Squashed at Whole Foods

Here is my haul from my latest trip to Whole Foods where I tried to take advantage of the seasonal produce. Here's what I got:

A couple small butternut squash - looking for good soup recipes for these.

An acorn squash - will be roasting this. I don't think I've ever had an acorn squash before.

Delicata squash - I was feeling adventurous because when I picked the yellow and green striped squash because I had no idea what it was. Thanks to the magic of Google, I now know it is a delicata and I found a recipe to try.

Pomegranate - This is my first pomegranate purchase. I think I'll try the seeds in my next salad. Not sure what else to do with them.

The Dog Ate My Dinner Diet

Naughty dog? Or genius new diet strategy? Buster stole my chicken when I wasn't looking!

Doesn't Get Any Easier Than This

This is my dinner from last night. It was delicious. Things cooked by someone else always are. I got the grilled salmon and a big container of julienned veggies (zucchini, red bell pepper, carrot) from the Whole Foods deli counter. I will definitely be going back for more of the veggies. I would never be able to make veggies like this and I need all the help I can get getting my veggies in. In the meantime, I have plenty left to pack in my lunch the next couple of days.

Weigh in: 3.1 lost, 177.3 to go

Really happy with this loss today. I am still primarily focusing on food and tracking, not so much on exercise yet. I do some walking with my dog but that's about it. I still plan to add more exercise but for now plan to continue putting my primary focus on getting my food habits in line.

So far so good. Not perfect, but getting better. Onward and downward!

Weigh in: 0 lost, 180.4 to go

No change in my weight today. Also, I only tracked my food 2 days this week instead of 4, which was my goal.

I read this post by The AntiJared yesterday. I know he didn't write it directly to me, but he could have. He said exactly what I needed to hear. Now it's up to me to do something with it.

What's Cooking? - Black Bean Pasta Cancun

I finally have my kitchen set up (for the most part) so I am ready to get back to cooking a little more than I have been. I found a great website called Eat Better America which has lots of good recipes including the Black Bean Pasta Cancun I made. People, this was DELISH! I highly recommend trying this recipe. It's pretty easy and it's vegetarian for those who don't eat meat.

The only thing I did differently than the recipe is that I used the entire can of black beans because I wanted more protein in this dish. The cilantro and lime zest really gave this a fresh flavor even though the ingredients were canned.

You can check out the recipe here. If you try it, let me know how you liked it.

Weigh in: 1.9 lost, 180.4 to go

Not much to say about this weigh in. I'm glad I'm down a bit more. I'm making progress towards consistency but am not quite where I want to be yet. I tracked my food 3 days this past week. Which is 3 more than usual, but I'd like to be tracking all 7 days. I'd like to start setting one small healthy lifestyle goal each week to help get me focused on what I need to be doing to succeed at losing this weight.

So for the upcoming week my goal will be to track my food AT LEAST 4 days, preferably all 7. But I'll give myself some slack and continue to ease my way into these changes I need to make. So if I get 4 days in, I will consider it a victory.

Not much to report otherwise. I'm still unpacking and getting the new casa squared away. Work is busy, but I've been sticking to my guns fairly well in terms of the number of hours I am willing to work. Hanging out with friends occasionally.

Thanks Bethany!

Bethany has awarded me the "Honest Scrap" award.

Thanks a million, Bethany. Part of the requirement of getting the award is to post 10 things about yourself. Here goes:

1. I've always been very independent and I like living alone.
2. I don't trust people who are too nice. It seems phony to me.
3. I curse. A lot.
4. I miss feeling athletic.
5. I crack myself up.
6. I have a crush on someone I shouldn't.
7. I feel too immature to be turning 40 in a few weeks.
8. I have a hard time envisioning my weight loss success.
9. I cry at any sad animal story I hear.
10. I love going to bed early on Friday night and sleeping in on Saturday morning.

I am supposed to pass this on. As honest bloggers go, none are more honest than Lyn. I am sure she has received this award already from others but I still wanted to mention her blog. She touches all who read her with her honesty regarding the ups and downs of her journey. I hope she never stops writing.

I Wanna Go!!!!!

Did you watch Biggest Loser tonight? Did you hear them mention the Biggest Loser Resort at Fitness Ridge? Oh my God. I so want to go. I haven't taken a vacation this year. Maybe I should!

Weigh in: 1.7 lost, 182.3 to go

Been a little MIA lately. I have finally moved into my new place and only just got my new internet service set up on Friday. So lots of catching up to do in the blogosphere!

I unpacked my scale this morning and got on it not knowing what to expect. My eating hasn't been the greatest but I've been getting LOTS of activity in with all the moving and unpacking. I was pleasantly surprised with a small loss of 1.7.

I have really been taking it easy on myself these past few weeks. I've tried my best to just do what I can and not push myself too much. I have been setting boundaries at work and while I still don't have a perfect 40 hour work week, it's much better than it was. I feel like I am starting to unwind from all those months and months of pressure and stress. And now I am starting to feel ready again to put some more pointed focus on weightloss. That means tracking my food intake. I am trying online tracking on the Weight Watchers website. I have always done my tracking in a notebook but I tend to be inconsistent or forget to bring it with me or some other variety of excuse. If I'm doing it online I'll always have access via my Blackberry so no excuses anymore.

I know I also need to get a regular exercise routine going but for now I am going to continue to cut myself some slack on that. I am still working on unpacking and get a sweat worked up lugging boxes around. For this week, that will be good enough. My main focus will be on getting the food and tracking back where it needs to be.