Weigh in Eve: Postponed.

Well, Tuesday night is generally weigh in eve. I get ready to go to Jenny Craig on Wednesday and weigh in. This week, I'm swamped at work. I have a bunch of patients who are VERY high acuity and require a ton of nursing intervention. Putting another nurse in here would be like throwing them in the deep end of the ocean in their underwear. It would be impossible for them to figure out...therefore, I'm stuck seeing them on my day off. I have a regular visit, a resumption of care and an admission of a patient who I've care for before. Not to mention I contacted my Jenny Craig center and they can't accomedate me for a quick visit in the morning to weigh in and get food... and I really don't wnat to work all day, eat my meals and THEN weigh in. That wouldn't be an accurate representation of my weight at all.

So what I did was I moved my weigh in/getting food to this Saturday at 8:45am. So therefore, you're going to see that I don't update my weight until then. Boo. But like the cartoon says! I didn't fail...I just have to postpone my success!

So work is stressful, I'm very crampy and waiting for Aunt Flow's visit. Yuck. Really wish she would stay home...but then again I've been regular for a few months so I'm hoping this isn't things going in the wrong direction again. I'm going to be trying to make the most of my """""day off""""" (yes notice allll the quotes) and cross some things off my to-do list. I'm really slacking on my exercise goals. I've got a horrible headache I can't shake and I did so much running around today, I don't feel like doing anything. Maybe I can kick myself into doing some exercise later. Update: I felt like a lazy lump so I did 20 minutes on my bike and told myself to stop whining.

Update on the goals for the day!


NSV:
1) I will watch 1 movie start to finish. - Finally saw Easy A, haha that was cute!

2) I will buy a new pair of weigh in pants. (Mine are too big and almost fall off my butt) Bought some at Target online. They've shipped out!

3) I will try on a pair of jeans in my closet that were too small last month. Maybe they will fit? Will post picture. - Going to do this one tomorrow hopefully!
Exercise:

1) I will do the 30 Day Shred 2x - 1/2

2) Do Weight Loss Yoga 2x- 0/2

3) Do Exercise Bike for 20 minutes- 1/2

Nutrition:

1) I will track my calories religiously on Sparkpeople.Com EVERY DAY! 3/7

2) I will drink at least 80oz (10 glasses) of water EVERY DAY! 3/7

3) I will try 1 new recipe and post it on my blog (I think I have one in mind!) - Still planning this for Wednesday. ;)

Having a Tough Time

These last couple weeks, I feel really overwhelmed. Things at work are very stressful and I've had a couple of patients who are really making my life miserable. I go so far above and beyond for these people, I don't think they even understand how much time and effort goes into keep them safe, healthy and at home. And yet for some reason, they're pitching hissy fits and cancelling services, refusing to let me come out to discharge them. And to make it worse some of the other nurses I work with love to badmouth each other behind their backs...I had to go in to get a PPD today and I heard them gossiping about me and how I suck at my job. Great. Just what I wanted to hear.

Seriously? I am so done.

I ate like crap this week and I know it. I mean, I stuck to my Jenny Craig almost every day but on Wednesday I had chinese food. I allotted it into my calories and I just ate a little bit of the rice and chicken, then THREW IT AWAY! But I finished my wonton soup, which was what I really wanted. Then the next day I went out to dinner with my mom after a horrible day. I caught myself stress eating Sunday night for no reason. I swear the last couple days I've just been so depressed. I've been crying and I feel overwhelmed. I feel like no one values what I do and that no one appreciates me. Then I feel bad because I feel like I'm being selfish. It's not all about me...

In short, I just have had a rotten couple weeks. I can't wait for my Ireland trip. I had a meeting on Saturday with the people who are going. I'm the only person under 65 going on this trip. Oh well. I'll meet some hot Irishmen and dance some calories away? A girl can dream! I just need a break. I'm off tomorrow and I'm planning on destressing, getting things ready for Ireland, and not thinking about work. At all. It's a hard thing to do for me but I'm seriously losing my sanity. And to top it off I'm on this weekend. UGH.

Okay this pity party is over. I'm moving on, hoping to just maintain this week before I kick my butt into gear for next week. I'm so close to making my 40lb goal that I can taste it!! I need to stop tasting junk and focus on moving my hiney!

Have a good day everyone <3 Skinny vibes to my Wednesday Weighers!

Tiring Thursday

Today is a long day for me. I've been out early seeing patients and I have one late visit in a not-so-nice section of Hartford tonight. It isn't the worst area...and I do adore the patients there...but I really wish that I could actually catch a break. I've been working like a dog the last week. Lots of patients with a lot going on, very intense wound care...I have to say that a lot of my exercise comes from dressing wounds, ahaha. You are moving people's legs, holding them up, wrapping, applying alginate, bending over to measure, putting on TIGHT compression stockings...woo, that is a workout! Believe me!

Friday looks pretty amazing though. I only have a few visits and they're in the morning...so I can finally come home and make a dent in all of the things I need to get done! Today marks exactly 30 days until I leave for Ireland!! I can't believe it! That means I have one month to lose 6.6 pounds AND earn my next minigoal prize which is a CAMERA. I better get my buns moving. It shouldn't be too hard because I WON TARYN'S GIVEAWAY! WOOO!

Taryn writes Fat Girl in A Skinny World and if you don't already follow her, I would highly reccomend it! She is awesome...and her boyfriend picked my name out of a bowl! She's awesome and her man has good taste in sticky notes with my name on them :D

Food wise I've been very good the last couple days. On Wednesday I went to IHop with my friend Katie. They have a new simple and fit menu and they have egg white omelettes that are outstanding and are served with fruit! Very appropriate for those watching their intake! And then we went shopping!!!! I bought a cute new jean skirt on clearance and a pair of jeans...since most of my clothes are getting way too big. YAY! I also got an adorable carryon bag for when I go travelling this year, to Ireland and to Italy! And finally replaced my faithful pair of black flats that I've owned for 8 years...the strap broke on them over a year ago but I haven't had the heart to get rid of them. I'm still not sure I do but I have adorable ones from Payless (BOGO going on now!) that I love!

I made buffalo chicken in my crock pot the other night and I've been eating it for lunches...it's soo good. I did 1.3lbs of chicken (that's how much came in the package) and 12oz of hotsauce. Threw it in the crock pot on low for 6 hours. Shredded the chicken and viola! That makes 12 (1/4 cup) servings of meat! I've been eating it on a 100calorie sandwich thin with onion, shredded lettuce and fat free blue cheese...to die for. And SO filling for 238 calories. Can you possibly go wrong? I don't think so! The chicken is a little bit higher in sodium because of the hot sauce...but it's not that bad. Honestly if you went to a restaurant and got a buffalo chicken sandwich you'd be look at way more fat, calories and sodium that that!

Looking forward to Jenny Craig Chicken Carbonara tonight. I am sauteeing mushrooms and I add a little bit of Kraft grated parmesean (2tsp for 20 calories) to jazz it up! I also put on cracked black pepper, garlic powder, and 1/2 teaspoon of Sriracha for good measure. Yum yum! Have a great day everyone! Looking forward to the weekend!!

Crazy...

I am having a rough time right now with work. They're really taking advantage of me and my boss makes up new "rules" all the time about weekend rotations. When I started at this job I was told no weekends and rotating holidays...well then they changed it and said everyone has to work rotating weekends to help out our weekend nurses when they're busy...and now they're saying if we're on the weekend then we have to do all the visits the weekend nurses don't want to do even though we're responsible for the weekend. Ridiculous! I cannot stand this crap!!!!!

My sister leaves for Italy on Sunday and she will be gone for a whole year. I am trying to put together plans to see her in Febuary but who knows? Money is tight, I'm already going to Ireland...so it's hard. So I'm supposed to work all weekend and not spend time with my sister who's leaving? I do not think so.

Looking for new jobs...I'm sick of being taken advantage of.

SO today's recipe is late, I'm sorry. It's been a day. And tomorrow looks just as busy. Today's recipe is for busy people! SLOW COOKER! And it's vegan! And healthy ANDDD yummy!!

Sweet Potato Chili
Servings: 4

Ingredients

2 medium sweet potatoes peeled and diced into 2in cubes
1 yellow onion, diced
1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 (14.5 ounce) can no salt added diced tomatoes
1 (15 ounce) can kidne beans, drained and rinsed
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 cup orange juice
1 cup water

Directions

1) Use a 6 quart slow cooker. Add sweet potato, onion, pepper, tomatoes, beans, garlic and spices.

2) Pour in OJ and water.

3) Cover and cook on low for 6-8hours or until onion is translucent and sweetpotato is fork tender.

Nutritional Breakdown

 

Weigh in Eve

Well it's Tuesday night and tomorrow I face the scale!

I feel good...maybe I actually lost weight this week! I have to keep positive because I'm really sure I actually gained. Probably because I'm crazy.

My sister is visiting me! YAY! I had a light day at work...or so I thought. I picked her up after my visits and I had to pop by the office and brought her with me. Poor thing ended up having to wrap up gift bags and sitting in the car for the better part of 2 hours. I feel HORRIBLE. Ugh :( And I hope I didn't get myself in trouble at work...my boss didn't say anything about it and she usually would tell me right away if there's something the matter. But I heard a lot of not-so-quiet whispering from one bitch in the office who likes to make trouble.  Or maybe I'm just looking for things to stress about because I'm trying not to think about weighing in tomorrow :/ I feel anxious and awful.

1.6 more pounds until I meet my Labor Day Challenge goal of 25 pounds down! We'll see!!! Fingers crossed!

Anyway went to Target and finally got a DVD player! I really like it! YOGA DVD HERE I COME!

Feeling kinda sick and anxious, hope everyone has a good night!

RUN FOR YOUR LIFE!!!

The east coast is bracing for hurricane Irene...but the thing I'm worried is the shitstorm of stupidity that's braced Connecticut.

I worked this morning and need to go out this afternoon for a visit. In the interim I decided to go and pick up a few essential supplies. I need a flashlight and some bottled water in case we're without power, also picked up some healthy easy to eat items that don't need to be refrigerated in case there's no power and I can't cook/microwave my JC meals. So I leisurely decided to pop by Target and then Stop and Shop because I needed some onions and mushrooms.

It was a freaking MOB. People are running down the aisles, grabbing things from shelves AND out of people's carts, there is absoutely NO water on the shelves and I ended up having to buy a freaking 40 dollar LED flashlight since that's ALL that was left! (You can bet your boots I'm not opening it unless I absolutely need it) People were yelling at each other, swearing at employees...I told the sales associate they need to start giving out Xanax door prizes. I could not believe the damn stupidity going on. As I was walking to the checkout lines, I saw a display of waterbottles so I bought two cases and there were people stampeding toward me as I put them in my cart. Oh hell to the no, I did not even bat an eye, I just walked to a line and checked out. Also got some socks on clearance AND a magazine to read!!

People can be so dramatic! Is pandemonium really necessary? Irene isn't supposed to hit until Saturday night, can we not have a complete meltdown before that? Are you looking for inpatient admission in the psych ward to avoid the storm? That isn't a bad strategy...

Yeesh!!!!

Anyway, if you don't hear from me for a few days, fear not...I probably just don't have power. Everything will be fine! I may have to eat off plan if I can't eat my JC food but at this point, that's the least of my worries. I think I sweat off a whole pound of sweat making three trips up three flights of stairs to carry in my groceries and the cases of water. Doing the housewife workout to make sure everything is clean and done before the storm. Laundry is being done, kitchen is being cleaned until shining, running the vaccuum... and that will be that. I'm prepared...not psychotic. :D

Hope everyone has a nice, safe weekend

Checking In!

Hi everyone!!

I hope that everyone had a nice weekend. I got a lot of things accomplished and had a great day shopping...despite my mother's usual antics! Things are going well with my boarder, he's very neat and quiet. No issues yet! Work has been fairly steady the last two days and the weather is BEAUTIFUL. If only my allergies weren' trying to kill me!

It's weigh-in day eve...and I don't think I lost. I know I say this every week and I have been losing consistently. But with my eating out this week and my PCOS (this is going on 5 weeks now that I've had my period, someone please put me out of my misery!?), I feel bloated and gross. I need to start increasing my activity and I bought a Gaiam Weightloss Yoga DVD, its a box set of two DVDs that I bought at Target this weekend for 14.99, not bad! The only problem is that my DVD player was funky before but now it's plain broken. It's very old, it even has a VCR in it (so you KNOW it's old!!). I know it's time to replace but I'm strapped for cash at the moment. Buying a VCR has to wait until the mortgage payment gets made and the bills get taken care of.

We shall see what the almighty scale has to say. Right now all I'm feeling is weak and tired. I only had three patients to see today so I am home now, I cleaned the kitchen up, I am finishing up the last of my laundry, and I'm going to be taking a nap this afternoon to try and combat some of my crampiness and my weakness. Bleh. PCOS sucks!

On a non weightloss side, I got a bunch of awesome goodies shopping to help me with weight loss! My nonstick pans I moved with were all hand me downs or from yard sales, and they're getting to the point where they're not nonstick anymore. They had Paula Deen red nonstick skillet sets on sale for 25 bucks...and I bought myself some! I got those Yoga DVDs! I also bought a lovely centerpiece and a table cloth (That's not plastic) for my dining room table at Homegoods! I was a bargain ninja and bought a TON of stuff for very little money! I got great deals! (I LOVE SAVING MONEY!) Next up on my bargain shopping: DVD player. And trying to find my yoga mat. I know I packed it when I moved, but I have noooo idea where it is now.

For right now I just need to not fall over...and keep positive for my weigh in! Hope everyone is having a great on plan week!

Over the Hump

Today was busy but it wasn't as bad as I thought. One major problem I encountered was I didn't get to eat lunch until 2:30pm. I had a bowl of life cereal with milk this morning and I packed myself some Jenny cheese curls and a string cheese...but honestly, I didn't even have a second to eat them. I was going from patient to patient to patient, answering calls from doctors and other emergent calls, ordering supplies, checking in with my sickest patients and trying not to go insane. The only good thing is I was too busy to be hungry...

But when I got home I was starving. I had a huuuge glass of water and made a buffalo chicken salad and garlic bread with my JC Chicken Sandwich. It was delicious...I enjoyed every bite, it was very filling, AND healthy. I'm proud that I didn't come home and binge (which is something that I was in the habit of doing before I started JC). I filled up with water and then had a healthy lunch!!  Doing BBQ pulled pork wrap tonight for dinner, looking forward to it!!

Tomorrow is going to be a lighter day, I hope I'm not bogged down with calls all day...but in any event, I am looking forward to getting things cleaned in my condo. Going shopping and out to lunch with my mom on Saturday! Maybe even getting my curtains up? Hey, I can dream can't I?

Have a great day!

Are We There Yet?

No?

It's not Friday? Darn.

I have about had it this week. I'm already swamped with my work plus the work of lazynurse who's on vacation for the THIRD time since she started 2 months ago. And on top of it, my boss keeps piling more and more work on my plate. The last two days I've worked from 7a-7p...and now on Thursday I have an admission which may have to be done late! WHAT!? I already have a FULL SCHEDULE. And I tried explaining this to my boss but she said 'Oh well we don't have a physical therapist to go on Friday so...it has to be done. Oh and it has to be done immediately. Oh and the physical therapist might be there working with the patient...' Say what!? That is RIDICULOUS. I'm supposed to go through an hour's worth of paperwork in 15 minutes? Even I am not that good.

The only good thing is that on Friday I only have two visits and will get home early. But still, I'm ready to tear my hair out at this point. Can I please get a break? Even tomorrow which is WI day (which I'm dreading) and I'm supposed to be off, I have to be on call...even though I do not get paid to be on call. I get paid only if I get a call and have to go out. Ridiculous.

I do not feel well...I'm going on a month of having my period very heavily. I feel like I'm all bloated and retaining water...I'm sure I'm going to gain even though I've been perfect on plan. Here's to hoping for a small loss, I really want some good news!

The week ahead!

After the success of doing TWO meals on my own yesterday, I am motivated to do a few more MOMO's this week. However, this week is crazy. We hired a new nurse at work two months ago...she's already been on vacation THREE times! Can you imagine? I have taken a total of ONE DAY OFF in the last 9 months for vacations...and she's already had almost 3 weeks. How the hell is that fair? I get a huge guilt trip even taking that day off to go to my family reunion! And yet other people in the office can jet away without a single word said about it. /Endrant.

Anyway, what this means is I have double the work to do. I am working late every night and I've been asked to possibly pick up a few visits on my day off Wednesday. I've already told my boss I'm not interested in working all day and I have my JC appointment at 9:15am so it either has to be before or a little bit after. I'm not playing this 'you agreed to work so now you have to work all day' game. I'm already going on 7 days now that I've worked or been on call, I'm not doing another 7 more without a break!!!  Food is going to be hard, I am not going to have time to stop to have lunch on two of the days and won't be home until late in the evening on all but one of the days!

My goal this week is planning my meals ahead and packing snacks. I'm planning on bringing my JC snack with my in the car and possibly eating that in the car between patients. At least then I won't be ravenous by the time I get home from work. I love to eat my JC snack as a dessert but because of my schedule, I am going to have to be flexible! I hate being flexible... :(

In other news, I just bought a new indoor grill! My old George Foreman (which was used BEFORE I got it at a tag sale) has bit the dust. The nonstick coating on the plates (which aren't removable) is completely shot and everything just sticks. Its impossible to clean. So I invested in a new indoor grill, it's not a Foreman but it got awesome reviews online. I live in a condo and I don't have a patio or a porch; we are allowed to have grills but I don't want to leave it in the common area (which many people do) and I don't have the space to store it in my garage. Not to mention I don't know how to grill (see my 30 Before 30 List)! All in all I think I'm going to stick to grilling my veggies indoors and leaving the outdoor grilling for when I have a pro around who won't let me catch the entire association on fire.

Hoping that I can get some more blog posts out this week but if you don't hear from me, it's just because I'm swamped! BUT look out for a VERY special joint blog post tomorrow...

Have a GREAT week on plan! Here's hoping for nicer weather than today!

The Start of the Week!

Well it's Monday and that means a new week is starting...but my Jenny Craig week is almost over! I go on Wednesday to weigh in and I'm praying for a loss. I've started to really notice that I've lost weight though. My boss said she noticed that she could see in my face that I had lost weight. And my clothes are getting looser or, in the case of my capris, WAY too loose to wear. I almost lost them around my ankles when I tried to put them on!!

I find that I also have a renewed energy. Of course, that energy gets sucked up when I have to get up for work at 5 am... (not my favorite thing believe me). Yet this morning I was up before my alarm! Okay, it was only 5 minutes before...but still! I was up, I was alert...that is not something that's normal for me. I'm really hoping it will be for the new and improved me though! Before I started JC I would sleep until the last possible second, trying to get those last five minutes in. Then I was always dragging, the whole morning I would be cranky... I don't drink coffee because of severe heartburn that I get from it, so it was a lose-lose situation for everyone.

Now I find that I fall asleep and wake up much easier. I never felt depressed really, not since nursing school...but I wonder to myself if I was down on myself and didn't notice the depression. My gynecologist tried to prescribe me a low dose Lexapro but I refused. First of all, I'm a nurse...so I'm stubborn as all heck and refuse to take medication that's not ABSOLUTELY necessary.  I didn't feel like I was depressed, I was still working every day, and I wasn't having emotional breakdowns; I was just tired and cranky! Also, the medication came with a pricetag that I didn't want to pay. So I just told him no... and I'm still glad I did that. But maybe I was somewhat depressed!

Tomorrow is a realllllllllly busy day. But I have found the time to take a break and eat some lunch. I shuffled some things so it'll work out fine! I need to keep my eye on the prize and focus on getting through Tuesday so I can go weigh in Wednesday! For the first time in my life I can't wait to step on the scale!

ALSO! My little sister is going to Italy and she is going to be blogging her journey! Also I would like to point out that I came up with the blog title! Lol if you're interested in travel or in Europe, check out her blog: Mom I'm Still Alive, I also have it linked in my blogroll! YAY!

Sticky Sunday

Hi everyone! Hope everyone is having a good day on plan!

It is sooo sticky and hot outside...and the rain has not stopped. It's been pouring since last night. I'll admit, we need the rain! But I was looking forward to my hike. Well that was a wash! I can't say I've done too much in the way of activity other than convincing myself that a shower was necessary and doing the dishes in the sink. Not exactly a win for that...I'm convincing myself that I need to do time on my exercise bike this afternoon!

Food wise I've had a good week and weekend. Weigh in is coming on Wednsday and I'm eager to see. This week I've started doing meals on my own for several breakfasts. I got Special K with Red Berries, Banana Nut Cheerios and Life cereal which I've been eating with skim milk. I picked the cereals because they closely matched the calories, fiber, fat, etc of the Cranberry Almond JC cereal. So I did that 3x this week and I have it on my meal planner 4x next week, unless I see a gain in which case it'll be back to JC breakfasts.

I did a meal on my own for lunch yesterday and although I did splurge a bit, I think I made good choices. Instead of picking a high fat food, I went for a low calorie salad. There was about 4oz of chicken (used my dining out guide tips for eyeballing portions). The chicken was very thin and about the lenth of my palm. The sauce on it was Frank's Hotsauce (I'd know that taste anywhere!). It was on a big plate of romaine with cucmber and cherry tomato. The fattening part came in with the bleu cheese crumbles which I estimated were probably about 1/4 of a cup. And 2 tablespoons of full fat bleu cheese I got on the side-- I didn't eat all of it either. I had unsweetened iced tea to drink and put a splenda packet in it. All in all, I think it was a major success! And for dinner last night I had a broccoli and cheese stuffed potato to save some exchanges (meat exchange you're supposed to add = bleu cheese in my salad, I decided).

I'm hoping for a loss this week so we will see! I can already start to feel my clothes fitting better...and that is a success in my book!

Monday looks like an okay day at work but Tuesday is going to be a huge pain. I'm working from 6am-6pm...and since I'm on the road, I am not going to be able to stop, make my lunch, and keep on my way. I'm trying to work into my day a break where I can stop home and at least throw some lunch into the microwave but it's looking very difficult at the moment. I will make good choices no matter what though! I can do it!

Hope everyone's having a wonderful Sunday and has a great week!