Need some veggie help....

Day 9 of 21 Day fix done...

Really all my typical foods.

Though I did do something new for lunch - I added cucumbers on my tuna wrap.  it was delish!

The only downfall - cucumbers are the only foods that KILL me... I am a heartburn mess after eating cucumbers.

Someone once told me its because of the seeds & they apparently sell seedless cucumbers.  That freaks me out.  Modified foods just ain't right....

But I added the cucumbers to try & get in more veggies.

I am allowed 6 containers of veggies a day.

I am so ashamed to say, I'm doing good to get in MAYBE 2 a day... TWO!  What the hey?!?!?

And those days are usually spinach in a smoothie - or broccoli. 

I was eating carrots there for the first few days but I'm afraid of eating carrots every day. I've heard of people turning orange from too many ... I'm not even joking.  If anyone is going to turn orange, it will be me.

Plus, I just can't tolerate carrots every day.

So I guess I'm going to head onto Pinterest today for some good veggie ideas....

but help a girl out - what veggies do you like.  What veggies do you snack on? 

I really need some tips on this....

Sugar is evil....

Easter.

The day where candy is abounding.

We went to the store to get some candy for baskets for my nieces & for my nephew.

I got a few bags.  With twin girls, you learn to double up on everything so that meant a lot of bags of candy.

Ricky ended up getting a few bags of candy for our nephews basket.

We got home.  I make up the baskets.... & then find that we bought WAY too much candy.

See that bowl... & those bags..
yep... all extra stuff

Oh no.

Extra candy around the house.  This isn't good.

So before I know it, I'm walking by the kitchen & grabbing something every time I walk through.

What is this sort of magic that FORCES my hand to go to this bowl every time? 
It's like there's no control.

It's just one day - right?  Easter is for celebrating.

The Risen Jesus would say to go for it on Easter - right?

Let's just say I would probably be happy if I never saw a Reese's egg again.

.... & then Monday came....

& I felt awful all day long.

Couldn't for the world think why I just felt like a slug, slugging away the sluggish day.

Me all day Monday at work

& then it hit me.

SUGAR!!!  That DANG SUGAR!!!!

I swear. I could feel how bad all the sugar made me feel.

Now, I'm no fantastic clean eating person who eats everything non-processed & all veggie & fruits out of the wazzooo. I do good to get 2 servings in a day....

but let me tell you. I was just reminded what sugar does to a body... & I didn't like it one bit.

Talk about a wake up call to eat better.

Get the sugar away from me!!!

... after one more Cadbury egg....

(Kidding... kinda...)

In a food rut...

I am so sick of choosing what to have to eat lately... a total food rut.

Dinner time is usually OK.  I have the staples that I can go back on & I also subscribe to the Happy Herbivore meal plans where I get a week laid out for me.  I don't ever do the full week & am good if I take 1 or 2 recipes every few weeks & use them... but its there if I need them.

Lunch & Breakfast are a different story.

I'm sick of them.

They make me want to pull my hair out.

I'm tired of the same thing every day.

Breakfast is usually an egg sandwich ONLY on days where I have time to make it ... which is kinda rare lately, but more then usual, its cottage cheese or yogurt.  I was on a kick there for awhile of having apples & peanut butter on a whole wheat tortilla. That is really my favorite, but I'm trying to cut back on any sort of nut butter for breakfast because I hate spending all my calories before the sun even comes up. 

I mean who can really just have 2 tsp of peanut butter & feel like that's enough?

& then lunch...

Someone put me out of my misery.

I usually switch between Subway, Jimmy Johns & every now & then if I have to run to a craft store for yarn, I'll get a veggie sandwich at Burger King.  Every day you can guarantee that's my lunch.

My hubs, its even worse. He has Subway every day.  Every.Day.

It's hard to eat healthy out.  It's not easy for me to make lunch & bring with me... something easy.  Something that doesn't get soggy in the frig or something that actually fills me up.

These people that say they take a piece of string cheese & an apple?  Get out of my life people.  I need to feel like I'm not ready to pass out by 4pm

I really like to make sure I eat nice for lunch too because I work out as soon as I get off work

But its all just making me want to kick a hole in my office wall.

What do you all eat? ... & please remember not to even mention the 'c' word for breakfast or I'll puke... if you don't know what I'm talking about, then just avoid any talk of anything that starts with a 'c' & you're safe.  (Hint: its also what 99% of the people in the world eat for breakfast, but shouldn't - its full of sugar... & stinks... & has me gagging thinking about it right now)

Do you get in food ruts?

I need help... nothing sounds good...

 

& I think Ricky & I are going to get the Subway people a Christmas gift since we see them more then our family....

Fat Free Fad of the 90's...

Yes, I was a child of the 80's.

It was wonderful.  We had Big Aqua-net sprayed hair, neon everything, George Michael singing "Careless Whisper", Hammer pants, acid wash jeans & Kirk Cameron as Mike Seaver... just to name a few things.

& then I became 18 at the beginning of the 90's.  I actually graduated high school in 1990.  So 'life' began for me in the 90's.

I talked about this before (maybe?) but I have always had weight issues.  Not that I was disgustingly obese, but I was the heavy girl.  The one in school that made everyone laugh, but never was anyone's date.  I was the friend to everyone, girls & guys.  I was the life of the party, but not the focus.  I was the girl who had limited supply of clothes because to buy plus-size clothes in high school, there was only one store & Lane Bryant was still is expensive, so I would have to get lucky that some clothes ran larger. 

Here's a good example of that. I had one pair of jeans that fit me ... & my mom actually had to take me to a tailor to get them fitted for me.  After a few years, being a teen & wanting to wear jeans every day, they wore out quick.  I remember they wore out in the knees & our school had a strict policy on wardrobe.    No holes at all in jeans.  A teacher saw the hole in my pants & sent me to the office.  I was horrified.  What was I going to do?  I had no other pants to wear except dress pants.   These are my memories of high school - not fancy prom dresses or football games.  It is what it is. 

So when I graduated high school, & feeling so 'adult', I wanted to loose weight. I joined Jazzercise at the ripe age of 18 & loved it.  I then wanted to watch my food & the big thing was the Susan Powter idea of fat free... it was a huge craze....

Anyone else remember the whole STOP THE INSANITY thing?

I went all out fat free.  Don't give me peanut butter, but I could eat a whole bag of gummy worms.  That stuff had zero fat on the label. It's a go.

I was insane with the food. 

My husband remembers when we dated & my salad came out with cheese on it, I sat & cried, like real tears, at the table.  I took this fad seriously.

& let me tell you - it worked.  I dropped 65 lbs!  I was the smallest I ever was in my life.  I could shop anywhere, wear anything.  On my wedding day, my dress was a size 8 - the only single digit size I ever wore in my life.

Well, here's time zooming by....

Life changes, fads change, weight changes...

I've gained back all that weight & yes, it effects me now.  Not like it did when I was in high school. But it does effect me in different ways.

& I know I complain a lot about it & talk a lot about it.  Mainly because I take nutrition & fitness so seriously now.  Enough to know what's IN foods & not just the fat gram count on a box. 

So I was taken back a little bit when I got an email today that said that anyone that knows me knows I'm not happy with my weight since "its all you talk about" .... OK... well, I didn't realize that....

& then I was told that the Fat-free diet I was on years ago worked - why not do it again?

Good question... why don't I do fat-free again?

I think because with the weight gain & the age, I learned wisdom on food.  Maybe I don't apply it all in my life correctly, but I know what is in fat-free food.  Junk.  It's all artificial sweeteners & full of stuff that, I personally feel, messes up a system.

I have read articles that people that did the whole fat free thing, have gained it back plus some, because why?  It's not a healthy way to loose weight.  It was just that - a fad.

I honestly believe it messed up my metabolism.  Being in my 40's doesn't help either. 

So no, I know it worked once on me... but that was 24 years ago. My body isn't the same.  Food isn't the same.  My knowledge of food isn't the same.  I know how I eat isn't perfect, but I do know the difference between junk & natural & organic now. 

Did you ever do a diet fad?

 

Did it work?

 

Do you want to do it again?

I am addicted....

I just realized I have an addiction...

No, its not to smoking.  Never had a cigarette even close to my mouth.

No, its not drinking.  I got slightly buzzy one time when I was in my 20's & that was enough for me to ever drink again.  I never have had more then a sip of beer in my life. Disgusting.

& no, its not to anything strange like "My Strange Addiction" on TLC...

Have you seen some of these things???

umm... that's cat fur she's eating...

It something that I realized while I'm reading a devotional called "Fit for my King"

I met the author, Sheri Shepherd at a women's conference & she was awesome. I really appreciated her because when we took our picture together, she made sure that the person taking the picture took it from above, not below, which makes a double chin effect.  Being a photographer, & her knowing this, I totally gave her props.  She is a former Miss America so girlfriend knows her angles.

Today's devotional said these words...

"I am a food addict.  The only thing I love doing more than talking is eating.  One of my greatest joys in life is food.  When I'm celebrating, I eat.  When I'm tired, I eat.  When I'm sad, I eat. When I'm anxious, I eat.  When I'm in pain, I eat.  I have spent years running to the refrigerator for refuge. And when I get hungry, my personality actually changes - from Dr. Jekyll to Mr. Hyde!"

I stopped & laughed actually because I had to check the cover & make sure this wasn't my diary.  Those words could come out of my mouth.  I am the same way. 

Every emotion?  Food comes to mind.

I totally want food when I'm stressed... when I'm happy... when EVERYTHING...

It was so eye opening to me to realize it was an addiction.

I have family members & friends who I've seen deal with other addictions & being someone who had never had a stronghold on me like they do, I've given advice.  How to walk away, how to deal with it...

& now, I need to look in the mirror.

Addiction is addiction, isn't it?

I like she suggests not bringing food into the home that tempts you.  That's a good step.

I need to find a way to get my emotional pull over food in check.  So when all those feels hit, I want something else besides food.

Addictions are struggles... I'm going to battle my own here...

Anyone else a confessed food addict?

Even when I try... I still screw up...

I went out at lunch today. 

It's not something I normally do, but when it warms up, its good for me to breath fresh air & not stay in my stuffy office.  Staying in during the winter is enough to drive me a tad bit crazy.

Lunch has been sort of an issue for me lately.  I'm trying this Diet Bet thing - needing to loose 9 lbs by the beginning of April & I'm really watching calories & tracking everything.  (Thank you MyFitnessPal)

Lunch seems to hold a lot of calories for me.

I tried the frozen food thing, but the sodium in those things are ridiculous.

I've tried bringing things from home, but its still adding up quickly.  I've been packing up some cheese sandwiches & pretzels or Baked Lays or something to eat along with it.  I'm a vegetarian but I'm not the one who can just bring salads every day or munch on carrots & feel full & make it through the day.

I'm already grumpy enough in my office - I don't need a rumbling growling belly to add to it.

Usually when I run out, I head to 2 places - Subway or Jimmy Johns - both for their vegetarian sandwiches.

Today, I thought, I'll run to the grocery & get a salad.  It'll be good for me, lots of veggies, something different & it'll be good for my calories.

I load up... the green GREEN lettuce, not iceberg... add in some carrots, some mushrooms, a little bit of hard boiled egg for protein, some olive for salt... (Mmmm, I love salt)... & a little bit of sunflower seeds. 

Dressing is usually something I hassle over because I hate bottled dressing unless its an all natural kind... but this grocery has zippo selection of natural food choices, so I just went with what they had on the bar & got some low calorie ranch... & even used it sparingly because I know its still full of junk.

I get out in my car & chomp away & think, let me go ahead & enter this in MyFitnessPal (is it one word or do you just spell it out?... I don't ever know)...

When I figured it up, I thought I was going to upchuck that salad right back up ....

It came up to nearly 600 calories....

SAY WHAT?

I'm sad now because of stupid lettuce

Man... I get so frustrated when I try & still screw up....

& from there, I just want to say, "forget it" & go in & buy a dozen of the Cadbury eggs that are calling my name.

No... no... no... no....

But... I hang in there.  Plan on working out tonight with a run & burning some calories off & just keep on trying...

what else can you do.

1,600 calories to the media

So the story of The Biggest Loser is everywhere.  Definitely more attention to this one then any other season. 

Talking to Chris Powell on Good Morning America - popping up on Inside Edition & Entertainment tonight - & of course, the trainers staying quiet, which makes a LOUD statement...



But last night on one of the shows, they were talking about Rachel's diet.  That she limits herself to 1,600 calories...

Do you know what those ignorant people did?

They said, 'THIS is 1,600 calories"... & they held up a bowl of something full of chocolate & a cream filled donut.

No joke.

That's what they were instituting was all she ate in a day...

I honestly laughed.

I mean, on my own calorie tracking device, my calorie intake is only supposed to be like 1,450 calories a day, before any exercise is included.

& yes, they said Rachel works out hours during the day, so her intake should be MUCH higher... that's not my point.

My point is that they totally gave the wrong impression of calories.  They made it look like all you can eat are 2 things during the day - giving the impression that no one can live on that - let's eat more.... of the unhealthy food like donuts & all things chocolate.

All this equals 1,200 calories

Not saying this picture above is what you SHOULD eat for 1,200 calories - but there's half of a burger & fries & a stack of bread...

You can eat all day long on 1,600 calories if you did it right...

For the normal every day person, 1,600 could be incredible amount of healthy food.

I kept thinking, this is what's wrong with our obese country.  People really have no idea how to really understand how many calories are in our food - how to figure it out for every meal, much less for a day.

heck, I DO understand it & its still a struggle. 

But our media just makes it even more confusing for the average joe who now thinks they can have a diet of a bowl of chocolate & a cream filled donut for the day only & look like Rachel...

geez...

I tell you what though, it made me never want a cream filled donut again for the rest of my life... I knew it had a lot of calories, but didn't know it had THAT many...

I'd much rather have a plate of kiwi & some apples & have a TON of calories to still use for the rest of the day.

Fruits & Veggies... where are you?

I'm still on the fence about the whole "Food Diary" thing, as you know if you saw my post the other day about it...

I actually tried a simple thing the past few days ... in the bottom of my journal, just a column for Fruits (F) & a column for Veggies (V) ...the idea is to just mark it down when I've had a serving.  We all know fruits & veggies are good for you... so I should have a whole lot of marks in these columns - right?

Just in the past few days, I've been shocked...

I think I had 1 mark next to Veggies on Wednesday...

Yesterday?  Nothing... not one mark!... NOT ONE FREAKING FRUIT OR VEGGIE!!

I need someone to do this to me apparently.....

I made it through a whole day of not one fruit or vegetable going into my system...

Seriously?

I think I just saw where my problem is with my diet...

Especially being a vegetarian, I should be overloading those columns with marks...

I've never really thought about it all before... just sort of looked at calories & fat & sugar & protein... but everyone needs basic fruits & veggies.  Isn't that enough to worry about?

Hoping this problem gets solved.  I've printed my first week of Happy Herbivore menu for the week, highlighting my grocery list... & it DOES include lost of fruits & veggies...

let's hope next week is full of check marks...

How about you?  You ever marked how many fruits & veggies you had in a day?

Would you be shocked too?

Food diaries.... lifestyle or obsession?

We're into the beginning of the new year...

where everyone wants to start to get healthy - wants to work out - wants to watch what their eating.

The trick is making it last more then 2 weeks into the year...
I'm speaking to myself more then anyone with that statement.

So I'm at a dilemma - the food diary.

I use My Fitness Pal & last year, at once point, had used it over 250 days in a row.  I missed using it when we went out of town & when the number went down to zero again, I lost all motivation.

So I'm torn whether I want to start it again or not.

Yes - I do think it makes a difference to watch your intake. 
Yes - I do like to stay up on how much protein I get in a day since I'm not a meat eater & I rarely get enough protein in a day according to my daily entries.

But I also know it makes me obsessive over the issue...

I feel like I have to read every label & check the calories & figure out when I'm going to work out to cover some extra calories.

... & truth be told, I know that's the point..

But I can take things to a whole other level.

Obsessive doesn't even cover it.

Obsession can take different levels of crazy

It makes it work... not a lifestyle... which is what a food change should be.

So maybe I'll give a try & see how it goes.

Maybe not be TOO stressed if I miss every last count of crackers I eat but still guess-timating to know around where I'm at in day?

We'll see ...

if you see me & I'm counting out green beans on my plate, you know its time to get me help.

Do you use a Food Diary?

Do Food Diaries help you?

What's your favorite food app?