Lobster Shorts cooking, vegetarian, weight loss

What I Ate Today With Calorie Count Day 2 -July 13 2022

Disclaimer. I am not a medical professional, nutritionist, or anyone with any business giving diet/nutritional advice. This is my own personal journey. When it comes to yourself, seek the advice of a medical professional.

Before I go into what I ate today, I will give you a weight update. Unfortunately, I have gained the weight I lost for the wedding back. I was 169lbs on my wedding day and currently weighing 177lbs this morning. It’s disappointing to have lost all that headway. I did OMAD (one meal a day) to lose weight before the wedding. I don’t want to do that again. My history with fast weight loss and diets hasn’t done a lot for me. An 1800 daily calorie limit seems to be more sustainable. I’ve only done it for two days and even in these two days I wanted to do late-night snacking with binge foods, but it wasn’t a big deal not to have them. It’s been great for stopping from grabbing fizzy sweet drinks from the fridge – not soda, but it might as well be. Instead, I’ve been drinking sparkling unflavoured water. It’s not bad!

Breakfast and lunch were my go-to’s: English muffin with avocado and egg and a bowl of chili. As usual, I had coffee with breakfast and tea during the day. I got a latte on the way to work from The Snapping Turtle. I love it without any sweeteners or flavorings, while my spouse loves hazelnut. I do really like the flavor shots in a latte, but I only want a couple sips, while with a straight latte I love it right to the end. This is very strange to me because I have such a sweet tooth.

I did manage to skip the M&Ms today, but not the granola bar for the ride home. I also had some apple sauce as well. Dinner was paneer curry from Hello Fresh and it was really good. The calories were 560 per serving and although I had less than half, I was munching on the cheese bits and peppers while I was cooking it, so I used the full calorie count.

I did get hungry later in the evening and I munched on some cherries. The cherries were SO good. I was thinking of having chocolate, but I didn’t want to go over my calorie count for the day and 2 cups of cherries seemed better than one small piece of chocolate (I was snacky!), so I had that. I managed to stick to my calorie count for the day and feel pretty good about how things are going. I’ll post the calorie chart for the day below:

WednesdayCalories
english muffin140
egg78
Avocado 1/2160
black coffee0
latte w/whole milk136
tea0
chili400
apple sauce45
granola bar160
Hello Fresh paneer curry560
Cherries 2 cups100
Total Calories1779
Lobster Shorts cooking, Food, vegetarian, weight loss

The Monotony Of Counting Calories and What I Ate Today – July 12 2022

Disclaimer. I am not a medical professional, nutritionist, or anyone with any business giving diet/nutritional advice. This is my own personal journey. When it comes to yourself, seek the advice of a medical professional.

I’ve tried tons of diets. If they include a vegetarian lifestyle (even if they don’t I can usually adapt it to one), I’ve probably tried it. I’ve even tried Keto, which I did notice increased my libido. I’m taking a guess here and assuming that means my everyday diet includes too much sugar/carbs. Keto was not a diet I was able to stick with, even with the unexpected benefits. Like every other diet I’ve tried, it was quickly cast aside and any benefits I gained were quickly lost, or it just didn’t work. I’m sad to say, there is no miracle solution to weight loss for me.

I really dislike counting calories. It’s monotonous, tedious, and annoying, but I need to do it. For the last few weeks, I assumed I was eating pretty well with fewer calories, but I didn’t lose any weight. It was time to figure out where I was going wrong and have a better understanding of how much I was eating. I knew I was doing a couple things wrong. I was eating too much junk food and portioning out the same amount of food as my spouse, who is a male. I do not require the same amount of calories as a grown man, therefore I really shouldn’t be eating the same portion sizes as one. I cut my portion size down to about 75% of what he was eating, yet still didn’t notice any weight loss.

I started a spreadsheet chart and am aiming to eat around 1800 calories a day. Sundays I’ll be a little more lax. I’ll post the results of what I ate on July 11/2022.

MondayCalories
Avocado eggs benny563
coffee0
tea0
chilli400
m&ms100
granola bar160
apple sauce45
strawberries18
cola – a couple sips from my spouse10
curry680
Totals1976

As you can see I went over my 1800-calorie goal on my first day.

Tuesday I had an egg sandwich with avocado for breakfast.

For lunch, I had a can of vegetarian chili I got at Costco: Sprague. They are great for lunch – heat and eat. Although this photo does NOT look appetizing, the chili is actually really good, with a slight hint of heat. I really like it and plan on having it for lunch during the work week, until I eventually want something else.

Dinner I have been making Hello Fresh for a couple weeks now and I LOVE IT!!! They have about 6 vegetarian meals to choose from every week. I just noticed that they have the calories for each meal listed on the bag. SUPER helpful. Even though it’s pretty expensive it keeps me from getting takeout on the commute home. That was a huge problem for me. I have been having granola bars on the ride home which isn’t great, but I notice the dogs get a better walk when we get home if I’m not starving, as they are always walked before dinner. I tend to become a homebody after dinner and prefer to walk them beforehand. That usually means we eat really late at night, but so far that’s how it’s going for us.

Last night was fatoush salad from Hello Fresh and was one of the lower calorie items: only 480 calories per serving! I usually divide the dinner into three as Hello Fresh usually has generous portion sizes, giving my spouse lunch to take to work the next day, but because the calories were so low, I only divided it in two (I did not dole out a smaller portion size than my spouse this time lol). It was really good. I loved it. I’ll post the results of the calories I ate for the whole day:

TuesdayCalories
english muffin140
egg78
Avocado 1/2160
black coffee0
Lemondade 1 cup100
bite of a scone30
tea0
Chilli 1 can400
m&ms 1/8 cup100
tea0
apple sauce45
granola160
raspberries65
fatoush salad480
chocolate cracker30
Total1788

That chocolate cracker was had late at night and right before bed. It wasn’t necessary, but since I would stay within my allotted calorie count for the day, I ate it. Not exactly the precedence I want to set. These little things add up and could interfere with my goals.

Overall I think I did really good yesterday and hope to keep it up. My intentions usually fall apart and instead of picking myself up and continuing, I scrap the whole process. I’d like to stop doing that and figure out a way to stick with it carrying on with my goals. It’s something I need to work on in myself and learn to figure out.

Lobster Shorts books, Food, happy mail, vegetarian, weight loss

Cookbook Haul!

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I went on a tear at bookoutlet.ca shopping for cookbooks. I love this store. I heard about it from Shannon’s Bookish Musings on YouTube. It’s a lovely store that sells books at discounted prices. I’ve ordered from there several times and each time the shipping was fast and the books in perfect condition. I love it.

This time it was a cookbook spree (I keep hoping From A Buick 8 by Stephen King, will pop up in there one day. I lost my copy in a move and I want to read it again. Stephen King is one of those authors I love to reread. What happened to that book??). Anyway, cookbooks. It was all about cookbooks. I’m not sure where that came from, I don’t buy them super often.

I’m not sure what exactly I was looking for, mostly quick and easy by the looks of it (and clearly cheesecake too. I love cheesecake). I’ve gotten back into bad habits of not cooking and getting takeout all the time. The new rescue dog is home from Turkey now and we’ve been focusing all our time and energy on the dogs. This is probably going to continue until we get our routines established and puppers has settled a little more. I’m feeling a little shell shocked (probably not as much as the dog!). I need to start cooking. For awhile I was making really fantastic, healthy breakfasts. That stopped after the second dog came home. I don’t recall cooking at all except once in the last week. All takeout! It’s terrible..

Something I’m really guilty for when buying cookbooks, is spending hours browsing through them… and then never making anything. What IS that all about? A lot of these cookbooks are hopefully going to check all the boxes, quick and light on dishes. I’ve got a recipe picked out for the sauce recipe book, tonight. I was going to chuck some veggies into the airfryer, add some pumpkin seeds and soba noodles and the top it with one of the sauce recipes. That sounds pretty easy.

This last recipe book Speedy Bosh, has fantastic sounding recipes. I hope they are as quick as it implies. I’m looking forward to trying them (possibly the cheesecake book will come in handy this weekend). I’ll post an unboxing video below, if you are into that sort of thing

Lobster Shorts Food, vegetarian, weight loss

Saturday Breakfast and Workout

Every Saturday, my spouse and I go to the Stone Town Cafe. We go every week, it’s a tradition we started back when our dog was still alive. The three of us would get egg and cheese sandwiches. The owner of the café always had a couple cookies for her, sometimes a few of the café regulars too. She was stuffed by the time we went home. I miss her a lot. She loved her Saturday morning treats.

We’ve kept with the tradition, and still go every Saturday. Lately, I’ve been having a lot of eggs at home and have wanted something different. I’ve been getting the Mediterranean wrap. It’s healthy with lots of veggies and light on the cheese. I get it with a coffee.

On the way home from breakfast, I went to Kitchen Smidgen for some sweet treats. They had one of my favourites, custard tarts. One for both of us and a meringue to split. One bite each lol. It’s probably lucky for me that the bakery is only open Fridays and Saturdays. I feel it’s okay to splurge on weekends.

Lunch I made an attempt at green curry without a recipe. It was okay. It had tofu, green curry paste, coconut milk, and veggies. I served it over brown rice. I did some weeding today and I just sat on my butt in the garden to do it. My thighs are still burning like crazy from the Start It Up workout I did two days ago. I’m making sounds when I sit down and stand. You know… huhhhhhhh what did I do to myself groany sounds… Every time I sit or stand. I did the Slim In 6 Ab workout. That’s all my legs would allow. I wanted to save the stretching video for tomorrow.

This was dinner this evening. Avocado and egg on a whole wheat bun, a piece of cheese. I’m still craving this non stop. No signs of getting sick of it anytime soon. I had a slice of pie this evening and a glass of red wine. I forgot to take a picture of the pie. It was strawberry rhubarb pie with a sugar crumble topping, homemade. I’m going to be splurging a little tomorrow too. Sunday is big breakfast day. Once it cools down a little I’d like to spend some more time outside. It’s still very hot here in Ontario.

Disclaimer. I am not a medical professional, nutritionist, or anyone with any business giving diet advice. This is my own personal journey. When it comes to yourself, seek the advice of a medical professional.

Lobster Shorts Food, lifestyle, vegetarian, weight loss

Back To Pound Town

Disclaimer. I am not a medical professional, nutritionist, or anyone with any business giving diet advice. This is my own personal journey. When it comes to yourself, seek the advice of a medical professional.

This morning for breakfast I had an English muffin with an egg and 1/2 an avocado with a coffee. I love this breakfast, it’s so tasty and satisfying. I want two eggs, but have stuck with one cut in half for each side because I know it’s enough. I want the second egg because I like how tasty it is, but I don’t need it, I just want it.

For lunch I had a can of Campbell’s Moroccan Chickpea Soup and snacked on cherry tomatoes. I made another pit stop to the Snapping Turtle with my spouse again, but this time I told him no cookies, just the latte. I still had a bite of his, because the peanut butter cookies there are magical. Just a bite though.

My spouse surprised me with dinner while I was playing in my craft room. It was wine and a frozen pizza. He cooks them really well. The crust was wonderfully crunchy. It wasn’t the healthiest meal, but it was nice not to have to cook. I had some pickles and a chunk of cheese before dinner. I was hungry.

My hips were still super sore in the morning from jogging a couple days ago, but they were fine enough by the evening to get out the Slim In 6 tape again. I did the Start It Up workout again and it left me sweaty and breathless. I had to modify a small section of the arm part (most of that is from yesterday’s torture in the gym), but I did most of it. I did manage to get through the rest of it.

Here’s my post workout face for your viewing pleasure.

Lobster Shorts Food, vegetarian, weight loss

What I Ate Today – Day 5

It’s an unusual breakfast, but I love it. I usually get an egg and cheese sandwich on an English muffin for breakfast, at the Stone Town Café, here in St Marys, but I was all egg sandwiched out. The cafe lets you order off the lunch menu early in the morning, so I got the Mediterranean wrap and a latte. My spouse made the order while I waited outside. He knows I love their oatmeal cookies, so he picked one up for me, which made a huge breakfast. We sat down by the river to eat our breakfast and went for a stroll afterwards. I was full after the sandwich and chips, so I saved the cookie for later.

When I got home I did some cleaning which made me thirsty, and I had a pineapple Bubly. Cleaning took awhile and I had the oatmeal cookie when I was done

For lunch I had a salad with balsamic vinaigrette, topped with cheese, and cashews. I love this salad. The cheese and cashews make it very filling.

After the salad I made a mug of vanilla chai tea and then had a second one right after. I’ve noticed since I’ve stopped eating anything after dinner, that I’ve been a lot thirstier lately. I rarely feel thirsty and usually drink tea just because I like it.

Mid afternoon I was back to crafting. Once I finished, I sat outside to enjoy the sunshine, and split a Stella with my spouse. It’s was 30 degrees out and sunny, the perfect day for a beer.

Dinner was a veggie burger and potato salad. I love potato salad. I did end up having a couple more spoon fulls of it that I didn’t take a photo of. It’s one of my favourite things to eat.

After dinner, I had a glass of wine and now I’m done eating for the day.

Lobster Shorts Food, vegetarian, weight loss

What I Ate Today – May 31/2021

My day started with my spouse making me breakfast while I slept (the man is a saint), an egg on a whole wheat muffin , and black coffee. I asked him to skip the cheese from now on to make it lighter on the calories. He added some curry powder and it was good. I didn’t miss the cheese at all. I got on the scale this morning and I’ve gained weight. I knew I did because I’ve been indulging every craving I’ve had and binging a lot. From now on, I’m blogging what I eat. I’ve read that writing down everything you eat helps keep you in check. I wonder if taking photos works the same.

During the week, I like to have a mug of tea mid morning. I haven’t had Earl Grey in awhile. I forgot how much I like it. Usually I have green tea, this was a nice change. I refill the mug and toss the tea bag back in and make a second cup which I sip on until evening.

I’ve been having Larabars for snacks. I had two of these today. One mid morning and the second late afternoon. They are really good and have ingredients you can pronounce.

This is a terrible photo of my lunch. It’s homemade lentil soup. This is one of my fridge clean out specials. I make this a lot when I don’t have anything particular planned. I chuck soup stock, lentils, and whatever else I can find in my fridge in a pot and make it into soup. This one had onion, lentils, vegetarian soup stock, spinach, corn, carrots, and chickpeas. It was okay. This is a 500mL mason jar full of the soup.

My dinner is where I took a wrong turn.

I had to pick up something at Home Depot and my spouse suggested we stop at Harveys. I was more than happy to go along with that idea. I love love love Harvey’s veggie burgers. I got one and we shared the fries.

After that I went to Healthy Planet… and bought a cookie. Yep, I bought junk food at the health food store. I messed up a little here. Maybe there is something to keeping track of your food because going over this again, I realized I wasn’t anywhere near as well behaved as I thought I had been today. The cookies and fries should have stayed at the stores.

When I got home I had a glass of Earth’s Own Unsweetened Oat Milk. I love this milk, it’s the first milk I’ve tried that I want to drink a plain glass of. This was a 250mL size glass of milk. After that I mowed half the lawn (the battery died and the second battery wasn’t charged. I can’t say I was super sad about it. I’ll finish that job tomorrow… maybe) and then had a can of Peach Bubly. I’m starting to get hungry again, but I’ll be going to bed very shortly and have finished eating for the day. I’m putting an end to late night snacking.

I have no idea how many calories this is. I don’t want to get into calorie counting. I’ve tried it before and find it too time consuming and I don’t stick with it. I’m still searching for what works for me.