Monday Madness

I know, I know, Monday is almost over.  Here I sit, just showered after a good workout on the elliptical and trying to get this in before Monday is officially over!  I think I procrastinated about this post today because 1) I wasn't quite sure what to write and 2) I had a crappy bad weekend.  No, Christmas was great, but a bit too great! 

I indulged, but maybe a bit too much.  I tried very hard to stop myself, and I did have to remind myself to walk away from the kitchen a couple of times, but I was trying to help in the kitchen, and that is where my mom had all the snacks.  I did gravitate to the veggies as much as possible, but that gourmet cheese and meat tray was just too good!  I woke up each morning ready to push the re-set button, especially today!  This is definitely a Monday that I originally was referring to when I started my Monday madness posts.

On the bright side, I did run.  I ran 3 miles on Friday and 4 on Sunday.  I did try to drink lots of water and eat as much fruits and veggies as I could.  I did work to keep my servings small and pick and choose what I ate. 

And, with the holiday, I did not have a weigh in this weekend to kick my butt in high gear.  According to my scale at home, I wasn't all that bad.  But, I am feeling it.

This is reality.  This is what it is all about.  Knowing that life is hard and all kinds of good food will be thrown your way every direction you go.  The thing my leader always says is "you won't gain back all you lost in one day".  That is so true.  I know I won't gain 40lbs back because I ate too much yummy meat and cheese or brownies and peppermint ice cream!! 

There it is, I am real and I feel off plan for about 5 days! Now, I get myself back on and keep on movin and livin to  be healthy!

Monday Madness

What a weekend!! 

Remember my goal from last Monday, to do better not snacking when I was home with my daughter.  I think I did a pretty VERY good job!

I started the weekend out with a great weigh in on Saturday morning.  The best part of it, my guest blogger and favorite sister reached 30lbs.  That is 30lbs off her body! She is looking great and feeling great.  I am so proud of her!!

The weekend only got better when I fixed what turned out to be a great dish for a family brunch on Sunday.  The recipe came from here: Lightened-up Creme Brulee French Toast

The recipe just sounded so good!  I had been thinking about cooking a breakfast bread pudding in the crockpot that I found on the Weight Watchers website.  But when I saw this French Toast it just seemed perfect.  The brunch was about 45 minutes away and we would be arriving about 40-50 minutes before eating.  Stoves would be full and this recipe did not seem feasible.  The crockpot idea seemed easier.  My awesome and amazing mother talked me through how to do this recipe in the crockpot!  Here are the things I changed, keep in mind I did 1.5 x what the recipe called for:

• I skipped the brown sugar and water part. 
• I used French Bread, broke each piece into quarters and did about 3-4 layers.
• Did all the eggs, etc. the way it called for.  I skipped the rum due to kids being present.  I would love to try it with rum sometime!
• I cooked it on low for 3ish hours.  It was probably about 3.5 total.  There was a break in the action during the transport.  The edges were crispy before the transport, the transport caused them to get more moist.  I had read on the bread pudding recipe to make sure you cook it on low so you didn't scorch the bread.  
• I put a little brown sugar on the top right near the end of the cooking.  
• Rather than putting the cinnamon and powdered sugar on it, I put it on the side, along with syrup, for people to fix it up themselves.

It got rave reviews!! I must say, I was very proud of myself!!  I was a bit concerned about how it would cook with the layers.  My mother was definitely my hero in helping me figure this out! 

My weekend ended with a nice 2.5 mile run in the cold and dark, but it was much needed after a busy weekend! 

Monday Madness

Since my first Monday Madness column my weekends have changed drastically.  I am now alone with my daughter all weekend while my husband works.  This has been both good and bad on my eating habits. 

First, the good!  I am trying to keep her busy and planning a lot of outings.  With all the holiday activities this time of year, that is not hard.  The good thing is the more we are out of the house and doing fun activities, the less I am home eating.

The Bad. You guessed it, when we are home and not doing fun activities, I am eating too much.  I am grazing a lot.  I am working very hard at still writing down all of my snacks.  Nibble it, Scribble it, right??!!!  I need to have some pre-cut fruit or some kind of healthy snack to reach for.  I mostly have only healthy food choice in the house.  But, one servings turns into to two or three servings. 

My goal for next weekend it to limit my snacking while home with my daughter.

Monday Madness

Well, there is a new kind of Madness to this particular Monday.  It is called Points Plus!  The new Weight Watchers program has sure kept me on my toes!  I am loving it! I have to learn the values to all of my favorite foods again, but it is forcing me to write it all down and calculate the points. 

On Saturday night we went out to dinner and I ordered a flatbread Chicken and Pesto Pizza.  It was awesome, and I did NOT eat it all!!  I was so proud.  After I looked up the nutritional value and figured out the Points Plus, I was sure glad I didn't eat it all!!  I had the rest for lunch today. 

I feel like I had a successful weekend.  Did not get exercise in, but got a lot of walking in, and ran to the from the car to unload the groceries!

~Marsha

Monday Madness

This weekend was good and bad.  I got a run in on Friday night, but that was it.  I am a bit disappointed in myself for not getting more in and need to kick myself in high gear.  My back has also been a bit sore.  I did feel like I made good food decisions, and I went to my meeting Saturday morning.  I have two items on the Monday to blog about, a non-scale victory and a change to Weight Watchers.

Non-scale Victory
This is partyly my victory and partly my daughters victory.  I try very hard to teach my daughter healthy eating habbits, while still letting her be a kid.  We do not let her drink soda, rarely does she get candy, and occasionally she gets juice.  We are lucky, she does not like chocolate, chooses broccoli as her side at restaurants, and likes to have a V8 in her school lunch!  Saturday night got a bit crazy, so we ended up with Jack in the Box for dinner, I got her chicken strips as her meal.  On Sunday, we were going grocery shopping, which always means she gets a free cookie at the bakery.  Keep in mind, she if 5.  On the way there we hear "you know dad, I don't think I want a cookie, they are not healthy, so I think I will wait and get a cookie next time".  Talk about a proud moment for a mother!!!  I was so happy I had helped teach her something and healthy eating was something she understood. 

Weight Watchers Changes:
Yesterday Weight Watchers made a drastic change to their program.  You can find an article here: USA Today  I don't have my meeting until Saturday so will not get the official explanation until then.  I have heard fruit is mostly 0 pts! I think I can live with that!  I have also heard some great 1pt foods are more now, so that will definitely be an adjustment.  I am looking forward to learning more about the new program and just might have to sign up for the e-tools again to get the hang of the new points. 

Monday Madness

I know what you are thinking, it is Tuesday!  I am a day late on my Monday Madness post, and that is due to the madness Monday brought me! 

The weekend wasn't all that bad, but I did not weigh in.  I instead went on a road trip with my parents and daughter to Oregon for another Linfield football game!  My point of frusturation now comes from the cold weather that has made it difficult to work out.  I have not run since Thursday, and don't know that I will be able to before Friday.  It is snowy and cold here, and I don't really want to drive to the city fitness facility.  My goal is to try and do some Wii Fit tonight after dinner.  We'll see.

Otherwise, this week I did not have the same weekend weight hangover I have had in the past! I feel like I made good decisions!

Monday Madness

My Monday Madness post today was true madness and craziness.  I felt like I had a great weekend and did a great job!  To start the weekend off I got in a run on Friday night and took Saturday off from running.  I had a great Weigh In on Saturday morning.

The crazy part was Sunday.  I had decided to try to fit in a longer, slower run on the weekends.  My husband had Sunday off, so I planned for a slow, long run on Sunday.  He had a great idea that I run and meet him and our daughter at the grocery store, and run back after grocery shopping.  We planned to shop at Albertson's or Safeway, which are kiddy corner from each other.  We settled on Safeway, and I asked him to give me 25 minutes to get there, just a couple of minutes longer than Albertson's would have been. 

I ran to Safeway, getting there is just over 22 minutes.  I waited for about 10-15 minutes.  I decided to run over to Albertson's and after not seeing our car in the parking lot, I ran back to Safeway.  Still, our car was not there.  Naturally I started getting a little concerned something had gone wrong back at home.  I began my run home.  I was tired and irritated and wanted to walk.  But, I pushed through and ran home.  I get home, and one of our cars is gone.  I had no house key, so I plopped myself on the front step and waited.  My husband drove up about 5 minutes after that.  He had gone to a different Safeway! He figured when I asked for 25 minutes I was running further.  He had started the shopping, not seeing me, and eventually left the cart and started driving around.  We went to a different grocery store and did our shopping.

What a crazy day! But, I felt pretty good after a good run and not giving in to the desire to walk! I ran just under 4 miles in all (probably closer to 4 miles with the runs between the stores!!).  Today, my legs feel good and I feel great!! 

Monday Madness

Here it is, Monday again!  I took the weekend off from blogging because my daughter and I were out of town for the weekend.  We traveled to McMinnville, OR with my parents for a Linfield College football game.  Linfield College is my Alma Mater.


This week I can say Monday is not all that maddening!  I made what I felt were some great choices this weekend!  When traveling that can be difficult, especially when traveling and tailgaiting!  But, luckily, I have a great support system and my parents know my journey.  I have three moments from the weekend I am most proud of. 

1. My mom has been working on a journey herself and especially gets it.  She was prepared with veggie burgers to BBQ after the football game.  Hamburgers were cooked for my dad and daughter, and veggie burgers for myself and my mom! I did add a cold piece of bacon to it, but have to indulge sometime!  I had the veggie burger on a sandwich thin and used a little mayo and a Sun Dried Tomato Laughing Cow wedge.  I love those wedges and had not tried the new flavors yet!  Also added some portabello mushroom.  This was one good veggie burger!! And, I inhaled the left over mushrooms with a little salt and pepper sprinkled on, this might be a new favorite side dish of mine!  The mushrooms had been on the BBQ. 

2. The drive to McMinnville can take us about 4 hours in a car, without a 5 year old that drank too much liquid.  Our drive in the motorhome, with a 5 year that needed to go potty A LOT, it took about 6 hours.  This included a top at Burgerville.  We do not have Burgerville in the Seattle suburbs, so I did not know what to expect.  They are brilliant! I ordered their Seasoned Turkey Burger.  It was awesome!!  Now, looking at their nutrition values, a small cheeseburger probably would have been better.  But, I was hungry, and I made what I felt was a good choice, and it tasted awesome! I will not get down on myself for this choice! 

3. On the way home on Sunday we stopped at a rest area and made sandwiches.  I had regular bread, instead of the thins.  My mom mixed up a salmon spread and I added to my bread another laughing cow wedge.  Tasted great!  I love the foods I have discovered over the years that I did not like as a kid, but now enjoy them so much!  My daughter was getting ansy, so I took her out to run around in the grass a bit!  I could have sat on a bench and just told her to run in circles, but what fun is that.  Her offer to play tag was just too good to pass up!  We ran around and played tag and I got some activity.  Probably not even a whole activity point, but it felt good! I love the way I can run after her now.

Here I am on Monday, feeling great about my decisions made while on the road this weekend.  I hope I can continue to make good decisions on my weekends, and make Monday less of a battle. 

Monday Madness

Welcome to my first true installment of Monday Madness!  This Monday is a special, post Halloween weekend Monday!  I would expect to be blogging about eating too much food and being 5lbs over goal, blah, blah, blah!  But, I am not!

Today, I am going to share with you a Monday Madness victory! I ate one single mini Snickers bar yesterday.  That was all!  I kept my hands out of the candy last night, and so far today have not touched a single candy jar! 

I did eat a good cheeseburger from Five Guys and some great pizza last night.  But, I also walked around with my daughter trick or treating.  I know I was not perfect this weekend, but as you know from my Monday Madness introduction, I tend to indulge a bit on the weekend. 

I decided to share with you my indulgence of the weekend, with the hopes of showing you it is okay to indulge!  My indulgence this weekend was some delicious green drinks my husband made up.  Bless his heart, he used Powerade Zero as part of the drink to make it a bit healthier!  I indulged and I loved it! I felt great this morning and did not have the feeling of a Monday morning weight gain hangover! 

What did you indulge in this weekend?