Day 1

Today had an interesting start. Apparently, I did NOT get the memo that school starts on Tuesday. We drove to his school (with Liam repeating over and over, "I don't WANT to go to school"), all to meet another confused mom at the entrance who said, "Apparently, today is an in-service day." What?!


It's funny how you have intuitions. Last night, just before falling to sleep, I thought to myself, "School DOES start tomorrow, right? I didn't even look at the calendar." I just assumed since most other schools began the Monday after the New Year's holiday, so would Liam's.


Imagine the thrill for Liam. You should have seen his face. It was like Christmas all over again. I swear, sometimes I think he is NOT my child. While I certainly had days of not wanting to go to school, I pretty much couldn't wait to see my friends each day. Not him. Home school would probably be a dream come true for him.


So...my workout routine for the morning was shot. But...that's okay. My diet was not.


My main objective here is low calorie (1200/day), low fat, and low sugar. I've done really well on South Beach in the past, but with the exception of the first time in which I managed to get down to a size 8 (and I look at pictures from that time and think, how in the world did I do it and stay that way?), I've found that it's really difficult to run places and do things on that diet. It's just too restrictive in the first weeks, so one mess up, and you're off track.


I still wonder how I did it back then, though. One thing was, I worked outside the home. And I ate around that schedule, instead of whenever I want. Another thing was, I hadn't been pregnant or had a baby, both of which changes everything. And since having Liam, I've had several miscarriages, which has wreaked havoc on my body. I already have hormonal issues, throw in a few unsuccessful pregnancies and, what is probably PMDD, and most of my days I feel bloated and tired. I am praying a good change of diet and exercise will help me overcome some of this.


So, here begins the journaling. I'm going to try to be as detailed as possible because, if it helps someone else, that's great! Also, it helps me to go back and see what I did right or wrong.


I'm listing the calorie totals - and if anything, I estimate UP, so that I don't fool myself. Sometimes, I don't measure exactly, so I'd rather think it was higher than lower.


Breakfast

PB and Banana Smoothie - 1 Tbsp. pb, banana, skim milk, ice, and blend. 220 calories



Lunch


Romaine salad - romaine, tomatoes, cucumbers, low-fat cheese, Olive Garden dressing (YUM!). 150 calories


Cup of homemade turkey vegetable soup - fat free chicken and beef broth, tomato sauce, leftover turkey from Christmas, fresh carrots, frozen lima beans, can of diced tomatoes, diced red potatoes, onions, Jane's mixed-up salt, garlic. I made a crockpot full of this - I researched other similar recipes and it looks to be around 50 calories per serving. I'm just going with that.



So...even before dinner, I've had 420 calories. It's really NOT hard to do. It requires me staying busy outside of the kitchen. :)

Dinner

Garlic Shrimp and broccoli on a bed of whole wheat noodles...and cheese "toast". I know the noodles are around 200 calories for the serving I had - then the shrimp with broccoli is around 150 maybe. The cheese toast was around 50 calories. So, for the whole dinner - 400 calories.

TOTAL for the day is 820 calories.

And I still have room for dessert :)

Dessert

Yoplait fat free light strawberry shortcake yogurt with a sprinkle of Honey Bunches "Pecan Clusters" cereal - around 150 calories.

COMPLETE: 970 calories