Don't Work Yourself Up

Hello everyone.  The good news is that when I weighed this weekend I was down a pound bringing me less than 3 pounds away from the first goal Weight Watchers gave me.  The bad news is that when I drove to Kentucky and back this weekend, I had a few weak moments.  In all honesty, I’ve done way worse when I have travelled in the past but there were a multitude of temptations and I gave into a few of them.  The item pictured above is one of the many things that got in the way of a perfect weekend.  My mom and I ran into an Amish store on the way to Lexington in a town called Berea, KY.  My mom wanted to stop to get some Amish butter, so we did.  In the store, there was a plethora of goodies to explore.  None of these goodies are what I would consider healthy.  In the picture above, you’ll see marshmallows like the kind you find in Lucky Charms.  These are special because we found a whole bag of them without cereal…only marshmallows.  Those were awesome.  There were cheese curds, fried okra chips, suckers and lots of other things.  We also had a Diet Root Beer Float from the A&W.  There were a couple other instances over the weekend.  The point is, it wasn’t great.  I’m not proud of my performance but like I said, I’ve done worse and I was coming off of a perfect 2 week stretch.  I  also didn’t stuff myself until I thought I’d throw up.  Believe it or not, that’s a major achievement.  I know I have work to do but I’m back on today.  I am not going to beat myself up.  There’s a football game at home this week so my goal is to have a perfect weekend.  I know I can do it.

Last week, I offered up some suggestions on restaurants that have awesome nutrition calculators and this week I have a couple more.  A friend of mine told me about Chipotle.  I never go there because I’m a big fan of Moe’s.  Moe’s has been good to me and I don’t want to cheat on them.  More importantly, Chipotle puts cilantro in their rice and I hate that.  Having said all of that though, I checked out their site and their nutrition calculator is pretty awesome.  It gives you the liberty of picking and choosing certain ingredients.  The other nutrition calculator I found last week was for Newk’s.  I LOVE Newk’s but I rarely go because there are very few healthy options but I was able to go last week because I found decent options using the calculator they provide.  I wish every restaurant did this.  It makes life SO MUCH EASIER.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m32zfjj19JM&feature=youtu.be

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GRlr0iUz75Q&feature=youtu.be

I saw The Lumineers, The Band Perry and Rascal Flatts last week at the Amp.  All the music has been amazing but I think those were my last concerts until December.  I love the Amp.  It has provided a lot of entertainment this summer.  I included a couple videos I uploaded. 

As mentioned above, my mom was gracious enough to travel to Kentucky with me to see Alabama beat the Wildcats in football.  It was a LONG two days because of all the driving but we had a blast.  We won, we ate good food, we saw family and we made it back safely.

I hope everyone has a great week!

Roll Tide!

Bye!

“Seems like you always want you can’t have

Well that’s just life, baby, and you can’t get mad

Don’t work yourself up too much, oh love

Don’t work yourself up too much, oh love

So much out there I have yet to see

But sometimes I just want to settle down and start a family
And mostly I just feel like I am stuck in between…” Don’t Work Yourself Up – Tristan Prettyman

Ho Hey

Howdy everyone!  Good news! After being on Weight Watchers again for less than 2 weeks, I’ve already lost 7 pounds.  I’m close to meeting the first goal Weight Watchers gave me and I’m one step closer to my end-of-the-year goal.  Apparently this was the jumpstart I needed.  I have been totally perfect since I started Weight Watchers again and I’m following the rules that I laid out for myself to a tee.  I’m proud of myself and I want to keep going.  I’m going to two concerts this week and I’m traveling to Kentucky this weekend with my mom for the Bama game so I know it’s going to be challenging but I’ve got momentum and I plan to keep up the good work.

Since we are on the subject of doing our best, I wanted to give you a hint on how to survive out there in your lunch hour.  More and more restaurants are putting their nutritional information online.  Some of them are going above and beyond to make sure that we have all the info we need to make healthy decisions and I provided a list of some of the winners below.

The best places are the ones that allow you to choose what you are getting and then edit the food to meet your needs.  For instance, with McCalister’s you can choose what sandwich you want and if you want it without tomato and mayonnaise, you can eliminate those ingredients and the nutrition facts will update.  I think this is AMAZING.  You can also do this at the rest of them.  The reason McCalister’s got first place is because at McCalister’s, you are almost certain to get the serving size that their nutrition facts suggest.  At Jason’s and Moe’s, it doesn’t take into account that your server or you at the salad bar may get more food than the nutrition facts account for and I know I'm not strong enough to leave the extra on my plate. Really though, they are all great and all deserve first place credit.  I will try to update you on more places that provided such awesome information as I see them and if you know of any others, please let me know. 

As always, I have a lot going on.  I was lucky enough to go to Alabama’s homecoming game on Saturday and I’m also (as I said before) traveling to Kentucky with my mom this weekend for the game in Lexington. I have two concerts this week, midterm grades are due Wednesday, I’m working, tutoring and teaching and I’m also part of a fiction writing group (which is good because I need to stay on my toes when it comes to writing).  Basically, I’m so busy it’s hard to keep it all together but I feel so lucky to have the opportunities that I have.  I’m always worried about money and the next thing I have to do but at the end of the day, I travel, see concerts and football games and just have the best time so if that means I’m constantly scraping the bottom of the barrel then I guess it’s worth it.  I’m sure I’ll have plenty to report next week.

Have a great week and Roll Tide! Bye!

“(Ho!) I’ve been trying to do it right

(Hey!) I’ve been living a lonely life

(Ho!) I’ve been sleeping here instead

(Hey!) I’ve been sleeping in my bed,

(Ho!) Sleeping in my bed

(Hey!)” Ho Hey-The Lumineers

Point Taken

I’d like to start by wishing my mother an early Happy Birthday! Her birthday is tomorrow and we are celebrating on Sunday.  Congrats on another year, Mom! Love you!

So, sometime on Tuesday or Wednesday it occurred to me that the things I’ve been trying lately haven’t led to any results.  At some point last week, I decided that the only thing that has ever truly worked for me consistently is Weight Watchers.  When I started my weight loss journey, I started with Weight Watchers.  Over the past year or so, I got burned out on counting points and I’ve tried other things but nothing keeps the weight off.  On Thursday, I signed up again.  My first weigh in was Thursday.  I knew it would be high because I had already eaten breakfast and lunch and I had quite a weekend before that.  I decided my weigh in day would be Saturday so I did Weight Watchers perfectly Thursday and Friday and when I weighed Saturday morning, I was already down four pounds.  I know some of that had to do with a morning weigh in, the clothes I was wearing and a couple other factors but it felt good to see the scale going in the right direction.  I let myself enjoy gameday on Saturday.  I got all the junk food I like out of the way.  So, I may not see much of a loss this Saturday but it feels right to be counting points again.  I need to beat this plateau.  Weight Watchers had my first goal at 10.2 pounds and I have 5.6 pounds left to go before I get there.  I’m hoping to lose around 20 pounds by the end of the year so I’m being as strict as possible from now on.  As you know, it’s a constant battle. 

I wanted to share a popsicle that I found.  There’s a new place in town called Steel City Pops.  They sell gourmet popsicles and they are delicious.  I’m particularly fond of the peanut butter one.  Unfortunately, these frozen treats are around 250 calories so they aren’t something that I can run and get all the time.  This popsicle, while not as good as the creamy peanut butter, is pretty tasty and is only 60 calories.  Of course, if you aren’t into coconut or pineapple, you may want to consider another flavor.

I have definitely shown the above snack before but since it’s football season, I thought I’d show you my lower calorie/fat version of barbecue nachos.  If you’re from the south, you should be aware of barbecue nachos, a snack that has taken over at sporting events.  There are different versions but essentially, you take tortilla chips and top them with pulled pork, barbecue sauce and nacho cheese.  They are delicious but absolutely awful for you.  It is possible, however, to make a much healthier (and almost as tasty) version of these at home.  I made them with baked tortilla chips, pre-packaged barbecue and white queso you can find in a jar.  It’s important to keep within in one serving size but this is one of very few snacks that actually makes for a decent substitution.

In addition to my mom’s birthday, my brother’s girlfriend, Lisa also celebrated last week.  She turned 21 and I wanted to share the adorable cake my mom made for her with all of you.  It was all rainbow-y and yummy!

I went to my first Bama game of the season on Saturday.  We played Ole Miss and won.  Roll Tide! Football season is my absolute favorite time of the year.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sTlS_hJKTmU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eoah10p6Jdc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KsN8sRAIh8s

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xVUAXf28E3Q

I saw Grace Potter and the Nocturnals for the fifth time Wednesday night and she was amazing as usual.  I included some links to some Youtube videos I made while I was there.

My parent’s dog Greyson ate an entire stick of butter yesterday so she was feeling a little under the weather and was pretty annoyed that I was in her face.  I would highly recommend never eating an entire stick of butter.

See y’all next time!

Bye!

“Let me be your ruler (ruler)

You can call me queen bee

And baby I’ll rule, I’ll rule, I’ll rule, I’ll rule

Let me live that fantasy.” Royals-Lorde 

Breakin' At The Cracks

Hello everyone.  Sorry there was no post last week.  I am completely swamped with work and school.  This post will be mostly a recap of the things that have happened in the past couple weeks.  I won’t weigh officially until October 1^st but I had to weigh for an insurance screening at work and I was up several pounds.  I’m exercising like crazy.  I’ve got an A+ 100% average as far as exercise goes and I have had that average for a long time now.  As I’ve stated before, my problem is food.  Since Monday, the 9^th, I’ve been at about a D average as far as calorie intake.  That’s terrible.  I have to do better than that.  I’m so tired and frustrated all of the time and I’m turning to food on the weekends.  I am doing well today and I’ll face many challenges this week/weekend.  The biggest challenge will be my first football game on Saturday.  What’s frustrating is the rate at which I can gain weight.  It’s just ridiculous.  I honestly feel a bit overwhelmed with stress and the added frustration of gaining weight is a bit much for me to handle right now.  I’m trying to maintain a balance.  I feel like I will struggle for this for a while so that’s what I’m dealing with.  It’s tough, y’all.  I won’t lie.  I’m not giving up though.

I don’t have a recipe this week but I wanted to share some photographs that I’ve been taking while on my morning runs in the cemetery near my apartment.  I don’t get a whole lot of time to myself.  That’s fine because that’s the life I choose.  I like to stay busy.  However, it’s important to have some alone time to gather your thoughts and take a deep breath.   I have been immensely enjoying my runs in the mornings because the weather is cool, the sunrise is stunning and I can clear my  head.  It’s not easy to force myself to get up but once I do, it’s meditative and almost spiritual and I desperately need this.  I encourage all of you to take time for yourselves without anyone there or anything that can cause a distraction.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_sfqG8CgePA

I’ve been going and going for a few weeks with little indication that I will slow down any time soon.  The above picture/link is to the Mumford & Sons concert I went to in Birmingham.  They were awesome.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IFi1QJbl4dk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pDHypStn9FQ

I was also able to see Fun in Tuscaloosa last week.  They were also great.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=erz4m5pebpk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-uIS5zFzJs

Lastly, my brother, Cassandra and I went to Atlanta for Music Midtown.  We got to see Journey, the Red Hot Chlii Peppers, Imagine Dragons and others.  It rained for hours on Saturday so it was a muddy mess.  It was quite an experience.  There were some miserable moments but for the most part, it was fun and I’m glad I got to spend the weekend with my brother.

I also hung out at my friend’s brewery.  It’s a place called Druid City Brewing Company and if you’re ever in Tuscaloosa and you like beer, please consider stopping by.

Lastly, my parent’s dog, Greyson likes to pretend she’s a lap dog. Clearly, she is not.

That’s all folks.

Pray that I can get my act together!

Roll Tide!

Bye!

“And I never thought that I’d be in these places on this day

And now I don’t know how much more that I can take

I’m breaking at the cracks

And everything goes black

It’s another heart attack

And I can’t handle that…” Breakin’ At The Cracks – Colbie Caillat

I'm Overwhelmed...

Hi y’all. It’s been awhile.  I hope everyone had a wonderful Labor Day.  I’ve had an incredibly busy few weeks.  I have three jobs now that school is back in so I haven’t stopped working for more than a few hours at a time.  I’ve also occupied my time with fun things.  I’ve been to Chattanooga, the beach and I’ve hung out with friends and family.  I am overwhelmed.  I’m overwhelmed in different ways.  I’m tired because of all of the work and traveling but I’m also overwhelmed with all of the positive things I have in my life.  I’ve been so incredibly frustrated by my inability to lose weight lately.  I’m tired mentally and physically which inevitably means I eat more but it’s so frustrating when I’m well-behaved most of the time and exercise at least 6 days a week.  I asked my doctor today.  I have hypothyroidism.  I’ve had it for years, actually. I know that people blame their thyroid for being overweight all the time.  I’m not one of those people.  I managed to lose over 100 pounds with an inactive thyroid.  However, the doctor told me today that my thyroid does “absolutely nothing.”  He is kind of baffled by the fact that my medicine is at a very high level and nothing has ever changed in my blood work.  He said that is contributing to the difficulty I’m having.  He also said that it would only get harder as time goes on.  He basically tried to say I’m getting old and it’s not going to get better.  I’m going to suck it up (even though I know I just whined here) and press forward.  I’m going to concentrate less on the number on the scale.  I’ve decided to weigh once a month and see how that goes.  I get extremely hung up on numbers.  I’m also going to stick more closely to the plan that I have, especially on the weekends.  Lastly, I need to go to bed earlier.  I’m not getting nearly enough sleep.   I operate most efficiently when my life is completely structured.  Every minute of my day needs to be planned and have a purpose.  That’s just how I function and this year I’ve struggled to maintain that.  It’s a daily battle, y’all.  Don’t give up.  I’m not going to. 

I participated in another Color Run on Saturday with Cassandra and some coworkers.  It was fun time as usual.  I didn’t really measure the time because it was a fun run and when I run I have to focus in order to maintain a pace for a long time.  It’s hard to do that when you are running with other people.  That’s totally fine, though.  It was worth it to have fun with other people.  I am actually training for a 10K now.  I downloaded an app and I’m on week 9 of a 14 week program that ends in (hopefully) having the ability to run a 10K without stopping which is about 6.2 miles.  I run 3 days a week.  I never thought I’d be able to do it.  I know that some people aren’t able to run due to physical impairments but if you are healthy and have strong legs, I’d give running a try.  If I can do it, you can.  I would highly recommend the Couch to 5K app.  It starts slowly and then progresses.  I went from never running and now I can run for 40-45 minutes without stopping.  I run at turtle speed but I listen to music, clear my mind and get a good workout in the process.  Don’t get me wrong.  It’s still exercise and I could listen to music lying in my bed but in terms of exercise, it’s currently my favorite thing.

As I said, I’ve been coming and going constantly the past few weeks and the pictures above hit the highlights.  I saw Backstreet Boys, went to the beach with Nish and had yummy food and I also included a picture of an example of the beautiful sunrises I’ve been seeing when I get up to run in the mornings.  AND...I'm going to see Mumford & Sons tonight. Life is hard but life is good.

Alabama has a rematch with Texas A&M on Saturday so…

ROLL TIDE Y’ALL!

Until next time…

“I can’t sleep tonight

Wide awake and so confused

Everything’s in line

But I am bruised

I need a voice to echo

I need a light to take me home

I kinda need a hero

Is it you?

I never see the forest for the trees

I could really use your melody

Baby I’m a little blind

I think it’s time for you to find me

Can you be nightingale?

Sing to me

I know you’re there

You could be my sanity

Bring me peace

Sing me to sleep

Say you’ll be my nightingale

Somebody speak to me

Cause I’m feeling like hell

Need you to answer me

I’m overwhelmed

I need a voice to echo

 I need a light to take me home

I need a star to follow

I don’t know…” Nightingale-Demi Lovato 

I Bet It's Just Like Heaven...

Hello all.  School started last week so I’m crazy  busy but I am hoping to settle into a routine this week.  I had an amazing weekend with friends and family and this week is just as busy and should be just as fun.  I’m going to see the Backstreet Boys tomorrow night.  I can’t WAIT to feel like I’m in high school again…I know they may be cheesy but I’m so excited.  I am also headed to the beach this week with my friend Nish and it will definitely be nice to get away.  There won’t be a post next Monday because it’s Labor Day and I won’t be back from the beach yet.  So, happy Labor Day in advance! When I weighed on Friday, I had lost one of the New Orleans pounds I gained so that’s good.  I had a rough weekend but I’m back on today.  I’m hoping to come up with some sort of strategy for the beach so I don’t do too poorly but as always, it’s a challenge.

I wanted to share a new snack with you all today.  These are “Simply Cheetos Puffs” and they are White Cheddar flavored.  You can have 32 of these for 150 calories.  They are so yummy.  They are kind of addictive so make sure to count them out rather than just eating out of the bag.  I know these aren’t natural and probably don’t come highly recommended by nutritionist but you know I’m an advocate of having snacks around that make you feel like you are actually eating something you want.  These puffs make you feel like you’re getting a junk food fix and you aren’t consuming hundreds of calories.

I had a great time in Chattanooga this weekend.  My friends and I went to the Southern Brewers Festival in Chattanooga on Saturday (where we got to see St. Paul and the Broken Bones again), hung out with my family on Sunday and then got to see one of my ABSOLUTE FAVORITE singers, Sara Bareilles at a place called Track 29 in Chattanooga.  We got home late last night so I’m tired but it was totally worth it.  We had a blast! (The video isn’t the best quality.  If you can’t see, copy and paste the following link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7Ibz0CRSZ0&feature=youtu.be)

I hope you all have a wonderful week/Labor Day!

It’s GAME WEEK, TOO! ROLL TIDE!!!!!!!!!!

Bye.

“She said,

Tonight

Come on, come on

Collide

Break me to pieces, I

I think you’re just like heaven

Why

Come on, come on

Collide

Let’s see what a fire feels like

I bet it’s just like heaven” Cassiopeia-Sara Bareilles