Just another Manic Monday...

Monday
Breakfast
Maple and Brown Sugar Oatmeal
coffee
Lunch
Salad w/ romaine, tomatoes, avocado, feta, cukes, craisins w/ Balsamic/Safflower Olive Oil and mustard dressing.
Dinner
Defrosted some honey mustard chicken cutlets, roasted brussels and couscous ( A real dinner!)
( I took a cool pic on my phone but it wont work)

Exercise
50 minutes on the Elliptical! - Thats right I have reached new heights! I know that it is normal to go on for an hour but Friends was over and I just needed to get out of there. Also the longest I have ever stayed on before is 35 minutes. From now on I will try and stay on for an hour!

Also I weighed myself  and I seem to be stuck at 153.5... As I started at 157-ish I know thats something but 2 months later I don't think thats enough! Help I am in a rut!

I am Gettign SICK

Its never good when you feel that itch in the back of your throat for an entire day. That was yesterday ... today I feel it everywhere. In addition to Pilates soreness there is sicky soreness so getting out of bed was super difficult.

Yesterday was a fail on exercising after working until 7pm ( I know so many people work that late but I don't usually and I get home late enough as it is.So no gym for me )

Breakfast
Coffee/Blueberry muffin from Costco (these are delicious and FULL of calories.. if I eat one of these I usually don't eat again until a late lunch.)
Lunch
Salad- romaine, avocado, tomatoes, feta, craisins
Too Many Snacks- there were too many baked goods going around my office yesterday i tasted cheese danishes, cookies, cake etc.
Dinner
Sauteed eggplant, broccoli and brussel sprouts w/ Tofu (sauteed in onions, garlic, and hoisen sauce)

Healthy and super delicious. Unsure if anyone out there watches The Walking Dead on AMC but its great but possibly not the best option of show to watch during dinner time ...

Must get vitamins now.

9 degrees

Is what it feels like outside.. which makes it mighty hard to go to the gym but I am 2 for 2 on going this week and plan on going again tonight!

Tuesday 
Maple and Brown Sugar Oatmeal
Coffee
2 Slices of homemade pizza (Trader Joes whole wheat crust w/ homemade pizza sauce (crushed tomatoes, EVOO, Italian Seasoning) and tonsss of cheese)
leftover french fries (blech)
After work I went to Pilates on the UWS with Jilliana.. it was Awesome and now I am super sore which is wonderful!
Dinner was
Onions, broccoli, brussel sprouts, and chicken all saute'ed with hoisen garlic sauce.
Snack of Cinnamon Magic Tea and Australian Licorice.

I have had cinnamon magic tea forever and never saw the allure. I am usually a fruity or chai person and this Cinnamon was a good after food tea, not too strong! And of course the Darrell Lea's Australian licorice is the best fully loaded with carbs snack around.

Free Lunch makes for no diet lunch

On Monday we had a lunch out in my department. The day started off normally/fatningly with a HUGE Costco blueberry muffin and coffee. Then Colbeh was the venue of choice so while my coworkers ate chicken or fish I went all out with an Eggplant braised veal stew with rice. Then the waiter threw in a traditional stew made of greens, braised beef, and kidney beans over crispy rice. A bit heavy for lunch I think.. especially with the Alfasi Cabernet Sauvignon, and chocolate pyramid cake with coffee cream center for dessert.

We rolled back to work and then after work I braved the Alaskan outdoors to go to the gym! On a Monday!
35 minute weight loss on elliptical. It then took me two hours to get home and by the time I got home and settled on the couch all I wanted was soup. Good thing I had potato, leek, broccoli soup made from Sunday night!

Had two bowls of this while watching the 6 part documentary of Making of Twilight: Eclipse. I know I am a nerd and I embrace it.

Baby Its Cold Outside

New York has finally gotten winter... I m trying my hardest by going to the gym but it is just not so easy with family obligations (Yay for new nephew!) and the frigid temps outside.

Tuesday was

Breakfast
Gingerbread latte from Dunkin Doughnuts
Trader Joes Apricot Mango yogurt
Lunch
Spinach salad w/red pepper, feta, avocado, craisins, purple cabbage and Good Seasons dressing
Roasted brussel sprouts
cherry coke zero!
Dinner
Nachos made of chips, cheddar cheese, salsa, and some sour cream
a bit of Ben and Jerry's ice cream (not good flavor -Boston Cream Pie- so I stopped)

Last night was so cold it was so hard for me to go to the gym but I powered on! I must bring sweatpants to wear over my workout pants for sure.
I went on the elliptical at the gym and forgot my headphones so I had to try and read while on the elliptical but it was fine because I did my 40 minutes!

Friday Already!

This week has flown!

Wednesday night was a very good Yoga from which my legs are pretty sore :(

Thursday was:
Breakfast-
Coffee and Banana
Lunch -
Sweet Potato Latkes w/ light sour cream( made on wed night!)

Dinner-
Salad w/lettuce, tomatoes, cukes, pickles, corn, craisins, and avocado ( i know a bit random but I need fun things in there!)
Roasted Brussel sprouts
a little Ben and Jerry s cinnamon Buns ice cream

Gym-

I had a little free personal trainer snippet last night with Phraiser at Crunch on UWS. It was great he was a bit talky but thats good for me ( as long as he isn't tooooo talky!) I ellipticalled for 5 minutes. Then he stretched me ( best part!) and then we boxed! It was so fun and by the end I couldn't breathe it was great and now I am super sore!

Happy Chanukah!

Back Again

I just might win the award for worst blogger. I don't know my theme here or have any consistency at all. So hopefully this will be better from here on out.

I was in Israel for Thanksgiving for a good friends wedding and a visit with some family. It was awesome but in true vacation fashion I didn't exercise at all and ate a lot.
 Here is an example: French Onion Soup in a bread-bowl

 Delicious! Except in Israel it wasn't Mozarella inside it was Parmesan.. I am not sure how I feel about that but it was good nonetheless. And go me for not actually consuming the bread-bowl. Only eating the smushy inside!

We got back Monday Morning so there was no good eating or exercising that day.
But Tuesday was great!

Coffee
Lunch- Pasta with butter and sauteed sweet potatoes with garlic
Pilates class!
Dinner- Chicken with sauteed vegetables (broccoli, carrots, onion, mushrooms)

I cooked the chicken alone with spices, EVOO, and garlic, then took it out and transferred in my little bag of frozen veggies to cook with some terriyaki sauce.

Not the best meal ever but I think it was healthy and homemade!

Doing OK!

I havent been super awesome on the eating front ( I still try and eat healthy but don't cut out cookies, chocolate like I should)
But last night i did 35 minutes on the elliptical!! The whole cardio program on the one at the gym! I am really proud of myself!!

Bad Blogger!

I am not so good at this blogging thing but anyways... The weekend consisted of more trying to be healthy but not entirely succeeding. At this point the only way I have enough energy to get through Sunday is drinking coffee periodically throughout the day. Normal?

Even Saturday night I got an iced coffee (with nachos and cheese dipped into sour cream and salsa (EEK)
Sunday was
Starbucks Latte in the morning
Spicy Salmon Crunchy roll
Salmon/Avocado Roll
(some bites of eggplant pizza)
Regular Coffee at around 2:30pm
Shabbat leftovers (Chicken, cauliflower, cranberry crunch)

Yesterday was a wonderful day though because I got to eat Carlos and Gabby's my favorite not healthy dinner (Kansas City Steak Soup and Buffalo Wings) I also have a half a chili burrito for dinner tonight (YUMMM)

I love that food even though its sooo bad for me!
Yesterday the rest of the day was Coffee, pesto chicken strips and Quinoa Salad (Avocado, tomato, cukes) for lunch.

Today was
Coffee
Nature Valley Bar (green one)
Salad w/ Chicken, cukes, tomatoes, peppers, avocado, w Balsamic Vinegar, EVOO, and mustard dressing!

Tonight I must go to Pilates for some core exersizing.. but I just don't want to!

Reuniting with Trader Joes and My Apartment!

For the past couple of weeks in an effort to save money, we have spent several nights at my In Laws.. this is very nice on their part to let us crash but usually it is much easier to have a routine of exercising and eating healthy when I sleep at home.

Case in point Sunday was spent lounging around the house and eating leftovers when maybe if I had been home I would have made a salad... But I can't go around blaming things on my inability to make a salad in someone else's house. All I know is that when I am on my routine of going home I do things like make extremely healthy dinners and go to the gym. For example yesterday I ate:

Lunch
2 Garden Burgers on Arnold Sandwich thins w/melted Mozzarella and sliced tomato and Avocado
Dinner 
Garlic Chili Tilapia from TJ's - broiled when I got home (from the Gym!)
Salad w/feta, avocado, tomatoes, cukes, sweet little peppers, EVOO & Mrs. Dash
TJ's Bake at Home Ficelle French Bread- popped in the oven at 375 for 10 minutes and it was heaven.. I know I try to stay away from bread but because it is from TJ's I think its ok... I know.. so not.
Pumpkin ice cream (I know disaster but its in season now so I cant say no!)

And last night I went to a Pilates Mat class at the gym.. I thought I would be ok as I am slowly getting into better shape.. but alas I almost died. Had to keep stopping because my muscles were sooooo out of shape that they just wouldn't stop shaking... I for sure thought I would leave early but I stuck it out! So proud!

Now my abs are super sore which should bode well for my next personal trainer meeting!

Personal Training

Last night I had my first "Kick Off" with my personal trainer at Crunch. I get 2 for free as part of my membership so last night's introductory meeting was a why not kinda situation..

I met with the man and we talked about :
my goals
my lack of flexibility
my lack of exercise for the past lifetime
my lack of motivation to spend hundreds of dollars a month to hire him so he can essentially force me to work out whether I want to or not...
Basically he was very clear that Yoga is not going to make me lose the weight and become in the top physical form that I was clearly destined to be in and that I need something forcing me to push myself physically!
I said that in a perfect world with tons of money maybe that would work but alas we are not in that world sooo I want my free trial and please stop pushing the sales pitch!

So that sucked but at least he stretched out my super sore butt and I get to meet with him for REAL next week and maybe I will see what all the fuss about trainers really is!

Yesterday was an ok eating day:
Breakfast- Coffee
Lunch- Waffle with strawberries and whipped cream!
Snack- Quinoa w/Butternut Squash
Dinner- Same salad with leftover meat inside as previous day this week!

So I think that even though technically I weigh 158 pounds (EEK)
BUT on my own scale at home at least I have lost 5 pounds!

Ha. Maybe I will fit in some yoga today :)

A Nightly Recap!

Today was a great day of leftovers from Shabbat :)

Breakfast- Coffee & Banana
Lunch- Some Quinoa Salad (avocado, tomato, and cucumber w/lemon juice, salt & pepper) asparagus, and a small portion of Scalloped Potatoes (A fantastic kosher recipe is in Kosher by Design for Entertainers- aka the pink one)
Dinner- A salad with lettue, tomato, avocado, cukes, pepper, cut up pieces of leftover french roast from Shabbat with a thrown together dressing of Apple Cider vinegar, EVOO, Garlic Salt, Pepper, and Sugar... along with 2 bowls of Chicken soup with Matza Balls!

Also my gym membership is paying off!
Went to Buff Yoga @ Crunch Gym tonight- Faster paced yoga with weights to make you really sore and sweaty! I will most probably not be able to move tomorrow but its worth it!

The weekend was filled with lots of eating out (too many Starbucks lattes) so I am happy to be eating some more homemade meals this week!

Weekends Dont Count!

It was my birthday over the weekend (yay me.) so I was allowed to eat whatever I wanted yesterday! I went to a wonderful lunch at Cafe Muskat in Queens consisting of:
French Onion Soup
Iced Coffee
Salad w/Haloumi cheese, sweet potatoes, eggplant walnuts (blech) and normal stuff
Caramel cake for Dessert! - Don't worry I only ate 2 bites of the cake with a little ice cream!

Also I couldn't finish the salad so I ate the leftovers today for lunch!

Dinner was splitting 3 delicious sushi rolls from my favorite sushi place Sushi Metsuyan (Queens, NY)

So I guess I didn't really eat soo much yesterday....Going out to dinner again tonight though! Cant Wait!

Wednesday and Thursday (Clearly forgot to post yesterday)

Wednesday
Breakfast
Coffee/Banana
Lunch
Sweet Potato Soup w/ 2 slices of Trader Joes Bread
latte @ Starbucks - LOVE but can only get sparingly as I am a) POOR b) they give you nothing for $5!
Dinner
Chips and Salsa, White cheddar Puffs, and some cake at a Bacholorette Party

Clearly a horribly unhealthy dinner but I was so busy that I had no time!

Thursday
Breakfast
Coffee/Banana
Lunch
2 Avocado/Pickle Sandwiches on Trader Joes Honey Oat Bread (I love this old school sandwich)
Dinner
Salad with lettuce, cucumbers, avocado, orange pepper, craisins, feta cheese with a random dressing i threw together (Balsamic Vinegar, Apple Cider Vinegar, mayonnaise, ketchup, EVOO- now that I look at the ingredients I am like ICK! but whatever it was good and I knew I had to keep it light after a sandwich lunch!)

Exercise
Virgin Yoga at Crunch on UWS - I tried this class out as I have decided to go back to basics in Yoga because I didn't feel I was getting the most out of my time in class aka focus more on basic moves, phrases, and breathing. It was a great class and I will definitely go again!

Tuesday

Tuesday was another succesful day!

Breakfast

Coffee

Banana

Lunch

Salad w/ romaine lettuce, feta, avocado, tomatos, cukes with some EVOO and Mrs. Dash and 2 pieces of Trader Joe's Honey Grain Bread toasted with smashed avocado on top... ( I get super hungry if I just eat my little salad so its better to eat this then a chocolate bar at 3 pm)

Dinner

Salad with pickles, tomatoes, avocado, cukes, lettuce all chopped w/ lemon juice, EVOO, and Mrs. Dash

Leftover Eggplant Parm (only 2 pieces of eggplant)

And then I made a Sweet potato soup from scratch.. Super easy and its really good!

I was so proud I even took a picture!

Here is my made up recipe:

4 HUGE Sweet potatoes 

1 big onion- chopped

I threw 3 potatoes and the onion into the pot and cooked until soft

I experimented and roasted the other potato with cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, pepper and EVOO to see which cooked faster and the pot won.. so I just threw this experiment pan into the pot also and waited until everything was soft.

Chicken Stock- I cooked a small pot of water and put in chicken soup mix bc I didn't have stock on hand.

Immersion-ed everything together and added water to make it less thick... 

Delicious! 

Exercise-

I went to the gym last night. Crunch gym had a Groupon that I purchased back in May and haven't gotten around to using. Last night I tried out Hot Yoga for the first time. I love yoga normally and I think I will stick with that for now because the Heat just makes it harder and more dehydrating...maybe I will get there in the future. But I am pretty sore right now so YAY!

Monday!

I am proud of myself for Monday.. this is why

Breakfast
Coffee- with Peppermint Mocha coffeemate  creamer
Banana
Lunch
Salad with Sesame encrusted tuna (I made it myself from the recipe from Quick and Kosher - next time I will use my grill pan)
Dinner
Eggplant Parmesan
Cauliflower roasted with some seasoned salt and pepper and EVOO
Mini chopped salad consisting of  cucumbers, tomatoes, mini sweet pepper, pickles, avocado, lettuce with lemon juice, EVOO, and Garlic Salt and Pepper.
I was so excited about my dinner I even took a picture!

 And then I had Edy's Pumpkin ice cream with some whipped cream for dessert!

Exercise- 1.5 miles on the bike... I have to get myself back into shape slowly.. it literally felt like my heart was pounding out of my chest.. shameful!

I'm Back!

Ok ... it has been too long..tooo much eating..not enough exersizing (or blogging) so in an effort to ease myself back onto my diet:

Tuesday, September 27, 2010
Breakfast
Coffee
Lunch
Chicken/Turkey Burgers (2)- a mix of ground turkey and ground chicken and tons of spices grilled on a real live grill!
On Arnolds Sandwich Thins (100 calorie buns!)
with Avocado and Tomato (YUM)
Dinner
Corned Beef, 1 chicken wing, 1/2 a small potato kugel, runny chip (a delightful chocolate chip cookie cake that is all melty chocolate in the middle) - This is why I haven't been on my blog diet since the holidays started! There are so many food options that I end up eating the equivalent of 5 different dinners!

From now on I am going to simplify my eating so that  I am not eating 2 mains and 3 sides every single meal!

Its almost a month!

So today I will post a picture of myself for tracking purposes. Granted it is (from a blackberry so not good quality) and from a Lord and Taylor fitting room in a SUPERCUTE dress that I found and wanted ever so badly .. but alas there is no need to buy summer clothes anymore :(

That is part of my "shopping diet" - do not buy things that I dont need right now or ever. Anyways this dress is a size 10. I would ideally want to be on the side of 6-8 so onward with the diet...

Monday August 30, 2010 I ate:
Trader Joes Peach Yogurt
Coffee
Lunch was:
Trader Joes multigrain crackers dipped in my homemade Babaganoush, and then some more crackers  with some really good cheese. Unsure if I mentioned it before but it is called Boursin cheese in garlic and herb flavor. It is a random soft cheese that is delicious and KOSHER! I got this at Fairway but I have heard they sell it at Costco as well.

At around 5 oclock when I left work and began my afternoon errands I started getting shaky.. this happens when I dont eat humongous filling lunches, so i got a Snickers bar to hold me. I know, not good for diet at all but unless i wanted to pass out on the F to Queens I had to do something to keep the blood sugar up. So yummy snickers it was!

I took my brother grocery shopping at Arons in Queens on Kissena Blvd. (Highly recomended this place it is the Queens version of Pomegranite!) we perused cheeses, fruits, veggies, meats and the like while listening to Heimish music. Fantastic.

So dinner was a takeout sushi roll called "The Storm" I didnt even look what was inside it was covered in spicy mayo and eel sauce so I grabbed! Blech- I dont like water chestnuts or carrots in sushi so gross.. but whatever 4 huge pieces in I was satiated so I stole 2 of Hubbos Tuna Tempura roll and I was good to go.

Later snack of a dinosaur plum completed my random day of eating..

Random I know but I think I noticed a difference in how clothes are fitting these days.. a bit less flab rolling over the sides of pants/skirts and if thats not a great achievement than I don't know what is!

BABAGANOUSH

So yesterday was a normal day foodwise not cheap but definately healthy!
Breakfast
Splurged on an ice coffee in the morning- splurging for me is $2 from the awesome cafe on the corner.. Starbucks was cut out a long time ago :(
Banana
Lunch
Went out with friends at NY Lunchbox and got 2 sushi rolls - Spicy salmon avocado and tuna avocado.. I highly recomend their sushi rolls bc they are huge and filling (8 pieces per roll) and 9 bucks for 2! Cheap in the kosher world!
Dinner
After a random trip where we stumbled upon Fairway in Paramus (where I stocked up on Australian licorice and organic treats) I came home and made fajitas.
I had never made these before and kind of winged it. Sauteed sliced onion and yellow and orange pepper added strips of pepper steak, chili powder, paprika, and salt/pepper. Chopped up some tomatoes and red onion and wrapped it all in these soft tacos (Fairway). Delicious .. my only regret was not having the energy to wash the bigger frying pan to make more.. next time.

I realized that it was Thursday night and I needed to cook for Shabbat.. so in the theme of cheap and healthy I made my own Babaganoush!! I know it is soo easy and I am honestly embarrased I haven't done it before. I first learnt it was possible when I was in Israel and my "free bird" sister in law made it right in front of me..

So last night I did it and it looks delicious (at least imo):

1 lg eggplant (cut in half and cook on 400 for 45minutes to an hour aka one episode of Dexter :)

2-3 cloves garlic

2 Tbsp lemon juice

2 Tbsp Tahini (crushed sesame seeds purchased in Israeli food section)

salt/pepper to taste

EVOO

I roasted the eggplant then scooped out the inside and threw it in a bowl (you can also food processor this but I am not into cleaning the huge contraption). So immersion blended it was! Added all ingredients except the EVOO. Mix it all up and drizzle EVOO in until desired thickness/taste etc.

Voile! ( I think thats how you spell it)

I also made a fantastic beef barley soup this morning before work but I will post soon!

Also this is my first pic on the blog woop woop!

Chili with a baked potato YUM!

Also at Trader Joes i picked up 2 artichokes at $0.69 each so i cooked those alongside a new chili experiment. I picked up a chili cookbook at Marshalls recently for $3.99 and have so far tried out two.

Yesterdays was simple enough

1 chopped yellow onion
1 lb ground turkey
1 28 oz can diced tomatos
1 can black beans
1 can red kidney beans
1 Tbsp cumin ( I only did 1/2 Tbsp and that was too much for me)
1 Tbsp chili powder

I think that was it .. pretty basic: Just saute onions, add turkey, break apart. Then add cumin and chili powder once turkey is no longer pink. Add cans and cook for 10 minutes or longer.

I threw it on a baked potato and yummo dinner!
I tried this recipe but didnt like it as much as the traditional recipe without cumin. I think I'll try a new one next time.

Also I went on the bike last night for the first time in over a week! Last week was just too tiring.. I was healthy and watched what i ate but too tired to do much else.. So 2 miles yesterday... I think I can even go longer next time.. which will either be tonight or thursday night!

Good Luck to me!

Trader Joes

Woa I cant beleive it has been a week since I posted.. Pretty shameful.. anyways I am back on the bandwagon after a night of watching Food Inc. Highly recomended to inspire anyone to watch what they eat!

So last night i went to Trader Joes to stock up on some organics and honestly their prices are not so bad. When buying organic you have to expect to spend a bit more but honestly a couple of cents more wont kill anyone, especially when their prices arent bad to begin with. And they have a wonderful kosher selection also.
So here is what I got for any interested:

3 organic romaine hearts- $2.79 (cheaper than 3 non organic in other stores)
yogurts - 79cents (tons of flavors and not made with cows treated with rBST)
multigrain crackers- $1.99
pita crackers - $2.49
Red pepper spread - Delicious and only $1.99 for a pretty nice sized container
Avocados- 4 for $2.99!
Regional cucumber - $0.79
Organic bananas- $0.29 each.. kind of pricey for me but i did it
Cranberry harvest rolls - $2.79

So go to your local Trader Joes because its worth it!

Lazy Days...

Just a quick post of yesterday...  I have discovered a new snack which is not good becuase my diet consists of meals only.. but this is healthy (maybe..) so allowed! It is Australian licorice- originally discovered from my friends who just got back from Australia but easily sold/accesible at Fairway @ 2.49 a bag!

Monday August 16, 2010

Breakfast
Banana/coffee
Yogurt
Lunch
Quinoa salad w/tomatos/avocado/cucumber (lemon juice/salt/pepper dressing)
Dinner
Sushi Metsuyan- Kawasaki Roll (Yummmm) and 3/4 of Noodles w/sauteed veggies - so delish and usually I stay away from carbs but I was starving and my budget does not allow for more than 1 sushi roll per person.
Late night snack - Australian Licorice in Strawberry flavor (super super delicious .. tastes like a big fruit snack!)

Thats it!

-Jessica

Monday will be a new start!

Oh man...
Yesterday started wonderfully... I was all ready to be healthy and fit.. and then my second night in a row of Carlos and Gabbys got to me.. I gave up and 3 vodka brownies later I was off the wagon.

To recap:

Wednesday
Breakfast
Yogurt/banana/coffee
Lunch
Gross salad w/feta and grilled veggies
Snack- only because I had to throw away part of my soggy salad and was still starving!
Medium Berrywild frozen yogurt -1/2 plain 1/2 coffee
Dinner
Carlos and Gabbys (yum! but not good for diet)- 2 chicken zingers w/buffalo wing sauce and 1/2 a plate of nachos w/chili, guacamole, olives, corn, jalapeno sauce and many other delicious toppings!

This may seem horrible but just over a month ago i was eating at Carlos and Gabbys WEEKLY and sometimes not even once a week but 2 TIMES A WEEK!! So I view this week as a small failure because I went on Wednesday night (obtaining a free order of Buffalo fingers for later use) not knowing that I would be eating C&G's again on Thursday!

Which brings us to...
Thursday
Breakfast
Yogurt/banana/coffee
Lunch
Terriyaki chicken salad w/balsamic vinegarette (!) Such a good dressing recipe involving Balsamic vinegar, mayo, ketchup, mustard, EVOO and italian seasoning...
Dinner
More  C&G zingers and BBQ chicken salad..
Fail
3 VODKA brownies w/icing and sprinkles
I even took a chocolate chip cookie to snack on but then put it down because that is just NOT OK!

Friday
Breakfast
1/2 banana, vanilla yogurt, granola/coffee
Lunch
5 Honey BBQ chicken zingers dipped in avocado sauce ( FREE and sitting in my fridge too easy to say no to!)
Dinner
Promises to be an epic fail but hopefully I can pull through with no carbs and some protein and veggies.

Unsure if anyone noticed but this week was a bad week on the exersize front.. there were no bike rides only social obligations and tv, food, and sleep. So Monday will be a new fresh start!

Shabbat Shalom to all!

-Jessica

Back in the Game

Wow weekends are failures. This weekend was particularly brutal as we were away for Shabbat and then in Chicago Sunday/Monday for a wedding.. So there was no excersize except for dancing at the wedding ( I would not normally count that but we are desperate here)
So to recap:

Friday, August 6,2010
Breakfast
banana/coffee
Lunch
1 leftover slice of homemade whole wheat pizza
5 honey wheat pretzels dipped into green olive dip
Snack :(
baskin robbins soft serve ice cream
Dinner
carrot soup, Amazing Honey garlic chicken, Cauliflower popcorn, potato kugel, cake/lemon square
(and this was not eating everything offered... hence how Shabbat is horrible for diets!)

Shabbat/Sunday- I am skipping as the amount of food consumed is unnaceptable.. and that is even with cutting back significantly..

Monday-
Breakfast
Banana
no lunch just snacked on some Snyders of Hanover pretzel cheese sandwhichy things
Dinner @4 pm
1/2 a caesar salad w/ 1/4 baked ziti (shared)
Snack @ 10:30 pm
honey bunches of oats cereal w/milk

Tuesday-
Breakfast
Banana/Coffee
cottage cheese double with peaches
Lunch
Tuna melt wrap w/tomatos from Books and Bagels
Dinner
1 slice of pizza and a diet lemon snapple (I didnt actively do this but I was at a meeting and the food was provided for us)

soo slowly but surely I am getting back in there! I wish myself energy to get on the bike tonight!

-Jessica

Day 2

I am still trying to work out how i will be organizing this blog.. as i really list what I did the day before .. but oh well for now:

Thursday, August 5, 2010
Breakfast:
Banana and Coffee
Lunch:
Same grilled veggies salad w/feta, EVOO, Mrs. Dash
Dinner:
Whole Wheat Pizza w/homemade tomato sauce (aka can of crushed tomatoes, EVOO, italian seasoning), fresh mozarella (combined w/ regular pizza cheese also for hubs),tomatoes, and dried basil - As part of my "money diet" going out for fresh herbs etc is not entirely prudent so dried will have to do for now!
I found the recipe on http://www.eatingwell.com/ and loved browsing the site for more healthy, useful tips!

Excersize:
This blog is working because last night when I got home (after walking 13 blocks to the dentist and being told i have 3 cavities..) I DID NOT want to go on my bike.. but then what would my blog followers say??
so..
1.5 miles on the bike ( I know its not as much as my goal but I was so tired I am just proud of myself!)

Going into the weekend is difficult because on Shabbat (I am Orthodox Jewish) whether i go to friends or family all people do is make fatning food!! Challah, Kugels, meats, and way too many desserts for someone on a diet ... Hopefully this blog motivation will help me say no!

So wish me luck, Have a good weekend, and Shabbat Shalom!

-Jessica

Hello World

Hello Unknown Blogger World!

I have been stalking blogs (fashion, baby, food etc.) for awhile now and have always wanted to start my own. I wrote clothes blogs in my head and thought i'll start that soon..but alas i did not!

I am a shopoholic (trying to recover) and I am not obese, extremely overweight, or any of those labels (at least imo) but I recently discovered that while i looked at these fashion blogs,catalogs, women in the street I always thought  I would love that  ..  if it only looked on me the way it looks on her... and now because of these feelings i have been working with i decided it is time for a  REAL DIET!

 I recently started what i call my "healthy diet" and i will catalog it here (food and excersize logs) along with my weekly weigh in.. along with any other things i may feel like sharing (a bit of traveling, fashion, my unbelievable deals! etc.) The goal here is to lose weight (and not shop!) I will look good in my clothing that i own and not feel the need to buy something new that just makes me feel attractive while all of my old and "must have at the time" clothes sit forlornly in my closet waiting for that day when i will be comfortable in them again.

I am 5"3 and a half and as of today weight 160lbs ( I know!!) My goal is to lose at least 20 lbs. and look and feel good.  In my past at 125lbs I was a STICK so I dont care to go there (but if it happens i wont complain :)

So here we go:

Wednesday, August 4:
Breakfast:
Banana and coffee (starbucks pike place roast w/fat free vanilla creamer)
Lunch:
Salad consisting of: romaine lettuce, tomatos, cukes, roasted veggies (peppers, zuchini, yellow squash and portabello mushrooms) and feta cheese drizzled with EVOO and Mrs. Dash original seasoning (my go to healthy dressing)
Dinner:
Flounder- cooked with a little butter, lemon juice, dried basil, tomatos and salt and pepper
Mashed idaho potatos -w/garlic powder, butter, s/p (I know! i will try to be better )
and dark cherries as dessert

Excersize:
2 miles on my new awesome bike- http://www.amazon.com/Stamina-1300-Magnetic-Resistance-Upright/dp/B001ICNNOY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=sporting-goods&qid=1281037987&sr=8-1
100 stomach crunches (I havent done these in years but i MUST try and tone myself i am a flabball! I will post a picture of myself tonight as my Before  picture.

But that is it for now..

Wish me luck!

--Jessica