Penguin993's cycling on the Beach...

[penguin993]

So much for DH cooking last night... He was too tired. So, we went out to Red Lobster to use a $10 gift card we had, and I made lousy choices.

Tuesday menu, 10/6:

B: 1/2 cup oats with 1% milk with banana and drizzle of agave nectar
S: none
L: 8 Triscuit Thin Crisps, apple (mushy ), cheese stick
S: none
D: Red Lobster stuffed flounder, mashed potatoes, 2 Cheddar Bay Biscuits, green salad with ranch dressing on the side
S: none

I was going to get the broccoli but changed my mind after eating those lovely biscuits. Perhaps it was a good thing, as the broccoli my husband ordered looked HORRIBLE - overcooked and covered with what looked like red pepper flakes.

Today:

Wednesday's menu, 10/7:

B: 1/2 cup oats with 1% milk, drizzle of SF maple syrup and agave, 2 egg omelet with bit of cheese
S: none
L: Jimmy John's #10 Hunter's Club (roast beef sandwich with lettuce, tomato, and provolone on french bread)
S: none
D: 100% ww penne pasta (1/2 cup) with shrimp, red peppers, red onion, cremini mushrooms, wilted fresh spinach leaves, green onion, garlic, and in a white wine/butter sauce with a dash of cayenne pepper

Had a sleepless night last night due to the dog we're dog-sitting for barking her fool head off because of some distant thunderstorms, so I didn't have the time or energy this morning to pack a lunch... I caved and went to JJ's. I will be better tomorrow.

[penguin993]

Monday 10/12 weekly weigh-in:

Last Monday, 10/5: 155.4
Today, 10/12: 154.0
Total lost this week: 1.4 pounds

I got sick on Friday - caught a mild cold. It's so mild that I wasn't sure for a couple of days if it was a cold or allergies, especially since I haven't had a cold in probably about two years. But, it's definitely a cold, so I'm trying to drink lots of fluids and get some sleep. I haven't been eating strictly SB this past week, and I think that contributed to me getting sick, as I find I resist infections a lot better when I do stick to SB. Oh well, lesson learned... again.

[penguin993]

Monday my cold started feeling bad enough that I canceled my students for Tuesday and took the day off to recuperate. Then, my husband got sick (no surprise, as we live in the same house!), so it's been a rough week. The good news is I'm finally feeling more or less back to normal this morning, and I'll have the willpower/energy to revert back to SB and stop eating ice cream and white potatoes. I think I'm up 2 pounds since Monday, but I'm hoping most of that is water weight.

Today's menu:

B: 1/2 cup rolled oats, 1% milk, squirt of agave syrup, splash of OJ in 14 oz water (for the vitamin C)
S:
L: ham and cheese sandwich, 1 honeycrisp apple (the BEST apples ever!!!)
S:
D:

[penguin993]

First ride in almost a month, due to illness, gigs, and various other factors. I can really feel how out of shape I've gotten!

Sunday 10/18 ride stats:

Time: 1 hr 5 min
Distance: 10 miles
Av. speed: 9.4 mph
Max speed: 14.1 mph

[penguin993]

Monday 10/19 weekly weigh-in:

Last Monday, 10/12: 154.0
Today, 10/19: 157.0
Total gained this week: 3.0 pounds

[penguin993]

Monday 10/26 weekly weigh-in:

Last Monday, 10/19: 157.0
Today, 10/26: 156.2
Total lost this week: 0.8 pounds

A loss is a loss, but I still didn't eat very clean this week, so I will make it my goal to be better about staying away from the "white" foods. Schedule-wise, this past week was horrible... working hours from 7:30 am - 10:30 pm or later, without access to a fridge, and stuff will only stay cool in my cooler for so long (as in, I can manage lunch, but not lunch and dinner out of the cooler). I was feeling a little resentment this week as well, falling back into thinking, "why can't I eat like a 'normal' person?" and feeling like I should be entitled to eat what I want. Silly me! The 'normal' weight in this country is overweight, and if I return back to the habits that got me here in the first place, all that will get me is frustration. So, I'm staying on the Beach, even though it isn't easy and it isn't always convenient.

[bevvbevv]

Kudos to you for deciding to keep on even when those "normal" foods sound so "reasonable!" I completely understand that feeling.

And I'm onboard with the honeycrisp apple love. Delicious!

[penguin993]

I tried to eat just a clean P2 this week, but failed miserably, so back on P1 for a few days... at least until Monday.

Friday menu, 10/30:
B: 2 egg omelet with a slice of ham and 3/4 cup mixed veggies (green beans, onion, mushrooms, broccoli)
S: none
L: Wendy's taco salad with cheese and LF sour cream, no chips, no dressing
S: string cheese
D: Mexi-Go beef fajitas with lots of onions and bell peppers, refried beans, guacamole, sour cream, no tortillas

My body's gone through some major changes this week... TMI if you don't want to read about "womanly issues"! Highlight to read: I had an IUD inserted on Wednesday, and the procedure wasn't fun... but so far the cramping has mostly diminished and I'm feeling much better. The kind I got is the copper kind, which has no hormones, and I'm pretty happy with the idea of not being on hormonal birth control for the first time in about 12 years. We'll see how my body takes it over the next couple of months. In the meantime, I've had some weight gain over the last couple of days thanks to a 2-day fling with Papa John's pizza but I know that a good portion of that gain is water weight, so I'm just going to eat P1 and not obsess. It's been long enough since doing P1 that eggs and veggies at breakfast actually taste good again!

[bevvbevv]

I was highly amused by the ever so delicate avoidance of offending with "womanly issues." I'm actually considering doing the same (as in, getting an IUD, largely because I am not capable of taking a pill at the same time every day and because my mom used one for 13 years and thought it was the best thing ever once the initial irritation passed).

Good luck with the p1! I did that for a few days when I was in need, and it worked out fine. Three days later, I was easing back into p2. I seem to be steady p2 now after a few blippy tries. It'll take eventually:-)

[Beaching It]

Hey Penguin, just reading through my fellow south beachers journals to get ideas and get inspired by others as I seem to be at a standstill. I can completely relate to your womanly issue. I just got one of those in August, right after I started SB, and it`s been a bit of a bumpy ride. I have a check up tomorrow to make sure it`s in the right place...so weird... hope it is. Anyway, thanks for the inspiration.

[penguin993]

Hi everyone!

Monday 11/2 weekly weigh-in:

Last Monday, 10/19: 156.2
Today, 10/26: 156.4
Total gained this week: 0.2 pounds

Statistically insignificant... though it is odd that yesterday I weighed in at 155.0. Oh well. More veggies this week for sure!

Hi to Bevvbevv and Beaching It. I have to run to work but I'll write more later!

[penguin993]

I know I shouldn't weigh daily, but I like being on top of any changes as they happen, and today I weighed in at 155.2 (about a pound less than yesterday, and close to what I weighed on Sunday). GAH for the weird weight gain right on my weigh-in day! Or, these could just be weird losses.

Yesterday's menu started out ok, but didn't end so well...

Monday 11/2 menu:

B: 1/2 cup rolled oats with 1/2 honeycrisp apple (chopped), cinnamon, and 1% milk, packet of Splenda, coffee with 1% milk
S: cheese stick
L: Sonic Santa Fe chicken salad with light ranch dressing, Sprite Zero
S: smallest size "Pumpkin Pie in the Sky" ice cream treat from Coldstone
D: homemade chili con carne, 2 corn muffins

I'm not going to beat myself up too badly about the ice cream, as I have been craving it for about 3 weeks now, and the only way for me to stop thinking about it was to have it and move on. I hadn't planned on having it last night (I was going to have a "date night" with my husband later this week for ice cream) but my car repairs took less time than I expected, and I had to hang out somewhere for about 1.5 hours until my next appointment. I am glad I got the thought of pumpkin ice cream out of my system. I tried making a recipe I found here for pumpkin custard, and it made me extremely sick to my stomach for some reason.

The 10-hour to 12-hour workdays I've been having lately are wreaking havoc on my ability to eat SB... we have no salad stuff at home, no fresh veggies except for cherry tomatoes (which I'm saving for a recipe), and only a couple of apples left. I just don't have the time or energy to go grocery shopping during the week, and when my weekends are taken up with gigs, I can't find time to go then either. Grocery shopping is kind of "my" chore (just like edging the lawn and taking out the trash is DH's chore), but I might have to ask for some help from DH when things get really crazy. Maybe he'll actually learn how to pick out good produce.

[bevvbevv]

Good luck getting the shopping done. You're a brave woman to trust your man to pick out veggies. If he's like mine, send him to the frozen aisle:-). As I am also a lover of pumpkin ice cream, I'm going to try to mix some pumpkin and spice into nsa ice cream. I'll let you know if it's worth replicating!

[Beaching It]

I hear you on the grocery shopping and being so busy to fit it in. The only way I can be successful on SB is to have lots of SB stuff in my house and be prepared. Sometimes I have to ask DH to go to the store and grab some stuff and trust that he'll get the right kind... I'm always guaranteed he will come home with some 'junk' but it doesn't bug me... it's for him and I don't touch it. Good luck with getting some good stuff in your house!

[penguin993]

Tuesday, 11/3 menu:

B: 1/2 cup rolled oats cooked in 1% milk, SF maple syrup, 8 oz coffee with splash of milk and Splenda
S: none
L: Larabar Ginger Snap flavor (I know, not a balanced lunch at ALL but it was all I had...)
S: 15 cashews
D: leftover chili con carne and 2 cups california blend veggies with melted 2% american cheese
S: none

Sorely lacking on veggies, and the only fruit I got was the dates in the Larabar. What a terrible P2 menu!