Back 2 Basics page 6

[B2B]

Back to normal today...whatever that means. No snow/ice/crazy weather day today. It should be "fun" as we have not been in school since last Thursday and will only have three days this week with the long Presidents' day weekend on the calendar. The cleaning lady did a great job yesterday...she should really get a raise for incredible work she did!!

Also, I wanted to do something special for all of my dance chaperones this past weekend, so I have been dehydrating bananas to make chips and made up little hearts that say, "simply 'bananas' for you!" with little monkey stickers along with a hand written thank you card. I cant take credit for this idea, I saw it on The Primally Inspired blog (Banana Chips and a Healthy, Kid Approved Valentine’s Day Snack and Craft | Primally Inspired). Too cute! And I was feeling pretty crafty which is not in my usual bag of tricks.

Busy night tonight as DS has his last home swim meet for the season. This season seemed to fly be rather quickly as the big conference meet in just 10 days. It seems like the season just started, but that was back in December and now February is at it's midpoint....boy time flies.

Another cup of coffee to finish up my morning routine at home, leftover clam chowder again for lunch and leftovers for dinner after the meet, pork steak with sauerkraut. Food is all set, here's to hoping the rest of the day falls into place that nicely.

[B2B]

Happy VD!! That still makes me giggle....I should probably grow up......someday......

So, yesterday I put on a pair of black pants and a blue leopard print shirt with a chunky black belt I picked up last fall from Chico's (love that store because for the first time in my life I am in a size 1.5...psychological, I know, but just saying 1.5!). I thought I looked pretty good ...I even told my husband (jokingly) how good I looked (and he agreed). Later in the day I had walked into a colleagues classroom and 4 upperclassman girls told me that I looked so skinny and the blue in my shirt brought out the blue in my eyes....so sweet... But the best part of all of this was that those comfy pants are starting to have a big gap around my waist....I may need to find someone to alter my clothes!

What makes all of this even better is that normally I am super bloated this time of the month and am craving junk...not this month!! I am feeling pretty victorious. My weigh in measurement day is Friday the 15th and I have got a good feeling......more to come....

[B2B]

Another long weekend.....this time not weather related, thank goodness, but one that was scheduled in our contract...long Presidents' day weekend. Yesterday was spent catching up on all of my grading and lounging around followed by our winter game night with friends. For the last couple of winters, as a family we get together with a group of others, go out to dinner and end the evening the old fashioned way, with board games. No technology, just sitting around a huge table playing games, chatting, laughing and totally enjoying our friendship. It gets all of out of winter hibernation mode when it is just easier to stay inside and sit mindlessly in front of the tv.

The rest of the weekend is completely unplanned and I am kind of liking that...no expectations....no appointments...just winging it. We shall see what it brings.

Mid month weigh and measure was yesterday with good things to report....drumroll, please...down 2.5 pounds and 3/4 of an inch off my core. (This is all M and I are tracking right now for our big loser challenge.). Now all I have to do is create the spreadsheet for us so that he can see how I am really going to kick his butt with this!

[B2B]

Pretty lazy two days...which was very nice, I am so not complaining. After lounging most of today, I decided I should probably throw together dinner. So for tonight we will be have salad with homemade ranch dressing, tomato bisque soup, venison chops with some rice pilaf for the boys.

[B2B]

Gotta do some things today...way too lazy over the weekend for me. I guess I was in no big hurry to do things as I knew I had today off as well. On my list is to finish up the laundry, some light cleaning, office organization, a bit of a workout added in, a bit of "pleasure" reading (just downloaded Volek and Phinney's Art and Science of Low Carb Living) and creating a new weekly to-do list. I love lists as crossing items off of it is rewarding enough.

Dinner tonight will be my version of Salisbury steak with some roasted brussels sprouts and smashed potatoes (for the boys). There is the plan, so I had better get hopping!

[B2B]

This girl is on fire! Very productive Monday...managed tackling that laundry, did more than light cleaning as I decided I want spring to come quickly and cleaned Delong to floor, wall to wall in three rooms including the dreaded mini blinds, picked out and helped Hubby install 2 new light fixtures as the old ones I have pretty much hated for the past 13 years we have been in this house and spent 2 hours up at school making sure I am ready for the end of this trimester. I also did get a good chunk of reading in last night on the Phinney/Volek book.

Dinner last night turned out pretty good and my macros lined up pretty good - 73/19/8 (f/p/c). Protein is a bit high, so I will need to swing that down and increase the fat a bit. Today should be another interesting one as school was called off again due to icy back roads...what to do, what to do....

[B2B]

No call from my phone tree buddy this morning, looks like we are back in business for a three day week! I am looking forward to getting back into a routine as my mind has been scrambling most of yesterday with all of these thoughts/ideas of things to so and goals to meet. I wrote most of them down, so now I will take a realistic look at the list and prioritize.

I have had this bag of sugar cookie mix in the pantry since Christmas break. We had so many sweets, that there was no need for this too. So with the extra time yesterday I made them for the boys. So habits die very hard as I was just finishing scooping the cookies onto the baking sheet I almost licked my fingers and headed toward the bowl! Good thing I had some soapy water waiting for me in the sink as that is where I plunged my hands before tasting. Disaster averted as that would have lead to cookie snacking, which I didn't really want anyway. Cookies made, frosted and put in the pantry for the boys. DS had asked if I would make some banana bread sometime soon. I aked if he wanted the muffins (no flour) or Grandma's recipe. He said this time Grandma's which will work for me as I can stay away from that knowing the ingredients, the muffins on the other hand just get gobbled up by me too quickly and I want to stay lower carb for a bit longer in my experiment.

Yesterday mapped out OK, I was still a bit high on my protein: 73/22/5. I mapped out all of my food for today and it looks like my macros will be: 81/12/7 (f/p/c). We shall see how all of this plays out today.

[B2B]

Where I mapped out and where I ended yesterday was not too far off. My day was extremely productive and busy I didn't even notice that I missed lunch until 4 pm! Crazy, plum crazy. 77/13/10 (f/p/c). That big ol' steak salad kind of threw the carbs higher than expected, but it was yummy and filling as I didn't feel the need for seconds. That in and ofnitself is pretty huge as normally I can really pig out at dinner especially when lunch was missing from the equation. But the salad will be done again. I used this recipe: Peace, Love, and Low Carb: Balsamic Flat Iron Steak Salad (Low-Carb, Gluten-Free Paleo, Dairy-Free, Whole30) but substituted venison steak and let it marinade in the balsamic vinegar overnight to intensify the flavor. I also did add in a bit of homemade ranch dressing.

So for today, it is much of the same as yesterday. I have tons planned at work, a student meeting after school, a meeting later tonight shuffled in between my chauffeur service for DS...swim team night dinner/hair shaving party before they head off to regionals Friday afternoon. So it will be some sort od leftovers tonight. I will keep tracking and see where I end up (pre tracking through lunch has me hovering around 78% fat and that should keep me going.

[B2B]

Where I thought I would be yesterday is where I ended up. Woot, Woot I love it when a plan come together. Ended my crazy day with 78/18/4. Not so bad. Felt fine, productive and pretty much on the go all day.

I tend to talk with my hands a lot...it is amazing my coffee doesn't get tipped over more often....but anyway, I was explaining a concept to my students when I noticed a funny feeling on the palm side of my left hand. I looked down and noticed that my wedding ring had rotated all by itself and my diamond was poking at my palm. While that may not seem like a huge deal, this has never, ever happened...the twisting part. I have noticed that it has been slipping on and off a bit easier, but the twisting in the middle of the day or anytime, unheard of. I did a little happy dance (in my head, of course, as I was still explaining concepts).

For today, I have not totally mapped out my macros because I am not sure what exactly our dinner plans will be. DS will be leaving school early for his regionals and will not be home until tomorrow.....so things are up in the air. DH and I may enjoy a nice night out, so I will have to choose wisely.

[B2B]

79/13/8. Yup, that is where I ended yesterday and I am pretty pleased and feel great. Yesterday was just a breeze at work, I felt like I had this great clarity of thought and very quick responses to questions/situations. I have read that people say this has happened to them and I always thought it was kind of whooey because I felt that I was always on my "A" game....well, I guess my "A" game got punched up a level.

Last night DH and I decided to stay in for dinner , clean up some leftovers and enjoy the warmth of the house. We also figured it would be much healthier (his words) than going out especially since we will be @ DS's regional swim meet most of Saturday where our food choice will be extremely limited. For me, I am thinking of some fasting as there is nothing at a swim meet concession stand that I would consider eating or I could make a quick store run prior to leaving and pack up some healthy treats..but I will need to be mindful of how large my protein intake will be as beef sticks are so easy to eat in the bleachers and I can really pig out on them! So, maybe I have made up my decision, it's a mini-fast. We shall see how this one works out.