seasons 52 - i think i heart you....will you be my valentine??

so yesterday we had a pre/post-walk event at the granfalloon on the plaza in KC.  i ate there once before.  lobster ravioli in a tomato vodka sauce.  to. die. for.

but we weren't having lobster ravioli in tomato vodka sauce.  we were serving pizza and mini brats and - um - nachos maybe?  i didn't get close enough to really look.  i made sure i stayed clear on the other side of the room. 

but our boss said we could go out to dinner after - since we never get to eat due to all the schmoozing our job requires....

when i told her that alex and i were trying to eat healthy - she suggested this place that was new on the plaza called seasons 52.  she ate there once and they have this philosophy about free-range, healthy meals.  and get this:

no single item as listed on their menu has more than 475 calories.  entrees - 475.  salads - 475.  cute little mini dessert shooters - 475.  it's AMAZING.  and the portions are nothing to cough at! 

i had this awesome cedar planked salmon that came with asparagus (that's right mom - i eat that now!) and carrots and a few little red potatoes.  so so so so yummy.  and not at all full of guilt.

and when the waiter - who was training to be a wine sommelier and gave us a mini education on which red wines had the best antioxidant whatnots and were thus healthiest which has all gone out of my head - brought around the tray of mini dessert shooters - i was not at all tempted by the Rocky road (aka MAJOR WEAKNESS) in a shot glass...

when one of the group suggested that the mini desserts couldn't be so bad, i talked all intelligently about how it's the tiny things that are totally misleading when it comes to calorie counting and that each one of those mini shooter options probably had between 200-300 calories....

when i got back to the hotel and looked up the webpage online - i was delighted to see the calorie counts listed and i was dead on with the dessert counts.

see?  if i focus - i'm totally on.....

in case you were wondering....

i survived my first day of travel and stayed in calorie limits!  yeah me!

this was my dinner. 

i hate leaving the hotel after i check in and it's weird to check in with a plate full of olive garden - so i went to panera. i intended to get a regular sized salad and cup of soup - but somehow that part of my order got lost in translation and they gave me a "you pick two". that was way less than what i was planning on - so i supplemented with a 100 calorie packet of cheez-its....

tomorrow's challenges:  hotel buffet breakfast (i DON'T want WAFFLES!) and dinner with my boss and coworker.......

damn you trader joes!

i don't remember this process being this hard when i went through it two years ago - but i seem to be having a tougher time this go round.  it could be that i'm under more stress than i was under then - i'm not sure.

i fell apart at least two days this week.  and downfall started with this:

that's right.  a nice healthy snack.  organic popcorn with olive oil.  my coworker bought a bag for a meeting she was having at work and talked about it's awesomeness.  and it is full of awesomeness.  it's uber crisp for starters.  and the olive oil flavor is so subtle.  and it doesn't even have a bad calorie count at 130 calories per every two cups.  

the problem is sticking to two cups.  three times this week i fell victim to "i'll just have a handful"... which lead to "one more handful won't hurt".  and then "okay this is the last handful."  then "no i MEAN IT THIS IS THE LAST HANDFUL." 

how do you track what turned into an uncountable number of handfuls?? 

combine that with a day where it took 2 hours and 8 minutes to drive my 13 mile commute to the office and i totally skipped two days of tracking....

and on top of that - on saturday, i dragged jeff over to trader joes (he may never forgive me or ever go again because trader joes on saturday is the equivalent to kids diving into a pinata candy pile).  i purchased six bags of the stuff (at $2 a piece - that's cheaper the okedoke!) 

but now i'm going to use measuring cups and try to control myself a little bit better.

in other news....

• we bought a new digital scale this week - easier to see when i've actually lost than trying to track the arrow on the dial...
• purchased the new complete weight watchers cookbook because my sparkpeople cookbook is lost somewhere in the STL postal system and i hate waiting...
• i'm apparently vitamin d deficient - this is ironic because when they checked it in august i was fine.  now that i'm in an office with a window and have more sun exposure - my levels have decreased.  back on the multi-vitamin with a vitamin d kicker for me...
• i face a MEGA big challenge this week.  my first business trip to KC.  ugh. 

the first pay off....

i weighed in four pounds lighter this morning than i did last week when i started.  i know it's all water weight and stuff and not a sign of a miracle - but i can still enjoy it......

week one - you can suck it - cause i'm stronger than you....

things i did this week... (bad first)

• declared every staff/faculty member of my daughter's school to be incompetent when it comes to communication skills
• spent an entire day ranting and raving about the above incompetencies to anyone who would listen
• decided that the word "federal" instantly makes everything more confusing, challenging and more difficult than it needed to be
• started to have a meltdown in my boss's office following a staff meeting when she said i looked overwhelmed, almost bursting into hysterical tears, choking them back, and turning down the offer of taking time for myself that day because it wasn't going to solve the overwhelmed feeling
• compared myself to people i hate - and entertained the thought that i am no better than they are for about 5 seconds

this is what led me to ending friday in my bath tub, pretending it was a luxurious hot tub with my book and this: 

 

things i did this week....(now for the good)

• drank 64 ounces of water five out of six days so far
• brought my lunch to work all four work days
• read a little on each lunch break as an escape
• met my calorie goals every day without going over and treated myself to two hershey's kisses before bed as a treat
• experimented with my own adaption of a recipe for saturday dinner and didn't need to order pizza
• ordered the sparkpeople cookbook
• consumed no more than 2 caffeinated beverages a day
• realized my stress was only amplified by the fact that i wasn't coping by eating something a canister of pringles or a package of double stuf oreos
• did not give in to the increased desire to feed that stress by eating a canister of pringles or a package of double stuf oreos (or anything else bad for that matter)
• instead of even acknowledging the pringles and oreos in the store - i purchased the following aids to get me through next week - cause this time i'm going to be prepared....



January's Overall Goal....Portion Control

so today is the day that i consider day 1 of my year long journey.  every month i will adopt a new healthy habit on the first day of the month.  i am using a broad definition of the word "health" so that i am focusing on body, mind and spirit - and not just on diet and exercise. 
by adopting one habit at a time and focusing on it before adopting something new - i won't be overwhelmed taking on too many things at once.  so here we go. 

JANUARY 2012 - Portion Control

my focus for the month of january is portion control.  break out the food scale, measuring cups and spoons.

nutritional goals:

calorie intake:  1220-1570 per day
carb intake:  137-255 g per day
fat intake:  27-67 g per day
protein intake:  60-137 g per day
water intake:  at least 64 ounces a day (less caffeine!!)

i should also burn 660 calories per week through cardio - but that will get added in next month.

i will make better food choices but not deprive myself of what i enjoy.  it's not about what i can't eat or drink - it's about controlling the amount of what i DO eat or drink...

most importantly - i will try not to eat emotionally.  food will not make anything better.  only actions effect change.

tools for success:

1. www.sparkpeople.com - a free online community dedicated to developing a healthy lifestyle.  an excellent resource for tracking food and exercise to maintain goals, healthy recipes, success tips, motivation, etc.  also features very active message boards tailored to meet different needs and goals full of great advice...
2. the sparkpeople ap for my iphone - to keep me tracking when i can't get to my computer.
3. The Spark - a motivational book written by the founder of Spark People...
4. measuring cups, measuring spoons, food scale...
5. crystal light packets...
6. emotional support - you all know what i'm doing - so let's be positive!

A 2012 Bucket List

i was giving it some thought - and i decided i'm going to create a bucket list of things i would like to accomplish in 2012.  you know, in case the world ends or something crazy like that - i want to make sure i have something to show for it.

so here it goes.

karen's 2012 bucket list:

• clean out nina's old toy room and set up the extra bedroom furniture in it for guests - just in case
• clean out the old office
• clean out the new office
• clean under our bed - it's so often forgotten
• clean out and reorganize my closet - and hopefully let go of the fat jeans
• host a kick ass garage $ale
• do one thing completely out of character that no one would ever expect me to do - and make sure it's not illegal
• share one breathtaking memory with jeff and nina
• relax in the pool more than once per season
• go on a picnic
• go camping.  more than once.
• pretend to be tourists in our own city and take in the some of the sights of STL in one weekend
• prepare a turkey dinner - i've only ever done it once
• bake a pie from scratch including crust - i've never done that
• read all of 210 of the fairy tales written by the Grimm Brothers - thanks to jeff - i already have the book to get me started
• take time off of work and not check in with the office or email the entire time

stay tuned to see me cross items off the list!