Attack of the Monthly Munchies

Well, today didn't go exactly as I had planned. I did well eating a healthy breakfast and lunch and dinner. But then I had a hormone-fueled attack of the munchies. Ugh. For 2 days a month, right on schedule, my willpower disintegrates and I want to devour everything in sight. Since it happens with such regularity, you'd think I'd be able to prepare myself and resist. But no. Tonight after dinner I ate 2 small bowls of chocolate rice krispies and a 1/2 bag of baked salt and vinegar chips. I mean, it could have been worse, but still, not good. I really shouldn't keep those chips in the house. I like them too much.

My delicious nemesis

The good part is at 7:15pm I regained my composure and put on my gym clothes. I went to the gym and did 60 min of cardio: 20 min running, 20 min stair-stepper, and 20 min elliptical. I burned 700 calories! It was not the most comfortable working out with a tummy full of salty chips but I did it. Now I am bloated and tired but glad I went. I'm sure the scale will be up tomorrow no matter what, but I'm sure going to the gym mitigated some of the damage. Either way, tomorrow is a new day and I will again try to do my best!

In other news I had some "headshots" done this week at work. Here are a few of my faves :)

I'll check back in tomorrow! Happy Leap Day!

Throwing out the bathwater (not the baby)

Tonight Evan and I went out for dinner. I hadn't eaten too much all day - and my weigh-in tonight went well -  so I decided I could order whatever I wanted to eat. I hadn't had fish and chips for sooo long, so that's what I went with. And I ate the whole thing (2 pieces of fish and a bunch of french fries). And it was really good!

But once I got home two things happened:

1. I got serious sweet cravings. For the last little bit I haven't had to deal too much with cravings. It could be hormonal (it's around that time) or it could be triggered by the less healthy dinner choice. I ended up eating a box of WW Fruities (2 pts) and a bowl of frozen yogurt with sugar-free syrup (4 points).

2. We realized we have eating out dinner plans Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Monday. That's a lot of potentially dangerous eating situations in the next week!

In the past, this might have been the start of a slide. With the poor choices tonight and a tough week ahead, it would be easy to ease off and accept a gain. But I'm not going to let that happen this time. I have been feeling so good lately! I am at my lowest consistent weight (tonight I was 145 lbs at weigh-in) and I feeling very fit from all my exercise. All my clothes fit great and I don't want to back-slide.

Besides, it's not like one poor dinner is the end of the world. I didn't actually track today but I'm guessing I ate 40 points. Obviously that's not ideal, but if I think of it as just using 11 of my weeklies...that's not so bad! Instead of fretting over it, I'm going to start fresh tomorrow and have a healthy day (including a work-out). Then I'm going to make the best choices I can over the next week. I will eat well when I'm at home and make reasonable choices when I go out. I will also work out tomorrow, maybe Thursday (depending on timing), Saturday, and Sunday. Over the next week I will use this blog to be accountable! My goal is to weigh-in at WW next Tuesday within my goal range. If I'm up a little from tonight, that's ok, but I'm going to try to minimize it. Yay for a plan!

These "challenges" are part of normal life. I need to be able to handle eating out in order to maintain this lifestyle for the rest of my life. Earlier I was freaking out a bit - but now that I have a plan I feel much more in control. Here's to balancing maintenance and real life!! 

Moseying along

Sorry for the lack of posts! I feel like it took me a little extra time to settle back into my normal-life groove after being away last week. I kind of got out of the habit of taking pictures throughout the day - maybe it was because after taking pictures of the Rocky Mountains my daily nosh seemed significantly less interesting! Either way, I am back in the groove and doing really well on the eating and exercise fronts. I worked out Wed, Thurs, Sat, and Sun this week, hitting my goal of 4 workouts per week. I bought a new exercise top in Edmonton, which I love. It's just basic black but it fits great! Excuse the morning look - I literally had just rolled out of bed!

 

At my gym it seems like everyone is decked out in Lululemon stuff. I just can't afford it! I understand that it's high quality but honestly I do just fine with my stuff. My top is GAP ($17), bra is from Walmart ($18), and pants are Denver Hayes (from Mark's Work Wearhouse) ($15) - and it all works and looks great (or at least I think so!).  

Speaking of Edmonton here's some more pictures of Ali and I during our time together.

Ali and I in West Edmonton Mall - can you tell we're sisters? Later that night, someone asked if we were twins!

How many malls have a water park like this? Next time we are totally going!

Ali pretending to devour the cupcake we shared. It was chocolate with coconut icing and was delicious.

The dinner theatre we attended (and my wine!)

What a great 4 days :) Luckily I have some new purchases to remind me of our time together. I love shopping in Edmonton because there are so many stores, no sales tax, and I get to shop with my fashion adviser. Here is an outfit I picked up on my trip: boots, new skinny jeans, and top.

The genes I mean jeans (can you tell I'm a scientist?) were $25 from Old Navy and fit great (size 6). They are totally my new go-to jeans. I finally had to replace my old jeans after 1 year (which was sad because I loved them, but eventually I got the dreaded "chub rub") so I'm happy I found these!

In terms of my weight, maintenance is going really well. I haven't tracked in weeks (eek!) but I'm down to 144, which is pretty much the lowest I've ever been. I think I'm finally figuring this out. Yesterday night I got busy in the kitchen. I made big batches of chicken parmesean, roasted veggies (peppers, zucchini, sweet potato, carrot, and butternut squash), and Carrot Ginger soup for meals this week. I love having a well-stocked fridge! Today after an AM workout I did some grocery shopping and am currently spending the afternoon in Starbucks. Tonight is the Oscar's and Evan's picking up sushi!! I'm pretty excited :)

Hope everyone had a good weekend!

Back from Banff

I am back from my conference and mini-vacation. It was great!! When my roommate and I checked into the hotel, the room we had been assigned wasn't ready. So instead of getting a small, cramped room with 2 twin beds we got...a HUGE room on the 8th floor with 2 queens and a killer view!! I think this was a MAJOR upgrade. Check out the view from our room:

Gorgeous! The conference was good but busy. It ran everyday from 8am to 10pm, but we had afternoons off to have some fun. We went skiing:

And on an ice walk in Johnston Canyon. There was some amazing scenery!

Then I went to Edmonton and visited my sister! We had a great long weekend (Hi Ali!). It was just so nice to hang out and spend some time together. We didn't have a lot planned out ahead of time but managed to fill our time shopping, going to the dinner theater, shopping, relaxing, watching TV, and shopping! It was a very good time and some excellent retail therapy. Thanks, Ali, so much for being a great host and wonderful sister :)

So back to my goal about not losing my hip bones...Tonight I weighed in at WW. That's right - the day after being away for 1.5 weeks. And I weighed the same as 2 weeks ago. This is a huge victory for me - this is the first time I have ever gone away on vacation and not gained weight. This time I tried not to let food be that much of a big deal. I made good food choices and enjoyed my drinks. I practiced moderation and survived!! My hip bones are still nicely in place ;) I really feel like I'm at the place where this is my LIFE and to keep on the right track I'm going to weigh in next week too...and the week after that!

Curses and Blessings of the Daily Weigh

Hello from Banff!! I am having a great trip so far. Here are some pictures and then a post I wrote over the weekend (don't worry, I didn't write this while at the conference/on holiday!).

The Banff Springs Hotel - it is a castle!

View from my hotel room!!

Me on the ski slopes (in my new gear!)

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For as long as I can remember I have stepped on the scale almost each and every morning - after going to the bathroom, buck naked, right before stepping into the shower. Most days this is a good thing for me. It gives me feedback about how I did the day before. Did I make good choices? Am I headed in the right direction? But sometimes the scale is a fickle beast and hinders, rather than aids, my progress (and mental health)!

The scale is helpful when it validates what I'm expecting. If I've been on track with my eating and it moves down, then I'm happy. If I know I overate or made poor choices and it moves up, it is a good reminder to make the next day better. Also, over the years I've gotten pretty good at "guessing" the number. Usually, based on how my body feels and how my clothes fit, I know if the number *should* move up or down.There's just something about seeing what you already know quantified and visualized in black and white that makes it real. It's pretty hard to bury your head in the sand when you're stepping on every day.

However, where the scale fails for me is when the number doesn't make sense. If I know I've been eating well and exercising and it shows I've gained, or shows the same number day after day it can be very discouraging. I think to myself, "What's the point of being good if I'm not getting results? I might as well eat whatever I want!". However, the reality is there are lots of reasons why the scale doesn't reflect my efforts. I think for the most part it boils down to water retention but that can be caused by lots of different things. My TOM, intake of salty foods, tummy troubles, or even exercise. I've mentioned before that I tend to gain weight after workouts, especially intense ones, and in the past I tended to forgo exercise when it impeded my progress on the scale.

If the scale only works for me when it reinforces what I already know, then what's the point of stepping on at all? Why do I need a number to accept my instincts? I've wrestled with this a lot, but at the end of the day I think the scale still helps keep me accountable. I've considered just weighing weekly, but I know that if I'm avoiding stepping on for more than a couple days, there's probably something bad going on! Instead, I just try to take the number with a grain of salt. Instead I focus more on how my body feels, and I mean that quite literally!

I have mild scoliosis and so my hips are not even. Because of this my tummy fat is distributed unequally; there is more fat above my left hip than my right. When I started to lose weight, I had a very large roll above my left hip bone and my goal was to make that roll disappear. Every morning before I stepped on the scale, I would run my hand over that part of my stomach and could feel how I was doing. Over time that roll has gotten smaller and smaller and now, just a tiny bump remains. In fact, some days (when I'm at my lowest) it's completely smooth. This is a very prominent reminder of how far I've come and how I'm doing on a daily basis. That bump gets larger and smaller with each pound of fat I gain or lose. Maybe this was TMI, but it's something that really helps me. The scale doesn't discriminate between fat, muscle, or water. But my tummy and hips do, and are therefore good tools for me to accurately assess my progress.

But no matter what, I try not to let the scale (or my hips) determine my mind-set for the day. I am more than a number; I am more than my body. And no matter what, I'm going to strive to live each day to the fullest!

So far, so good

The last couple days have been really good for me in terms of balance. I am no longer seeing my choices as a means to an end, but rather as a permanent lifestyle. I've been eating well - making healthy choices but not depriving myself of things I want. And I've continued to make time for the gym. Here is a quick recap of my last couple days:

Thursday
Breakfast - Oatmeal with nectarine jam and almond milk
Snack - Scone (that I made this past weekend)
Lunch - Salad, Butternut Squash Soup, 1 slice chicken pizza
Snack - Yogurt, mini oranges, cookie
Dinner - Turkey sausages, sweet potato, asparagus
Dessert - Prunes, Chocolate Mousse (cool whip and sugar-free pudding)
Gym Workout: 25 min treadmill, 20 min elliptical, upper body weights

Friday
Breakfast - Mini-bowl of chocolate rice krispies + almond milk (I wanted to try them), Yogurt
Lunch - Salad with goat cheese, Butternut Squash Soup, Melba toast with turkey breast
Dinner - Sushi and edamame
Dessert - Fibre One brownie, fat-free frozen yogurt
Gym Workout: 27 min treadmill, weights

My weight has remained the same for the last 3 days so it looks like this version of maintenance is working for me (so far, so good). Basically, I am eating lots of filling, satisfying, healthy foods (the same foods I eat to lose weight) and not worrying if there is the occasional extra. The biggest shift is just realizing that this is my new normal. This is how I will eat for the rest of my life. It's taken me a while to come to terms with this. I remember the night after I became a Lifetime Member I went to the grocery store to buy myself a "treat". I think I chose frozen yogurt. The frozen yogurt itself was fine - it was the idea that I deserved a food treat now that I was at goal that was not ideal. I now realize that I can never go back to eating the way I used to, or else I will gain all the weight back. Happily, I've picked up habits along the way that I can and will practice long-term.

One of the biggest things that's changed for me is now I ask myself "Is it worth it?" before I indulge in something. It used to be that high calorie food and drinks were a part of my daily life so I had them without thinking too much about it. I still have these things in my life, but now they're a special treat, not the norm. That means, they have to be really good to warrant me eating them. So now, if I feel like a burger I will go to my favourite burger place and enjoy every bite.

I'm going to use this method to help me survive conference eating next week. I leave for Banff on Sunday and the conference lasts until Friday morning. So 5 full days of hotel and restaurant food. My plan is to load up on what healthy food I can find and keep the other stuff to a minimum. I will only eat the food that is REALLY good (worth it!) and will leave the other stuff. I will waste food if I have to - I'll take one bite and decide if it's worth it. And if it is, I'll practice portion control. My goal is to get through those 5 days without losing my hip bones (at this weight I can really tell how I'm doing without a scale, just by feeling my waist and hips). There is also a great fitness center in the hotel so I'm going to bring my work-out gear and try to do some exercise. The only problem might be is it's at high elevation and last time I tried to work out in Banff I got pretty sick. But, I'm more fit now so it's worth another try!

Then Friday morning I am taking a Greyhound bus from Banff to Edmonton (about a 5 or 6 hour ride) to visit my sister!! My sister, Alison, moved to Edmonton 3 years ago and I try to visit her whenever I can. We are very different but also very close. I'll write more about her soon :) Then I'll spend a long weekend with her and fly back Monday night.

Here are some pictures from the last time I visited Alison (over Halloween):

It was hard to find a "serious" one of us because usually they come out something like this:

Or these:

Or these (she was Dorothy and I was the Wicked Witch):

I'll get you and your pretty dog too!!

Be afraid, Dorothy, very afraid!!

We have fun together :)

Next time I post will probably be from Banff, high in the beautiful Rocky Mountains!!

Re-defining Maintenance

I feel like I am standing at the edge of a cliff. 

Every month, after I weigh in at Weight Watchers I struggle with this feeling. As a Lifetime Member, I have to weigh in once each calendar month within my goal range (my goal weight is 148 lbs and you are allowed 2 lbs above that, so I have to weigh in each month below 150 lbs). I weighed in at 149 lbs the first week of December. I then proceeded to throw myself off the cliff into an oblivion of holiday eating and indulgence. Ok, it wasn't that extreme, but my willpower was significantly reduced. For a few weeks I ate with less restraint, made some poor choices, and gained until the scales reached 155 lbs in the beginning of January. I then spent the rest of the month clawing my way back up the mountain, eating properly and exercising. I was back to my goal weight at weigh-in Jan 31 (148.8 lbs) and proceeded to stay on track so I could complete my February weigh-in. Last night I weighed in at 147.2 lbs (down 1.6 lbs from last week) and I feel great. But now I'm standing on that cliff again. I know that the next time I HAVE to weigh-in is March. I also know that I am heading to Banff to attend a conference next week (where there will be plenty of food/alcohol) and I won't be able to weigh-in next Tuesday. I also know that I am really good at Achieving my Goals - as long as I don't let things get too out of hand, I can hike my way up the mountain, back to goal weight when I need to. 

I am less good at Achieving Equilibrium. So far, since reaching my goal weight one year ago this has been my version of maintenance. It is also my version of yo-yo dieting. In my defense, there has been a lot of life events that made it easy to gain weight: trips to Mexico, Hawaii, San Francisco, New York (yes, I have been very spoiled the last couple of years with travel - it is one of the big perks of my job), writing my thesis, defending my thesis. But that's true for life in general. There is always an excuse; there is always an event. I need to find a better balance. My other excuse is that it doesn't take much for me to gain weight. A couple days of not tracking, a couple bigger meals and the scale will go up. Even if I simply eat all my points for a few days in a row (which in theory is what I should be eating to lose weight), the scale goes up. I have to be pretty strict with myself to lose or maintain, and sometimes that gets really tiring.

I am good at losing weight. I am good at gaining weight. I am BAD at maintenance. 

So where to go from here? Do I jump off once again and embrace the freedom for a couple weeks? Or do I try (for the first time!) to maintain despite my upcoming travel and not having to weigh-in for a few weeks? 

I think part of the problem is that I have two totally different mindsets depending on whether I'm losing weight or not. When I'm losing, I take pleasure in choosing healthy foods that satisfy me. I don't feel deprived, I feel a sense of accomplishment from making healthy choices. I like how I feel, inside and out. But then as soon as I don't have to lose weight I feel trapped by this lifestyle. I want to eat! I don't want to think about making healthy choices, I just want to be normal. 

I need to find a way to adopt the first mindset all the time, or at least merge the two. I know I will never be able to eat how I used to ever again. I will always have to think about it. This fact really depresses me. But if I can accept it and adopt a new "normal" I will benefit long-term. I'm going to try it. I'm going to stay in my "losing" mindset where I want to be healthy, but allow myself small treats. This will be my attempt at true balance. I am tired of my weight going up and down. I need to get out of this cycle.

One more thing that I think will really help me is not just weighing in once a month, but doing it every week. I need to be accountable to myself more than once a month. I think that's part of my problem - I see maintenance as a goal to hit each month rather than the status quo. And, as I said, I'm very goal-oriented, so although I always hit the goal, it's not a healthy mind-set to be in. From now on, I will try to weigh-in every week at WW, not just once a month. The problem is the weeks I can't (because I'm out of town) I will be without access to a scale, so I can't just post the number on here for accountability. But I will still know I have to get on the scale as soon as I'm back, so I won't let the freedom go to my head (or hips).

Wow...real maintenance. This will be a new thing for me! I'm a little sad (no more freedom) but I think it's for the best. Now the key for me will be to focus on all the things I CAN eat rather than those I can't! I will use this blog to explore my feelings and figure things out as I enter this new phase of my journey. I am going to learn to resist my all-or-nothing tendencies and not dive off the cliff. Or, at the very least, I will strap on a parachute.

Cooking up a storm

Over the weekend I tried FOUR new recipes. Lately I've been trying to cook more and I'm really enjoying it. I don't come up with my own recipes from scratch but I can follow and/or modify recipes pretty well.

First up, Dijon-Wine Marinated Rib Roast.
Usually we don't buy expensive roasts but they had standing rib roasts on sale this week (a $30 roast was on sale for $14). We marinated it overnight in the following:

1/2 cup red wine
3 clones garlic crushed
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp salt
Freshly ground pepper
1/2 tsp tarragon

This marinade turned out really well. It was super rich, complex and flavourful. I will use this recipe again. We cooked the roast for about an hour at 350 degrees until it was medium rare. Unfortunately, even though the marinade was delicious, the meat was tough and fatty. A bit disappointing! Next time I don't think I'll bother with a fancy roast but stick to the leaner cuts.

Luckily we used really good wine, which I got to drink.

Evan carving the roast.

We did potatoes and carrots along with the roast and asparagus and the sides turned out awesome.

Here is my plate:

Then we felt like some dessert so I whipped up a batch of Good-for-You Choc-Oat-Chip Cookies.

These were very tasty. The recipe was from a Cookie book I had in my collection.

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 1/4 cups packed dark brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup margarine
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
2 egg whites
1/2 tbsp vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups quick or old-fashioned oats
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Combine flour, backing soda, salt, and cinnamon in a small bowl. Beat together brown sugar, granulated sugar, margarine, and applesauce in large mixer bowl. Beat in egg whites and vanilla. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in oats and chocolate chips. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto greased baking shets.

Bake in preheated 375 degree oven for 9 to 10 min for a chewy cookie or 12 to 13 min for a crispy cookie. Let stand for 2 min; remove to wire racks to cool completely. Makes about 4 dozen cookies.

Nutrition: Each cookie is about 100 calories and 4 grams of fat.

Mine didn't make 4 dozen because I made a variety of large, medium, and small cookies. 

These are not really low-point cookies, but that's ok with me. I would rather eat fewer, tastier cookies! I liked how these had applesauce, egg whites, and oatmeal though!

Next I made another batch of soup for lunches for the next couple of weeks. This time I made Curried Butternut Squash Soup. I used Gina's recipe as a template but made a much larger batch.

I had never worked with Butternut Squash before. I thought it would be much harder to prep. Turns out, a knife and vegetable peeler was all I needed.

Here is the "recipe" I used:

Chop 3 cloves of garlic and saute with 1 tsp olive oil until golden. Add chicken stock (about 4 L), curry, cumin, 2 butternut squash (cut into cubes), and one can of light coconut milk. Simmer for 12-15 min until squash is tender. Blend with immersion blender and season with salt and pepper.

This flavour of this soup is excellent. I really like it but it's a little thin. I thought that with all the squash the soup would be thicker but turns out, squash doesn't thicken it at all! Next time I would add some flour or a potato to thicken it a bit.

The last recipe I made was Chocolate Chip Buttermilk Scones.

I followed the Skinny Taste recipe exactly (I know not to mess with recipes when it's baking!). It was my first time making scones and I was a little nervous. I had never cut in butter with knives before or kneaded and rolled out scones. They turned out ok - I think I made them a little too flat so they were a little dry and didn't rise as much as I would have liked, but not too bad for a first try!

Today was another beautiful day in Vancouver. We've had a run of sun for the past 4 or 5 days. I expect the rain to return tomorrow but here's a picture I took from my office today. Gorgeous!!

Also, any day that I get to chill for an hour with my book and chai tea (with 5 pumps of sugar-free Cinnamon Dolce syrup) is a good day! I secretly love the new Valentine's Day-themed Starbucks cups. It's the little things in the life ;)

Dinner and a movie

After a few crazy busy days at work this week (my eating out trend continued from Saturday until Wednesday night!) normal life has resumed once more. I had a big presentation at work on Thursday morning that I had been preparing for, so once that was over things settled down again. Since I hadn't seen Evan for a few days, we went out Thursday night for a movie and dinner. We saw The Adventures of Tintin, which I really enjoyed! I am not a big fan of 3D movies, but I enjoyed the art and the story. It was fun and very well done.

Then we went out for dinner. It was 9:30pm so we didn't have too many options. My husband is a HUGE Denny's fan, so we decided to go there. At first I wasn't very excited (I hate being forced to eat unhealthy when I don't want to. If I feel like a burger and fries, that's fine, but I hate making poor choices when it's not worth it) but when I looked at the menu,  I saw they actually had a number of healthy "Fit-Fare" options. I had the Fit Fare Slam, which was really good!! It was egg whites mixed with spinach and grape tomatoes, 2 slices of turkey bacon, an English muffin, and a side of fruit. I actually asked for a side of sourdough toast instead of the English muffin (I love sourdough!) which bumps up the calories slightly, but "as is" this meal clocks in at only 390 calories according to the Denny's website. I think that number might be a little low, but even it's 500 calories, that's still a GREAT choice compared to most of the stuff on the Denny's menu (my husband got the Lumberjack Slam, I'm not even going to comment on how bad that is). I didn't take a picture but here is what it looks like. I was quite happy with my choice (it was really tasty and filling) and would be willing to go back to Denny's more often, now that I know they have options like this.

Friday I had a very busy day in the lab. I kind of like days like that when I'm busy and not watching the clock! It also helps me not want to eat too much. I had a coffee in the morning and then ate the sandwich I had brought for lunch in the afternoon (no time for my veggies, soup, or yogurt!). The sandwich was SO good!! I followed Roz's lead and bought the Foldout Flatbreads. So good!! I got the Olive Oil and Rosemary ones, which work out to 3 points each, because that was the only ones they had at the store, but I see from their website (http://www.flatoutbread.com/products/foldit-artisan-flatbread/) that the 5 Grain Flax ones are only 2 points each. I'm going to try those next. Either way, these are great. They are much more filling and substantial than WW sandwich thins and have a great texture and taste. They don't taste like diet food. I had mine with turkey, Laughing Cow swiss cheese, cranberry chutney, and spring greens. Definitely a keeper!

Friday night I made a modified version of a Hungry Girl Recipe: Pasta with White Clam Sauce (http://www.hungry-girl.com/chew/show/2202). I made it with whole wheat spaghettini instead of the Tofu noodles and it turned out really well. It was my first time using canned baby clams and my first time making a "pan pasta". Other than the fact I added too many chili flakes (whew, it was HOT!), it turned out really well. I will making this again. The baby clams were really tasty and cheap - for $2.50 it's a cheap way to add seafood. Next time I would add white wine and maybe some extra clam juice to boost the flavour.

I also tried a bunch of new recipes this weekend, but I think they deserve their own post, so look for that coming soon!

Eating out...and losing weight

This past weekend I had to work. Both days. From 9am to 11pm at night. And Monday too. (Occasionally this happens with my job. There are also times I get lots of time off, so it all works out in the end. Basically I have a very flexible schedule. This also explains why there haven't been any new blog posts in a couple days!). Anyhow, since I was stuck at work all day, I didn't feel like packing both my lunch and dinner. Instead, I wanted to go out for these meals. But I had a bit of a conundrum, because I had my "important" weigh-in coming up so I had to eat healthy and lose that last niggling pound. Luckily, I work in an area where there are lots of options and it really wasn't difficult for me to make some good, satisfying choices. Here are some of the meals/snacks I had!

Edamame, Spicy Salmon Roll, and Spicy Tuna Sashimi

Steamed chicken and celery dumplings

This Mediterranean Salad Shaker from Whole Foods

Chicken Verona Salad from While Spot (Grapes, cashews, celery, peppers, and chicken)

Yogurt and berry parfait (worked out to 4 points)

Not too bad for restaurant meals. Most of the time it's easier to make good choices when you cook your own food, but it's still nice to know there are options out there :)