Put the Food Away!!

Without a doubt, I have found my downfall - grazing!  Last night we had people over to celebrate my father-in-law's birthday. He loves pizza, but they rarely order it.  We thought ordering pizza would be a win-win situation for all of us. My father-in-law could have one of his favorites and we could enjoy pizza, but not have too much for two people. That worked out great. I ate my pizza allowance and was happy.

This might have been the right choice for a grazer. I got a couple different kinds of chips.  I recently discovered these popped corn chips. They come in a 5 oz. bag.  A 1 oz. serving is 130 calories and 3 grams of fat.  I found them one day at Aldi and tried the White Cheddar. I really like them. Then last night I got the Kettle flavor - it was good too.  Then the issue became that there were two kinds of yumminess calling my name all evening. Grazer Danger!

When I bought them at Aldi I thought I had a bit of a safety net. Aldi tends to have special buys like this, then they will become unavailable. I figured this should help me control myself :)  Turns out this blog has exposed a flaw in my plan. I just googled them to get a picture for the blog and now I know I can order them online or worse yet, they are probably available at Walmart.  Oh no! What have I done???

I 

Despite my best intentions, I did munch on too many of these chips at the party last night...I probably ate 2.5 servings of them.  Despite that, I am going to blame my party downfall on....banana bread.  My mother-in-law brought a freshly baked loaf.  It was so good. I couldn't (or wouldn't) stop going back to it for "one more little piece."  I lost track of how many "little pieces" I had.  I hope I wasn't the only one going back for more because by the end of the evening it was gone!  I swear it wasn't all me.


Clearly, the bottom line for me is to take a serving and put the food away. Not the easiest thing to do for a party.  I had this same issue last week at game night. I had planned to splurge that night, but last night I was going keep in my calories. I am not happy that I failed last night. I am, however, proud to say I have bounced back. After the party I put everything away, had a large glass of water and didn't think much more about the food.  I know these type of events are part of life and I just need to keep working on ways to prevent uncontrolled eating from becoming a part of my every day life again.

My husband is taking a couple of rest days before Saturday's triathlon. He originally planned to rest Friday only.  However, during his past two training sessions he had some pain in his calf. At first he thought it was a cramp, but now we are concerned he pulled something. We thought it would be best for him to give it an extra day of rest.He did go up to the gym and spend a little time in the pool this afternoon. That shouldn't stress his leg and still give him an opportunity to get some exercise today.

After skipping my morning walks for two days, I got my buns back out there.  As you know I have been struggling with mornings. Today I noticed it is getting light quite a bit later.  Maybe that is my problem.  My husband's schedule has changed so he doesn't need to go as early so my routine is off.  Maybe that is my problem.  And yes, by problem I mean excuse :)  I never regret going, but I also refuse to be militant about "I must do this, this and this."  Still searching for balance...

Walking alone reminded of when I first started walking in the morning. My husband had a work schedule that had him leaving the house at 5 a.m.  I would get up with him and then when he left, I would go walking

I did miss meeting up with him during my walk this morning. We go opposite ways on the loop so we cross paths, since we can't stay together with him running and me walking.


The weather wasn't too bad. Even though it was humid, for most of the walk there was a nice breeze and it was relatively cool. Since it had rained all night the roads were pretty wet and there were lots of puddles. Can you find me in the reflection?

I am on the fence about this bird house situation.  On one hand it is cute, but on the other hand I like to think I am practical. I doubt birds would ever use the houses because everyone's nest would be so close...I think I need to research if this is true. I suppose it is really meant as a decoration so practicality is out the window. In the meantime, I thought it was super cute with the pink flowers that are now blooming at the base.

 

Apparently I took 45 pictures of the inside of my pocket this morning.  Yep, I counted them. It seems like the inside of my pocket might be worth sharing if it was "important" enough for me to take that many pictures :)

Moments after I took this picture someone decided to drive through this particular puddle and spray water on me.  So, that was super nice. Perhaps they didn't see it or see me in my bright pink top. 

Okay, seriously these people might consider trimming the dead branches off their tree, so this doesn't keep happening every time there is a bit of wind.  Oh wait, that looks like my front yard. Guilty as charged. The tree needs a serious trimming, but I hate to spend money on it. 

Work was a beast this afternoon, so I am hopping to avoid some serious stress/comfort eating tonight. I have already measured out and eaten a serving of my Popped Corn chips.  I can completely afford them in my calorie budget, so no shame in that.

For dinner I made a favorite recipe that feels like comfort food, but is only about 400 calories for a very generous and delicious serving - Eating Well Chicken Cassoulet. Since it is has been rainy all day and it is only 70 degrees (in August!!) it definitely hit the spot. I served it with a side of spinach.  It might not photograph that well, but trust me it is delicious.

I inadvertently bought this cookbook years ago when I worked at the public library. It was brand new and I had checked it out before anyone else. Somehow while it was in my tote bag it managed to get wet.  The library offered to sell it to me for the library price...I am so glad I bought it. I saw it recently at a yard sale...I should have bought it and gave it to someone. Many of our favorite recipes have come from this book. Of course, I have since found that many of the recipes are also available online. It works out very well...two great meals and no leftovers.

We are gearing up for an extremely busy weekend. Triathlon, golf tournament, packing, and off for a few days of vacation with my niece and nephew.  Hooray for Friday!