Lunch ideas?

In a week or two, food service at school ends and I have to bring my own lunch again. Which, as I mentioned earlier, will be good for my waistline, but I tend to have few ideas for healthy lunches that transport well - and I end up getting a bit bored eating the same things over and over again. It's not as easy to just pack a sandwich when you don't eat meat!

I'm wondering if you have any healthy, vegetarian lunch ideas? I like salads but I get bored eating the same toppings over and over again, so if there are any yummy salad creations you like that would be great. I'd also love healthy snack ideas if you can think of any, and/or breakfasts, too, as I rarely have time to eat before I come in so I pack that up, too.

I have access to a small refrigerator and I have ice packs, so keeping stuff cold is not an issue. I do sometimes bring my pre-made soups, pastas, etc, but in the middle of summer a hot, heavy meal is sometimes the last thing I want.

Baked goods and boredom

I have realized my two biggest weaknesses when it comes to weight loss: baked goods and boredom. Boredom especially. I eat when bored, and that tends to be when I reach for crap - ice cream, chips, crackers, etc. And I don't pay attention to portion control. I can do well all day at work when I am in a structured environment and then totally blow it when I get home. I think I need to make a "no eating in front of the TV" rule. (Although we rarely eat at the dining room table, so this will take time to get used to.)

When at work, I tend to fall victim to the temptation of baked goods. The mom of one of our students is a baker and likes to bring us delicious baked goods - cupcakes, cookies, chocolate chip sour cream coffee cake - and they are all amazing. I can never seem to limit myself to just one small taste - I have to have a couple large pieces. This is true if there are baked items elsewhere as well. They are just too tempting.

My other big diet downfall is the dining hall at school. The food is really good and fairly healthy, but it's all-you-can-eat, so I have portion control problems. The temptation of going up for seconds and/or dessert is always a challenge. Luckily this is the last week of school so starting next week I will be bringing my own lunch for the summer, so that will help as I almost always eat smaller, healthier meals when I prepare them myself. It will suck to have to pay for groceries again (I usually eat breakfast and lunch at work), but my waistline will thank me.

I've been doing pretty well with running, 3-4 times per week. We ran a 4 mile race this weekend and I did an extra mile when I got home (we are training for a fall half marathon and our plan called for 5 miles on Saturday), then I did an extra 4 miles yesterday because I felt like it (Joel did 7 so I felt like a slacker even though I was doing extra). I have not been doing anything else, though, like strength training, abs, or walking, so I need to get back into that routine. Well, I did walk once, when I ended a 4 miler at the library, took out some books, and walked the mile home, but that was only the one time lately. I need to do stuff like that more - literally "run" my errands. I need to get a little backpack to make that easier.

I have an easy pork recipe I could share with you. You can roast the pork or cook it in a slow cooker, and then it has a sauce with apples, cinnamon, nutmeg, etc. It's really easy to make and my friend's 2-year-old liked it, too. (I obviously have not tried it myself, but everyone tells me it's really good.) I also have a recipe for pork roast w/cherries that I ate before becoming vegetarian and that is really easy and good, too - also in the slow cooker. Joel and I almost never eat the same thing (me = vegetarian, he = picky), so I like to make big recipes and freeze them in individually-sized containers. That way I can just grab an already portioned meal, thaw and re-heat it, and I'm good to go. If you take a weekend and cook say 4-5 recipes and freeze them this way, it will last you a while before you have to cook again. I know you don't like soup but I will try to go through my recipes and send you any I think you'd like. Do you like mac & cheese?

Delayed post

More to come now that I've figured out how to email posts.

Written Monday May 23:

I haven't been doing great either Jen. I'll workout once in a week and then not again for another week, or just not at all. I am doing more stuff around the house so at least I'm being somewhat active. Last week was horrible with all the rain and I wanted to take Sam for a walk but it was too gross outside.

 

I also haven't bothered to weigh myself in about two weeks. I know I haven't been doing horribly, although there was a pint of Ben & Jerrys in there somewhere. Mostly I'm finding that I don't get enough calories in a day. I seem to max out around 800, or I go way over to about 2000 calories. Not good to flip flop like that at all. Scott and I never really have dinner together and I'm also not much of a cook. I can follow a recipe and have things turn out right but there are a lot of things I just don't know how to make at all, like pork tenderloin or a whole chicken. I'm a big wuss about making stuff like that, but I need to bite the bullet and start b/c Sam is starting to eat real food and I can blend up anything I make for us and give it to him. I want him to have a good diet and not be picky, or at least not as picky as I was when I was a kid.

 

So that's my story for now. I will update this more, and I mean that. It seems I always have a lot of stress and the past few weeks have not been an exception to that.

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There's a difference between a philosophy and a bumper sticker.
Charles M. Schulz

Wow, that was horrifically bad.

I was doing really well, but then the last week was bad. Really, really bad. Birthday distractions led to bad choices that spiraled a bit out of control. I'll explain...

Last Wednesday was my husband Joel's birthday. That meant that Tuesday night was the family celebration at his parents' house. I ate well at work, but then had too much at dinner. Not terrible, but not good. Wednesday presented many delicious lunch options (I work at a private school that has amazing dining services that are oh-so-tempting, and free), and I ate many of them. And then had seconds of one (but the gnocchi with wild mushrooms was so delicious!). And then had dessert. All this knowing that Joel and I would be going out to dinner. I thought we'd be going to Pizza Hut, where I would not eat well but wouldn't go completely overboard.

Joel decided he wanted to go to Plan B after all. You'd think that a burger place where meat hooks are the decor would not appear to a vegetarian, but quite the contrary. I LOVE Plan B and have been wanting to go there again for a while. They have the BEST portobella burger in the world. It is truly amazing. So I had that. And we shared portobella fries and fried mozzarella for apps. And I had a beer, and french fries. And then I ordered dessert - the B Cup, a flourless chocolate cake filled with white chocolate mousse. Heaven. But way overload on calories. I ate half the burger and brought the rest home along with the dessert to go. And then proceeded to finish the burger and fries and eat half the dessert.

The following day I ate OK, not great but nothing catastrophic, but I knew I'd be going out to Wood-n-Tap with a friend that night. I studied the menu and decided I'd order the hummus plate (hummus, veggies, flatbread) app for dinner. Then I got there, and saw someone's pizza (which I didn't know they had) and ended up ordering a spinach and artichoke pizza. Oops. I ate 3 pieces (of 8) and then a 4th when I got home. Clearly too much. Then I finished my B Cup.

I haven't eaten quite as terribly since then, but I have not eaten well. I've been eating a lot, and for lunch this week I had chik'n nuggets and tator tots. Oh yeah, I broke down and got tator tots, one of my favorites and something I rarely allow myself, and for good reason - Joel does not eat them, so I end up eating them all myself. I had them again tonight, by the way (the tator tots, but sadly no chik'n nuggets - finished those), and the bag is almost empty. Oh yeah I also had a Reese's big cup and I think there was a York peppermint patty at some point, too. Also I haven't been doing any strength training, walking, or ab work lately, either. Blah.

I am very frustrated with myself. I made a few bad choices and instead of getting back on track I have just made more and more bad choices. This week I am going to concentrate on trying to get back into tracking on Sparkpeople, which not surprisingly I've been terrible about lately. Then I'll work on my diet again. I can do it, I just need to get back to my routine.

Also last week I didn't run much, which was not my fault, it was what the training plan called for, but that means I feel gross because that's what happens when I don't run enough. We ran a 5K yesterday and it was a lot of fun, although I ran my worst time ever for a 5K. But whatever, we had a good time and that's all that matters! This week we start officially training for a fall half marathon, so that will be incentive to get back on track with eating and working out. I just need to practice some self-control.

Change to my goal

I realized that I needed to modify my weight loss goal a bit. When I set my initial goal, mid-June was a realistic time frame, but I've had a couple weeks of no weight loss (but luckily no gain, either!), so I'm a little behind where I had wanted to be. Giving myself just 6 weeks to lose 10 pounds didn't seem too realistic for me, so I am changing my goal to lose my remaining 10 pounds by the middle of July, losing a little under a pound per week. I think this makes more sense, and from everything I have read slow, steady weight loss is better in the long run.

Goals

Thanks to Jill for starting this blog!

Like Jill, I've put on some weight over the last few years, and recently was at my highest weight ever. Due to an injury, I had been laid off from running for over 2 months, and in this time I packed on about 10 pounds. Prior to the injury I was already trying to lose weight, so unfortunately I have more than just those 10 pounds to lose.

My goal is to lose 16 pounds by mid-June, and then determine from there what my next goal will be. I started tracking my calories using Sparkpeople in mid-March and have lost 6 pounds to date, so I have 10 more to go to reach my initial goal.

I started running again on January 31, and my hip flexor feels great, so I have been able to progress as I had hoped. My husband and I started a race series in March and will be running a total of 6 or 7 races, ranging from 5K to 10 miles in distance, between now and Thanksgiving. We also plan to do a half marathon (separate from the series) in October. This is great incentive to keep me on track.

Running is my main form of exercise, and also my favorite hobby. It helps keep me sane; when I don't run, I don't feel like myself. I hope to increase my overall fitness and health to be the best runner I can be. This will mean adding in more strength training and perhaps some cross training, even if it's just walking on my non-running days.

I'm looking forward to cheering Jill on and having her support as we work towards our goals!

Goals

I've struggled with weight for many years. Since the birth of my son I'm at my highest weight ever and as I just turned 30 now is the time to make some changes before it becomes too late.

My goal is to lose 30lbs in my 30th year, overall eating and living healthier.

All that being said I ate pretty horribly this weekend, but I knew I'd be starting this blog and will be on track (again) as of Monday morning!

Good luck to Jen! Keep posting, I'll start my stats tomorrow (really after I get some sleep after my night shift).