I’ve been keeping and updating my weight loss chart since 2010. And during that entire time, I had to taped to my wall, using painter’s tape. Up until a few weeks ago, that is. I finally got a bulletin board for my weight loss chart!
When I lived in California, I never saw the need. Taping it to the wall worked just fine. But the tape doesn’t stick well to the walls in my house in Michigan – I don’t know if it’s the type of paint that was used, or what. And I got tired of re-taping parts of the chart that fell off the wall practically every single week. So I bought the bulletin board, and my dad helped me hang it. It’s a perfect fit for the chart, for another 16 months or so… then I might have to make two rows? I’m not sure yet. I have time to figure it out.
Let’s zoom in on that chart. I updated it at the beginning of the month, and I was down a pound.
I’ve weighed myself since then and I’m up a few pounds, so I have to focus during the latter half of March.
In health news, I was premature in my previous post when I said I was finally headache-free. They’ve come back. They’re not constant, like they were before, but I’ve had them the past few days – a minor, dull ache in the same part of my forehead as where I had the shingles. Good times.
And now the other end of my body is acting up. I took JJ for a 5-mile hike last weekend, and the next day woke up with pain in my left foot. I decided to take it easy last week, and avoid any sort of high-impact or weight-bearing exercise – instead, using my exercise bike exclusively. I have a Schwinn Classic Cruiser – it’s the retro red bike behind JJ.
By the end of last week, my foot was feeling much better, so I went with JJ on another hike yesterday – 5.6 miles. It was a little chilly, but it was a great walk.
Later that day, my foot was in pain again. Ugh.
I think I have a bit of plantar fasciitis. It’s a painful condition where tendons along the bottom of your foot tear, and it takes a long time to heal, because you use your feet so much. I had plantar fasciitis before, in both feet at the same time, in my early 20s, when I was a lot heavier. I learned some tricks and tips to can aid the healing process, which I’ve started using now, like freezing a water bottle and rolling it along the bottom of the foot, and some stretches that can be done first thing in the morning to alleviate pain all day.
The good thing about using my exercise bike so much is that I’m really racking up the cardio miles! In fact, earlier today I reached a major milestone – 7,000 cumulative miles since summer of 2013, which was when I started tracking the distance I cover during my exercise. Pretty impressive!
In other early March news, I celebrated my 42nd birthday on the 5th. I’m not a big birthday person, so I don’t make a big deal of it. Last weekend, I went over to my friends Sean and Katie’s place, and another friend, Jenna, joined. We had a great evening, and they made the perfect birthday cake for me: a whole pineapple with a candle in it, topped with additional fruit and a few chocolate chips.
Ready for some meal prep? It’s been a good couple of weeks. Last week, for my lunches, I made shrimp with a little cashew pesto sauce (from a bottle), and ground turkey with a garlic mustard sauce and Parmesan, with bases of riced cauliflower and broccoli.
I just finished this week’s meal prep a few hours ago, and I made a pulled pork with green chile sauce (a frozen skillet entree), over sautéed onions, peppers, and zucchini. I also mixed rotisserie chicken with tabouli, to go on top of a big mess of riced cauliflower, spinach, and celery. These got a few olives and a little goat cheese for garnish, and the pulled pork got a mix of salsa and guacamole, which I put in a smaller container, because I wouldn’t want to nuke that part when I heat it up at work.
I’m getting pretty good at meal prepping my lunches, but now I need to work more on my dinners. Without a solid plan, I often find myself snacking later in the evening, or eating too much when I make dinner.
I did try two new things this past week as part of my dinners, and one was a whole lot better than the other. Let’s start with the dud: buffalo ranch cauliflower risotto.
I found this in the rice aisle, and it’s one of those pouches that you nuke for 60 seconds. The whole package has 120 calories, and I like the idea of a creamier, risotto-like consistency.
However, the flavor is terrible, and buffalo ranch is not a great concept to marry with risotto. I bought two packages of this, so I still have another one in my pantry. Maybe I’ll give it away? I’m not sure. This company also has a plain riced cauliflower pouch that I haven’t tried yet. Here’s hoping they don’t mess that up, too!
On the flip side, I was a big fan of this Caulipower frozen cup of seasoned riced cauliflower. This was sesame citrus flavored, and I also have their “Baja Style” version that I haven’t tried yet.
You just pop it in the microwave for a few minutes, and it was delicious! And only 130 calories per container.
For that dinner, I ate that frozen meal, and pan-seared a piece of salmon.
Keep it up, David!
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Keep It Up, David! 