Good Morning, all & welcome to the last day of February. We keep getting hit with more snow, so it doesn't look like winter is over any time soon, but a girl can dream.
I'm trying to mix things up & make my daily posts a bit less *dry*. If you have any suggestions on things you'd like to see, please let me know! To start with, I'm going to do a Q&A at the beginning of each post. Since I don't have a backlog of questions, I'll make them up, but happy to answer anything you want to ask. I'm also a horrible photographer, but I'd like to learn & slowly turn this post into one with more visuals, showing what I actually ate. I know the simple list is boring to look at/read.
Q&A:
Where should we go for Memorial Day weekend? My parents have generously agreed to hang out with our boys, so this is our big adult weekend (we generally do 2 a year). We're leaving out of Portland, and can leave on Friday am & return on Monday. We'd love to do Hawaii, but the timeline is too tight. Instead, we're thinking of: Santa Barbara, wine country, or maybe the Oregon Coast. We've never done an adults only trip to our beach house (on the Oregon Coast), so that's definitely an idea as well. Share your thoughts in the comments!
Weight = 156.8. I'm not going to pretend that I'm not frustrated. It's been 2 months of solid eating right & working out, & I'm down just under 8 pounds. That feels unreasonable. That said, I'm definitely feeling better, my clothes fit better, and I feel like I look "tighter/more fit". I'll keep pressing on. :-)
Food:
Breakfast:
yogurt + granola + fruit - 250
coffee + milk + fiber - 30
Snack:
skinny caramel macchiato - 100
Lunch:
healthy wrap with hummus, cheddar, tomatoes & cucumber - 250
mini Lara bar -100
apple - 80
Snack:
edamame - 150
Dinner:
Corn risotto - 300
1 small piece baked tilapia - 75
Total = 1335
Fruit/vegetables = 4/4
Workout = 35 minutes on the elliptical. Pushed it hard & kept my heart rate at 155+. Level 14.
Monday, February 28, 2011
The mathematical version of the question - why am I not losing weight
This topic is probably getting boring, but I am sitting here, wondering what I'm doing wrong, & hoping you all might have tips for me. :-)
Here's the executive summary. I looked up my weight from exactly one month ago, and it's 156.8. Sadly, the exact same weight that I was at this morning. Down to the ounces. So, this of course means that I stayed exactly the same over the course of a month.
Note that I don't plan to track things this anally every month - just trying to get a handle on my lack of progress in February:
Here are a few potential reasons I came up with:
-I'm underestimating the amount of calories that I'm consuming
-My metabolism is much slower than the calculator predicts
-The world is against me ;-)
The first option seems the most realistic, but I'm also trying to go by how hungry I feel each night. I would say that my stomach is growling or I'm at least mildly hungry about 95% of the time, so calorie counting aside, I feel like I should be losing weight.
Has anyone else been in this position? Any adivce or tips you could share? The only option I can think of at the moment is cutting back my calories further - possibly to 1300/day? I'm already getting in the best workouts I can on almost every available day, so I don't see much of an opportunity for improvement there.
Here's the executive summary. I looked up my weight from exactly one month ago, and it's 156.8. Sadly, the exact same weight that I was at this morning. Down to the ounces. So, this of course means that I stayed exactly the same over the course of a month.
Note that I don't plan to track things this anally every month - just trying to get a handle on my lack of progress in February:
- I consumed an average of 1546 calories per day. About 50 calories higher than I normally shoot for.
- I worked out 15 times in February, so just under 4x/week. I did 500+ minutes of cardio, started running, and worked out (IMO) fairly hard.
Here are a few potential reasons I came up with:
-I'm underestimating the amount of calories that I'm consuming
-My metabolism is much slower than the calculator predicts
-The world is against me ;-)
The first option seems the most realistic, but I'm also trying to go by how hungry I feel each night. I would say that my stomach is growling or I'm at least mildly hungry about 95% of the time, so calorie counting aside, I feel like I should be losing weight.
Has anyone else been in this position? Any adivce or tips you could share? The only option I can think of at the moment is cutting back my calories further - possibly to 1300/day? I'm already getting in the best workouts I can on almost every available day, so I don't see much of an opportunity for improvement there.
End of February Net Worth Update
I updated all of my trackers & adjusted our net worth links based on February 28th numbers. Here are the highlights/lowlights:
Highlights:
-We continue to invest in our 401Ks each month, as well as pay down our 401K loans. The market has been pretty eratic, so I think we're about even this month.
-We countinue to pay down our two mortgages, slightly ahead of schedule due to extra payments.
Lowlights:
-Our stock options declined in value again, second month running.
Net result:
Quick summary is that we had no major highlights or lowlights this month, with one exception that I will mention but isn't reflected yet (still waiting for the funds to clear). Due to some unexpected income for M, I'll be paying off my 401K loan this week! This is the best news ever, as it will pay off around $41K of a current liability, and that money will be immediately be funneled into an asset (the 401K). It's a win/win. Love it! Aside from that, our net worth is pretty much the same from last month.
Our net worth as of the end of February is $812,110, which is up $8,606 from last month. Can't wait to see the big change next month based on the 401K loan payoff!
Highlights:
-We continue to invest in our 401Ks each month, as well as pay down our 401K loans. The market has been pretty eratic, so I think we're about even this month.
-We countinue to pay down our two mortgages, slightly ahead of schedule due to extra payments.
Lowlights:
-Our stock options declined in value again, second month running.
Net result:
Quick summary is that we had no major highlights or lowlights this month, with one exception that I will mention but isn't reflected yet (still waiting for the funds to clear). Due to some unexpected income for M, I'll be paying off my 401K loan this week! This is the best news ever, as it will pay off around $41K of a current liability, and that money will be immediately be funneled into an asset (the 401K). It's a win/win. Love it! Aside from that, our net worth is pretty much the same from last month.
Our net worth as of the end of February is $812,110, which is up $8,606 from last month. Can't wait to see the big change next month based on the 401K loan payoff!
Sunday, February 27, 2011
2/27 - Fitness & Nutrition
Weight = 156.8. Up from yesterday, but not worrying about it. Had a great day.
I'll preface my breakfast by saying that I got about 1/2 of my normal sleep, due to N having nightmares & waking up all through the night. I know food is not a replacement for sleep, but I decided to have a big breakfast to hopefully still power a solid workout this morning. *fingers crossed*
Food:
Breakfast:
1 wheat bagel with peanut butter - 350
fruit - 40
coffee with milk - 30
Lunch:
chicken with pasta - 275
apple - 80
STARVING after my workout, so second lunch:
trail mix - 75
cheese - 100
edamame - 150
Dinner:
1/2 Giada's chicken pastina - 150
2 small pieces of chocolate - 50
wine - 80
subtotal = 1380
fruit/vegetables - 3/4
Workout:
-20 minutes on treadmill. Forgot a crucial item that I need for longer runs. I'll keep this family friendly, but suffice it to say that I'm a mother of two & didn't want any "pooling" on the treadmill while running. I'm pretty sure that's frowned upon at my gym. :-)
-45 minutes on the bike - high intensity. I cranked up my RPMs after my treadmill disappointment, & hit the bike hard - maintaining my heart rate of 155+ for the entire ride.
-15 minutes of weight training (focusing on arms & core)
-15 minutes of stretching. Used the foam roller to bring some relief to my legs, which were screaming in pain from my bike ride.
The calorie counter on the two cardio pieces said I burned 600+. I was soaking & felt like I had a great workout, so I believe it. Love Sundays & the time to work out harder than normal. :-)
I'll preface my breakfast by saying that I got about 1/2 of my normal sleep, due to N having nightmares & waking up all through the night. I know food is not a replacement for sleep, but I decided to have a big breakfast to hopefully still power a solid workout this morning. *fingers crossed*
Food:
Breakfast:
1 wheat bagel with peanut butter - 350
fruit - 40
coffee with milk - 30
Lunch:
chicken with pasta - 275
apple - 80
STARVING after my workout, so second lunch:
trail mix - 75
cheese - 100
edamame - 150
Dinner:
1/2 Giada's chicken pastina - 150
2 small pieces of chocolate - 50
wine - 80
subtotal = 1380
fruit/vegetables - 3/4
Workout:
-20 minutes on treadmill. Forgot a crucial item that I need for longer runs. I'll keep this family friendly, but suffice it to say that I'm a mother of two & didn't want any "pooling" on the treadmill while running. I'm pretty sure that's frowned upon at my gym. :-)
-45 minutes on the bike - high intensity. I cranked up my RPMs after my treadmill disappointment, & hit the bike hard - maintaining my heart rate of 155+ for the entire ride.
-15 minutes of weight training (focusing on arms & core)
-15 minutes of stretching. Used the foam roller to bring some relief to my legs, which were screaming in pain from my bike ride.
The calorie counter on the two cardio pieces said I burned 600+. I was soaking & felt like I had a great workout, so I believe it. Love Sundays & the time to work out harder than normal. :-)
Menu Plan Sunday
I made the Chicken with mustard marscapone sauce and it was fabulous! I highly recommend this recipe. The only substitution I made was using light cream cheese in place of the marscapone. It was delicious & will definitely be making its way into our regular rotation. :-)
Lunches:
Sunday - Leftover marscapone chicken marsala
Monday - fruit + lasagna from the freezer
Tuesday - vegetables/hummus + leftover Italian baked chicken
Wednesday - fruit + leftover risotto
Thursday - fruit + lasagna from the freezer
Friday - vegetables/hummus + baked shells
Saturday - cottage cheese + leftover balsamic chicken cutlet
Sunday - fruit, vegetables/hummus + any leftovers that need to be eaten up
Dinner:Sunday (M out of town) - Italian baked chicken and pastina (make 2 - one for the freezer)
Monday - Baked tilapia & sweet corn risotto *
Tuesday - Balsamic chicken cutlet
Wednesday - Baked shells with pesto, mozzarella & meat sauce
Thursday - Leftover Baked chicken and pastina
Friday - Leftover baked shells with pesto, mozzarella & meat sauce
Saturday - Chicken Dijonnaise (Williams Sonoma French cookbook)
Sunday - Parmesan chicken with orzo
Lunches:
Sunday - Leftover marscapone chicken marsala
Monday - fruit + lasagna from the freezer
Tuesday - vegetables/hummus + leftover Italian baked chicken
Wednesday - fruit + leftover risotto
Thursday - fruit + lasagna from the freezer
Friday - vegetables/hummus + baked shells
Saturday - cottage cheese + leftover balsamic chicken cutlet
Sunday - fruit, vegetables/hummus + any leftovers that need to be eaten up
Dinner:Sunday (M out of town) - Italian baked chicken and pastina (make 2 - one for the freezer)
Monday - Baked tilapia & sweet corn risotto *
Tuesday - Balsamic chicken cutlet
Wednesday - Baked shells with pesto, mozzarella & meat sauce
Thursday - Leftover Baked chicken and pastina
Friday - Leftover baked shells with pesto, mozzarella & meat sauce
Saturday - Chicken Dijonnaise (Williams Sonoma French cookbook)
Sunday - Parmesan chicken with orzo
Saturday, February 26, 2011
2/26 - fitness & Nutrition Update
My shift key is sticking, so please excuse any typos. :-)
Weight = 156.2 Only 1.2 lbs from my pre-vacation low last week, & 3.2 lbs from my mini goal of 153. Woo!
Food:
Breakfast:
1/2 wheat bagel + 1/2 laughing cow + morningstar sausage - 250
Coffee + milk + fiber - 30
handful of blueberries - 25
Snack:
cottage cheese + apple - 180
Lunch:
Chicken marsala with pasta - 300
Snack:
trail mix - 150
Dinner:
1/2 Baked sweet potato - 100
vegetables & pita chips with hummus - 100
apple - 80
cottage cheese & small handful of trail mix - 150
Total = 1465
Fruits/Vegetables = 3/5
Workout:
45 minutes on the elliptical, level 14.
15 minutes stretching. I was sore after my run yesterday & want to be in good shape for tomorrow's run.
Weight = 156.2 Only 1.2 lbs from my pre-vacation low last week, & 3.2 lbs from my mini goal of 153. Woo!
Food:
Breakfast:
1/2 wheat bagel + 1/2 laughing cow + morningstar sausage - 250
Coffee + milk + fiber - 30
handful of blueberries - 25
Snack:
cottage cheese + apple - 180
Lunch:
Chicken marsala with pasta - 300
Snack:
trail mix - 150
Dinner:
1/2 Baked sweet potato - 100
vegetables & pita chips with hummus - 100
apple - 80
cottage cheese & small handful of trail mix - 150
Total = 1465
Fruits/Vegetables = 3/5
Workout:
45 minutes on the elliptical, level 14.
15 minutes stretching. I was sore after my run yesterday & want to be in good shape for tomorrow's run.
Friday, February 25, 2011
2/25 - Fitness & Nutrition
Weight = 156.8. Working my way back down to the 155 I hit last week before my vacation. :-)
Food:
Breakfast:
1/2 wheat bagel + 1/2 laughing cow + egg - 230
coffee + milk + fiber - 30
Snack:
banana muffin & green tea - 150
Lunch:
Chicken marsala/pasta - 275
Smoothie - 160
apple - 80
Snack:
cheese - 100
Dinner (out - Red Robin):
side salad with 1 tsp dressing + cup of tortilla soup + 8 fries - 450
Total = 1475
Fruit/vegetables = 4/6
Workout = treadmill run/walk
2.25 mile run (speed of 5.1 mph)
1 mile walk
Food:
Breakfast:
1/2 wheat bagel + 1/2 laughing cow + egg - 230
coffee + milk + fiber - 30
Snack:
banana muffin & green tea - 150
Lunch:
Chicken marsala/pasta - 275
Smoothie - 160
apple - 80
Snack:
cheese - 100
Dinner (out - Red Robin):
side salad with 1 tsp dressing + cup of tortilla soup + 8 fries - 450
Total = 1475
Fruit/vegetables = 4/6
Workout = treadmill run/walk
2.25 mile run (speed of 5.1 mph)
1 mile walk
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