Pretty Great Little Saturday

Yep, I started out the day with a delicious chocolate cupcake. I had gotten it at Lund's last night and planned on eating it then to start today out fresh, but then I was too full after dinner. So I thought hey, why not just eat it first thing today? I can if I want to. It looked more delicious than these cupcakes, but I forgot to take a picture. Oh well.

So after a relaxing morning, the boyfriend and I went to the gym. This was his first time back in awhile, and my first time at this particular Snap Fitness. It was nothing exciting, walked on the treadmill at an incline for a half hour, which was enough for me at the time. I always get REALLY red in the face when working out, and sure enough this time was no different. It felt good at least.

I spent the afternoon getting ready to go grocery shopping, which means figuring out coupons of course. It's like I want to stock up on all this healthy food but then I need to think about how much I will actually be home this week... which isn't that much. Working at a restaurant does have its perks, like the shift meal. So then I just have to think about what I will feel like eating before work, or after work depending on the day.

I decided to go to the store in the early evening to avoid the crazy Saturday shoppers... but of course there was still tons of people there thanks to the Super Bowl. I ended up getting some random healthy stuff for the week (bananas, peppers, yogurt, bread, oatmeal, whole wheat waffles), and lean ground beef for bolognese that I will make Monday night and eat the next couple of days.

The boyfriend's parents are coming over for the game tomorrow so I'm making my famous guacamole, plus I will be getting some meat and cheese from work. His mom is making sloppy joes and bringing them over, yes! So I just have to work before that then come home and make cookies and guacamole.

Overall I ate mostly well today, but I did have a couple of cream cheese puffs from Lee Ann Chin. They were totally worth it. Those plus who knows how many calories in the cupcake (my lovely food diary app says about 420 calories, ah!) pushed me over the edge of my "1600 calorie plan." Tomorrow's a new day, and as long as I eat a healthy and balanced breakfast and lunch I should be good for Super Bowl party time.

So far I've walked 7174 steps today, and by the time I go to sleep it will probably be 7500. The average steps per day for women are 5210 so I beat that at least! I work at 10 am tomorrow so I plan on getting up and doing some yoga before showering and heading to work.

Until tomorrow,

Well that was quick

So it turns out I spoke a little bit too soon with that last post... I have fallen off the wagon. I've had a Diet Coke a day for the past few days, I think the temptation at work became too much. But that's okay, it happens. Starting tomorrow I'm back to it, including eating healthy. I haven't been eating all junk, but definitely a lot of carbs and sweets.

I've come to realize that I definitely need to step up working out in combination with eating less. I've tried to cut down calories but I keep going over every day, which just means I need to eat more whole foods and less junk. It's just so hard for me to give up all sweets! Somehow I've trained myself to want something sweet after every meal, which is not necessary. I just need to find smarter picks that won't make me crave more.

I have also tried planning out my meals either the night before or the start of the day... and it doesn't work for me. I usually end up craving different things than I've planned and then I go way off plan. This is why I need to have all different kinds of healthy food around me at all times, so I can always make a good decision. Right now I'm going to focus on getting the correct number of servings of each food group every day. That is something that is achievable and yet has enough spontaneity in it that I won't feel like I'm eating the same thing every day.

I'm going to go cold turkey on Diet Coke again tomorrow and this time it will stick! Soda is everywhere and it's just so tough to avoid it, but I am tougher. I won't put chemicals in my body anymore. I just need to remember that if I need caffeine (which is the main reason I would drink Diet Coke), I can always have a cup of coffee, or a cup of tea.

Now on to the awesome shoes pictured at the top. I just bought those as a motivator and I'm so excited! They're Reebok EasyTone shoes, and I got them for $35 when they're normally priced at $99! If you've never been to 6pm.com you need to check it out now, especially because it's free shipping right now. I also bought a fancy pedometer at Walgreens thanks to their Walk with Walgreens program! You enter in your daily steps and earn coupons (another one of my obsessions), and when you register you get a $5 off pedometer coupon. I combined that with a sale this week for $5 off and I got an awesome pedometer for $21.99!

Anyway enough about saving and coupons. Both the new shoes and the pedometer are going to help me step up my workouts. I'm starting a yoga class next week, and I'm going to at least go for a walk every day to get my steps up to 10,000. I also just got a kickboxing dvd which I'm excited to start.

Most posts won't be this long, sorry! Another goal of mine is to blog something every day, even if it's just a link to a recipe I tried.

Until tomorrow,

Goodbye Dear Friend

I said goodbye to a dear friend three days ago... Diet Coke. We've hung out every day, usually multiple times a day for years. It's been there for me through thick and thin, but it's time to say goodbye. Maybe someday I will be able to hang out with you only occasionally, but right now I can't see you anymore. I've become too worried about aspartame and artificial sweeteners in general, and you really do make me crave sweet and salty junk food. I also worry about my teeth and I need to save them.

I couldn't give up caffeine all together, otherwise I would get horrible headaches. I've been having a cup of coffee a day, but today I've only had black and green tea and water! I feel great so far, it's just been hard at the restaurant where I work (we have THE best Diet Coke on fountain!). Whenever I'm tempted, like when I'm getting one for a customer, I just think about how there is nothing natural or nutritious in it and I'm not doing my body any favors.

This is just the first step for me and my quest to become a healthier and happier me. I originally wanted to start a blog again to get myself to write every day. I also realized that I need a place to document my quest to get healthy. I love food and cooking and restaurants so much, but after getting to the heaviest I've ever been, I realized I needed to change. I can still love food but do it in a healthier way- by watching my portions and making sure I get the right number of servings each day. I need to eat organic and cruelty-free as much as possible. I need to work out more than I do, and just be active in general. I need to be kind to my body. So join me on my quest to become a healthy foodie for once and for all!