In Here

I've forgotten about this again!

I ran 4.54 miles tonight after work- 7.26 kilometers- bringing my April total to 20.46 miles (32.736 km). Then Steve and I went for pizza and drinks. Well, I had drinks. He drove my wobbly butt home. I can't handle my liquor now like I could in university.

Food has been decent. Weight loss is slow. Back to WW meetings, though, which is helping me stay on track.

Tonight was Wing Night and the first Flames game of the Stanley Cup playoffs. I wasn't about to miss that, so I made myself a deal that I was only allowed to have wings if I ran 5K before breakfast. And I did! 3.15 miles (5.04 kilometers) this morning before grabbing breakfast and heading to work. Not bad. And the wings were mighty delicious!

I just need to remember that one night of "no-no" food does not give me an all-you-can-eat pass for the rest of the week. I tend to be bad for that. Tomorrow is a clean slate.

Today's weight: 161.6 lbs. Down 1.8 in one week. Not bad!

Ran 2.58 miles at the gym today. Need to have a shower and wash some clothes for the wedding tonight.

I've had a good couple of days with a lot of veggies and a few slip-ups. In the long-run, though, those "slip-ups" are what keep me sane so I can sustain eating this way in the long run. I hate feeling like things are "off limits" and "not allowed."

My regular breakfast (toast and egg), veggies and tofu for lunch, cheesestring and strawberries for a snack, and sushi for dinner. Delicious (and I still have 5 points left. Go figure.) We went for a nice long walk with Ellie tonight since it was so nice out.

I'm weighing in tomorrow morning, so we'll see what a week back on track has done. Tomorrow might be interesting, food-wise- I'm working a wedding and they'll provide dinner, so we'll see what that is. I'm looking forward to the weekend so I can get back to the gym.

Brie-stuffed Breast of Chicken
From the Dieticians of Canada's "Cook Great Food."

Preheat oven to 350 F.
1L covered casserole dish.

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts (4 oz. each)
4 tsp pesto sauce
2 oz (1/2 cup) brie cheese, rind removed, diced
3/4 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup white wine
2 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 cup 2% evaporated milk

With meat mallet, pound chicken to 1/4" thickness. Spread 1 tsp pesto on each breast. Place brie in middle. Fold sides and ends to seal. Place seam-side-down in casserole dish.

In saucepan, bring broth, wine, and lemon juice just to a boil. Pour over chicken. Cover and bake in preheated oven for 15-20 minutes or until no longer pink.

Reduce temperature in oven to 200 F. Drain liquid from breasts into rinsed saucepan. Return covered breasts to oven to stay warm. Boil liquid until reduced by half. Stir in evaporated milk and simmer until hot.

Slice chicken breasts and fan on warmed plates. Drizzle with sauce.

Calories: 234
Fibre: trace
Fat: 8 g
Carbohydrate: 5 g
Protein: 33 g

I'm home from the gym for the day. I cleared 2.21 miles today; combined with the 3.27 I did yesterday, that brings my total for March to 17.53 miles (28.05 kilometers.) Not bad, but hopefully an easy number to beat in April. My daily endurance numbers have gone up a lot; at the beginning of the month, I was doing 1.6 or 1.8 miles a day. It's good to see improvement.

Dinner at The Keg was disappointing. There's so much else I'd rather have eaten for a 15 point dinner. Do you know how much sushi you could have for 15 points?!

We're going to plan our meals for the week and go grocery shopping and to the farmers' market today. I hope raspberries are in season!

Dinner tonight is brie- and pesto-stuffed chicken breasts with a white wine sauce, brown rice, and asparagus. Mmm.

I'm resurrecting this blog as a tool to help me keep my weight loss on track.

Where to start? My "confession." I need to be honest with myself in order to deal with the problem. I have become a fat wife. Steve and I got married in June 2007 and in the months following, as a result of my own complacency and some medical problems, I gained 22 pounds. I hate to even admit that because it makes me feel disgusting.

I started Weight Watchers in December 2007 with hopes of losing it. My goal is to be back at "Wedding Weight" by our first anniversary. I have lost about six pounds since then. Good, yes- but not stellar. I need to be more committed, more dedicated, and more succesful than that. I need a kick in the pants.

Two weeks ago, we booked a trip to Mexico in November for my cousin Melissa's wedding. Last night, we agreed to take another trip to Las Vegas this coming June with another couple. My brother is getting married this August. We're going home to Ontario in December. And our first anniversary is still happening this June (go figure.) These are all events that I refuse to be fat for.

Today is the day that I kick my ass into shape. I have two months until we leave for Vegas. I don't want to look at "Honeymoon Vegas Shannon" versus "First-year-of-marriage Vegas Shannon" and think how gross the latter is. So off we go.

Weekends are easy. I'm home, I'm in control of what I'm eating, and nobody is tempting me with goodies at work. Further, I can get to the gym because I don't feel like death at the thought of working out.

Breakfast:
1/2 cup pineapple (that's all that was left... I need to get groceries.)
1 slice whole wheat toast
1 piece Swiss Knight cheese (spread on the toast.)

I probably won't eat much else before dinner, since "breakfast" was actually at 12:30 and dinner is at 5:30. Whoops. Late night with friends last night... slept in this morning.

Dinner is a pre-planned family event at The Keg, a.k.a. a would-be-skinny-person's nightmare. I've had a look at the online menus and chosen accordingly; Teriyaki chicken, a side of steamed asparagus, and a dinner roll with butter. This works out to a 15 "point" dinner; still on the high side, but within my daily budget.

Another thing I've been doing these days is working toward building up my endurance on the treadmill. I've tracked my miles run on the treadmill for the month of March, and my goal is to beat it in April, then beat April's number in May, beat May in June, et cetera. With three days left in the month, I have covered 12.05 miles (19.28 kilometers.) Not great, but it's a start. This also isn't all of my exercise; just the treadmill.

Today's weight: 163.4 pounds.