JOURNAL ENTRY: DAY 22

Well, I didn't eat too much today... feeling kinda like crap. I'm going to bed, but I figured I'd enter today's food now, so I don't have to do it in the morning before work.

BREAKFAST

1/2 c. cottage cheese

1/3 c. chunk pineapple (canned in 100% own juice, drained)

2 slices dry whole-grain toast

SNACK

about 2/3 of an apple (leftover from yesterday's snack)

about 6 nuts (see? not very hungry)

LUNCH/SUPPER

1 whole-wheat pita pocket (the last one, pretty dry and crumbly) with

1/2 avocado, 5 slices cucumber, 3 slices pepper jack cheese (3/4" x 2"), tahini, and sprouts

about 1/2 c. leftover multi-grain pasta from last night (apparently didn't eat the whole 2 oz yesterday! Oops.)

SNACK

other half of the avocado. I know, I know, but it was so tasty, and easy on my throat to swallow. 

Also had a cup of Throat Coat tea. 

JOURNAL ENTRY: DAY 21

OK, I worked another 8-hour shift yesterday, and it was SO HOT in the store it was almost unbearable. I actually had a rather intense dizzy spell at one point; thought I was actually going to black out for a few seconds, there. It was an absolutely miserable day and I thought it would never end. My feet still hurt this morning, so I can't WAIT to go back to work in an hour! :(

BREAKFAST

'fried' egg sandwich (2 eggs, 2 skinny small slices of pepper jack cheese, 2 slices whole grain bread)

SNACK

apple

baby carrots

mixed nuts

(not much of any of them -- 5 minutes doesn't give you much time to chew!)

LUNCH

Ham and cheese sandwich (canned ham from my box o' food, pepper jack, and whole grain bread)

more apple slices

NO PM SNACK

SUPPER

Broccoli and Green onions tossed with 2 oz whole-grain spaghetti

DESSERT

1 oz dark chocolate

I know that I had a lot of carbs yesterday, with 4 slices of bread plus the pasta... not great. I will try to do better today. I have a six-hour shift, so it's going to be another snack-til-lunch/supper thing again. :(

When I left work yesterday, I was so hot, thirsty, and headache-y that I knew I wouldn't make it home without something cold to drink. I actually drove through the McDonald's drive-up window and JUST GOT UN-SWEET TEA!! Yay! Oh crap, I just figured out that that's why I didn't sleep very well last night: caffeine! Oh well, at least I didn't get any french fries or greasy cheeseburger!! :)

JOURNAL ENTRY: DAY 20

Wow... almost 3 weeks already! Thank you to my fantastic team of moral-supporters!! I guarantee you that I wouldn't still be here, plugging without your help. OK, for yesterday, Saturday, April 4th:

BREAKFAST

1 serving Smart Start cereal, with

1 c skim milk and

6 strawberries (used 'em up because they were starting to look kinda sketchy)

SNACK (split between morning and afternoon breaks, and the drive home after work)

1 apple

handful of mixed nuts (1 oz)

1/2 baby carrots

LUNCH

1 pc honey mustard chicken

3/4 potato

1 carrot

SUPPER

1 pc honey mustard chicken

1/2 potato

1/2 carrot

NO DESSERT

I worked an eight-hour shift yesterday, which turned out to be a lot easier than the 5 and 6 hour shifts, because I got two ten-minute breaks and a half-hour for lunch. I think it's crazy that for working two more hours, you get 40 MINUTES MORE break time!! I think they should at least give you 15 minutes in a 6 hour shift! It takes over 2 minutes to walk to the nearest place to sit down, so in a 10 minute break, you actually only get to be off your feet for 5 minutes. I'm sorry, that's inhuman.  

Wow... sorry! Didn't mean to launch, there. Had a bad day today, so I'm kinda cranky (not bad food day, bad work day). Anyway, it was nice breaking up the food into more evenly-spaced 'sittings.'  I never really felt overly hungry at any point during the day, so that was good. 

JOURNAL ENTRY: DAY 19

I want to get this in before I go to work (to fend off Marnie's wrath - LOL), so it's going to be short and to the point.

BREAKFAST

1/2 c. low-fat cottage cheese

5 strawberries, sliced

and

(in the car on the way to work) 2 slices whole grain toast w/ tsp butter each

SNACK

(consumed during 10-minute break and ride home from work)

1 Fuji apple

1/2 c. baby carrots

1 oz mixed nuts (unsalted)

LUNCH (3 PM)

whole wheat pita pocket with 1/2 avocado, sliced cucumbers, 1 oz cheddar cheese, tahini, sprouts

SUPPER (7:30 PM)

2 pcs. chicken (with honey mustard), roasted in oven with:

3/4 potato

2 carrots

DESSERT

1 oz dark chocolate

OK, that's it for now... gotta go get ready for work! 

JOURNAL ENTRY: DAY 18

OK, I've been pointedly reminded that I need to get these journal entries posted in a more timely manner, so my apologies for the lateness of this one. 

Yesterday, I decided to go into the City to see the legendary cherry blossoms, so I ate a good breakfast and took a cut-up apple for a snack. I was home shortly after noon, so I was able to eat like a normal person yesterday! Yay! Here are the particulars:

BREAKFAST

1 c. Smart Start cereal

1 c. skim milk

1 banana

SNACK

1 Fuji apple

LUNCH

Leftovers from previous night's birthday dinner: Orange Imagination

SNACK

8 Fiber Selects crackers with thin smear of neufchatel cheese* and fresh strawberry slices 

* store didn't carry Laughing Cow! :(

1 Lindt dark chocolate truffle

SUPPER

6 oz steak (from erstwhile roommate), sliced and seared in a non-stick skillet, then tossed with:

broccoli

onion

2 oz multi-grain spaghetti

DESSERT

1 Fuji apple with 1/2 oz cheddar cheese

So, not too bad, considering that I walked almost 2 miles around DC... 

OK, here's the question of the day: what kind of whacky irony is it that when I found out today that a) the Crocs shirts finally came in (what we're supposed to wear to work), but b) the largest size we got was a Men's 2XL, and c) not only is that too small for me, but they don't MAKE a bigger one, THAT the first thing I wanted to do was eat at McDonald's and super-size everything??? I didn't, of course, but that was my initial mental response. To say, the hell with it, this is obviously not working so why bother? What IS that?? I'm still pretty bummed about it, though. I am now the only employee in the store without a Crocs shirt, and no way to get one except lots of time. Here's the other irony: I don't even plan on BEING at Crocs that long (oh please oh please oh please), so why the hell do I even care about the stupid shirt? Oy... it's not easy being in this head.

JOURNAL ENTRY: DAY 17

Good morning! As most of you know, yesterday (April 1st) was my birthday. This was my first birthday without my mom, which made me a bit reflective and kinda blue, but spending the day fielding phone calls, emails, Facebook messages, and e-cards from friends and family really helped! Thank you, to everyone. I had a great day of NOT standing, so that was nice. :) I enjoyed a lovely evening with Rachary; dinner at an asian/vegetarian restaurant, then next door to a microbrewery for a spot of celebratory hops. I had a great time, enjoyed a great dinner, dessert, and beer without going into excess on any of them. This is a significant departure from past behavior ("it's my birthday, so I can go nuts!"), yet I did not feel deprived in any way. Thanks to Rachel for coming up with a restaurant that had good, healthy food! (The restaurant's web site is not functioning for some reason - I tried both Safari and Firefox to no avail - so I couldn't get specific ingredients or nutrition information on my dish; I'm going to just try and remember. Rachel, feel free to pop in with any adjustments!) I also checked the brewery's web site for calorie information... no go. Anyway, here's the day's consumption:

BREAKFAST

"Fried" egg sandwich: 1 whole wheat pita pocket, 1 egg (fried in non-stick skillet w/spray), 1/2 oz jalapeno jack cheese, and a pile o' alfalfa sprouts

1/2 c. low-fat cottage cheese with fresh strawberries

LUNCH

Turkey sandwich (apparently I was in sandwich mode yesterday): 2 slices whole-grain bread, 1 t. mayo, dijon mustard, lettuce, 3 slices smoked turkey, 1/2 oz jalapeno jack cheese

8 stalks of steamed, yummy, spring asparagus

1 Fuji apple

(I have to say that I wish I'd taken a picture of my plate... it was LOVELY, with the apple slices, the bright green asparagus, and the wholesome bread with sprouts erupting out all sides. Mmm)

SNACK

15 stalks of steamed asparagus (I know it's a weird snack, but it was so bloody good; I just ate them cold. At 2 calories per stalk, that's a nutrition bargain!!)

SUPPER

1 spring roll, which I can't for the life of me remember was in it

"Orange Imagination:" soy protein, chunks of orange, snow peas, carrots, broccoli, basil, and pine nuts over brown rice

DESSERT

About 8 bites of an avocado-lemon pie; the last few of which didn't contain the crust - once Rachel pointed out (and I tasted it myself eventually) that it had kind of a bitter aftertaste

POST-PRANDIAL LIBATION

Approximately 6 oz of beer: 3 oz of 60-minute IPA (India Pale Ale), and tasting sips of 5 others; Rachel and I calculated that it was probably a total of about 6 ounces. Certainly enough to cause a brilliant red hot-flash. :-/  Getting old is pigeon poop.

As you can see, I had plenty to eat yesterday, but I don't think I overdid anything. Probably could have done without the pie, but I figure it was better than a) a chocolate cake, b) ice cream, or c) eating a whole serving of the healthy-ish pie - I ate less than 1/2 of one piece.  

It was a great lesson learned, that one doesn't need to gorge on high-calorie low-nutrition junk in order to celebrate an occasion. It was the company that made it the most enjoyable, and my belly never felt neglected or abused. :)

JOURNAL ENTRY: DAY 16

BREAKFAST

1 c. low-fat cottage cheese (serving size is technically 1/2 c, but since I can't eat lunch until after 4 or 5 PM, I'm eating a bigger breakfast)

1 c. leftover mixed fruit 

2 slices whole-grain toast, no butter

SNACK

1 Fuji apple with peanut butter

LUNCH/SUPPER

2 whole wheat pita pockets with avocado, cucumber, cheese, sprouts, tahini

DESSERT

1 Lindt dark chocolate truffle

SNACK

microwave popcorn

Today I will be going to the store for munch-able veggies, in accordance with my daughters' helpful suggestions, and the makings of hummus. I am also going to enjoy the fact that I can have breakfast, a mid-morning snack, lunch, a mid-afternoon snack, supper, and an evening snack ALL AT NORMAL TIMES OF THE DAY! Today AND tomorrow!! WooHOO!