2023: Finding My Way Back

  Day 56 of Nutrisystem 2.0 got off to a slow start as I did not want to get out of my warm cozy bed this morning ! It was after 7:30 by the time I got up but I had enough time to feed the indoor & outdoor cats and make myself a cup of coffee before I logged in to work. The temp was up in the 30's so the house was warm and cozy all day. Makes a huge difference in my state of mind ! Breakfast was a 270 calorie Jimmy Dean Delights breakfast sandwich. Morning snack was a 120 calorie chocolate shake. Lunch was a chef salad and a 220 calorie pepperoni pizza melt. Afternoon snack was 200 calorie cheese & crackers. Dinner was broccoli and a 250 calorie cranberry & brie stuffed turkey breast. This is an item from Fall 2021 that I've been hoarding because they are so good ! Nutrisystem didn't bring them back for Thanksgiving 2022 and boy was I disappointed ! They have a breading coating and when cooked in the air fryer it gets crispy and crunchy. So delicious ! Evening s...

  Day 55 of Nutrisystem 2.0 kicked off at precisely 6:45 am. I contemplated dozing until the alarm at 7 but ultimately decided to get up and get the day started. I made my bed and headed downstairs. It was only 13 degrees but the house temp was a comfortable 68. I fed the indoor and outdoors cats, got dressed and then settled on the couch to enjoy my first cup of coffee before the work day started. Breakfast was 150 calorie pancakes with sugar free syrup and an 80 calorie yogurt. Morning snack was a 120 calorie vanilla shake. Lunch was a chef salad and 220 calorie pepperoni pizza melt. Afternoon snack was 200 calorie cheese & crackers. Dinner was green beans and a 260 calorie turkey pepperoni & sausage pizza. Evening snack was a 140 calorie chocolate cupcake. Total calories for the day are over 1200 because I also had an apple oatmeal muffin. I'm down to 1 muffin left in the freezer ! After a disappointing weekend, I'm ready to "get it right" for the next 5 da...

  Day 54 of Nutrisystem 2.0 started about the same time as yesterday, just before 8 am. I don't know what the outside temp was but it was 65 in the downstairs. Today it warmed up fast outside (into the 30's) so the house was up to a comfortable 70 by noon. The day did not go as planned .. and for that matter the entire weekend didn't go as planned. I'm disappointed in myself, yet again. Breakfast was a 270 calorie Jimmy Dean Delights breakfast sandwich. Morning snack was a 100 calorie pack of cookies. Lunch was a 220 calorie pepperoni pizza melt. Afternoon snack was an apple oatmeal muffin that I had in the freezer. Dinner was broccoli and a 250 calorie meatloaf sandwich. Evening snack was a 140 calorie ice cream sandwich. Total calories for the day are 1200+ because of the muffin. I ended up doing some more work this morning, because I had one last complicated project that I've been avoiding and I woke up thinking about it ! I also wanted to tee up a few things to ...

  Day 53 of Nutrisystem 2.0 started early for a Saturday - I got up just before 8 am. It was 9 degrees outside and the temp in the downstairs was 65. By 6 pm it was 20 degrees outside and the downstairs was up to 68 degrees. It pretty much stuck there because by 8 pm the temp was back down to 15. Breakfast was 150 calorie pancakes with sugar free syrup and an 80 calorie yogurt. I didn't have a morning snack. Lunch was a chef salad and a 220 calorie pepperoni pizza melt. Afternoon snack was 200 calorie cheese & crackers. Dinner was green beans and a 250 calorie chicken enchilada. Evening snack was a 140 calorie chocolate cupcake. Total calories for the day are 1200+ because I made a bowl of popcorn. I did skip the butter ! I didn't use the treadmill today. I had some work I wanted to get done without interruption and I ended up actually working until almost 5:30 pm. Technically speaking, I'm not supposed to work "off the clock" but I do it on occasion. I figure...

  Day 52 of Nutrisystem 2.0 had the potential to start early, because I was awake at 6:15, but I opted to go back to sleep until my alarm went off at 7. I had no trouble going back to sleep, so I clearly needed the rest. It was very quiet and still outside and that is because we had a little bit of snow during the night and very light snow was still falling. I think the snow absorbs a lot of the traffic noise, plus it's Friday so traffic is light anyway. I love these quiet mornings. The house was creaking because of the change in temperature, it was 19 when I got up and the high for the day is 20. Low for tonight is 9, so it's going to be another chilly night. Breakfast was a 270 calorie Jimmy Dean Delights breakfast sandwich. Morning snack was a 120 calorie chocolate shake. Lunch was a chef salad and 220 calorie pepperoni pizza melt. Afternoon snack was 200 calorie cheese & crackers. Dinner was the rest of the roasted carrots and 220 calorie chicken fettucine alfredo over ...

  Day 51 of Nutrisystem 2.0 dawned early and quiet. The snow had stopped when I got up and we got a plowable amount, but nowhere near the 9 inches they said we might get. I'd say there was maybe 4 inches outside and it was the heavy wet stuff. I woke up at 6:30 and actually got up ! I could easily have tried dozing until the alarm at 7 but I did have to pee and I'm trying to get in the habit of getting up when I wake up, provided it's a reasonable hour. So today started off on a positive note! By the time my alarm went off at 7 I had already made the bed, fed the indoor and outdoor cats and brewed my first cup of coffee ! The temp outside was about 29 and the house was perfectly warm. I did turn the heat up yesterday because the downstairs just seemed too cold. I had the thermostat set on 70 but bumping it up to 72 made a huge difference. I didn't need to run the electric heater in my office at all today. Breakfast was 160 calorie buttermilk waffles with sugar free syru...

  Today is Day 50 of Nutrisystem 2.0 and I'm sad that I haven't made as much progress as I had hoped. To not even be down 15 pounds is a big disappointment and it's also a big red flag. I'm still making excuses left and right to overeat or not exercise and that is a big problem. It is still the weekends that are tripping me up. This is why I feel like I need to formulate and adhere to a routine for weekends. It's too easy to sleep in and then sit on the couch all day, because I have nowhere I need to be. My time is 100% my own and with no place to go it's too easy to be lazy. Breakfast was .. well, I actually forgot to have breakfast. I did finish the remains of the muffin from last night, which honestly was about 1/3 of the muffin. I'll count that as 150 calories. Morning snack was a 120 calorie chocolate shake. Lunch was roasted carrots and a 220 calorie pepperoni pizza melt. Afternoon snack was 160 calorie cheese & crackers. Dinner was green beans and...

  Day 49 of Nutrisystem 2.0 dawned clear and chilly. It's so odd to have absolutely no snow on the ground. It was 41 degrees by noon and we had some rain. Snow is possible pretty much every day into Sunday but my area has a winter storm watch from tomorrow afternoon to Thursday afternoon. Could see snow, ice, high winds and rain. Ugh. I'm not worried as I have plenty of food and I don't have to go out, but I'm not liking the 5 degree low predicted for Friday night ! Our winter has just gone from one extreme to another over and over, so I just have to roll with it. It helps that my heat has been 100% reliable since the last guy was here ! I have so much peace of mind ! Breakfast was a 270 calorie Jimmy Dean Delights breakfast sandwich. Morning snack was a 120 calorie vanilla shake. Lunch was freshly roasted carrots and .. what else, a 220 calorie pepperoni pizza melt ! Afternoon snack was .. you guessed it, 160 calorie cheese & crackers. New bag of crackers are 120 f...

  Day's 46, 47 and 48 of Nutrisystem were a little off the rails. I spent the entire 3 day weekend pretty much sitting on the couch and eating whatever I wanted. Why ? I don't know .. I just needed a couple days "off" my routine, I guess. I didn't exercise and I'm not going to detail what I ate. There is no point.  Today I did manage to get off my ass and go to Wegman's and Walmart. I picked up fresh salad items at Wegman's and included some new items. I bought some feta cheese, pickled onions, green and greek olives and some pickled jalapenos. I've gotten very bored with my salads and I'm going to try adding some of these items in small quantities to make them more appealing. I also bought a piece of strawberry shortcake. Enough said. I didn't really "need" anything at Walmart but I bought some frozen broccoli and green beans, some of my raspberry lemonade drink mix and some Fresca. I also got 4 double chocolate muffins. I picke...

  Day 45 of Nutrisystem 2.0. I got up shortly after the alarm and had a few minutes to relax with my coffee before work. I could easily have stayed in bed because I didn't get a great nights sleep. I woke up at 1:15 am and felt like I'd slept all night ! After a while I was tempted to get up but I knew I couldn't function on that little sleep. I ended up putting the tv on and my Fitbit says I went back to sleep around 2:40 am. I'm tired tonight and since tomorrow is Saturday I can sleep in !  “Lighten up on yourself. No one is perfect. Gently accept your humanness.” Today's self-love quote is a good way to end the work week. I think part of my problem is the fact that my life was out of control for so many years. I grabbed tight to the things I could control (my job) while everything else (my personal life) spun out of control around me. I remember for years making sure my office was neat and clean, while my home was a pigsty. I could control that little cubicle but...

  Day 44 of Nutrisystem 2.0. I got up shortly after the alarm but didn't have much time to relax and enjoy my first cup of coffee before it was time for work ! Weather today was quiet and gloomy. No sun but it warmed up to the low 40's. Tomorrow looks to be a rainy day but the weekend is expected to be dry. Right now we have no snow in the forecast but that could change at any time. For right now I'm going to enjoy the warmer days and the lack of snow ! The days are definitely getting longer and that's always a good thing ! Breakfast was 150 calorie pancakes with sugar free syrup and an 80 calorie yogurt. Morning snack was a 120 calorie vanilla shake. Lunch was green beans and a 220 calorie burrito. Afternoon snack was 180 calorie cheese & crackers. Dinner was broccoli and 260 calorie roasted turkey medallions. Evening snack was a 140 calorie chocolate cupcake. Total calories for the day are 1150. First workout of the day was 33 minutes in the Atlas Mountains. I wen...

  Day 43 of Nutrisystem 2.0. After a restless night I was up shortly after the alarm went off and by 7:30 the bed was made, the cats were fed and I was enjoying my first cup of coffee in the quiet of the morning. It was 45 when I got up and our high temp for today was forecast at 61 ! I decided not to weigh myself today. I'm actually going to move my weigh in day to Friday. I feel like the weekends are where I get off track and a Friday weigh in gives me a few days to 'recover' from any weekend slips. However, I don't intend to use it as an excuse to indulge. That would just defeat the purpose. So we'll see what this Friday brings. I'm still struggling a bit with that bedtime snacking and a tendency not to exercise as planned on weekends, otherwise I feel like I'm doing a better job adhering to the Nutrisystem plan. Last Saturday's Valentine's feast was intentional, if a bit misguided, so I am not worried about that being a problem.  Breakfast was a ...

  Day 42 of Nutrisystem 2.0 and it's Valentine's Day ! I was awake before 7 today and actually got up, instead of lingering in bed until the alarm. I didn't check the outdoor temp but it was definitely warmer than it has been, because there was no chill in the air upstairs and no frost on the ground outside. At 6 pm it was still 40 degrees and it was up to at least 45 earlier. We had a lot of sun today too, which was wonderful to see. I've talked about this before, but the sun makes me feel so much better. It lightens my mood and it's part of the reason I love working out on the front porch all summer.  Breakfast was 160 calorie buttermilk waffles with sugar free syrup and an 80 calorie yogurt. Morning snack was a 120 calorie chocolate shake. Lunch was a chef salad and 220 calorie pepperoni pizza melt. Afternoon snack was 180 calorie cheese & crackers. Dinner was broccoli and 220 calorie rotini with meatballs. Evening snack was a 140 calorie chocolate cupcake. I...

  Day 41 of Nutrisystem 2.0. It's a new week and I'm letting the weekend failures go. I woke up at 6:25 but opted to stay in bed, which made it harder to get up at 7. It was 7:30 by the time I went downstairs. I'm going to try getting up when I wake up unless it's ridiculously early. I've said I was going to try this many times and I have yet to put serious effort into it. We'll see what I can do this week. Breakfast was a 270 calorie Jimmy Dean Delights breakfast sandwich. Morning snack was a 120 calorie vanilla shake. Lunch was a chef salad with the last of the feta & olive salad and a 220 calorie pepperoni pizza melt. Afternoon snack was 180 calorie cheese & crackers. Dinner was a 220 calorie chicken fettuccine alfredo over riced cauliflower. Evening snack was a 140 calorie chocolate cupcake. Total calories for the day are 1150. First workout of the day was the Atlas Mountains. I went with the speeds I outlined yesterday (2.6 to 2.9) and got through i...