Overcoming the morning craving

Today I got to work and I didn't want to make my usual breakfast sandwich.  I was kind of sick and tired of this egg/soy sausage breakfast sandwich and I just wasn't in the mood for it.  I know how important breakfast is, so I knew I needed to eat something.  I was already at work so my options were very limited. 


We happen to have a store at work that sells pop, snacks, chips and some breakfast items.  Almost nothing in the store is a healthy option, which makes shopping there a little tough.  They do have a package of muffins that is really tasty.  You get two mini muffins and they are moist and delicious!  I was sitting here for an hour and thinking about them the entire time.  I walked back there to purchase them and I looked at the nutrition facts right away.  This is my new thing that I do.  I look at the nutrition facts from top to bottom and THEN I decide whether or not I am going to buy it.  Thankfully I came to my senses and realized that this was NOT  a sensible lunch at all.

Mini-muffins.

Capri sun, mini donuts, ramen, fruit cup and mac and cheese.  All bad options, except for the fruit if you drained the syrup.

My weak spot.  CHIPS!  There are some baked options, so kudos to that!

Tons and tons of soda pop.  I am really trying hard to not have any.  Sometimes I will have a diet coke.

I made a bowl of oatmeal and ate my banana.  It was not what I wanted to eat at all.  It wasn't very comforting or tasty.  It was however, nutritious and satisfying in the sense that I know it will keep me full until lunch and it won't leave me with regret.  So, oatmeal and banana wins for breakfast and first craving, urge, desire to fall off of said wagon for the day has been controlled.

oatmeal and banana.  My friends in weight loss and guilt free eating.

Moving on to my next topic.  My weight loss journey.  I have continued to lose every week, but not the numbers that I would like to see.  I know that I could be exercising more and also eating better all the time rather than most of the time.  I think I have decided that I am going to join Weight Watchers.  As much as I can say that I hold myself accountable until I am blue in the face there is nothing more accountable than knowing that someone else will weigh you once a week.  I think it will help me stay even more focused and even more on track. So, what do you guys think?  Who loves WW?  Anything I should know before I do it?

Breakfast... Then and Now

I am sure we can all think of our favorite breakfast foods.  You know the sweet, sticky, sometimes salty deliciousness that is oh so comforting, but just a total carb overload.  I don't love breakfast.  I think it is alright.  I know it is one of the most important meals of the day, so I always eat breakfast, but in a general sense if I have the option to indulge in breakfast foods or lunch foods I will choose the latter everytime.
Having said that I have a small obsession with one particular breakfast item.  It is a soft, warm, giant sticky caramel roll.  It is sent from heaven above.  It comes from a little shop in St. Cloud, MN called Mom's cinnamon rolls.  I used to them too often.  Now I only eat them at Christmas.  I woke up yesterday morning and all I could think of was this caramel roll.  Luckily I live over an hour from Mom's cinnamon rolls, so eating one wasn't an option.

Caramel roll goodness.

So, what did I do?  I made a sensible veggie omelet and accompanied it with some cherries and some peanut butter toast. It was just what I needed to start my day.  It had fruits, veggies, protein and a little carbohydrates.  

My delicious breakfast without the guilt!

My fiance the omelet maker :)

I then went to Zumba at Lifetime Fitness and proceeded to get my butt kicked in a very good way.  Proof is in the sweaty picture seen below.  I now live right by two Lifetime Fitness gyms so I have double the amount of group fitness classes to attend!  I went yesterday morning to Zumba with a new teacher Kristen who was so good.  She let some of the participants teach the class too, which was really fun.

It turns out it is hard to take a picture of yourself on your phone.  So sweaty and gross.  It feels good!

Happy Monday!  Tomorrow's post is all about lunches! :)

Also something to look forward to is my 100th post later this week which will feature a prize giveaway!

Working 9-5

Many hours of our lives are spent at work.  In fact some people spend more time with their co-workers than they do with their loved ones.  Luckily, I really like my co-workers and I really like my job.  It makes things a lot easier.  I decided to give you a glimpse into a typical 9-5 day for me.  Making sure to withhold all of the boring and confidential pieces.


So, I actually start my day at 6 a.m.  I get up and shower and then I put a towel on my head and I lay back down unless I am going to the gym.  I rest in bed and read some emails and watch some TV and wake up slowly.  I am not a jump out of bed 20 minutes before I need to walk out the door kind of girl.  I also set my alarm for 5:00, 6:00 and finally 7:00.  Call it an hour long snooze if you will, but something makes me feel better knowing that I have some more time to sleep.


I usually make my lunch the night before, but if not I put everything together and I am usually out the door by 7:35.  It takes me about 15 minutes to get to work.  I settle in and usually make my breakfast right away.  This is typically one of two things, namely oatmeal or a breakfast sandwich.

This morning it is Oatmeal (probably my last for awhile because it is getting too warm), a banana or other fruit and a whole lotta water.



As I said before I wont go into deep explanations of what I do, so that I don't bore you.  I will tell you that I work in downtown Minneapolis.  I love working in the heart of the city.  There is always something going on and I love the Farmer's Market in the Summer.

A view out of one of our buildings.  That deflated mess in the background is the Metrodome, which is home to the MN Vikings.  We had a bad storm this winter and it deflated and several damaged the roof of the metrodome because we had 19 inches of snow.  The building right in front of the metodome that looks like a trivial pursuit pie piece is my building.

This is my desk.  It is pretty messy, but try not to judge :)

What do I like most about it?  If you look closely you can see that it is raised up so that I can stand and work rather than sitting on my bum all day!

Flowers on your desk can help brighten up most anyone's day!

So, this is my 8-10.  Later I will add some afternoon photo's and tonight or tomorrow I will share with you my picture's from girl's night tonight.  We are making chicken and veggie skewers!  Yum!  More to come later!



Food journal

I use The Daily Plate to track all of my food to make sure that I stay within the same caloric, carbohydrate, protein, sodium and fiber levels throughout the week.  I love using it, it is super easy and convenient for me.  I track every single thing that enters my body and it is like a habit now.  I am not sure if I will always use it, because I have already gotten pretty good at number crunching, but right now it is holding me accountable and I like that.  So, some people have asked me what kind of things I eat and so I was going to write down my food intake for the day to give people an idea.

Breakfast
1/3 cup (dry) oatmeal
1 medium banana

Morning Snack
Apple
Sliced Cucumbers

Lunch
2 cups romaine lettuce
4 oz grilled chicken breast
1 Tbs Newman's own Lighten Up dressing
1/4 cup red onion
1/4 cup chopped peppers
10 reduced-fat wheat thins crackers
14 carrots
1 cup strawberries

Afternoon snack
Dannon Light and Fit Banana yogurt
20 reduced fat cheese-its

Dinner
Light Flat Out Wrap
1 Tbs Encino's all natural pizza sauce
1/2 cup rotisserie chicken
1/4 cup low moisture part skim mozzarella cheese
Mrs. Dash hot and spicy seasoning
1/4 cup diced red onion
1/4 cup diced peppers

Evening snack
1 medium orange
1/2 cup sugar snap peas

I stay really full and satisfied from these food items and I eat every few hours to keep my metabolism going.  I will try and post some pictures of my delicious dinner tonight once I make it.  Keep up the great work everyone!