Rainbows for breakfast

This morning I got in my lower body strength training first thing. I plan on doing elliptical after I get the kids settled.

I made the kids a fun breakfast this morning, then I just ended up eating some myself so as not to waste food. Rainbow pancakes (made with whole wheat flour.)
I didn't add any veggies because I didn't want the warp the colors. How cute are these?!
So that was my carbs for the day. For lunch I was craving ground turkey, but we didn't have any, so I crumbled up a MorningStar Vegan burger and sauteed it with leftover spaghetti squash and broccoli. I added a little low-carb Italian dressing. It turned out really good!
Then something came over me. I had overripe bananas and needed to make banana bread. It smelled so good coming out of the oven. I fell victim to temptation...
(Don't worry--I didn't eat the whole loaf myself! All six of us polished it off. At least I used whole wheat flour and substituted applesauce for the fat.)

After that indulgence I wasn't really in the mood for dinner, so I made myself a protein shake that I am just now finishing off. Chocolate protein powder, peanut butter, ice, water, almond milk, chia seeds, flaxseed oil and spinach. Great way to end the day!

Roller coaster ridingl

Yesterday was a roller coaster. I was woken up early by my sick little boy throwing up in bed. That was a low. So I went grocery shopping at 6 am. That was a high (I always love to have fresh food!!) After breakfast--
Egg frames for the kids and
Same old, same old for me (with fresh basil and Canadian bacon)--

I went running for the first time in weeks!!! That was a definite high! I felt so good. I have no idea how far we went, but it was wonderful. I have missed it.

I had a
Protein shake with a familiar hint of green in it (Yay, spinach!!) after my run. Then off to the soccer fields for Isaac's first game of the season.

Picnic lunches are difficult on this new diet, but the first part of the diet will be over soon. Celery, cucumbers, hummus and peanut butter. Again.
The roller coaster ride took a dip at this point when we drove all over Denver running errands. Blah. By the time we finally got home snack time was long past and I was grumpy and feeling like I hadn't accomplished anything all day. I hate that feeling. I had a protein bar to tide me over and started to clean the house. Because I think that is all I ever do.

Dinner was turkey burgers. I had mine on a grilled Portabella mushroom instead of a bun.
And then the real low came. I was making chocolate chip cookies for a function I am having at my house today and this is how they came out of the oven:
It shouldn't seem like that big of a deal, right? Just by that point in my downward spiral I had had ENOUGH. So I ate some of those flat cookies and just went to bed.

It was the first time I have had sugar or flour or chocolate in 12 days. Major fail, I know. But I guess it doesn't matter since I haven't lost any weight anyway.

All I can do now is forgive myself and move on! :)

Day 5

Rest Day! Yeah, right. When do mothers ever rest?

So, I didn't run today. I did about 20 minutes on the elliptical and I did an upper body strength session. I spent the entire rest of the day cleaning out and organizing our office. It is so much better now! I love this time of the year--getting things all set up for success. Okay, that has nothing to do with this blog, but I am exhausted from all that cleaning and organizing, so maybe I burnt a lot of calories in the process.

I do hope so. I wasn't totally perfect on the eating side of things today. I made some delicious cranberry orange scones for breakfast. I had some for breakfast and some for a morning snack. Lunch was just this...

I have had a massive headache for three days now and DC was the only thing I wanted. So my dear friend, Amy, brought me one! Have I ever mentioned that I have great friends?

For dinner I made twice baked potatoes using cottage cheese and salsa. They were really good.

Then I got bad (read: stressed and tired) and decided I needed ice cream. So I found some leftover from Lincoln's birthday (Nov. 29th!) and ate it! Horrible, I know. For more than one reason. Oh well. Now I think I will go to bed and dream of organizing another room in my house...

Christmas cookies and love, love, love

I ate an obscene amount of Christmas cookies yesterday. This time of the year can be so hard--and it certainly doesn't help that I happen to possess the recipe for the all-time, hands-down BEST Christmas cookies on the planet. It is physically impossible to eat just one. In all honesty, it is physically impossible to eat just one dozen. So I ate way too many. It is what it is.

I have spent all day today in a penitent spirit of diet repentance. I have been feeling so bad about myself lately anyway--why do I sabotage it?! Anyway, today was much better. The kids got uber-healthy swedish pancakes with chia seeds, flaxseed and pumpkin puree for breakfast.
I had a nice smoothie with all kinds of healthy stuff in it and on it.
Lunch was crackers and hummus, a few carrot sticks and the crust of one of the kids' un-finished grilled cheese sandwiches. After lunch Becca and I took advantage of the fact that both our husbands are off for the Christmas break and went running during the day. It was fabulous, as always! We did our normal abnormally-hilly 4.8 mile route. My knees still haven't recovered, but I am able to run so I do it. I always feel so awesome when we are done--full of those exercise endorphins! I come home full of love! Maybe I should start running more with Ryan or things could start getting a little awkward...

(Totally just kidding--don't worry, Jeb, I'm not after Becca in that way!)

We made Tortilla Black Bean Casserole for dinner. It is really good and really easy!!
The picture looks a little sketchy but I promise, it is good stuff!

Not what I planned

Today was a weird day. I worked late last night and then was up at 5:40 to get ready because I had to leave the house bright and early. I got just 15 minutes in on the elliptical before I had to get ready and leave. Then I spent ALL DAY LONG in a training class for my job. Ugh. You would think I would have a ton of energy after sitting in class for eight hours, but instead I came home exhausted. And hungry. Which led to eating a huge yogurt bowl and maybe a few (or five) pumpkin cookies. At least I made them, so they were healthed up a bit.

I had intended to run four miles tonight, but I was just too tired. I'm not hard-core like some of my more impressive friends. (Priscilla.) I ran a mile and walked another half. Then I did Pilates. Tomorrow is a rest day. Hopefully by Monday I will have more energy and less soreness!

I feel guilty. I should get back down there and run some more. I can do this, right?!

Sometimes there just isn't enough chocolate

My life has been so busy lately and things just keep getting more and more complicated. Now Isaac (my oldest) has pneumonia. He has been home sick all week and can't go back to school until at least Thursday. I'm glad I took him to the doctor. But the stress of it all just makes me want to eat. Chocolate.

Needless to say, today was NOT a good eating day. I started out well. 30 minutes on the elliptical. Oatmeal for breakfast with a side of German Pancakes (mostly egg). But then things went downhill. My fault for not planning well (again.) I had a small snack on the way to the doctor's office. I started to drink a Weight Loss Shake but realized that the main ingredient is milk, which I am trying to eliminate from my diet. So I poured it down the sink and had some Annie's Bunny crackers. The doctor took way longer than I thought it would and I was starving by the time we stopped at Target to get the prescriptions filled. I ordered the pita chips and hummus in an effort to be good--but then I ended up eating 2 of Isaac's chicken strips because I was still hungry.

I was munchy all day and ended up just eating chocolate ice cream straight out of the carton! What is that?! It is obviously SO important that I keep to my schedule and try to plan ahead. The stupid thing is I had a Luna Bar in my purse for just such an occasion, but I forgot about it.

Well I did do more yard work today and I did a lower body workout this afternoon. It's just been a stupid day all around and I'm tired, my house is a mess and I'm GRUMPY.

Dinner was Caribbean Chicken Salad and it was yummy. And I ate a Goodness Knows Square afterward. This day will end eventually and then I can start all over again tomorrow. Yippee.

If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.

Serious lack of planning on my part today led to some bad eating. That's what happens, I guess. It also led to me forgetting to take any pictures of my food!

We started off the day okay-- I made the kids German pancakes (with added chia seeds), whole wheat toast and fruit. I had oatmeal and an egg.

I packed us up a lunch and we headed out to the science museum for the day. For some reason I didn't pack any snacks. Fail. We ate an early lunch and by the time we left the museum I was famished. So what did I do? I rummaged through the kids lunch boxes and ate whatever crusts of their sandwiches they hadn't finished. I really should not ever let myself get hungry. It just isn't pretty. I'm sure my friends who were at the museum with us can attest to this.

Wednesday evenings are super busy, so I had just enough time to throw a whole wheat tortilla with melted reduced fat cheddar and two slices of turkey bacon into my mouth as I drove the girls to gymnastics. It wasn't enough, so when I got home from gymnastics, I had some of those DIVINE bunny crackers I discovered yesterday.

And then later I had a small blueberry protein shake with a Vitatop.

The problem is I am still feeling snacky. I should really go brush my teeth right now, but I can't promise that I'm going to.

Today is a rest day for strength training. It is needed--I am really sore, which is definitely a good feeling! Did you know that after just four days of not working out you begin to lose muscle tone? So even though I tried to keep up some semblance of exercise while we were at Disneyland, my soreness now is a good indicator that I lost some muscle on vacation. I did 30 minutes of cardio this morning, and I had intended to run again tonight, but I am beat. I think I'll just do some Pilates instead.

**One very strange, yet positive thing happened today at the museum. A man asked Isaac if his older sister wanted a turn. Yes, folks. He was referring to me. So maybe I don't have the perfect body that I wish I did, but I guess I still look young enough to be my son's sister!! (Either that or the man had forgotten to put in his contacts this morning.)

Hey look, everyone, it's me with my younger brother, Isaac!!

Didn't stick to the plan.

Well, I gave in to temptation last night. How could Rochelle bring homemade hot fudge to the dessert party and sabotage me like that?! I seem to have fallen into a rut lately. I am getting really good at justifying my choices. "I only had four meals today, so this hot fudge sundae can count as the fifth." Today I wasn't that great either--I ended up tasting some of the leftover Lemon Meringue Pie. Two pieces of it. This is why I never have stuff like this in my house! I have no will power whatsoever. Tomorrow is a new day.

This morning I got up and did elliptical for 30 minutes. Breakfast for the kids was Cream of Wheat, sweetened with Agave Nectar and Truvia. I had the usual. We spent the morning playing at the park and I didn't have lunch until about 1:30 (no snack either!) so I just ate it and didn't take a picture! It wasn't that exciting, though, just a turkey sandwich.

Dinner was burritos. I finished off someone's and ended up just having a yogurt bowl. I should mention that not only do we have a low supply of food because of my no shopping thing this week, but my kids are out of school for the next three weeks, so our schedule is way off and we will be out playing a lot.

I ran on the treadmill for about 15 minutes, then went back to the elliptical for another 15 or so tonight. Then I did some Pilates and Yoga for about 30 minutes.

My allergies have been acting up again today and I am exhausted. Can allergies make you tired?

Free weekend

Yesterday was technically my free day, but I do feel like it was the end of a free weekend. Ugh.

I started off with my normal oatmeal and egg, but just for a bit of variety I added a little bit of this Kashi cereal to the oatmeal. It was good!
Snacks are always tricky when I have to eat them inconspicuously at church; yesterday I brought these tasty crackers and a light string cheese. Unfortunately, after one bite it became very obvious that the cheese was past it's sell-by date, so one bite is all I had. Yuck.
Lunch was a roasted chicken with mashed potatoes and gravy (I didn't have those), breadsticks (I had too many of those), salad and squash. Too many carbs!! I don't like this Sunday lunch and we have it often. I need to find an alternative.
I made chocolate chip pumpkin bread for choir practice (which I have at my house every Sunday afternoon) and I snacked a bit too much on that (just to make sure it tasted okay...) Then I had a protein shake and Vitatop for dinner. Unfortunately I had those chocolate chips on the brain and kept snacking on those as well. See, what a horrible weekend it has been (food wise!) ?!

I did some Pilates in the evening and then came to my senses and threw the rest of the chocolate chips in the trash. Sianara, temptation! Here's to a perfect day today!!

Better

So, um, oops. I know I said I was going to post everything I ate on Thursday. Then I pretty much went back to the couch and slept the rest of the day away. Until my kids convinced me it would be a good idea to go on our long-anticipated camping trip with them that night. I had no energy to actually make food, so my dinner consisted of the Mango Chicken Salad from Qdoba. And I have to admit--I wasn't perfect. I had a s'more with the kids around the campfire. But I calculated, as far as treats go, those aren't that horrible. Only about 130 calories for one! Use low-fat grahams and they would be even less!

Good news is, I really think I am on the mend now! FINALLY! I have still had less energy than I am used to, but it is starting to come back. And I just finished a nice long work out (over 2 hours!) to burn off my son's birthday cake that I ate this afternoon. Ugh. But it did feel sooooo good to do weights again! It has been over a week!! And I got in 45 minutes on the elliptical today too! I love it!

The Ugly Truth

I have been awful lately! Just horrible. It's time to come clean...

I ate 3 donuts yesterday! I am out of control!!! The problem is I am still sick, dragging, achy--we are back to the comfort food issue. And normally I wouldn't even consider buying trans-fat laden, artery-clogging donuts full of empty calories, but now Isaac is sick too and I was at the store early yesterday morning to stock up on DVD's for him to watch and something came over me. It's okay--the donuts are now out of the house and today is a new day. Today I will be perfect.

So...breakfast this morning was oatmeal sweetened with a tiny bit of brown sugar, cinnamon, vanilla, sweet potato and skim milk and about 12 almonds for protein. I'm going to post everything I eat today to keep me honest. :)

I HATE being sick!!! At least I was able to do Pilates last night.

Is there a 12-step program for this?

Hello, my name is Lindsay and I'm a stress eater.

Here is my day so far...
Take son # 1 to summer class. Wait in line with all 4 kids for 30 minutes to register.
Drive to grocery store with younger 3. Park car and realize I left my wallet at home.
Drive home, get wallet, go back to store.
Shop for an hour with three kids without strangling any of them.
Pick up girls' friends for a playdate.
Come home, start to unload groceries. Hear the horrible sound of shattering glass and realize that son # 2 has closed the garage door on the open tailgate.
Clean up glass for an hour.
Finish unloading groceries--losing some eggs along the way.
Go pick up son # 1 from class.
Wait in the hot parking lot for 15 minutes because daughter # 2 refuses to put on seat belt.
Get home, make lunch for 6 kids.
See this and can't help myself...
I'll console myself that it is heart healthy dark chocolate and almonds. But still, not exactly part of my eating plan. And I'm working tonight so I won't have any time to burn off extra calories. Sometimes, for some inexplicable reason, chocolate just takes the edge off. Hopefully the day will get better!

Confessions of a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad mother

I claimed at the outset of this blog that we are far from perfect and today I get to prove that to all of you.

I took the kids to McDonald's for lunch.

It is not something I like to do very often, but we went to the free summer movie this morning and had some errands to run in that part of town and the next thing I knew, it was lunch time and we were 30 minutes from home. Yes, I suppose I could have made a healthier choice, but I have to admit I am lured in by that ginormous playplace that keeps the kids occupied and happy for hours.

Well, as we were sitting there I glanced over at the Happy Meal bag in front of me and noticed that it had some nutrition facts on it. After I read through them and did some calculations I announced to the kids that this would in fact be one of our last trips to McDonald's. Ever. Unless it is some sort of emergency.

Isaac had ordered a Mighty Kids Meal and I calculated he consumed about 950 calories in the 45 seconds it took him to inhale his food. A boy his age should have an average daily caloric intake of 1,970. My lunch today consisted of 3/4 of a McDonald's plain hamburger--about 200 calories. So Isaac's lunch had over 4 times the amount of calories that mine did and it represented 48.2 % of his recommended daily calorie intake. Don't even get me started on the 34 grams of fat or 1390 mg of sodium (more than half of what he should have in a day.) And--get this--he still had room for ice cream! (We did NOT indulge!)

FYI:
Just a regular hamburger Happy Meal with fries and a soda certainly isn't as bad--590 calories, but still. And yes, I know, they have healthier choices available but unfortunately when given the choice of apples or french fries, my kids have never really taken the higher road. I shouldn't even give them a choice, but sometimes as a parent you have to pick your battles. So we will just stop going to McDonald's.

None of this should be a surprise to me, as my all-time favorite documentary is "Supersize Me." It is soooo good and very eye-opening and I HIGHLY recommend it. I need to watch it again tonight. After I saw it the first time we didn't go to McDonald's for about 3 years. But once again, I fell victim to convenience. NO MORE!!