Home, Week 37, Thursday

I know what you must be thinking right now... Two posts in one week?  What has gotten into Nikki?  Well, the answer is that I've been noticing a lot of changes happening with BLR Utah.  And while I don't know all the details so I don't want to speculate, I just wanted to take a few minutes to talk about my reaction to the situation.

 

For those of you who don't know, a discussion on Facebook revealed that Chef Cameron and some trainers were suspended.  The discussion stated that the suspension was a result of the staff attending a former guest's wedding but corporate posted that there were other reasons for BLR's response.  Regardless of the reasons, I have realized that Chef Cam was formally let go.  I know he's been in a relationship with the one trainer, Kelli, and have gathered that she is no longer with BLR either.  Just yesterday I saw posts by Chef Cam and Kelli that they have a new "home" - I clicked the link which took me to a page for "Balance of Life Retreat."  According to the opening statement, the Retreat focuses on your real-life, day-to-day experience to find your balance with the core foundation of knowledge, nutrition, fitness, and relaxation.  I was shocked when I scrolled down just a bit and saw a photo of Anna Marie, another trainer from my days at BLR.  I quickly clicked the "Staff" tab and found that Tyler Hunt (Mr. Magic Hands Masseuse) is on staff as well as Filipe Fa (ya know, from Season 7 of The Biggest Loser and who was at BLR when I was a guest).  I was shocked...  I knew that Chef Cam and Kelli were also going to be on the staff at Balance of Life as well.

 

At this point, I began thinking about the staff that I knew at BLR Utah.  I am "friends" with the "Ivings BLR Fitness Ridge Trainers" on Facebook, so I have seen recent posts by Sharon and Robin, so I am pretty certain they are still at BLR.  The photos from the "Ivings BLR Fitness Ridge Trainers" page include pictures of Tiffany, Sione, and Paige as well.  Well, it was at this point that I remembered seeing a Facebook post that Gretchen, another trainer, had recently resigned to return to New York. 

 

Crazy enough, it was at that moment that Filipe started messaging me on Facebook.  We had been chatting occasionally (brief digression: I love that he has taken a personal interest in me and stays in touch; it really shows how much he cares and what a wonderful person he is to continue caring about me when he doesn't have to - i.e. I'm no longer a paying guest).  Anyway, I mentioned all the changes to him and he said that he was let go several weeks ago, that he's very excited about the new retreat, and asked me to spread the word.  I asked him about who was even still at BLR.  I mentioned seeing the pictures of Sharon, Robin, Tiffany, Sione, and Paige; it was then that he informed me that Paige had resigned months ago. 

 

My jaw just continued to drop...  As far as I can tell, Sharon, Robin, Tiffany, and Sione are the only trainers still at BLR.  On the other hand, Filipe, Kelli, Anna Marie, Paige, and Gretchen are all gone.  The chef and my favorite masseuse are gone.  I feel like my "fitness home", my "home away from home", is crashing.  I have recommended BLR to so many people and have been such an advocate for the resort.  I still feel like the resort changed my life, not just my weight but by restoring my confidence and helping me rediscover my self worth.  And I have had an intense desire to return to BLR one day - hopefully at my ideal weight...  (I'd love to return as one of the "skinny folk" that the typical guests half-glare at, wondering why they are there if they don't need to lose weight.) 

 

Now I'm feeling a bit lost and confused.  Would I return to BLR to see the few remaining trainers and some of the other staff (like Lulu and Denea)?  Do I go to the new Balance of Life Retreat to see Filipe, Kelli, Anna Marie, and Chef Cam?  If I go to one, can I go visit the competition so I can see the other staff I miss dearly?  Do I just say screw it all and go to BLR Malibu?  Or does all this turnover mean that maybe all BLR resorts are having issues that mean I should steer clear?  And what about people who ask about my experience at BLR?  Is it all moot now that so much has changed?  Can I really recommend them anymore or should I send people to Balance of Life even though I've never been? 

 

I'm not sure how to work all this out in my head.  However, let's end on a more positive note, my scale read 153.0 this morning which means that I am officially down just over 40 pounds!  I am getting so much closer to my goal and it just further encourages me to keep it up.  I can't wait to be in the 140s - I haven't seen the 140s since high school or early college!  Here's to hoping that I can lose a little more than 3 pounds in the next two weeks - the 140s would be a great Christmas present to myself!

Home, Week 37, Tuesday

Well, I did say that I wouldn’t be posting daily, but I didn’t really intend a seven-week gap either.  I promise to try to be better! 

On a more positive note, I did make those smoothies that I mentioned in my last post!  I made four different kinds with three mason jars filled for each kind.  I still have a few in the freezer.  They work great as breakfast, although it’s a little chilly now and I’m finding I prefer something warmer!  I haven’t gotten too far with lunches; I may have been a little too ambitious there since I don’t have enough time on the weekends of makes pots and pots of different soups and chicken salad and tuna salad and prep things for other kinds of (lettuce) salads.  Phew, I’m exhausted just thinking about it.  Who said that canned soup and leftovers was such a bad thing?  I’m realizing here that the BLR principles of clean eating are wonderful but they may not always be practical.  It’s still better for me to have a delicious (and cheap) bowl of canned soup for lunch, even though it’s processed, than to grab food out which will likely be processed anyway, more expensive, and worse for me! 

Also, I realized that I need to be more accountable for what I’m doing.  I was at a weight-loss stand still for way too long.  I was letting myself cheat and eat things that weren’t good for me.  I was still eating well enough that I wasn’t really gaining weight (just fluctuated up and down a few pounds), but I’m still at the point where I’m trying tolose so just maintaining shouldn’t be something I settle for.  I would justify the bad meal with the fact that I was really going to do better the next day and get fully back on track – 100% clean eating.  Well, weeks later and that didn’t happen…

So besides this here blog, I decided to join Weight Watchers.  In reality, my employer made an offer I couldn’t refuse!  They will reimburse me for three months as long as I attend 10 out of 12 weekly sessions.  If you miss an at-work (read: I’m getting paid to go to the meetings too) meeting, you can make it up with any other meeting that week, so really it’s not that hard to get to 10 sessions.  I’ve done Weight Watchers in the past and have always been successful, at least initially.  Yeah, I gain it back later but that’s because I stop making the right choices.  I think my head is finally in the right place to keep that from happening again and I’m enjoying the extra push that it gives me.  I mean, ask the contestants on the show The Biggest Loser, you can’t tell me that public weigh-ins don’t hurt your motivation!  Someone else is going to know whether I gained, lost, or stayed the same.  By gosh, I had better lose! 

Anyway, I joined on November 24^th.  At my enrollment weigh-in, I was 164.6 lbs.  It’s amazing how I weighed 158 in the morning at my house and so much more at the meeting, but I was dressed in work clothes and shoes at the meeting while as I was not dressed and shoeless at home (not to mention the meeting is over lunch so I had eaten breakfast and a snack first).  Regardless, my first week weigh-in was scary – it had Thanksgiving in the middle and I had not one, but two, Thanksgiving dinners to go to!  Eeeeek!  Well, never fear – I ended up losing 6.6 lbs.  Yes, you read that right, I lost over six pounds in one week even with Thanksgiving smack dab in the middle of the week!  (I was shocked too, don’t worry…) 

My second week weigh-in (today) was also scary but for a different reason – I knew that I hadn’t done my best.  You see, WeightWatchers assigns points to all foods and you get a certain number of points to eat a day, plus weekly surplus points for splurges (or you can just spread them out and use a few extra each day).  So if you play the system right, you can have some low-point or no-point items for breakfast and lunch and have a terrible dinner… like Arby’s… or a sub from the local pizza shop and a side of onion rings…  Oops!  Well, my bad, time to face the music…  To my surprise, I managed to lose 1.8 lbs for a total loss of 8.4 lbs in just two weeks.  And did I mention that my first goal was 5% of my starting weight so 8 lbs meant I hit my first goal?  And did I mention that my scale at home only seemed to have me down .2 lbs as of yesterday morning?  Well, I don’t claim for have the answers when things don’t make sense, but I’ll just be thankful for a good weigh-in…

Now I know that my results are probably not typical.  And I know that my results won’t likely continue.  And I even know that it wouldn’t be healthy for me to continue to lose at this rate.  Ideally, I should be losing a pound or so each week.  I really don’t have that far to go before I hit my ultimate goal so I don’t expect the pounds to fly off.  If I can just manage to lose 15-20 lbs total during my three months with WeightWatchers (I don’t expect to renew and pay for it myself), I would be more than happy. 

Home, Week 30, Thursday

Okay, so it has been forever since I've posted on here.  I sincerely apologize to anyone who has been wondering about my progress! 

Let me first tell you that so much of my life is different since my last post.  I am proud to report that my life is continually improving and I attribute it all to the "reset" that started with m trip to the Biggest Loser Resort.  As I got physically stronger, I got mentally stronger.  As my body started to come together, I got my life together. 

So what has changed?  Well, I filed for divorce to get out of an unhealthy and unhappy marriage.  I never thought I would get a divorce as I always said I didn't "believe in" divorce.  Sure enough, I realized that I deserve better and that I deserve to be happy.  Not only will I soon be officially divorced, but I have let go of all of the hurt and troubles and am moving on!

Is that all?  No, not even close!  I also got a job!  I am now working as a law clerk for a judge.  The position doesn't pay well but it has good benefits and gives me great, marketable experience.  I also have my own apartment now - I found a reasonably priced place that allows me to have the dogs.  It took some effort to furnish it on my budget but I managed.  I feel like my life is settled now - I have a place and a job and a positive outlook on the future.  And now I've also found someone to share it all with - I will save the details for later, but let's just say I'm happy!

Okay - so how's the weight loss going?  Well, things have slowed down a bit more lately and I'm realizing that I need to get back on track.  My weight has been fluctuated lately and I'd like to see it go in the downward direction again.  I am happy to report that I have been fitting into a lot of my old clothes including some size 8 jeans (I had been wearing 16s mainly); I also am back to my college weight!  However, with all the changes in my life, I haven't been eating as healthy and haven't been getting to the gym as much as I need to.  But my resolve is here and I am going to kick some butt!

Anyway, I took my first step and went to the grocery store with a list of healthy foods and a healthy meal plan.  I am planning to make a bunch of smoothies and freeze them in mason jars so I have breakfast ready to go in the mornings.  I even made a spreadsheet with the smoothies and their nutritional counts.  I started a spreadsheet for lunches too - things I can make ahead of time and just grab and go!

I probably won't post daily anymore as my life is a little busier than it used to be, but I hope to keep you updated and will use the blog to keep me honest!  I hope everyone out in cyberspace is doing well and staying healthy! :)

Home, Week 5, Sunday

I stayed at my parents' house last night.  I figured it made sense since I was going to be there most of today anyway.  I got up with my mom this morning to go to church.  I haven't been in a little while since it's kind-of far from our house, so it's nice to go when I have the chance.  I grew up in this church and know everybody so it feels like home.  Plus, I knew a lot of people wanted to see me since I started the weight loss journey and since I had graduated and passed the bar!

Church took up most of the morning...  I got to see Kathy and Bob who have followed me my journey on Facebook.  I got to see Judy who has been a faithful reader of my blog as well as a Facebook follower.  Rose was there - I know Rose had been reading this blog too!  I'm sure I'm leaving out a few people, but I'm not sure who all has been reading here, so sorry!  Anyway, on a side note, Rose had messaged me the other day about helping with Vacation Bible School and I hadn't gotten back to her; I went to talk to her about it and she kindly told me that she had already penciled me in as a teacher!  Thanks Rose!  Haha, what a character she is!  I told her I'd help and she assured me that I'd be a fine teacher; plus she said my mom can be my assistant so that makes it a little better.

For lunch, I scavenged Mom and Dad's fridge.  I didn't really have many good options to bring with me so I figured I'd make do with what I could find.  I ended up having a bowl of salad, the end of the soup, and a Yoplait Greek yogurt (Mixed Berry).  The Yoplait has sucralose in it which isn't good, but I figured this one time wouldn't kill me so I ate it anyway.  It was pretty good - it tasted more like regular yogurt than the Fage but I felt like it was more processed or something.

After lunch, I let my food digest and then headed off to the gym.  I was going to another Planet Fitness; as a black card member, I can travel so I could go to the one closest to the my parents' house.  I started with a warm-up on the Arc Trainer and then did my 60 squats for the day (since I didn't do them yesterday I did them today which was supposed to be my rest day).  I continued with more leg stuff.  I did plie squats and calf raises with a weight bar and toe squats with a dumbbell.  I then moved on to the various leg machines.  For some reason, my left knee was bothering me on the leg extensions, so I skipped them.  I think I need to watch myself on the squats and only go down to where my thighs are parallel to the ground; I've been breaking the plane and going all the way down and I think it might be irritating my knee...  Anyway, I will take it a little easier on that knee for a few days to see if it improves.  I couldn't find mats at this location so I figured I'd do the rest of my challenge reps (the 60 push-ups, sit-ups, and crunches) at home.

When I got back to my parents', everyone was there.  Both my grandmas were over as well as Casey, Katelin, and Kendall.  We played outside a bit - Kendall was having fun running down the hill and giving out stickers (mainly to her daddy).  When we went inside, she played for a bit before wanting to watch Winnie the Pooh.  She actually sat with me on the couch to watch the movie (for about five minutes, until she was over Pooh)!  I helped Mom get the sweet potatoes ready to bake and soon enough it was dinner time.  I had a Jennie-O Turkey Burger on a 100% Whole Wheat Sandwich Thin with some lettuce and mayo; I had sweet potato fries on the side.  It was yummy!  I even tried a regular fry (hey, at least it was baked) and realized I don't care for them much anymore - they don't taste like anything!

Soon after dinner, I left.  I dropped my car off at the shop to get fixed for a few days and headed home.  I really wasn't in the mood to go back to the gym but I knew I should.  I dragged myself there and actually got a decent workout in on the bike.  I climbed a big mountain (up and down) where I increased my level every two minutes but every other interval was also a sprint.  I finished up with my sit-ups and crunches (I did my push-ups at my parents' house when I had first gotten back) and a nice stretch.  It was late by the time we got home so it was just time for a quick snack to calm my tummy (working out at night makes me hungry and if I don't eat something, I wake up with a belly ache) and bed!

I'm sad to admit I didn't track my calories consumed or taken in today so I can't report them!

Home, Week 5, Thursday

First of all, I apologize for the gap in posts - I have been sticking with the program, but was slacking a bit with posting!

Anyway today feels a little weird because Thursday has been my day off for a few weeks but this week I'm back on the Monday-off schedule...  Someone forgot to tell my body!  I woke up this morning and had to force myself to get going.  But sure enough, today was better than Monday and I didn't let the lazy feeling linger. 

I dragged myself out of bed and got to work.  I wanted to make a smoothie for breakfast and decided to prep a double batch.  I drank one of the smoothies from the first batch while I worked on the second batch and cleaned up.  I figured that it didn't make sense to dirty the blender for just a few smoothies; plus, I already had the ingredients out!  I made six smoothies altogether which means I have five in the freezer for the next week or so.  I really like to have food prepped.  I find that a lot of the good foods take a bit of time for prep or cook so it really helps me stay on the plan if I have stuff ready - like yesterday when I made extra brown rice!

It was then time to get to the gym.  I started out with 30 minutes on the bike which reminded me that I need to get a helmet and bike lock so I can bike to the gym - it is going to save gas and time since I will be getting my warm-up and cool-down in on my way to and from the gym!  Anyway, after my time on the bike, I did a treading class on the elliptical to finish off my workout.  Normally I do weights in the morning, but my laziness made me want to get some cardio in and get the energy boost.

When I got back, it was time for lunch.  I decided to try a potato leek soup that I bought at the grocery store.  It's a pureed soup by Imagine.  I tried the portobello mushroom one before and it wasn't impressive - it needed something but I don't quite know what!  Well, the potato leek soup was suprisingly delicious!  It reminded me of a chowder.  It is definitely something that I could see eating again, even though the sodium (at 420mg per cup) is a little high.  Anyway, I had leftovers from last night with my soup.  I shredded the chicken and mixed it into rice and beans to make sure it didn't dry out during the reheat.  I top it off with an ounce of cheese and some Greek yogurt. 

After lunch, I worked on the blog for a while.  I've been behind and I need to get it caught up (that said, I have failed to even make notes about recent days so I will just have to skip those days)!  I got an early start to the evening gym session.  I saw a 30-day squat challenge online today so decided to start that since there are 30 days left in the month.  I did my first day's goal first - 50 squats!  I used a 20-pound bar to add a little difficultly.  I figured that I might as well continue with legs, so I did weight machines for my legs.  I then decided that a 30-day challenge for squats wasn't enough and that I would also do sit-ups/crunches and push-ups too.  Since today's goal was only 50, I did both sit-ups and crunches but as we get up to the higher numbers (the max is 250), I will probably do half and half or something.  I finished up with a nice long stretch which left me feeling pretty good!

Here's the challenge in case anyone wants to follow along!

I had enough time to stop at the store on the way home for a few things we needed.  I got myself a helmet and bike lock so I can ride my bike to the gym now!  Hopefully I will get to try that tomorrow.  Once I got home, I started making dinner. Tonight was Greek Shrimp Salad.  I made it up myself, but it doesn't deserve a recipe since it's just a salad.  I used a Mediterranean salad lettuce mix and added sliced cherry tomatoes, red onion, sundried tomato, reduced-fat feta cheese, and shrimp which I cooked in Gazebo Room Lite Greek dressing and marinade.  I used two tablespoons of the Gazebo Room as the dressing!  It was so simple yet delicious!  If you like olives, I'd recommend adding them as a Greek salad seems to call for olives, but I don't like olives...

Mmmm... simple, quite, and yummy!

After dinner, I cleaned up and did the dishes.  I had grabbed a movie from the Redbox while I was at the store so I spent the rest of the night on the couch!

Diet:

Calories: 1516

Fat: 40.5g

Sodium: 2,436mg

Fiber: 25g

Protein: 119.5g

Carbs: 150.5g

Exercise:

Calories Burned: 888 calories during the evening session; I forgot my Polar during the morning gym session.

Home, Week 4, Thursday

Today is my day off for the week.  Since I won't be burning as many calories, I want to be extra careful with my calorie counts.  I started off the day with a banana and a Fage 0% Total with Blueberry.  I didn't feel like having a smoothie and this was a bit lower in calories and fat.  After breakfast, I enjoyed a nice long shower.  I took my time and lotioned up afterwards...  It was so nice to finally get a shower that wasn't late at night or in the morning when I'm about to go get sweaty again in an hour. 

I relaxed for a bit and then decided to do some cleaning.  I cleaned the shower and both bathrooms.  I changed and washed the sheets.  And I cleaned up some things around the house - just getting things put away.  When I was satisfied with the cleanliness of the house, I started prepping for dinner.  I was feeling like a real homemaker today - cooking, cleaning, and laundry!  Hopefully I'll have my own job soon enough...  Anyway, I worked on a bit of blogging, played on the internet, and did some job searching to pass the afternoon.

When it was close to 5pm, I started getting dinner ready.  I was making the Chicken Florentine from the resort cookbook.  Again, I won't share the recipe, but it was chicken stuffed with a spinach mixture.  The chicken breasts I had were really thin to start with so it was tough to cut them in half to make a pocket, but I managed.  I had to use toothpicks to keep the pocket closed and it worked pretty well!  I made a quinoa and brown rice mixture as a side dish; it was from the Seeds of Change brand and I was pretty impressed by it.  It was a great and easy way to get some whole grains in.  While it's not something that I want to eat every night (since it is parboiled and has a lot of sodium), it is a nice option to have in the cabinet when I'm in a pinch.

My stuffed chicken florentine, brown rice and quinoa mix, and a squash medley on the side!

When I did my calculations for my calories, I realized the I needed to eat a bit more since I hadn't even hit 1000 calories for the day.  I decided to have a few of my peanut butter oatmeal cookies that I had made on Sunday.  While the cookies are healthy for cookies, they aren't as healthy as most other foods, but I needed some quick and delicious calories and wasn't hungry for a ton of volume.  I ate my cookies, watched TV, and blogged a bit before bed.  I'm looking forward to getting back to the gym tomorrow...  I find I miss it on my days off!

Diet:

Calories: 1314

Fat: 38.5g

Sodium: 1,737mg

Fiber: 17g

Protein: 76g

Carbs: 165g

Exercise:

Calories Burned: It was my day off!

Home, Week 4, Wednesday

Wednesdays are when my mom comes to visit for a workout!  I really like coming up with workout for others...  I'm really thinking about getting certified to teach some classes.  I think I want to wait until I'm a bit more fit-looking - I feel like people wouldn't take me seriously unless I look more the part...  Anyway, my mom came over in the morning and we headed off to the gym.  We were going to do a leg workout. 

We started off with a warm-up on the bike...  Instead of machines, we were doing the exercises using dumbbells, weight bars, and our own body weight!  We did cycles of two exercises so that your "break" was just doing something different.  The first two exercises were dumbbell squats and plie squats with a rotation into a lunge.  For the dumbbell squats, we had our feet shoulder width apart and our toes pointed out a bit.  For the plie squats, we had our feet wider than shoulder width apart and our toes pointed out as far as possible; we squated until our thighs were parallel to the floor and then you rotate to the side and do a lunge, rotate back to the middle, then stand up (one rep really meant two squats - one with a rotation to the left and one with a rotation to the right).  After two rounds of each, we moved onto calf raises and cross over pendulum legs.  For the calf raises, we did three kinds of calf raises with ten reps each; we did them with our toes straight, our toes out to the side, and our toes pointed inward.  For the crossover pendulum legs, we held onto the back of bench and took one leg across the other, then all the way out to the side (like a split).  The third set of exercises were lunges and thrusters.  I need to hold onto something for lunges because my left knee is not stable but my mom was able to do them without any assistance.  For the thrusters, you hold dumbbells at your shoulder and do a squat; as you come out of the squat, you do an overhead press.  For the final set of exercises, we went to the mats.  We started with wall sits, then did single leg circles, and bridges.  We used a stability ball for the wall sits and did 45 second holds.  For the single leg circles, we laid flat on the mat and raised one leg, with our toes pointed we drew a big circle on the ceiling (reversing directions halfway through); you keep all of your body still and just move the leg in the air.  For the bridges, we did a few different things: a set of 10 singles, a set where we alternated between holding it and pulsing, and a set where we alternated between holding it and extending a leg.  It was a great workout and I was pretty happy with it!

After the gym, my mom and I had some lunch - I reheated leftover chicken and brown rice pilaf from Monday!  We decided to take the dogs for a walk and we went 1.52 miles; I used an app to track it so I'm counting it towards my weekly milage!  After our walk, I did some laundry and we watched a movie...  I made us a snack in the afternoon.  I decided to try another variation on my banana "ice cream" - we'll call it pina-bana-coco freeze!  I bet you can guess what went in it!  I used a frozen banana and froze some pineapple as well; I added some unsweetened coconut flakes too.  It turned out to be just over 100 calories per bowl  (I got two bowls out of the batch) and only 2 grams of fat!

The flavor was good, but the coconut flakes made the texture a bit weird so next time I'll just use some frozen coconut milk!

Then when it was close to dinner, we started to get things ready.  I was making sweet potato fries so I started cutting up the sweet potatoes.  I never quite realize how hard sweet potatoes are...  Anyway, that took a bit of time!  Finally they were cut up and I got them ready to bake - I shook them in a bag with a bit of cornstarch, olive oil, and spices.  (They bake for about 35-40 minutes at 425 degrees.)  Then we started prepping for the pizza burgers...  My mom did the grilling for us which was especially nice of her, since it was raining!

PIZZA BURGERS (Recipe from MomsWhoThink.com)

Servings: 4; per serving:

1 egg
1/8 cup marinara sauce + extra 1-2 tbsp per burger
1/4 cup bread crumbs
1/4 cup onion, chopped
1/2 tsp basil
1/2 tsp oregano
1  clove garlic, minced
1 lb lean ground beef
1 medium pepper (any color), cut into strips
1/2 tbsp olive oil
4 Sandwich Thins 100% Whole Grain
1/2 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

Directions:
In a large bowl, beat egg and 1/8 cup of the spaghetti sauce with a whisk. Stir in bread crumbs, onion, basil, and garlic. Add beef; mix well. Shape meat mixture into four patties. Place sweet pepper pieces in center of a large piece of foil; drizzle with oil. Bring up two opposite edges of foil and seal with a double fold; fold in remaining edges to enclose the peppers, leaving space for steam to build. Place the burgers and foil packet on a preheated grill.  Grill for about 10 minutes or until the meat is done; top with cheese and allow it to melt.  Heat the remaining marinara sauce and spoon over burgers; top with the peppers and enjoy!


Dinner turned out to be delicious!  I am really loving sweet potatoes which I didn't even like before going to the resort.  The pizza burgers were really good - they were nice and juicy and I loved using the Sandwich Thins as the bun!  The Sandwich Thins are healthier than a regular burger bun and you don't even notice a difference since the bun just serves as a vehicle for the burger anyway! 

It's hard to see, but there was melted mozzarella under the sauce and peppers on my burger!

After dinner, we had some chocolate covered strawberries for dessert!  I may have forgotten to take a picture of them, but they were pretty and yummy!  My mom didn't stick around too much longer and I went back to the gym.  I decided I did enough weights earlier, so I did 65 minutes on the treadmill and did 4.3 miles!  I call that doing a "Stop Sign" since the infamous hike is 4.3 miles...  I want to periodically try walking 4.3 miles and seeing how quickly I can do it!

Diet:

Calories: 1460

Fat: 34g

Sodium: 1889mg

Fiber: 29g

Protein: 79g

Carbs: 224.5g

Exercise:

Calories Burned: 2271 calories