Category Archives: eating out

4-miler and Chipotle!

Woke up to a sunny morning, and I thought a nice outdoor run was in store, but would do it after breakfast.  Had a comforting bowl of banana oats topped with PB2 and apple butter!  This was delicious!

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Then I checked the temperature.  26 degrees.  😯   I really had to talk myself into going out for a run.  I knew if I didn’t do something in the morning, I would likely not get any exercise in at all.  I contemplated over a 2nd cup of coffee and the temp didn’t rise at all.  I finally sucked it up and put on my Nike technical turtleneck and sweats, and added some 180s to keep my ears warm!

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(The turtleneck is a Nike  drywick – $50 shirt I got at TJMaxx for $15.) Did 4.2 chilly miles! The only thing I forgot was a tissue.  My nose runs on the best of days when I run (guess it likes exercise as well).  So, nose – meet sleeve.  I was fine after about 1/2  a mile and still got really sweaty in this cold!

My mother was feeling well enough to go shopping, so we hit a big craft show.  I brought along a Zone bar and one of my granola bars to keep from eating whatever food would be there, and it worked!  I got a couple of Christmas gifts, so that was good to get started on shopping early!

We went to the Chocolate Mill for some coffee and a snack afterwards.

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Small desserts, again perfectly good and perfectly sized.  I got an almond apricot tea cake:

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Mom got a lemon tart.

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I owed John his football dinner from last week, and this was the first chance we had for me to take him out!  He wanted Chipotle since one had opened up nearby.  I kind of panicked, because Chipotle can be hefty on the calories.  However, we hadn’t been in over 3 years since we moved out here, and there were more choices.

In the old Lori-weighs-250-pounds days, I would get a barbacoa burrito with rice (no beans), cheese, hot salsa and sour cream. Usually I got extra rice because I did not get beans.  I would eat the entire burrito, too.  Looking up nutritional info, this would be over 900 calories just for the burrito!

Today, I still wanted some cheese and sour cream, but that meant leaving out something else.  I chose to get a lettuce base in a bowl and to leave out the rice:

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This left me with the yummy flavors of the meat and my favorite cheese and sour cream, but no rice or tortilla.  This salad was 410 calories.  That’s half of what I would have eaten before – and it was really tasty.  Yes, I kind of missed the rice, but I also realize that I had a treat earlier, so in the calorie balance of the day – I knew that was the best choice.

It’s back to work for me tomorrow.  Good weekend, a little indulgent, but not overly so 😀

Lifting and more bagels!

Seriously – thank you so much for the comments on my photo!  I actually took that to showcase my sweatiness, not my arms LOL!  I still have work to do, but I am definitely happy with my progress to this point.  I actually find it liberating to feel comfortable putting a photo like that online, sweat and all.  I remember way back not liking my photo taken.  I would try to turn to find my “skinny” angle.  Like turning a little to the side can hide 100 pounds 🙄  Who was I kidding???

Had a relaxed gym day today.  My own routine as Stage 7 of NROLW is next week.

  • Negative chin ups (yes, still trying!):  3 sets of 1
  • Step ups:  3 sets of 8 with 30 pound dumbbells
  • Incline dumbbell bench press:  3 sets of 8 with 25 pound dumbbells
  • Planks:  3 sets of 90 second holds
  • Seated lat row:  3 sets of 10 at 55 pounds

Then a walk on the treadmill.  I haven’t done planks in a while and forgot how hard they are!  Love them, though.  Guess I am a glutton for punishment.

First time this week to have these for breakfast:

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You know you want some ……..

My day off and it was the day my MIL went home.  We decided to hit Saratoga Springs and spend some time shopping and enjoying the day before taking her to the airport.  We went to Uncommon Grounds for lunch, where John and I split a cup of Sweet potato Chipotle bisque.  It was very light since it was vegan, which means no dairy, cream, or butter!

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And at my favorite place, I couldn’t resist one of these:

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Apple cinnamon!  I do have reduced fat cream cheese on there 😀

Walked around Congress Park and met some friends:

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They really were this close to me.  I think they have been fed bread or other people foods.

I also found the biggest maple leaf ever – it’s as big as my face!

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Sorry to see my MIL go home to Colorado.  We haven’t seen his family in almost 2 years, and this was a spur of the moment trip, since she was down in Washington this week and just popped up for a few days.  I love spontaneous visits!  She said the nicest thing to me as we said good-bye and that was that I inspired her.  I really and truly hope that I do inspire people, because change is possible for anyone.

Quiet dinner at home tonight.  Keeping the breakfast theme from each meal – I had a waffle sandwich with sauteed brussel sprouts.  The sammie had chicken, laughing cow, and apple butter.  Outstanding!

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We were supposed to have dinner at my folks house, but my mom has a cold 🙁   so we postponed.  We are supposed to go to a big craft show on Saturday, so I want her to rest up 😀

5-miler and chili on a chilly day!

I woke up early today and decided to go to the gym to exercise.  30 degrees, and dark – so no running outside!  I set the treadmill for 1 hour and set to jogging.  I can’t believe I can jog for an hour without stopping!  I never would have thought that was possible a few years ago.  Did a little over 5 miles in that time.  It felt so good to get totally sweaty LOL!

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I really like how my arms look in this picture.  You can’t see the loose skin on the biceps and my shoulders have nice definition.  Thanks NROLW!

In honor of the apple orchard yesterday, I made a yummy topping for cream of wheat:

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In a skillet I put in a little butter (yes – butter!), a sprinkle of brown sugar and cinnamon and sauteed the apples up.  Cooked until they were soft and caramelized and topped the cream of wheat.  Sooooo goood!

Early start to the day on all fronts.  I worked with minimal breaks to finish up fast so I could start my weekend!  That meant leftovers for lunch:

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I did have to make time for my afternoon latte, though!  I posed it up for fall:

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I did finish up early, so my weekend is here!  Woo Hoo!  We went out for dinner tonight, taking John’s mom to a local place called Maxwells.  They have new place mats designed by kids, and I think this one was appropriately placed in front of me:

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😀

I wanted something warm and comforting as we are going to get wet and sloppy snow tonight.  So I started with a salad:

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And the best. chili. ever.

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Just a cup, but it was phenomenal!  I loved the melted cheese on top.  It was nice and thick chili, too.  I think I have finally figured out how to take good pictures in a dark restaurant, too!  I set the ISO at 3200 to let in as much light as possible.  I really should read more on photography :mrgreen:

Question: Any exciting plans for your weekend?

Bagel day and Fiber One coupon!

You know it! One of my favorite days 😀 We had decided last night that we wouldn’t bike since the temp was supposed to be 30 degrees this morning. I was actually 32, and I think I would have biked if I was by myself, but John didn’t want to. I was not at the gym this morning since I am done lifting until after the duathlon. Just easy stuff the rest of the week.  So, bundled up with the first wearing of a turtleneck this season!

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I look pretty chipper here for not having had coffee yet….. What’s up with that?

New mugs at the coffee house!

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Plus carby goodness. Yum, yum.

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Spied my pink item for the day while there.  I am not totally sure what this is, I think it is a dinosaur?

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Worked hard today, although I had a case of feline disease, which makes it a little hard to type. I just don’t have the heart to make her get up.

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(Yes, I still have the word ‘sucker’ tattooed to my forehead thankyouverymuch).  If I could bottle this cuteness, I would be a millionaire.

Lunch was a Fiber One banana chocolate chip muffin crumbled over some greek yogurt with a little peanut butter.  It’s in a gigantic bowl because it was time to run the dishwasher 😀

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Nice combo, but I would have liked more!

Had a Larabar as an afternoon snack.  Last week’s bar wasn’t this small.  I wasn’t sure if it was the kind (peanut butter) or if they just are getting smaller?

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Maybe it is just thicker.

Took a brisk walk after this.  All the while I was thinking that it’s going to be pretty cold Sunday morning!  I wonder how many layers I should wear?

Lucked out with dinner tonight.  John’s choice was to go to Long John Silver (ick), so I grudgingly went with wallet in hand and found out they are discontinuing the healthy grill items.  So, we left (yay!) and went to O’tooles instead.

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This place is fun with a sports bar atmosphere and perfect fire for today!

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I didn’t think I got that guy in my shot, and is he picking his nose???

I was wanting something warm and saw a baked potato on the menu, so that is what I had.  It was yummy!

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Only $5.99 for this.  What a bargain!

Hoping to be productive tonight and get some writing done.

Here is a coupon for $1 off Fiber yogurt.  At least I hope it works.


$1 off Fiber One yogurt by Yoplait

Question:  Do you get enough fiber?

Happy Birthday to Me!!

It’s my birthday….. I am 40 today! Eeeeeek!

4 years ago, I was 250 pounds and size 22/24. Heck, one year ago I was 200 pounds! Now, on my 40th birthday, I weigh 154, can jog a 5K, lift weights, fit into size 12 pants and medium shirts. I am more fit now than in high school, or any other time of my life! The best gift I could have given myself for today.

Had a wonderful dinner. We went to a New Orleans style bistro, which serves half portions of food (thank goodness). DH and I split a bowl of gumbo, which was delicious. Then I had a half portion of cochon au lait. You know that saying “Nothing tastes as good as thin feels”? I disagree LOL! This dinner was absolutely divine!

Then we got a small tiramisu cake to bring home. I did not want a large cake hanging around the house, so we got a small one. Again, very good. I have learned that you don’t have to go whole hog when celebrating. I had small portions of excellent food – and no guilt!

Still did my bowflex workout today, and took a 30 minute walk. No rest on the birthday!

Back from trip

Well, got back from a week at the inlaws last night. I stepped on the scale this morning, and it showed a 2.5 pound gain. I think some of that is water weight, so I am going to give the scale a day to adjust before I count it.

I did okay, not great, but not horrible. It was as I feared that there would be the constant desire to eat out. Even though John and I bought groceries, they all wanted to eat out. And they wanted places like BBQ and mexican food. Ugh. I did the best I could, and did put the kibosh on going out for dessert one night. The problem is that it is very hard to find things that 7 people (aged 17 to 60) all want to do that doesn’t involve food.

I found the old me slipping out one day. We all went to a bed and breakfast for the weekend. There was a welcoming reception with champagne and chocolates. I found myself mindlessly eating chocolates for a while. John even commented later about how surprised he was to see me eating so many. That was probably the worst time I had eating. We did eat breakfast in most days, and I had my Nutrisystem food with me for that, and I also brought NS lunch bars – so I ate those and got a side salad when we ate out.

We did a little shopping one day with my mil at a consignment store. I was comfortably pulling size 14 pants and fitting into them all! No size fudging LOL! So – I bought 2 pairs of pants, black jeans and kahkis. Plus a sweater and all for less than $12! I love second hand stores!!

weigh in day!

Well, the results from Turkey Day are in. I lost 0.4 pounds! With the big loss of 4.4 pounds last week and the holiday weekend, I was pleased to have a loss.

Only 1.5 pounds until I get into the 170s! Or, *back* into the 170s LOL!

Looking at how well I have been eating as of late. I follow nutrisystem for all but about 3 meals per week. 2 breakfasts and one dinner out each week. I guess that makes me about 85% on plan by paper, but since those meals out are calorie counted for – they don’t hurt my progress.
I still struggle with the dinner. For example, we were out last night (DH’s choice for winning the football picks) – and I just really wanted a fried seafood meal. They had a fried scallop and clam strips dinner, and it just sounded so good! It was a real struggle for me to not give in and get that.
I ended up getting roasted pork tenderloin and gravy with a baked potato (dry). It came with a small cup of applesauce. I portioned out what I needed to fuel my body and it was quite tasty – and I didn’t feel deprived or anything. I am not sure what I would have done if weigh in day wasn’t today. 🙂