Stress eating

My latest battle seems to be with stress eating. To state the obvious: I am STRESSED. We are having issues with my daughter's schooling, I'm having issues with my mom, and we're still having big time financial issues...and all this added up means mama is seriously stressed out.

So I eat. Munch. Graze. Grabbing cookies here and there. Chips. Italian bread dipped in salad dressing. All things I could avoid if only I followed my number one rule: the battle is won in the grocery store. Stop buying junk food!!!

I have been doing much better getting my workouts done, but it isn't helping me deal with the stress as much as I'd hoped. Oh well...keeping it up anyway. Can't hurt, right?

The good news is that I'm only up a pound, not to my magic 'restart diet' number yet, so all is not lost! I just need to refocus on what food I keep around and remind myself why I'm doing this. Stressing out is just a given for me (it's kinda what I do) but how I deal with the stress needs to change.

Confession

I am newly addicted to cereal.

It's weird, I've never really been a big cereal eater before. I started eating Special K back at the beginning of my diet simply out of desperation for a calorie friendly snack or breakfast. Now eight months later, I'm eating it all the time! Either Special K vanilla almond or Special K cinnamon pecan...they are my new candy.

It has become my (almost nightly!) bedtime snack, my sometimes breakfast (although my egg white sandwich is still my go-to breakfast most days), and even my lunch occasionally. Sad thing is, there is little-to-no nutritional value to Special K cereal whatsoever. They aimed only for low-fat, low-cal and nothing much else. Dang.

I'm trying to remind myself that it's still better than eating that Little Debbie Christmas tree cake in the drawer, or popping dozens of m&m's in my mouth like I used to in the old days...and I suppose that's true. I just wish that little voice in my head would stop telling me it's still not as good as an apple, though. :)

What are your food addictions these days...or am I the only one who gets them?

Yuckiness

I am still in bed and it's almost noon. I just feel so yucky. For the past 3 weeks or so there have been germies floating around this house...first my husband, then my kid, then my husband again even worse, then my kid again even worse. I thought I was escaping the germy wrath but now...they are attacking ME!! NOOOO!

Oh, and just to make things a bit more interesting, I have the cramps today too. That is just not fair, am I right? The cramps should be forced to take the month off if my body is already in pain and feeling bad. Do they have no sympathy at all?!?

Worst of all though, I am the type of person who tends to snack a lot when I'm not feeling well. Oh, and I also snack a lot when I have PMS. So...I'm snacking. A LOT.

Last night after dinner (and I mean literally RIGHT after dinner...like two minutes after I finished) I felt famished. Like, that panic-y 'I have to eat right now' type of feeling. I'd just eaten a huge plate of cut up turkey dogs (no buns...I'm still holding onto SOME of my good habits), shells and cheese, and broccoli. Yes...I said shells and cheese. I'm hanging my head in shame, don't worry. Sad thing is, they weren't even that great, but I ate them up anyway and wished I could have more. Ugh.

Anyway, I end up eating a bowl of cereal like ten minutes after I finished dinner. Nice. Then later in bed, I had a mini-bag of Baked BBQ Lays. It's a darn good thing I didn't have a regular sized bag, cause I'd have eaten the whole thing.

The good news is that I'm pretty much back into the workout habit again. They aren't the hard-core workouts I used to do, but thankfully I'm moving in the right direction once again. Hopefully, I make it through the next 2-3 days without eating myself silly and we'll be back on track! :)

Now would someone please pass me the ice cream??

Grocery woes

Yesterday I spent a great deal of time at the grocery store, and let me tell you, I am really getting fed up with how expensive it is to eat healthy. The things like fresh fruit and veggies, whole wheat bread, and yogurt get to be so expensive when you have a very small grocery budget! I'm estimating around $25 of my weekly budget this week were to those things alone, which some of you might think is reasonable, but with a tiny budget that doesn't leave much for regular food, vitamins, toilet paper, laundry detergent, cleaning and beauty supplies, ect. We honestly rarely buy junk food these days (or even things like cheese, for goodness sakes) so you'd think my bill would be lower than back in those days, but it's actually higher (yet my budget is lower) and I'm looking for ways to cut back.

One thing I've come up with is to buy the generic coffee instead of my beloved Dunkin Donuts Hazelnut or Seattle's Best blend. It will save me around four dollars every two to three weeks (which, to be honest, isn't really worth it) but I've got to trim costs somehow! I'm even brewing one cup less everyday to try and squeeze a few more days out of each bag!

I'm also (probably) giving up my 100 calorie packs of cookies. They are my one sweet that I regularly allow myself but it is about three bucks a week for those. Maybe just buy them one week a month? You can guess which week...

What else?? Microwave meals. Yep, those add up quickly. I usually get them on sale for around two bucks each, but buying two or three for me and a couple for the kiddo gets expensive. I hate to give them up though, they honestly save me from fast food at lunchtime more times than I can count. Maybe I'll just go to one a week and see how it goes. If I turn to fast food, the money is better spent on those Lean Cuisines! :)

Let me ask this: What does everyone eat for lunch, besides turkey sandwiches or diet microwave meals? Those are my go-to lunches, and I really don't want to start eating lunchmeat six days a week! I don't really care for most soups (especially the low-fat, low-sodium type) so that is out...and I need things that would actually be cheaper than $2-$2.50 a meal, yet calorie friendly.

Any ideas?

Lastly, I know that it is way past time to give up the bottled water. I HATE this expense but we all drink so much more water when I buy it bottled and frankly, Hubby has been insisting on me buying it for a long while now. We've tried plain tap water and even a sink filter attachment before and we all hated it and everyone stopped drinking water altogether .

(Side note: Our water here is from Lake Erie and there are constantly these muscle things and algae blooms that get into the water supply and make it taste disgusting. Few people here drink tap water for this reason. Even my coffee gets funk-y.)

I think what I'll do to start is buy a big jug of generic water for two bucks (instead of the four to five bucks I spend for the Ice Mountain bottles) and see if everyone will still drink it and if Hubby will go along with it.

And now I'm out of ideas. Those changes won't add up to much...I need to think bigger! But what??

Wow. Long, rambling, boring post. Sorry, the grocery budget is totally on my mind today! :) Any cost cutting ideas out there for me? Please, share!!

Continued accountability

So, I've decided to continue to have a bit of accountability, I'm doing a once-a-month maintenance weigh-in. I'll try and remember to do it on the first of every month. That way, I have another reason not to slack too much! If I forget, do remind me, okay?

After shots

So....I finally have some decent 'after' shots for you...I'm still planning on toning up so hopefully this isn't the completely finished product, but this is where I am right now.

These were taken on Thanksgiving. Pre-pie. :)

The damage

Thanksgiving weekend is finally over...how did everyone do?

Confession: I was bad. And it wasn't the turkey, either!

Thanksgiving dinner actually wasn't too terrible, calorie wise. I ate a couple of thin slices of ham, some spanish rice, green been casserole, and a couple of rolls. Small-ish portions, no seconds. Easy-peasy! I was feeling good.

So I told myself to go ahead and get some pie. One piece wouldn't hurt! So I did. A nice sized piece of cherry pie, and just a tiny bit of pecan.

But oh. Oh, the pecan pie! It was absolutely heavenly. What have I been missing out on all these years?? So...I had to do it. I went back and got a big, fat slice of pecan pie. And it was good.

And I may have taken another slice home to eat the next day. Still good. I'm pretty sure my new obsession is pecan pie. Perhaps the most fattening of all the pies, too!

So then my poor kiddo came down with a fever on Saturday night and all day Sunday (today too, although she seems a bit perkier finally) and we had to cancel a big day of fun plans on Sunday. She was so bummed out that hubby went to get her a treat for breakfast to cheer her up...donuts. Not just ANY donuts either...Krispy Kreme. A whole box. YUM.

And I didn't have one!!!

Nope, I had two.

Sigh.

Lunch was her choice again, to cheer her up. She choose BBQ chicken pizza and a steak sub. And again...it was GOOD. :)

Since my day was already toast, I may have eaten the better part of a bag of chips last night, too. Maybe. And then this morning? I got through half of a Krispy Kreme before I finally handed the rest to my daughter to save me from myself. A downward spiral, indeed.

The good news is that my weight this morning is still on track. How, I have NO idea! Perhaps it'll be a delayed gain? Well anyway, I'm all dressed in workout clothes and planning to hit the treadmill soon. Lunch and dinner are all planned out and they are reasonable. I desperately need some healthy food provisions soon so as soon as the kiddo is feeling up to it, we are off to the grocery store!

Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend and holiday!

Shopping isn't always that fun

Know what I really hate doing? Trying on bras. I HATE it. No size seems to fit me. I've measured myself, tried different variations of number and cup sizes, and they are just all BLAH. Too tight or loose, swimming in the cup or spilling out of them, creating back bulges or cutting into my shoulders. Argh.

I don't think any men read this blog, but just in case let me warn you to STOP READING NOW!

Okay, just between us ladies...I lost my boobs. No, they didn't just disappear and they aren't sagging down to my waist or anything like that, but I lost about 2 to 2 1/2 cup sizes and so my boobs are looking a bit, well, deflated. Sigh. Nothing I can do about it short of surgery, so onward I go...searching for some uplifting support!

Although it is a tad big in the cup area I did manage to find one that will do, but not until after much drama and a couple of torturous hours in the dressing rooms of both Kohl's and JCPenney. Hopefully I am DONE bra shopping for the next year or so!

So...I think I'm done replacing what I can't fit now. Found my jeans, found my bra, found a winter coat. Finally done shopping and now I can focus on working out again (ahem) so I can continue to fit said bra, jeans, and coat! :)

In a pit

Sorry for another extended absence. I am DEEP in the depths of a down cycle...most likely tied to my monthly cycle, I hope. I am struggling to just get through the day right now, all things diet related have been cast aside. No exercise (even though it would probably help...ugh) and eating crazy. CRAZY. Weighed in a day or two ago though, miraculously I am still holding steady. Don't know how (my metabolism must still have a bit of omph in it) but I'll soooo take it.

Hopefully I'll bounce back in a few days when 'it' finally comes. I'll be back. :)

Fresh starts and desceptive jeans

Hey there! It's been a little while since I've checked in around here...so sorry. Last week was a doozy of a busy week around our house.

I wish I could come and say how amazingly awesome I was doing, watching my calories and getting tons of exercise, but I SO can't. I've been eating AWFUL (we were busy last week, remember? That equals me not cooking and ordering too much pizza, sadly!) and I didn't work out ONE time last week! Yikes.

The good news is that my weight is miraculously holding steady...PHEW. I know that it won't hold firm for long though, so I stocked up the fridge and I'm ready to crack down again starting tomorrow.

Oh, and here is something fun for you. I've been trying jeans on for weeks. Literally weeks. Maybe months. I have always been a hard person to find jeans for. My hips and hiney are MUCH bigger than my waist so the waist is always too big. Always. It is so frustrating. Oh, and I'm short so I have to have petite sizing.

ANYWAY, today I tried Old Navy for jeans for the first time (ever, I think) and I discovered something very fun there...they totally have vanity sizing! Seriously, if you're having a down day head to the Old Navy, grab the size you usually wear and the next size down and I betcha you can wear the smaller size. FUN!

Here's to a fresh week, a fresh month, and a fresh start!!