I have to stop being a Waffle.

This weather is so weird.  Yesterday there was black ice on the way to work – almost more roads closed than open.  So weird because we only got like 1/2 an inch of additional snow, but it was all ice underneath.  I drive pretty carefully (Tony calls my driving “10 and 2 with an attitude!”  It’s the other drivers that I worry about not paying attention or driving too fast for conditions.

I left about 10 minutes earlier than normal, and I ended up being 10 minutes late.  Not bad.  It took one of our attorneys 2 1/2 hours to drive in, so I am not complaining!

I made another batch of the Chobani banana granola pancakes for breakfast.  Although I didn’t have any granola, so I used a teaspoon of sunflower seeds and slivered almonds.  I also added 1 tablespoon of freshly made honey peanut butter that I got at Whole Foods.  Just the addition of the peanut butter made such a difference – the banana/peanut butter combo is amazeballs.  I still have to figure out the nutritional value, but I think it’s still going to be close to the 95 calories per pancake.   My boss raved about this version – winning!

When I got to the gym I saw that the pool was open so I decided to swim.  Now normally, I just swim at a pace that is comfortable since I try not to stop during my 30 minute swim. 

Yesterday there was a man in the next lane who was a really good swimmer.  I realized I’d just been going through the motions of my swim, and not really giving it any effort.

So yesterday, I decided to “sprint” a lap (to try to keep up with Mr. Olympian) and then float on my back to recover the next lap, and then sprint again.  Guess what?  My face was actually flushed and I was huffing and puffing after that 30 minutes!

You guys will be proud of me.  Guess what I am doing??  Labeling my food!!

I am the queen of throwing shit in a bag saying to myself “I’ll remember what that is!”  I’ve been known to bring pasta sauce to work before thinking it was either tomato or red pepper soup!

I kicked up my vegetarian taco soup with chopped baby spinach and had some tortilla chips on the side for dipping.

Now here is a perfect example of me having to stop being a waffle.  And by waffle I mean the change between doing things that are good for me and then doing things that are not good for me.

I swam a really good workout.  After I ate the above lunch, I was full and very satisfied.  However, I knew I had extra chips, some salsa in the fridge and at about 4:00, I had a mini salsa party at my desk.  WTF?!  I wasn’t hungry.  I just knew the food was there so I ate it.  Probably made my workout obsolete!

I had chicken sandwiches on the menu for dinner.  I cut one chicken breast in half, then cut the thicker part in half again so I ended up with three pieces.

No real recipe to this.  I let the chicken sit in seasoned milk for about 15 minutes before dipping it in seasoned flour.   Then deep fry for about 6-7 minutes.  Each piece of chicken was right around 3.5 ounces.

I, of course, made my sammie buffalo! 

Again, here is where I need to stop taking those extra licks and bites.  That third piece of chicken?  After I cleaned up the kitchen I caught up on the Makeover issue of the Biggest Loser.  Guess who ate that third piece of chicken while watching THE BIGGEST LOSER of all shows?!  This gal.  Gah!

I had to come clean, just to be honest with myself and to acknowledge the overeating and try to stop it.   My birthday is next week and I think after that I am going to go on a cleanse of some sort – not sure what, but I can’t keep going in this direction and expect different results. 

I started this blog 4 1/2 years ago at 168 pounds.  In 2011 I got down to 156.  This is how I looked then:

To just last week:

Look at the difference just 14 pounds makes on me.  Well, I’d be the perfect weight if I were 6’2”! 

So today is a new day.  I only have one goal.  Breakfast. Lunch. Dinner.  That’s it.  No extra bites of cheese, no peanuts at night.  Just one day without over eating.  I can do this.

I have a proud Momma moment!  Hannah’s been working really hard.  She is taking 16 credit hours, and she works about 25-30 hours a week at her job at Panera.  Last night they had an employee meeting.  I’ve always joked with Hannah since she started there that someday she was going to be Employee of the Month!

She was the Bread Head of the Month for January!  Woop!  It’s really no surprise.  Here’s why:

1. She’s never late.
2. She’s never called in.
3. If they call her to fill in for a shift, she says yes.
4. She’s organized.
5. She’s uber clean.
6. Did I mention that she cleans like people need to eat off the floor?
7. Oh, and then there is the part about her work station being spotless, even during her shift.
8. And she’s nice to the customers.

So proud of you Hannah – keep up the great work!

Alright – today’s a new day.  Let’s make it a great one!