Day 139: On The Road Again

Update: 207.6 lbs, 50 lb Goal Reached Day 124. 9.6 lbs to 60 lb goal.

Greetings from the luxurious inside of our trailer at Fort Stevens, Oregon. The rain has been falling all night, and still is doing so this morning. I'm about to fire up some breakfast, but figured I'd drop down a quick update before we get moving since I didn't yesterday.

This is our first split camping trip - half the family at home, and half of us in the trailer. A couple kids had another camp scheduld we didn't know about when we booked our spot, so we decided to keep both reservations and split up the Lopi clan. Big ol' traffic jam on I-5, 217, and then Hwy 26 for about 45 minutes, so the 120 mile trip took us almost 3 hours, but other than that, it's all good.

In food news, I brought along some gardenburger on the trip -- actually two kinds, one with black beans and another that apparently is mostly just grass and dirt, cause that's what it tastes like. But the black bean version tastes pretty good, and I could go for those more often. They are a winco brand of some sort...I can check when I get home, but only 80 or 100 calories, I think, as opposed to the 350 calories that the winco brand hamburger patties were.

Anyway, that's it for today...short post because I need to get the griddle going for some eggs and bacon for the morning. On another note, I'm back down again, and heading towards that next mile marker of 60 lbs! Whoohoo!

Hasta!

Day 137: Eatin' Good In The Neighborhood

Update: 208.8 lbs, 50 lb Goal Reached Day 124. 10.6 lbs to 60 lb goal.

Some of my least favorite radio spots, in all of time, have been for Applebees. Songs made popular by country music artists like Tim McGraw and Joe Diffie have been turned into little ditties pimping babyback ribs and curbside service. However, I gotta hand it to them for some decent low cal menu options.

Since we literally have an Applebees across the street from the office, we often times find ourselves there. When the three options for something decent in the area are Subway (good), Love Love Teriyaki (good, but careful on the rice), and "Crapplebees," we're gonna end up at the monster chain sit down now and then. Fortunately they have a Weight Watchers menu that actually has some great options, and all at under 500 calories per meal. You can view the Applebees Weight Watchers menu here, but you might have to drop in your zip code to see what options are available in your neighborhood. A couple of the old standys that I've been having are:

Steak and Portobellos - 330 calories and 10 grams of fat
This is not the Ol 96'er from The Great Outdoors, but instead a rather petite little slab of meat, with portobello mushrooms, brocolli and potatos. 4 quarters of red potatos, small steak, a few portobellos and heavy on the brocolli...and with just a little bit of brown sauce. Pretty tasty.

Cajun Lime Tiliapia - 310 calories and 6 grams of fat
Pretty basic slice of white fish and some lime salsa dumped on top, with some rice underneath. This is good, but you're definitely in snack mode by later in the afternoon.

Italian Chicken and Portobello Sandwich - 360 calories and 6 grams of fat
I think someone at Applebees corporate got themselves a killer deal on portobellos. This sandwich is decent, but for some reason not as flavorful as the others, and I think the little slab of chicken is kind of sad looking. Decent for when you want a break from the fish or steak.

For something quick and healthy at a sit down place, these options are pretty good. You'll still do best if you bring your own healthy food to work, or just keep it simple and eat good things, but if you're going out to eat, it's nice to know there are some optons for you. On another note, I'm moving back down again...which is good after the week of reckless abandon last week!

Hasta!

Day 135: Purple Graze

Update: 210.2 lbs, 50 lbs so far, 50 lb Goal Reached Day 124. 12 lbs to 60 lb goal.

Yes, you read that right...I hit my 50 lb goal, and am back up 2 lbs. There I said it, just wanted to be honest with you. If we get it out of the way early on, we can have a better relationship because of it.

After hitting my goal a week ago last Thursay, I pondered where to go next. Work hard towards another goal, take it easy, do nothing...or something else. After pushing hard for 124 days, I decided to cruise a bit while making the decision and found out that it's much easier to go the other way, than to keep pushing forward. In the midst of deciding, I cruised right on through a couple parties, get-togethers, an overnight trip with kids, and picking up 100 dozen Krispy Kreme donuts between the last two Sundays. Needless to say, if you don't plan to not eat, you will....or at least *I* will.

Turns out, I'm just a grazer...I think that may be my biggest downfall. If you have a big table of food out, I'm going to be tempted. All weekend, we had food out...chips, cookies, candy, fruit, cheese doodles, etc. Then we were around a bon fire on the beach with tons of s'more makin' goodness, and I was grazin' through roasted marshmallows, chocolate and graham crackers. Watching crazy college kids break boards with their heads will do that to me. Then birthday parties with chips, salsa, more chips, cheese cubes and crackers and I'm back to grazing yet again.

Part of the problem is I gave myself a break from entering in all my foods to the Daily Plate for the past week, and I think it's been a little too easy to let an extra few hundred calories slide in here and there. Still been trying to exercise every day, but also been doing some of this eating late at night. Guitar hero and chips until 2 am does not a healthy food plan make.

Anyway, I've got a new goal, and I'm back on the wagon. I'm hoping to use the early morning time before work as my exercise time. Where I used to be on the clock for getting kids going from 6 to 9, I can now use it to put some miles on the odometer. I'm going to shoot to get under 200 lbs, and since it's so close to that mark, will shoot for an even 60 lb loss, or a weight goal of 198.2 for this next milestone. No specific date in mind but I'm planning on exercising each day if possible, still aiming for that target goal of 1500 net calories, (and logging them at TDP) and drinking plenty of water. I hadn't really thought i'd be into going much below 200, and maybe I'll be happy there, but I'm thinking about trying to do 70 lbs, before my 70 mile ride, since there seems to be some number synergy going on with that goal....but we'll see.

Hasta!