Fast Food Diet...hehehe

It's been an okay couple of weeks. I haven't eaten at at fast food restaurant (definition being a restaurant which has a drive thru or is a part of a chain that has drive thru's) in about 2 weeks.  This is a huge step for me considering how much I am finding myself eating out lately.

Last week I ate out quite a lot but I accomplished my goal.

This week my goal was to continue my fast food fast (pun intended) and strive to eat out a max of 3 days this week. Now that means that there might be more than one meal out a day (although of course I would try not to do that) but that 3 is the max from Monday-Sunday.

This is how I rank so far:

Monday: Didn't eat out all day!  I took French toast and leftovers for lunch and ate at home for dinner.
Tuesday: Ate at Pita Pit for lunch, which wasn't too bad. Had a small dinner and then ate with Eric at the mall. Although I did abstain from Carls Jr. which sounded so good and got a burrito instead.
Wednesday: Didn't eat out all day! This was the day it snowed and Dad had to bring me food at work which consisted of french toast, leftovers from dinner and a pack of weenies!  Okay I didn't eat the weenies that day but he was so nice to bring me food!
Thursday: Didn't eat out again! Homemade waffles for breakfast and weenies for lunch (not the whole pack! just 2.)
Friday: I did get lunch from the Kiva but that is a grocery store so I don't really count it as eating out because what I got was both good for me and vegan!
Saturday: My mom asked me to drop her off at a morning appointment and I got hungry so I got breakfast at the Cornbread Cafe which was vegan country fried tempeh with gravy and gluten free potatoes.  Although it may sound weird it was actually really good!

So far so good! I call this a great week so far!

Weekend Report-Meh

Okay so the weekend wasn't a total failure which means that I ate out but I tried to eat better, less fast food. I want to point out that the only fast food I actually ate was McDonalds on Sunday, the other times it was an actual restaurant.  That being said it's really hard to not eat out when you aren't home the whole weekend.

Anyways. I think that these next few weeks will try my willpower and motivation but I am determined. I have money for groceries so that means that I can get what I really need. Now I just need to make a list and go to the store.  Sometimes that is the hardest part.

I've also tried to keep a journal in my purse of what I'm eating why I chose to eat out or whatever. I think that this is slowly helping me get back on track.

On top of the musical that I will be playing for the next few weeks I will be on anti-biotics for a stomach infection. Blegh! Everytime I have to take these I either can't eat or can't stop eating!  I hope that everything will work out and I can continue to stick to my goal of eating out less.

Here is a rundown of what I had this weekend.

Saturday- I got cramps really bad so I didn't get to eat until 2:30pm.
Lunch
Murphy's Grill in Dallas
Mushroom Burger and 1/2 order of fries
Strawberry Lemonade
Dinner
French Bread Pizza from Winco
Diet Mountain Dew

Sunday - This day was better because I cooked breakfast with Courtney.
Breakfast
2 pieces french toast
4 sausage links
Hashbrowns
Orange Juice
Lunch
1 McChicken
1 McDouble
Diet Mountain Dew
Apple Slices
Dinner
Vegetarian Tomato Sauce with wheat Pasta

Not too bad considering.

"Stressed is Desserts Spelled Backwards."

I think that this weekend will test my new goal to the limits.  Let me explain.

So after work today I'll go home and eat dinner and quickly pack a bag for the weekend.  This is good because I won't have a chance to eat out for dinner, which is a big plus.

Then I'll go to Albany for Curtains which will be both fun and tiring.

Then I'll go to Monmouth where Courtney has graciously offered me her futon to sleep on, basically whenever I need to.  Have I mentioned how much I love my friends!

Then after spending the day with Courtney, helping her or doing whatever, I'll travel to Newberg to play the clarinet part for Schubert's Shepherd on the Rock trio for a senior recital at George Fox University. Super excited and a little nervous but it will be awesome.

Then back to Monmouth.

Then back to Albany to play another  Curtains  show.

Then, if I get the okay from work, I'll go and work for a couple hours so that we can get caught up.  If I don't get the okay then I have to decide if I want to go back to Eugene from Newberg and work before the matinee show or not at all. 

I see many chances that my need for convenience might overthrow my need to eat better, but hopefully I'll find a way.

Anyway this picture aptly describes this coming weekend, oh how I love Futurama. AH!

March Madness!!

Okay so it's time for a new goal.  I've decided that March will be March Madness!! I have numerous performances this month which I'm sure will not only be AWESOME but stressful at the same time.

The one thing that know is that when I have to travel to Albany for performances I always eat badly.  I eat out a lot which doesn't help my waistline or my wallet.  So I think that this month I will pledge to eat out less and take food with me to Albany.

This will entail making my lunches and, subsequently dinners, at home. 

I'm motivated by what happened at a rehearsal on Saturday.  This was one of the first solo rehearsals that I have had since I graduated and  I noticed two things.
1. My feet and lower back hurt like crazy after standing for an hour.
2.  My asthma prevented me from playing as musically as I would have liked.

These problems are unacceptable!  I am a musician.  Okay a musician who works at a desk 40 hours a week but I need to fix this problem.

So, after I finish writing this blog, I will go and make my lunch and dinner for tomorrow which will include the following.

A half pint yogurt parfait with honey Greek yogurt and strawberries.
Noodles which will be frozen so that I can take them to work.
      My Lunch will then be noodles, vodka cream sauce, broccoli and chicken breast.
Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwich
Granola Bars
A couple cans of Diet Mountain Dew and Bottled Water.

Hopefully this will be enough to deter me from the drive thru menu.

It's been a while

It's been a while since I wrote in this blog.  There's no real reason for it except for the fact that I haven't been eating right or exercising for a few months now.  I'm not entirely sure how this transpired but I know that I hate it. I hate not being able to wear all of the jeans I have in my drawer.  I hate that I am out of breath and that my hips and back hurt after standing for too long.   I hate it all.

My new years resolution is not directly connected to weight loss but I hope that it will inspire and motivate me toward that goal. My resolution is to get organized and so far I am doing a pretty good  job at staying motivated for that.

This last Sunday I cleaned/organized the refrigerator and have started making my breakfasts on Sunday so that I can just grab and go during the week.   I think that eventually it will manifest itself in weight loss but for now I just need to figure out something else. Something that I can do to lose some of the weight and get back into the clothes that I love but can't wear at the moment.

Maybe I need to start walking at lunchtime. Be better about eating out less. I haven't really nailed down what I will do but I will take a page from the Organizing book that I'm using for my resolution.  Break down my large goal into really small weekly tasks and work on those.   If I do that then maybe I will be able to reach my goal this time. Instead of losing motivation after a couple months.

Here's to the journey. Which right now has become a bit stagnant.

Week 2 & 3 - New Obsession

Okay so I have a new obsession. I just realized that the only way that I will willingly eat breakfast during the week is if I use the slow cooker. I made an awesome oatmeal and acutally ENJOYED it this morning.

So here is the recipe I used for that oatmeal.  Next I will make a hasbrown and egg cassarole. I'm so excited.

Apple Oatmeal

6 cups water
2 cups Steel-Cut Oats (don't use regular oats they won't hold up to the cooking time)
3 apples, diced
1/2 c honey
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp nutmeg ( I left this one out because my mom hates nutmeg but I think it would taste great)

Mix all the ingredients in the slow cooker (preferably a large one).  Set on low for at least 6-7 hours.

This tastes like an apple pie. I added 1 tbsp brown sugar to the top and a sprinkle more cinnamon but it was heavenly.

5 PointsPlus w/out brown sugar  6 PointsPlus w/brown sugar

Week 1- Starting over on a new Weight Watchers plan

Okay so this is is week 1 on the new Weight Watchers PointsPlus Program. I did do this program a little bit last year when they first came out with it but I have registered online and now I'm starting over.
So here are the pictures that my Dad took of me for my before pictures.

Since this isn't my highest ever weight I know that these aren't as bad as it's gotten but this is where I am now. I am starting over, a fresh start.  Let's see where this journey takes me.