Andrea's Diet Whirled

We've lost a hero.

2008-05-12T07:16:00.003-04:00

I've started many, many posts over the last several months and never managed to finish and post any of them. I always had a underlying feeling of guilt about it... I need to make care of myself more of a priority. It just seems like there is always so much going on.

And then... something happens and it makes you realize that all the things that are just SO IMPORTANT, in the grand scheme of things, really aren't.

Today we’ve lost a hero.

Irena Sendler passed away this morning at 8:00 am CEST in Warsaw, Poland.

For those of you who’ve never heard the name, Irena was a relatively unsung heroine of the Holocaust. As a part of the resistance, she saved over 2500 children by smuggling them out of the Warsaw Ghetto and giving them new identities. She wrote their old and new names down on lists that she buried in a garden in hopes of reuniting families after the war was over. She was eventually captured, severely beaten and sentenced to death. Through a bribe to a guard, the underground helped her escape where she continued her work in hiding.

I’ve been privileged enough to be involved with a group here in the States that makes presentations to raise awareness about Irena and others. For additional information on Irena or the Life in a Jar project, please visit http://www.irenasendler.org.

Getting behind!

2008-01-10T06:13:00.000-05:00

I'm getting behind in posting my daily journals! I'll have them up shortly, probably on Saturday. It has been a busy week!

Food Journal - 1/4/2008

2008-01-05T20:29:00.000-05:00

I've been a little fascinated with pouch cooking lately. I threw something together last night that was decent but probably not something I'd repeat exactly. I took a sheet of aluminum foil and put around 2 tbsp of BBQ sauce down. A chicken breast went on top of that, followed by a little more BBQ sauce. I piled shredded potatoes and chopped peppers & onions over it. It was OK but I did under season it. Next time I'll follow Alton Brown's formula for pouch cooking.

	Calories	Fat	Carbohydrates	Protein	Fiber, total dietary	Sodium, Na	Vitamin B-12

Dunkin Donuts Coffee, cream, 1 serving	60	6	2	1	0	15	0
Dunkin Donuts Onion bagel, 1 serving	350	4	66	12	3	660	0
Dunkin Donuts Lite Cream Cheese, 1 serving	130	11	3	5	0	250	0
	540	21	71	18	3	925	0

Whole Wheat Spaghetti, cooked (pasta), 2 cup	347	2	74	15	13	8	0
Boca Italian Sausage, 1 serving	130	6	6	13	1	650	0
Mozzarella Cheese, whole milk, 2 oz	170	13	1	13	0	356	22
Newman's Own Organic Marinara Sauce, 1/2 cup, 2 serving	140	4	24	4	0	1,100	0
	787	24	106	44	14	2,114	22

Chicken Breast, no skin, 1 breast, bone and skin removed	260	3	0	54	0	153	15
KC Masterpiece Classic Blend, 4 tbsp	20	0	4	0	0	820	0
Baked Potato (baked potatoes), 1 potato (2-1/3" x 4-3/4")	145	0	34	3	2	8	0
Onions, raw, 1 medium (2-1/2" dia)	42	0	9	1	2	3	0
Green Peppers (bell peppers), 0.5 cup, strips	19	0	5	1	1	1	0
	485	3	52	59	5	986	15

None
	1,813	49	228	122	22	4,025	36
	1970 - 2320	49 - 86	250 - 361	60 - 194	25 - 35	0 - 2300	100 - 200

Checking in!

2008-01-04T08:39:00.000-05:00

I'm still working on the issue with posting my journals. I'm keeping track of everything in SparkPeople and am experimenting with different ways to pull the data from Point A to Point B.

My New Year diet is going reasonably well. I've not been 100% perfect. It is a work in progress. Life is sometimes hectic at best. The big thing to report is that I've not been overeating. Especially in the face of stress, that is a major victory for me.

I've been sticking with my weekly mini-goal of drinking plenty of clear water every day and limiting soda. It is going well and I already feel much better. I loooove Diet Coke but I don't think it loves me. In just the past few days I feel more alert and happier in general. Something about it muddies my mind.

Food Journal - 1/3/2008

2008-01-03T17:04:00.000-05:00

Too much fast food and too little quality stuff. But still! Tropical Smoothie! Their tropi-colada smoothie is just happiness in your mouth. For those out there who are following WWers, their smoothies aren't terribly high in points if you go for Splenda instead of sugar. Just FYI though I'm personally suspicious of artificial sweeteners. I did get it this time but am really trying to limit my intake of artificials.

	Calories	Fat	Carbohydrates	Protein	Fiber, total dietary	Sodium, Na	Vitamin B-12

Dunkin Donuts Iced Latte, 16 oz	120	7	11	6	0	105	0
Krispy Kreme Cake-Glazed Cruller, 1 serving	240	14	26	2	1	240	0
	360	21	37	8	1	345	0

Tropical Smoothie Tropi-colada Smoothie w/ splenda, 1 serving	299	6	61	1	3	26	0
Tropical Smoothie Tuscan Turkey Panini, 1 serving	439	13	67	13	3	962	0
	738	19	128	15	6	988	0

Chicken Breast, no skin, 1 breast, bone and skin removed	260	3	0	54	0	153	15
BBQ Sauce, KC Masterpiece, 4 tbsp	120	0	30	0	0	480	0
Broccoli, fresh, 2 cup, chopped	49	1	9	5	5	48	0
Plantains, 1 cup slices	179	0	48	1	4	8	0
	608	4	87	61	9	689	15

Banana, fresh, 1 medium (7" to 7-7/8" long)	109	1	28	1	3	1	0
Dunkin Donuts Glazed Donut, 1 serving	180	8	25	3	1	250	0
	289	9	53	4	4	251	0
	1,994	52	305	88	19	2,273	15
	1970 - 2320	49 - 86	250 - 361	60 - 194	25 - 35	0 - 2300	100 - 200

Food Journal - 1/2/2008

2008-01-03T11:14:00.000-05:00

First day of the new diet... not a great start! Could have been much worse though. I didn't overeat, which has been my problem for the last few months. Fell short in every category...except sodium! Yikes!

On a positive note, I did keep my goal of limiting soda and increasing water. Had 1 Diet Coke and 12 - 8 oz servings of water.

Edit: This is a copy and paste from SparkPeople. Kind of a sloppy solution but it was the best option without spending too much time on it. I'll see if I can figure something better out in the future.

	Calories	Fat	Carbohydrates	Protein	Fiber, total dietary	Sodium, Na	Vitamin B-12

Apples, fresh, 1 large (3-1/4" dia) (approx 2 per lb)	125	1	32	0	6	0	0
Whole Foods All Natural Peanut Butter, 2 tbsp	190	16	7	8	0	5	0
Pistachio Nuts, 0.25 oz (47 kernels)	39	3	2	1	1	0	0
Diet Coke, 12 oz	0	0	0	0	0	40	0
	355	20	41	10	6	45	0

None

Wendy's Large Chili, 1 serving	330	9	35	25	8	1,170	0
Saltine Crackers (Saltines), 6 cracker	77	2	13	2	1	193	0
Wendy's Hot Chili Seasoning, 2 serving	10	0	4	0	0	560	0
Wendy's Jr. Bacon Cheeseburger, 2 serving	760	36	68	40	4	1,780	0
	1,177	47	120	67	13	3,703	0

None
	1,532	67	161	77	19	3,748	0
	1970 - 2320	49 - 86	250 - 361	60 - 194	25 - 35	0 - 2300	100 - 200

New Year, New Resolutions

2008-01-02T13:12:00.001-05:00

As noted in my non-diet blog, I didn't do very well with the resolutions last year. In general life, I am thinking more simply than last year. On the diet front, I have decided to tackle a series of mini-resolutions. Every week I'll pick a small goal to work on. Seems a little more manageable than biting off big chunks.

So... this week, I am working on drinking less diet soda and more water. I've been really bad about drinking too much diet soda. Seriously. There were stretches of days where I drank little else. I'm off to a good start today. I did have a diet soda earlier in the AM but the rest of the day has been nothing but clear H20.

Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness

2007-11-10T11:11:00.000-05:00

I've spent the last two months avoiding anything that had to do with a diet. To make a long story short, I just got overwhelmed. I had a tendency just to take on too many things and, as a result, I get stressed and overworked. I am just not good at establishing balance in my life.

After much thought, I decided to cancel my membership with Weight Watchers. I do think it is a good program and I know that it does a lot of people a lot of good. But I just wasn't taking away from it what I needed. Starting Monday, I'm planning to start following their eating guidelines again to re-establish some structure in what I'm eating.

For me, however, the $40.00/month was starting to be a waste. In order to make WW (or any program for that matter) work for me, I need to start addressing some core issues. Namely this is why I turn to food for comfort instead of working out what the real issues are. It is a band-aid that ultimately does more harm that good. Unless I address the cause, the effect will always be the same. I might go back to meetings at some point when I can get more out of them.

I will continue to post to this blog with my food journals but am planning to spend more time posting at http://andreainblue.blogspot.com. The focus there will be more about life in general. I've spent too much time obsessing over every morsel that goes in my mouth.

The Definition of Insanity

2007-09-12T12:08:00.000-04:00

I am stressed. Stressed, stressed, stressed! The boss man has been out of town for the last few days and the phones have been ringing off the hook. Busy is good but I've been putting up with some unbelievable amounts of abuse from two clients in particular. One just cursed at me for not telling him about a server move. Except... I did tell him. And I sent him updates on the progress. And I CC'ed him on all correspondence about the move. I've been bending over backwards to keep him in the loop and act as his advocate during the changeover... and that phone call apparently was my thanks. Talk about a slap in the face.

Ever heard the Ben Franklin quote about the definition of insanity? It is doing the same things over and over again and expecting different results.

I've been avoiding this blog for the last week and a half. Mostly because I'm embarrassed that I let my eating spiral out of control. I never would have called myself a stress eater in the past but now I think I would have to say that I qualify. I was cruising along on my Project Core and then I let myself get knocked off-kilter.

I'll spare you all the gory details but life & work has been beyond stressful lately. It hasn't just been today. My days are generally busy but much of the last 10 days involves me leaving the house at 7, work-work-work, and then getting home around 10. This leaves precious little time for things that make life pleasant, like sleep and clean laundry. Sometimes my life is just going to be this way. I work for a small firm and there are only so many of us to carry the workload. We all do what we have to.

So where does Ben's definition of insanity come into play?

Looking back over the last few years, I realized that I've been reacting to the stresses in my life in similar and somewhat destructive ways. Did I have a long day full of difficult clients and impossible tasks? I did what made me feel better in the 'right now'. I ate. Of course, I tended to do this a little even when I wasn't stressed to the max. The last several days have really concentrated this type of behavior.

I've come to the conclusion that I need to spend some time thinking about why I sabotage myself and find more productive ways to deal. Until I do that, I won't ever be truly successful at weight loss.

Back to Client Pottymouth. That phone call troubles me for a number of reasons. I won't bother to dissect them all. But... this might well be a turning point for me. Do I react as I always have? Or do I process the event, try to figure out what--if anything--I could have done better and then not let it gnaw away at me?

I'm at an intersection. And this time... I'm taking the road less traveled.

Project Core: Day 31 (8/29/2007)

2007-08-30T09:01:00.000-04:00

Breakfast
I proclaimed it community breakfast day at work. For my contribution, I Core-ified my breakfast hashbrown casserole by using fat free cheese, fat free milk and Canadian bacon. I also used my new MISTO to lightly spritz a bit of olive oil over the potatoes. I did also spray a little olive oil over the cheese, which helped it from getting too plastic-y.

Hashbrown casserole
Peach

Lunch
It is Casserole Day today.

Spinach casserole
Chicken breast on spring mix green salad
Banana

Dinner
This go-around I made polenta chips using a tube of polenta from the store. I have to admit that it sliced really well. The convenience was nice but why buy something for $3.99 when I could make it for around $0.50?

Spinach salad with julienned Canadian bacon and loads of veggies
Polenta chips with dip made from FF Greek yogurt and dried veggies
Apple wedges

H20: 96 oz

Summary
I am going to continue on with Core for the time being. I need to get a game plan together, though, for making the program work better for my daily life. I'm getting there, I promise! I'm tying up a big side project this weekend and will have a little breathing room.

Yay! A Ravelry Invite!

2007-08-29T19:20:00.000-04:00

Woohoo! I finally got my Ravelry invitation!

Hmm... hope they didn't see how many times I've been using their status checker to see if the list was moving or not.

Project Core: Day 30 (8/28/2007)

2007-08-29T00:24:00.000-04:00

Breakfast
Scrambled eggs and polenta has become a breakfast staple for me. I really enjoy it though. I slice a little leftover polenta, season it with some kosher salt, garlic and freshly ground black pepper, then brown it in a non-stick. I like leftover polenta better than freshly made for some strange reason. The eggs were seasoned with some minced onion and pepper. The only letdown was the apple. I've had better.

Scrambled eggs
Polenta
Apple wedges

Lunch
Leftovers!

Roasted pork tenderloin
Spinach casserole

Dinner
I tried out Alton Brown's method for broiling steaks on a lovely cut of beef fillet. It produced a LOT of smoke. My kitchen looked like a Cheech & Chong movie was being filmed there. The results were worth it! Also had some leftover spinach casserole and some apples sauteed in a nonstick with some spices.

Broiled beef fillet
More leftover spinach casserole
Pan-sauteed apples

H20: 96 oz

Summary
This was the end of my 30 Day Core experiment. I need to think about how to proceed over the next day or two. Will post more shortly!

Waiting for Ravelry

2007-08-28T18:12:00.000-04:00

Woohoo!

I just did a lookup on ravelry.com* to see where I was on the waiting list. Any day now, y'all!

Found you!

You signed up on June 22, 2007
You are #10547 on the list.
127 people are ahead of you in line.
18576 people are behind you in line.
35% of the list has been invited so far

*Ravelry is a knitting and crocheting community that allows users to organize your stash and projects, as well as share and network with other knitters/crocheters. They have a pretty long waiting list, as you can see!

WW - The Early Years

2007-08-28T17:43:00.000-04:00

Take a look at this.

I am, frankly, amazed that anyone managed to stay on WW if these recipe cards are indicative of the programs of the past. Um... fluffy mackerel pudding, anyone? Oy.

Her commentary is killer. That Candyboots... she makes me giggle.

Project Core: Day 29 (8/27/2007)

2007-08-27T14:35:00.000-04:00

Breakfast

Breakfast was a fast 'n dirty affair. I slept a little longer than I should have.

Eggs scrambled with polenta cubes and onion
Peach

Lunch

Whole wheat penne with broccoli, tomatoes and shrimp

Dinner
I thought I'd try a new recipe for dinner tonight. I came across a core spinach casserole recipe online that intrigued me. I made some modifications and posted the recipe here. It reminded me quite a bit of a spinach casserole that my mama made when we were kids. That one is also Core so I posted it as well. (Note: the experimental casserole was decent but I really prefer the original.) In other news, the pork tenderloin was excellent. I rubbed it with coarse stone ground mustard and oven roasted it on my cast iron grill pan. I know I've said this before but I'm all about the cast iron these days.

Mustard rubbed pork tenderloin
Spinach casserole
Apple wedges

H20: 36 oz

WPAs: 0 of 35

Summary
The day was a good one but I didn't drink nearly enough water. Not sure why. I just had a hard time getting it down. I need to really push the H20 this week.

Project Core: MIA

2007-08-27T08:36:00.001-04:00

Sorry I went MIA for the last few days! I spent quite a bit of time working on some side projects. Between that and the storm over the weekend that caused some major havoc in my apt complex, I was pretty well booked.

I was following program... more or less. I say that because, while I was eating Core foods, I ate WAY too much of them. So I suppose you could say that I was on program... but kind of not. My internal switch controlling my hunger impulses was totally off and I wasn't as proactive about getting things in check as I could have been.

I'll return to daily posting as of today. I'm still chasing after the perfect baked polenta chip recipe. I also have a new obsession: panna cotta. It is simple and easy... yet rich and satisfying. I'll post more about my panna cotta adventures in the next day or two.

I did get myself a little present. How cute are these mini trifle bowls? I have all sorts of plans for them. I did a Core espresso panna cotta in them last week. It was excellent. Rich and creamy without being overly sweet. I also have visions of savory layered dishes, one in particular with cubed polenta. More on this in the future! (Update: these little trifle bowls are also sturdy. This evening, I accidentally knocked one from the top of the fridge. It ricocheted off the refrigerator door and bounced around on the kitchen's unforgiving tile floor. And, amazingly enough, there wasn't a single nick or crack.)

In other news, I think that I'm going to have to start limiting the caffiene. I've just been drinking way too many caffeinated beverages and, much as I love a good cup of coffee, it is starting to affect my sleeping patterns. Lately I'm wired up until around midnight and subsequently have a tough time getting up in the AM. So... this week I'm going to cut out all caffeinated bevs after noon. Hopefully this will make a difference.

Project Core: Day 25 (8/23/2007)

2007-08-24T18:57:00.000-04:00

Breakfast

Scramble of eggs, diced Canadian bacon, green peppers, onions and carrots

Lunch

Baked potato with a cup of chili poured over (4 WPAs)

Dinner
Was at the boss man's house, working on a project for him this evening. He offered to fire up the grill and make burgers for us.

Lean hamburger on bun (2 WPAs for bun)
Asst veggies
Corn on the cob

H20: 96 oz
WPA: 31 of 35

Project Core: Day 24 (8/22/2007)

2007-08-23T10:58:00.000-04:00

Breakfast
One of my current favorite breakfasts...

Shirred eggs with fresh herbs
Oven roasted potatoes, onions, carrots and green peppers

Lunch
The boss man bought lunch for the office. It would have sent me WAY over in WPAs so I sat it out. (Really annoyed me that there wasn't any question about getting something that I could have too.) Should have brought something but I left in a hurry in the AM.

Dinner
Made dinner for the boss man and his visiting sister. Kind of made me feel like a chump after the lunch incident but c'est la vie. I'm just being pissy. I'll get over it. On a positive note the pannacotta was most excellent. I'll post my recipe and a few variations shortly.

Chicken fajitas
Refried black beans
Sauteed onions with green and red peppers
Espresso Core pannacotta

H20: 96 oz
WPA: 25 of 35

Schedule Craziness & Thoughts on Core

2007-08-22T08:37:00.000-04:00

I'm finally getting caught up with my journals after the nuttiness of the last week. I've been unbelievably busy and just need to take a little time to unwind and regroup.

Today is the 24th day of my 30 day experiment with Core. Here are a few observations that I've made. Your mileage may vary.

HardCore
The first few weeks I was doing the program hardcore and trying to avoid using WPAs. I started to feel really good. I started to lose some of the bloating that I was getting in my feet and legs. Cravings went away and I didn't have an urge to snack all the time.

Using WPAs
Over the past several days, I've relaxed quite a bit and have been liberally using WPAs for non-Core items. The snacking urge is back in a major way. My feet and ankles have started to swell again. I discussed WPAs at the last meeting I attended with the leader. She's a substitute leader from another meeting. She's quite knowledgeable about the program and has been very successful in her own weight loss. She scolded me in the nicest possible way about not using the WPAs, saying that WW wouldn't have worked them into the program if they weren't beneficial. I have to disagree in some small way. I suspect the WPAs were added in to give the plan some extra flexibility not because of any specific health benefit. (Not that flexibility isn't a good thing!)

Planning
Planning is a big part of success on WW under the best of circumstances. My goal is to go into each day with a plan but to stay flexible so you can roll with whatever punches come my way. Obviously I do better some days than I do on others. I have found with Core that I have to double up on my planning efforts. I know part of it is working with a program that is new and learning to live within the guidelines.

My Overall Impression
I do think that the benefits of Core do outweigh the shortcomings. I feel good enough that I think I can deal with the inconvenience of the program constraints. Failure to plan is my own shortcoming and that is something that I really need to work on if I'm going to continue with the Core program. I do also need to spend some additional time researching available options so my meals aren't so freaking boring. I do think that the Core program is a good one... if you can work within the guidelines.

Project Core: Day 23 (8/21/2007)

2007-08-22T08:32:00.000-04:00

Breakfast

Shredded wheat cereal with FF plain yogurt and a banana
Probiotic yogurt shot (1 pt)

Lunch
The boss man was out of the office so I had to run some work errands at noon. I didn't pack a lunch and was starving so I grabbed something from Wendy's.

Baked potato with a small serving of chili (4 pts for chili)
Apple

Dinner
Leftover stew from night before. I wooshed the rest down the disposal. Twice was enough. I can't get past those crumbles.

Improvised stew of chickpeas, tomatoes, onions, black beans, corn and veggie 'meat' crumbles
Peach

H20: 64 oz
WPA: 25 of 35

Project Core: Day 22 (8/20/2007)

2007-08-22T08:17:00.000-04:00

Breakfast

Shredded wheat cereal with FF plain yogurt and a banana
Probiotic yogurt shot (1 pt)

Lunch
A friend of mine came into the office and brought lunch with her from a Mexican take out place. They're really good about special requests so this meal was very nearly Core. (I forgot to ask them to omit the rice so I'm using WPAs for it.) It was excellent.

Chicken taco salad w/ grilled chicken on a bed of lettuce with beans, rice, lots of fresh salsa - (3 pts for rice)

Dinner
Not one of my better efforts... but it was quick and reasonably well-balanced. I usually like this combination but the addition of the veggie 'meat' crumbles was what threw this off. This particular brand had a rather bizarre texture.

Improvised stew of chickpeas, tomatoes, onions, black beans, corn and veggie 'meat' crumbles

H20: 64 oz
WPA: 21 of 35

Project Core: Day 21 (8/19/2007)

2007-08-22T08:07:00.000-04:00

Breakfast

Scrambled eggs w/ veggies
Peach
Probiotic yogurt shot (1 pt)

Lunch
I was at the boss man's house again, working on a project for him. He cranked up the grill and made burgers. They were Core, as the beef was lean. The bun, however, was not.

Hamburger w/ tomato, onions, pickles & bun (3 pts for bun)
Baked tortilla chips (4 pts)
Peach

Dinner
Dinner at the boss man's. He was out and about so I heated up some leftover chili. Again, should have bypassed the cheese.

Chili
Cheese - 4 pts

H20:96 oz
WPA: 17 of 35

Summary
I am struggling. Over the last few days I have been fighting the urge to snack and I've been eating too much of the Core things at meals. The first few weeks on the Core program, I was really satisfied and didn't have this persistent hunger that is following me around. I have to tie it all into using those extra WPAs for non-Core items. I need to be smarter about using them. I won't completely rule out their use... but I do need to be a little more cautious with their use.

Project Core: Day 20 (8/18/2007)

2007-08-22T08:01:00.000-04:00

Breakfast

Scrambled eggs w/ veggies
Peach
Probiotic yogurt shot

Lunch

Grilled chicken breast on green salad w/ toasted polenta 'croutons'

Dinner
Dinner at the boss man's. I was working on a project for him and he offered to cook chili. It was good and was actually Core. (Lean ground beef, tomatoes, beans, onions, etc.) The cheese, however, was not. I should have bypassed it but I didn't.

Chili
Cheese - 4 pts

H20:96 oz
WPA: 5 of 35

Weekend Posts

2007-08-20T08:19:00.000-04:00

Good morning, all!

I kept pretty busy this weekend with the side project I had going on so I wasn't able to log those few days. I'll try to get caught up shortly. The weekend was good though I didn't go to my Saturday morning meeting. It wasn't perfectly Core and I did use some WPA's. I do feel good about it though. Most of my meals were cooked by others and, with some adaptations, I was able to stay on program.

Andrea in Yellow

2007-08-18T12:22:00.001-04:00

In keeping with my endless fascination with silly online toys, here is the Simpsonized version of little Felix and myself. (I photoshopped in his white tummy and paws. And the depiction of me will be a little more accurate once I've followed the program a while longer!)