Recipe - Ina Garten's Turkey Meatloaf

For weeks I have been trying to make a turkey meatloaf. I was going to do the Paleo Mushroom Meatloaf, but I didn't have mushrooms on hand. So, I looked to Pinterest and Google and this one looked delicious. I used the Ina Garten recipe from Foodnetwork.com.

I did make a few changes because first and foremost her recipe called for 5 lbs of ground turkey. We would have been eating turkey meatloaf for a good month. I reduced it to 2 lbs and just scaled everything else back.

The onions sauteed and then cooked in the worcestershire sauce really added a ton of flavor to the meatloaf.

I baked it in a pie plate instead of on a sheet pan because it was smaller. I also did not put the ketchup on top, I am just not a ketchup fan, I ate mine with some good mustard on the side.

We had some steamed broccoli with it, but I know the boy is looking forward to some meatloaf sandwiches. We have a TON leftover. 

Here is my adjusted recipe.

2 lbs ground turkey

1 1/2 C. chopped yellow onion

salt and pepper to taste

1/2 t. dried thyme

2 T. Worcestershire sauce

1/2 C. low sodium chicken broth

1/2 t. tomato paste

1 C. panko or Italian style bread crumbs

2 large eggs beaten

Directions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

In a medium saute pan, over medium-low heat, cook the onions, olive oil, salt, pepper, and thyme until translucent, but not browned, approximately 15 minutes. Add the Worcestershire sauce, chicken stock, and tomato paste and mix well. Allow to cool to room temperature (I actually stuck the pan outside to cool).

Combine the ground turkey, bread crumbs, eggs, and onion mixture in a large bowl. Mix well and shape into a rectangular loaf in whatever you like to make meatloaf in. Bake for 1 1/2 hours until the internal temperature is 160 degrees F. and the meatloaf is cooked through. (A pan of hot water in the oven under the meatloaf will keep the top from cracking.) Serve hot, at room temperature, or cold in a sandwich.

On the Menu Monday (MPM) - Week 41

Weekends go by way too quickly and there is never enough time to squeeze everything in. It doesn't help when the Ta Da list just keeps getting longer and longer. I was able to squeeze in an early morning nail appointment, as well as friends for turkey tacos and some wine Friday night. Saturday was a ton of fun, although we had to skip the Arboretum due to wet weather. But we did check out a MN winery that we all really enjoyed. Then it was back to our house for an Octoberfest themed dinner. We started with cocktails and some spinach/kale appetizers which I threw into the oven. They were from Trader Joe's, a new wonderful find to keep on hand. We also had some cheese and meats which were delicious. Dinner was Honey Apple Slaw from the Fall Celebrate Magazine (this is one of my all time favorite magazines, I get it both in hard copy and digital editions and I find I go back to issues over and over again), Slow Cooker Reuben Brats from Taste of Home September/October, Sweet and Spicy Beans also from Taste of Home September/October. We celebrated a couple of birthdays, so we had stopped at the bakery in town to pick up 6 different cupcakes, cut them each into 4 and tried a little of a few. It was a fun menu and a great group.

The boy recently painted the sitting room, right off of the kitchen and dining room. Actually it is inbetween the kitchen and dining room, and traditionally, is supposed to be the formal dining room. For us though, we decided to take what was supposed to be the formal living room, and convert that to the formal dining room, it is bigger and we need the space for dinner parties and such. It has really worked out nicely for us. We moved furniture around after the boy finished painting the sitting room and really transformed the space. I will have some pictures soon, but we are having a really hard time finding a love seat or settee that we both like. And believe me, we have LOOKED! We did find a great piece that we are using as the bar, and a rug that I just love, but we have a few more details to work out before I post it. I am really hoping we can find the final pieces before our holiday party, I am sure the space will be used then! The dining room is done though, so I do need to get some pictures posted soon here, we are really happy with the way things turned out. Two more rooms on the main floor left to go, but they are also big rooms that need a lot more updating done to them, the media room, or family room and the kitchen. We are thinking that we could just paint the rooms for the time being, but I know the boy likes to just do the whole thing and not do bandaids. We will see.

This week, second week on a new client site, which I am not really digging. I am in the office 5 days a week, from 7 to 4 and commuting with the boy. Not sure what I think of the whole situation yet, but I am leaving my options open. By the end of last week, I was exhausted from not getting enough sleep at night, but I also know and understand that it will take at least three weeks for my body to adjust to a new rhythm. Last week we had a lot going on after work, so we didn't get to the gym, this week we are going to try to schedule some gym time which may help. We will see.

Monday
Plans - gym, catch up at home, laundry, work on closets, fall/halloween decor
Breakfast and Lunch - Cottage cheese, berries, salad, veggies
Dinner - Turkey Chili (a request from the boy who devoured the last batch, I only had a cup, and it makes great leftovers to take for lunches). I also need to make my appetizer to bring to Bunco! Post to follow!

Tuesday
Plans - Bunco!
Breakfast and Lunch - Greek yogurt, apple with peanut butter, pumpkin soup
Dinner - Not sure if my sister, our friend L or sister J will be coming for dinner, they are going to be subs, so just in case I am going to make a big pot of vegetable beef soup (from The Paleo Cookbook: 300 delicious Paleo diet recipes) to have on hand. It is another one of the boys favorites and will be good to bring some to my aunt and uncle on Wednesday.

Wednesday
Plans - friend J is hosting a purse party, and I haven't seen her in a long time so it will be good to see her and catch up. Hoping to also go to the gym after work. Tuesday is also my aunts birthday, she lives on the same street as our friend J, so I thought I would bring her and my uncle some soup, as well as some flowers.
Breakfast and Lunch - Cottage Cheese and berries, turkey chili
Dinner - Salmon and broccoli

Thursday
Plans - Really looking forward to this, we are off to see Cirque Du Soleil, Amaluna. This will be our fourth here in the Twin Cities! We are also heading to a new restaurant beforehand, can't wait!
Breakfast and Lunch - Greek yogurt, apple and peanut butter, salad
Dinner - Firelake Grillhouse

Friday
Plans - Heading to the gym after work, then it will be home, catching up on shows on the DVR, we are SO behind on the fall season already! House chores since we have a busy weekend!
Breakfast and Lunch - Cottage cheese and berries, Vegetable Beef Soup
Dinner - Hearty Mushroom Meatloaf (also from the Paleo cookbook, I am going to use ground turkey instead of beef however)

Saturday
Plans -  Twin Cities SharePoint Saturday, all day. I am volunteering for registration as well, so I need to be there EARLY! Hoping to make some good connections and catch up with some familiar faces so that I can move on from my current client. QUICKLY!
Breakfast and Lunch - a granola bar on the go, I need to be at the conference by 7:00 am, lunch is a salad
Dinner - Garlic chicken with mushrooms and red peppers I may make rice with this, depends on. We have been staying away from starches for the most part, but this might call for a little basmati. I will also most likely double this so that we have leftovers for lunches next week.

Sunday
Plans - Canadian Thanksgiving! The boy loves this day, so we will be heading over to our Canadian friends C for dinner. I am sure it will be delicious as always and definitely will get me thinking about planning our Thanksgiving. We will NOT be doing a joint Thanksgiving again this year at our house with both side of the family. It just gets to be too much and is too overwhelming and we don't enjoy ourselves. If I am not on a client where I am working from home at least half of the time yet, that is going to make things even a little tougher, so we will need to plan plan plan.
Dinner - Turkey, I am sure everything will be delicious.

I am on my fourth dietbet, the third one ends tomorrow, and I am not 100% sure if I am going to make my goal for the third one.  Between being on a new client site last week, missing out on my usual walks, and a few celebration dinners and wine nights, I don't think I am quite there, but close. Keeping my fingers crossed after a good workout at the gym tonight. The fourth one I am going to be trying really hard to make, it doesn't end for another two weeks, so I have some wiggle room and time to get adjusted to my new schedule. Once I make the goal for my 4th dietbet, I will be down 28 pounds and well on my way to reaching my goal of being down 45 by the end of the year. I keep saying slow and steady, it took me 5 years to put this on, it will take a while to take it off, but I can feel the difference already. And while I know there are certain foods the boy misses, we try to have one cheat day a week where we go out or have whatever we want. Which usually winds up being what he wants. This week it will most likely be Sunday with Canadian Thanksgiving, lots of wine and good foods. I will most likely have fish and veggies when we go out. I find that as long as review menus prior to going out to dinner, I can usually figure out what I am going to eat ahead of time. One of our guests did bring me some pumpkin ice cream the other night, so I might have to have a little of that if I make my goal tomorrow. If not, it waits!

For more meal plans and links to recipes, check out the orgjunkie.

On the Menu Monday (MPM) - Week 35

Wow, SUCH a poor blogger. My attempts have been poor at best. My work days have been overwhelming and then I just squeeze everything else in around it. BUT, I am almost done with this project and client. Hopefully this week and then I get to regain my life and breath again. I am already making real plans and looking forward to having my life back.

So, first, couple of updates and a little weekend re-cap, and then on with the weeks plans. My meal plan is not all that exciting at the moment. The boy and I, as well as sister J, are in the home stretch of a 4 week long diet on dietbet.com. We chose to do the 17-day diet bet because sister J and I had bought the book a few years back and we thought it would be a good way to kick things off and stick to something. The way this goes is that in 4 weeks you need to lose 4% of your body weight and then whomever is in your pool, and achieves this goal, splits the winnings. The boy has not gotten on the scale in a few days, but he is doing really good. Sister J lost her goal amount within the first two weeks I think. I have struggled a bit, and I have 1.2 lbs to go by Friday, but I am more than confident that I can achieve that and I am really motivated. I also would like to lose more, so I have already started another challenge, and this one started last week. I want to just keep rolling with it, and you can be in up to three challenges at the same time. One of the things that has been really tough for me, especially in the past few months, is that I am Perimenopausal. I am thinking this is pretty early for someone my age, but I am not sure, everyone is different I guess, but I also had a partial hysterectomy about 12 years ago, and I think this may speed that time up for me. I can feel the difference in a lot of different ways, but mostly it makes me a lot more lethargic and the cramps and crabbiness are awful. Off to the doctor to see what can be done, but not for a couple of weeks.

I wasn't feeling very well this weekend, that coupled with the fact that the heat index was around 112, well, it wasn't all that exciting of a weekend. But we did get some deck time in on Friday evening and Saturday the boy and I hit up the Farmers Market. We picked up lots of fresh vegetables, and then of course, my favorite, the flowers, they are just so bright and colorful!

We really are so lucky to have such a huge farmers market so close! After looking at so much food, the boy was understandably quite hungry. I knew of the perfect spot that he would just love, that we had not tried yet, The Rye Deli. NUM! I miss the good deli's from out East, and while I wouldn't really compare this one to any of those, it was still delicious. I tried to stay as close as I could to the diet and went with the turkey sandwich and coleslaw, which was vinegar based and didn't have a lot of mayo. I only ate half of the sandwich and after not having bread in I don't know how long, it was delicious! The boy had the other half for lunch on Sunday. I also had a treat of a San Pellegrino, another delicious moment! Now, don't get me wrong, you are not supposed to have any alcohol on this diet. But that is one thing I have not done, I have had my wine, and a couple of gin and tonics. It is the summer after all, and while I have imbibed, I have definitely cut back a ton. The boy loved Rye Deli though, and we will definitely be back!

Saturday evening we had friends S and M for dinner. S and I went to junior high and high school together and have reconnected when I moved back here and she joined the wine club. It was really good to see her and catch up. Again, a little bit of cheating since I made pasta, but I did chicken sausage and asparagus, so I figured it was okay to cheat just a little. We did fresh raspberries and dark chocolate covered pretzel thins for dessert, my new favorite!

Sorry for the terrible pictures, I just took these quickly, but I just did a basic but simple elegant table. Blacks, silvers, golds with the zinnias for the pop of color. It was a really nice evening. 

Here is what this week is shaping up like, hoping the weather cools down so I can get a walk or two in there as well!

Monday

Plans - Hopefully a walk, but the heat index is around 112, so I might just be working on some house chores.

Dinner - salmon, not sure how I am going to make it yet, these are the last two pieces out of a couple of big pieces that I bought and split into portion sizes for the boy and I. I bought a ton of fish, tilapia, catfish and salmon at Costco, but it looks like it might be time to restock. We are also going to have caramelized brussel sprouts and a green salad. 

Tuesday

Plans - Dinner and a concert at Lake Harriet Bandshell with friends. They went on a fun wine trip to Oregon this summer. I would like to do an Oregon themed wine event so we are going to do some planning. Hoping that it will be nice enough to enjoy the concert and a picnic, if it is too hot we will have to do plan B and find a restaurant. 

Dinner - green salad and lettuce wraps

Wednesday

Plans - Heading to Mill City Ruins for the third time this summer. This time to catch Chastity Brown, I am loving her music and the setting is too beautiful. Sister J is joining us, so we are having dinner at her place first. 

Dinner - We are bringing a green salad (catching a theme here?)

Thursday

Plans - Vikings pre-season game with sister J and friends. Should be a fun night!

Dinner - Sister J is making dinner at her place first. I am going to bring a veggie tray with a spinach artichoke yogurt dip. 

Friday

Plans - The FAIR! The great MN get together! We will be going OFF the diet for the evening, cheese curds here we come! Our final weigh in luckily takes place in the morning! 

Dinner - Cheese curds, caramel milk shake, french fries!

Saturday

Plans - The Annual Eberly summer party!

Dinner - I am going to bring a taco dip using ground turkey, SO good! And the chips are not on the diet, but neither is the wine. . . .

Sunday

Plans - Capital Grill with friends. We have a reservation for 6 at 6 and I am really looking forward to red meat! It has been a while! I can't believe how much I just crave a steak!

Dinner - Steak!

Busy week, really looking forward to it. Hoping to get some walks in during the morning maybe when it isn't hot. If my project wraps up even earlier this week, I may have to hit up my friend J for a dip in the pool!

For more meal planning, and links to recipes, check out the Orgjunkie or Stone Gable. 

Real Chicks Getting Fit - Week 11

I know I missed posting last week. We have been so busy lately and I have been so busy with work, that things just got away from me. It seems some weeks there is just never enough time in the day.

Last week was a rough week, actually I have had two rough weeks in a row and now this week I am traveling for work. We have had a lot of plans in the evenings, I have not been cooking at home and have not made time to exercise.

The boy and I religiously wear our FitBit's and we track our food daily, we also try to out-do one another on steps every day, but we also both know that without exercise, the lbs are not going to come off. I have been maintaining what I have lost, which I guess is good, but I would like to see some more come off.

I am going to continue to stick with my plan, lots of water, make time to work out at least three times a week, plan our meals and track everything we eat.

Hoping to take another 15 lbs off over the next 10 weeks. I think that it is reasonable, especially now that we will be getting outside working on the yard, going for walks and just moving more. Isn't that what it is all about? Moving more and eating right!

I have enjoyed the challenge, and I am realizing that it is hard at times for me to be consistent. I need to figure out changes I can make in order to be consistent.

Way to go to the rest of the girls who lost and challenged themselves!

Real Chicks Getting Fit Challenge - Week 9

Last week was NOT a good week. I did do some dancing with the Wii - Just Dance 3 is my latest favorite, but it was an overly indulgent week!

It was restaurant week in the Twin Cities, and while I did make smart decisions, we did go out to lunch once, I did have fish, and dinner twice where I had salmon and mahi mahi. BUT we also had wine! I also tried to resist the bread basket, but that was tough! This past weekend was the MN Food and Wine show which is one of my favorite weekends of the year. We worked the show Saturday (but still got to partake in some food and wine) and attended Sunday. It was a ton of fun, and while we did get some steps in, not nearly as many as I would have liked. I was hoping to have hit 10,000 both days, but only came close on Saturday with 8765. I think I just need time (and nice weather) to get out and walk.

So all in all, I gained 2 last week. Not happy about it, but I know the only person that can turn it around this week is me. Yesterday was spent recovering from the weekend. But I did make dinner for the boy and I, and I made something that we can take for leftovers during the week for lunch. But today for me is kind of a detox day, just yogurt, fruit and granola. I need to get things back on track, I can just feel how after an indulgent weekend like that, my body just feels drained.

Hoping to fit in some more dancing and walking this week. We don't have a ton of plans this week or this weekend, so I am looking forward to focusing more on me. Next week, more of the same!

Hope you are all doing well, I am hoping to get around and stopping by and commenting Wednesday and Thursday!

Real Chicks Getting Fit Challenge - Week 8

Sorry I didn't get an update in last week. Traveling for work sometimes does that, it was a busy week. No time for working out either, but the building I was in is huge so I did get a lot of walking and steps in. I also watched calories and ate a lot of fish and yogurt, fruit and was watching what I ate.

I didn't gain, even lost a little, got some dancing in when I got home and can definitely feel that I have more energy.

This week the goal is to get some more exercise in, so I will work on that.

One thing that was really disappointing this week, was that one of the challengers received negative comments and feedback from one of the other challengers. Seriously people, what in the heck is up with that????? Personally I believe she should be kicked out of the challenge. Isn't one of the reasons this was started to give one another encouragement and support? How dare this blogger take it upon herself to judge and dish crap out. It makes me so mad, but I didn't go and comment negatively on her blog, I guess two wrongs don't make a right. But boy it made me mad and disappointed.

Loving the dancing with the Wii. I have Zumba 1 & 2 and Just Dance 1, 2 and 3. I also have Dancing with the Stars and a Country Dancing one. SO much fun and really gets me going!

We are getting our first big snow of the season, so I think my spring walks will have to wait, but I am planning a trip to FL to see a friend who is having a baby, so maybe I will get some walks in there!

Best of luck to all of you!!!

Real Chicks Getting Fit Challenge - Week 6

Last week was a complete bust for me. I was sick in bed from Sunday afternoon basically until we left for Foodie Fest on Saturday, and I am still not feeling great but went into the office for a half day today. While I was under my calorie count every day, I did not get any exercise and I really missed it, but I just haven't had the energy. The crud that I had just really knocked me down for the count.

I am down 1 lb. . . not a huge deal but at least I didn't gain. 

So let's check in on my goals. . .

1. NSV (Non Scale Victory) - I am not expecting to see too much change here, at least not until the end, at least for me.

• Fit into jeans that will fit into my boots
• Fit into my Lilly capris that I love to wear in the spring and summer
• Learn to adjust to a new schedule that includes regular exercise and eating times

2. Nutrition Parameters and track using a tool (Spark People, My Fitness Pal, WW). I am on My Fitness Pal, username jillyinmn. I am also going to start using a Fitbit - I have worn my Fitbit every day and logged every morsel into My Fitness Pal, so I am doing pretty good there. I have also been trying to keep it to 1200 calories and have not gone over too often. Water, not a problem there. Eating out, in the past week, that has not been a problem either since I haven't left the house :). I have also been trying to keep the snacks to fruits for the most part as well.

• 1200 Calories Daily
• 4 Full Tervis Tumblers of water daily
• What will I limit - eating out? Or at least making healthy choices when we eat out. Realistically we eat out probably three to four times per week whether it is lunch or dinner, usually on the weekends more than anything else. 
• Keep healthy snacks at work. Cheez-its are my go to, so find something that is salty and good for me. Nuts perhaps?

3. Exercise Parameters - I know that this is sometimes hard to squeeze into my days, and I am sure I will need to get off to a slower start, but if I can commit to 3 times a week to start and work my way up to 5, I think that is realistic for myself.  - This did not happen last week. Hoping to get some energy up this week to get a couple of workouts in.

• Wii (Fit, Dance, Yoga)
• Walk
• Yoga

4. Commit to Blogging at least twice a week, once to check in with a complete update on my progress, the other to include insights, results of weekly challenges or just check in and let others know how I am doing.  - Ugh, well, I have been blogging at least once and commenting on other blogs. . .does that count?

5. Commit to support, both giving and receiving, commenting as much as I can.  - I have been commenting!

I think that these are all very achievable and realistic goals. I just need to make sure that I am making this a priority. Seems like there are some great people that are a part of this challenge, I think that will be the best part!

 I am going to be keeping my goals the same for the next 7 weeks. I think this is realistic and achievable for me.

Real Chick Challenge - Week 5

This past week has not been too bad, I was able to get three 30 minute workouts in, one 60 minute (Wii Just Dance 2, I love it!) and lots of mall walking as well as a good walk downtown. The Fitbit is really helping both the boy and I as far as tracking sets of stairs climbed, steps, miles and calories burned.

We have tracked all of our food through My Fitness Pal as well, love that app, works so well when you use the smartphone app bar code reader, so easy to add food.

I have lost more since last week, another three pounds. So I am at a total loss of 11 which isn't too bad. Figure an average of 2 lbs per week which I think is healthy considering that the boy and I are just making ourselves more aware of what we are eating and trying to stay within some calorie parameters and adding exercise.

I have come down with a terrible head cold, which has now moved into my chest. I am already on day three of this and while I don't have an appetite and haven't eaten much, I am not getting any exercise and there are a ton of calories in apple juice. I am really hoping to feel better by tomorrow. 
So, hopefully when I check in next week I will be at about 15 for a loss which would be awesome because that would be the halfway mark and halfway through my goal for the 12 weeks.

The boy thinks we need one cheat day. I think everything in moderation, and I try to bank calories if I know we are going out at night, I won't have much for breakfast or lunch and light snacks. Or I will make sure I get a good workout in. So far that seems to be working pretty well. The other thing is, because of our schedules and activities, we do eat out quite a bit, but we are both making better choices, looking at menus before we go out so that we have a good idea of some healthy options and even when we are deciding where to go, we look at the restaurants near by and compare menus.

Really hoping to feel better if not later today by tomorrow so that I can get some good exercise in this week because as of now I don't have the energy for much.

This weeks challenge is all water. I haven't been able to do that because of not feeling well, I have already had hot apple juice, apple juice and ginger ale, but I will definitely do this next week in addition to the next challenge.

Real Chicks Getting Fit Challenge - Week 4

I am really enjoying this challenge. I am sorry I didn't get to check in last week, the week literally got away from me. Between a busy work week, plans with the boy and then working in time for walks and planning meals, well, the week just got away from me.

The boy is doing this along with me which is also a lot of fun. We did really well last week. I have lost almost 6 pounds since starting this. We have gotten a few tools to help us out on this endeavor. We bought a new scale which seems to be very accurate and measure down to the 1/10 of a pound, every little bit counts, right? We are both using Myfitnesspal.com on both our smart phones and pc's. I absolutely love this app for a few reasons. First, from our phones, if you are eating something and it has a bar code reader which you can scan the item with, that works fabulously, it is so easy to just add a yogurt in the morning that way. It also syncs and integrates with my new favorite toy, the fitbit.

The fitbit is awesome, it tracks your weight loss, your steps, stairs climbed, calories burned, miles, and also gives you an active score as well as tracking your sleep patterns. What is also nice is that the boy is wearing one too, so it tracks our progress side by side and even makes us a little competitive with one another which is kind of fun.

I added some new exercise last week. Starting with some mall walking. We were at the movies last week a few times which were in malls, so we would make sure that we got some walking in. I also added some Wii Just Dance I and II to the routine. I only did it twice, but I do live it and it definitely burns some calories so that I can budget for a dinner out or something.

So, overall I feel like I have been pretty successful in tracking what I am eating every day, every morsel that goes into my mouth, good or bad (the wine kills me, but I am trying to keep it just to the weekend), adding exercise little by little, and tracking calories burned. Hey, even losing 6 pounds!

As far as the challenges go, I am not much of a sweet eater, so no sugar was pretty easy. We even went to a movie screening last week where they had cupcakes from one of my favorite places with the most amazing frosting you have ever tasted, well, I took one, took one bite and threw the rest away. I guess it helped that the boy was right there to tsk tsk tsk me. . . nice to have someone hold you accountable. As far as adding new exercise, added the mall walks and the Wii, which is more than we have done in a long time. Also, with the fitbit, it has a goal of 10 sets of stairs a day, I try to make sure I can squeeze those in as well.

This week the challenge will be easy. I RARELY have any caffeine due to migraines I have had since I was little. No coffee, no soda only an occasional tea or a little chocolate here or there, but when I do feel a bad headache coming on, I will slam a mountain dew.

Really enjoying the challenge though!

Real Chicks Getting Fit - Week 3

So, I know it has only been a few days, but I thought I would check in on how my Spring Chick Challenge is going. So far okay. I am doing a good job of tracking everything that goes into my mouth on My Fitness Pal either on my pc or on my phone. I love how handy dandy that is. I have only had one piece of chocolate or something sweet since Monday, zero sugar since then. But I guess that is not a huge accomplishment since I have more of a salt tooth than a sweet tooth.

Most days I have been able to stay on track with my calories. On Tuesday I went home and made a pot of healthy black bean soup before going to my JLM meeting. And no wine for me at JLM. Last night we were out with co-workers who were in town for the week and I went over. I know there are going to be good days and bad days and I just have to get through them. If I beat myself up for the bad days then I won't have the self-esteem to keep this up, so I just have to push through those and realize that there will be good and bad days. I am trying to curb the wine, so far I am okay there. We have a cooking class tonight, so I know that it is going to be another tough night. Tomorrow night I think I can cook something healthy at home for us, and then Saturday we have couples Bunco night, so that is going to be another hard night, but I just need to do my best and make good choices.

Next week I am planning on adding exercise to the plan. I figure if I can just make changes, little by little, it might be easier for me to adapt than wham, bam changing everything. I am traveling for work next week, so another challenge, but I will see what I can do!

The boy is tracking his calories on My Fitness Pal as well. He wants to lose a few too, of course it will probably be easier for him, but we will see how it goes. I am really excited about this though!

Spring "Chick" Challenge 2012

Okay, getting off to a little bit of a late start on this one, but it is something that I want to do this year. My sister has lost a ton of weight over the last year and gotten herself back on a regular exercise plan. Now that I have switched jobs and decided that I definitely need time for myself, I need to make sure that I am focusing on the things that are right for me. The Spring "Chick" Challenge 2012  will definitely help with that. I found this via a great blog from Meal Plan Monday, and thought, well, there is no time like the present.

Over the past few years, I have steadily gained weight, and I need to get it down to more manageable pounds for myself. First there was the switch to working solely from home, and becoming more sedentary and dealing with some very long cold winters. Then came the shoulder surgery and having months of pain and very limited movement and depression. I need to get back to myself, and I think that this is going to be a great way of achieving that.

1. NSV (Non Scale Victory)

• Fit into jeans that will fit into my boots
• Fit into my Lilly capris that I love to wear in the spring and summer
• Learn to adjust to a new schedule that includes regular exercise and eating times

2. Nutrition Parameters and track using a tool (Spark People, My Fitness Pal, WW). I am on My Fitness Pal, username jillyinmn. I am also going to start using a Fitbit

• 1200 Calories Daily
• 4 Full Tervis Tumblers of water daily
• What will I limit - eating out? Or at least making healthy choices when we eat out. Realistically we eat out probably three to four times per week whether it is lunch or dinner, usually on the weekends more than anything else. 
• Keep healthy snacks at work. Cheez-its are my go to, so find something that is salty and good for me. Nuts perhaps?

3. Exercise Parameters - I know that this is sometimes hard to squeeze into my days, and I am sure I will need to get off to a slower start, but if I can commit to 3 times a week to start and work my way up to 5, I think that is realistic for myself.

• Wii (Fit, Dance, Yoga)
• Walk
• Yoga

4. Commit to Blogging at least twice a week, once to check in with a complete update on my progress, the other to include insights, results of weekly challenges or just check in and let others know how I am doing. 

5. Commit to support, both giving and receiving, commenting as much as I can.

I think that these are all very achievable and realistic goals. I just need to make sure that I am making this a priority. Seems like there are some great people that are a part of this challenge, I think that will be the best part!