Re-set

I've decided to reset my goals over at Sparkpeople, using October 31st as my new starting date.  There's just something appealing about a fresh new start, wiping the slate clean, starting over. (If only those do-overs were as easy in other aspects of life, right?) I am, however, keeping my starting weight the same since I think I should be given credit for those first five pounds lost in 2013, don't you agree?

Here's the thing: as noted in the countdown ticker at the bottom of my blog, it is 40 weeks until my 50th birthday. If I lose 1 pound per week, I will easily meet my goal. I would love to greet age 50 with an improved body, and perhaps a new wardrobe. *wink*  I'm determined, I'm capable, I can do this. I've done much, much harder things in my life than lose weight, there is simply no excuse.

So, here we are, weigh-in day, almost a week after vacation, how did I do?

I lost 2 pounds.

To say I'm happy is an understatement. I guess the healthy meals, even while away, lack of excessive snacking combined with lots of walking paid off!

In order to jumpstart my week, I purchased Happy Herbivore's weekly meal plan and intend to follow it as closely as possible for the next 7 days.  The structure will be good for me, but I also have the freedom to add/subtract from the menu to my own liking. I did all of the shopping yesterday, plan on prepping and cooking today, so be sure to visit me tomorrow for an update!

Have a beauty-full day,

Michele

Bon Voyage!

Beren and I are headed off on an adventure, a 4-night Caribbean cruise! Have a wonderful week, "see" you later!

Weekend in NYC: Day Four

Monday morning we slept in a bit, got up and decided to explore my brother's Long Island neighborhood. Being the skinny, never having to diet guy that he is, he suggested a walk to the local Italian bakery.
Seriously? As if last night's cannoli wasn't enough temptation? Not wanting to be a party pooper, I donned my sneakers and off we went.



While Beren and my bro scanned the rows of pastries, cookies, cakes, etc, I had my eye on the bread. Swooon...my weakness. I was salivating thinking about a hunk of that doughy goodness topped with a dollop of butter or a swish of good olive oil..droool...





And yet, when it came down to it, I walked home with a box of cookies to bring back to my kids and while my menfolk had this for breakfast..



I ate this..



along with a Jenny Craig breakfast bar. Can I have a HUGE round of applause for willpower, please?

Once their sugar coma wore off, we jumped in the car and headed to Fire Island. Ooh, spending some time in the "country" was just what I needed after several jam-packed city days!





We then visited this charming little town, Cold Spring Harbor..





where I had the best chicken curry salad (1/2 a sandwich, saved the other for dinner on the plane) at the Gourmet Whaler and did a bit of window shopping. Such cute things, if I didn't have to pay to check more luggage I'd be maxing out my credit card on these goodies!





We got back to the house and enjoyed a glass of wine on the front porch, soaking up the beautiful sunshine before heading for the airport. Arrived back home around 9 pm where I opened up that box of cookies for my (skinny) children, watched them ooh and ahh in pure pleasure. Sigh...

Total steps logged: 13,137 which is about 6.2 miles.

Now, what I know you're all waiting for...after all of those yummy (yet moderate) meals, all of the wine & beer, combined with miles & miles of walking..how was my weigh-in on Wednesday?

Well, I stayed the same. No gain, no loss, which is exactly what I expected. My Jenny Craig consultant wasn't surprised, either, and we both agreed that while I could have done better(less wine, more salad), I was comfortable with my choices and enjoyed my vacation to the fullest! No deprivation, no over-indulgences, no gain. No worries! Also, even though the scale doesn't show it, my clothes do feel looser and my legs look tighter so perhaps I lost some inches as well.

I'm back on track and can already see a tiny loss on my bathroom scale, am looking forward to a good weigh-in next week! But first, it's Biketoberfest in Daytona and guess where we are?

Stand by for more tales of our adventures! *wink*

Have a Beauty-Full Day,

Weekend in NYC: Day Three

I'm so glad you're all enjoying my little NYC recap!

Sunday morning Beren and I got up early, took advantage of the free breakfast at the hotel (I had a banana and my Jenny Craig cereal bar) and took a leisurely stroll down Lexington Ave. This part of town houses an abundance of Indian restaurants and even at that time of day the air was heavy with the scent of curry. Yummy!

Since Beren loves the Hard Rock Cafe and collects glasses from each location we visit, we decided to zip on over to Times Square and get that task out of the way. Unfortunately, since we arrived before noon he was not able to enjoy a beer inside his glass before purchasing it. Damn! We forget that some cities have that silly no-booze-for-breakfast-on-Sunday rule, never thought NYC would be one of them! Oh, well, we packed up our empty glass and away we went.



By this time we were getting kinda hungry and I heard pizza calling my name. So, off to Little Italy we went! There was a 30 minute wait for Lombardi's so we explored the area a bit until our name was called. Oh. My. God. The pizza was just as good as I remembered from our last visit!



My brother arrived just in time to help finish off the pie, perfect timing and no leftovers to carry around the city! Two slices of this deliciousness, worth every bit of walking needed to work it off!

Since it was now after noon and Beren was hankering for a beer, we took a nice long walk to McSorley's, a pub he'd read about. Apparently we hit the after-church crowd because this place was packed already! We each had two small pints and off we went.



We arrived back in Long Island with just enough time to change clothes and freshen up before the highlight of the day - dinner with the infamous Allan of Almost Gastric Bypass! We met Allan and his lovely wife Sue at his favorite Italian restaurant, Mio Posto. Joining us was another lovely blogger friend, Jacquie from Can't Wait to Lose It with the Band and her husband Steve. Allan had promised us a "real" Italian feast and he delivered! I am amazed at the willpower I exhibited by turning down the bread basket and the pasta, and we won't even discuss the dessert! Take a peek at his blog if you want to see pics but suffice it to say it was a heavenly meal! The company was great, food to die for, an all-around perfect evening. Thanks, Allan!







One quick nightcap at the local Ale House before climbing into bed, tired and content. Steps logged: 15,033 which is equivalent to about 7.11 miles.

One more day in NYC to share! Have a Beauty-Full Day,

August Already?

Can you believe it is August already? The summer is flying by!

As of today, Beren and I are on vacation, arrived at the Ormond house late last night. While vacations can typically be very dangerous for diets, it's much easier when the destination is your own full-equipped home. While I'm sure we will go out for a couple of meals, I plan to cook most of our meals so I have no excuse for holiday weight gain!

With this in mind, I got up this morning and surveyed the food stockpile, found it sorely lacking in fresh fruits, veggies and lean protein - staples of a "clean" diet. I also have to keep in mind the taste buds of Beren's girls who are with us this week. I might have mentioned their aversion to vegetables and reliance on processed garbage (they consider Pop-Tarts a food group) and while I won't contribute to their poor eating habits, I do need to ensure that they eat something while in my care. I'm confident that tonight's dinner won't be devoured by them but hopefully it won't be met with disgust either. (God, how I hate the teen years!)

The original recipe can be found here, I adapted it slightly to make it mostly-vegetarian and a bit healthier.

"Sausage" Pasta
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
3/4 pound whole wheat pasta
1 tablespoon olive oil
12 ounces meatless sausage crumbles
1 medium onion -- chopped
4 cloves garlic -- minced
14 1/2 ounces fat-free chicken broth
1 teaspoon dried basil
14 1/2 ounces canned diced tomatoes
10 ounces frozen chopped spinach
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain and reserve.

In a large skillet, heat oil and sausage crumbles; cook through until thawed. Add onion and garlic to skillet. Add broth, basil and tomatoes with liquid.

Cook over medium heat for 5 minutes to slightly reduce. Add chopped spinach; cover skillet and simmer on reduced heat until spinach is tender.

Add pasta to skillet and mix together. Sprinkle with cheese and serve immediately.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Serves 4 (generously). Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 438 Calories; 8g Fat (14.8% calories from fat); 25g Protein; 77g Carbohydrate; 12g Dietary Fiber; 8mg Cholesterol; 812mg Sodium.

Have a Beauty-Full Day,

(Wo)Man's Best Friend

I got back from vacation late Monday night, had a fabulous time! I remained (mostly) internet-free, spent the hours crafting, reading, walking, and, alas, eating. That last activity was quite evident which I reluctantly stepped on the scale yesterday morning to find the expected gain. Hey, no use whining about it. I earned it, fair & square.

So, yesterday morning I donned my workout gear and grabbed Loki's leash, decided that my dog and I would both benefit from some exercise. Being that he is just a puppy and easily distracted, my usual 30 minute jaunt had to be cut down to 20 but I swear it felt like much longer! This dog training business is hard work, especially in the already-sweltering Florida heat! Whew! Not to be defeated, I repeated the process last evening, and again this morning. Loki was better behaved each time and I found him to be a very nice walking companion indeed! I think this furry bundle of love just might be the motivation I needed to get my butt moving!



Now, if only he could do something about my frequent visits to the pantry...hmmm....

Have a Beauty-Full Day,

How to Not Gain (Much) Weight on an Exotic Vacation!

Whew..ok, I'm finally (almost) caught up enough to post about my Birthday Cruise to the Bahamas!



Beren and I had a fabulous time and though this was my first cruise experience, it will definitely not be my last. You can't beat the convenience, only unpacking once yet still being effortlessly transported to several locations. The entertainment on board was outstanding, the accommodations small but adequate, and the ship was gorgeous! Then there's the food...groan..I had heard horror stories about midnight buffets, round-the-clock feasting and the subsequent post-vacation weight gain and, yes, those things existed! I could have easily put on a ton of weight in those 4 days and would have thoroughly enjoyed the experience...until I got home. Instead, though, I made good, if not perfect, choices with a better outcome. Did I gain? Yes. In fact, the day after we returned I wrote a frenzied e-mail to Ms. Bitchcakes lamenting the initial 4-pound gain which a day later settled into a 2-pound gain. She and my cruise-aficionado friend Jersey talked me down off the ledge and away from a depressed binge. As they said, it was mostly water weight thanks to the incredible amount of salt used in food prep, and maybe a tiny bit due to the slightly increased calories. Yet today, after 5 days ashore, the scale reads the same number as when I departed.

So, here's how I did it. First off, there is absolutely no reason why can't eat healthfully at each & every meal, at least on the ship we sailed on. The buffet was chock-full of whole grain breads, fruit, salad, vegetables and even veggie burgers! For breakfast I had whole-grain toast, scrambled eggs, yogurt, fruit & coffee. A typical lunch was salad, fruit, seafood, Asian-style mixed vegetables, etc.



At dinner I did indulge in whatever I wanted (fish one night, pasta another, Thai the last) and even had dessert at two of the meals but they were both sugar-free! Since they didn't leave a bread basket at the table, the waiter brought it around, I wasn't tempted to consort much with the devil either. Honestly, though there were several courses and the food was amazing, the dinner portions were reasonable, small by restaurant standards, so I left feeling satisfied but not stuffed!



Even at the private island where we spent our first day, there were plenty of healthy choices and since it was so freakin' hot, water was my beverage of choice.





Besides, we walked around the island for 20 minutes until we found a secluded area in which to relax, no way was I walking all the way back just for a cocktail!



And speaking of alcohol, I admit to sneaking some vodka onboard..blush..to save money and also control how much I was consuming. The poolside bar had a special going, $6.00 for 3 days of unlimited soft drinks and once I found out they carried Sprite Zero, I was sold! So, while I did have several cocktails a day, for the most part they were relatively low-calorie, no fruity umbrella drinks for me! At dinner one night I ordered a bottle of champagne (thank you, Jersey, for gifting me!) but shared it with my dinner companions. I also had a couple of the local beers, but more about that later.



In addition to watching my food intake, I literally walked my ass off! In addition to trekking around the island and the ship in general, we also hiked for a solid two hours in Nassau, non-stop! The attractions were definitely worth the effort...











...but I felt totally justified in partaking of some local favorites once we arrived at our final destination! For the record, this conch salad is super-healthy, consists of cucumber, tomatoes, onion, green pepper, hot pepper, lime juice and of course, conch. The local beer was not light but, again, I only had two and enjoyed every drop!



And, instead of the midnight buffet, we eschewed the ship's night life for the most part and turned in early. Both of us have an active social life at home and tend to be early risers anyway, we didn't feel like we were missing much. It was more important to us that we take advantage of every waking moment!



So, I didn't lose this week but so what? I went on vacation, enjoyed myself immensely and can still fit in my favorite jeans, I'll take that any day!

Vacation

I'm taking a little vacation from the scale today, will be attending my meeting this evening but foregoing my weigh-in. I love that WW allows us to do that!

While I watched what I ate fairly well over the past weekend in the Keys, I wasn't perfect and I imagine the scale will show that. This is the reason it's tough to weigh in on Monday but also why I choose to do it this way. Whatever you do Saturday & Sunday is going to show on Monday, no doubt about it! As "good" as I tried to be, I did have some salty foods on Saturday and yesterday gave in to the bread temptation (damn those ET bagels!) and I feel it this morning. I'm just...puffy...and full..and am hoping some of it is water weight and will disappear in a day or two.

In the meantime, I'm getting back on my routine, moving my body and tracking every bite. I won't be going out of town for a while so the vacation issue should be a non-issue and I can just live "normal" life (whatever that is) and focus on my goals.

Hope everyone had a fabulous weekend!