Wednesday, April 7, 2010

Groovin' along

I had another good day yesterday. Here are the key elements:
~1450 calories over the course of the day. No binges, no binge thoughts. Thank you, thank you, thank you for that, Higher Power. I didn't even have a cup of tea yesterday...too hot!
~A 2.5 mile walk with dog and friend with her dog. At one point I was walking ahead of her and she noted, "You're walking like your old self...you're not limping at all!" "I know", I exclaimed with glee. I felt pretty normal. The hardest part of the walk was getting a little winded on the hills and the 89 degree temperature that had me sweating like crazy! I've always been a delicate flower that perspires madly - which is good but makes me look pretty bedraggled.
~Wrote all food down with calorie counts.
~Drank 3 1/2 32 ounce bottles of water. Spent much of day (and night) in the BR accordingly.
~No weighing yet. After 2 clean days, I always want to jump on the scale. But I'm afraid to for one reason and that is that whatever the number is will likely play with my head. If it's higher than the royal moi thinks it should be, or if it's lower. I don't trust myself with daily knowledge of my weight. So I'll weigh Friday morning and report here and to Tammy for the challenge. I'm getting curious, but 2 days hasn't changed enough of me to risk even a peek!

So far, so good. My head feels clear and I'm still feeling enthusiastic and optimistic.

I'm experiencing a few new things...I've eaten oatmeal almost every morning for almost 3 years. I eat it plain with just a bit of salt, and couple it with Trader Joe's Greek 0% fat plain yogurt and a fruit. But for the last couple of weeks it seems I've burned out on the oatmeal. Just don't want it and it doesn't sound good. So my new breakfast has been the same yogurt and fruit, plus 1 hardboiled egg and 1 HB eggwhite, mixed in 4 ounces of low fat cottage cheese. Sounds weird? It tastes like egg salad, which I love. I haven't used onions or other stuff yet, as my time in the mornings is tight with AA and then work, but that would be great. I love cottage cheese - use those cups of Breakstone that come in 4 packs, and just mush it all together. The dog gets the 2nd egg yolk - it's okay as he's a lean machine. Try this if you like egg salad. The calorie total is 170, and mostly pure protein with a touch of fat from the one yolk.

Another thing I'm trying to stop using for now is butter. For the last 2 nights I've had a tiny (1" diameter) red potato, and instead of butter, I've mashed up 2 small slices of avocado, with a little S&P, and it's AWESOME. Actually I keep the avocado a little chunky, because I love it. Butter is something I go GAGA for, and have been known to use other food (potatos, bread, crackers) merely as vehicles to eat butter. In moderation a little butter is fine. For me, the term "a little butter" is oxymoronic. Down the road I can add it back in, but do fine without it for now.

My last new food item is Special K crackers. They have no hydrogenated oils or artificial ingredients, and 24 crackers have 120 calories. They also list that 17 crackers have 90 calories. SparkPeople did a review and said they're great, and I agree. Yesterday I had 17 crackers (they're smaller than wheat thins, taste similar) with 1 triangle LClite garlic and herb cheese spread. Very satisfying, and I wasn't triggered to eat the rest of the box.

Do any of you have quirky little combos of food or healthy substitutes you recommend? I'd love to hear some new stuff, and it's mostly all new to me! Have a good day everyone!

14 comments:

  1. You and I are on the same page with food...I feel like I have ate the same things for 3 years and it's getting sooo old! Oatmeal is one of them for me!
    Your new breakfast combo sounds good to me! My family thinks I'm nuts for my new combos of food but I need to get the nutrients in in a day. My new breakfast seems to be left overs from the night before mixed into egg whites and scrambled. And some cottage cheese added in too. It can be brown rice and butternut squash one morning and asparagus and red peppers the next.
    The weirdest combo for me lately has been my smoothies. I use frozen blueberries and 1/2 banana for the base (with a scoop of greek yogurt) and any greens I have on hand like spinach or kale. Going to try brocoli next week since I hate brocoli..I'm hoping I won't taste it's in there lol
    Keep doing great Leslie....You are inspiring me to stay on track BIG TIME!!!!

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  2. HIP HIP Hoorrayy for a good day! :) I also eat those special K crackers and they dont call to me from the pantry either! lol :)

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  3. All Bran crackers - love them. Dipped in this:

    1/3 cup low fat cottage cheese
    1/3 avocado (~1.5 oz.)
    1/4 cup chopped scallions
    1/4 cup chopped cilantro

    Mash or cube avocado, stir in remaining ingredients.

    I think that's a South Beach concoction - got it from a friend so I'm not sure. 17 crackers and that dip is around 200 calories (depending on what fat level of cottage cheese you use).

    So yummy and filling!

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  4. Leslie! You GO girl!

    Thanks so much for visiting me at Casa Hice and leaving such a nice comment. I consider it a real honor!

    Please come back, and if there is anything I can do to help motivate you, please let me know.

    Walk on, sister!

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  5. That is a good idea for the avocado on the potato. I also like to put a little cottage cheese and salsa on the potato. It makes it like sour cream, but still good for me :)

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  6. OMG - I too just found the Special K crackers and eat them with LC cow wedge cheese! SOooo good!

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  7. I'm not sure this is weird... but I got tired of salads, so I started making my salad without the lettuce. Just threw together whatever veggies there was, added the dressing that would go over a regular salad, and it was good for a side dish.

    If I don't feel like cooking, I just throw in some protein, like cheese and/or whatever already cooked meats are in the fridge, and it's a complete meal, in a flash.

    I'm glad it's going well for you... it sounds kinda peaceful. :-)

    Loretta
    =^..^=

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  8. Another thing you might want to try if you are giving up butter is to substitute a little olive oil for it. I tried it in rice pilaf and it worked wonderfully.

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  9. I use olive oil on brushetta each time we grill with a thin slice of fresh mozzarella and a thick slice of Roma tomato with a fresh basil leaf on it! Not weird I know. today for my birthday breakfast when we were out I had an order of french toast and a side of fruit and instead of syrup(they use real maple at this cafe) I ordered a side of fruit and had a lil piece with each bite...a blueberry here a small chunk of pineapple there a grape here... you get the idea! It was super sweet.

    Oh and I HATE steamed veggies really... I eat em (chewing my cudd like a cow) but when there is mashed potatoes I get a small amount of those and cut my veggies up and mix em in... so 1/2 cup of potatoes with 2 cups of veggies (steamed broccoli, carrots, cauliflower squash etc) stirred in is substantial and doesn't taste as bad to me.

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  10. I'm so happy to hear that you are doing well. Could ya send some of that grit and determination my way :)

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  11. Butter vehicles, LOL! I personally love catsup on a baked potato. OK, it has some sugar or corn syrup as a sweetener, but it's basically non-fat.

    You're on a roll, so keep on rolling!

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  12. Do you know I've never bought an avocado in my entire life??? lol I've only eaten it as guacamole in restaurants...love me some guacamole....email me with some ideas on what the hell to do with an avocado! That potato thing sounded good...I just can't eat many potatoes due to trying to keep my diabetes under control....I think they're glycemic index # is like 114 or something hideous like that, lol.

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  13. congrats on the knees feeling better!

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  14. Hey Leslie! 10 pounds is totally doable this month. I look forward to following your progress. And yayyy for using less butter. I love butter, too! I use earth balance butter. It's a dairy free butter and is so good. And I love that you used avocado on your potatoes - I must try! I love avocado.

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