  She was right there...I could see her...but I couldn't catch her.  I really thought I might lose her forever.  You guys know I don't have any human children, so Scarlette is my heart, my soul...my life.

I finally remembered how much she loves to go to the park, so I said, "Momma's baby wanna' go to the park??!!" (acting all excited).  She was hiding in a bush so I couldn't see her, but she popped her head up like a little groundhog and looked at me....but she still wasn't budging.  I knew I had her attention though, so I told her I was going to the park, and got in my car, backed out, and started pulling out of the salvage yard.  All of a sudden she came bouncing out of the brush and I opened my car door and she jumped up in my lap.  I was bawling again, lol.  I couldn't believe I got her back...I was crying and saying my prayers, thanking God, and cursing the bad day....I was pretty emotional to say the least. 

I got back home with my baby and tried to settle down.  I was a wreck.  What a bad day.  About 3pm the insane food cravings kicked in.  I wasn't really considering a full-on binge, but I definitely wanted something "off plan".....as in a big, fat brownie, maybe?  I keep a couple of boxes in the pantry because I make them for Dwayne on the weekends sometimes.  He snacks on them Friday and Saturday, and then I always bag up the leftovers and send them with him when he leaves.  I knew they were in there and I could almost smell them through the box. 

I grabbed onto my last shred of sanity and had 2 c. of watermelon instead.

Calories:  100

I mentioned yesterday that watermelon is like crack to Scarlette.  It's her all-time favorite "people" food.  Anything to put a smile on my baby's face....

The watermelon just wasn't cutting it, so an hour later, at 4pm, I had a boiled egg.

Calories:  75

I was starting to feel a little frantic with the eating....2 snacks in an hour's time....so I decided I'd try to lay down and take a nap.  I dozed off about 5pm and woke up at 6pm.  I was ready to eat the house.  I was cramping, emotionally frazzled from almost losing Scarlette, and I was just hormonally out of whack.  I didn't want the leftover fish from last night's dinner that I had planned on.  I wanted some kind of comfort food....carbs...something creamy or cheesy, saucy....that kinda' thing.   I looked around in the cabinet and just couldn't find anything that wouldn't put me over 1400-1500 cals for the day.  I really planned on staying around that number today and tomorrow since it's almost weigh-in, and I already know I'm battling some bloating. 

That's when the internal dialogue started that sometimes happens between Fat Tammy and Skinny Tammy.

Fat Tammy:  I'm ready to throw in the towel today and just eat.  It's just one day...I'll recover next week.  I want to eat something GOOD.  I'm in a bad mood today...don't mess with me.

Skinny Tammy:  Ohhhhh HELL no....sh*t ain't happenin'!  You've got a challenge to win, weight to drop...weren't you the one that wanted to get in the 220's this week and never look back?  Think you're gonna' accomplish that if you're elbow-deep in cheesy noodles?  Eat fish and veggies instead.

Fat Tammy:  If I see another vegetable I'm gonna' puke...and I'm tired of fish.  I want something else...something yummy...you're really starting to piss me off.  I told you not to mess with me today...

Skinny Tammy:  I don't care what you told me...eat the damn fish, Fatty. 

Fat Tammy:  Have I ever told you how much I hate you....B*TCH? 

Skinny Tammy:  Yeah I know....but just remember...I'm the b*tch that lost 8 lbs. last week. ;)

Fat Tammy:  (eyeroll)  Yeah, I remember....fine..... I'll eat the effing fish.  You always were a show-off.

3 oz. cod, 1 c. broccoli, 1 c. squash, 1 Roma tomato

Calories:  145

Followed by a lemon torte parfait...

Calories:  100

Ok.  I got through the food thing but was still in a bad mood, and decided maybe if I went for a walk and got in some exercise I'd feel better.  I drove over to the park, got on the trail, and about 10 steps into it, one of my ear buds died, and I was listening to music lop-sided...only in one ear.  I was immediately pissed off again, lol.  Really?  For real?  You're gonna' break TODAY of all days????  Awesome.  Love it.  Whatever...I'm walking anyway.

I walked the 2 mile trail and by the end of it, I had some gravel in my shoes that was bruising my heels, so I emptied my shoes, and decided to walk on the track.  I did 2 miles....I figured I'd try to push for 4 miles...which meant I needed to do 8 laps on the track.  I was doing good....decent pace....and had rounded lap 6 and was halfway around again when I ran into a flock of gnats.  One of them decided to go kamikaze on me and dove right up my left nostril!!  WTF????  I blew my nose as hard as I could to get the gnat out and he came out alright...right along with a big, slimy booger!!!  There were several people on the track and I was dying, lol.  I didn't know how many heard me blow my nose, but I sure didn't want them seeing a booger hanging on my face, so I wiped it fast and hard to get it off.  I now had a big, slimy booger on the back of my hand and a snot trail running down my arm.  Fun times!  

By the time I got back around to the gate to get off the track and go wash my hands, I realized I'd just finished the 7th lap.  Do you think I got off?  HECK NO BABY!!  Me and that booger trucked it on around the last lap and finished up the 4 miles!!!

So....I go wash up, get in the car, and as I'm driving home I'm thinking to myself that I actually ended up with a perfect ending to a totally imperfect day.  I came in under my calorie limit, drank all my water, and got in 4 miles of exercise.  I got home, came back to my bedroom to download my pics off my camera and do my post.  I was carrying my last glass of water for the day in my hand, tripped over a dog toy, and spilled water all over the camera.  ARE YOU EFFING KIDDING ME???!!!  Do you ever have the thought that some days you should just sit down and be quiet and still...not move all day long, so nothing else will go wrong?  I was so there, lol.  I was scrambling to dry off my camera with my shirt when it slipped out of my hand and fell to the floor with a huge thud, popping open the battery housing and the batteries rolled under the bed.  I was starting in on a cuss-fest like you wouldn't believe when I laid down on my floor on my stomach to get the 2nd battery out from under my queen size bed, and realized it was just barely out of reach.  Just a centimeter further than I could stretch my arm.  I laid there and stared at the battery for a couple of seconds, and just flopped face down on the floor and started laughing.  I thought, "You know what, Bad Day?  EFF YOU!!!  I don't CARE what else goes wrong today...I BEAT YOU...I WON...I stayed in my calories, I exercised, I drank my water...I am a WINNERRRRRRRRRR!" 

Finally got the batteries back in and this is the pic I took to make sure the camera still worked...

I'm now going to go fix my decaf coffee and see if I can do something really cool like blow up the coffee maker or start a house fire.

Total Calories:  1326

Water Intake:  (4) 32 oz. glasses

Exercise:  Walked 4 miles at the park in just over an hour.

I may not win every battle, but by God, I won it today.  And I WILL win the war.   Never give up my friends....never, ever give up.  :)