Worry

I don't want this blog to become all “Downer Debby” while I am slowly (and by slowly I mean sometimes it feels like a snails pace) mending my achey back. But I that how I am feeling lately.

One day I won't have much pain and I'll start to feel positive. Then, I wake up and there is still some pain. This isn't unusual as the issue I am dealing with means there will be some pain when I first wake up due to the fluid re-distributing while I sleep. Instead of starting the day on a positive note I instantly get upset and feel deflated. Yesterday I thought I would get on the scale at home to see how things are going this week. Yeah, not a good idea!

This is why I don't get on the scale more than once a week. I can't handle the ups and downs that might not be true weight gain. Mentally I just can't cope with it. I don't want to turn into one of those people that let the scale dictate my mood or what I do or don't eat for the day.

I know my food plan can be cleaner. I always feel like I am doing well and try to find that balance between healthy and not feeling deprived. Yet, there is still many extras I should do without while I am dealing with this situation with my back. I guess it is a choice between having a lot to lose and not feeling deprived or having little to lose but feeling semi-deprived? I don't know if that is really my only two choices either.

I am upset. I worry. I hate when I worry about things that I cannot control. I found this on Facebook.

Right now I am just feeling down.

The Morale Of The Story

I had my second PT appointment on Wednesday.  I am gaining more movement and have substantially less pain.  So, things are improving and that makes me happy.  I see the PT three times next week.

We are also working on strengthening the core muscles that support the back.  He describes it has a tree with a strong truck.  If a tree has a strong truck, unlike a newly planted tree, it won’t flop in the wind but instead it stands strong.  Your core supports your back and so those muscles need to be maintained.  The morale of the story is: I shouldn’t have skipped out on the floor exercises in my classes at the Y all these years!

My PT said he read somewhere that 80% of Americans will have some sort of back problem in their life.  Since I have been talking to my friends about my back pain, several have also had back pain or know a loved one or friend that struggles with back pain.  Some have even had surgery.  The PT says it really comes down to poor posture.

I know I have poor posture.  How do I know this?  Well, sitting at work for 10 hours with proper posture, as I have been doing for a few days now, sure makes for a long uncomfortable night!  I miss the days of crossing my legs, hunching my back, and resting my arms on the arm rest.  And my tailbone is quite irritated with this new posture as well.  Okay that and the fact that I fell on my ass Monday morning!

While I am happy my back pain is improving and I work to keep it that way I am nervous about the lack of exercise and my food intake.  I am already struggling with about 4 pounds of extra weight that might as well be 40 pounds because I feel fat and uncomfortable in my pants.  I know this is just temporary and when I can add in more physical fitness I can work to shed these pounds.  I also have to make sure I work to not add more pounds!

This week I am working on sticking to my DPA of 30 PPVs.  If I am hungry or need to eat more food I can use my WPPAs.  I don’t plan to use them though and need to try and stick with just my DPA.  I don’t want to feel deprived either.  I am already miserable enough (see irritated tailbone above).  I also need to focus on getting in a lot of Power Foods and reducing my sweets.  I have written on my tracker each day “No Sweets.”  Again, I don’t want to deprive myself but right now it is okay if I don’t indulge.

I have plans for some beer tasting on Saturday and most likely will have a meal or two out to eat as well.  I also plan to start with some leisure walks if I am feeling good.  I don’t want to put a kink in the healing of my back injury but I also do miss exercise.  I am not supposed to exercise with any high intensity but walking is fine.  I might even try the recumbent bike at the Y to see how that feels.

So The Sheriff Hired A Dispatcher

A coworker shared this.  She attended a training session where this video was shown.

Many people will never understand how difficult the work of a police, fire, or emergency dispatcher is.  I am lucky in that my line of work I don’t handle 911 calls.  I know that alone is extremely stressful.

Dispatchers are called upon to do many things in the scope of our job and wear many hats during our 10 hour shift.  Some days are slow.  Some days are busy.  You never know what the day holds and so we are prepared for anything. 

It can be high stress and even higher turnover.  At times you can feel unappreciated.  Sometimes you see your coworkers more then you see your own family.

But, it is also a very rewarding job.  Citizens are thankful you are there to answer their calls, listen to them, and provide them with help.  Trooper’s wives and husbands are thankful their spouse comes home safe at the end of their shift.  Once a year we even get our own week of appreciation.

It is a tough job but somebody’s gotta do it!

Weekly Weigh-In

My weekly WI wasn’t a surprise and yet it could have been worse.  I was up another 0.6 pounds this week.

 

Actual weight was 179.4

I had a tough week in that I was limited on my activity due to extreme back pain.  I am very proud that I didn’t eat my emotions this week and despite knowing I might show a gain I am not letting it bum me out either.

Fact of the matter is my body is in healing mode.  It could be holding on to excess water and I know taking 800 grams of ibuprofen a few times a day isn’t helping in the bloated/water retention department either.

My goal this last week was to not engage in emotional eating but to also continue to eat the planned meals out.  I enjoyed frozen yogurt with my friend Mark in Saturday and dinner with our neighbors/friends Tami and Eric at On The Border on Sunday.  I also had a planned dinner at Flying Pie Pizza with my friend Phoenix and Mike but plans were cancelled due to my aching back.  Kenyon and I enjoyed a quick dinner at Texas Roadhouse after my PT appointment and shared a Reeses peanut butter shake from Arctic Circle after.

I could have cancelled all my plans due to not needing extra food with limited/no activity.  But where is the fun in that?  I will have to face my weight gain soon enough and when I am feeling better I will get back into exercise.

In the meantime, my goal is to just continue to get my back to mend.  Slowly, I am feeling better.

Get Well Flowers

I have been dealing with a pinched nerve type feeling in my back for almost two weeks now. I came home from working an overtime shift on Saturday to see that Kenyon bought me some get well flowers. It brightened my day. I love flowers.

I am feeling more encouraged since meeting with a physical therapist. The pain started two weeks ago Thursday. It was actually more in my right hip at that time but it eventually got better. It never actually went away completely and waking up in the morning was the most painful. Last Friday the pain ended up coming back with a vengeance and landing in my lower back. I made an appointment with my OB (the only doctor I have besides my Endocrinologist) for Monday morning.

My OB wasn't able to do much so she refereed me to an Orthopedic clinic and a Physical Therapist. I can't get in with the Orthopedic doctor until September 26!!! Luckily Rehab Authority was able to get me in right away and do an assessment.

My PT, Jeremy, was great. He assessed my movements and pain level and had me try other movements and then reassess the prior moments again. My pain was slightly better. I found out that most likely I have a bulging disk and that I need to modify my movement (less slouching) and do some exercises to try and re-direct the fluid that is against the spine. The pain I am feeling is not a pinched nerve but rather the pressure of my weight against the fluid sitting next to the spine. If untreated or not corrected then a bulging disk becomes a herniated disk and cause damage to the nerves. So, best to correct things now.

I have been given some “homework” exercises and will meet with the PT again on Wednesday. Maybe it is mid over matter but I do feel better already. Of course it is worse in the morning after first waking up. Kenyon and I had quite a scare on Monday morning at 3:30 am. I got up to use the bathroom and the pain was excruciating! I forced myself to work through it to get to the bathroom. I felt light headed and nauseous. A short time later I don't really remember falling but I hit the floor. Kenyon came running into the bathroom and held me when I felt like I had fallen asleep. I think I passed out from the pain for a short bit. It was scary. I also hit my left butt cheek on the scale when I hit the floor so now I have a whole new appreciation for the term “pain in the ass.” Boy is it sore. My tailbone is a bit tender too.

I tell ya, it ain't easy getting old!

A Visit To The Doctor's Office

I think most overweight people avoid the doctor’s office because they know the doctor is going to bring up the weight topic.  Like I never knew I was overweight?  Oh by do I remember the days of visiting the doctor’s office only to be counseled about my weight.  I never made the changes the doctor suggested and continued to let my weight soar higher and higher.

Visiting the doctor’s office is such a different experience for me since I have lost my weight.  I had changed doctors after my weight loss so neither of my two primary doctors knew me during my pre-WW days.  Although I am still holding onto an extra 20 pounds my doctors are very happy about my weight loss and maintenance so they don’t hound me about losing more weight.

I remember the days of visiting the doctor’s office dreading the thought of having to get onto the scale.  While I don’t dread it anymore, I still take my shoes off!  I no longer need the extra large size blood pressure cuff.  The normal size cuff fits me just fine.  When I visit the OBGYN office I no longer need the really large gown.  During one of my pre-WW doctor’s visits the gown they gave me was too small.  I had to use the lap cloth to try and cover myself.  It was humiliating. 

If I had not lost the weight I don’t think my experiences at the doctor’s office would have ever improved.  While a doctor might think they are being sympathetic to your overweight/obese situation they are often not.  Hopefully if you are struggling you can find an open way to communicate that promotes “healthy” conversation that isn’t negative or belittling. 

If you do feel your doctor is just being negative, don’t be afraid to switch doctors.  I did and found two that I enjoy seeing and wish I had a reason to see them more than once a year!

Saying No

This was shared at my WW meeting and I wanted to share it with you too.

Our meeting topic this week is Navigating the Grocery Store.

“If you say no in the food store, you say no once.

If you bring it home, you say no over and over again until it’s gone.”

Wow, isn’t this the truth!  Sometimes it is easier on your WW program, and your waistline, to just have what you want at a restaurant and not bring it into the house!

Whatever Drives Your Goals

I was out to lunch a few weeks ago eavesdropping on a near-by table of elderly couples and friends (Jeri if you are reading this, when I say elderly I mean at least over 80).  One of the upsides of being a police dispatcher is that I can listen to multiple conversations at the same time.

I hear one of the women talking about buying a new dress for a wedding she is attending.  She says, “I bought one dress in my current size and then bought the exact same dress in a smaller size.  I hope I can wear the smaller size by the time the wedding rolls around.”

It made me laugh (but not out loud or they might have realized I was listening in on their conversation and that would be weird).  My Grandma Amos loved clothes.  When we would return from shopping we would change into our outfits and “model” them for her.  Grandma A was very supportive of my weight loss journey.  As I would model new clothing for her she would ask, “Did you get the size smaller?  It will give you something to work towards.”  Call me crazy but I never liked to have to wait to wear my clothes so that thinking never really worked for me.

My days of working towards a smaller size are gone.  I am okay with that.  I still wish I could get back into my size 12 jeans but I also know those days are long gone.  I am happy that I can go from season to season and not have to worry about my clothes fitting.  I also missed the opportunity to wear clothes that was in my closet during my weight loss journey.  It went from too small to too big.  Again, I am not complaining!

I hope the woman at lunch is able to wear a smaller size dress at the wedding she attends.  It is creative to use a smaller dress size as a goal.  Whatever works for you!  At the very least that she feels good in whatever size dress she wears. 

Grocery Shopping And Meal Planning

Grocery Shopping is this week's WW meeting topic.

I will admit I am not always a really great meal planner before I set out to do my grocery shopping.  As I said in my previous post, planning really is key to my WW success.  Sometimes the task of grocery shopping and meal planning can be exhausting.  It is worth the effort and if I am prepared it can make my WW week that much smoother.

This week I sat down and did some rough meal planning.

I often eat four meals a day and most of those meals are consumed at work.  It helps if I can plan meals with leftovers so I can take those leftovers to work for another meal on another day.  I also like to make sure I have a rough plan where the items I need are already in the house so when I want to prepare something all the ingredients available.  I also loosely plan the meals because I never really know what I am going to feel like on a particular day.  It allows me to be flexible. 

This week I am making Skinnytaste’s zucchini lasagna.  It is delicious!  If you have not tried it I would highly recommend it.  This is the time of year that zucchini is in abundance and I have already been given a few huge ones.  My only gripe with cooking/baking with zucchini is the extra water.  Skinnytaste’s recipe does suggest grilling the zucchini first.  This can feel like a bothersome extra step but it is important.  I actually grilled mine using the George Foreman and it worked great!

I am also planning to make some chicken pot pies but instead of a biscuit-type or pie crust topping I am going to use mashed potatoes.  It is sort of like a Sheppard’s pie but it is chicken.  I picked up a can of cream of chicken and will add in some mixed frozen veggies.  I am just sort of doing my own thing with this meal.

I cut up some zucchini (see above where I said this was the time of year that it is in abundance) and also a patty pan squash my Mom gave me from their garden.  I sautéed it in a mix of olive oil and garlic.  I added 4 ounces of chicken sausage and some cabbage.  All I do is turn the burner down to about two and let it simmer until the flavors are mixed and the cabbage is soft.  It is quite delicious.

I picked up some pork chops to grill in the George Foreman.  Sometimes I wrap them in bacon for some extra yummy flavor.  I usually serve them with some frozen veggies, green beans, or even baked beans.

I love the AmyLu chicken burger patties sold at Costco.  They make a really great burger.  I wrap mine in lettuce instead of using a bun and add pickles, mustard, and ketchup.  I serve my burger with some sweet potato “fries” I make with a sweet potato and seasoning and then roast it in the oven with some olive oil.

I have some left over scalloped potatoes that I mixed in some ham and broccoli from last week.  I need to make sure that gets eaten up.  I am bad about wasting food sometimes.

I have one serving left of a frozen PF Chang Meals At Home Beef Broccoli.  It is in the freezer and will make a quick and easy meal.  It was really good when I made half of the bag a few weeks ago.  I bought some broccoli to bulk up the dish.  I will also probably add carrots too.

I bought some hummus for our picnic at the winery last weekend.  I like to spread it on Melba Toast and either top with Boars Head turkey breast or cucumbers.  I added this to this list since I have it on hand and it is an easy snack or meal if I add some veggies and dip and also a string cheese or fruit.

Egg salad is always easy to make and good for any type of meal.  I can spread it on the Melba Toast or just eat it with some veggies.  We always have eggs on hand so all I have to do is boil some and I am good to go.

Lastly I added black beans/sweet potato to the list.  I have some black beans that I opened a little while ago (they might already be past their date though…..).  I also have an extra sweet potato on hand and some whole wheat tortillas in the freezer.  I could make an easy burrito by just adding some cheese so I put this on the list as an idea if needed.

This is just sort of a loose meal plan that at least gives me some ideas.  I already know we are eating out on Sunday night and also Monday night.  As long as I have the correct meat thawed I should be able to make any of these meal ideas.  I also will often make a couple of meals at a time and have leftovers ready to go.

What is your meal planning like?

Planning Is Key To Success

I would not have made it six and a half years on the WW program without planning.  Planning has been key to my weight loss and also maintenance journey.  I have to plan my meals.   It is one more aspect that keeps me accountable to my program.

Last Friday I was hoping to get to ride in a patrol car with one of our troopers since my previous scheduled ride had been postponed.  I wasn’t 100% sure that I would be able to go so I had to plan meals/snacks for both in the dispatch center and if I would get my ride.

I always pack food/snacks when I ride with a trooper.  You never know when you might get stuck on a crash or have an arrest and are not able to get dinner.   I got lucky on Friday night in that the trooper I was riding with had gone to dinner before picking me up.  I like to eat out but I wasn’t a fan of the restaurant he went to.  I just ate my prepared dinner before we left.

When I pack my snacks I always pack extra incase the trooper I am riding with needs something too.  I will often put in fruit, granola bars, carrots or celery, and also some yogurt and string cheese.  I pack it with freezer blocks to keep it cool.

I was going to pick up an individual container of lemon Chaboni yogurt.  I don’t buy the single serve cups because they have a little more sugar then I prefer.  However, for convince it is handy.  I decided buying lemon yogurt was silly since I could make my own at home!  My WW Message Board friend Nichole suggested once putting lemon curd into plan non-fat Greek yogurt.  I found some lemon curd at Cracker Barrel and have been enjoying lemon yogurt for a few months now.

I add 19 grams (one serving) of lemon curd to 4-6 ounces of Greek yogurt.  I always add a sweetener packet as well.  The amount of yogurt you use just depends on how much of a lemon flavor you taste.  The lemon curd is 1 PPV and 6 ounces of non-fat Greek yogurt is 2 PPVs.  The PPVs are the same as a store bought container of Chobani.

Mix it all in and let it sit for a bit in the fridge to enhance the flavor.

Here was my packed “loot” for the night.  I didn’t end up eating much.  I had one of the WW string cheeses and the apple after I was dropped back off at dispatch.  I had some frozen waffles and peanut butter waiting for me in dispatch that I ate instead of my snacks.

I packed a bottle of water, carrots and celery, dip made of sour cream and ranch mix, Jiff To Go peanut butter (I really like this for ease of travel), Kashi granola bar, my lemon Greek yogurt, a plastic spoon and knife, two apples, and two WW string cheeses.  As I said before, I like to pack extra to share with the trooper if needed.

Everything going into my insulated bag with freezer blocks.

I had a fun time riding in the patrol car.  It is nice to connect with the officers we talk to on the radio each day.  It is also really fun to see what they do on their side of the radio.  I can gain a better understanding of their job and as we talk they can gain a better understanding of mine.  I look forward to my next schedule ride.

What Goes Up Must Come Down?

Well, this week’s WI wasn’t pretty.

My official weight this week at my WW meeting was 178.8.  I had a gain of 2.8 pounds.

Did I really gain 2.8 pounds of fat in a week?  No.  It is still a bummer though.

There is nobody to blame but myself.  My eating was out of control this weekend andit has shown up on the scale.  I am not a bad person because of my gain.  I have no reason to beat myself up.  I ate more food than necessary and I had a gain.

This is only a temporary blip.

My back/hip is still not 100% better but I can’t keep using it as an excuse to not eat healthy or exercise.  I have meal planned and gone to the grocery store.  I am also planning to walk this week for my activity.  I hope whatever is going on will resolve itself soon.

Feeding My Emotions

Emotional eating is one of many things that can complicate a weight loss or maintenance journey. There are a whole range of emotions from happiness to sadness, boredom to stress, and celebration to mourning. It is easy to drown out those emotion with food. Sure, the relief is only temporary but at that particular time eating just makes us feel good.

I fell victim to feeding my emotions.

On Thursday last week I started to feel some pain in my lower back. It felt like pinched nerve on my right side above my hip. My exercise/weight lifting class didn't help so I took Friday off of activity to rest. I was still feeling pretty lousy on Saturday so I cancelled my weekly hike to Table Rock. I was in a lot of pain and very uncomfortable. I also had not been sleeping well since my back/hip is painful. I was also a bit stressed over not being able to exercise. I had a great loss last week and brought my weight back into goal range so not being able to exercise made me a bit worried on how this week's WI would go.

I am also feeling pre-PMS symptoms and while I never thought it affected me before I sure do feel it. I am bloated and craving salt! Saturday night I had no desire to stand by the stove and cook so I met Kenyon for dinner at On The Border. I ate my emotions, and close to my weight, in chips and salsa and boy was it tasty! The eating didn't stop there. I finished off some left over frozen yogurt with Reeses peanut butter cup that was in the freezer. My damage for just that meal was 26 PPVs.

Sunday was a planned event with my friends and parents at St. Chapelle Winery for a local concert. I had packed my picnic and planned to enjoy some good wine and good company. While my back was starting to feel slightly better, apparently my give-a-damn was still busted and15 PPVs of wine was consumed. Between my picnic lunch, wine, and a planned birthday party we attend later in the day I had used all of my remaining 14 WPPAs and was now in the hole -12 PPVs.

Yesterday I got out for an easy two mile walk in the morning. It was nice to get in some activity after all the emotional eating, and drinking, I had engaged in. I still went over my PPVs. My back is still not 100% better but it is slowly feeling less painful.

I can't dwell on my sloppy eating this last weekend. I am human and I still struggle from time to time. It is upsetting that I will most likely have a gain on Tuesday. I will get on the scale and claim my responsibility. I will also work to make my new WW week a successful one as I get back to healthy eating and hopefully normal activity.

The Road To Success

I got this off Facebook. It was posted by a friend from high school Vanessa.  I am not sure if she is the original author but she didn't cite anybody's name.

The road to success is not straight.

There is a curve called Failure, a loop called Confusion, speed bumps called Friends, red lights called Enemies, caution lights called Family. You will have flats called hourly Jobs.

But, if you have a spare called Determination, an engine called Perseverance, and insurance called Faith, you will make it to a place called Success!

[image source] 

Podcast - Half Size Me

My friend Dawny (hi Dawny) introduced me to a podcast called “Half Size Me.”

I have never been an avid podcast listener so when Dawny sent me an email with a link to Heather’s website I decided to download the podcast app and give Heather a listen.  Why not right?

Wow.  I have only listened to a few podcasts and I am already inspired.  Heather is in maintenance, which is helpful to where I am in my journey.  I agree with so much of the information she shares.  She also has guests posts from other men and women who have lost a large amount of weight.

It is very inspiring and very motivation.  Dawny likes to listen to her podcasts while our for her daily wog (fast walking pace).  I decided to take a listen while mowing the lawn on Wednesday.  I instantly wished I had brought my headphones when I went to an appointment that afternoon.  I can see how listening to a podcast would make a walk to by quick and would encourage you to walk for a full hour just to keep listening.

I look forward to listening more to Heather and her future guests.

http://www.halfsizeme.com/

Dieting Quick Fix - The Patch

Did you know there was a new diet quick fix called “The Patch?”

I received this card from my friend with some flowers after I reached goal.

Thought you could use a laugh today!

Elevator to Success

I found this photo off a friend’s Facebook page.  I thought it was appropriate to weight loss and maintenance.

Although taking the stairs is a good way to get in extra activity in your day, taking the elevator is the fastest route.  But there are no fast routes when it comes to weight loss.  We simply must take the stairs.

In taking the stairs we can learn a lot about ourselves.

There are often struggles.  We learn that sometimes taking the stairs hurts.  We learn that sometimes it is exhausting.  We know that there are times we want to quit.  We know that there are also times we want to turn around and just walk back down the stairs.

There are also rewards.  We learn that to continue moving forward up the stairs we must put continue to put one foot in front of the other.  We learn that as we continue upward we can see much more clearly.  We learn how strong we really are.

Don’t give up on your journey and don’t give in and take the elevator.  You will learn so much more about yourself if you accept the struggles along the way and just take the stairs.

And seriously…take the stairs!  You earn more APs that way!

August Weigh In

Well, after focusing on my food for the last seven days I had a loss of 2 pounds and was back in goal range (173-177) for my August WI.

Whew.

Actual weight was 176.0.  My iPhone is fatter than I am

It was an emotional week last week.  When I arrived at my meeting on Tuesday I was greeted with so many “I thought about you all week” comments.  My meeting members and leader are wonderful.  I thanked them all for the support and understanding as I had my nervous breakdown!  It really did feel like a support group last week where I just bared my soul and then found my inner fighter.

When I went back to look at my weight record I realized that I was also over goal the last two years.  So really I didn’t need to be so hard on myself.  Regardless I took a good look at my food last week and made some changes.  It is easy to get into a rut of eating the same foods and doing the exercise.  So what would make me think I would see different results?

I still ate some boring meals this week and I really missed fruit.  I also think I have become addicted to Melba Toast.  However, I still had some treats and I still ate meals out.  I also ate all my WPPAs and all my APs.  I am going to continue with that this next week.  I am also going to stay mindful of my fruit consumption and continue to eat different types of foods. 

For now I can let out a sigh of relief.  I earned my 6^th Lifetime key charm to add to my key ring.  It has been another 10 months at goal.

I am very happy with my maintenance journey.  It has its ups and down and its highs and lows but it is all just a part of the journey.

And boy does it feel good to be able to eat WITHOUT snapping a photo!

Food Log - Day 7

If you wanted to take a look:


FoodLog – Day 1 here

FoodLog – Day 2 here

FoodLog – Day 3 here

FoodLog – Day 4 here

FoodLog – Day 5 here

FoodLog – Day 6 here

 

This will be my last food blog for this week.  I am glad I took this week to blog about my food.  It has kept me accountable.  There were a few foods I passed up on since I knew I would have to take a photo and document it.  I even found that actually taking the photos was easier to remember as the week progressed.  I am not interested in this blog being about food only so I will no longer be doing food blogs daily.  Don’t worry though I will pop in from time to time with my food.


Good news!  I lost 2 pounds this week and was able to complete my August WI and receive my 6^th LT key charm (I counted wrong and thought this was my 5^th charm).  I will have more on that tomorrow.


So, here is Tuesday’s food.  It is the end of my WW week as well.


I have been saving one of my filled Dutch Bros punch cards to use my free drink for something good (and more than $2).  I decided today to cash it in.  I got a Dutch Freeze, which is described as “Our 3 Bean Espresso Roast and Milk Frozen to Perfection.”  It is also 9 PPVs for a medium size.  It is delicious!  However, it is also super sweet.  I decided to also get an iced decaf Americano and then I poured 1/3 of my Dutch Freeze into half of my iced Americano.  It worked out really well, reduced the PPVs, and I still have 2/3 of the Dutch Freeze in my freezer for another time.

• 1/3 Dutch Freeze mixed with iced decaf Americano – 3

I usually don’t eat before WI, I know this is considered playing scale games, so by the time I got home from my meeting yesterday I was famished!  I made an apple pancake with peanut butter so I would have something in my fuel tank before my class at the Y.

·        apple - 0
·        47g Great Harvest whole grain pancake mix – 4

·        2tsp olive oil – 2

·        2tsp brown sugar – 1

·        8g peanut butter – 1

·        Drizzle of honey – 0

 
I brought my own iced decaf coffee from home since I already had Dutch Bros.

·        iced decaf coffee with half and half - 1

 

I was super hungry when I got home from the Y.  Kenyon was about ready to go out and about so I asked if he wanted to grab lunch.  He suggested Golden Corral.  It wasn’t quite what I was expecting but I still had 10 WPPAs to use and I had earned 4 APs during my workout. 

 

I had already made up my mind that I was not going to even approach the dessert table.  I had a great WI and I wasn’t about to mess it all up with desserts.  I was still undecided walking into the restaurant if I would have a roll or not.  I really like their fresh bread.  Kenyon mentioned they had hush puppies so I knew bread had just been one-upped!  I love hush puppies!!!

 

My plan of action also included going for all zero PPV veggies at the salad bar and eating my full salad plate first.  I was feeling super hungry and didn’t want to overdo it.  I then went for mashed potatoes, three hush puppies, some broccoli and Brussels sprouts.  There wasn’t much in the way of protein so I went with the baked chicken.  What I love about buffets is that I can have a small amount of lots of stuff.  I had three homemade chips.  I was full enough at that point but wanted one more hush puppy and also had two French fries.  I was more than full after all that.  I am not sure how much chicken I had  and I didn't finish it all either so I counted it as 4 PPVs and I am not sure how the veggies were prepared so I am adding 1 PPV.

Hush puppies are like little delicious clouds of goodness!

 

·        salad – 0

·        carrots – 0
·        mushrooms – 0
·        cucumbers - 0
·        light ranch - 3
·        mashed potatoes - 3
·        4 hush puppies - 4
·        baked chicken - 4
·        broccoli/sprouts – 1
·        2 fries/3 chips – 1


Since I ate 16 PPVs at lunch, I had to scale down the rest of my food I brought to work or I would be at risk of going into the negative, which I still did.  I brought all the fixings for a mini tortilla pizza which I assembled at work and cooked in the toaster oven.


Since I ate 16 PPVs at lunch, I had to scale down the rest of my food I brought to work.  I brought all the fixings for a mini tortilla pizza which I assembled at work and cooked in the toaster oven.


(insert photo here) --- how quickly I forgot to snap a photo!

·        30g turkey pepperoni – 2

·        whole wheat tortilla - 2

·        1 serving pizza sauce - 1

·        28g Four Cheese Pizza shredded cheese – 2

·        14g 6 Cheese Italian – 1

·        16g olives – 1

·        diced bell pepper/zucchini mix – 0 (look Dawny, veggies on my pizza!!!)

 

I finished off my day yesterday with some Melba Toast sandwiches with Boars Head turkey and hummus.  I am addicted to Melba Toast and these little sandwiches are so fun to make.  I added a WW string cheese and grapes….mmmm….fruit!

 

·        5 Melba Toasts - 3

·        4oz Boars Head mesquite turkey breast - 2

·        43g hummus - 2

·        WW string cheese - 1

·        grapes - 0

 
I had 2 Hershey kisses and 1 peppermint patty (undocumented) - 2
 
Total 47
4 APs earned
10 WPPA left
 
I used all 49 WPPAs and all 19APs earned this week.  I am in the negative by 3 PPV.