Snack: Yoplait Chocolate Raspberry Delight yogurt (100), Special K cracker pouch (90), natural applesauce (50)

Lunch: Lean Cuisine Butternut Squash Ravioli (280), Steamfresh Super Sweet Corn single (80)

Snack: Fiber One Oats and Chocolate bar (140)

Dinner: Zucchini Risotto (368), light caesar salad (90)

Snack: sugar free double chocolate pudding cup (60), strawberries (20), ReddiWhip (20)

Total calories: 1528 (goal 1621)

After the meeting I drove back to Lansing for lunch with Elaine. We were both feeling really lazy so we ordered a stuffed crust pizza with chicken, extra sauce and cheese, and tons of veggies, plus barbeque boneless wings. This was definitely not a good idea for my sodium level… eating pizza makes me ridiculously thirsty, to the point where I can’t fit enough water in my stomach.

For dinner we met Mom, Dad, and Colin in Kalamazoo at a little place called Cosmo’s Cucina. It was in the middle of a residential neighborhood, with a pub downstairs. The restaurant upstairs was small and intimate, and the food was amazing. Apparently the menu changes seasonally, so there are always new things to try.

We started with crusty bread with brie and warm olives. Then I had an amazing crusted salmon dish. The rice pilaf had pomegranate seeds in it, and there was also a small orange salad on the side. I also had a bottle of pumpkin ale with my main course. For dessert I had the pumpkin cheesecake and a chocolate martini. I also tried bites of everyone else’s desserts, and they were all delicious!

I forgot to take pictures of pretty much everything today… but other than the pizza I think I made some good choices. I would really love to go back to Cosmo’s at some point; it was so delicious!

For breakfast I used my free birthday drink card at Biggby, for a grande skim sugar free Nutty Buddy. I also had a milk chocolate Fiber One bar. I planned on eating the applesauce as well, but I just never got around to it. I think my goal for next week will be to have a fruit with breakfast every day…

I ended up leaving it in my desk drawer with my box of Fiber One bars. I like having snack options ready at my desk, and the little applesauce cups don’t need to be refrigerated! I might take more of them in next week. Since I’ll be going full-time for a while I might need more snacks available throughout the day.

By the time I got home it was around 2:30 PM. I stayed at work an extra hour to finish up a report for my boss, so I was absolutely starving by the time I got home. I didn’t want to have a really big meal though because my sister was already there and I had planned on making dinner for us before we went for the evening’s festivities. So I decided to make myself a wrap spread with whipped cream cheese, ham lunch meat, fat free cheddar cheese, cucumbers, tomatoes, and alfalfa sprouts.

For dinner I made barbeque meatloaf, baked sweet potatoes, and steamed corn. A very carb-filled meal, I know, and the meatloaf was kind of dry. I think I need to add another egg and some more ketchup next time. Oh well.

And from there it all went downhill. Tonight’s birthday weekend activity was going to Connxtions Comedy Club, which was absolutely fantastic. The comedians were hilarious, I got in free for my birthday, and it was just a lot of fun! But I proceeded to have three drinks, plus corn chips with salsa and cheese…

Along with free admission, my drinks were discounted for my birthday. So I started off with a Long Island Iced Tea (my own classic favorite). Then I tried their Flirtini, and finished off with a glass of Amberbach. I only actually have a picture of me with my Long Island, though.

I didn’t track my points today, and I know I went over. Most likely I made a pretty substantial dent in my flex points for the week as well, and it’s really only going to continue throughout the weekend. I’ll at least be trying to counteract the effects of the alcohol by drinking plenty of water, and I’ll start counting my points again Monday!

This week I’m going to be more pro-active about my eating, by planning my meals the night before, and continuing to take pictures. I’ll be sticking to my points pretty closely most days, and using my flex points over the weekend for the birthday funtivities that my sister has planned for me.

This morning I was going to use my free birthday drink coupon at Biggby, but I decided to save it for tomorrow, since tomorrow is Friday. Instead I just had a milk chocolate Ensure shake, and sipped from my trusty Nalgene bottle throughout the morning. I really think Ensure shakes are a good idea for me, because I don’t usually feel like actually eating much in the morning.

For lunch I tried a new kind of frozen meal: Kashi Tuscan Veggie Bake. This is the first time I’ve tried Kashi’s frozen meals, and I have to say it was very tasty! I could taste the whole wheat pasta, and there were tons of veggies in it, with just a little bit of a zippy taste. The back of the package says it has two servings of vegetables in it! I think I’ll have to try more Kashi meals next time I go grocery shopping. Lean Cuisines get a little repetitive after a while.

Since Colin worked the evening shift tonight, I made myself Zesty Tomato Bisque soup and a grilled cheese sandwich, with nine grain bread, fat free sharp cheddar cheese, and I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter spray for the outside of the bread.

Tomorrow I’ll actually be making dinner since Elaine will be here. We’ll want to have dinner before going to the comedy club so that we can save a little money!

And when Colin got home he opened the bottle of wine. He got some bad news at work today – they’re cutting staff, and he’s being demoted with a pay cut. So I left him alone with his wine and his PS3 football game with his friends to de-stress, and just had a glass of wine before bed.

Points used: 23.5

I came in a bit under points today, probably because I fell asleep after I ate lunch and slept through the time of day when I would normally have some sort of snack. I don’t feel hungry at all though, so I think I’m alright. Actually, I think a little more wine might be in order…

I was late leaving for work (Birthday primping, you know!), and I forgot to grab anything resembling breakfast. I stopped and got myself a grande skim sugar free mocha, which is bigger and more calories than I usually go for, but it was a treat! Here you can see my coffee next to the flowers that my parents had sent to me at work. They’re so pretty!

One of my coworkers also brought in a delicious Woldorf salad, and invited everyone in the department up to the conference room to celebrate my birthday. I didn’t get a picture, but I had a little cup of salad – apples, dried cranberries, raisins, and almonds with a vanilla yogurt dressing – and an almond cookie wafer. Very healthy, and perfect for breakfast! I guess it was good I didn’t bring anything besides my coffee.

When I got out of work I went to Subway for lunch, and read my book while I ate. The people sitting next o me thought that I was a bit strange for snapping a photo of my food. Haha! I had a six-inch Club on wheat bread, with tons of veggies, fat free honey mustard, and no cheese. Plus a bottle of water.

After lunch and a trip to Barnes and Noble, I went grocery shopping. Hooray for actually having food in the house again! I got tons of fresh fruits and vegetables, and meat and Lean Cuisines to stock the freezer. I even found a little pot roast kit, made up of fresh veggies and a good-looking cut of meat, ready to be thrown in the crock pot. Colin has been requesting pot roast, and it looked like just the right amount of food for the two of us.

When Colin got home from work, he woke me up from a nap with beautiful roses, a card, and a Lindt milk chocolate bar. I immediately scarfed down the entire chocolate bar because it tasted so good. Lindt is one of my favorite kinds of chocolate… and Colin ate one little square! Okay, yes, I downed a lot of calories within sixty seconds, but it’s my birthday and this was my major indulgence for the day!

For dinner we went to Applebee’s. Since it’s also Veteran’s Day, they were offering a free entree to any past or present military veteran. Perfect for us, since we’re a little tight on money right now and I really didn’t want to have to cook!

I had the Fiesta Lime Chicken and a Raspberry Long Island Iced Tea, plus lots of water. I ate all of the chicken, but probably only about half of the rice. And I was good and said no when Colin asked me if I wanted dessert. Not only had I already had plenty of chocolate, but I was perfectly sated – not too full, but satisfied.

Overall I think I made a lot of good choices today!

Unfortunately, we’ve been putting off getting food for as long as possible so that we haven’t had to spend the money quite yet. I think we’ve almost exhausted the possible meals in our kitchen. I’m not just talking about the “I have bits and pieces of food but nothing to make” kind of exhausted. We’ve been pretty creative about or meals over the past week, and we’ve pretty literally used everything. So I suppose I should go grocery shopping tomorrow.

Anyway, this morning for breakfast I had coffee that Colin brewed this morning, with sugar free hazelnut creamer and splenda, and a milk chocolate Ensure shake with extra protein. I love those things – they’re so easy to grab and take to work, and they’re actually pretty tasty too! Last shopping trip was the first time I picked them up, and while they don’t have the fiber that oatmeal has, and they are higher in calories, they are easy to grab and keep me full until lunch time.

When I got home from work I made myself a bowl of vegetable and pasta soup, with a pouch of Special K crackers on the side. I’m really glad that I found the little pouches because these crackers are so tasty… I may or may not have eaten an entire box the first time I got them. I ate my lunch while catching up on episodes of The Biggest Loser, since I had missed two weeks and tonight was a new episode.

A little while later I had some cottage cheese with diced peaches. This is one of the few things I still have: little cups of cottage cheese, peaches, and applesauce. I also have enough cheese snacks to feed a football team. Or at least Colin. We like cheese. A lot.

Colin made dinner because I fell asleep and didn’t wake up until after he was home. Since we’re so low on food Colin decided that we were having breakfast for dinner, and made eggs and turkey bacon. He offered to make me an omelet so that I could get some vegetables in but… we don’t have any vegetables left. Oh well…

And finally, I finished of my last bottle of IBC Cream Soda. I only get it every once in a while since it’s so very delicious but doesn’t come in diet. Don’t worry, I counted it into my points!

Total points: 27.5

Tomorrow I think I’ll be treating myself a little bit since it’s my birthday, but I’ll also be replenishing our food supply at home. I’m thinking I’ll get Biggby in the morning, then have Subway for lunch after work before I head to Barnes and Noble to spend some of my birthday money! Yay!

So breakfast was coffee with sugar free caramel creamer and splenda, maple brown sugar oatmeal with some pecans and mini chocolate chips, and a light yogurt.

I munched throughout the late morning and early afternoon. I didn’t get out of work until 2 PM today, but I think the oatmeal held me over very well.

When I got home I heated up a can of Italian Style Wedding soup. Very tasty and satisfying.

Colin was even sweet enough to cook dinner tonight, because I really didn’t feel like doing it. He grilled beef round on the George Forman, and cooked up some wheat couscous and snow peas to go with it. And yes, the mug in the background is my soup mug. I didn’t feel like doing much today…

And for a treat while we were watching House, I decided to spend the rest of today’s points on a bottle of IBC Cream Soda – my favorite! I savored every drop.

Points used: 27

Much better on the points-usage today, although I clearly need to work on getting more fruits and vegetables worked into my meals. I much prefer carbs and meat, but alas, my waistline does not.

Breakfast was a Biggby tall skim sugar free Nutty Buddy latte, and a Fiber One Oats and Chocolate bar. I didn’t really feel like eating anything until almost 11 AM, which was when I had the Fiber One bar. Otherwise I sipped on my latte throughout the whole morning.

I ended up having to stay at work for an extra three hours in order to figure out an issue with a financial report, so I was starving by the time I got home and finally ate something at almost 4:30 PM.

I still managed to make myself a yummy meal, though: a tomato wrap spread with whipped cream cheese and stuffed with cracked pepper turkey, ham, fat free cheddar cheese, tomatoes, cucumbers, and alfalfa sprouts; some slightly over-ripe strawberries; and two deviled egg halves left over from the Halloween party. It was a very yummy lunch!

A little while later I had a snack since I wasn’t really hungry enough for another full meal but I was kind of peckish: cottage cheese, the rest of the tomato from lunch, and a packet of Special K multi-grain crackers. And a glass of Diet Cherry 7Up to wash it down!

And before bedtime I decided I wanted a little chocolate, so I picked a mini Hershey bar from our trick-or-treat candy.

Total points for the day: 20

Obviously I didn’t actually eat enough today, but it was really thrown off by my work schedule. In about two weeks I’ll be going full time, so I’ll actually be planning on lunch at work. Until then maybe I should take more snacks with me to work, just in case.