A typical day.

i was asked the question about what my typical day's menu looks like... i thought it would be best to share in a blog post then in the comment section of a post... :)

tim and i go shopping every other week. we make our grocery list the day before we go based on dinner ideas from our dinner planning notebook. we have decided on a few staple meals that we both agree and pick about five from the 10-12 we have chosen as "favorites" or "quick and easy" for the week. we usually eat leftovers throughout the week too which explains why we only need to go shopping every other week...

dinner can vary from being healthy to not so much. i've had to compromise with tim since he can't eat salads every night like i can. but on nights when dinners are not the healthiest... i just eat a smaller portion size.

Daily Menu
Breakfast: (250-300 calories)- 8:00 am

• Coffee with cream and sugar w/ grapefruit
• Coffee with cream and sugar w/ waffle and peanut butter
• Coffee with cream and sugar w/ bowl of favorite healthy cereal
• Coffee with cream and sugar w/ cereal bar

Snack: (80-150 calories)- 10:30 am

• Fiber One Cereal Bar
• Nutrigrain Cereal Bar
• Cheese stick
• Banana
• Popcorn

Lunch: (300-400 calories)- 12:00 pm

• pb and j waffle sandwich with side of carrots
• tuna fish sandwich on a bagel thin with wheat thin crackers
• turkey sandwich on an engish muffin with popcorn and fruit
• veggie wrap with baked chips
• peanut butter on wheat toast with a cheese stick or glass of milk

Snack: (80-140 calories)-3:00pm

• coffee with cream and sugar
• popcorn
• wheat thins with cheese
• cereal bar
• carrots with hummus
• small latte with skim milk

Dinner: (350-500 calories)

• shellless fajitas
• wheat pasta with red sauce and salad with homemade dressing
• pork tenderloin with baked sweet potato fries
• grilled chicken salad with tomato and avocados
• chicken and veggie stirfry

Dessert: 100-200 calories

• 2 oreos and a half a cup of milk
• 2 cookies of any type with milk
• hot chocolate made with milk (not water)
• canned fruit
• apple sauce

This menu varies especially when i find something new i like and want to shake up my meals a little bit. these are just a few of my favorites to go to during the day.  i find it easier to have meals that i know exactly how many calories i am eating so as to not overeat. and when new foods are introduced, i just take the extra time to figure out exactly how many calories are in the meal.

counting calories has always been the easiest way for me to lose weight. it is basic science to me. but i am sure these menu items can be easily translated to the point system on weight watchers.

Marci, great question and thank you for asking!!

Weigh In Wednesday

the new number is 178.2... that is a 1.6 pound loss. for a grand total of 14.8 pounds in four weeks! i'll take it!!

next weigh in: Wednesday, February 6th.

How did you do this week??

a tuna recipe.

those who have been reading my blog for a while know that i am a "BIG" fan of tuna fish from a can. tuna fish is my "go to" on most days. i either make it on toast... or a bagel thin... a salad... or a most recent addition has been the english muffin. 

a favorite blog i have been following since september had a new way to prepare tuna and it intrigued me so much that i had to know the recipe. she was kind of enough to actually write up the recipe in one of her blog posts!

i put the three ingredients on my grocery list and was excited to try this new tuna creation... Cucumber Tuna Cups!!

tuna is pretty awesome, but i was probably the MOST excited about the cheese... the packaging of the cheese was adorable... my own personal wrapped cheese wedge (although it took me forever to unwrap it... little pieces of foil were all over my counter...i'll have to work on the unwrapping part.)

these tuna cups were great! i added a little hot sauce to mine to give it a little kick! oh. and silly me. i read the recipe wrong and added a WHOLE can of tuna ( I just can't get enough of that stuff). 

What's the difference between a fish and a piano?

You can't tuna fish!.... hehehehe.

Weekly Calorie Intake

i thought i would post my calorie graph every sunday to hold me a little accountable throughout the week. this week was a good one. i ate a TON of veggies! also, tim did a great job of cooking dinners every night this week... including friday and saturday night!! 

i really love using this app... i heard the analogy that this app is like a checkbook for calories. very true.

what weight losing method works best for you?

change of plans.

last night, tim and i planned to have a date night in town. my parents were going to keep landon over night so we could sleep in a little this morning. i was looking forward to it ALL week. but then... it snowed. i hate snow. i think it ruins everything. i hate driving in snow. yes, i am that super slow person in the right lane that is PETRIFIED of losing control of my car and smacking into someone else.  my hands are gripped so tightly on the wheel that my knuckles turn white. so, as to not cause accidents and put other drivers at risk, i try to stay off the road the best i can during any chance of a snow storm.

i told tim i didn't want to take landon out in the weather. and even though i know tim doesn't mind driving in the snow, i heard traffic was a bear. so our date night changed from an evening out to an evening at home.

tim stopped at the grocery store on his way home last night and picked up a pork tenderloin and two red potatoes. he put the pork and potatoes together with some carrots and garlic and baked it for about an hour. it was perfect for a cold, snowy evening. it was so warm and flavorful. it was delicious (well, except for the cooked carrots).

and of course, landon had the leftovers for lunch today... thank goodness he loves cooked carrots...:)

what meals do you eat feel warm and cozy on a cold evening? 

meal time.

meal time has changed a bit in our household over the past month. we have hit another mile stone...landon has decided he is no longer interested in purees and me feeding him... so he is officially on table food. he eats anything we eat!  i miss spoon feeding him, but  i do get a chance to do it every once in a while when apple sauce, oatmeal, or another soft solid is being offered on the menu.

today for lunch, landon ate shredded chicken with avocados. he really only eats about a third of the avocado (if that) and i hate to see the rest go to waste. so i "created" a delicious salad to make sure the avocado was put to use. i scrounged around the kitchen for anything "tacoish" that i could add to my bowl. let's call it the vegetarian taco salad.

i combined avocado, tomato, and onion into a bowl. i then add a tablespoon of sour cream and two tablespoons of salsa. to top it off, i splashed some hot sauce and lime juice on top and grind some pepper. it was absolutely delicious. the whole meal ended up being around 300 calories and is so filling!

excuse the picture... obviously this wasn't a tim creation. he likes to jazz up his plate and get it ready for a picture. where i usually eat it first, and then realize i forgot to take a picture.

last night's dinner was a simple one. we decided to make it easy since i was loaded down with school work and tim has been working long hours with his company since they are in the middle of moving to a new location. we made pizzas on english muffins. believe it not, i throughly enjoyed them!! we (as in tim) whipped them up with the leftover sauce and cheese in our fridge. delicious.

have you ever created meals with whatever you have in the house? how did they turn out?

10 pound reward!

i was super excited to see my weight loss this week... and i had hit the 10 pound mark! yesterday, before class, i ran to get my ten pound reward... an eyebrow wax!

i am guilty of not going as often as i should to get my eyebrows waxed... but for a VERY good reason. IT HURTS! tears streamed down my face as the sweet asian lady ripped the hair off my face. i kept thinking "why did i make this a reward... what was i thinking!" but i knew what i was thinking when i made an eyebrow wax a reward. since i had landon, i have definitely put myself on the back burner. every reward is a way for me to take care of myself. and to feel better about myself.

so, here are my eyebrows... and an up close picture of my little guy too!!

next reward is when i reach the fifteen pound loss... buying a favorite item at ULTA!! Click HERE to visit the whole list!! :)

Did you put yourself on the back burner after having a baby? 

Weigh-In Wednesday

i couldn't believe the number this morning... so i took a picture... i had to keep stepping on the scale just to make sure it was correct. on the scale. off the scale. on the scale. off the scale. 179.8... that is a 3.8 pound loss from last week and a total of 13.2 pounds total since the beginning of the year! and i am already in the 170's! who would think i would be SO EXCITED to be in the 170's!! 

How did you do this week?!

Next weigh-in: Wednesday, January 30th.

a new semester.

blog posts may slow down, just a little, as i have started another semester of grad school... i am pushing it a little by taking THREE graduate courses...and one of them being statistics (shoot me now). but, by taking three now means i will only have ONE more course to take in the summer and then i will have my masters degree in educational leadership and administration. ONE MORE!! :)

i definitely plan to blog a weight update every wednesday, but keeping up with posts daily could be more difficult... the good news is... i am still taking pictures of food and gathering blog post ideas in my head when i probably should be studying.

(Tim's chicken fajita dish... without the fajita!)

using the "lose it" app has really helped me stay focused on eating healthy and just staying within a reasonable calorie intake. last week, i consumed more calories than the week before...i'm wondering if i will have a bigger or smaller weight loss tomorrow than last wednesday because i ate way more than the week before. i know that when your body is getting less calories it goes into "starvation" mode and hangs on to everything being eaten... i will admit. i was starving the week of january 7th, and i knew i had to up the calories or i would NEVER stick to this lifestyle.

finally, an updated picture of landon. he is getting big and just learned how to get the "Dadadada" sound of his little mouth. and now he is doing it ALL the time! i absolutely adore him.

Weigh Day tomorrow!!!

a confession.

i am ready to confess something. i am ready to admit something that i haven't been able to really say out loud. i recently mentioned it to tim last weekend... and it felt REALLY good to get it off my chest. here it goes...

i HATE yogurt. yep. you read correctly. HATE IT!

when i was young, i wanted nothing to do with it. it tasted sour. it made me gag. but then i started to diet, and i read how healthy yogurt is for you and thought... maybe my taste buds have changed. i remember thinking--i like baked beans now that i have "matured" i bet the same thing has happened with yogurt.

so i purchased my first yogurt. i had many girlfriends ranting and raving about chobani. i HAD to give it a shot. i didn't gag. in fact, i remember thinking... i could totally do yogurt. i would eat a chobani every day for lunch for over six months. over time, i starting to not "enjoy" it. i started to dread lunch because i packed yogurt. and then... i got pregnant...and HOLY FOOD AVERSION.

for the first time, since i was a child. i gagged on yogurt. i then began to gag on yogurt if the person next to me was eating it. i couldn't look at it. smell it. or even hear the foil being torn off the top without a gag.

so. needless to say, yogurt is not a part of my diet anymore. i wish i liked it. but i don't. I HATE IT. and don't even get me started on cooked carrots...

is there a healthy food you HATE?

my baby wears a helmet.

we have had a super busy wednesday! our day started off with another helmet appointment. landon's head is really changing and growing. however, he will still be wearing the helmet for at least another three months. we go for a measurement next week for another helmet... hopefully his third and LAST one.

i have to update my weigh in, of course... but thought i would share some random thoughts that a mom has when her baby wears a helmet.

1. my baby's head smells... not the good baby powder smell. i'm talking, wearing the same socks for three days straight in the same sneakers during a heatwave, smell.

2. i miss having a baby head to kiss and rub. but THANK GOD for the open air hole on the top that i can squeeze in a kiss... and that open hole is a PERFECT place to hold a ball... or a martini.

3. my baby loves people. he will stare, smile and reach to every stranger. i have tried to explain to him to stop drawing so much attention to himself. you are in a helmet!

4. my baby has one heck of a head butt. teeth... who needs them? (obviously, he doesn't) and a black and blue nose can easily be covered up by a touch of make up.

5. and finally, i can't WAIT for the day when we are told that my baby doesn't need to wear a helmet anymore... but until then... i will keep on blinging!! (NEXT DESIGN IS COMING SOON!!)

weigh day today. 183.6... that is 1.8 pound loss from last week. and 9.4 pounds total. next weigh-in is Wednesday, January 23rd.

How did your weigh-in go this week?!

last night's dinner...

 yesterday landon and i went out for a late lunch/early dinner with a friend and my mom at applebees... i ordered the soup and salad without checking the calories first (BIG MISTAKE)... the half salad was 600 calories!! i ate a little more than half... and decided to skip the soup all together since i had a light lunch before going to the restaurant.

however, i was hungry again around 7, so tim created a low calorie dinner to satisfy the feeling... he made turkey sandwiches on an english muffin with a homemade avocado spread... the whole thing ended up being about 240 calories. this was much better to finish off the night with than a bowl full of ice cream.

Weigh day tomorrow... hoping to see at least a one pound loss on the scale since last wednesday's big drop!

Have you ever been super surprised by the amount of calories in a food?

can i get you something to drink?

they say one of the best ways to lose weight is drink LOTS of water. but, i have a problem... i am very rarely thirsty. which leads me to my big question... why should i drink when i am not thirsty?

i seriously don't get thirsty. i remember training for the marathon and i hardly ever got thirsty or sweat (unless it was 100 degrees outside). and my brother... complete opposite... he would drink a massive amount and of course, sweat a massive amount when he was finished a run.

when i was pregnant, i had to force water down me all day. i had a water bottle i carried around and made myself drink two of them a day. it was a miserable time. i just hate drinking when i am not thirsty. but the problem is... i can go the WHOLE day without have anything to drink.

i am trying to include more water in my diet, but it has been difficult. i always have a glass before bed because that is finally when i feel thirsty. now, i am on a mission to figure out how to drink more than one glass a day... even adding one more would be a bonus.

do you drink when you are not thirsty?

Before Landon.

i realized that having a baby in my life has made it a little easier to eat healthy for one major reason.

tim and i don't have the time to eat out all the time like we used to.

on friday night we ordered a medium pizza... i kept within my calories eating only two slices. we then reheated the leftover pizza for saturday night and i ate only one slice but finished off the evening with one of my favorite drinks... birthday cake martini! back in the day, BL (before landon), tim and i would eat out friday and saturday night.... and sunday. and monday. and tuesday...........

tonight, we enjoyed a nice big salad full of veggies and tim measured out a homemade balsamic vinaigrette to mix in... i added some tuna fish to mine and the whole salad ended up being about 350 calories.

hoping to kick off the week on a great note... looking forward to hitting the two week mark of eating healthy... i always feel if i can stay focused for two weeks, counting calories always gets much easier.

Do you find it difficult to eat healthy when you eat out?

a stroller success!

back in december, i made a list of small rewards i would receive for every five pounds i lost... hard to believe, but after the first week, i already earned my first one! i love candles... they really make a home feel and smell more... well... homey. last night, i went to bed, bath, and beyond and smelled about twenty candles until i came across the one...

this morning, i woke up excited to get together with another new mom. landon and i have been staying in a lot because of the chilly weather (and i am "THAT" mom who is PETRIFIED of taking him out in public places right now because of the flu)... so the idea of getting together with a friend and enjoying an afternoon together was just what i needed!

we caught up on life as new moms and i ate my favorite salad from saladworks... the greek salad! afterwards, my friend came up with the idea to take our little ones on a stroller ride. i was looking forward to getting some exercise, but at the same time, knew landon's track record in the stroller.

since he was born, he was a disaster in the stroller. he would scream. and cry. i remember tim and i taking him out in the summer, and the poor guy screamed the whole time as people watched us walk our new baby. i went out on a few walks with friends and their babies. i would watch as their little ones either played with toys calmly or fell asleep as my baby started to melt down. our last stroller ride was november 12th and i swore to myself i was DONE taking him out for rides.

but, i decided to give it another shot... and it was an absolute success. for the VERY FIRST TIME, since he was born... he fell asleep on a stroller ride...

just like MOST babies do.

(beautiful, precious, sleeping babies)

Weigh-In Wednesday.

i completed my first week of operation lose baby weight. and the new number is 185.4... that is a 7.6 drop from last wednesday... jeepers creepers. i am excited about the loss but at the same time, i saw 185 over the summer and i am really determined to get in those 170s...

who would have thought i would be happy to see 170s! i figured i would start exercising once i hit 179... hopefully i will get there in just a couple of weeks. i think i am starting to develop a plan but it is not quite final yet... but as of right now, i am counting squats (for picking up Landon), stairs (for running up and down three flights of stairs a day), and cardio ( for dancing with Landon)...

Tim and i split a plate of shrimp the other night for dinner... he cooked them in beer and old bay seasoning... they were really good!!!

speaking of tim... he lost a total of 3.6 pounds this week... it really has been nice having him on board with me.

Next weigh-in: Wednesday, January 16th.

how did you do this week? who is helping you stay focused on weight loss?

slowly changing...

i always have felt that losing weight is a lifestyle change. a lifestyle change that i am horrible at adjusting to... a lifestyle change that can be miserable. but, over the years, i have learned to "change" slowly. i usually fall off the band wagon pretty quickly if i try to change my eating/exercise habits all at once...

so i take small steps. i have yet to do any exercising...i'm still pondering how i am going to get it in and what exactly i am planning on doing... but figured i would start moving more in a week or two. if i tried counting calories and starting to exercise at the same time... i know i would be miserable. so i will wait to start an exercise plan... i will slowly change.

since tim and i have yet to grocery shopping, i have to continue going through my cabinet for quick lunches. today for lunch, i settled on a bowl of cream of wheat... i made it with a cup and a half of milk and four teaspoons of sugar... my whole lunch ended up being around 350 calories. and it was perfect on this chilly january day. 

(still in pajamas and slippers at noon!)

what changes have you made to your lifestyle to start losing weight?

seven months.

It was a quiet sunday... we had some family visit Landon today for another round of christmas... and i think this last get together should wrap up all of our christmas festivities. now, it is time to start taking down christmas in our home...

tonight i ate a tuna fish sandwich for dinner. i am a HUGE tuna fish fan. i'm not talking about the real fish. i am talking about the kind in a can. i have mastered the tuna fish sandwich. i mix a little mayo, hot sauce, pickle juice, and relish into my tuna. i also use a Thomas' everything bagel thin... it is one of my favorites and such a quick fix for dinner!

after dinner, i had a little photo shoot with this precious face. he is seven months today! i can't believe i was holding a tiny baby only seven months ago... 

kick off to the weekend.

i made it through friday night. friday nights are usually the nights i eat my face off. we usually order out and eat pizza, hoagies or chinese food. and i finish off the week with some kind of creamy martini made by tim. last night, tim brought home two salads from saladworks. it worked. it filled the hole. but in the back of mind all i could think of was sesame chicken with an egg roll...

this morning i woke up with a grumbling stomach. i made my coffee and did my usual morning routine.... as i was sipping my coffee and reading some news, i heard tim shout something from upstairs...i couldn't quite hear him and i decided to get up and check to see what all his excitement was about... with a grin on his face, he proudly said he lost four pounds already. really?

most people would be cheering for him. but you see, i am competitive and i have a really hard time losing. and for those of you who know me, know EXACTLY what i am talking about. this immediately made me more determined to stay focused. no way, no how, will he lose more than me... (oh, and most importantly, weigh less than me too!) 

after his weigh in, we were lucky enough to have my parents watch landon for an hour. we went shopping at BJs to stock up on formula and diapers... afterwards, we decided to run next door to Wegmans' and enjoy a nice lunch together... i chose to eat an amazing cup of buffalo chicken chowder. it was seriously Ahh-MAZING!!!! 

wegmans' is great for people who are counting calories... EVERYTHING in their marketplace is marked clearly with a little calorie card. tim put together an indian meal using the calorie cards and we figured his meal to be about 600 calories.

 finally, we ended the day eating gluten free... wegman's bruschetta is delicious!

coconut cookie oatmeal

i really enjoy reading other blogs... but surprisingly, there are only a few that i check in and read every day... one blog i have been reading since 2010, keeping up with katie (link is on the side of my blog website), when i wanted to lose weight for my wedding... her blog was featured on yahoo for her weight loss and i have really enjoyed reading it since...it is great to get quick and low calorie recipe ideas from her blog every once in a while.

yesterday, as i was starving for lunch... i opened up the fridge and only saw a leftover container of pea soup...

i was not in the mood for it so i decided to see if there were any quick things i could make... well, i found it on Keeping Up With Katie! i whipped up some coconut cookie oatmeal! i scrounged around my kitchen and gathered all the necessary ingredients... i just added a teaspoon of sugar and vanilla and a tablespoon of chocolate syrup at the end...

not going to lie. it was just okay. it was like eating chocolate oatmeal but less sweet. but it was a total of 363 calories for lunch so it stayed perfectly within my allotted amount. and it was super filling!!

Coconut Cookie Oatmeal Recipe

i couldn't dodge the pea soup for long... tim reheated it for dinner, but added a piece of garlic, parmesan bread to dip with it instead... i don't want to hurt anyone's feelings (uh hum, Tim) but i am happy the soup is gone... i was a little peed out. 

and i'll finish this post with a funny picture i saw on facebook this morning... i am not one to put these kind of things on my blog... but this made me chuckle.

pee soup.. i mean "pea"

well, i made it through the first day. tim and i both admit it was really hard. it is always hard going from easily 5,000 calories a day to the normal amount. i have learned that getting through the first two weeks is always the hardest. so... ONE DAY DOWN!!

this is the first time that tim and i are losing weight together. he also just download the Loseit app... so funny to have him doing this with me... i am hoping he sticks to it for a long time and not just january. 

we have yet to start planning and shopping for meals. we decided to do all of that over the weekend... so for now we are just emptying out our fridge and freezer. we had a big bag of frozen peas in the freezer from when i was on my pinterest casserole kick. tim found a pea soup recipe and whipped that right up for dinner last night (he is REALLY good at making a dinner out of nothing.) it was okay but we added a few bacon crumbles on top to make it more enjoyable (well, as enjoyable as pea soup can be...) we have a ton of leftovers in the fridge so i am thinking we will be eating peas for the next few days... here is the recipe if you are interested in a quick dinner. i figured the calories to be about 450 for the bowl since it did have some cream and bacon in it. 

Pea Soup Recipe
(Disclaimer- Tim usually changes recipes... i think he added extra onions and left out the leeks)

(The color definitely freaked me out a little...)

on the landon front... he is acting a little off today... a little more crankier than usual. and his face is covered with clear snot and drool... and he can't stop putting the corner of the dumbo book in his mouth... the book has seen way better days! Teeth?! for the past four months, every time he acts funny, i ALWAYS blame teeth. but the little guy doesn't even have one yet!!! 

Operation Lose Baby Weight

Helmet Update

landon and i started off the new year with a helmet appointment... his head is coming along but we got the confirmation that he will definitely need a third helmet at some point down the road. i am totally okay with this... i was planning on him wearing a helmet his first full year of life and it seems like it may be the case.

his helmet has been quite the conversational piece... i can't tell you how many stores and other public places i have been that a person comes up and tells me their child wore a helmet... most of them add that it was worth every second and when they looked back at it, the time went fast! i don't want to rush his first year away, but man i wish i could have a baby head to kiss and rub every once in a while.

Operation Lose Baby Weight Update:

i have decided to count calories like i did in the past using my Lose It app on my iphone. after doing the math, it looks like my daily intake will be 1,350 calories to reach my goal by July.

i also am going to start implementing some kind of exercise routine in the next month or so...i am still trying to figure out how to work out with a baby in tow. money is a little tight since i am not working this year so buying a gym membership or a treadmill is out of the question... i do have The Shred, but my knees KILLED after using it to the point where i couldn't even sit without being in pain. so i will continue to chew on that until i come up with a plan.

weighed in this morning... check My Journey page see weekly updates. i will be weighing in every Wednesday this time around.

How do you get in exercise every day?

Goodbye 2012... Hello 2013!

2012 has officially come to an end. it was the year of babies. many of our friends and family have had new babies enter their lives. and of course, we had Landon. who would have thought that a baby could bring so much joy and happiness to a home. tim and i have been constantly laughing and smiling as landon is growing and discovering the world around him.

here is the BEST of 2012

Bringing in 2012 with family and friends.

 The arrival of my twin nephews Charlie and Jacob in January.

The arrival of Landon Robert on June 6th.

Driving home for the first time.

Getting settled in our home.

 Landon's Baptism-August 6th

First dip- July 29th

Getting dressed up for Aunt Lauren and Uncle Harry's baby themed Halloween party.

Landon's first Christmas.

The Stokes Annual Pollyanna party with all the cousins.

i can't believe how fast six months have gone since Landon was born... tim and i squeezed each other tight at midnight... we had a lot of bumps in the road but looking at all these photos made me realize how fast time goes and how blessed we are to have a happy and healthy family to kick off 2013.

May you have a wonderful 2013!