Bento Diet

Light Weigh Eating

2008-09-21T07:02:00.001-07:00

Great bread, eh? This is sourdough bread from San Francisco's Fisherman's Wharf that we got this summer when sightseeing. It tasted as good as it looks.

Well, I'm happy to report that I have continued in the Light Weigh eating philosophy and have been loosing weight again. After loosing it this way, then gradually gaining it back by not following the Light Weigh principles, then trying other ways like Weight Watchers and just super healthy eating, I've shown myself that this is for sure the best way to go. The thing about the Light Weigh (among other things) is that it helps you to take the focus off yourself and encourages you to fill your life with prayer and your relationship with God and helping others. As a result, not only is life more meaningful, but many of the underlying reasons for overeating are gone. That's huge.

I am committed to eating this way for the rest of my life. I've shown myself that I need to persevere and not slack off on it. It's something I will need to always be vigilant about. Our Light Weigh group feels the same way, which is great. We are in it for the long haul. I've been telling them to be sure to stick with it and see it as long term so that I can help them not fall away like I did. One in the group is going full speed ahead and really loosing a lot (everything has clicked into place for her), the rest of us are struggling but having success.

So right now my weight is 155 lbs. That means I've lost around 10 lbs. since I've been back in the Light Weigh.

Plus, I've been exercising for abut 1 1/2 years now and that's made a big difference in my energy level and overall health, that's for sure.

Slow and steady progress and commitment to persevere...

I've even been using my bentos a bit lately for lunch. I'll try to post some pics soon!

Back in the "Light Weigh" Saddle

2008-06-04T07:06:00.000-07:00

Today I'm starting back on the "Light Weigh" discipline of eating. I decided to stop weightwatchers. A friend asked if I wanted to start the Light Weigh again and so we've gotten a group together and we met last night. It's exciting! After 6 years I'm back at it with the encouragement and support of a group. We had a blast last night at the orientation.

This time I am exercising as well, so it will be interesting to see how that makes a difference. Last time I did Light Weigh I didn't exercise and I still lost over 40 lbs. Most of that weight creeped back on slowly and now I want to go back to that way of living and work harder on maintenance once I reach my goal.

I gained back a few lbs that I'd lost on weightwatchers. The very interesting things that I see as I read past posts is that I am right back where I was when I was posting...at 163/164 lbs. My scale is not very good and changes when I step off and then step right back on, so it's hard to say. I guess I'll have to go with 164 lbs. as my "official" start weight of this new phase. My birthday is next month, so this is a good time for a fresh start, it seems to me.

I think I am only going to check-in on Monday weigh in days, so that I don't get burned out of posting. That is my goal for now.

Speaking of goals, have you seen "Joe's Goal's"? It's a free website that helps you keep track of your goals and has reports with graphs and everything! Check out it out: http://www.joesgoals.com/

Here we go!

stay tuned...

2008-03-29T20:59:00.000-07:00

Hello to you if you are reading this!

I have been doing weight watchers online and have lost 10 lbs in three weeks. That's pretty good. A few people where I work were doing it and having success, so I thought I'd give it a try. I've been so busy with things that I haven't been posting, but I'm going to make some Weight Watchers Bentos later in the spring when I have more time. :)

Stay tuned! (BTW, that isn't me in the picture, I just found that online.)

1-23-08 Food Log

2008-01-24T06:13:00.000-08:00

6:45 am: 1 banana w almond butter, 1bowl oatmeal square cereal a skim milk and herb tea

10:30 am: tuna pita in a bento (see photo below)

3:30 pm: apple and peanut butter snack bento plus a bowl of oatmeal squares with 1 percent milk (see photo below)

7 pm: Cashew chicken bento with an orange for dessert and herb tea (see photo below)

Water: about 44 oz today
Exercise: none today

pita/apple snack/cashew chicken bentos

2008-01-24T05:51:00.000-08:00

This is what I had for early lunch today. It's a whole wheat pita with tuna salad (tuna mixed with Annie's Naturals Cowgirl Ranch Dressing) with alfalfa sprouts and cut up tomatoes. It is not really a "bento" but I put it in a bento. smile.

Snack Bento: cut up apple with natural chunky peanut butter for dipping.

Brown rice heated up from dinner last night plus cashew chicken from the local chinese restaurant. I thought I'd make it cute by using the cashews and veggies to make a little face in the rice. I had an orange for dessert.

tuna bento lunch/chicken-brown rice bento dinner

2008-01-22T22:26:00.000-08:00

This is what I had for lunch today. Tuna packed in water (drained) with Annie's Naturals "Cowgirl Ranch Dressing" to spread with my nifty bamboo spreader on Ak Mak whole wheat and sesame crachers and sliced radishes.

My dinner bento: Long grain brown rice cooked with Wolfgang Puck chicken stock topped with chicken breast tenders cooked on the Foreman grill with a small salad of alfalfa sprout with Annie's Naturals Tuscan dressing and carrots. I dipped the carrots in Annie's Cowgirl Ranch dressing.

I've been eating more than I should lately, so I was tempted to grab something else with dinner, but I was a good girl and only had herb tea.

I'm getting a sore throat. Hope it isn't strep. (But it easily could be because of my sons has strep right now.)

1-22-08 Food Log

2008-01-22T22:22:00.000-08:00

6 am: bowl of oatmeal squares and skim milk, moroccan green tea

10:15: am tuna bento (tuna salad, ak mak crackers, sliced radishes), berry herb tea

1:10: lg passion fruit milk tea tapioca drink from "Quickly"

5:30 pm: 1 banana

7 pm: brown rice and chicken bento (see photo), 2 cups herb tea

exercise: none today
water: not much, really

Busy me! and a recipe...

2008-01-19T10:26:00.000-08:00

I have been busy lately with my job and also still have this cold, so I haven't been posting. I think I will start posting some of what I'm eating without worrying about including every little thing and exact times, etc. This will make it more easy for me to keep going with this blog for now. I've been eating well and have continued on the Eating Clean diet. Here is a recipe for "Breakfast in a Blender" that I've found very helpful on busy mornings (and tasty!):

From The Eat-Clean Diet Cookbook by Tosca Reno:

1 scoop protien powder ( I use vanilla flavored whey protein powder from Whole Foods -- it is sweetened with Stevia)
1/3 c dry oatmeal
2/3 c skim milk (options are: water, soy milk, almond, or rice milk)
1 Tbsp natural almond butter (or other natural nut butter)
1 frozen banana (or fresh)
2 Tbsp unsweetened applesauce (I substitute or add various kinds of frozen fruit)
1 Tbsp flax seed
1 Tbsp wheat germ
1/2 c ice cubes

I blend this all in my "magic bullet"...very yummy and filling!

(275 calories)

1-2-08: veggie omlet/fruit and cheese bentos

2008-01-04T08:42:00.000-08:00

Veggies on the chopping board, waiting to become an omlet.

6:50 am: 1 c steel cut oatmeal topped with 1 Tbsp wheat germ, 1 Tbsp bee pollen, 3 Tbsp apple sauce, 7 fresh raspberries and 1/2 ruby red grapefruit, and tulsi tea (passion fruit flavor)

10:15: veggie omlet made with variety of veggies shown above with 4 egg whites and 1 whole egg (I ate 1/2 of the omlet)

12:30 pm: red and green seedless grapes and gala apple with wedge of low fat laughing cow cheese in white bento and some of the leftover teryaki chicken strips from Whole Foods with a brown rice onigiri that I made from the rice I made for dinner the other night (the left over rice was still warm and sticky in the rice cooker, so I made some onigiri and saved them in the fridge) grilled for a couple minutes in soy sauce.

3:30 pm: 4 ak mak crackers spread with almond butter plus 1/2 banana, and tulsi tea

5 pm: "cutie" (mandarin orange)

6:30 pm: the other 1/2 of the omlet from this morning plus 2 more of the brown rice onigiri which I ate cold right out of the fridge

10 pm: whole grain chips and organic salsa (filled the white bento 1 & 1/2 times with chips)

I stayed home sick today coughing and coughing and eating felt good on my throat. I probably shouldn't have eaten the 10 pm snack, but the rest of the day seemed like I ate okay (except maybe not 2 onigiri at 6:30)

supplements: same as yesterday

water: far exceeded my 64 oz goal

exercise: none at all

1-2-07 egg white and veggie omlet/chicken and rice bentos

2008-01-02T20:28:00.000-08:00

I was too tired to post last night. I have a fairly bad cold right now.

5:30 am: 1 tiny 1/5 oz. bag of raw nuts/raisins (cashews, hazelnuts, almonds, walnuts)
5 sections of ak mak 100% whole wheat crackers with hummus dip (from Trader Joe's)
herb tera (no picture of this meal)

9 am: Three egg whites scrambled with chopped celery, fresh green beans, onion, carrots, snap peas, turkey slices (from Trader Joe's). This was soooo good. I ate it with chopsticks.

Then I got busy and didn't eat till after I went to the grocery store...
5 pm... some of a chicken rice bowl from Whole Foods (brown rice, teriyaki chicken, shredded carrots and cabbage, and teriyaki sauce). I shouldn't have waited so long to eat.

7:30 pm: Salad with romaine and radishes (red, pink, purple, and white) with Annie's Natural oil and vinegar salad dressing and short grain brown rice (made with Wolfgang puck chicken stock) and chicken breast (cooked with Foreman grill). This was a very yummy dinner. The chicken stock makes the rice so flavorful but it does have some chicken fat in the stock which I shouldn't have.

supplements: Multi-vitamin (from Trader Joe's), 800 mg CLA (Conjugated Linoleic Acid) which is a good fat that is supposed to help with weight loss, 500 mg Maca for more nutrition and energy, and 50 mg Coenzyme Q10 which is an anti-oxidant which stimulates the immune system and give energy, and tulsi tea which is good for stress.

water: pretty close to my 64 oz goal

exercise: none to speak of as I am sick and coughing today.

New Year's Resolutions

2007-12-31T20:00:00.000-08:00

Well, I'm back! It's almost 2008 and I'm ready to start again with my bento diet! I've been reading a couple books and have some new goals for the new year:

1. Eat as healthy as possible: cut out white flour, white sugar and processed foods as much as possible.

2. Eat fruits and/or veggies, whole grains, and a lean protien with every meal.

3. Eat about 6 small meals/day (with the last meal being smaller)

4. Drink 64 oz. water/day--starting early in the morning--and also drink herb tea (cut out any sweetner/milk in my tea)

5. Allow myself a "cheat treat" occasionally but only a little and then I'll get right back on the wagon.

6. Continue my bento box portions (or less at some meals).

7. Continue my exercise program.

8. Take a multi-vitamin daily.

The books I've read:

YOU on a Diet by Drs. Roisen and Oz (This book has some helpful info, but I really was turned off by the writing style. Tries too hard to be cute and funny. It was sooo overboard on the wise cracks that it was hard to sift through to the helpful info. What I got out of this book is that I need to loose at least 1 1/2 inches from my waist ASAP but more will be better. Alright, so I already totally wanted to do that, but this book helped me to see the urgency of it. Also, I learned that stress can cause weight gain in the waist.)

The Eat-Clean Diet by Tosca Reno (This is a very pretty, colorful book with shiny pages. I'm a sucker for shiny pages. LOL. But seriously, this book has given me some good ideas to try in the area of eating healthy foods and in eating complex carbs, like fresh fruit and veggies and whole grains, with a lean protien in every meal. I'm going to give this a try. It's supposed to keep the blood sugar level even and I can really tell that my blood sugar has been going up and down a lot lately. I'm excited to try this as this is really the way I've always enjoyed eating anyway.)

Other goals of mine include:

1. to plant some tomatoes this year and hopefully some basil, too.

2. to spend more time cooking.

3. to work on a few dishes that are very good (and that the family will eat) that I will be able to make easily by memory.

4. to make some things that are more time consuming (like there is a recipe for "yogurt cheese" in The Eat Clean Diet Cookbook by Tosca Reno that looks interesting). Once upon a time I actually made my own soy milk and my own alfalfa sprouts.

2007-12-22T08:12:00.000-08:00

Just checking in to say that I haven't dropped off the face of the earth. But I haven't made time for Bento making lately. I've been eating as healthy as possible and have continued my exercise program. I have gained a few pounds since my last post due to stress eating, but in the last week or so I have been reading more on nutrition, which always motivates me to make better choices, so I'm "back on the wagon" of eating healthy now. I think that having the mindset of forgiving yourself when you make wrong choices and picking back up and moving forward doing better is the way to go.

I'm also thinking that maybe some of the extra lbs. are from MUSCLES. Do you think? Hey, it could happen. I am much stronger than I was when I started exercising months ago and I have been regular with that, so it's quite possible there is some muscle under the layer of fat. :) I have big plans for 2008 so stay tuned...

Thanksgiving check-in

2007-11-22T11:15:00.000-08:00

Well, it's been awhile since I've posted so I thought I'd say "Hi." I weighted myself recently and I'm still at 165 lbs. so that's good, anyway. I haven't put much time into bento lately because I've let other things take over, but I really want to get back into it, so I will posting again soon.

Happy Thanksgiving!

165 lbs. Monday Weigh-In

2007-09-24T21:24:00.000-07:00

Well, it's been a tough week. I got thrown off my diet on Thurs and went downhill from there. Not bad but enough to gain two lbs! Plus, I probably have bloating right now since it's that time of month. This is the first time my routine has gotten off track. So...it's back to the drawing board of writing down what I eat, but I just don't have time..so I will do my best.

Today's weight: 165 lbs.
Last week: 163 lbs.
start weight: 177 lbs.

Total weight loss to date: 10 lbs.

exercise today: step aerobics and free weights plus abs.

163 lbs.-Monday Weigh-In 9-17-07

2007-09-17T07:45:00.000-07:00

Weight today: 163 lbs. (my goal weight for the week! Yay!)
Weight last Monday: 165 lbs.
Starting weight: 177 lbs.

Total weight loss so far: 14 lbs. :)

I've been so busy lately that I haven't had time to blog. I need to figure out a new "busy schedule plan" for posting. At least I am still doing well and lost the 2 lbs. that I wanted to loose this week. :)

More bentos

2007-09-17T07:33:00.000-07:00

potstickers and carrots with Ranch for dipping in my new bento.

Trader Joe's trail mix, teriyaki steak, yogurt with fresh raspberries, heart shaped sandwich with Laughing Cow cheese, and grape tomatoes.
This was the above bento before I realized I couldn't find the top. :) So, I put it in another bento and added some stuff.
sweet potato from Fresh Choice with brown sugar butter and teriyaki steak, and some melon.

Recent bentos

2007-09-13T07:01:00.000-07:00

Monday Photo Food Log 9-10-07

2007-09-10T22:34:00.000-07:00

Bento Lunch...veggie sushi from Trader Joe's. I LOVED this! salad, and Japanese flan. Dinner Bento: lemongrass chicken and grape tomatoes and mashed potatoes. I only ate a couple bites of the potatoes and all but four of the tomatoes. I got a little container of apricot/applesauce instead.

5:30 am...small bowl of Kashi Nuggets cereal and 1% milk

12:30 pm...veggie sushi bento (photo above)

3:30 pm...the last two veggie sushi

8 pm...lemongrass chicken stix bento dinner (photo above)

water: okay amount
exercise: step aerobics and free weights plus abs

Note: I've decided to do just one post/day since my schedule is getting busier now.

165 lbs.-Monday Weigh-In 9-10-07

2007-09-10T06:47:00.000-07:00

I decided to take a break from blogging this past weekend but I did pretty good. And it shows today! I made my goal weight of 165 lbs! (I even checked the scale twice.) :)

Today's weight: 165 lbs.

Starting weight: 177 lbs.

Total weight loss so far: 12 lbs!

Thursday Food Log 9-6-07

2007-09-06T20:36:00.000-07:00

6 am...bowl of Joe's Os cereal with 1% milk

9 am...cheese and crackers (just about two)

10:30 am...4 strawberries

12:30 pm...cabbage and chicken salad with almonds, shrimp fried rice, 2 potstickers and green tea (no photo)

7:30 pm...3 cheese and crackers

8 pm...rice and pasta bento dinner (photo)

water: some
Exercise: none

Onigiri and pasta bento dinner 9-6-07

2007-09-06T20:28:00.000-07:00

The last of the little brown rice onigiris freshly grilled with olive oil and soy sauce and sprinkled with sesame seeds. One of my sons took the star and I ate the heart. Also some pasta from Whole Foods deli and some heirloom tomato salad (feta, red onion, yellow and red heirloom tomatoes). I also ate two small peanut rice balls for dessert.

Wednesday food long 9-5-07

2007-09-06T07:39:00.001-07:00

6:30 am...piece of toast with peanut butter

12 pm...brown rice onigiri bento lunch (photo)

4:30 pm...4 bread sticks with peanut butter/chocolate mix

9 pm...mango juice

water: good amount
exercise: in the morning, 1 hr low impact with free weights and in the evening one hour of step aerobics with free weights

Brown Rice Onigiri Bento Lunch 9-5-07

2007-09-06T07:34:00.000-07:00

This was a very tasty lunch! Brown rice onigiri pan grilled with soy sauce and olive oil and sprinkled with sesame seeds; mixed greens with candied pecans, bleu cheese, cranberry; apricot/applesauce; containers of balsamic dressing for salad (white bottle) and soy sauce for onigiri (tomato shaped bottle).

Tuesday Food Log 9-4-07

2007-09-06T07:22:00.001-07:00

6:30 am...slice of oat bread toasted with peanut butter

12 pm...salad and sandwich bento lunch (photo)

3:30 pm...pina colada frozen fruit bar

8 pm...Chicken, Brown Rice, and Veggies Bento Dinner (photo)

water: moderate amount
exercise: half hour of X-Bike workout; weight machines and streching/abs

Chicken, Brown Rice, and Veggies Bento Dinner 9-4-07

2007-09-06T07:15:00.000-07:00

Chicken, Brown Rice, Mixed Veggies on left, a few fresh veggies and some concord grapes on the right. I only ate about four of the grapes as they were very sour. I left about 1/4 of the rice dish, too.

Salad and Sandwich Bento Lunch 9-4-07

2007-09-04T17:26:00.000-07:00

I ate a bit more than I should have today for lunch. Bread sticks in the lid, mixed greens with candied pecans, blue cheese, cranberries and balsamic dressing. A little sandwich of chicken salad and oat bran bread that I cut to the perfect size with a little tupperware-like container I have plus a few grape tomatoes and a couple sugar snap peas.

Monday Food Log 9-3-07

2007-09-03T20:32:00.000-07:00

7 am...bowl of Joe's Os and 1% milk

8 am...2 matcha green tea mini-muffins (made from mix-didn't taste that great)

11:45 am...quick lunch of 2 whole wheat mini-pitas filled with chicken salad from Whole foods and 1/2 oatmeal/choc chip cookie

3:45 pm...1 carribean mix frozen fruit bar, 2 thin bread sticks dipped in chocolate sauce

7:30 pm...bow tie pasta and chicken bento dinner (ate only about 3/4 of the pasta dish and didn't eat the mini-muffin) and also ate a piece of cake (homemade white Texas sheet cake that didn't turn out all that great, but tasted good)

some water but not a lot
exercise: some walking at UC Berkeley but not as much as on Sunday

Bow Tie Pasta and Chicken Bento Dinner 9-3-07

2007-09-03T20:28:00.000-07:00

Matcha Green tea mini-muffin that I made this morning (I thought I might eat this one, but I didn't), fresh veggies that I dipped in Ranch dressing; bow tie pasta with diced chicken (Schwan's) and garlic, can of fire-roasted diced tomatoes with med green chilies and a can of black beans, water, thyme, salt and pepper, and shredded parmesan cheese.

167 lbs. Monday Weigh-In 9-3-07

2007-09-03T10:28:00.000-07:00

Weight today: 167 lbs.
Weight last week: 167 lbs.
Starting Weight: 177 lbs.

Weight loss to date: 10 lbs.

Same as last week. I had a couple days this week where I ate too much and also exercised less this week due to special meetings. So, I maintained. Better than gaining. :) I'm hoping for 165 lbs for next Monday.

Sunday Food Log 9-2-07

2007-09-03T10:23:00.000-07:00

6:30 am...bowl of Joe's Os and 1% milk with 1/2 banana

10:30 am...brunch in UC Berkeley dorm cafeteria (no pic): scrambled eggs, 2 pieces bacon, slice of ham, a few criss cut potatoes, 1/2 belgin waffle with mango yogurt and fresh blueberries; glass orange juice

2 pm...red cherry slushy (made in Magic Bullet)

6:30 pm...1 red plum, 2 pieces BBQ Chicken pizza at Whole Foods, 1 homemade oatmeal chocolate chip cookie (no pic)

water: drank moderate amount
exercise: walked around UC Berkeley campus quite a bit

Saturday Food Log 9-1-07

2007-09-02T07:07:00.000-07:00

6:30 am...Joe's Os cereal with 1% milk and 1/2 banana

11:15 am...Passion Fruit Milk Tea Tapioca Drink from "Quickly" in San Francisco

2 pm...Hawaiian Drumette bento lunch (photo)

4:30 pm...homemade cherry slushy (made with new "magic bullet")

7 pm...pumpkin risotto bento dinner (photo)

water: some, not much
exercise: just a bit of walking and jogging when watching a race in Golden Gate Park this am

Pumpkin Risotto Cake bento dinner 9-1-07

2007-09-02T07:03:00.000-07:00

white peach, raspberries, concord grapes on the left, top half of pumpkin risotto cake (arborio rice, veggie stock, pumpkin, onion, chanterelles, romano cheese, carrots, olive oil, and spices), and stir-fried veggies. (all from whole foods)

Hawaiian drumette and veggies bento lunch 9-1-07

2007-09-02T06:59:00.000-07:00

Went to Whole Foods today! Left section has at the top "broccoli crunch" salad with red onions, cashews, and bacon. At the bottom of that section is stir-fried veggies; then we have the hawaiian drumettes in the right section.

Friday Food Log 8/3107

2007-09-01T06:21:00.001-07:00

6:00 am...Joe's Os cereal and 1/2 banana sliced in with 1% milk

10:15 am...a couple orange slices as I packed my bento lunch

12:20 pm...Purple Bear Bento Lunch (see photo)

3:30 pm...one red plum and a strawberry frozen fruit bar

7:30 pm...dinner at Chevy's Restaurant. I ate too much...lots of chips and salsa before dinner came and then ate 1/2 of my chicken and shrimp fajitas. Brought the rest home for lunches.

drank plenty of water today
exercise: 1 hr of high impact aerobics and free weights

Purple Bear, Purple Bear, What do you see? Bento Lunch 8/31/07

2007-09-01T06:16:00.000-07:00

I was in the mood for fresh veggies and fruit today! Carrots, broccoli, sugar snap peas with a container of ranch dressing for dipping, then orange slices and strawberry hearts and a hard boiled egg shaped like a bear and painted purple with food coloring, plus a little container of salt and pepper to eat him with! :) I also ate the almondina cookies that were still in my lunch bag from yesterday. Yum!

Thursday Food Log 8-30-07

2007-08-30T21:52:00.000-07:00

6:30 am...whole grain bread toasted with peanut butter

12:40 pm...rice and lentil and bunny egg bento dinner (see photo)

4:00 pm...small piece of peanut butter rice krispy treat

5 pm...pina colada frozen fruit bar

8:15 pm...pork sandwich bento dinner (see photo)

9:30 pm..."Naked" brand 15.2 fl oz antioxidant juice (Pomagranates, blueberries, apple, white and red grapes)

water: okay amount
exercise: 90 min...1/2 hr of x-bike and the rest stretching and weight machines

BBQ Pork Sandwich bento dinner 8-30-07

2007-08-30T21:49:00.000-07:00

This was a quick dinner after Back to School Night... Schwan's french bread with Schwan's BBQ shredded pork inside (heat and eat) plus brussel sprouts leftover from last night. There were two more (that I ate already while making this).

lentils and rice and bunny egg bento lunch 8-30-07

2007-08-30T14:10:00.000-07:00

Brown rice; whole lentils (from dinner the other night), container of salt and pepper for the egg; grapes; bit of red leaf lettuce; and a little hard boiled egg bunny with food coloring on the details. :) I also had a couple almondina cookies that I put in a little container, but I forgot to eat those at lunch.

Wednesday Food Log 8-29-07

2007-08-29T20:18:00.000-07:00

6:30 am...bowl of Joe's Os with 1% milk

10 am...wedge of light laughing cow cheese and small piece of peanut butter rice krispy treat

12:15 pm...chicken salad and shu-mei bento lunch (photo)

3:30 pm...pina colada frozen fruit bar

7 pm...raspberry herb iced tea

8 pm...ravolini and greens bento dinner (photo)

drank moderate amount of water
no exercise to speak of today

raviolini and greens bento dinner 8-29-07

2007-08-29T20:14:00.000-07:00

small continer of raviolini (tiny little cheese filled raviolis) with jar sauce and shredded parmesan cheese, brussel sprouts with some of the parm cheese, red leaf lettuce with alfalfa sprouts (later topped with Newman's Own Balsamic dressing; celery with light laughing cow cheese.

Chicken Salad and shu-mei bento lunch 8-29-07

2007-08-29T20:08:00.000-07:00

Left tier: salad dressing and soy sauce bottles; 2 shu-mei; peanut butter rice krispy treat; red leaf lettuce, alfalfa sprouts, and cut up chicken from last night's dinner.

Indian Lentil and Rice Dinner 8-28-07

2007-08-29T08:18:00.000-07:00

This was a quick heat and eat whole lentil packet that I got at Trader Joe's. It was good, but a bit on the spicy side for me. I put it over some brown rice that I had left over in the fridge (heated it up in microwave); a red leaf lettuce salad with sprouts and carrots, a little shu-mei and a rice krispy treat that I made with some natural peanut butter added to the recipe. I was full after eating everything but the salad so I left the salad for later. :)

Tuesday Food Log 8-28-07

2007-08-29T08:15:00.000-07:00

6 am...whole wheat toast with natural peanut butter

11 am...2 small squares of cheddar cheese and one cracker

1:45 pm...ham sammie bento lunch (photo)

4 pm...mango frozen fruit bar

7 pm...Indian Lentils and Rice bento dinner (photo) ... didn't eat the salad but saved it for later

some water, not a lot
no exercise today (big meeting)

Ham Sammie bento lunch 7-28-07

2007-08-28T17:39:00.000-07:00

This is a cute little sandwich made with Orowheat 100% whole wheat "light" bread. It's smaller than regular loaves of bread and fits perfectly into a bento without having to trim the crust! The sandwich has two slices of ham and two of jack cheese and some leaf lettuce and mustard. Plus some carrots and a little container of organic ranch for dipping.

Monday Food Log 8-21-07

2007-08-28T17:35:00.000-07:00

6:20 am...bowl of cheerios with 1% milk and green tea with honey

12:15 pm...Chinese Take-Out Bento Lunch (photo)

3:3o pm..."Rock Star" drink (mango, passion fruit flavor)

6:30 pm...potsticker bento dinner (photo) and decaf tea

9 pm...more decaf tea

Potsticker Bento Dinner 8-21-07

2007-08-28T17:32:00.000-07:00

2 potstickers, leftover ceasar salad, tomato basil baked cracker chips (I usually don't eat things like that, but wanted to try these...okay, but not that great). I put some sauce on the potstickers after this photo.

Chinese Take-Out Bento Lunch 8-27-07

2007-08-28T17:27:00.000-07:00

chicken fried rice; 2 potstickers and a little carrot shaped bottle of sauce for them; tiny asian custard dessert; alfalfa sprout and baby carrot salad with Newman's Own balsamic dressing.

167 lbs-Monday Weigh-In 8-27-07

2007-08-27T07:09:00.000-07:00

Weight today: 167
Starting Weight: 177
Total weight loss to date: 10 lbs!!!

(This past week I lost 3 lbs. I think I lost some bloating that I've had lately.)
I've noticed that some of my jeans are getting droopy on me. That is a good feeling. I'm looking forward to wearing the next size down now. :)

Sunday food log 8-26-07

2007-08-27T07:03:00.000-07:00

6:30...bowl of Joe's Os with 1% milk

10:30 am...green tea with honey

12 pm...ham and naan sammie bento lunch (photo)

3 pm...the other 1/2 of the banana I ate at lunch

5 pm...3 homemade (by daughter) oatmeal/chocolate chip cookies and glass of milk

7:30 pm...chinese take-out bento dinner (photo)

not much water today at all
no exercise (very tired from staying up late last night)

Chinese take-out bento dinner 8-26-07

2007-08-27T06:59:00.000-07:00

chicken fried rice, potsticker, crab rangoon, and chicken chow mein for dinner tonight.

167 lbs-Monday Weigh-In 9-27-07

2007-08-27T06:28:00.000-07:00

Weight today: 167

Starting Weight: 177

Total weight loss to date: 10 lbs!!!

(This past week I lost 3 lbs. I think I lost some bloating that I've had lately.)

I've noticed that some of my jeans are getting droopy on me. That is a good feeling. I'm looking forward to wearing the next size down now. :)

Ham on Naan Sammie Bento Lunch 8-26-07

2007-08-26T14:32:00.000-07:00

Sandwich: Naan, romaine lettuce, mustard, ham; 3 baby carrots, a tiny custard from the Asian store (like flan) and a combo of fresh organic strawberries and bananas...the strawberries were full of flavor (from Trader Joe's)

Saturday Food Log 8-25-07

2007-08-26T14:21:00.000-07:00

6:30 am...bowl of Joe's Os and 1% milk, green tea with honey

9:30 am...small chai latte at Starbucks and 1/2 blueberry scone

12:00 pm...2 large "lumberjack pancakes" at Stacks (whole wheat, wheat germ, banana, blueberry, and walnut with margarine and blueberry compote spread on some and maple syrup on some) but didn't finish it all (ate about 3/4)

7 pm...spaghetti and 3 meatballs; salad; 2 sm pieces garlic bread; lemonade/tea drink

8 pm..1 chocolate mochi from Trader Joe's

Friday Food Log 7-24-07

2007-08-24T22:24:00.000-07:00

5:30 am...tiny ham and mixed veggie frittata (I made two the other day and microwaved one this morning. You can see the other one in the photo of my bento lunch) and some decaf tea with Splenda and 1% milk

7 am...a very small bowl of Joe's Os and 1% milk

12:45 pm...heart brown rice onigiri bento lunch (see photo)

5 pm...small size passion fruit milk tea tapioca drink. (First I got one at a little asian place that had a very unpleasant girl working at the register and it tasted terrible. The tapioca pearls tasted old. They were all hard in the middle) so..then I went to Quickly and got my fav one)

7:30 pm...pot luck dinner at a social gathering. I was very good about how much I took on my plate.

drank some water today--okay amount
exercise: This morning I did a killer 1 hr workout called "bootcamp" with things like jumping jacks and lunges galore and free weights and lots of ab work...I'm sore!...then at 6:30 I took a salsa class and worked up a sweat.

heart brown rice onigiri bento lunch 8-24-07

2007-08-24T22:19:00.000-07:00

Romaine lettuce and carrot salad with sesame dressing; heart shaped brown rice onigiri with a little bottle of soy sauce; a little ham and mixed veggie frittata and some grapes. This was a good lunch today!

Thursday Food Log, 8-23-07

2007-08-24T07:28:00.000-07:00

6:30 am...bowl of Joe's Os with 1% milk and green tea with honey

10:30 am...more green tea with honey

2 pm...chicken salad bento lunch (photo)...busy day!

6:30 pm...whole wheat spaetzle and turkey sausage bento dinner (photo) and orange herb tea

drank some water but not a lot
exercise: 90 min workout...30 min x-bike, weight machines, abs

Whole Wheat Spaetzle and Turkey Sausage Bento Dinner 8-23-07

2007-08-24T07:25:00.000-07:00

Homemade noodles (made with freshly ground flour from Mollie Stone's), turkey kielbasa with American cheese faces, pluot, little salad of alfalfa sprouts. I put Newman's Own balsamic dressing on the salad before eating.

Chicken Salad Bento Lunch 8-23-07

2007-08-24T07:23:00.000-07:00

mixed greens, red cabbage, chicken, water chestnuts with container of crunchy flat noodles and a few cashews for topping. Container of sesame dressing; champagne grapes, pluot

Wednesday Food Log 8-22-07

2007-08-22T21:53:00.000-07:00

7 am...bowl of Joe's Os cereal with 1% milk, green tea with honey

12:15 pm...rolled sandwich bento lunch (photo)

5 pm...large size Passion Fruit Milk Tea tapioca drink and 1/2 breadstick with chocolate dip candy

9:45... decaf tea with milk and Splenda

When I got home and made dinner still wasn't hungry, so I didn't eat dinner tonight.

Exercise 45 min of low impact aerobics and pilates

rolled sandwich bento lunch 8-22-07

2007-08-22T21:46:00.000-07:00

Top Tier: mixed green salad with some chopped chicken, almonds, gorgonzola, snow peas and slices of heart shaped egg. Bottom Tier: 2 kinds of rolled sandwiches: whole wheat tortilla spread with lowfat laughing cow cheese and sprouts and egg salad (made with ranch and mashed up hard boiled eggs) and sprouts. Little bottle of sesame dressing.

Tuesday Food Log 8-21-07

2007-08-22T08:30:00.000-07:00

7:20 am...bowl of Joe's Os cereal with 1% milk

12:15 pm...starry, starry bento lunch (see photo)

5 pm...16 oz "orange a-peel" Jamba Juice smoothie

7:30 pm...meatball bento dinner (photo)

9 pm...tiny sesame rice ball snack at my son's dorm

no exercise today except for regular walking to do errands

meatball bento dinner 8=21-07

2007-08-22T08:27:00.000-07:00

For dinner I made meatball sandwiches and my boys gobbled them down big time. We only had a small group of us home for dinner. I didn't eat the french bread, but just ate four of the meatballs with marinara sauce, a small salad of alfalfa sprouts and balsamic dressing, and last night's leftover brown rice and chicken and veggies. I was quite full after eating this.

Starry, Starry Bento Lunch 8-21-07

2007-08-22T08:17:00.000-07:00

I had fun with this lunch. The top tier has a salad of mixed greens, gorgonzola, slivered almonds, and egg slices on top. (I shaped an egg into a star with a mold, then I sliced it with my handy, dandy egg slicer, then I punched out little dots for eyes from nori. The nori eggs stuck very well to the egg yolks.) The bottom tier is apples cut into star shapes and then there is a bed of alfalfa sprouts with baked brown rice balls on top. Not shown is a little container of red wine vinaigrette and one of catsup for dipping the rice balls. Yummers!

Monday Food Log, 8-20-07

2007-08-20T20:45:00.000-07:00

7 am...bowl of cheerios with 1% milk and a strawberry

1:30 pm...Gorgonzola and Pear Salad Bento lunch (see photo) and green tea with honey

6 pm...one fugi apple cut into wedges and spread with natural chunky peanut butter

8 pm...Green Bean Flower Chicken Rice Bento dinner (see photo)

drank some water
exercise: 1 hr. step aerobics and free weights

bean flower chicken rice bento dinner 8-20-07

2007-08-20T20:41:00.000-07:00

a small salad of alfalfa sprouts and Newman's Own Balsamic dressing, fugi apple chunks with little monkey pic, chicken rice that I made tonight (brown rice, chicken chunks (Schwan's frozen), mixed veggies from frozen, fresh green beans, soy sauce and sesame seeds). I arranged the beans to look like a flower and put some corn kernels for the center.

Gorgonzola and Pear Salad Bento lunch 8-20-07

2007-08-20T20:33:00.000-07:00

I went to Trader Joe's last night to stock up on some food. We didn't have much since we just got back from vacatin. In the top tier is the Gorgonzola and pear salad with baby greens, dried cherries, and red wine vinaigrette. I added some alfalfa sprouts, too, because I've been wanting to eat sprouts lately. The bottom tier has green grapes under the strawberries and blueberries. There is some whole wheat tandoori naan with a little container of hummus to spread on the bread. This was a very tasty and satisfying lunch.

170 lbs-Monday Weigh-In 8-20-07 and Check-In

2007-08-20T20:28:00.000-07:00

I'm back from vacation! It was a very relaxing and fun time at the beach with the family. I weighed this morning and the scale said I gained one pound on the vacation. This is fine with me because I didn't really do that well on some of the days. It was difficult to stick with my plan of eating only when my stomach growls and then eating only a mug size portion. So, only 1 lb works for me! :)

I started to keep track written food log, but after about a day and a half I decided to just stop and not worry about it for the week.

Today I was back at exercise class. I did 1 hr. of step aerobics and weights and started right back into my bento diet plan. It's been a nice day.

weight: 170 lbs.

Gone to the Beach...

2007-08-10T20:37:00.000-07:00

I'll be away till August 20.... Be good!

Friday Food Log 8-10-07

2007-08-10T20:28:00.000-07:00

6:30 am... scrambled eggs and ham with a bit of green bell pepper (from Whole Foods deli) and a few potatoes (too spicy) and green tea with honey

10:30 am...a couple bites of chicken salad as I was making my bento lunch (the leftover that didn't fit into the bento box)

12:40 pm...Strawberry Hearts Salad and Eggplant Rolantini Bento Lunch (photo)

4 pm...small size passion fruit milk tea tapioca drink

6:30 pm...small square of daughter's Godiva almond chocolate bar

7:45 pm...spaghetti and pita bento dinner (photo)

8:30 pm...decaf tea with 1% milk and Splenda

water: drank an okay amount
exercise: 1 hr tough workout of aerobics and free weights

Spaghetti and pita Bento Dinner 8-10-07

2007-08-10T20:21:00.000-07:00

This spaghetti tasted so good after all the brown rice pasta I've been making lately. It was just the right "al-dente" texture! The sauce is made with the mini-meatloaves I made for dinner the other night. I cut them up and sauted them in a bit of olive oil and then added some organic marinara sauce from Whole Foods and some sun-dried tomato pesto topped with Pecorino Romano cheese. The top tier has some baby string beans from Trader Joe's and a small pita from Whole Foods that has been cut into quarters and toasted. I spread some hummus on a couple of the pita wedges and ate the others plain. I tried to drink a bit of grapefruit juice with this dinner but it made my stomach hurt (not a good combo with this dinner) so I ended up only drinking about 1/4 c at most.

Heart Strawberries Salad and Eggplant Rolantini Bento Lunch 8-10-07

2007-08-10T20:13:00.000-07:00

This was a very yummy lunch with new tastes. :) In the top tier: eggplant rolantini (eggplant stuffed with a ricotta cheese mixture (not shown is a little container of marinara sauce for dipping) and the last of the chicken salad from yesterday (chicken, grapes, celery, and pecans). In the bottom tier: spinach with goat cheese and almonds topped with strawberries cut into little hearts (they kind of looked like hearts already and I just rounded the tops a bit more)--not shown is the little bottle of citrus dressing. (After I finished the chicken salad I heated up the eggplant rolantini in the microwave and then dipped it in the marinara sause--yum-o!)

Thursday Food Log 8-9-07

2007-08-10T06:59:00.000-07:00

6:30 am...pancake sandwich breakfast (photo) and green tea with honey

10:30 am...4 sweet cherries

12:00 pm...chicken salad bento lunch (photo)

3 pm...1/2 fresh peach, 1/2 pina colada frozen fruit bar

4:30 pm...1/2 pita toasted spread with hummus and green tea with honey

7 pm...one banana cut up and spread with crunchy peanut butter (from Trader Joe's)

10 pm...(late dinner at IHOP with the family) chicken club salad (took out small portion from the very huge bowl of salad they gave me and ate it off a small plate): spinach, batter fried chicken pieces, bacon, and feta with honey mustard dressing. orange spice herb tea

water: drank okay amount
exercise: 75 min--x-bike, weight machines, stretching

chicken salad bento lunch 8-9-07

2007-08-10T06:53:00.000-07:00

yummies from Whole Foods: chicken salad with grapes and pecans, celery, and grapes (delish!); corn and veggie salad; raspberries and blackberries, and some pita wedges because I wanted some bread, too.

pancake and egg breakfast8-9-07

2007-08-10T06:46:00.000-07:00

I wasn't sure how I'd do in exercise class if I ate this breakfast, but I thought I'd give it a try. This is a very small plate with leftovers: two small pancakes filled like a sandwich with 3/4 fried egg and some cheddar cheese heated up the microwave; a couple pieces of turkey sausage; some cut up apples from yesterday's lunch (still look nice because of the lemon juice).

As it turned out, I think this breakfast really helped me with my workout because I had a lot of energy and stamina yesterday and did much better than usual.

Wednesday food log 8-8-07

2007-08-08T21:28:00.000-07:00

6:30 am...bowl of "Joe's Os" cereal with 1/2 banana

10:30 am...the other half of the banana and a couple small bites of the rolled ham sandwich for the bento lunch that I was making

12:00 pm...rolled ham sandwich bento lunch (photo) (plus a small bit of fresh Indian bread brought in by a co-worker)

4 pm..."carribean mix" frozen juice bar

6:30 pm...about 5 tortilla chips and salsa

8 pm...Happy Flower Pancake bento dinner (photo)

9:30 pm...herb tea

drank some water today but not tons
exercise: 1 hr. low impact aerobics and pilates

Happy Flower Pancake bento dinner 8-8-07

2007-08-08T21:24:00.000-07:00

Sometimes we like to have a "breakfast dinner" since we don't have time to eat a big breakfast together in the morning. This is a really great pancake mix (mini-chocolate chip and raspberry) poured into a flower pancake mold. Underneath the pancake is a fried egg that I also cooked in the flower mold surrounded and topped with turkey sausages. There are some strawberry slices in the corners. Very yummy dinner. I ate it just like this without butter or syrup on the pancake since it really didn't need it. :)

Rolled Ham Sandwich Bento Lunch 8-8-07

2007-08-08T21:18:00.000-07:00

The sandwich was made on an "olive oil wrap" from Trader Joe's. It tasted really good. I spread the wrap with cream cheese, then a layer of thin sliced ham and alfalfa sprouts. It tasted really yummy. In the other tier there is a small portion of salad (baby greens and spinach with candied pecans, feta, and cranberries; edamame; toothpick skewers of apple and cheddar cheese. I put lemon juice on the apples and they stayed looking great till lunch.

Tuesday Food Log 8-7-07

2007-08-07T22:02:00.000-07:00

7 am...bowl of "Joe's O's" (Cheerios by Trader Joes) with 1% milk and 1/2 banana, sliced

10:30 am...the other half of the banana

11:30 am...green tea with honey

1:30 pm...salad and sushi bento lunch (photo)

4:30 pm...carribean flavors frozen fruit bar (on a stick)

7:30 pm...mini-meatloaf bento dinner (photo)

9:30 pm...herb tea

didn't drink much water today (instead I drank from my thermos of green tea and honey all day)
no exercise today

Mini Meatloaf Bento Dinner 8-7-07

2007-08-07T21:34:00.000-07:00

Two mini-meatloaves with BBQ sauce made with ground turkey breast; cut up apples (I didn't eat them all, only about 4 or 5 pieces) and a shallow salad with red, yellow, and orange bell pepper cut into flower shapes (after this pic I put Newman's Own Balsamic Vinegrette dressing on it). Full tummy tonight!

Salad and Sushi Bento Lunch 8-7-07

2007-08-07T21:28:00.000-07:00

A lovely lunch today of spinach and baby greens, feta, candied pecans and cranberries. Raspberry vinegrette in the bottle with the white top, wasabi in cup with spreader, and soy sauce in bottle shaped like a green pepper. In the next tier there is lychee; edamame; grape tomatoes and an onigiri that I made this morning (I made a bunch) filled with tuna and pan grilled in soy sauce; and the last two California rolls from Trader Joe's.

Monday Food Log 8-6-07

2007-08-06T20:46:00.000-07:00

6:30 am...onigiri (rice ball) and decaf tea w/Splenda and splash of 1% milk

12:30 pm...Potsticker Bento Lunch (photo)

5:15 pm...Bento Snack (photo)

7:15 pm...California Roll Bento Dinner (photo)

9 pm...herb tea

I took a thermos of tea to work today and drank it all day (decaf with Splenda and 1% milk)
water: drank a good amount today
exercise: 1 hr. step aerobics and freeweights

California Roll Bento Dinner 8-6-07

2007-08-06T20:43:00.000-07:00

Dinner: strawberries and blueberies, edamame, lychee, sushi (California rolls) from Trader Joe's. There is also a little yellow container with wasabi and the little carrot bottle of soy sauce. This was a good tasting, filling dinner!

Bento snack 8-6-07

2007-08-06T20:41:00.000-07:00

2 homemade chocolate chip cookies (made by my daughter), strawberry, lychee fruit, and little peanut snack from the Japanese store.

Potsticker and Onigiri Bento Lunch 8-6-07

2007-08-06T20:35:00.000-07:00

Lunch today: potstickers (from Schwan's) and grape tomatoes (little carrot shaped bottle of soy sauce for the potstickers); onigiri and sugar free black cherry jello. I didn't finish the whole onigiri.

169 lbs-Monday Weigh-In 8-6-07

2007-08-06T08:18:00.000-07:00

Well, I don't know if it's because I was eating good enough on the trip or because I was sick these past few days, but my weight today is 169 lbs! So that's 4 lbs. less than last Monday's weigh-in and 8 lbs. less than the 177 that I was on July 16. I know that the scale isn't a correct measure of everything that's going on, but it gives a general idea and going down in my goal. :)

Sunday Food Log 7-5-07

2007-08-05T20:36:00.000-07:00

(travel sickness diet today...still feeling sick from the trip)

7 am...plain decaf tea with 2 dashes ginger and about 16 toasted sesame seed water crackers

10 am...more of the same tea

11 am...more of the same tea

1 pm..."There Must Be Rain to Make a Rainbow" Onigiri Bento Lunch (photo)

3 pm...green tea with honey

3:15 pm...small bowl plain oatmeal topped with organic apricot/applesauce and about 1/4 c jello jigglers

6:30 pm...another small bowl of plain oatmeal topped with organic apricot/applesause and piece of french bread

9 pm...more of same tea

drank some water
exercise: none really

"There Must Be Rain to Make a Rainbow" Onigiri Bento

2007-08-05T20:30:00.000-07:00

I was getting bored with my bland diet today (stomach still feeling queezy) so I decided to make some onigiri and add some fun color. This is just regular sushi rice, no fillings or seasonings with food coloring.

I love the size of these little guys and the soy wrappers add interesting texture and a bit of flavor. I really started to feel a bit better after eating this and I know I wasn't hungry anymore!

Travel Food Log 7-30-07 to 8-4-07

2007-08-05T09:46:00.001-07:00

Well, I'm home! I kept track of everything I ate, but didn't take pics of my food. I don't know what I ate or drank at the end of the trip, but it's doing damage on my system still. I think it was the water I started to drink from the drinking fountain on the second to last day in the El Paso history museum. I spit out the water because it was warm and tasted terrible. Then I had a late lunch which consisted of 2 alcohol drinks and a bit later had a grande mocha frappuccino at Starbucks. I just did some online research and found out that alcohol and caffeine are two things that can aggravate the condition. It was after the Starbucks drink that I started feeling bad and I was thinking it might have been the whipped cream (forgot to tell them "no whip") or that I haven't been drinking caffeine in awhile. But, now I'm thinking it was most likely the drinking fountain.

I don't know how well I did at watching my portions. I know there were times I did well and times I went overboard. We'll see what the scale says tomorrow on "weigh-in Monday." I was thinking about my lack of weight loss in spite all my workouts after I last posted and realized that it's quite possible that I've added some muscle weight because my workouts have involved weight lifting. Hmmm! Hadn't thought of that before. If that's true, then that's good weight gain. :)

Okay, so here's the food log for Monday, 7-30-07 to 8-4-07

Monday 7-30-07

7 am...sm bowl Kashi nuggets w/cut-up peach, 1% milk, ice water

10:45 am...leftover pasta and chicken (from last night's dinner) and broccoli souffle in 1 tier of orange bento (no photo) and two very tiny bites of homemade choc chip cheesecake dessert

3:30 pm...pre-packed Chinese chicken salad in airport and bottle water

4:15 pm...small ("tall") Starbucks decaf mocha frappuccino (no whip)

9 pm...airplane size cup of tomato juice and shared small bag of airplane pretzels and bag of honey roasted peanuts

midnight...1 12oz bottle Michelob beer, oat and honey granola bars (2 in pkg) from vending machine

Exercise: 1 hr. step aerobics and freeweights, walking in airports

Tuesday, 7-31-07

8 am...1/2 "made to order" veggie omelet (cubes of ham, onion, green bell pepper, tomato, and mushrooms and sliced black olives, shredded cheese on top), small portion of "home fries", 2 strips of bacon, tea w/honey and skim milk, custard size bowl of watermelon chunks with a bit of cantelope and honeydew.

1:15 pm...oats and honey granola bars (pkg of 2) from vending machine

4:15 pm...pretty gross looking (and not that great tasting, but I was hungry) "bean and cheese nachos" in Juarez, Mexico (restaurant), the cheese was like runny velveeta and there was just a bit of refried beans drizzled over the top.

9:30 pm...1 slice cheese pizza (thin crust) and 1 can V-8 juice (11.5 oz)

exercise: some walking

Wednesday, 8-1-07

6:15 am...sm bowl of strawberry yogurt and few spoonfuls of granola; cup of coffee with half and half (half the cup was decaf); small portion of "home fries"; veggie omelet (ham, mushroom, gr bell pepper, onion, tomato, spinach, cheese); custard size bowl of watermelon chunks

12:30 pm...4-5 watermelon chunks; 1 chunk cantelope; 10 red grapes; 1/2 sandwich on french roll (1 slice turkey, 1 slice ham, lettuce, tomato slice, mustard and mayo); handful of pretzel chips

3:50 pm...10 oz orange juice

4:45 pm...spaghetti with meat sauce with parmesan cheese; salad with Italian, then ranch dressing (took small portions, but then went back for more of spaghetti and of salad), chunk of french bread (felt like I ate too much after this meal)

6 pm..."happy hour" special drink "Bahama Mama" (rum); 1 1/2 c popcorn,

7:30 pm... small "frozen custard" (rich ice cream) mixed with pecans, bananas, pinapple, coconut

exercise: just a bit of walking, not much

Thursday, 8-2-07

8:15 am...scrambled egg omlet with small pieces of ham, bacon, and mixed veggies; small portion of "home fries"; 6 oz orange juice; tea honey and skim milk

4:15 pm...("Chili's" Restaurant) Southwest Mesquite Grilled Chicken Salad (lettuce, chicken, corn salsa, tortilla strips, cilantro) and "Spiked Strawberry Lemonade" (vodka)

11:45 pm...12 oz V-8 juice

exercise: (workout in hotel fitness room) 36 min of step/arm movement machine thing then some weights on the machine (arms, upperback, quads, and leg press)

Friday, 8-3-07

8:15 am...scrambled egg omelet with spinach, mushroom, onion, gr bell pepper, tomato; small portion of home fries, 6 oz orange juice, coffee with 2 sugars and skim milk (mostly decaf)

3:45 lunch at Chili's again: Southwest Mesquite Grilled Chicken salad (same as yesterday, it was good!), and TWO spiked strawberry lemonades

7:30 pm...Grande Mocha Frappuccino with whipped cream from Starbucks

11:45 pm..."dragon fruit" vitamin water

exercise: some walking

Saturday 8-4-07 (not feeling well)

8:15 am...banana, small dry bagel, plain tea

2 pm...1 c watermelon chunks

4:30 pm (Texas time)... 1 bag airplane pretzels, airplane cup of ginger ale, about 12 Ritz crackers

4:50 pm (Arizona time)..."Yoshi's" fast food Japanese (in airport) bowl of orange chicken with white rice and broccoli

8 pm... 1/2 bag of Ritz cracker chips (airplane) and airplane cup of ginger ale

exercise: airport walking

Time Away...Mon 7-30-07 to Sat 8-4-07

2007-07-30T06:37:00.001-07:00

I'll be away from my computer this week, but will keep a written journal of my eating/exercise and post an update on Sunday, Aug 5, 2007. Be good while I'm away, okay? :)

173 lbs-Monday Weigh-In 7-30-07

2007-07-30T06:31:00.000-07:00

Well, I was hoping to have lost at least 2 lbs, but it seems I am the same weight. 173 lbs. At least it's not more than last week. I did so much exercise last week (5 days!) that I figured that would have helped. Plus I think I did well on my eating. Maybe it was the birthday cake and the cupcakes. :) I do have a lot more energy since I've been working out so that is a good thing.

I will continue to plug away.

Sunday Food Log 7-29-07

2007-07-30T06:17:00.000-07:00

6:30 am...sm bowl Kashi "Nuggets" and green tea with honey

11:45 am...Ham Sandwich Bento Lunch (photo)

4 pm...medium size banana cupcake (not the tiny ones and not as big as my bigger silicon cups that I have pictured, I have some silicon cups that are a size in between) with coffee mug of milk

7:30 pm...no photo of my dinner tonight. Since everything came out of the dinner at different times, we had to sit down and start eating before everything was ready or else the main dish would have been cold: tri-colored pasta with chicken and cheese (which I made Saturday and saved in a big bowl) baked in a pyrex dish with buttered bread crumbs over the top; broccoli soufle (something new I wanted to try); french bread (I didn't have any); salad (romaine, grape tomatoes, chopped organic baby carrots); and lemonade. I had a bit of everything in my bento box except not the bread. Afterward I had one medium size banana cupcake.

8:30 pm...decaf tea with Splenda and splash of milk

drank more water than usual
no exercise to speak of today

Ham Sandwich Bento Lunch 7-29-07

2007-07-29T14:28:00.000-07:00

Not a particularly cute bento lunch today, but a very yummy one! One ham sandwich with the crusts removed and cut in half: whole wheat lightly spread with mustard and organic ranch dressing with 1 slice of ham folded in each half and some lettuce. Tasted really, really great! Plus a "sweet and sour" fruit combo of fresh grapefruit sections (that I carefully cut out of the grapefruit) and fresh cherries. My tastebuds and tummy were quite happy after this lunch!

Saturday Food Log 7-28-07

2007-07-29T07:35:00.001-07:00

6:30 am...piece of whole wheat toast with chunky almond butter

11:30 am...pasta and egg fish bento lunch (photo)

2:30 pm..."dragon fruit" vitamin water

4 pm...mini banana cupcake (photo)

7 pm...dinner at a birthday party: small piece of bbq chicken breast, small scoop of macaroni salad, 1/2 corn on the cob with margarine and salt, mixed baby greens salad with candied pecans, cranberry raisins, apples, and dressing. One regular size chocolate cupcake with chocolate frosting and sprinkles. Ate most of it.

drank some water but not a lot
no exercise to speak of today

Cucakes! 7-28-07

2007-07-29T07:18:00.000-07:00

I think cupcakes are so cute! I have always had a hard time eating them, though, because they are so sweet (well, as an adult I mean, I'm sure I was fine with them as a child!) Lately I've been wanting a cupcake. I saw this recipe for banana cake that called for the addition of a large ripe banana to a regular yellow cake mix and I thought it sounded simple! Then I turned and saw the one last banana leftover on the counter that no one would eat because it was too ripe and I knew I had to try this recipe for sure! Plus, it included a homemade frosting recipe that sounded like fun, too. So here is the regular size cup cake (above) and I also made some tiny ones (below) that would be perfect for a bento box and not as much sweetness at once as a regular size cupcake...
With the Light Weigh, there are no foods that are off limits. You can eat anything you want, but you eat only a certain amount. This makes it very realistic and you never get that deprivation thing going. As a matter of fact, when you feel your stomach growl you are to ask yourself, "What do I really want to eat right now?" This mentality makes the Light Weigh eating style very doable. :)

BTW, I love these silicone baking cups!

Pasta and Egg Fish Bento Lunch 7-28-07

2007-07-28T12:48:00.000-07:00

Very filling lunch today! Tri-colored pasta with chicken (Schwan's frozen "chicken for fajitas" chopped smaller) and Schwan's mixed veggies tossed when warm with shredded cheddar. Quite yummy! A bit of lettuce with some chopped organic baby carrots and a hard boiled egg molded in the shape of a fishy. I've been wanting to try making a molded egg and finally found an egg mold! I colored it with a new paintbrush and some natural food dye from the local gourmet cooking shop. I felt like eating something sweet, so I also had some cute little Chinese cookies--chocolate koalas filled with white chocolate cream. I also drank 6 oz 1% milk with this lunch.

Friday Food Log 7-27-07

2007-07-28T08:00:00.001-07:00

7 am...6 oz cranberry juice and bowl of Kashi "Nuggets" cereal with 1% milk

12:15 pm...Egg Salad Love Bento Lunch (photo)

3:30 pm...1 sm piece of chocolate (mocha) birthday cake and 8 oz 1% milk

6:30 pm...6 oz cranberry juice

7:30 pm...Spaghetti and Meatballs Bento Dinner (photo) followed by green tea

drank moderate amount of water today
exercise: fairly high impact aerobics and free weights plus ab crunches (1 hr)

Spaghetti and Meatballs Bento Dinner 7-27-07

2007-07-28T07:50:00.000-07:00

The spaghetti was brown rice pasta and I don't intend to buy this type of pasta again. It cooks up really poorly (sticks together in a clump in spots) and tastes just as bad. BUT it was all I had in the house, so I cooked it up. Meatballs are turkey ones from frozen (Trader Joes) and I cooked them a bit too long. I think next time I'll make my own. They really aren't that difficult. :) The sauce is Prego. :) French bread from Schwan's (comes frozen). Okay, this bread is really great. The whole family loves this bread. It has a good, fresh taste. Simple salad of romaine lettuce and cut up organic baby carrots. I put a raspberry vinegrette on the salad and didn't really care for that. Cheese on the meatballs is that sprinkle parmesean that most serious cooks frown upon, but my family loves it. :) Oh well, so dinner wasn't that tasty tonight, but at least we all sat down to dinner, right (minus the oldest who was on a date)?

Bentos size-tested

2007-07-27T14:49:00.000-07:00

I tested these when I got them with water, but it's hard to see that in the photos, so here I'm showing you how much these bento boxes hold using Kashi "Nuggets" cereal (like Grape Nuts). With the Light Weigh you eat portions that are the size of your clenched fist (that's the total portion for a meal). It is also the amount that would fit in a regular size mug like the one below. Since I don't want to eat my meal out of a mug, I am finding that using the bento boxes is not only fun to do, but it gives me a good visual and keeps me from eating a larger amount like I do when I use a plate.

New blue bento box... how much does it hold?

Here we go. If I put food in this blue bento box with no spaces in between the items, this is how much I should fill it. Since the food I put in isn't this dense, I can make it go higher. It looks to me that this bento box gives me the perfect portion size for my meal according to Light Weigh eating recommendations.

Here is my orange bento box.

Here is the green. The green is only one tier, but also the perfect size. :)

Egg Salad Love Bento Lunch 7-27-07

2007-07-27T14:43:00.001-07:00

Little sandwiches made with whole wheat bread cut with heart shaped cookie cutter and filled with egg salad and lettuce. There is one egg in this lunch. I squished it and mixed in a bit of organic ranch dressing and salt and pepper. There was leftover egg salad, so in the lower tier I put a smaller heart of bread and topped it with the rest of the egg salad and decorated it with a little heart cut (free hand) from red bell pepper. The salad is cucumber hearts, grape tomatoes, romaine lettuce cut small, spicy walnuts and pecans, and crumbled bleu cheese. Not shown: balsamic dressing. The egg salad sandwiches were really yummy!!!

Thursday Food Log 7-26-07

2007-07-26T20:22:00.001-07:00

6:30 am... small bowl of Kashi with 1% milk (didn't finish it) and 6 oz white grape juice

12:30 pm... crab cakes and aparagus bento lunch (photo)

3:30 pm... "Quickly" Passion Fruit Milk Tea Tapioca Drink (size large) and a bite of son's fried ice cream ball (squished all over my shirt and pants)

7:30 pm... Chicken Crepe Bento Dinner (photo)

drank plenty of water today (more than past few days)
exercise: 90 min workout today (X-Bike, weight machines, stretching)