A catch up!

*sneaks back in*

 HI! I’ve been gone a few days…. It seems really hard for me to blog every single day lately… “life” tends to just get in the way…. Sometimes I question if writing the blog is what I’m supposed to be doing… if it’s just a waste of my time… however I know that it’s a great outlet for me… it helps me to explain where I am and what I’m doing… it also helps me to share my thoughts, ideas, and recipes…. I hope that it helps you… If I can inspire or support just one person then it’s worth my time… Although I’ve not been faithful to writing the past few days I’ve been faithful to my ‘diet’.  Here’s what I’ve been up to and where I’m at:

Friday! A hectic and busy day at work, followed by a brief yet satisfying day moment at the gym, a meeting for my church’s Fall festival, and finally a long overdue chitty chat with one of my favorite church sisters.

I stayed well in my calorie range for the day:

I had a great 20 minute workout on the recumbent bike at the gym.  In 20 minutes I managed to go 3miles… I believe that is my best time thus far for the recumbent bike.

I want to share a great tip for ordering ‘coffee’ while out.  Whether it’s Eat’n Park, McDs, Sheetz, or Starbucks I always look for ‘skinny’ ‘low-fat’ ‘fat-free’ or ‘sugar-free’ options.  Friday night was an Eat’n Park night.  I order a large sugar free, fat-free, iced latte.  It was yummy!

Saturday-

Woooooaaaaahhhhhh! This house was out of shape just like it’s owner!   I’m not sure exactly how it all happened, but it was like a fur bomb exploded all over this house!  I did some serious cleaning and tried to get things organized and back in order.  I spent over two hours scrubbing the bathroom, sweeping and mopping, vacuuming, dusting, and rearranging…. Now that is an intense calorie burn! I sometimes wish I could be a stay at home wife so I could do that every day.  I need to start being more active while home.  Cleaning when I have time will help with that!

On Sat I was desperate for a quick and protein filled lunch… I rummaged the freezer and went with this…

6 turkey meatballs, ¼ cup of sauce, and a ¼ a cup of marinara… I stuck it all in the microwave and somehow it turned out amazing!

You’ll notice for dinner I had Chinese food! Oh yumms I’ve been craving Chinese for a while now… Here are a few tips when ordering Chinese:  Skip the fried appetizers, ask for the sauce on the side, ask for brown rice instead of fried or white,  ask for your food to be steamed, have a cup of broth based soup, and finally exercise some portion control and self-control as to not binge!  I also ordered food from a Chinese Restaurant…. Normally we would go to the all you can eat sushi, hibachi, and Chinese food buffet…. That in general is just a bad idea… I mean I know I cannot control myself in that type of environment…. Therefor I just avoid it! Sometimes we have to avoid putting ourselves in the fire J

While my mom was on vacation recently she purchased my BF and I a large gourmet candied apple:

I sliced this up and at a good deal of it.  I’d say half.

I then was still hungry… This happens when I eat Chinese… I know the sign says ‘No MSG’, but I seriously don’t believe it because I’m ALWAYS starving after eating it… I made a ‘light pumpkin latte’…

** 100 calorie Pumpkin Latte

¼ cup of canned pumpkin

2TBSP FF Non-Dairy Creamer

4 sweeteners

1 cup of cold coffee

6 ice cubes

Spice to taste

Blend well

2 TBSP of FF Cool Whip

Here are my end totals for Saturday:

Sunday!

I weighed in a few days early….. *shhh don’t tell** I am very excited…. I lost 2.4lbs this week! YAY!!!

This gives me a total of 27.6lbs lost! Woot woot!

Sunday mornings are always busy for me! I have to leave by 9:30am and I like to eat a before I go so I’m not gnawing on my arm while the Pastor tries to put some biblical knowledge in my brain J Sometimes I think that is harder done then said!

I had a cup of coffee and two slices of toast… I ran through the McDrive-Thru and got a small iced non-fat sugar-free latte…. Yums!

Church was amazing today…. I mean the study message really hit home for me this morning.  I love the woman who was teaching… I wish I could adopt her and make her my sister and talk to her every day just to have some of the knowledge and passion this women has. The message smacked me right in the heart and is something that I think I will refer back to and lean on in the future.  Then the Pastor’s message touched on a subject that I’d been thinking about for such a long time.  About how blessed we are in America, over consumption, how being a Christian who is a Christian of faith and action.

After church I went to have lunch and spend some time with one of my church sisters and her family.  I’m so blessed to have all these amazing people in my life.  These women who are strong, passionate, loving, and beautiful inside and out, I thank God every day for these women who He has moved in my life to encourage and support me.

For lunch we went to Eat’n Park.  I had a Chicken Fajita Salad as an alternative to dressing I decided to just have salsa and I had a Diet Coke.  Even with the shell and salsa it was only 425calories!  I love eating at eat'n park because they offer a calorie guide that includes all of the food! Even ketchup and mustard!

I went grocery shopping and purchased all the things that I need for the upcoming week.

I came home from church and cleaned up the house a little more.  I made a pumpkin oatmeal cranberry cake and also made a fantastic dinner!

**Pumpkin Oatmeal Cranberry Cake

1 cup of oatmeal

1 cup of flour

1 cup of Splenda for baking

4 egg whites

½ cup of pumpkin

½ tsp of baking soda

½ tsp of baking powder

1/8 cup of dried cranberries chopped

1 TBSP of cinnamon

A dash of pumpkin pie spice

Mix all ingredients together. Spread in a rectangular cake pan. Bake at 350degrees for about 20-30 minutes.

Cool and cut into 8 pieces.  Each piece is approx. 115calories.

**Gnocchi with brussel sprouts and turkey bacon

1 package of whole wheat gnocchi cooked according to the package

1 package of frozen brussel sprouts thawed and cut in half

6 slices of turkey bacons chopped finely

Fry bacon in a pan until slightly rendered, add brussel sprouts and allow to brown and crisp up, you may want to add some starchy water from the cooking gnocchi to loosen up the tasty bits on the bottom of the pan, mix cooked gnocchi in the pan… serve with parmesan cheese…

Here are all of my totals for the day:

I’m feeling really great.  I’m trying to eat a little healthier.  I want to shift my focus not only from calories, but also to adding more fruits, veggies, and whole grains.  We are currently working on ridding the house of all the food… no major shopping is being done until all frozen and pantry items are GONE!  Then there are going to be MAJOR changes… my poor BF! J

I have a really busy week coming up.  I need to rely on God’s strength to be able to get through a few long days this week.  I know that it will be worth it.  I’m hoping to make a few tweaks to my routine so that I will be victorious again this week. 

I hope that you had a blessed and beautiful Sunday.  I hope you made your way to church today and that your teacher/pastor’s message touched you. If you don’t go to church try it.  If it’s not your thing pray in your own way.  Closeness with Christ will deliver you through all things.  Whether it’s struggles with food, exercise, or one of millions of other problems in life struggling alone is a choice you make.  That is something that I learned today.  The Lord will always keep you and move you in the right direction if you have faith in Him, know Him, and trust Him.

May you have a blessed and beautiful Sunday evening. 

XOXO