Back for the New Year

However, my goal is now different. My goal is to watch my weight, but now during pregnancy. I have to ensure that at my weight I don't gain more than about 15-20 during the entire next 34ish weeks. I am now 6 weeks in and about 3 lbs up. I should only be about 2, but I'll forgive myself on this one.

Exercise and nutrition is the utmost importance. I'll be dealing with other obstacles, such as recurring nausea and tiredness.

Also, admittedly my goals is to ensure the family is eating healthier too. My baby daddy hasn't been feeling good lately and he has some health concerns as well.

So some goals to start off with:
- Follow the WW plan for staying at the same weight. Flex it a little for some weight gain.
- Exercise regularly. Try to keep moving no matter what.
- Prepare meals 4/5 days at work and 5/7 dinners at home. Make lunches for both baby daddy and I.

AJs

Has it really been a week? I've actually been to AJs twice in the past week.

First time, I went I did salad bar. This is an easy one. Just watch your dressings and extras. I had a salad with chicken, peas, sunflower seeds, and ranch dressings but minimally on all toppings.

Second time, I got a burger with mushrooms, swiss cheese and no bun (7 pts). Along with baked beans (5 pts). Not too bad considering it was a last minute decision. Next time I'll get it without the cheese or maybe salad instead of beans.

Jimmy Johns - Lunch

Nothing feels better than the ability to find a way to safely eat at an extremely delicious place. I love Jimmy Johns and what's better is that they actually have a nutritional app that allows you to pick and choose. I love it!!

Turkey Tom - 6 (mustard, no mayo)
Baked Lays chips - 2

I think I'll try the hunters club unwich next time.

Chipotle Conquered!

I actually have always struggled with Chipotle. Usually I give in, get my usual and then swear to not eat for the rest of the day. But I experimented and won today! What did I do? I asked for half of the fillings and the rest filled with lettuce in a burrito. (Sorry, part of the Chipotle experience is all about the tortilla mixed in with everything else.)

So...taken from their website (everything but the lettuce halved, and a little less tortilla.)

Romaine Lettuce (salad)	2.5 oz		30
Cheese	1 oz.		50
Black Beans	4 oz.		60
Sour Cream	2 oz.		50
Cilantro-Lime Rice	3 oz.		70
Chicken	4 oz.		95
Flour Tortilla (burrito)	1 ea.		200
		TOTAL	565

Dennys - Breakfast

Okay, it was really lunch, but sometimes a girl has to have pancakes. Thankfully, Denny's has tons of nutritional values and tons of choices. This (aside from Boston Market) is my favorite place to eat on a diet.

Pancakes (2) - 5.5
Sugar Free Syrup - 0
Turkey Bacon - 2
Peice of toast - 1
Fruit - 1

Total WW Pts - 9.5

You could also get ham too if you don't like turkey bacon. The greatest tool you can possibly have in your arsenal when dieting or eating healthy is not being afraid to ask for changes or things on the side. It used to be that service scoffed when you did this, now it's all part and parcel and I've found very few that have been unwilling to change an order. One benefit of special ordering as well is no matter where you go, you're food has been made fresh. The only thing I wouldn't "special order" is a special items at a specialized restaurant. Enjoy the efforts and creation of a skilled chef in combining quality ingredients.

Greek - Lunch

Nothing is more thrilling than eating out without any nutritional information readily available. Thank goodness there are places like SparkPeople and Weight Watchers.

I love falafel...no LOVE it. And nothing beats mom & pop shop greek resteraunts. I was in heaven when I tasted the cumin in the falafel.

The pic to the right is actually the meal I ate. Yes, I took a picture. So what did I eat from it?

- 2.5 (of the three) falafels: 4 pts
- 3/4 of the pita: 1.5 pts
- 1/2 cup of hummus: 6 points

I went over the points by 1.5. Not too bad. I am full. You'd be surprised what a whallop falafel packs. When I eat this meal I also consider it a treat. I actually cut the falafel into bite size peices, spread hummus on the pita and plop the falafel on top of that. Then I eat it mini-pita style. Remember, sometimes it's not what your eating but how you eat it as well.

What Not To Eat....or just an informative post

So one of the setbacks, that no one really addresses, is what to eat when you are at a place in which you have hardly any choice to begin with.

Everyone know I am not a seafood eater. However, I refuse to be the person that ruins a dining experience because they "don't eat that kind of food." So typically when I go to a sushi bar, I have my favorites...edemame and pork gyoza.

However, tonight was a very different setback. We ate at an actual seafood restaurant. Normally this is an easy selection to make, either the chicken or the steak. I attempted to do my research, but this did not help me one bit. We went to Bluewater Grill tonight. The online menu was a bit misleading. I could have either rosemary chicken or steak, neither of which nutritional values were available. So when I got to the restaurant, I figured I'd get the chicken. Only to find out that the chicken was stuffed, not rosemary.

Whoo, boy. So what to do? I'll give you some hints (some of which I did not follow tonight) but will be useful to you (and me) in the future:

1. Ask what it's prepared in an don't be afraid to ask for changes. I could have asked for it without the cheese, but this leads me into my 2nd point...
2. Sometimes a food is best experienced as is. The chicken sounded decadent. A chef made it that way, because quite frankly it's a sumptuous dish. So what to do if you have something you want to enjoy but you know is going to be calorie-laden?
3. Eat half. If really necessary...eat a quarter and fill up on something not calorie-laden. I've found that when calculating calories no matter where you go, if you eat half it typically will be about 1200 calories or less. You'd be surprised at how many innocuous meals are 2400 calories or more (check YardHouse, ugh).
4. Do your damage, enjoy your meal, and get back on the wagon.

I'm only posting this, because I know that in the future this will happen again. Life happens. Yesterday at the Yardhouse, I intended on a full meal and ended up with only appetizers. It actually worked out, but you need to understand that life is like that. You're not going to be able to plan everything, however if you've succeeded to stick with your plan 90% of the time a 10% hiccup will not hurt you.