Blame it on Taco Bell

My NyQuil-induced sleep lasted until 2 p.m., so I didn't get the French toast I was hoping to have for breakfast. (I'm weird like that. I don't like to eat breakfast food unless it's breakfast time. Hated it when the school cafeteria served waffles and sausage and called it "brunch.")

When I left the house to go to work, the day was so beautiful — sunny and warm considering we still have several feet of snow on the ground — that I wished I hadn't slept most of it away. Guess I needed it, though. I feel a little better now.

I wanted a burrito for lunch, but the place I wanted it from is closed on Sundays. I was a bit embarrassed that I didn't know that, but I usually don't try to get burritos on Sunday. (Figured that I had the Points for it, since I'd eaten nothing all day.)

Anyway, I ended up at Taco Bell. I thought I ordered the Drive-Thru Diet combo (two fresco grilled steak tacos) but I actually GOT the regular grilled steak tacos.

They're SO NOT WORTH the extra 4 Points — each. (Fresco are 3 Points each, regular are 7.) I picked the cheese off the second one and called it 12 Points for lunch.

That's the same amount I'd have spent on the burrito at Burritos Fiesta, but it didn't taste nearly as good. Nor was it as filling. I'll probably end up at BF tomorrow anyway.

Anyway, at 28 Points for the day, I'm counting it as another success. Yes, it would have been fewer had Taco Bell not screwed up my order ... but 28 Points still is decent.

My pedometer count, however, sucked even more today: Just 1,494 steps. Guess that's what happens when I sleep until 2 and then sit at my desk for six hours.

I think I'm less hungry as the days go by. More OP days under my belt and my whole attitude is changing.

Nice! Why is it so easy to forget these things when I stray?

On the budget front, I spent $7.07 ... all on food (combo at TB and a kid-sized yogurt from TCBY). I did think twice before getting a Diet Dr Pepper from the vending machine, though. That would have been another 60 cents, so I'm pleased with that decision.

Food	Units
grld stk tacos (cheese removed from one)	12
kid sz. tcby pb yogurt	2
1 godiva caramel-filled chocolate square	2
smart ones meatloaf w/ mashed potatoes	5
green beans & 1/2 sandwich thin	1
1 deep chocolate vitatop - yum!	1
(4got to enter earlier) quaker cafe square	2
svg spcl k w/ milk	3
Total:	28

Table provided by Roni's Food Tweet, Eat, Post Generator.

Another decent day

That makes two in a row! I feel so much better than I did earlier this week that I'm doing a little happy dance right now.

I ate a little more today than yesterday ... and succumbed to the lure of a chocolate-covered pretzel rod (2 Points) at the Barnes & Noble Cafe this afternoon before work. It was on sale for 49 cents, so when I saw it only had 2 Points, I just couldn't say no.

Do you guys ever end up eating something you totally didn't plan on just because you're out and it looks good? I'd just had a container of Stonyfield Farms Chocolate Underground yogurt, so I certainly didn't need a chocolate-covered pretzel.

Overall, including the bowl of Special K and skim milk I ate after I got home from work, I consumed 28 Points today.

That's not bad. Granted, I'm allowed 23 ... but if you factor in the 5 FPs I can add to each day (provided I have them, which technically I don't, unless I start my week yesterday), I'm right on track. Maybe I should start my week Friday, then! :D

I was a little hungrier today than yesterday. Maybe that's because it was a carb-heavy day, with sushi and yogurt for lunch, soup and an apple with peanut butter for snacks and a veggie corn dog and mac & cheese for dinner, then the cereal snack.

Must work on getting more protein. Some days I wonder if I shouldn't just start doing Atkins again. Then I remember that, even though I once honestly thought I'd be able to do the low-carb thing for the rest of my life, things changed when I met the carb-loving Boyfriend.

Still no exercise, though. I only logged 2,138 steps on the pedometer. Pathetic. :S (But considering I slept til 11 a.m., then sat on my butt at B&N and then work, I guess 2,000 steps isn't so bad.)

In the "adventures in life" category, I've decided I'm going to try something new with money.

In keeping with the WW theory that tracking helps you take control, I'm going to start keeping track of what I spend, and what I spend it on (bills, entertainment, food, whatnot).

I haven't quite worked out the system yet, but I did buy a little notebook to start tracking in (4 of them for $1.08 at the Dollar Store). It'll be something with a key code (E=Entertainment, F=Food, U=Utilities, A=Auto, R=Restaurants ... etc.) so I can see exactly where my money goes.

I expect I'll be shocked and sickened at how much I waste. Guess I'll find out soon enough, eh?

Now, it's time to take some NyQuil gelcaps and knock myself out until tomorrow. As long as I wake up in time to go to work at 4, all will be well.

On the right track

This morning, I made a pledge to myself: Just for today, I'm going to log every bite that goes into my mouth.

I did, and it helped me immensely. I ate 24 Points (forgot to put in strawberries and SF Jell-O mousse before I exported my chart). I'm still contemplating heading home and eating 1 Point of popcorn, because I'm still hungry.

Long hours are not exactly my friend. But at least I've avoided the vending machine today. It was the first time in more than a week that I've stayed OP.

Let's hope it's the start of a nice, long streak.

Food	Units
svg. spcl k w/ 1/2 c skim milk	3
chicken bacon ranch salad w/ lt ranch dressing	7
small vanilla cone	3
quaker true delights cafe squares	2
apple w/ 1 t rf pb	3
hg pulled bbq chicken on sandwich thin	4
svg. progresso soup w/ extra 1/2 c green beans mixed in	0
Total:	22

Table provided by Roni's Food Tweet, Eat, Post Generator.

Must regain control

I started out today with the idea that today was the day I was going to take control of my diet again.

Boy, was that a mistake … or rather a series of them.

First, I woke up before 10 a.m. and didn’t actually get out of bed until 12:30 because I was busy writing. The good news? I added a very nice set of scenes to my novel. The bad news? I didn’t eat breakfast, so …

When I left the house for lunch, I was starving. I went out for half a sandwich and some soup — chicken & white bean chili — and ended up getting an oatmeal scotchie, too. Those are quite possibly my favorite cookies (with the exception of Thin Mints).

Then I headed to work, where the newsroom (that’s us) was hosting a Hawaiian luau in the conference room. Not only did I have 3 slices of ham & pineapple pizza then … but I ate two more later on, because the leftovers were hanging around the newsroom.

I skipped dinner, having eaten the two additional slices at about 6 p.m. … but then at about 9 p.m., I started munching on some trail mix. And when I got home from work at 1 a.m., I ate a pulled pork sandwich. (At least it was a HG recipe, so it was only 4 Points!)

Aargh!

I need to stop that, pronto! Hopefully, signing the paperwork with the attorney next Tuesday will help.

But I don’t want to wait until Tuesday to regain control. In the morning, after I dedicate some time to sending out two query letters to potential agents, I’m going to get in some kind of workout. I’ve been letting those slide, what with all last week’s snow shoveling (which doesn’t really count) and the chaos that has become my financial situation.

Who knew?

Did you know a $2 bill is worth exactly ... $2.

Since I'd never seen one in circulation, I was hoping it'd be worth much, much more. Alas, $2 bills are still in circulation, so even fresh, crisp $2 bills from 1976 are worth no more than face value.

Not what I wanted to hear, what with my finances in the mess they're in. I stress-ate my way through the weekend after discovering the d*** bill collector is still taking $200+ from my paycheck each payday. I NEVER agreed to pay them freakin'$400 a month ... EVER. (I believe we settled on $150.)

I can't live on $600 a paycheck when my mortgage takes $500 and my car insurance takes the rest.

So I spent the weekend stressing about money. I skipped my WW meeting for two reasons: No cash to pay for it and the home scale said 192.5 (up considerably from last Monday's total) ... that meant it would have been a waste of money anyway. :P

The stress eating stops now, though. I really want to follow WW at home on my own for the next month or so until I can get the wage garnishment stopped and go back to my meeting.

Until then, I have to do it on my own, for myself. I'm still so close to goal that I don't want to reverse my progress.

Winterpocalypse coming to end

Winterpocalypse ... storm of the century ... snowpocalypse ... hell ...

Whatever you call it, Flagstaff's week of big snows is finally coming to an end. It hasn't been pretty. Businesses' roofs are collapsing under the weight of all the snow and people are stuck in their houses. One of my coworkers' heat went out Friday and they aren't coming to fix it until Tuesday.

All this snow is great fun for the dogs, but for us humans, not so much. Enjoy the photos and be glad you're not here!

Up way too early

The Boyfriend woke me up at 4 a.m. today, calling because he'd let a friend borrow his truck and couldn't get ahold of said friend 9 hours later. No answers to texts or phone calls and he started to panic. He didn't want to be stuck at Gila River Casino with no money and no vehicle.

I told him to call back when it got light outside. I didn't know if it was still snowing out there, but I wasn't about to head down the mountain in this weather when it was pitch-black. Even if the snow had stopped, the roads wouldn't improve much until the sun came out.

So he called again at 6 to wake me up so I could get ready. About the time I got out of the shower and poured myself a bowl of Special K for breakfast, he called to say she finally called back — she'd apparently fallen asleep.

But since I'd already showered, I was wide awake ... so I've been up ever since. I'm not used to watching the sun come up! Not sure I like it, either. I much prefer days that I get up at noon (so I don't have to eat breakfast and have more Points for the rest of the day!).

Catching up

Since Flagstaff is blanketed with several feet of snow, I got home from work early tonight — really early. Instead of writing (the way I should be), I decided to catch up on Tuesday's episode of "Biggest Loser" so I could delete it from the DVR.
The struggle of Migdalia, from the green team, touched me ... perhaps a little more than I'd like to admit. When Jillian was yelling at her, trying to get her to admit why she wasn't happy, and she stormed off, I was reminded of my (brief) stint in therapy.

Convinced that I was still thinking like a fat girl (with low self-esteem), I went for a few months after I lost the 110 pounds doing Atkins. The one moment that stands out more than any other was the day I started sobbing while talking about being seen as the "jolly fat girl."

I've been that way as long as I can remember — the big girl with a great sense of humor. (Hell, I even write romantic comedy — still unpublished ... but that's another blog.)

It's not surprising. My entire family — both sides — handles most of life's adversities with humor. My mom, who was also overweight, was always quick with a joke. So are my cousins. I remember at my dad's funeral, the clan went out for pizza between viewings and had a grand time joking around.

But I'm losing my train of thought here. The point, which former BL contestant Tara Costa summed up so nicely in her People blog, is this:

I have come to realize that to truly make a lifestyle change, you need to understand the reasons why you heavy in the first place. If the mind-body connection is not made, it will not be a lasting impact. Once you make that connection, you can be vulnerable because you will feel all emotions, not just the happy ones.

I need to remember that — and take time to figure out my own mind-body connection. I have a feeling that's the only way I'm finally going to break out of the 180s.

As for my day, it was a mixed bag. Thanks to the shoveling, I got more activity than I do some days ... but I also haven't made the best food choices. The boss brought deli sandwiches in to feed those of us stuck at the office, and I pulled my usual trick of not counting Points for that and anything I ate after it.

Perhaps I need to figure out why I have such an aversion to tracking, too. Like I told Tina at Carrots-N-Cake, who's thinking about starting to count calories again, counting — calories, Points, carbs or what have you — is just a tool to help you stay mindful about what you're eating.

I honestly believe that. So why do I struggle so much with it?

Great Wednesday ... & snowy Thursday

Activity (in the form of snow shoveling), plenty of water and staying within my Points … what more could a girl want?

This post is going to be quick because I’ll be up earlier than normal to go to work. We’re clearing early because of the monster snowstorm set to hit Flagstaff Thursday and Friday.

I like the thought of clearing early … I just wish it didn’t mean going in at 11 a.m. I’m used to having my mornings to myself.

Food	Units
10 min shoveling snow, 15 on elliptical [-2]	-2
svg spcl k cinnamon pecan w/ 1/2 c milk	3
ww pasta w/ lean ground beef, tomatoes, mushroom & onion	6
sf jell-o mousse cup	1
1/2 sandwich thin w/ 1 t rf pb, 1 t choc chips	4
hg slow cooker pulled ckn on sandwich thin w/ 1 c whole grain rice a roni	8
yoplait light mixed w/ 1/4 c ff cool whip & frozen for 1 hr	3
popcorn	1
Total:	24

Table provided by Roni's Food Tweet, Eat, Post Generator.

That was last night's post, which I apparently forgot to publish.

Now, it's morning, and the snow is coming down. The snowblower woke me up — at least I think that's what it was. I heard something weird hitting my window, anyway. I sure hope it was snow. Kind of annoying when I didn't get to sleep until 3, to be awake again at just before 7. But a lot less annoying than ME having to go out and shovel this crap ... :D

Not so great

Today wasn’t as good as yesterday. I started off okay, with some activity — 10 minutes of snow shoveling and 15 on the elliptical in the kitchen.

Even lunch was pretty healthy — a baked potato topped with lean ground beef, mushroom and and onion seasoned with taco seasoning. I also threw on some cheese, salsa and RF sour cream. Yum! Not only was it delicious, I figured it came out to only 7 1/2 Points.

The trouble started when I left for work. Work involved interviewing the owner of a new deli in town … and I sampled some of his peanut butter fudge. It was just a small piece, but when I said I liked it, he gave me a whole square to take with me. I TOLD myself I was only going to eat part of it … but a few minutes later, I’d devoured the whole thing.

Then I went to my book club meeting. Chili, veggies and dip, 3 corn muffins and about four chocolate-peanut butter chip cookies later, my day’s Points were more than shot.

Oh well. It’s only one day — and part of the day, at that. I’ll get right back on track when I wake up. That’s all I can do. I don’t want to beat myself up. I know from experience that gets me nowhere.

Good day

Funny how success at the scale sets me up for success all around. Today was no different. After my good WI, I ate a healthy lunch (cheesy Choice Ramen w/ veggies from my ever-dwindling stash) and then headed to work.

Before I left the office for the night, I checked my gmail account one last time and found more good news: One of the two agents I sent queries to about my manuscript wrote back, wanting to see more!

I think the first words out of my mouth were "Oh my God" or something like that. I was so excited ... I read the letter twice, then texted the Boyfriend with the good news. Then I headed home to get those 30 pages ready to upload to the agency's database.

That was a bit of a trial. Even though I had a Microsoft Word file, I kept getting an error page. "Please upload a supported file type," it said. MS Word was a supported file type! So I tried a Simple Text file, .rtf, which was also on the list. No luck there. Finally, I figured out that my Word file didn't have the .doc on it ... when I added it, the database accepted it just fine.

Hmm. Guess this post falls into the "adventures in life" category, since it doesn't have much to do with weight loss or cooking.

I did manage to plan ahead for dinner. Before I left for work, I put out a turkey burger to defrost and sliced up a potato to make my famous "Foreman fries" on George (the George Foreman grill I have). That way, when I got home for my dinner break, I didn't have to wonder what I was going to eat. Dinner was 7 Points (turkey burger 3, sandwich thin 1, foreman fries w/ olive oil 3) ... and then I snacked on a granola bar and some peanuts after dinner (another 6).

Total Points consumed today: 30 of 23 allowed
FP used: 7

The snow is falling fast and furious now ... I doubt I'll be getting to see the Boyfriend on my day off Wednesday. We're supposed to be getting snow all week. :P Have I mentioned how much I hate snow? (Probably about a dozen times, eh?) At least I can earn some APs with all the shoveling!

Surprise

... And this time, it was a good surprise — two, actually.

First, the news you've all been waiting for: Results of today's WI. (Drumroll, please.) Down 1.2 pounds.

I was surprised, because when I hopped on the home scale, I thought I was pretty much the same as last Monday. Apparently, I'd forgotten what the home scale said.

I'll take the loss and be glad, because my Thursday and Friday weren't all that great.

The other surprise: The baked potato I had when I got home from work last night was very filling. First, I nuked a potato. While it was cooking, I rummaged around in the freezer. (I was inspired by Tonyne over at The Unlikely Success Story, who recently wrote a post about cleaning out her freezer.) Found a partial bag of sad frozen veggies and decided they'd be just the thing to make my potato a "Filling Food."

I cut up a mushroom and a little onion and nuked it with the frozen veggies, then topped the potato with them. I also added 1 T bacon bits, 2 T RF cheddar and 2 T RF sour cream.

It hit the spot — and was only 5 Points.

OK weekend

The weekend wasn't a total bust. In fact, it's now nearly 11 p.m. and I have about 9 Points left for the day. Good thing, too, because I still haven't had dinner.

I came to work at 4 p.m., and by the time I got to a good stopping point, I only had about an hour's worth of work left to do ... so it made no sense to take a dinner break then.

Consequently, now I'm starving. I'm trying my damnedest to convince myself that doesn't give me license to hit the drive-thru. On the night before WI? That would be really dumb, wouldn't it?

OK, I'm decided. It's off to the house to make myself something good for me. I had soup for lunch, so it'll have to be something else. Maybe a nuked baked potato ... topped with cheese, bacon bits and RF sour cream.

Yum! I talked myself into it. Good. It'll help me stick to my New Year's theme. (Thanks again, Nike!)

Workin' hard or hardly workin'?

For some reason, that question — a fave of my fifth-grade teacher — popped into my head this morning. He'd ask, "Are you working hard or hardly working?" any time he saw one of us staring out the window or otherwise not doing what we're supposed to be doing.

If I'm honest with myself, I'd have to say that when it comes to weight loss, I've been hardly working lately. Yes, I've been doing better since the New Year started and I adopted my "Just do it" theme ... but not good enough. Yesterday, I bought not one but two bags of little vanilla sandwich cookies from the vending machine at work. (I think those are one of my trigger foods ... can't seem to stop at just one.)

I still don't track every bite I eat (though I have been tracking more regularly).

And I haven't been working out the way I should. I do, however, think my legs are getting more toned just by virtue of wearing my Skechers Shape-Ups the last few weeks. (I'll take it!)

It's time for me to start working hard instead of hardly working.

An award & a contest

Kelly over at Pounds for Prom just honored me with a Beautiful Blogger Award.

Now I'm supposed to write seven random things about myself (and nominate seven people of my own).

Here are seven things that some of you might already know, but many of you won't:

1. I was a band geek in high school. At various times, I played flute and piccolo, and was in the color guard. All that marching helped keep my weight in check.

2. I spent a semester in England (eating Yorkshire pudding, giant jacket potatoes and pizza topped with CORN ... yes, you read right: CORN) in college. I went to Harlaxton College, the University of Evansville's British campus, which was featured in exterior shots for the Liam Neeson/Catherine Zeta Jones movie "The Haunting." I did a lot of walking while I was over there, so the bad eating habits didn't affect my weight too much (I'd already gained the freshman 30 by then!)

3. I watch repeats of "NCIS" and "Law and Order: Criminal Intent" and "SVU" on USA.

4. Thanks to the Boyfriend, I'm now a member of the WWE Universe. Yes, I tune in to "Monday Night Raw," "ECW" and "Smackdown" whenever I get a chance. Since I work nights (3-7 p.m.), I'm not always able to watch.

5. I'm not a huge fan of exercise. Big surprise, right? If I loved to work out and ate properly, I wouldn't be the proud owner of a weight loss blog, now would I?

6. My mom used to say I have champagne tastes and a beer budget.

7. Both my parents died in 2003, within a month of one another. That fall, after their deaths, my roommate and I started doing Atkins. I weighed 276 when I started. I low-carbbed my way to 169 (with a goal of 160) and then met my Boyfriend, started eating carbs again and regained about 70 pounds. Weighed 246 when I joined WW and am back down to the 180s.

I'll have to think about who I want to nominate and get back to you on that one.

Now, on to the contest. I love soup ... especially Progresso's light soups. They're fantastically filling and so low in Points. I can eat the whole can without blowing it.

Roni's giving us a chance to win soup:

I entered Roni's Souper Duper Contest!

Check out Roni’s Weight Loss Blog for more information.

Health screening

Had my health screening at work today and the results left something to be desired.

First off, their scale weighed me at 193.6 ... That's way off from the home scale, which said 186.something this morning. Granted, I did eat a donut at the mall this afternoon, but that shouldn't have caused a 7-pound gain. (The good news is the donut, filled with peanut-butter cream was way too rich. I won't be pining for one of those every time I walk past the bakery anymore.)

They did a body composition test (based on the higher weight) and my body fat came out at 34.3 percent. Not great, by any stretch of the imagination ... but I can remember when I first started Atkins, my body fat percentage bordered on 46 percent. That makes 34.3 percent an improvement. Still, it can be better — loads better.

My other results:

BMI: 27.8
Total Cholesterol: 169
HDL (good) Cholesterol: 44
Blood sugar (not fasting): 133 (I'm blaming the donut!)
BP: 140/76

With the stats recorded for posterity, it's time to concentrate on "The Biggest Loser." I think I'll do some exercise while I watch.

Good news from the scale

Finally! After about a month straight of gains, I saw the scale move in the right direction this week.

That's right: Down 2.8 pounds.

Can I get a woo-hoo? Sure, I'm still higher than I'd like. But at least things are finally going the right way. It's about time, too.

Even after all this time, I find it amazing how just a little success sets me up to have a great, on-plan day. Having seen the scale go down this morning, I'm determined to make good choices all day. I had a healthy breakfast and a lunch that focused on WW "Filling Foods."

The only thing missing from the equation today? Exercise. I haven't done any of that. I'm using my lingering cold as an excuse ... but it's not a good one. I should get in at least 10 minutes' worth of exercise. It won't kill me, and it might even make me feel better.

A girl can dream, right?

Why is it?

After a couple of days of very bad choices, I'm left wondering one thing: Why is it that when we feel sick, we go straight for the comfort foods?

I've had a horrible, voice-losing cold for the last few days. On Saturday, I couldn't speak above a whisper. Yet I managed to stuff my face with all kinds of bad-for-me foods ... mainly cheesy, gooey Mexican dishes.

I don't get it. But at least I'm on the mend now — thank goodness. Today, instead of getting a chocolate malt at Sonic, I stopped myself. I got a diet Dr Pepper with low-cal cherry syrup instead ... and a vanilla cone, but at least it wasn't the shake.

The even better new news? I've been drinking hot tea like it's going out of style, so I had no problem getting enough liquid.

(You know what Monty Python says ... always look on the bright side ...) :D

Cookies got me

I made a choice to eat a cookie at the mall at lunchtime. In retrospect, it wasn't the best choice I could have made. I figured I was doing OK by eating a cookie and not the baked chips that came with my turkey sub from Subway. Sure, it was 5 Points vs. 3 for the chips, but I really wanted the cookie — and at least I didn't eat BOTH.

And I'd have probably been fine had I not decided to have Starbucks, too, before I headed to work. That means I wasted 8 Points on a cookie and coffee, because I got a peppermint mocha (even with less syrup, I've been counting them as 3). The latte is pictured on my desk at work, along with a holiday photo of my darling nephew. Cute, isn't he?

Then, toward the end of my shift at work, the press guys came up and said "We have cookies in the back."

Now, I should have just said "no." But I still have a hard time turning down free food ... especially desserts. So I made the trek back to the pressroom (at least it put some extra steps on the pedometer!) and fetched us some cookies. :P

That cookie added 5 more Points to the total in my chart, meaning I had 34 Points for the day ... 11 FPs down on Day 2 of the WW week.

So that goal didn't happen. However, the other three did. I exercised, I tracked and I did something else I can't remember at the moment.

To shamelessly corrupt a classic Meatloaf song (sorry, Mr. Loaf), three out of four ain't bad.

Food	Units
egg scrambled w/ mushroom, onion, & 1 oz. ham on sandwich thin	4
6-inch turkey sub w/ veggies, cheese, mustard	6
cookie	5
ff peppermint mocha w/ 1 pump less of each syrup	3
ww 2-point almond bar - yum!	2
2 svg. easy fried rice http://www.weightwatchers.com/food/rcp/index.aspx?recipeid=182921&sc=11	6
jello sf chocolate mousse	1
100-cal pk yogurt-covered pretzels	2
Total:	29

Table provided by Roni's Food Tweet, Eat, Post Generator.

Day 1 of the rest of my healthy new life ...

Got sidetracked over the weekend with the Boyfriend (which extended into Monday, because we're both off on Mondays), but I was back on track today.

Needless to say, the year so far has not been a great one for my theme, "just do it." I've had moments, but most of the time has been spent NOT doing what needs to be done.

That changes now. I need to do this for myself ... I need to do it to stop the scale's creep in the wrong direction (up another pound since last Monday's official WW weigh-in).

Today was a great day. I stayed in my Points, without eating any FPs, and I got in 20 minutes of exercise — a 15-minute walk, plus extra walking and some toning exercises while I watched "The Biggest Loser" season premiere that I taped earlier tonight. Right now I'm drinking green tea while I blog and watch the show, but as soon as I'm done blogging, I'm going to pick up the weights.

For dinner, I tried a new recipe. I bought the Hungry Girl recipe cards with part of my Christmas gift card from my brother and sister-in-law, and made the sesame peanut noodles (using tofu shirataki noodles). They were pretty good, though I think I prefer the "Hungry Girlfredo" fettucine Alfredo swap. Maybe if I bulk them up a little with some ham or chicken or something ... I was hungry too soon after eating dinner. Had to have some beet salad and then some almonds shortly thereafter.

Then again, the total for all that food was just 7 Points (4 for the noodles, 1 for the beets and 2 for the almonds). That's not a bad total for dinner (especially after several days of overindulging).

Here's the Tweet, Eat, Post chart for the day:

Food	Units
ww 2-point almond crunch bar — yum!	2
ww cheddar twists	2
greek salad w/ chicken	6
fiber one pop tart	3
hg peanut noodles	4
orange-beet salad	1
15-minute walk
100-cal pk almonds	2
100-cal pak chocolate covered pretzels	2
2 clementines	1
Total:	23

Table provided by Roni's Food Tweet, Eat, Post Generator.

Goals for Wednesday:

• Eat just 23 Points, using perhaps 2 or 3 FPs (no more)
• Get at least 10 minutes of exercise
• Drink at least 8 8-ounce glasses of liquid (mostly H2O)
• Track every morsel that goes into my mouth

Totally do-able, I know!