I walked off to work a second day in a row without my camera. No worries, I had my cell phone with me. Except I forgot to plug it in the night before, so it was dead when I got ready to take a picture of my breakfast.
Thanks Google images!! I had two breakfast tacos: 2 corn tortillas, 1/2 cup egg whites, 1/2 ounce chopped pepperoni, 1/2 cup of canned kidney beans, 1 cup baby spinach and 3/4 oz of cheese. I had a fuji apple on the side – breakfast came in at 501 calories, 15 fat, 60 carbs, 12 fiber and 32 protein.
I decided to do a bike ride at lunch to take at stab at my 170 mile challenge. I ended up doing 9 miles! Woop! I took the picture you see below, texted it to Tony and I got this wonderful text back that ended up saying WOW! In my head I was like “it’s just a bike ride!” Um, turns out he thought I ran that far – I wish! Thanks though Tony!
I tried to take a picture while I was still riding, that didn’t turn out so well! 
Just like scallop potatoes have been my Achilles heal, so has potato soup. More than half the time it tastes like I am eating a bowl of mashed potatoes. Not this recipe! I think the key was cooking the potatoes separately and adding them back in at the end. This is creamy, but a bit chunky all at the same time.
Potato Soup
Makes 8 servings, 1.5 cups each: 274 calories, 8.6 fat, 40 carbs, 3.5 fiber and 13 protein
I left out the bacon in the soup recipe, but feel free to cook some up for a garnish.
Ingredients:
- 5 large baking potatoes (1.5 pounds), cut into 1 inch cubes
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 2/3 cup flour
- 6 cups chicken broth
- 2 cups skim milk
- 2 celery stalks, diced
- 1 cup chopped carrots, diced
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- salt and pepper to taste
Put the potatoes in a pot of water, covered an inch higher than the potatoes. Cook until tender, about 10 minutes, then drain.
In a stock pot, heat olive oil. Add garlic, celery and carrots. Cook for 10 minutes until carrots start to get tender. Add flour. Cook for 1 minute. Slowly add the chicken broth, stirring until the sauce starts to thicken and get bubbly. Put the potatoes and remaining ingredients in the pot and simmer for 10 minutes. I did use my potato masher to mash some of the potatoes.
This was so good. Creamy, with bits of potato and carrots. And I love that this whole bowl was under 250 calories!
The reason I was happy about how low in calorie my soup was going to be, was because I knew my dinner was going to be a calorie bomb. You see, over the weekend while flipping channels we saw a show that made a meatza deep dish pizza: Italian sausage, Canadian bacon, pepperoni AND bacon! Tony and I looked at each other and I was like “that’s going on the menu next week!”
Half of me didn’t even want to figure out the calories, but then I thought, I have to. I have to own up to what I eat.
I always have to stop myself and remember, I am nowhere near what I was like back in the day. I wondered “how the hell did I get to be 210 pounds?!” I’ll tell you how:
- Burger King breakfast croissant, cheezy hash browns and a 20 oz. pop: 1090 calories, 47 grams of fat
- McDonald’s 10 chicken nuggets, large fry, pop and an apple pie: 1,460 calories, 65 grams of fat
- On my way home: Auntie Ann’s pretzel for the train ride: 480 calories, 4 fat
- Dinner: 4 beef tacos, refried beans, Mexican rice: 1,120 calories, 68 grams of fat
- After Hannah went to bed? 12 inch Jack’s pizza: 1320 calories, 69 grams of fat
Not kidding, that was a typical day in the former life of Biz. That day totals 5473 calories, 253 grams of fat, 572 carbs (!!!) 39 fiber, 214 protein and get this . . . ready for it? 11,876 grams of sodium!!
So when I figured out the calories for my one slice of a 9 inch pizza, it came in at 642 calories, 32 fat, 55 carbs, 2.8 fiber and 28 protein.
When I finished entering the rest of my food for the day into fatsecret.com, I realized as a whole day, I didn’t do too bad!
Stats for Wednesday:
- 1417 calories, 55 fat, 156 carbs, 18 fiber and 73 protein
- 45% of calories from calories, 35% from fat and 20% from protein
- 9 mile bike ride
- 156.5 miles left of my 170 mile challenge
- average blood sugar 141
So while a part of me was beating myself up for eating that pizza, the other half was telling me “you don’t eat like you used to, It’s one slice of pizza – enjoy it and move on!”
Question of the Day: How have your eating habits changed over the years? All I know is that until I was about 30, the only vegetables I ate were cucumber and carrots!
Off to put my food together for the day – breakfast, lunch and dinner! I might have to work late tonight – but fingers crossed that I don’t. Somehow I think Tony will be just fine watching football tonight if I do work late!
Make it a great day!
My eating has gotten worse for sure. I used to consume no red meat or pork, but boy that went out the window after meeting Tom 🙂 That pizza looks so freaking good!!
I didn’t eat a vegetable until I was 24. I didn’t cook nor did I like to. I am pretty sure I lived on pizza and gigantic calzones throughout college. Oh and let’s not forget the huge bagels stuffed with cream cheese. At home with my family it was pasta, pasta and more pasta. The bigger the helping the better.
Things are much different today. My lunch at the moment is kale, spinach, a measured quarter cup of brown rice, mushrooms and a half a cup of lentils and it is delicious.
Don’t get me wrong I still dream of enormous Reese’s PB cups!! Way to go with the pizza. That is so hard to do.
Your old menu sounds familiar-lol. I don’t remember my daily eats when I was at my heaviest, but I do remember Dennis would often bring home a dozen doughnuts (he worked at the devil’s krispy kreme) and I’d eat them all by myself in a day. We also ate at Denny’s every night and I’d always get seasoned fries with my meal and dip them in ranch dressing. So glad to have left that behind me! I still indulge, but every hour of the day isn’t a food celebration any more-haha! Your pizza looks like a dream come true-I’d totally hit that. Good for you for stopping at one piece.
You want to know the worse part Biz, my husband can eat like you “back in the day” right now and doesn’t gain anything. Nothing. Zip. Zero. He must have a hell of a metabalism! The soup and the pizza look delish. I love pizza!! 🙂
WTF? Can you have him send me his metabolism? Thanks! 😀
I agree…I say wtf? all the time. If he weren’t bigger than me I’d kick his ass for both of us…bwah!!!! 😉
If you deliver, I’d like a VAT of the soup, and 4 of the pizzas! Kidding of course…and yes, my food habits have absolutely changed. For the better, and I’m pretty sure for a whole lot healthier. Have a great day.
Roz, you make me laugh – hugs!! VAT
That soup looks good! I used to eat a lot of food. We ate out breakfast probably 5 days a week and dinner out many nights as well (hello Portillos). Funny how when we were making the most money, we were at our heaviest.
Now we are careful with how much we eat out and we split stuff many times (saves money and calories).
Yep, Tony and I definitely do eat less now – we usually split a chicken breast or a steak now – works great!
But now I am thinking about Portillo’s chocolate cake! (and maybe their chocolate cake shake!)
Biz, way to put it in perspective!!
Go RAVENS!
Hope your team wins B!!
BALANCE. I’m all about it – not only for physical wellness, but also for emotional and mental wellness. I’m so glad that you’re viewing that pizza in the Big Picture – not the end of the world and much-deserved for all of your healthy eating and hard exercising!
“You’ve come a long way baby” When we’re younger we just don’t worry about what we eat, but as we get older, we pay for what we ate when we were younger!!! The body goes to pot…lol!
Sodium, sodium, sodium that hidden demon!!! I know when I have had too much sodium, the ankles swell. That should be a sign to me for sure!!
Congrats on your 9 .1 miles on the bike……way to go!!! That pizza sure looks delicious, but I could not stop at one piece……so I will just drool over the picture and skip the calories. But problem is I can gain weight just looking 🙂
Hope you are back to your 5 miles on your bike Louise now that the garage sale is over – I’ll send you an email! 😀
Seriously? You used to eat that much junk in one day? I’m much healthier now but even at my worst I might have only had one meal like that. You’ve come a long way – definitely enjoy the pizza!
Sadly, that was a common day of food, even when I exercised. But, turns out when you stop working out 3 hours a day, the shitty food catches up to you!
I’ve always been pretty healthy – short stints with heavy drinking and fast food early on in college, but that’s about it. Now, it’s about finding balance between the foods I like to eat and that the Sailor likes (but thankfully, he’s not picky!)
I use to eat a lot of “sugar free” things, desserts made with Splenda, a lot more carbs. These days I eat a lot more fresh veggies, lean meats, nothing fried, lots of fresh fruit and fewer carbs, no artificial sugar substitutes and very few pre packed “diet” foods.
Tami – I am so stoked about your tiny pecan tassies! Tony is going to die when I make those for him!
My eating habits are much healthier than my 20’s , especially when I was college….but I still have my days when I eat 3 cookies for dessert!
Oops . . . “at” was supposted to be “ate.”
Congratulations Biz. You at everything you wanted to, it looks delicious and you still came in with a reasonable calorie/protein/carbo/sodium count! YOU GO GIRL . . .
Thanks Janice! 😀
I know this will be a bad thing but… is your pizza recipe anywhere in your archive?
I too must indulge in one piece 🙂 My husband will LOVE it & me for making it. We can not find anywhere around here that makes a true deep dish pizza.
Congrats on the nine miles. I had to get batteries for my elliptical so I could track my miles. It went out the day I accepted your challenge.
Here is the link. Don’t let the steps fool you – its a Cook’s Illustrated recipe, so that’s why.
The dough is enough for two, 9 inch pizzas – you bake them in a cake pan. I broke down the recipe for 8 servings for the dough, or 1/4 of a 9 inch pie – the calories for the dough alone are: 262 calories, 5 fat, 46 carbs, 2.3 fiber and 6.8 protein. The rest of the calories depends on what toppings you use. 😀
http://mybizzykitchen.com/2011/10/02/best-deep-dish-pizza-recipe-ever-and-holiday-challenge-update/
I’ve had about a dozen blog readers make it, and so far its been a complete success!
Yeah, I used to eat a lot of crap. I got up to 182 lbs by eating out a lot, including bagels with egg, ham, and cheese for breakfast, a tuna salad or reuben sammie for lunch, and then a fried buffalo chicken sandwich with fries and beer after volleyball.
Then I went on an almost-vegetarian phase. I do love my vegetables. But as a nursing mom, I need and crave meat.
I read your whole comment but my eyes keep going back to “reuben sammie!” 😀
I have a much better appreciation for vegetables now . . . not that I hated them before, but they certainly weren’t my favorite part of the meal. But I can honestly say, that nowadays, sometimes they are my favorite part! I think I’ve learned how to prepare different veggies to bring out their best qualities, and I’m more mindful about how eating them makes me feel (which is so much better than how I feel when I eat crap). 🙂
I agree – the first time I ate an asparagus that was cooked properly you could have knocked me over with a feather it was so good!
My habits have changed so much throughout the years. I was a vegetarian for about 10 years, regrettably was on the low-fat kick for years, and have dabbled in veganism.
Now I refuse to put a label on my eating habits other than to say I eat whole, mostly unprocessed food that I love. Good enough right?
Works for me Marie! 😀
I’m not surprised at the sodium count of your previous diet. Prepared and fast foods have very high sodium content. If that’s not common knowledge, it should be!
Speaking of sodium, I’m interested as to what the count was for that pizza? Seeing as it had bacon and pepperoni on it.
ready? 1810 grams of sodium for my one slice – I ended up with 3800 for the day – even my soup had 1040 grams because of the chicken broth. Yikes!
See, that’s why I only use College Inn Light and Fat Free Low Sodium Chicken Broth if I’m using prepared broth for my soup. It’s just too darn easy for it to add up quickly and both Mr. Helen and I need to watch it for the most part!
Yum, potato soup is one of my favorite things ever. I don’t have my mom’s recipe, but it’s amazing and has chunks, which I love.
It’s crazy–and amazing how much your eating habits have changed. Good for you!
I love that you were able to work a piece of that incredible looking pizza into your day and do no harm. Really, I truly believe, that is what it is all about…balance. I am proud of you for stopping at one piece…that would have been hard right there! lol
Good job on the exercise. I have been soooo lacking in that department for some time now, and it’s really showing. Like you said, balance.
I think since I started WW, the main thing that has changed for me is portion control. To learn to be happy and satisfied with less food on my plate. Not everyday works out to be stellar…but I continue to try to strive for it…and that’s something.
Seriously, this pizza is so filling, I couldn’t have eaten another piece if I tried! 😀
Wow! Amazing to look back on the strides you’ve made- bravo! And great job on the ride too! I’ve been a pretty healthy eater most of my life. I have a condition that makes it very easy for me to gain weight, so I try my best to stay on top of eating healthy and exercising. I have never been one of those people that has been able to eat whatever I want- even as a kiddo! MMmmmmm to potato soup!
uhmmm, that pizza looks like THE BOMB! I think calorie splurges are okay once in a while, as long as it is not a life style. I used to live off fast food, eat whatever I wanted, never ate veggies….but apparently I was active enough and had a high enough metabolism that I never really gained weight. That all changed after the birth of my 1 st child! And now that I am 40….I have the metabolism of a slug. And each child has graciously left me with an additional 10 lbs. So, I need to get my ass moving, and concentrate on eating healthy for me and my family!