Day 77: The Day We Spent in Philadelphia

And I had my second dissapointing Philly cheese steak experience. It has to be due to my aversion to cheese wiz.

• 1 c of Melissa's mixed up Kashi cereals in skim milk (breakfast)
• random bits of kids' snacks in the car -- kettle corn, teddy grahams, bugles, chocolate chips
• 3 bites of a cheese steak, a handful of super delicious fries, diet Coke, banana water ice layered with chocolate frozen custard which was suuuuper yum (lunch)
• WW spaghetti w/ Melissa's homemade sauce, 2 pieces foccacia, 1 slice sauce-lessn homemade pizza, diet caffeine-free Coke, water, strawberries w/ reduced fat sour cream and brown sugar (dinner)

calorie count: 1,872 (which was shocking to me -- I was certain I had gone way over)

Day 75: The Day We Left for PA

Since we are away, I don't have a lot of time to figure out my exact calorie count. I'll just have to settle for a rough estimate.

• 1.5 servings Oatmeal Squares in 1% milk (breakfast)
• pretzels
• 1/2 Caesar salad, 1/2 chicken bacon ranch wrap (lunch)
• the HUGEST diet Coke, which, sadly, I am beginning to really like
• random bites of kids' car snacks, piece of leftover pizza crust
• Melissa's super yummy pizza - 1 slice just sauce, 1 slice w/ veggies & mozz, vegetables marinated in Balsamic and sprinkled with some goat cheese (dinner)
• 1/2 scoop Grace's ice cream

estimated calorie total: 1,800

Day 74: The Day I Nearly Killed Myself Cleaning

• scrambled eggs, one slice of toast, Abby's Cocoa Pebbles because she decided she couldn't eat them right after I poured the milk (breakfast)
• WW cheddar quesadilla, water (lunch)
• pretzels & choc. chips
• plain pasta w/ sprinkling of parmesan, broccoli, a 1/2 banana, sparkling cranberry juice, water (dinner)
• Greek yogurt

total calories: 1,968

Which again puts me over. ARGH! Why am I starving all the time?? I only have 76 surplus calories left :(

Day 73: The Day I Remembered What it Feels Like to be Full

Because since we started all of these changes to our diet, full is something I rarely feel. Today I couldn't finish my quesadilla! Who can't finish a quesadilla??

• bowl of Life in 1% milk, slice of WW toast (breakfast)
• pretzels and choc. chips
  
• whole wheat quesadilla w/ mozzarella and fresh basil (lunch)
• Greek yogurt, 1/2 a banana
  
• Fudgesicle (we're almost done with these 60 calorie wonders)
• Teddy Grahams
• grilled chicken sandwich, mashed potatoes, diet Coke (which I find gross, but satisfying for 0 calories), a few bites of Mile's crust, 1/2 scoop Grace's ice cream (dinner out with kids at Friendly's)

total calories: 1,923

That's 46 calories over my daily limit, but I have a surplus of 213 some-odd calories, so I don't feel bad about it. I did my homework before we went to Friendly's and knew that there were two menu items I could have with plenty of calorie wiggle-room: the chicken sandwich and the Asian salad. Sadly, I opted for mashed potatoes (240) instead of doing what my gut said to do and order broccoli (80). Oh well. Next time.

Day 72: The Day Adam Left for South Carolina

• 1 bowl Oatmeal Squares in 1% milk, 1 banana (breakfast)
• 1 Greek yogurt w/ 3 T wheat germ
• black bean burger w/ mango salsa & lettuce (I am sooo done with these), 1/2 sweet potato, water (lunch)
  
• pretzels & dark choc. chips, kettle corn
  
• 1 berry GoGurt (b/c they are only 70 calories!)
• 1 Fudgesicle
• pita pizza w/ basil, water (dinner)

total calories: 1,864

Hmm ... what could I have used those extra 13 calories for?

Day 71: The Day We Started Counting Calories

Never in my life have I counted calories before. At Adam's suggestion, we took our self-proclaimed "Year of Fit" up a notch: using a handy little calculator, we figured out how many calories we each need in order to lose 1 lb a week and thereby reach our goal weights. No, I will not share mine, except to say that -- according to the calculator -- I should reach it by July 19th. My magic number is 1877, provided that I'm getting moderate exercise. Since mid-January I've been running between 2 and 3 miles 5 times a week. My plan is to work my way up to 5 miles. And I think we are registering for this race, should (either of) you care to join us. Twice I've cheered Adam along in this race; it's about time I joined him.

• 378 calories worth of the leftover Vegan chocolate cake the girls made for Danielle last night. I won't tell you how many pieces that was. And yes, it was totally breaking my dessert rule. (breakfast)
  
• 1/2 Greek yogurt, glass of milk
• black bean burger w/ mango salsa & lettuce, water, fudgesicle (lunch)
• 16 dark chocolate chips, serving of pretzels
• slice of WW bread w/ SB
  
• egg blindfolded over garlic-cheddar grits, WW tortilla, roasted sweet potato, water (dinner)

total calories: 1,680

I ran out of time before I ran out of calories. I'll plan more wisely tomorrow.

Day 70: The Day We Had the Carniauxs and the Patchogue Merceds Over for a Vegan Dinner

Because Brenna is vegetarian and Danielle is vegan. It was very bean-y.

• bowl of Oatmeal squares in 1% milk, half a banana (breakfast, 8 am)
  
• pretzels
• 3/4 English muffin w/ PB&J and 6 oz Greek nonfat yogurt, water (lunch 12.30 pm)
  
• Kettle corn
• black bean burger on WW bun w/ mango-avocado salsa & lettuce, WW tortilla w/ homemade refried beans, roasted sweet potato, Jack cheese, guacamole & low fat sour cream, corn salsa & chips, cream soda, water (dinner 6pm)
• DsOTW: Danielle's vegan strawberry pie in a Grape Nuts crust, slice of yellow cake w/ chocolate buttercream (which the Cs brought from Audrey's), milk, water