Day #2 on the job, and it was much less crazy than yesterday, thank goodness.

I sipped on my regular protein shake on my commute in, then for lunch around noon I had Publix dip chip carrots + Sabra guacamole, along with a bean salad I made earlier this week.  I forgot to take a picture of it AGAIN, but it’s basically a mix of edamame, black beans, corn, cherry tomatoes, red wine vinegar, and some other stuff. (recipe here)

At about 2pm I was hungry for a little somethin’, so I ate one of these adorable little guys:

 

When I got home, I was in a very “snacky” mood!  This happened:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And for dinner, I had lots and lots of roasted veggies.

 

Food i 8 today:

• protein shake –> 1 C spinach, 3/4 C almond milk, 1 scoop Sun Warrior protein powder, 1/2 banana, ice
• Publix dip chip carrots + Sabra guacamole
• 1 serving of the healthy garden salad
• 1 mini cashew cookie Larabar
• Publix dip chip carrots + Sabra hummus
• 1 remaining tablespoon of Trader Joe’s sunflower seed butter
• 1 remaining ounce of sweet potato and carrot chips
• lots of roasted vegetables

we went out last night…

Weight this morning:  131.0
Low weight:  128.4
Goal weight:  125
Height:  5’6″

Workout:  Spinning class

I woke up for an early spinning class today that kicked my butt.  I really felt the burn!

Then I had a work lunch at a Japanese place.  I went with a (unpictured, sorry) veggie lunch platter that included a salad with ginger dressing and a variety of veggie sushi and pieces.  So good!

Later in the afternoon I snacked on a Larabar.

And a few spoonfuls of this heavenly treat.

 

omg, SO GOOD!  Dinner was a little bit of this…

 

and this…

 

Followed by two more beers and two shots for me, a popcorn snack while drinking, and a slice of late-night pizza to round out the evening.  WE HAD FUN!!!  And now I’m paying the price, hehe.  That’s ok.  It was worth it.

Food i 8 today:

• side salad with ginger dressing
• veggie special (variety of sushi pieces)
• carrot cake Larabar
• Trader Joe’s cookie butter
• 3 beers and 2 shots
• a yummy salad
• some spiced popcorn
• a slice of cheese pizza

upper body pyramid workout

Weight this morning:  129.8
Low weight:  128.4
Goal weight:  125
Height:  5’6″

Workout:  upper body strength (see below)

So I hurt my foot a little while back.  I maybe just pulled something in the arch/ball area of my right foot.  I think it happened during the fitness challenge at my gym when I was attending LOTS of group fitness classes.  I kind of ignored it for a while, but now every time I do an intense cardio class or spend the bulk of a day walking (or moving an in-law), it starts to bother me again.  Anyway, in an attempt to let this minor foot injury heel, I’m giving it a rest this week.  But that doesn’t mean I can’t go crazy with an upper body workout!

All I have to work with here are two 10-pound weights.  I found a  workout from Julie over at Peanut Butter Fingers (this post).  It looked good enough for me, so I went with it.  It’s a pyramid workout that includes:

• 10 pushups
• 20 dips
• 30 bicep curls
• 40 second plank
• 50 tummy tuck planks (I subbed for 50 bicycle crunches to minimize the pressure on my foot)
• 40 second plank
• 30 bicep curls
• 20 dips
• 10 pushups

I went through the pyramid twice and it took me about 20 minutes.  Quick and effective.  But, onto the important stuff…FOOD!

I brought my protein on this trip, so I whipped up a smoothie today.

We went to an Orlando favorite–BurgerFi–for a late lunch/early dinner.  I went with  a double-quinoa burger with lettuce leaves instead of a bun.  I topped it with ketchup, pickles, onions, and tomato.  SO GOOD!

The hubs ordered a boatload of onion rings, and I had the smallest one in the pile (which was still rather large).

I grabbed an Anzac cookie from the Drunken Monkey cafe for dessert.

It was a pretty good day of eats!

Food i 8 today:

• protein shake –> 1 C spinach, 1 C almond milk, 1 TBSP Trader Joe’s creamy almond butter, 1 scoop Sun Warrior chocolate protein powder, 1/2 banana
• quinoa burger @ BurgerFi
• a smallish jumbo onion ring
• Anzac cookie from Drunken Monkey
• a few bites of Trader Joe’s creamy almond butter

deep dish pizza

Weight this morning:  ??? (felt too gross to subject myself to this)
Low weight:  128.4
Goal weight:  125
Height:  5’6″

Workout: none.

This morning I felt sooooo gross!  My stomach was aching so badly that it actually woke me up around 3am.  I’m not sure if I ate something bad or just ate SO SO badly, but my belly was not happy with me.

Anyway, I skipped breakfast because I had zero appetite and headed to a 12pm pedicure appointment.  Ahhh, it felt nice to get that done!

Then we had one more friend to meet up with for the weekend, and of course…it was a lunch date!  We went to a place called BJ’s Brewhouse, which is known for their Chicago style deep dish pizza.  So, when in Rome…

I went with a mini veggie pizza on a whole wheat crust.  Yum!  I sooooo wanted to get their famous Pizookie (a deep dish pizza cookie topped with ice cream), but I thought, that sounds very caloric, lemme look into that.  After a little iPhone searching, I discovered the dessert alone has 1100 calories!!!  I was dining with two guys, so I knew they’d have like one bite each, and I’d end up eating 900 calories worth of cookie and ice cream.  So, I got some fro-yo instead.  🙂

We walked around a shopping center for a while and then hit the road to Orlando to visit some more family.  We grabbed dinner at Pei-Wei.

I went with the Mongolian veggies and tofu combo, which comes with brown rice and a veggie spring roll.  I ate the spring roll, but opted for no rice.

As much as I SO wanted a vegan dessert tonight, I refrained and had a couple spoonfuls of almond butter instead.  That’s about it folks!

Food i 8 today:

• mini veggie pizza on whole wheat crust
• cake batter fro-yo with brownie, Reese’s pieces, cookie dough, and Oreos
• Mongolian tofu + veggies + a veggie spring roll
• a couple spoonfuls of Trader Joe’s creamy almond butter

ANZAC biscuits

Weight this morning:  130.6
Low weight:  128.4
Goal weight:  125
Height:  5’6″

Workout:  none.

It was a bit too cold for me to go for my walk outside today (READ:  60 degrees is too cold for me, I’m such a baby!), so I started today with some work on my laptop while snacking on carrots and guac hummus.

Then I went for my banana + almond butter mix–yum!

For dinner tonight, we bought a groupon for a local pizza joint called Pizza Xtreme.  The place had good reviews on Yelp and Urbanspoon, so we went with it.  I ordered a personal 10″ cheese pizza with pineapple and ate 4 out of the 6 slices.

It was pretty darn good, but not the BEST pizza I’ve ever had.

For dessert, it was back to Drunken Monkey for one of their delicious, vegan ANZAC cookies.  Here’s a little blurb (source) about these “biscuits”:

ANZAC stands for Australian and New Zealand Army Corps, and the biscuit of the same name was popularized in Australia during World War I, presumably because simple ingredients like rolled oats, flour and desiccated coconut could stay relatively tasty after a long transit.

Wherever they’re source, I’m in LOVE!  They’re tasty and satisfy a sweet tooth without being overly rich.

Food i 8 today:

• Publix dip chip carrots + TJ’s guacamole hummus
• 1 smashed banana + TJ’s creamy almond butter
• 2 slices of pizza
• ANZAC cookie/biscuit

snack attack

Weight this morning:  130.6
Low weight:  128.4
Goal weight:  125
Height:  5’6″

Workout: 5ish mile bike ride + a 1/2 hour walk

I woke up and went on a bike ride first thing this morning.  It was a beautiful day for a leisurely ride.

Then I took another leisurely ride (in my car) from my parents’ house to Orlando to visit more family.

When I finally got a chance to sit down and eat something, I was pretty hungry and feeling quite “snacky”.  I started with some carrots and guac hummus.

Then I wanted a little something sweet, so I had one of my coconut date rolls…only two more left now!

Then, I spied some vegetable chips that my sister brought home from Seattle this week.  I couldn’t stop eating them–these puppies are good!

It’s a mix of sweet potato, taro, summer squash, carrots, and green beans, if you were wondering.   Then, I must admit, I did eat a few nibbles right out of the TJ’s creamy almond butter jar.  Snack-happy!

So, my breakfast/lunch ended up being a little of this and that.

For dinner, we went to a burger joint in downtown Orlando called Graffiti Junktion.  We weren’t sure if there was a vegetarian option for me, but they ended up having a house-made vegetarian burger patty that I absolutely loved!  I got it served in a wheat wrap with some other burger fixin’s.  On the side, I opted for some tater tots.  I’m not sure when I last had some tots, but they were so good!

 

Don’t worry, I only had half the sandwich and half the tots…because I had to save room for dessert!  I made my husband drive me to the Drunken Monkey for this vegan cookie treasure:

Food i 8 today:

• Publix carrot dip chips + TJ’s guacamole hummus
• coconut date roll
• vegetable chips
• TJ’s creamy almond butter
• 1/2 veggie burger wrap + 1/2 serving tater tots
• a vegan, low-glycemic index cookie

Fiber One 80 calories cereal

Weight this morning:  130.6
Low weight:  128.4
Goal weight:  125
Height:  5’6″

Workout:  walk with my mom (not sure how far or how long, but not too far!)

This morning I started with a bowl of TJ’s almond butter and one small smashed banana.  It’s my go-to meal when I travel because peanut or almond butter and banana are usually in everyone’s kitchen.  I love this stuff!

I followed this up with some Fiber One chocolate cereal that I discovered in my mom’s pantry.

omg, this stuff is SO GOOD!  It totally tastes like Cocoa Puffs, but it has much more fiber and less sugar.  So I looked up the nutrition info to compare, and Cocoa Puffs has 100 calories, 10g of sugar, and 2g of fiber, while Fiber One has 80 calories, 5g of sugar, and 9g of fiber–both for the same 3/4 cup serving.  Yes, Fiber One cereal is processed and not considered a “clean” food, but I’d say it’s one of the lesser evils of the cereals.  I helped myself to a delicious and filling one-cup serving. 🙂

Later I munched on some cantaloupe for an afternoon snack.

Last night my mom and I watched the Celebrity Apprentice together, and they featured a product by Crystal Light that I really wanted to check out, so I ran out to Publix today and picked it up!

Well, it was zero-cal, which I like, but the flavor that it added to my water was just alright.  It was kind of faint and not totally worth the chemicals that it added to my drink.

For dinner tonight we had a mix of leftovers from the weekend.  I had eggplant parmesean, eggplant stromboli bread, and green beans.

I ended the day with a slice of Publix cake (recycled picture) when I got home.  Yum!

Food i 8 today:

• TJ’s creamy almond butter + a smashed banana
• Fiber One chocolate bowl of cereal
• cantaloupe
• eggplant parmesean
• eggplant stromboli
• green beans
• slice (or 2) of Publix cake, hehe

blah feeling

Weight this morning:  ???
Low weight:  128.4
Goal weight:  125
Height:  5’6″

Workout:  none.

So I felt a little bloated today from all the eating and drinking I did yesterday.  Once I get a little buzz, I get some serious munchies going, and I just snack on everything in sight!  I definitely felt the repercussions today, and so I steered clear of the scale this morning to keep from getting too depressed, haha.  I KNOW it was at least a couple pounds up.

Since I was feeling kind of blah from yesterday, I tried to just follow hunger cues today.  I started with some of my mom’s homemade salad.

 

We celebrated my niece’s birthday tonight, so we ordered some pizza and picked up an ice cream cake.  I had some bites of my husband’s and niece’s slices and then half a slice of cheese on my own.

 

I had a piece of cake as well (unpictured), and then later in the evening I snacked on some TJ’s almond butter and half a smashed banana.

I tried to keep it fairly light, so hopefully I feel back to normal tomorrow!

Food i 8 today:

• my mom’s homemade salad
• bits and pieces of pizza
• slice of Dairy Queen ice cream cake
• TJ’s almond butter + 1/2 smashed banana

country tailgate

Weight this morning:  130.2
Low weight:  128.4
Goal weight:  125
Height:  5’6″

Workout: dancin’ the night away at the concert!

Today we woke up and got ready for a big day.  We left my parents’ house around noon and headed to Tampa in their RV.  The pre-concert tailgate officially kicked off around 2:3opm.  Here are a few pics of the food at the tailgate.

Some fruit salsa and cinnamon chips

Veggie pizza, vodka-infused pineapple, pulled pork, and a veggie platter with ranch dip and guac hummus

…and some cheese and crackers, spinach dip, and potato salad.

And of course we had dessert!

The concert was AMAZING (Eli Young Band, Eric Church, Kenny Chesney), and we just got home (around 2am), so it’s been a pretty long day.  Sorry for the short post!

Food i 8 today:

• veggie pizza
• cheese and crackers
• carrots and broccoli with TJ’s guacamole hummus dip and ranch dip
• Publix cake
• cinnamon honey hazelnuts
• TJ’s lemon cookies
• drinks –> vodka-infused pineapple, Bud Light, vodka + Fresca, one fruity shot
• a couple bites of a soft pretzel (while at the concert)
• a late-night bowl of Lucky Charms (Happy St. Patty’s Day!!)

eggplant stromboli bread

Weight this morning:  129.8
Low weight:  128.4
Goal weight:  125
Height:  5’6″

Workout:  none.

We started today with a nice, long ride on my dad’s boat.  It was a great way to end this spring break–outside, enjoying the sunshine and the water.  We brought lunch with us, and I went with a good ol’ almond butter and banana sandwich.

After the boat ride, I chowed down on some broccoli and carrots with ranch dip.

Dinner tonight was a side salad, a homemade cheese ball, and WAY too many slices of my dad’s eggplant stromboli bread.  He usually makes meat and cheese-filled stromboli, but he started making vegetarian varieties for me.  It’s SOOO good, and I always have trouble resisting just one. more. slice.  The carb police would have definitely arrested me tonight.  🙂

Then I had a couple slices of this Publix cake:

And then maybe a couple of these cookies again:

Hard to resist these guys!  Once I started going crazy on the stromboli bread, it was a downward spiral from there.  Whoops!

Tomorrow we’re going to the Kenny Chesney concert in Tampa, woo hoo!  He always kicks off his tour each year in Tampa, and we love going to see him.  There will be lots of tailgating, drinking, and indulging in yummy foods.  Can’t wait!

Food i 8 today:

• 1/2 banana and almond butter sandwich on whole wheat bread
• carrots and broccoli with ranch dip
• side salad
• cheese ball
• LOTS of eggplant stromboli bread
• 2 slices of Publix cake
• 2 TJ’s lemon cookies