When The Day Starts At 3:45am

I’ve been setting two alarms for workdays, one at 3:45am and on at 4am.  I was setting one at 4am and 4:15am and found I would lounge in bed until 4:30am.  It doesn’t take me long at all to get ready but my mea prep/breakfast can take a bit.  So, I started upping the alarm so I could hopefully get up “on time” vs “late.”

When I woke up at 3:45am, I had a text message from the supervisor asking if one of us can come at 4am since a graveyard coworker went home sick and coverage was needed between 2am and 4am.  Well, I was up, might as well seize the day.

I packed up my leftover chicken salad for lunch, threw together a snack, and grabbed some instant oatmeal and peanut butter for breakfast.  I also made myself some espresso to-go with my Starbucks Verismo machine.

I arrived at work ready to take over at 4:30am.  It is now 6:30am and my stomach is growling telling me I’m hungry.  Clearly my instant oats, peanut butter, and strawberries didn’t hold me over well.  I hate when you get out of your normal routine.  I foresee myself having my snack and lunch much earlier than expected today. 

I have plans to meet up with Phoenix and Kiki after work so I'm going to try my best to hang in there and stick to my plan.  I'm pretty sure I'll be using some WSPA today.

Yesterday, I met up with Rebecca for lunch downtown.  We tried this new place called Wild Root.  I told Rebecca I wasn’t super stoked to be eating at such a “granola place” but was open to trying something new and I spotted the falafel on their online menu so I was sold!  It was really tasty and the falafels were delicious!  Afterwards, I walked to Flying M to get an ice coffee for the road.  I was also trying out my new hat for Europe.  I wanted better sun coverage than just a traditional ball cap.

 

It is a great hat and I really liked it.

I’m not quite ready to be a responsible adult and start the work week but I guess I don’t really have a choice. 

Happy Friday.

Weight Watchers Chicken Salad Recipe

I tried a new Chicken Salad recipe that came in an email from WW several weeks ago. 

You can find the original recipe here ß

(hopefully the recipe comes through and doesn’t require you to sign in or be a WW member)

I wasn’t sure what to think of this recipe since it includes unsweetened dill pickles or sweet gherkins.  I am not a fan of sweet pickles but after finding some sweetened with Splenda, I decided to go for it.  Since the pickles are sweet, I didn’t add any fruit like chopped apples or grapes.  Of course, if I was going to omit the pickle, I’d be all for the extra fruit in there.

I also use canned chicken for ease and since we didn’t have any light mayo, I used FF Greek yogurt in place of the mayo but still added the light sour cream the recipe calls for.  I didn’t put in any lemon juice or parsley.  Lastly, I added some sunflower seeds when I ready to eat it, which added more crunch.

My Chicken Salad was two servings and each were 1 SPV.  The sunflower seeds are extra depending on how much you use.

The verdict, it was quite tasty.  I still don’t love sweet pickles but they do work this recipe.  I’d defiantly make it again (and plan to since I still have pickles) especially since it is an easy on-the-go meal or snack.  I didn’t miss the mayo and FF Greek yogurt does have more liquid so it isn’t best to let this sit for more than a day or two.

Enjoy!

Weekly Wi: Damn You 220s

*be prepared for my train of thought being all over the place

I love my Tuesday AM WW peeps.  It was a great meeting with the topic of Celebrate NSV.

 

NSV (non-scale victories) are so important and should be celebrated.  This topic was spot on because I was coming off of a stellar week where I pre-planned, pre-tracked, balanced, and accounted for social situations.  Despite all my focus, I gained 0.2 pounds.  I know that had I thrown caution to the wind and didn’t pre-plan or balance, my splurges would have been much grander and I would have gained a whole heck of a lot more than just 0.2 pounds.

I am considering this a temporary gain and will continue to stay positive and stay the course.  I ended my month of July with a total loss of 5.6 pounds.  I’m very happy about that.  I am down 10 pounds since January.

 

I get a little bit down on myself when I think about how much more I could have lost had I had not had such a, oh what is the word…careless June.  When I look back at my biggest success months, January and July, it is no surprise that those were the months I tracked 100% and earned the most blue dots.

 

February, March, April, and May, while my monthly losses were low, I tracked more days each of those months than I did in June.

 

June is just…sad.

 

Oh beer, why do you have to taste so good and why do you persuade my food decisions after I consume you?  Damn you month of June!

I don’t like making excuses, so I won’t.  June is over and done with and July was much improved because I worked hard to make it much improved.  Had I just continued to eat/drink with reckless abandon, I’d have for sure ended the month of July with a gain as well. 

Since the scale is only one indicator of weight loss/maintenance, we need to celebrate the behavior changes that lead to better health, fitness, and overall wellbeing.

 

The WW Weekly noted two types of NSV: adopting behaviors that lead to success and recognizing other forms of progress.

One behavior that I’ve adopted that continues to lead to success is tracking.  As I laid out above, when I track, I am more successful and I evaluate my food choices before I eat them. 

One way I recognize other forms of progress is by wearing my size 16W capris!  It is funny because I appear to be about the same size as last year and the size 16W fit better this year than they did last year.  Of course one of them feels tighter than the other so it could just be how pants are made.  But, I’m still going to rejoice!  It feels good to buy smaller clothes.  My work polo shirts are also feeling looser.

I still catch myself feeling envious of those that are dropping the pounds fast and wonder what they are doing that I’m not doing.  I desperately want to get out of the 220s and gosh darn it, that number appears to be haunting me!  I’m bound and determined to stay motivated and break out of the 220s soon.