Blah...

The end to another hectic work week. Add to that the fact that my bus was late and I missed my next bus, I came home half an hour later than I had planned to. I plonked myself on the sofa and realized that I was completely wiped out energy-wise. I have cleared away dinner now, and am wearily eyeing my 5-lb dumbbells. I'll wait a bit longer and see if I want to use them or not. More than likely not...

Breakfast
I woke up too late again. I did not want oats, so stopped by the cafe.
Apple Walnut Scone w. Sugar, Rose Hips Tea

Lunch
Brown Rice, Tofu/Veg Stir-Fry, Bragg's, Orange

Evening Snacks
Whole Wheat Flatbread, Spicy Homemade Hummus

Mocha Belgian Truffle - this was the best of the flavors

I was feeling very "snacky", so ate a Clif bar despite my better judgment. I was full after this.

Dinner
My sister sent me links to recipes after I posted that I did not have any idea what to make over the weekend. So, despite being full, I made and ate this:
Vegetable Gyoza w. Spicy Peanut Vinaigrette
Quinoa salad w. Pear, Pecans, Spinach and Raspberry Vinaigrette

Addendum: I stayed up late and watched a lot of TV and one movie, and about 4 hours later was starting to feel hungry again. So I ate half the hummus I made (about 3tbsp), Gouda Cheese, Apple Juice. All unphotographed.

Planless

Thursday is an odd day for me. On Thursdays, I usually start making plans for the weekend, and planning what I'm going to do and what I am going to cook. Sometimes, I am very motivated and make an entire plan. This is good, because on holidays, I tend to completely go off plan with regards to eating and exercising. But sometimes, I just am not motivated - like today. This is particularly difficult when there is a 3-day weekend coming up. I felt a bit bored with the variety of what I ate this week - which is why I probably ended up eating out twice. I usually eat out only once - and then it's usually on the weekends. Planning for the long weekend and coming week is going to be tricky...

Breakfast
Sprouted Grain Toast w. Apricot Preserves
Cottage Cheese, Bosc Pear

Morning Snacks
Coffee w. Soy Milk - I rarely drink coffee - only when I am in a hurry and someone has the coffee-pot going already.

Pepperjack Cheese - this was the last cheese stick I have. Must get more.

Lunch
Brown Rice, Tofu/Veg Stir-Fry w. Bragg's Vinaigrette
I ate the orange later in the afternoon for a snack
I'd already eaten the Pepperjack earlier (pic was taken when I packed lunch)

Gluten-Free Zucchini Muffin baked by a co-worker. It was fab!

Snack
100 Calorie Trail Mix

Tea
I was back home early enough for the first time this week for: Tea, Rusk

Only two more left. I left the Mocha Truffle to enjoy last.

Dinner
A co-worker brought in a can of soup she did not want. My co-workers give away great food - remember the mutter-paneer from last week?

Lentil Soup w. Grilled Gouda Cheese Sprouted Grain Toast
I was full, so did not eat the orange

Two-day Recap

Tuesday: Pretty-run of the mill day. Uninteresting food-wise. I forgot my camera at work, and was not able to take pictures of the snackage that turned into dinner. I went to my Tuesday night folk-dance class. I was a bit better this week than I was the last, but was still pretty pathetic. I suppose it'll get easier with time. Exercise - 1x this week.

Wednesday: I ordered a gourmet sandwich - Black Pepper Tofu w. Goat Cheese and Tomato. It was scrumptious. Somewhat addictive perhaps. I bought it from a roaming food truck - I think they come by the University every few weeks, and I think I'll order from them again. They have different menus each week, so that should be interesting. And I went to get some ice-cream with a friend. Satisfying day food-wise. No exercise done.

TUESDAY

Breakfast
Cottage Cheese, Bosc Pear
Sprouted Grain Toast w. Strawberry Preserves

Snack
Colby-Jack Cheese (started eating before the pic), Jasmine Tea

Lunch
Brown Rice, Tofu/Veg Stir-Fry (I added Tamari and Bragg's Vinaigrette), Orange

Afternoon Snack
Raisins

Dinner Evening Snackage
(This was all eaten while camera was resting on my desk at work, so no pictures. Some of this was eaten before the folk dance class and some after.)
2 small Samosas w. Tomato Chilli Sauce
Banana Bread
Amaretto/Coconut Belgian Truffle
Toast w. Gouda
Cheese duo - Gouda, Cheddar
Orange


WEDNESDAY

Breakfast
I overslept today and was scrambling to get to work. Luckily, I keep some packets of instant flavored oats at work for just this kind of emergency. Apples & Cinnamon flavor. I usually prefer regular unflavored rolled oats, but oversleepers can't be choosers. :-)

Lunch
Black Pepper Tofu, Goat Cheese and Sundried Tomato Sandwich. Drool!

Bosc Pear

Dinner
My friend Anne emailed me saying she's taken the day off and did I want to celebrate with some ice-cream? Could you say no to that? Chocolate and Coffee ice-cream with Banana Bread Biscotti.

When I got home, I ate two small samosas w. tomato-chilli sauce.

Diets Don’t Work. WeightWatchers Doesn’t Either!

I shouldn’t be so harsh. But the WW slogan – “Diets don’t work. WeightWatchers does.” is not true for me. I suppose the WW “lifestyle” , like any other diet plan works for those who follow it and buy into the philosophy of it. For those with bad WW attitudes (like me), it doesn’t.

I blogged yesterday about how this was the first week since I joined my insurance-sponsored WW, that I had not counted points at all. I chose instead to eat whatever I wanted to. Since I could eat whatever I wanted to, I ended up not binging when feeling deprived. And since I did not spend hours calculating points values for recipes, counting points and obsessing about how many points I had left and what I could consume that would be within my daily allowance, I had more time to make what I wanted to eat and enjoyed eating it. Unlike other WW weeks, food was not constantly on my mind. Unsurprisingly, I was a bit apprehensive when I went to the weigh-in today. Astoundingly however, it turns out that I lost 3lbs. That’s the biggest loss a week I have had since I began the WW program (not that I am on the WW program really). And how did I get there? By eating Belgian truffles all week long. And loads of cheese. And French toast, cornbread, mutter paneer, pakoras, banana bread, noodles and pastry savories. Sounds fantastic to me!

Of course, the 3lb loss might have been because of many other reasons. I’ll wait a few more weeks before I have a larger dataset to make a more substantive argument, but somehow, I think not. Now, this eating-whatever-I-want-to-in-moderation business – that can be called a “lifestyle change”. To each his own, but I don’t think counting numbers all day long qualifies as a particularly alluring or sustainable change in lifestyle. WW-hardliners, eat your heart out!

Breakfast
Oats w. Pear, Pecans, Honey; Tea

Snack
Pepperjack Cheese, Unphotographed slice Banana-Pecan Bread

Lunch
Veggie Burrito. I ate half of this.


Artesian water from Norway. At first I chuckled because I thought that was a spelling variation of "artisan", and there can be no such thing as "artisan water". But it turns out that this is water from an artesian well in Norway. The idea of shipping groundwater from Norway to the US is ridiculous, and the toll it takes environmentally is monumentally ridiculous. However, it comes packaged in a pretty 800ml glass bottle that's just perfect for water consumption on the go. I'm hoping that using a BPA-free container will limit health risks, as well as be good for the planet in the long term.

Tea
Tea, Samosas w. Tomato-Chilli Sauce

Dinner
The rest of the Veggie Burrito, Mild Sauce, 1/4th Avocado
Peanut Tofu/Veg Stir-fry. This is the tastiest stir-fry I make. All I do is stir-fry a bunch of vegetables and tofu in a tablespoon of oil and add 2-3 tbsp of peanut vinaigrette at the end. I use TJ's spicy version. Yum!!! (makes 4 servings)

Cottage Cheese, Bosc Pear

Contra-Dancing

My weekend was pretty uneventful food-wise. Both on Saturday and Sunday, I woke up late enough to not have breakfast. Yesterday, I went contra-dancing. Contra dancing is sort of a hybrid partnered folk dance. I have gone once before to this contra dance group and it is great fun. I've mentioned before about how I will never be a good dancer. But the music is fun and fast-paced and since everyone moves so fast, it is not as embarrassing. I danced from 8-11, with a few breaks. I was exhausted at the end, and my body was sore when I woke up this morning. Consequently, despite my 3x/week exercise resolution, I don't feel so bad about exercising only two times this week.

I wish tomorrow was not Monday. It's Weight Watcher's weigh-in day. This is the first week since I began when I did not count points at all. We'll see how it goes. :-)

SATURDAY

Brunch
Piping hot tea - you can see the steam. :-)
French Toast, Toasted Pecans, Honey. Didn't eat the Orange.
I rarely buy eggs - only when I bake. And then I try to use them up as soon as possible. Yesterday's omelette and this French toast is in aid of this.

Snack
Colby-Jack Cheese

Dinner
Cornbread Muffin w. corn, Belgian Truffle

I was famished when I got back from dancing. I started with Popcorn w. Chilli Oil and Root Beer. But I was ravenous, and ended up also eating a Paneer Tikka Pocket and cheese.

SUNDAY

Lunch
Woke up too late for breakfast.
Rice, Yogurt Gravy, Ivy Gourd. I ate the pear, not the orange.
Unphotographed Extra-Sharp Cheddar Cheese

Tea
Tea w. LF Milk

Orange Belgian Truffle

Dinner
Chapatti, Mutter Paneer, Orange

High on MSG

I survived my first week of full-fledged Winter Term. It was a shock to see the influx of all the students on Monday. By afternoon today, I was exhausted. Thank goodness for the weekend!

My friend Anne and I went out to get some dinner. Some coworkers of mine had recommended a local restaurant called Toshi's Ramen. Reviews of it online suggest that it is the best ramen place outside of Japan. Probably improbable! It was a dinky little place that smelt wonderfully like food from the Far East, and was full of people out on Friday night. All they had on the menu was house-made ramen noodles in a choice of three different kinds of broth, with veggies or meat and some condiments. I picked the shoyu sauce bowl with garlic. I meant to tell them to use MSG-free broth in mine, but forgot. As a result, I have an MSG-induced headache. I feel slightly hungover. The food was excellent, the company was wonderful.

Evening out = Successful.
Plans to exercise = Unsuccessful.

Breakfast
2 Egg-white Omelette w. Crimini, Cilantro and Cheddar, Toast, Pear
I added a smidgen too much salt, and ended up not eating the eggs.

Meeting-Monotony Relievers
Unsweetened Tea, Glazed Lemon Cake

Lunch
Split Pea Soup, Jalapeno Cornbread, unphotographed slice of Lemon Cake

Afternoon Snacks
The last of the hummus, two carrots

100 Calorie Trail Mix

Pre-Dinner Snacks
Small slice Banana Bread

Belgian Truffle - the flavor was so concentrated, I could not tell if it was amaretto or coconut.

Dinner
Ramen in Shoyu Broth w. Garlic (WW Points = several million)

I ended up consuming most of the ramen, and some of the broth.

Orange