Category Archives: College

Day 29 It’s Friday!!!!!

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Happy National Hug an Asian Day! (Have you hugged an Asian today?)

It is cold and beautiful once again in Tallahassee! As soon as we woke up this morning we opened the windows and let the fresh air blow through. It finally feels like Fall again.

So this morning as I was cooking breakfast I was thinking about Cracker Barrel and how awesome it is (don’t ask me why. I think we all day dream about Cracker Barrel every once in a while.) I was thinking about how awesome it would be to go there for breakfast tomorrow morning before the FSU/BC game so I decided to do some nutritional investigation. I was disappointed, not because of what I found, rather what I didn’t find. This is what the Cracker Barrel’s Question section says in response to nutritional information:

“Is nutritional information available for your menu items? Here at Cracker Barrel, we pride ourselves on using recipes and ingredients that are authentic, genuine, and of the highest quality available.  We strive to prepare and present these food items to you in a way that upholds those authentic traditions of days gone by. Cracker Barrel certainly understands the health-conscious concerns that some of our guests have. While we are unable to give you any exact calorie or fat content information, the following choices may help you in your selection:”

Through all the clever PR wording of this paragraph, all I read is: “If you knew how many calories you were eating when you were here, you would be hacked.” Why are they not able to disseminate this information? As consumers, I think we have a right to know what we are paying to put in our bodies. I understand that smaller Mom and Pop, single location establishments don’t have that information available on hand; but Cracker Barrel has 588 locations in 41 states! They really don’t have an excuse. To be fair, they do have alternatives, but I fell like that’s not enough because the healthier options still aren’t always the best. I also know that sites like The Daily Plate and Diet and Health have some of their nutritional information, but I still don’t think that’s enough. This is something that I hope will change nation wide soon because I think when people see the calorie and fat content on the menu, it might make them think twice and thus slowly open people’s eyes to the overall problem with obesity in America.

Anywho…

Breakfast: I made eggs (4 points) and bacon (2 points) for this crisp fall morning. Like I’ve said before, we use to never eat breakfast but it’s really nice because a lot of the time Megan and I don’t see each other at all during the day so it’s just nice to sit and talk about the upcoming day (and to compare bizarre dreams.) So even if you aren’t dieting or whatever, I would still sit down for breakfast (even if it is at 6:00 am) and mentally prepare yourself for the day and enjoy the peace and quiet. Just don’t fall asleep in your bowl of Cheerios.

 

 

 

Lunch: I went to Publix to pick up a few things around lunch time and I was starving. Our pantry was running thin so I went to the freezer aisle to find a meal. I was about to buy a box of Boca Burgers (not because I’m vegetarian, I just like Boca Burgers) and then I saw my dream diet food: Pot Stickers. I love pot stickers and dumplings so much and I haven’t had them in 6 months (I like them that much I actually remember) and since I have started WW I figured I would never taste them again :'( then I found this. I dropped everything, sped home, threw it in the microwave, and then savored these amazing little bits of Heaven wrapped in wonton. I was really impressed with this dish and for only 5 points I’m definitely getting this again.

 

 

Snack Fail: I wanted to eat something to hold me over until our epic steak dinner (more to come on that) so I popped some waffles in the toaster (3 points.) Then I forgot how high in points peanut butter was so I put a serving on there and it was 5 points. Ouch. On the upside, the peanut butter is a lot better than the day I stirred it so it was worth it.

Steak Dinner Awesomeness: In keeping with trying new meals week, we concluded our testing meal week with the London Broil out of the WW cookbook (yes: what you’re seeing is considered a diet food.) The marinade was 1/2 cup of wine, rosemary, salt, pepper, and garlic. It marinaded overnight in the fridge and then we broiled them 4 minutes on each side. We then cut up some asparagus and sauteed it with butter. It. Was. Epic. We were really impressed with how the steak turned out, and really impressed with the price: folks, this meal was $3.75 a person. So all of you people who think it is worth it just to eat out all the time, this is what $3.75 can get you. What can you get for $3.75 at McDonald’s? The answer: not much. Just saying. So the 8 oz sirloin was 6 points and the asparagus was 1.5 points. This meal would great with boiled potatoes too or even a mashed potato. Definitely check out this recipe.

So today I’ve totaled out at 26.5 points so not too shabby of a day. I’ll find something to snack on during the Rangers game. Last game I had a bigger bag of sunflower seeds which was only 4 points so I might do that again.

Announcement! So my folks and sis are coming to Tallahassee for Thanksgiving (I’m super stoked!) and my mom was talking about them joining the Anytime Fitness that is about to open in their neck of the woods. We were talking about the challenges that the Holidays are going to bring. Then I jokingly mentioned that there is a Turkey Trot 5k Thanksgiving morning and she was pretty psyched about it. So our family is going to do the 5k! I’m super stoked about it but we have a lot of running to do between now and then. Megan and I ran one in April and my time was 39:32 so I want to try to break that time. So we have 5 weeks (yes… Thanksgiving is 5 weeks away) to get back in to it so we are pretty stoked. If you have read this whole blog, you are awesome and thank you. See ya tomorrow.

 

Day 28

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¡Hola lector!

Today has been great. Not for any particular reason, it’s just feels good to be alive and a little lighter than the day before. Last night I wore my wedding suit for International Suit Up Day and it was a little baggier than the last time I wore it (which was for a frat formal in 2009.) I really felt it in the collar shirt I wore which I had no pull at the bottom (when I started this, so like 4 weeks ago, I had issues buttoning the bottom button up) and there was actually room in the collar instead of me choking. I have to admit it was one of the only times I didn’t mind having my shirt tucked in which for most big guys is their worst nightmare. (Actually at the high school I went to you had to have your shirt tucked in at all times to make sure you didn’t have a gun or something stupid like that. I was like the least threatening person so I never tucked my shirt in because I looked stupid and really fat so I actually went to detention a lot for that but then by senior year they didn’t care. It still annoying that kids who are bigger got in trouble for something like that. You’re vulnerable enough as it is, why make it worse? I’m just saying.)

Anyways…

Breakfast: I had Kashi, Yum! It had a lot of fiber. This picture is gross. (Yes, I just wrote a haiku about my breakfast.) I’m really sorry about this picture, unfortunately for you today is “All of Nathan’s Food Pictures Are Gross Day” The cereal is only 2 points and the cup of skim milk was also 2 points so it’s worth it and it doesn’t taste too bad… I mean, it’s fiber cereal folks.

Lunch: I was pressed for time so we made Smart Ones for lunch. I have always been a fan of their Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo and it’s only 6 points so it’s a good deal if you are a fan the creamy sauces you shouldn’t eat. I added some ground pepper and a tablespoon of Parmesan which is 1 point to give it a little more flavor. It was really good just make sure you microwave it thoroughly. If you don’t you will be sad.

Snack: I had some work to do up at school so I brought a pack of Emerald Trail Mix to snack on. It was 5 points.

Dinner: Megan and I went on our Chick-Fil-A college night dinner date tonight and I actually remembered to take a picture! (Finally.) I got an 8-piece nugget (6 points) and we split a large fry (their waffle fries are the most amazing thing on the planet) which was 5 points for half of the box and then had 2 packets of BBQ sauce (an amazing 2 points.)I think I need to find a better trail mix/snack since the bag of trail mix is almost as many points as an 8 piece at CFA, but I really like trail mix because it’s really filling. Does anyone have any suggestions?

So far today I’m at 29 points and the night is young. See ya tomorrow.

Day 27

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HELLLO WIN COLUMN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If you aren’t aware, my Texas Rangers beat the Tampa Bay Rays last night 5-1 to win their first ever postseason series. The Rangers (like other Metroplex teams) have produced plenty of heartache in the past years (past years being most of my life) so this is a big deal for us fans. Although I live 3 states away, I still feel like I am right there with the Rangers Nation. Next stop: The Fighting George Steinbrenner’s. Bring it on.

Let’s talk food.

Breakfast: I bought some Publix Organic Peanut Butter (the kind you have to stir) because we use to buy the stir-in kind from H-E-B, but unfortunately it wasn’t near as good. Sad days. Anywho, 2 tablespoons of PB was 5 points and the waffles were 3 points so it was a pretty good breakfast.

 

 

 

 
Lunch: As I said the other day, this week is about trying some new recipes to avoid getting in a food rut. Megan made the Spanish Tortilla out of the WW cookbook (page 254.) It is basically a egg-potato-and-spinach scramble (there’s actually no tortilla involved, but I think with a few tortillas and some salsa it would make a killer breakfast burrito.) Pictured is 2 servings which was only 4 points!!! (That’s right… it’s 2 points a serving!) We fried up a little bacon which was 2 points and I had a glass of milk which was 4 points. Megan wasn’t a huge fan of it (the recipe calls for nutmeg which was a little overpowering) but I really liked it and it was so filling I almost didn’t finish my serving!

 

 

Exercise: If you haven’t figured it out, I’m a big racquetball fan (even though I’m not too good but to be fair, I’ve never played someone who was my size. Not that that’s an excuse I’m just saying.) Today was maybe the first time I thought I might pass out. I. Got. Worked. I had a lot of fun and I even won a game, but I have never had my obliques hurt after an hour of racquetball. It was awesome. Anyways I put the exercise info in my Calorie Count account and it said I burned 900 calories. It was a blast but between that and working out with Justin yesterday I’m going to take it easy the next few days. I calculated it with the WW exercise formula that I found on my friend’s blog and it said I get 13 (yep, you read that right) exercise points for today which makes that butt kicking I got worth it.

Dinner: Like I’ve said before, I really like Uncle Jim’s Chili as a leftover because it’s a little more congealed so it works better as a topping. Tonight I felt like I wasn’t doing WW: I made Chili Dogs. I took the rest of the chili, heated up some hot dogs and cut them in half, and then I put a serving of reduced fat of cheese on it. I then added some ketchup, mustard and hot sauce which is what I usually put on my chili dogs. The chili was 5 points the 3 94% fat free hot dogs were 3 points and the 1/4 cup of cheese was 2 points. If you made this in a non-healthy way (like with Wolf Brand Chili) this could be a 1,000 calorie meal pretty quick, but just making a few simple adjustments like no bread and low fat dogs you get the pleasure without the guilt. Which is what we are really looking for right? Have you ever made a “diet” version of your favorite meal?

 

Snack: If you live close to a Publix, you should definitely try out their Premium Low Fat Vanilla. So legit. I had 1 cup which was 2 servings so it came out to 4 points.

 

 

 

 

 

 

So far today I came out to 32 points but I still have 13 exercise points to deal with so I’m sure there will be a little snacking in my future (but with in reason of course!) See ya tomorrow.

Day 24 Weigh in Day!!!

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Hooray For Sunday.

I woke up this morning anxious for the weigh in. I didn’t know if I had done enough this week so I kind of expected the worst (I’m not saying this for dramatic effect, I was scared.) So I got on the scale and much to my surprise, I lost 2.8 pounds this week! Hooray! So now I am 97.2 lbs away from my 100 pound goal. Megan lost exactly 1 pound this week so she has lost a total of 10.6 pounds so far. Right now, I’m exactlty 1 pound away from 20 pounds so hopefully we can get rid of that this week!

Breakfast: I had 2 multigrain waffles (3 points) with 2 tablespoons of peanut butter (5 points) and 1 tsp of honey (1 point.) Usually on Sunday I have to eat something pretty hearty because I’m starving after church (to me, sitting in church when you are hungry is like the worst thing ever.)  This filled me up for a good while.

Lunch: So we had a luncheon at church for new members so the church prepared the lunch. They had fried chicken, I thought “oh crap, I’m screwed.” I thought about getting a drumstick, but instead I got some corn (1 point,) steamed squash (1 point,) a serving of baked beans (2 points) and a deviled egg (2 points.) I thought a drumstick would be really bad, but they are only 3 points so in hind sight I should have just bit the fried bullet.

I still feel like I’m walking on egg shells every time I’m eating something that I don’t know the points of, but I guess this is something that is up for debate: is it better to just eat it and use your flex points if it is super bad or is it better to be safe than sorry? Thoughts?

Here’s what I think, it’s really easy to give an inch, and before you know it that inch becomes a foot. I thought that if I could justify the drumstick, then I would have easily justified the broccoli casserole and then the mac n’ cheese. I think if we were truly honest with ourselves, we do that all the time and it is such a slippery slope. I feel like I have made such progress with my addiction to food that I can’t let myself get in to those situations because I have done that time and time again. Some people might think that I am depriving myself of those foods because with WW you really can eat what you want, but frankly I have had those delicious-but-unhealthy foods all my life. What I have really been depriving is my health and my body all this time. To some this might be extreme, but it’s what I need to do for myself to get this weight thing under control. On a side note, I just want to thank my friends at lunch for their support, the whole time they were impressed with what they called my discipline, it was what I needed then to just keep on keepin’ on (they know who they are.)

Wow.. blogging is super cathartic.

Snack/Continuation of Lunch: When we were grocery shopping, we bought some Hebrew National 94% Fat Free Hot Dogs and I’m so glad we did. When we were watching the Rangers slowing unravel my heart out by out, I cooked up 2 dogs (which are only 1 point a dog so 2 points.) and wrapped them up in bread (total of 4 points) and then added some ketchup and mustard, oh and a pickle to each since they are zero calories (holla!) I’m sure that looks gross to you but it was the comfort food I needed to get through a devastating loss.

Dinner: We made our stellar Tamale Casserole. It was 12 points of amazing happiness. That’s all that needs to be said. (Yes, this is a stock photo. I like this picture. Sue me.)

So after a roller coaster of an emotional day, I totaled out at 33 points which was right at my points for the day. Hooray! See ya tomorrow.

Day 23

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Good Saturday to ya!

Breakfast: This morning we went to the little town of Havana to check out the antique stores and to explore a little more of Florida. Before we headed out, we decided to grab some coffee at Starbucks. We wanted to get a pastry, but I had read that they were pretty high in points, so I pulled out my iPod and checked out their nutritional info on the  Starbucks App (since they finally have free WiFi.) We looked at the Reduced Fat Cinnamon Swirl Coffee Cake and it was still 7 points, so we cut it in half so it was only 3.5 points and it really hit the spot. A while back someone suggested to get Iced Coffee at Starbucks go I gave it a try with low fat milk. It was only 2 points and it wasn’t too bad, but it was super strong which took me by surprise (that or I am just a wimp.) I still want to try their Iced Chai Tea but I forgot to order it (that happens a lot around here.)

 

Lunch: After our antiquing excursion, I fired up our range and made those legit turkey burgers. I think this burger recipe is the one of the best hybrid recipes in the WW book (hybrid meaning that you you could serve it to both dieters and non-dieters and everyone would be happy.) The oven baked fries are also something that you just feel like you are cheating when you are eating which is just fantastic. The fries were 3 points and the burger was 6 points. Oh, and the mustard is suppose to look like a smiley face, but the mustard wasn’t cooperating.

 

 

Dinner: This evening we were invited to dinner with some friends from church. They were really accommodating to the whole diet thing which was relieved because there are a lot of times where you go to someones house and they know you are on a diet and they still serve fried gravy. Luckily, she made baked chicken with grilled veggies and a fruit medley. It was so good! We weren’t really sure about the points, so when we got home, my awesome wife did some investigating and this is what we came to: Chicken-8 points Veggies- 3 points Fruit- 1 point and Corn Muffin- 3 points (we brought the muffins which we made from the WW cookbook. They are 2 a piece but I had half of one earlier.) 

 

 

 

Temptation!!! So this was the first chocolate cake since I’ve started WW. I’m sure you remember me talking about my issues with the sweets so this was a doozie. This is the piece I cut and then I stood there for a sec and thought to myself “are you going to regret this tomorrow when you weigh?” I usually I think that then I’m like “Screw it, I’ll worry about it tomorrow” so this was a big deal because I’ve been all about instant gratification and that’s what got me in to this mess. So after I took this pic, I cut down the piece a bit and I was glad I did.

 

 

 

 

So today, I approximately totaled at 35.5 points so I only went 2.5 in to my flex points. Overall in the week I used 16 flex points which is the most flex points I have used so far. I try not to use them just because I feel like I have enough points as it is. I’m hoping it doesn’t affect my weigh in tomorrow but we will see. See ya tomorrow.

Day 21

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HELLO WIN COLUMN AGAIN!!!!!!!!!

I love Thursdays, like a lot. They are like a Friday Eve and I guess since I like Christmas Eve almost more than Christmas it makes sense that I would like the eve of something more. Make sense?

In other news…

Breakfast: I did the same thing as yesterday because I was going to play racquetball this morning. If you don’t remember (if this is your first reading, welcome!) I had 3 point Publix Multi Grain Waffles, 5 points worth of TFM ground peanut butter (if you haven’t had ground or organic peanut butter go buy some. You’ll taste the difference!) To sweeten it up, I added a tsp. of honey for 1 point. (Yes this is the same picture as yesterday, but rest assured it looked exactly like this.)

Exercise: I played racquetball with my boy Alex before class. I lost… bad. But I got mine, I accidentally hit him in the face with a ball. He took it like a champ though.

 

 

Lunch: I had to stay on campus this afternoon so I hung out with some of my AFC peeps at the food court and ate one of my favorite chicken places Pollo Tropical.  As always, it was amazing. I had the 1/4 Chicken combo: the chicken was 8 points, the rice was 4.5 points, and the black beans were 1.5 points. It’s a little pricey (but it’s a campus food court, they’re all a scam anyways) but it’s always great to find a place that’s within your points.

 

 

 

 

Snack: In keep with what’s becoming a Thursday tradition, Megan and I went get some yogurt, but this week we went to Yogaberry (sorry Hiro’s, it was right next to Publix… plus they have blackberries and crushed up waffle cone.) As you can see from the pic, I made a parfait-like masterpiece. Top layer: Blackberries and raspberries (1 point) crushed up waffle cone (1.5 point) and a cup of Taro yogurt (4 points) I might have over calculated a tad but rather be safe than sorry right?

 

 

 

 

Dinner: Last week Megan asked if I had any requests for a new recipe to try this week. So I dug around in the WW cookbook and found turkey sausage and peppers. When I was watching the Rangers crushing the Rays (again) the smells from the kitchen wafting in made my mouth water. The smells delivered. Holy cow it was so good! This would be a great recipe if you wanted to have a point conscious Oktoberfest or something like that. To make it even better, it was 3 points per serving! Then we added some potatoes (the ones we got at the Farmer’s Market) which was only 1 point a serving. So dinner came out to 8 points and so decedent. Plus I had 2 points of milk.

 

 

So today (so far) I totaled out at 39.5 points. I went a little over but I don’t care for 2 reasons: 1) I got some killer exercise so I really have some exercise points and 2) I ate freakin’ well today. It was worth the 6.5 flex points. See ya tomorrow.

Day 20

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Hello Win Column!!!!!!!!!

Breakfast: Under the advice of my friend Michelle, we bought some multi-grain waffles and they are fantastic! 2 waffles were only 3 points and I put a tablespoon of freshly ground peanut butter from The Fresh Market on each which is 2.5 points per tbsp so it was 5 points and then I put a 1/2 tsp of honey on each waffle for 1 point. (If you haven’t discovered the awesomeness of honey, check it out.) It was a super filling breakfast. I was full until like 1:00 this afternoon. Does anyone else have a good waffle topping recipe?

Oh yeah, I also had a 1 point orange.

Lunch: We didn’t get to go to lunch until around 2:00 (it’s been such a weird week) so we went to the Pita Pit (the only reason I go there is because their name sounds like my favorite band Passion Pit.) Last time we went there I was going to get their falafel pita but then I forgot to so this time I was stoked to get it. As always, I did my pita homework and it was 14 points but I had the points. Anyways, we got there and they were out of baby spinach and tomatoes, how can a sandwich place be out of those two things! FAIL! So I just got cucumbers, feta and tzatziki sauce. The feta was really salty but the cucumbers added the crunch it needed. I was stuffed (Jedi Mind trick of the day: if you want to feel really full, you need to drink at least 2 glasses of water. It makes a lot of difference.)

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Dinner: Since we were both full from a late lunch, we decided to eat a little late. We went to Target to buy some Halloween stuff, but we were really looking for owl stuff. I’m kind of a fan. Anywho, we each got a frozen dinner. Again going with brand loyalty, I tried a new Amys entree: their cheese enchiladas. They were really good but be warned even though it comes with 2 enchiladas, the serving size is for 1! Lame! So again, be careful when reading labels. Anywho it was 11 points and I had 9 chips for 3 points. One thing we noticed the other day that we have had this bag of chips for a long time compared to before dieting because we eat one serving at a time. We use to just pile those suckers on there. Something to think about.

So I totaled out at 38 points so I dipped 5 points in to my weekly points. Aw well. Go Rangers. See ya tomorrow.

Day 18

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Hiya! (That’s hello in the Mid West, is that right Jade?)

It has been a very cool day here with the temperature barely getting up to around 73. We haven’t turned on our A/C in a few days now so that must mean Fall is in full swing. It has been a topsy-turvy day as far as eating goes. (Which is exactly what you want to do when this is like day 1 of the 100 pound ordeal.) I didn’t get up until 10 because I was working on a paper so I didn’t eat any breakfast, I just had an early lunch.

Lunch: When we had chicken the other night, Megan cooked up an extra breast so we could have leftovers later in the week. So we split that and steamed some broccoli for a low-point-yet-super-filling lunch. Half of the breast was 5 points and two cups of broccoli was 0 points. Holla. For those of you who don’t think broccoli has any taste, a little sea salt and some pepper go a long way.

Here’s another thing we do for lunch that really makes a difference. We use smaller plates so it feels like we are eating more. All my life, our plates have been huge, making you feel the need to pack more food on the plate. The plate on top is the one we used for lunch and the bottom one is our regular plate. So even if you aren’t eating a ton, you can Jedi Mind Trick yourself in to thinking that you are. (On a related note, has anyone read The 9-inch Plate Diet by Alex Bogusky, formerly of my favorite ad agency CP+B? If you have, let me know what you thought.)

Dinner: This evening I went and saw The Social Network (which was so awesomely fantastic) so my bud Daniel and I went to Chick-Fil-A before the movie. (Not to sound too much like the Frugal Novice, but if you are a college student in Tally, on Monday and Thursday has college night at all three Tally CFA’s!) So I did my homework on their website where you can calculate your meal. I had the glorious 8 piece nuggets for 6 points, a medium fries for 9 points and 2 BBQ sauces for 2 points. Goodtimes.

Snack: I made a 5 point turkey sandwich. Nothing too exciting.

So on this wacky day I totaled at 27 points. I’ll probably scrounge around for some snack (Tuesday is grocery day so it’s slim pickens.) See ya… later today.

Day 17 Weigh in Day!!!!

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Eläköön punnita päivä!

(That’s “Hooray for Weigh in Day!” in Finnish)

I can’t believe it’s been 17 days since this blog started. So far, it’s been awesome thanks to you dear reader (give yourself a pat on the back.) Well as you recall from yesterday, I was cautiously optimistic about the results from Señor Scale. This morning when I got on the scale, I was still pretty nervous, but then I knew it was going to be good when Megan was like “Oh Snap!” I lost 3.8 pounds this week! I was so happy! It’s awesome because it felt like I was cheating with how well we ate this week lol. I know that working out really helped too but even that felt like cheating because I was doing activities with friends. Megan lost 1.8 pounds and I’m so stoked for her because she’s back down to her weight from when we were working out a ton in March! Good times!

Breakfast: So how do you celebrate a successful weigh in? Bacon and eggs of course! (I don’t think I ever ate this much bacon when I wasn’t dieting.) I had 2 eggs over medium for 4 points and 3 slices of bacon for 2 points. I was awesome. I do miss not having toast, but I’d rather have the points for later.

Lunch: We had planned on just eating leftovers at home, but we decided to look around town for something healthy (which has been an issue wherever we have lived.) We decided to go to Olive Garden to just do soup, salad and bread sticks. That always seems like a good idea on the way there, but then you look at the menu and everything else sounds so much better than just salad (even though their salad is amazing!) Anywho, as we were looking at the menu, we saw that Olive Garden has their nutritional information available upon request so we asked for it and they brought out a pamphlet. Also, their menus have a symbol that indicates their lighter meals. After some investigating, we decided on splitting the Shrimp Primavera which is one of my favorite dishes anyway. Instead of salad (which isn’t bad points wise without the dressing, but the dressing is the best part!) I got the Zuppa Toscana which was 3 points. Instead of eating like 5 bread sticks, I just broke one (3 points a bread stick, yep they are that bad but that delicious) in half and ate it with the soup and then with the Shrimp Primavera. Anyways when they brought out our entree they had already split it in half for us! It was awesome because it’s hard to evenly split an entree yourself (and frankly you’re sad/angry the whole time you are splitting it) so it’s nice to have them accommodate to their customers who are trying to be health conscious. I think another thing about having them split it is that I didn’t miss that other half at all. We have become so conditioned to eat what is in front of us that if even half of it isn’t visible, we don’t miss it. So our servings of the Shrimp Primavera was only 5 points! Even though the service was okay, I was really impressed with Olive Garden and it was exciting to find another place that we could go to and not have to worry about getting killed with points. Oh yeah, their Andes mints are 1 point. SO WORTH IT!!!! (Next time I blog about Olive Garden, remind me to tell you about the time my Uncle Ken accidentally burned my arm with candle wax at an Olive Garden when I was 5. Actually, that’s all there is to that story so nevermind.)

Dinner: Well, you can never fight off leftovers no matter how hard you try, but it’s okay because chili is my favorite leftovers except for maybe pizza. I had 2 cups of chili for 5 points and 9 chips for 3 points. That is the best 8 point dinner in the universe.

So today I’ve eaten a total of 26 points so I’ll eat something a little later when I’m working on a paper (but I promise it will be healthy!)

Goal Time! So yesterday I mentioned that I have planned on a goal for my weight loss. I think setting goals are a good way to give yourself some direction especially with weight loss. Every time I’ve set pretty much unattainable (unless I was on Biggest Loser) goals for myself, and I know the one I have in mind might even be pretty lofty, but this journey needs a finish line. So here it is: I want to lose 100 pounds before I graduate from grad school in May 2012. I have figured it out and that’s 83 weeks from today. In order to do that, I have to lose 1.2 pounds per week from here on in to achieve this goal. I know this is not going to be a cake walk (or since I’m dieting: a low fat ice cream walk) but I know that this is going to be the best way to get rid of my fat once and for all. I also want to prove to people that you can successfully lose a significant amount of weight without having to go on Biggest Loser, I want to prove that you control your own destiny (and density.) I’m excited for the challenges that lay ahead, because I know that the reward will be great not only for me, but for my wife, my family, and for my future children. However, most of all I’m doing this for the glory of God as it says to in 1 Corinthians “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” So here’s what I need from you: please pray for me for patience and discipline during this journey. If I look down (or hungry,) just give me a thumbs up and if you need someone to exercise with, give me a call and we will figure something out. Thanks again for reading and the encouragements you have already sent my way.  See ya tomorrow.

Day 16

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GOOOOOOD MORNING VIETNAAAAAAAAAAM!!!!!

(Did anyone get the reference yesterday?)

Today was awesome! Not just because the Noles won, but it was great just to have some time to hang out as husband and wife. Grad school has become both of our mistresses.

This morning we went downtown to the Farmer’s Market. There were a lot of cool booths with everything from art to walking sticks. We were on the hunt for some fresh produce and of the three booths, we only found one that looked legit (the produce at one booth had stickers on them like they had just bought stuff from Walmart and brought it there. Shady City my friend.) Anyways, we came upon this cute old couple (that didn’t look like they could pick up a watermelon) and oh boy what a spread they had! We got, peppers, zucchini, red potatoes, and whatever else is in the picture. We bought pretty much all of our weeks worth produce for $12.50! Can you say deliciously legit? There is something about organic food that just feels, and/or tastes, right like it was the way God intended produce to be: without all the harmful stuff. I would definitely suggest finding out about when your local Farmer’s Market is open. Living organically is not necessarily important for a diet, but it is for a lifestyle change.

Breakfast: Just an orange for 1 point

Lunch: Since the FSU game was on at noon, we wanted to make some concession stand food again like last week, so we did frito pie again but this time with a freshly cut up jalapeno. So good! The chips (1 1/2 serving) was 4.5 points, the chili is only 5 points and the cheese was only 1 point. My mouth was burning after so I had a 1 point Fudgesicle to extinguish the flames.

Dinner: Tonight Megan made an awesome oven baked fried chicken with her famous sour cream mashed red potatoes that we got today. Since we got jalapenos from the Farmer’s Market, I wanted to make some jalapeno poppers like my dad does, so we cut them in half , filled them with low fat cheddar, and wrapped them with center cut bacon. It was a fantastic meal to say the least. The chicken was 5 points, the potatoes were 5 points as well and 4 jalapeno popper halves were just 3 points.

So far today I’ve tallied 25.5 glorious points. So I’ll probably have some dessert or some milk or something like that. Just out of curiosity does anyone have a good Iced Chai Tea recipe? I’ve been looking for a good one.

Anyways, tomorrow is weigh in day (hooray!) I’m always scared of being optimistic but I’m hoping between the working out and staying within my points I should be alright. So this week I’ve thought a lot about creating some goals and I have figured a big one out. Stay tuned tomorrow and read all about it. Until then, see ya tomorrow.