See, I told you I was bad at this blogging thing!

I realize I haven’t posted in over a week, but I have been sticking to eating well the entire time (except for one night watching football at a bar with friends). That day, we went to watch the Giants play the Packers at a bar in Brooklyn with some friends. I had a few beers, a few wings, and that is about it. I ended up having horrible stomach pains and bloating towards the end of the night, so I definitely paid for my negligence! I did go to yoga this week though, which was great : )

After that horrible bloating episode, I decided to try cutting down on my gluten intake. I was curious to see if that had any impact on the stomach issues and bloating that I seem to experience regularly. I have been seriously trimming down the gluten in my diet for the past week, and I feel awesome. No more bloating, much less gas, no stomach pains!

I made my famous healthy baked ziti on Wednesday night with brown rice penne, extra lean ground turkey, skim ricotta – it was yummy and the consistency wasn’t that different from regular pasta. That might become a weekly staple!

Yesterday, I had to work in the morning and ended up meeting a friend for brunch around noon. We both ordered omelets and since they didn’t come with toast, my friend suggested we split a bagel. I said, what the hell, why not. Well after only ½ a bagel, I had stomach cramps about 30-45 minutes later. The only other things I ate were a few home fries, a veggie omelet, and green salad.

I am resolving myself to trying to eat gluten free as much as possible so I am not stuck with awful stomach cramps. I have also been making my breakfast and lunch every day which is a lot healthier and cheaper than buying it out in NYC.

Tonight I am going to make gluten-free turkey sausage lasagna. Sounds pretty yummy to me!

I bought GF crackers, oreos, snacks to help tide me over. Also a great GF snack is popcorn! And it is low in calories. I just shared a bag with my coworkers.

Breakfast: Fage 0% Greek Yogurt w/ berries, coffee
Snack: Banana
Lunch: Ham on 100 calorie sandwich thin, GF crackers, clementine orange, string cheese, iced green tea
Snack: GF oreos, popcorn

More tomorrow!

Agh! I didn't get a chance to post yesterday. I had jury duty all day and then ran a bunch of errands afterwards. I went to the pet supply store, Target, Whole Foods, and then home.

I roasted root vegetables and they turned out AWESOME. I bought carrots, turnips, parsnips, onions and rutabagas. I peeled them and sliced them in 3/4" pieces, placed them in a roasting pan, covered them with a little bit of olive oil, salt, pepper, and roasted them in a 400 degree oven. After about 40 minutes, I sprinkled them with chopped rosemary and let them roast about 40 minutes longer. They are SO TASTY. I am eating them right now with my lunch! I also roasted red and gold beets and made Giada's blueberry thyme frozen yogurt. I will try it later since it takes about a day to set up.

I went to yoga on Tuesday night. It was a basic class since I haven't been in a long time and I wanted to start out slow. It was such a great class. Totally invigorating, calming, and just wonderful. Doing yoga makes me feel strong! I must say I was a little sore yesterday but today I am ready to go again! I am debating whether or not to do a hot yoga class or a regular class. It all depends on when I get home I suppose.

Last night, I had my turkey and kale soup which I LOVE and then my husband and I went to the mall so I could buy my special bonus Louis Vuitton bag that just came in. I told him that I would like to treat him to a glass of wine, so we went to Morton's to check out the scene there instead of our normal haunt, Houston's. I have been liking red wine a lot more lately and wanted a nice, light glass that would lull me to sleep. The pinot noir was so velvety and perfect. We also shared a dessert which was mixed berries and whipped cream.

Today, I was up early and off to the farm to check things out work for the day.

Breakfast: 2% Fage Greek Yogurt, mixed berries, Medium Skim Au Lait
Snack: Banana
Lunch: Low sodium ham on 100-calorie sandwich thin, roasted root vegetables


More later!

Alright, so I didn’t make it to the gym. I had every intention of going up until my train ride home. My husband texted me asking if I wanted to have sushi with our good friend Dan. I LOVE sushi and rarely turn down the opportunity to eat it. I said that would be fine and didn’t hear anything until my husband picked me up from the train station. He said that we were going to Houston’s instead because he had to run an errand at the Riverside Square Mall. Houston’s is an amazing restaurant with many tantalizing items on the menu. But I did the best I could and ordered a salad with chicken and tomatoes and my husband and I split a soup. Iced tea to drink and NO dessert or coffee.

By the time we got home, there was no time for the gym. Instead, I resolved to prepare my breakfast and lunch for today so at least I don’t stray too much from eating healthy! Like an idiot, I forgot my berries but remembered everything else.

Breakfast: Fage 0% Greek Yogurt, Coffee w/ skim milk (Yogurt – 100, Coffee – 46)
Mid-Morning Snack: Banana (90), Edamame Crisps (120)
Lunch: Low-Sodium Ham on 100-calorie sandwich thin w/ lettuce and tomato, roasted tri-colored carrots (YUM – note to self – must find white and purple carrots!), one cube of dark chocolate w/ almonds (46) , 5 Moravian thins (83 calories total)
Green Tea
Mid-Afternoon Snack: Orange (37)

That’s where I’m at so far – under 1000 calories and I haven’t had dinner yet. I need to get some root vegetables to roast (carrots, parsnips, rutebagas, turnips) – they are so tasty, healthy, and low in calories. I roast them with a touch of olive oil, S & P and rosemary. Delicious!

I’d like to hit up the gym or yoga when I get home. There is a yoga studio about 20 min from my house that has a class at 7:35pm. I hope I can make it home in time and if not I will go to the gym and do an hour of cardio.

I must say that after one day of decreasing my carbohydrate intake (breads, processed foods), I feel a difference. Yesterday, I didn’t experience that 2:30pm crash that I normally do. Today, I am feeling it a little bit which is probably because of the 100-calorie sandwich thin. I’m hoping the green tea will counteract that. In addition, I feel less bloated which is a huge step for me. I was constantly feeling bloated to the point where I could hardly hold my stomach in. I imagine after a week I will feel even better!

Because we went out to eat last night, I didn’t get a chance to make the turkey kale soup or the blueberry frozen yogurt! I want to make them tonight! I bought agave syrup for the frozen yogurt and I need to go to the grocery store to pick up the rest of the ingredients.

UGH. I am not looking forward to jury duty tomorrow. I really hope I don’t get picked!!!!! It will be brutal because I will have to work during jury duty and it will be that much harder to keep on top of things.

Goals for 2012:
-Lose 30 lbs.
-Take better care of myself, my husband, my house
-Do more yoga
-Stop biting my nails
-Be less wasteful

Wow, it has been 2 years since I posted anything on my blog! I am so bad at this and will try to post more consistently.

A lot has happened in the last 2 years. November 2010, I got a new job at The Valley Hospital as an administrative assistant to the AVP of Emergency Services & Patient Access. It was quite an experience working there and I will treasure the time I worked for my boss as she was an amazing mentor and someone I will always look up to. We still keep in touch and get dinner every few months.

In August 2011, I was hired by a small investment firm in the city to work as a Project Manager. I could not turn down the offer. Since I took this job, things have been going extremely well. I love what I do and it is always a challenge.

Let’s get to what this blog is really about – DIETING! UGH! So last time I was on here, I was on the cookie diet. That lasted about a month and crashed and burned shortly after that. That diet was no good! Then I tried the Medifast diet later on that year. That diet actually worked and I was able to stick to it for a few months and I lost 20 lbs. Then the holidays rolled around and I fell off the wagon and the weight gradually crept back on.

I have done much since then in terms of attempting to lose weight. I joined an inexpensive gym back in June and was going pretty regularly for a while. It’s $15 a month so I don’t feel THAT guilty if I don’t make it there a lot. When I was paying $70, I felt guilty! It’s a basic gym called Blink Fitness. No classes, just cardio machines and weights.

Now I find myself in January 2012, right back where I was except a few pounds heavier. For a while, I couldn’t stop eating and literally ate everything in sight. Now I am paying for it as even my “fat” jeans are tight!

It really hit me hard on Saturday. My husband and I were planning on a double date with friends and a nice dinner. I decided to treat myself to a blow-out. As I was sitting in the chair, I saw the fat rolls that are not on my side, my enormous boobs, chubby face, chunky arms, and I could hardly recognize myself. At that moment I realized that I NEED to make a change – one that I can stick to.

I came home, depressed and not even willing to look in the mirror. My husband was so supportive, said I looked great no matter what. I know he will always think that and I am grateful, trust me. But I can’t stand the sight of myself. I avoid cameras and when a picture is taken of me, I tend to hate it.

So what is my plan? I plan to make a total lifestyle change. Nothing drastic, no crazy fad diets, just a healthy change. And what is even better is that my husband is on board with me! We are just going to make more of an effort to make better choices when it comes to eating. I know that I do best when I cut down on my bread intake. And if I do have bread, it is whole wheat and whole grain. When we go out to eat, we will not overdo it and try and order more fish and chicken and less steak. I have been drinking a lot as well, so we will limit ourselves to low-calorie drinks and 1 instead of 3! No more desserts, just coffee. Appetizers only if they are healthy and not fried. You get the gist.

In terms of exercise, we definitely need to incorporate that into our daily routine or else I fear we will not feel or see much of a difference. My husband will be joining the gym that I am currently a member of – Blink Fitness. We will encourage each other to make it a routine of 5 days a week. I also signed up for a month of unlimited Bikram Yoga. There was a sale on Gilt City for $55 for an entire month of yoga. Considering a class is $20, that is a pretty good deal! I have heard many mixed things about Bikram Yoga. Most of the reviews are that it is an amazingly invigorating and challenging workout. I have heard that it takes time to become accustomed to 105 degrees but that once you do, you will begin to crave it. I hope that Bikram Yoga along with cardio workouts will jumpstart my metabolism and I will begin to shed pounds.

In order to start my Bikram Yoga career right, I bought some yoga shorts. The one time I did Bikram Yoga, I wore yoga pants and a t-shirt and thought I would die. Now I understand why people were little to no clothing during that class. I LOVE Lululemon. So I went there this morning and looked at their offerings of shorts. Wow – they are teeny-tiny! Like, barely covering butt cheeks. Maybe when I lose the weight I will be inspired to wear those short shorts. For now, I bought the Reverse Groove Short and the All Sport Short (on sale). I also bought a sweat-wicking headband to keep the stray hairs out of my face. That always bugs me during yoga. I plan on wearing the shorts and a wifebeater for now. I don’t think I will be needing fancy tops since I will be sweating my balls off during class. I will probably need one of those yoga towels, but for now, I’ll try renting one at the studio for $1.

I want to start Bikram tomorrow. However, everyone who practices Bikram advises that you should take your second class within 24 hours of your first one to alleviate the soreness and keep you going. The problem is that I have jury duty on Wednesday and I have no idea how long that will last. Jury duty is in NJ and Bikram Yoga is in NYC. That poses a problem! I want to start Bikram when I can be certain I will be able to take a class the following day. Because of this, I plan on going to the gym tonight to get some cardio in.

Since my husband and I started eating healthier today, I cooked us a nice, fancy dinner last night as a last hurrah. I toiled all day over a pot roast and mashed potatoes. It came out really good except the meat was slightly dry. We had a great bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon from Rubicon to accompany the meal. For dessert, I made my favorite – molten lava cake. It is my favorite thing to order when we are out though I had never attempted to make it at home. I must say, it was incredible. It was cooked for the perfect amount of time, had a great flavor and just hit the spot. I wouldn’t change a thing about this recipe and it definitely stands up to some of the best ones I have had in restaurants. And to top it off, it was REALLY easy! Alas, I won’t be making it again for a while 

Today, I started off the day with some 0% Fage Greek Yogurt with a cup of berries. I also had a cup of coffee with skim milk.
Snack - Banana
For lunch, I had a nicoise salad (no olives) and a side of boiled beets.
Snack - Orange
Dinner – we will finish off whatever is leftover from last night’s meal. I also plan on making soup that I saw on Giada At Home yesterday – Turkey, Kale, Brown Rice Soup. That will be for dinner the following night or two.

Lunch tomorrow – low sodium ham on 100 calorie sandwich thin. I’ll find some veggies to pair it with.

Gym tonight!

I am into my third week on the cookie diet. I am doing well! My first non-diet day when I had a small dinner party went really well. The food was fabulous and I can't wait to do it again. Yesterday was my second non-diet day. My husband and I went out for brunch and I had an egg sandwich on whole grain toast. My company holiday party was last night and that was really fun. I didn't give myself limits, but I didn't really have to. I had a few of the passed appetizers, and the buffet selections were great but I limited myself and didn't go up for seconds, nor did I have any dessert. Later on when I came home, I had what was left of my vegan oreo cheesecake that I've been working on for a few days. It was one slice that I got on thursday night from a friend who runs a vegan restaurant and have been nibbling ever since. If you didn't know if was vegan, you would have thought it was a regular cheesecake. It's delicious!

Today, I woke up with a big of a hangover! But I didn't let that deter me from my diet. I had a shake this morning and trudged to work. I had 2 cookies at work and it was so busy I didn't get to eat anything else until dinner. I had a whole foods tofu pad thai frozen dinner which is 300 calories. Since I didn't finish my allotted cookies, I had a side of sauteed mushrooms and arancini.
I don't feel hungry at all.

This saturday I am hosting game night and plan on cooking all sorts of delicious things. Lasagna, meatballs, stuffed mushrooms, etc etc. Should be fun! I am looking forward to having everyone over.

Talk soon!

Day 5!

I made it through 5 days with little or no issues. Okay maybe that isn't entirely true. It is by no means easy and I am just a cranky bitch to be around at times. Dieting does not do well for one's psyche. I am looking forward to my one non-diet day of the week. Sunday to be exact. Now, don't get me wrong. I am not going to run out and splurge on burgers, pizza, milkshakes, and all of the other wonderful, high-calorie foods that I can get my hands on. I will keep it within reason. The reason I am doing this is partly because without one day a week of normalcy, I might just lose it. It is also something that I can look forward to throughout the week.

This Sunday, I plan on a spa morning with friends, then Phillipino lunch at Bamboo Grill, then I am going to come home and prepare a yummy dinner for my husband and friends. I am not going CRAZY with the dinner, but because I love to cook and entertain, this is something I must give myself. I am preparing, thanks to The Martha Stewart Cookbook, Collected Recipes for Every Day:

Martha's Mashed Potatoes (I will make them less caloric, using less butter and cream cheese than she calls for)
Spinach Souffle (which just looks to-die-for and I bought a souffle dish just for the occasion)
Carrot and Squash Puree (Mmmmm Tasty! And very wintry)
Whole Roasted Chicken with Goat Cheese and Sage (how can your mouth NOT water after reading that?)
Minted Chocolate Mousse (her lightest dessert in the book, and I am substituting half & half for heavy cream)

I have a friend bringing salad and wine. Sounds like a nice dinner!

Ohh how I love Martha Stewart. She is such an inspiration to me.

Sometimes I get down on myself about this diet. This seriously has been the longest week in recent history that I can remember. Remember on Day 1 how I weighed in at 189 lbs? Well I weighed myself this morning, mostly because I had to see if I was getting results or I was just going to throw in the towel. I weighed in at 183 lbs! Not bad! Except I don't really FEEL the difference yet. Everyone keeps telling me to be patient. I don't know how much longer I can do this without feeling and seeing results. It is so hard to not give in to temptation that I am seeing everywhere I turn!

Just looking forward to Sunday!


See ya!

I am now halfway into DAY 4 of the Dr. Seigal's Cookie Diet. I am doing pretty well on it! I definitely am more partial to the chocolate flavored cookies. I tried the chocolate shake this morning and it is not terrible! The shake can be substituted for 2 cookies and it is definitely just as satisfying. Okay. I won't use the word satisfying. Satisfied is a word that I use after I have had a fabulous steak dinner. The shakes and cookies just keep me going. That is part of the problem is that they keep you from passing out and going crazy, but they are by no means satisfying.

The worst is grocery shopping on this diet because you literally can't have 98% of the whole store. So I have to try to ignore the gorgeous bakery section, artisanal cheese department, etc. It's just painful. But I just have to lose weight. My hunger to look good versus my hunger for tasty food is greater, and therefore I can look past these things, knowing that they will be there when I have achieved my goal weight.

Today I am going to roast a turkey breast for dinner with some veggies to accompany. It is one of the more healthy of Martha Stewart's recipes. I absolutely ADORE her and on this diet it is very hard to use her recipes. But again, it will be a reward to myself when this is all said and done.

I also had my first BM today while on the diet. I know it's gross and totally TMI but I can't believe it took me 4 days. Hopefully this is just a sign of my body adjusting to the new diet. UGH.

Alright, I am off to run errands, do laundry, cook, etc.

Post later!