Fell off the wagon

My dedication to no freebies somehow vanished into thin air. I’m not too sure what the deal is, but I have been freebie-ing it up lately, this week especially. Yesterday I indulged in a soup sample, crackers, and cereal that went uncounted. My freebies on Monday and Tuesday included cheese and chow mien noodles, as well as dressing.

Today is a new start to keeping it in check…however, there are cookies staring at me from the cube across from me. I so badly want to try one…but it’s a cookie. I already know what cookies taste like. Aside from that, I have a banana on my desk that I can eat now if I start going crazy and I have a full gigantic glass of water that I should drink before anything. Regardless, so far so good on eliminating freebies today. I have had none.

I almost always find myself not feeling satisfied after lunch and I wish I could understand why. Today I had a heaping serving of a packaged pasta side thing (5 points), a small chicken breast (1 point) and some veggies (0 points). How can I not be satisfied with that? Maybe it’s just a metal thing that instead of being paranoid that I won’t get full, I need to start telling myself that I AM full.

I’m back to thinking about those stupid cookies. Luckily, one of the boxes has the nutrition information for it. 160 cals, 6g fat and less than 1 g fiber – 3 points. I can throw it on my flex points, but do I really need it? I’d like to refrain since I am going out to dinner tonight, weighing in on Saturday and going out to dinner Saturday night as well. But the measly 3 points isn’t going to put me over. But I do know that there will probably be an appetizer tonight at dinner, but I think I would rather have the cookie than a bite of an appetizer.

Game plan? I’m going to drink my massive glass of water. Once completed, if I still feel like I need/want it, I will have the cookie. Well…. problem solved. The kind of cookie that I had been eyeing is gone. Now, I need to muster my willpower to pass on the appetizer at dinner.

Side note - last week/this week I hit my lowest non-sick weight! Non-sick weight meaning I was not affected with a nasty stomach issue. I've fluctuated around it a bit, but that is all in part to eating out, being slightly careless and excessive water intake after workout days.

Grocery shopping

I think I finally have my grocery/food budget under control. When I first moved into my place, I was spending far too much in this category. According to my spending report from my bank, I spent $420 on groceries/$85 at restaurants in July, $256/$24 in August, $323/$69 in September, $279/$55 in October, $292/$33 in November, and $193/$89 in December. These calculations aren’t 100% accurate, but for sure a safe estimate.

My fix? I’ve been trying to do most of my grocery shopping at Aldi. A lot of people (at least that I’m aware of, and myself once too) have a pretty poor perception of this place, but shopping there has saved me and helped me save a lot of money. Check out their website to learn more about them. Anyways, because they have such a small selection of products, it makes shopping so much easier (and safer!) for me. When I go into a store, I love love LOVE to look at EVERYTHING! I find myself scanning through isles that I do not need to be going down. I love seeing all the new products on the shelves, the fancy sale tags. All this hustle and bustle makes me space out and puts me on sensory overload (which I love) and I find myself wanting to try new things and justifying the purchases! My most recent example…

Last week I was at SuperTarget to pickup contacts. I also needed a few grocery items – bananas and dog food. As I paced around the store, trying to find the dog food, I was lured into each and every isle. Soon enough, I found all sorts of crap in my cart – cottage cheese, yogurt, frozen dinners, whip cream, pudding. I un-shopped, putting everything back but the frozen dinners (which were what I thought cheaper than the ones on sale at another store…but they were actually $.50) dog food and bananas.

Anyways, at Aldi I get my basics/necessities – Produce and dairy mostly. This weekend I discovered that their eggs are the same, if not a little more than eggs at other grocery stores, but as far as milk and yogurt go – way cheaper. Produce there is much cheaper as well and I’ve never had an issue with quality like I have at other supermarkets. This weekend I bought, apples, tangerines (both 5lb bags), 4pk of pears, mushrooms, grape tomatoes, two bags of salad mix, milk, eggs, yogurt, baby carrots and celery and spent only $16. If I were to have bought this at a regular store, I would have easily spent at least $30.

I still buy my meat elsewhere, just because they don’t have an in-house butcher and it makes me kind of leery. Aside from that fact, they lack a selection of really lean meats.

Watching sales on things like low point frozen dinners has been a big saver too. I typically only pick them up when they are on special and lately, that’s been quite often. A lot of the local stores have been running Lean Cuisines for 50% off – so most are right around $1.50 – no fuss, healthy, tasty dinner and lunch for $3? Um, yes please!

Another money saving tip... brining my own bags! My Target gives me a $.05 discount for each bag I don't use! The last time I was there I saved $.25 - not much, but over the course of time that really adds up!

Declaration to count

Yesterday, in the presence of Nate, I declared that I was going to start counting everything. No more bites and freebies unless a serving of it is actually ZERO points.

Today though, I already face a dilemma. The soup today is one of my favorites and I desperately want to have a taste. I’ve calculated that my sample would be a true pointless treat, but that leads me to want a cracker with it. Calculated the cracker…that’s also zero points. But…put together, that’s approximately 33 cals. Am I being obsessive about this? 33 calories is really nothing…I can easily burn that, but it’s the whole idea of the freebies and such that I need to work on. In a day, if I also myself three freebies like this, that would be 99 calories. Over a week, that’s 693 calories, a month 2,772. I would assume that I probably exceed 99 ‘free’ cals in a day.
As I am writing this, I remember the jelly I had this morning on my toast - half of a single serve container which is an estimated 25 calories. Already, with the soup and the cracker, I would be at 1 point of freebies.

I couldn’t even taste that stupid jelly on my toast.

Excessive and unnecessary freebies – no more! Fiber One I will allow, as well as spray butter and spray and/or light/free dressings. But, no more sprinkles of cheese, crunchies, jelly, butter/butter spread, handfuls of grapes, a couple of nuts or a palm full of cereal. Sans freebies, I am going to start eating better and more balanced. My diet lacks adequate proteins, fats and dairy. This means that I’m going to need to shell out some cash to cover the protein aspect. In doing this though, it will hopefully alleviate me not feeling satisfied and somewhat full after a meal. Thus removing my need for the extras here and there.

What do I count? Everything. What don’t I count? Everything else.

I can’t kick my habit of not counting everything. I count the major things of course but have exceptions.

Salads, the staple of my diet. While they usually contain at least 2-3 servings of veggies, I throw in a few extras that I don’t count.

I’m a freak for something crunchy in my salad – this can be anything from a broken up saltine or oyster crackers to crunchy chow mein noodles – none of which I count.
I always throw on a pinch of shredded cheese, almost always reduced fat/light. No counting there either.

Last but not least, I never count my dressing. In my opinion (note: never actually measured opinion) I don’t use enough dressing to constitute a point. At the most, it’s maybe 2 teaspoons and it’s almost always light. I don’t know why I keep up this habit when there are plenty of alternative options. With all the spray dressings they have now, I can have dressing for a true zero points value.

Now that I’ve confessed some of the things I don’t count…maybe I should fess up to all that I don’t count or all the zero point foods I eat.

Zero Points - One slice of light bread, ½ cup Fiber One with ¼ cup milk
No counting – jelly, jam, bites of other peoples food, a single chip or two, handful of grapes, a few pieces of cereal

It’s become a habit to taste test the soup in the cafeteria, though yesterday I didn’t, but today I did. Along with this ‘free’ taste of soup, I throw in a couple oyster crackers, if not enjoy the full single serve package.

So maybe, just maybe if I kick these unnecessary freebies, which probably aren’t freebies at all - soup sample, crackers, cheese, crunchies and dressing on the salads – I’ll further my weight loss success.
******
I had originally wrote this earlier in the week. After much deliberation, I’ve decided to act on it…but it’s been a struggle. Soup samples Tuesday and today. I didn’t veer away from the crunchies and cheese on my salads, but I did last night. No measuring dressing. Found myself having a few pieces of cereal here and there and a chip here and there.
I think the biggest cause of this issue is:

1. I try and hold out too long to eat a meal. I find myself taking freebies while I am waiting to eat.
2. Too many points left over at the end of the day. Some days I find myself with 5 points after I eat dinner. Then I can’t figure out what I want, so I grab a handful of grapes, taste some cereal...kinda go in panic mode until I figure out what to do with my points.
3. Sweet cravings that are actually more of a habit than a craving I think. I’ve gotten the mentality that I should have something sweet with my coffee or something sweet after dinner. It’s kind of part of the reason that I have so many points left at the end of the day. I try and reserve points during the day so I have room at the end of the day.

I think once I battle these little bumps, me and the scale will get along a little better.

Life calling

Bob Harper was here, at work, for a friendly visit to help kick off the Pound for Pound challenge (which you should check out and sign up for at www.pfpchallenge.com). After having him push me to do squats, lunges, jumping jacks, tire drills, high knees and various repetitions of different weight routines, via DVD of course, I was pumped to see him live, in person.

He talked for maybe 20 minutes or so – he talked about how great this initiative is and how excited he is for it. He talked a bit about this season of the Biggest Loser and the contestants and talked about how he got involved in the biggest loser. He’s been there from the start of the show and mentioned that he was really hesitant being a part of it when they called him in for a casting. After he learned more about the show, he realized that being there was his ‘calling’ – what he was meant to do in life. The more he talked, the more evident his passion for what does became.
This got me thinking about my life, my passion, my ‘calling’. What is it that I really want to do in life? To be honest with you, I want to live a life of leisure – eat a cake donut and drink a cup of delicious coffee for breakfast, golf, walk my dog, work out, and volunteer for something. Reality – that will never happen before the age of 65, unless I win the lottery, three times.

But really, what gets me pumped up? What drives me? I wish I had a solid answer. I would really, REALLY like to get involved in nutrition or fitness. I love the idea of being able to help people in that aspect of their lives, mostly because I’ve experienced it.

At the end of my sophomore year of college, I interviewed for a position with Weight Watchers, but it wasn’t until the end of the summer that they offered me the job. At that point, I had taken on nannying and couldn’t accept the job. The woman I interviewed with told me that they would ‘love to have me and if my plans ever change, I should call her’. Can I make a living out of that though? Take it on as a side job?

I’m totally into the idea of being a personal trainer or nutritionist, but that requires me to go back to school and right now, that’s the last thing I want to do and the last thing I can afford. No, I’m not looking for an overnight career change, but I really thing I need to start challenging myself and thinking about what I want in my life. I don’t want to work because I have to, I want to work because I like what I’m doing and it makes a positive impact in my life.

Don’t get me wrong, I have a fantastic job right now that would be hard to leave. I’m practically set here in terms of benefits and job security and I really do like and enjoy my job…but it’s not what I want to do for the next 40 years.

Cable or not to cable?

I got a decent 6 month intro rate when I first signed up in July, but now that the honeymoon is over, I’m paying almost double. Last month’s bill was $81, this month $107. On a budget where my paycheck is gone before it’s in my account, spending this kind of money on TV entertainment isn’t going to work.

But how will I survive? I’ll admit that I have it on quite a bit, but most of the time it’s for background noise – I am in no way dependent on it. So what’s holding me back from picking up the phone and saying “No more, cable guy!”?

I’d lose access to the plethora of fitness videos that I get for ‘free’. The workouts that pull me out of bed at 5:50 that lead me to Jillian Michaels yelling at me to only take a quick 5 second break because when you’re only working out for 28 minutes, every second counts.

I very easily get bored with routine gym workouts (side note – I have free access to the fitness center at work which is where I work out). Treadmill, elliptical, bike….blah blah blah. It eventually becomes a trying experience where I have to talk myself into going. Being able to do these workouts in the morning makes me feel a little more accomplished and motivated because then I can leave work and head home at 4. Plus, I feel like the greater my variety in workouts is, the better my results and overall well-being will be.

Maybe you’re wondering, “Why doesn’t she go to the gym before work?” “Why doesn’t she do fitness classes/get a personal trainer?” “Why doesn’t she just workout at the gym every day?”

Well, to your first question, gym before work – the doggie, Tucker. I don’t know how well he will adjust to an earlier morning. I don’t know if his cycles will handle that. I’d have to leave home by 6AM, get to the gym at 6:30, and be in the shower by 7:30.

Fitness classes/personal trainer – money. 10 classes for $40, trainer is 30 min for $50

Gym everyday – we go back to Tucker. I can’t stand the thought of him being in his kennel for so long during the day. It’s not healthy for him and it’s not healthy for me.

So nixing the gym everyday scenario, I do have a small collection of workout videos and can always buy more at a fairly low price if I check around.

No cable = no ‘free’ workout videos = needing to buy converter box, antenna and more workout videos

All in all, I think canceling cable service is the smart thing to do…

In the six months I have had it, I’ve paid approximately $465 which is enough to clear off at least 2 things from my want/need list…