Today was probably the best eating day I've had in a long time. Look, only one red column, and it's only REALLY red because I was craving a coke. And a coke has 42 g of sugar in it... basically the whole days worth!

Movement Stats

• Treadmill; 44 minutes; 5.23 km; 519 calories.
• Abs; 0 lbs; 25 reps, 5 times.
• Quads; 45 lbs; 10 reps, 4 times.
• Overall Strength Training; 15 minutes; 80 calories.
• Walking the dogs; 15 minutes; 56 calories.

I saw this on the MFP forums and snorted a little bit.

As of today, I am down to the weight I lie about on my driver's license!  Take that DMV!

Inspiration: Rawn

This is Rawn. He has a couple of YouTube channels, and he's an inspiration to me. 

Lately he's gone through the changes I'd love to go through. He's lost weight, he's become comfortable with himself, and he very recently ran the LA Marathon. What he speaks about in the video above is my exact mind-frame. I've been such a fan of his for such a long time, and I somehow feel connected to him because we're going through the same journey. 

What I'm running on April 29th isn't the LA Marathon, it's only a 5K, but baby steps. Baby steps. 

I'm going to try to run the whole thing through, and dedicate it to Rawn.

I have no idea how to count for when Julien and I go to his parents house for Shabbat. So I just quick added 550 calories and was done with it. 

Julien's mom pulled out General Tao flavoured potato chips at dinner. Sounds strange, but they actually just tasted like BBQ chips. I enjoyed them very much. 

Movement Stats

(not included: total KM on treadmill. The dogs are sleeping/quiet, I don't wanna wake them up)

• Treadmill; 29 minutes; 353 calories
• Abs; 0 lbs; 25 reps, 4 sets
• Triceps; 35 lbs; 10 reps, 4 sets
• Biceps; 60 lbs; 10 reps, 4 sets
• Overall Strength Training; 19 minutes; 129 calories
• Walking; 60 minutes; 204 calories

FGFOF: life stages edition

Feel-Good, Freak-Out Friday

Feel-Good: Julien and I put money down on a sexy, 2-door, white Honda Civic.
Freak-Out: Now we definitely have to move. Bring on the stress of finding a place, packing, moving, and unpacking!

We're contemplating moving closer to his parents. I wouldn't mind so much, we'd get food brought over pretty often, and we'd be paying less the same amount in rent as we do now for a bigger place. My only concerns is that my commute to school would double in time (thankfully, I don't have any 8:30 am classes next Fall), and I'd also like to be near an Energie Cardio. But since we'll have a car, that's not a huge concern. I can easily drive to the gym, if it's too far to walk. Also, since it would be harder to just pop in to let the dogs out, meaning they'd be stuck at home, probably in their cages for the majority of the day. All things Julien and I will have to think about.

 Key points to report:

• I helped a friend find her (maybe) wedding dress and shoes.

• Sour cream might not smell like it's bad, but it definitely tastes like it's bad. 

 

• When researching, do it about things that interest you, not about things that are convenient. 

Respect

Vs. Thursday

Black and White vs. Colour

I feel like there are pros and cons to both. I guess I choose colour, but I don't mean rainbows. I really like the use of colour when it's only one colour. Example to the right of a picture of me and a puppet my friend made. There is one colour, but the shade and value vary. I like that, that is how I used colour in the latest mosaics I've created. 

ANYWHOOT.

If you chose black and white: You're dogmatic.

If you chose colour: You're enthusiastic. 

Recipe: Cadbury Cream Deviled Eggs

My Mother sent me this picture today.

What you need:
Cadbury Cream Eggs
Yellow Frosting
Red Sprinkles

(I realize this has nothing to do with eating healthy, but it's nearly Easter (my favorite holiday), so let's celebrate!)

What to do:
Put the Cadbury Cream Eggs in the fridge or freezer, so the inside-goo has a chance to harden up, and then cut them in half. Add yellow frosting (use your best judgement on the amount) to simulate the eggy-magic found in a deviled egg. Add red sprinkles to add a hint of colour and to simulate paprika. And voila!

I have yet to try one, but my Uncle Gene devoured them all in about 2 minutes, so they can't be all that bad!

Tea please

 Hi-ho friends. Don't ask me how I got to 1049% vitamin C. Not quite sure what happened there. Is there a lot of vitamin C in grapes?! I did buy nearly $15 worth of grapes today. And that fact is probably why I'm so over my sugar. Oh yeah, just looked it up, apparently 40 grapes equates 1000% vitamin C... Not sure if I believe that, but let's just go with it.

I'm not sure why, but I wasn't feeling very hungry today. I guess that's not a bad thing, but it's just odd for me. Equally as odd, I drank a cup of tea today. Normally I'm not a huge fan of tea, but lately I've been trying to force myself to like it. Jennie, the day of her wedding, gave all of her bridal party a little gift basket. Inside was fancy tea from David's Tea, which is a specialty tea store here in Montreal. So, I figured why not, and I tried it. Surprisingly, I like it! It was a black, chocolatey-minty tea, so it taste like I was drinking grass or herbs. Maybe this is the beginning of my tea fancy.

McDonald's didn't ruin my day

I'm surprised by this. Why? Because I had a quarter pounder with cheese for lunch, with 3/4 of my medium fry. That probably explains all my sodium and fat... but not my calorie intake...

I watched this documentary once on Netflix called, "Fat Head." It uses the same premise as "Super Size Me," only the main guy uses common sense. Unlike "Super Size Me," the "Fat Head" guy doesn't super size his meals if asked, he takes a diet soda or water, he doesn't take everything on the menu at least once, and he basically uses common sense about eating at fast food restaurants. He wanted to prove that in "Super Size Me" the guy forced himself to eat like crap, and in reality, humans have a choice. In reality, no one super sizes every meal when asked. Looking back at that movie, it's dumb. He wasn't really exercising, of course he's going to feel like poop! That's why I liked "Fat Head." He proved you can actually lose weight when eating at fast food places multiple times a day. At least he ate sensibly (i.e. without buns, diet cokes, etc).

Anyway, my eating McDonald's reminded me of those two movies. I suggest them both, but watch "Super Size Me" first. If you're anything like me, you'll want to get a cheeseburger after you watch them.

Today I also went to the gym for the first time in 10 days!

Movement Stats

• Treadmill; 26 minutes; 3.16 km; 321 calories.
• Abs; no weight; 25 reps, 6 times.
• Biceps; 60 lbs; 10 reps, 4 times.
• Quads; 45 lbs; 10 reps, 4 times.
• Hamstrings; 40 lbs; 10 reps, 3 times.
• Overall strength training; 25 minutes; 152 calories.
• Walking; 30 minutes; 102 calories.

I forgot to mention, HOLY SHIT I HAVE 7 GRAMS OF SUGAR LEFT! I think that's because we have no fruit in the house... 

guhh

I've never seen someone who does a complete 180 with their confidence like this. Not everyone has to look like Josh Groban, sometimes it actually is their voice that moves people to tears.

Weigh in: +1

Today's weight: 150 lbs.

You know, for the past week and a half, I had opportunities to eat terribly daily. Only gaining back 1 pound is a success.

Today was such an odd food day. I feel like I didn't track it correctly, so sharing my stats wouldn't do any good. I got less than 4 hours of sleep, and I didn't have time to prepare a proper breakfast... so I didn't have one at all. Instead I paid over $9 for soup, juice, and a chocolate croissant. Then after class 3 friends and I got a beer to celebrate projects being over, and I got a panini sandwich. And since we don't really have any food in the house, Julien and I made a frozen pizza for dinner... Anyway, I went over my calories, that's a given. It's okay... slowly (but surely), I'll get back on track. Tomorrow night I'm determined to get to the gym (first time in over a week), and then I'll pick up some veggies and fruits at the grocery. Pas de problem.

Semi-unrelated, but I got this app for my iPhone called, "iMapMyRUN." It uses the GPS function to track where you go, what the distance is, how long it takes, etc, and then it averages out your speed. I thought I'd give it a try today, but it tracked my trek to school as seen on the right. In reality, my walk had a lot more straight lines and right angles... Rene-Levesque to Bleury to St. Cats to University to Sherbrook to McTavish. I definitely didn't walk these crazy, jagged spikes! So, I'm not sure how this happened... and I really dont' trust the "speed" it gave me. It said I was doing an average speed of 4 mph. I feel like that's pretty fast for a walking pace... but it also thinks I went a longer distance because of the nonlinear spikes. You know what I mean? It was fun to experiment, but this app needs some improvement...

I wanted to update on the wedding yesterday! I feel like it deserves its own entry, so I'll do that tomorrow, when I'm not running on 4 hours of sleep. Sneak peek: I only had 2 panic attacks and cried 4 times.

Meme Monday: sloth edition

If I were an animal, I would be a: Personally? I wouldn't be a cool animal, like a tiger. I'd be more like a shy, meek animal, who likes to be alone or in small groups. Maybe I'd be a sloth... Yeah, a sloth. I mean, look at it. It's so happy, and all sloths worry about is where to sleep next. (I actually don't know much of anything about sloths.)

If I were given the opportunity to go into space, I would: call up Lance Bass and be like, "brb, going to space."

If I were to develop a superpower, my superpower would be: The power to eat, and eat, and eat, but instead of gaining fat, I'd gain muscle. Yeah, can you imagine how buff I'd be?!

If I were able to use a time machine, I would: slap High School Aimee in the face and tell her, "Paul is a chump. What if I told you you'd be engaged to a French guy by the time you're 22? End it now with him because he won't change, ride out the next 3 years, and he'll find you."

If I were an actor, my favourite role would be: I'd probably play the person who is most like myself... I know, dumb answer. When I was in 5th grade (and 170 pounds), I played the fatty, whose tag line was, "FOOOOOOD," said in a deep voice. I would rub my belly, and everyone would laugh. At the time I thought I had a future in acting (ha!), but looking back, I think I was cast because I was a large child.

If I were able to meet my idol, living or dead, it would be: Billy Idol! Kidding. I'd want to meet Forrest Gump. Not Tom Hanks, Forrest Gump. He's a good idol to have. Stupid is as stupid does.

Review: Stromboli Légumes Tornada

I bought this for dinner tonight and thought I'd give it a little review, since it's not the worst thing to eat (though it's definitely not the best either). 

This pizza contains: onion, green peppers, artichokes, tomatoes, mushrooms, and baby spinach. It's 620 calories for the whole pizza, and believe me, it's easy to eat the whole thing because it's only an 8 or 10 incher. It's kinda satisfying knowing you ate a whole pizza, you feel more full. If you like vegetables, you'll like this. The artichokes added a nice zing, and I love artichokes (thank going to Italy for that).

While the crust was crunchy and nice, the middle was soggy and doughy, and if I would have left it in the oven, the crust would have burnt. So, while that was disgusting, there wasn't much I could do about it.

Would I buy it again? Probably not.

breakfast coma

Ughh, we went to Chez Cora for breakfast this morning. I feel like breakfast is deceiving when you're going to a restaurant. Yes, while I got blueberry crepes, all that english cream I put on top probably wasn't the healthiest idea. (Insert that's what she said joke here). Unfortunately, the crepes combined with the fruit wasn't sweet enough for my palate, so I had to add something.

And here is where I rant about how a lot of restaurants do not provide nutritional information on their website. I really wish that was required of them to do. It would make a lot of peoples lives easier having that information available to them. I really like to know what exactly I'm putting into my body nowadays. It's just frustrating.

I went over because:

• Skittles.
• Tim Hortons.
• Thai Express.

Oops.

Remember when I haven't been to the gym in 1 week? Next week should be better... I won't be extremely busy with school or eating.

FGFOF: Hunger Games Edition

Feel Good: This beautiful specimen to the right. I've already chosen my team, and it's the chick with the bows and this dude with the eyebrows. Sorry Blondie Boy, you may have been creeping on her from afar, but this guy wins. He reminds me of Burger from the 1979 version of Hair. This guy, but with shorter hair, of course... Burger does cut it at the end of the movie, but I simply cannot find a picture. Anyway, another feel good, I'm going to my first spa tonight (!!), I got a 93% on my midterm, I haven't gained weight like a madwoman, in a wedding on Sunday, and it's been a month since I've picked my cuticles :)

Freak Out: Now, this isn't bad, per-se. And if you haven't read/seen The Hunger Games, just click out of this window. Here are somethings I can't wrap my head around with this movie:

• The Hunger Games, where abusing children is okay!
• The Hunger Games, does attacking children with ferocious cats give you a sick pleasure? Well we've got a job for you!
• Okay, so you're honoring your freedom by sacrificing children, I get that, but can't you just kill a goat or something? Didn't you learn anything from the Sacrifice of Isaac?! 
• I'm sure some of the teens got it on while battling, if people watch them 24-7, doesn't that make them borderline pedophiles? 
• The sickest thing is... I liked it.

Freak outs (in general), two assignments due Monday (one at 8:30 am (a presentation, on top of everything) after wedding-partying all night), house is never clean, and chance of snow next week (after it's been 70+ degrees for the past week). 

SUCCESS. I didn't eat out today ONCE! Everything I made at home or brought from home. It was nice. I would have done better on my sugar, but Julien (or maybe it was his brother... anyway) bought skittles. So I've been munching on those probably more than I should have. But other than that, I'd say today was a grand success and a nice change of pace :)

Vs. Thursday!

Electric Boogaloo vs. the Macarena

Oh, come on. This is easy, the Macarena. I'm a '90s child, why would I ever choose anything otherwise? 

If you chose:

Electric Boogaloo: Does not actually indicate anything about you.

The Macarena: Nor does preferring the Macarena. 

 Day 6,839 of eating out for dinner this week. You know, without having much of a choice (eating out or not), I think I'm doing pretty damn good. I went a bit over on my sodium... but I also drank a lot of water, so it evens out, right?!

Unrelated (kinda) but I took Nutella to the vet for her booster shots. I've never heard a dog scream so much from a shot. She screamed so much, she pee'd. Anyway, I took her home, and not 45 minutes later, her face grew twice it's size into a puffy mess. She had a pretty bad allergic reaction to one of the shots she received. So we rushed her back to the vet, where she received 3 more shots and screamed some more. Thankfully we acted quickly enough, so the reaction was only on her skin and didn't travel to her organs (i.e. her lungs or heart or throat). She made me cry because she's my baby... I don't know what I'm going to do when she's gone...

 Yup.

We went out for dinner (again) and I went out for lunch  with Julien and his brother. Considering two meals out, I think I did pretty good. Could have been much worse...

Oops

Todays weight: 149 lbs

That's a 1 lb bump from last week. But, honestly, I expected this. I won't be on track again until after the wedding on Sunday. Because, I mean really, who is going to pass up a whole TABLE of sweet treats?! (Yes, a Jewish celebrations, there isn't just one cake, there is a whole TABLE. I'm marrying into the right family!)

I'm not happy

 Today was a weird food day. Since I ran out of bagels, I had to bring a mish-mash of strange foods to school for breakfast. They involved goldfish, a peach, popcorn, and an apple. I also bought a $6+ ham sandwich that was the size of a hamburger bun. Not impressed. Dinner involved bacon, so I'm hurting right now. I don't know why I bought it... probably to make the men who were also eating dinner happy. Because of the bacon, I went over my sodium, fat, and protein... and I feel like crap. I'm so thirsty, and I'm so full, I just feel very gross, and I'm not happy. Part of me cannot wait until I'm back at a normal eating schedule, where I'm not cooking for 3 or where I'm not going out so often.

'roid rage

I saw this post on the MFP forums, and I definitely felt the need to share.

So I cant believe that in this day and age, there is still stereotyping going on at the gym. I went to the Y today to do some strength training... I was doing some bench presses.. now Ive JUST started adding strength to my workouts, so Im still only doing 35 lbs.. Im proud of my 35 lbs press... I plan on increasing it soon, but I know it looks kinda dumb to those guys who can bench press a gajillion pounds. 

So Im happy bench pressing away with my Ipod and this huge beefcake roidrage looking fool taps me on my shoulder.. so I put the bar up and pull my earphones out and say "Yes?"... Well he points to the treadmills and says "The cardio section is over there, where those girls are" so I say "Thanks, I knew that already though, today is my strength day"... so he actually has the balls to say to me "Little girl, this is the MENS area... I think you are lost"... So, I gather up my courage... look him in the eyes and say "NO, this is the 'everyone who pays to be here' area". He stood there looking at me like he might pick me up and carry me to a treadmill... and we have our little wild west stare down and he walks off muttering something about "knowing my place"... 

I couldnt believe it!! Is this 2012 or what?? Any other of you lady weight trainers deal with this kinda crap?

Meme Monday

A country I'd like to visit: Oh man... France or Germany. I would say Italy, but I already know I love it there. Florence, ftw!

A talent I don't have but would like to have: I wish I knew how to play some sort of instrument... beyond a guitar hero guitar.

A subject I wish I could take in school: Right now? Well, I wish I could take an art or art history class in library school, but that ain't happening!

A fictional thing I wish was real: Quidditch. Wait, that is real. My friend Veronica could tell you all about that.

Something I want to do before I die: Be a successful artist. Then again, that will only happen when I die, so...

Something I wish had happened in a movie or book: What the hell kind of question is this? Uhm, I wish Snape was actually Harry Potter's father, but it was revealed in a Maury manner. YOU ARE THE FATHER.

(What's with this slight Harry Potter motif?) 

Not today

Due to many factors beyond my control (kinda), I am going to stop counting calories as of 4 o'clock. I started the day off badly by eating 3 timbits, and I have also been working (slowly) on my research article evaluation that is due tomorrow. (It's a research article about how librarians do not do research. Oh the irony!) Anyway, that means no gym for me today and we're going out for sushi later, so there is no hope for me. I'll still watch what I eat, but I won't have actual numbers to show for it.


To compensate for my lack a daily food entry later on, here are two tweets my friends posted. I like them, and I find them inspiring and often-times hilarious.

I'm not sorry I ate you, little bunny. But I am sorry to say that you were quite delicious.

Now that Julien's brother is here, I have a feeling we'll be going out for dinner a lot. For example, we went out for both breakfast and dinner today, and dinner yesterday, and he's only been here for 27 hours or so. Plans for sushi tomorrow night already... I really need to be good.

Let's see... today wasn't very good, healthy-food wise. Over on my total fat (including saturated, polyunsaturated, and monosaturated), sugar (no surprise), vitamin C. I'm a little surprised at how much fat I ate today... But, like I said, it's so hard to keep track of that stuff when we're eating out a lot. As you can see, 98 calories left for today, after nearly eating 2,000.

Exercise Stats

• Elliptical; 12 resistance; 17 minutes; 182 calories
• Cleaning; 45 minutes; 126 calories
• Walking; 30 minutes; 83 calories
• Abs; no weight; 25 reps, 7 sets
• Biceps; 60 lbs; 10 reps, 4 sets
• Triceps; 35 lbs; 10 reps, 4 sets
• Quads; 45 lbs; 10 reps, 4 sets
• Hamstrings; 40 lbs, 10 reps, 3 sets
• Strength Training; 27 minutes; 144 calories

Dolphin WOW.

A dolphin came with my breakfast this morning.

Julien and I went out for dinner. I got this really good beefsteak thing with caramelized sweet onions on it, with homemade fries on the side. Oh. My. God. I haven't eaten that well in a long time. I have no idea if I tracked my calories correctly... but since I went to an obscure Montreal restaurant, I assumed their food wouldn't be in the My Fitness Pal database.

I wish all restaurants were required to provide nutritional facts, either on their website or in-house. It would be nice for inquiring minds to know.

Anyway, tomorrow starts the stress eating. So get ready for that!

5K

My first time back to the gym since Tuesday, and I hit 5K again! Kickin' ass.

Gym Stats

• Treadmill; 43 minutes; 5.08 km; 506 calories.
• Abs; no weight; 25 reps, 4 times.
• Abs; 8 lbs; 25 reps, 4 times.
• Strength Training; 11 minutes; 70 calories.

My HRM didn't wig out today, so I got an accurate number, which makes me happy.

I was messing around in the locker room, you know, poking at my stomach, pulling it up so I had a nice, flat tummy. I noticed that I need to pull it up less than I did before. So even if it's not a huge, huge, life changing change, it's something :)

But today is...

Feel-Good, Freak-Out Friday

Feel-Good: Happy 3 weeks since I've picked at my cuticles! The puppies are healthy. I've lost 2 pounds this week. I bought tickets to Chicago for June and a $2 iPhone case at the dollar store.

Freak-Out: Where to start? Julien's brother is staying at our place for the next 10 days or so, because his other brother is getting married. Now, that isn't a bad thing, I like his brother, but out place is so small, adding another person on the couch is going to be crazy. Also, our landlord stops by today saying, "Oh hey, I might be selling your apartment, so I'm coming over tomorrow with the potential buyer/your new landlord... So clean up your shit." Now, it wasn't like that word for word, but it was close. So on top of playing a good hostess, meeting with groups about projects I'm not passionate about, reading an uninteresting article, doing a write-up, budgeting $8000 for an imaginary library, taking Nutella to the vet, working out, and playing a good wife, I have to super clean the house tomorrow for this mystery new landlord.

*out of breath* but how are you?!

I did pretty well today! I went over my Vitamin C, but that just means I won't get sick, right? And 25 grams over my sugar wasn't as bad as it could have been. Any exercise I did today was either walking to school or walking around the job fair. Nothing too extravagant.

Nothing ended up happening after the job fair with friends, so I didn't go over calories with wings and beer. I did, though, pain my way through a glass of wine, while my friend Roman plowed through 3, and picked up another as I was leaving. For some odd reason, anyone who didn't want their drink ticket gave it to him. It was as if he was the Library School town drunk... we have no idea where everyone got that idea.

But now it's time for...

Vs. Thursdayyyy~

Today is special, ironic edition. 3 in 1 that all link together about booze.

Margarita vs. Martini: Margarita, because I've had one before (I think) and it can be fruity, and I like fruity drinks.

Martini vs. Shot of Jäger: Shot of Jäger, because it would make my Omi proud. I think I've only had a shot of Jäger on Christmas Eve with my Uncle Rick and Omi. It's a family thing.

Shot of Jager vs. Margarita: Margarita, because even though I've had both, the margarita was far more tasty. Jäger is disgusting.

If you chose Margarita: you're fun-loving.

If you chose Martini: you're inconsiderate.

If you chose Shot of Jäger: You're hungover.

I guess that makes me a fun-loving gal with a hangover... What do you choose?

friends are wonderful

I started the day off well, I even brought my birthday cake oreos to school with me so I can get rid of them. My friend Veronica sent me a tweet during class, saying they taste like rainbow sprinkle dunkaroos, but in cookie form. I chuckled. The chuckling ended, though, when my professor cut our presentation off in a rude manner, and my group didn't get to do our AWESOME activity with the class. Mind you, she never cut anyone else off, our presentation was actually interesting, and she then proceeded to give the class a 20 minute break. Some of those 20 minutes could have been ours to finish our presentation... I was pretty mad. So mad that when I saw some student organization selling cupcakes in the lobby, I exclaimed, "I want a cupcake!" and my friend, Roman, gave me a loonie so I could get one. I have nice friends. I think they're learning that food makes me a happy lady.

(It was a funfetti cupcake with lemon cream cheese frosting, btw)

Julien and I also ordered in tonight. I got a gyro, so I didn't go over my calories. I have a weakness for gyros. I don't know why.

No gym today. No gym tomorrow, as I'll be running around with friends (I'm so happy I can say I have friends now!), going to job fairs, having group meetings, scoping out women at bars, etc etc. (I'm such a brosky. Jordan would be proud... TO BITCHES!) I probably won't have any sort of regular gym schedule until school winds down. As it is, I'm supposed to be revising my resume (or curriculum vitae, if I want to be fancy) and reading an article for an assignment due Monday.

(long post is long)

My friend Shanna posted this video on my Facebook wall. I think it's wonderful.

(And this is totally unrelated to being healthy and dieting, but she also posted a CANDY BLOG on my wall. C-A-N-D-Y B-L-O-G. Click here!)

There is not a movie I love more than I love Forrest Gump. I think everyone can take a page out of his book.

sugar, sugar

Some burps and hiccups today, but nothing too extreme.

My heart rate monitor decided to not work when I jumped on the treadmill. So today's numbers are based off of the machine. It did though decide to work when I started my strength training... Go figure.

Also, I was doing sooo good on my sugar, but then I felt like puking, so I asked Julien to bring me some clear soda. I don't care if it doesn't actually work (unless it does), I've always drank clear soda when my stomach hurt, so that's the method I'm sticking with. My Sprite had 56 grams of sugar in it...

Gym Stats

• Treadmill; 2.63 km; 22 minutes; 184 calories
• Abs; no weight, 5 sets, 25 reps
• Triceps; 35 lbs; 4 sets, 10 reps
• Quads; 45 lbs; 4 sets, 10 reps
• Biceps; 60 lbs, 4 sets, 10 reps
• Overall Strength Training; 25 minutes; 143 calories
• Shopping, etc; 75 minutes; 250 calories

Weigh in

Very exciting time, because I just hurdled my plateau of 150!! I've been watching what I eat and exercising since the first of the year, so it's really nice to actually see some (even if they're minor) results.

Weight: 148 lbs

Not a very good day today. Dinner kinda made my stomach upset, and I divulged myself with birthday cake Oreos. Not to mention I've had a headache all day and the stress of looming assignments is wearing me thin. I think I'm going to go to bed early tonight.

My friends are the best. Surround yourself with positivity today!

Meme Monday

-Favourite sea creature: Either seals or narwals or blob fishes.

-Favourite type of vehicle: Mini Cooper. Preferably a yellow one or a white one. It would be the ultimate item in my mini collection.

-Favourite time of day: Lunchtime. No, wait, anytime where I'm eating.

-Favourite article of clothing: A big, fluffy sweatshirt. Preferably one with a hood.

-Favourite period of history: About 1430 in Florence, Italy. Because that's when Donatello's David was commissioned and made.

-Favourite word: Anything that rhymes with -oodle. For example, moodle, noodle, doodle, etc.

Not much to say... Other than I'm hungry.

But alas, it's 20 to midnight. I have a headache, and class at 8:30 tomorrow. I shouldn't be eating.

I saw this post on the forums today:

Alot of women fantasize being small....fitting into a size 1-6 pant which sometimes may be too small for our men. Sometimes we can even be hard on ourselves based on un-realistic , vanity, goals. We need to start setting our goals/standard/dream size through our men's eyes. The size they want to see us in., and that attracts them.

And it pissed me off. It's unrealistic to set weight loss goals for the men or women in your life. What happens if the one you're in love with breaks your heart, leaves you? The idea of weight loss will be tainted. And if you're with someone who even suggests that you need to lose weight, you're with the wrong person. That person can encourage you, but it has to be your decision first to change. There is a difference between, "Honey, you're getting fat. You need to lose that muffin top." and "Honey, I think it's great that you want to get healthier and lose weight. I support your every decision, and might want to lose a few pounds too!"

Life isn't about fitting the ideal beauty standards our culture has set for us.

I leave you with my most favorite answer some dude left for the original poster:

The size that she can look in the mirror and be happy with herself.

Huzzah! Only 16 grams over my sugar intake!

I did not go to the gym today. Nearly did, but at the last second I got too upset at something and had no desire to go anymore. But since I was entirely dressed in my workout gear, I decided to track how long and how many calories I burned while doing some errands.

Shopping, etc; 45 minutes; 149 calories.

Mr. Julien and I were planning on going to the movies, and I had SUCH a hankering for frozen yogurt, but he fell asleep on the couch. In the long run, it's probably better we didn't go. I would have gotten something sugary at the theatre and gone over my calories... and even more so my sugar. Instead I worked on some library school stuff.

Recipe: Dark Chocolate Drizzle Popcorn

You see the magestic goodness here -->

It's only 110 calories per cup. That's right! I was inspired by Snack Girl, which is probably my most favorite healthy website. She featured an article about DYI popcorn, and ever since I saw it, I knew I wanted to try it. You basically put 1/4 of a cup of popcorn kernels into a brown paper bag (like the ones you took to elementary school), tape it, and microwave it. Why would you ever buy expensive boxed popcorn ever again?! You don't need expensive air poppers, or other mechanisms, which is very nice.

Anyway, 2-3 minutes in the microwave and you have over 1 cup on popcorn! No added salt, butter, chemicals, etc.

She more recently featured this article, which involved the same popcorn and a dark chocolate drizzle. I had to try it! I finally found brown paper bags at my local dollarstore, and went to it. It was very easy to do. I guestimated 3 cups of popcorn popped, so I melted 3 tablespoons of chocolate, because the serving size was 1 tablespoon, get where I'm going? I've very excited to partake in this magic, as it it currently hardening. I'm equally excited that I can satisfy a sweet tooth for about 110 calories!

1 cup popcorn: ~30 calories

1 tablespoon dark chocolate: ~80 calories