lunch meals

atthequillsmercy

Today’s Workout: It was not the day.

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My period is making my joints hurt more than normal (I bet the cold is a factor, too). The desk peddler was all I could handle since not only am I achy, I’m too tired for coffee to be effective. But, I have a ton of ARCs I really need to finish so, I did that while using the peddler.

For lunch, I took the time to pack my Bentgo salad container (not sponsored or an affiliate). It’s a nifty way to take a salad with me and keep the ingredients and dressing separated. I over did the onion but other than that, it was very filling. It’s a pain in the ass to clean but I love using it.

I made dinner at work with the Itaki (still no money made from this link). This time was steak tips; which I honestly like more than the chicken.

Even though I didn’t get in a run, I was more active during the day. I usually only hit an average of 2,000 steps a day and now, I average 3,000 or more. Even if it’s just to get up and look out a different window in the office, I do it so I’m not sitting so long. I have a movement reminder on my smartwatch and it’s going off less these days. I hope to keep this up and finally get out of the 200 club in a few weeks.

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Today’s Workout: Don’t Hurt Sam!!!

Yeah, part of the reason why I like running with this app so much is I am so invested in the story and strangely protective of Sam. I bet a lot of users love Sam and he should be protected at all costs. But to be on topic, this run was a little hard. I had more soreness than normal; which is to be expected given it’s that time of the month. Everything hurts more. I just power through it.

For lunch I didn’t have a chance to prep but I had some soup available. Dinner was a salad with tuna and I will admit, I think I ate too much. I was struggling to finish it. I had plenty of steps during the day, too. I had to get my taxes done so I was home earlier to do my run, eat dinner, and had plenty of time to wind down. Too bad I can’t leave early every day. 

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atthequillsmercy

Today’s Workout: A break?

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I missed last night’s workout because my kid needed me. We had a long talk which took up  my running time but it’s completely fine. It’s hard enough being a teenager, much less a trans teenager and I’m glad my kid can come to me if they need to. I “made up” for it today with the desk pedler.

These were the prepped meals for the last couple days, except for the popcorn. And that big bowl lasted three sittings. The Saxenda won’t let me eat so much. I used some of the seasoning packets from the ramen to season the popcorn.

Since the weekend is approaching, I’ll be switching to body weight workouts then starting cardio again on Monday. Part of me is looking forward to it and part of me is already over it. Either way, I still plan to keep up with being as active as possible.

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atthequillsmercy

Today’s Workouts: Too much?

Today I did two cardio sessions: the desk peddler and c25k. I do wonder if that’s overdoing it for my legs but I feel pretty good about it. Just moving around more and seeing my daily goals get checked off makes me happy.

It figures that the day after I say I don’t usually eat breakfast, there’s free bagels in the breakroom so, I have one for breakfast. The cream cheese was the light kind and I didn’t use much but I felt weird after. I’m just not used to eating early. For lunch, beef and broccoli with half a block of ramen noodles. I don’t use the seasoning packet since these are not the plain noodles I usually buy. I save those packets to mix with butter as a popcorn topping. That way, I use much less salt because I LOVE savory, salty popcorn. It’s my favorite snack.

When it came to dinner, I wasn’t hungry. I ended up having a little snack (not popcorn, sadly) after my run and that’s it. I really only have two regular meals a day; especially if I’m eating my usual meat and steamed veggies with noodles for lunch. It’s really filling.

Crap, I’m craving popcorn now…

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Today’s Workout: The Usual Spiel

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I spoke to my doctor about my high triglycerides and while she’s not too concerned, we’re gonna keep an eye on it. The very nice (slightly nervous) young man training with her gave me the usual advice of more cardio and take fish oil. I guess it’s a good thing I decided to get back into running. I also noticed my blood pressure creeping up, too. I need to take it easy on the salt.

Today I had steak and bok choy for lunch and a salad for dinner. I’m not usually a breakfast person. I usually just have some coffee since I’m just not that hungry first thing in the morning. I was tempted into having a couple Oreos because there was a little party for a friend of mine who’s leaving for another job but I sincerely doubt two cookies are going to destroy my entire day.

I’m still in the first week of c25k and I took my measurements to track my progress in a way that’s not the scale. We’ll see how things go. I have to be a little careful since I have a new piercing to take care of but it’s ok as long as I don’t let it get all sweaty.

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Today’s Workout: Still not quite there…

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I didn’t workout yesterday to do some chores instead (still counts as burning calories, right?) but today is the desk peddler. I am able to easily do 40 minutes or more so I think it’s time I get back to running. I totally missed my goal of getting under 200 by the end of the month (I’m still around 203-204) and I am very impatient with myself.

wp-1677538013301Last night I made another sandwich and I have decided I do NOT like the turkey. Maybe it’s the brand but I find it slimy to eat and I will be sticking with roast beef.

This was my lunch today. My child decided to use up ALL the onion I was saving for my lunch so I used scallions to replace it. It was about the same so it’ll do if the kid decides to make another salad using a 3-pack of romaine at a time. Kid thinks I’m rich! A bag of romaine is $4 if I can get it cheap. Considering we eat salads multiple times a week, that’s a LOT of money.

Over the weekend, I tried tomahawk steak for the first time. Like a typical nearly middle-aged woman who likes to cook, I spend too much time online watching food/cooking videos and the first time I saw this cut, I was obsessed. I had to try it. I used a reverse sear with butter, rosemary, sage, thyme, and as much garlic as I wanted. The onions went in last and I served it over rice with all the juices. Absolutely amazing and of course, I am comfortably eating the leftovers. I did save the bone to make some broth later.

I think that catches me up with everything. Now, I need to look into growing massive amounts of lettuce because I birthed a voracious vegetable monster.

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Today’s Workout: “Participation”

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I ended up with a webinar that was two hours long so there was no way I was going to just sit there the entire time. That’s the good thing about these things being over Zoom; I can pay attention, reply, contribute, and still do the desk peddler (I kept my camera off). My job is sedentary enough but two hours and no break to be able to get up and move around? Yeah, I did some light cardio during it.

I had my typical lunch of baby bok choy and beef but Misfits Market is out of the regular bok choy so, I had to get the more ruffly kind and that’s a slightly different cook time. I gotta say, these are MUCH easier to clean and I didn’t find any little bugs in there. Dinner was more leftovers so no pictures of that.

I’m still not under 200 like I hoped to be by the end of the month but I also haven’t gained anything. I’m still around 203-204. What sucks is my health insurance is suddenly inflicting all these new requirements on me in order to get a refill on my Saxenda. It’s really annoying to finally have something that is working for me and I have to jump through all these hoops to get it when I need it.

Fortunately, I’ve been taking half doses or less and have some in reserve but this is really stupid and I hope my doctor’s office can work it out.

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Today’s Workout: Replacements and New Meals

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My goal for the desk peddler now is to keep above 40 minutes if there’s time for me to do so. My stamina seems pretty good so the plan is to start adding the treadmill at the end of the day.

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Yesterday, I tried to replicate the grilled chicken salad I love to get from this little store by my job. It’s really good but over the years it’s gone from $5.99 to $7.99 to now over $10 and the portion got smaller. So, I got some precooked chicken breast from Butcher Box and put together the salad at home and it was perfect. Exactly like the one from the store. Again, I would love to support small businesses but I just can’t afford to splurge like that on a salad.

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While I had more leftovers for lunch, I made this sandwich for dinner. It’s roast beef, red onion, romaine lettuce, a slice of tomato, and avocado on some take and bake garlic bread. Holy shit, this was AMAZING, and about 350 calories! I need to practice building a sandwich that doesn’t fall over and find a way to put this together in a way that I can pack for lunch and it won’t end up soggy. I didn’t have any chips as a side since the garlic butter on the bread was pretty salty (and you know me, I have a salt problem) but this was super filling and a way for me to incorporate avocado without getting put off by the texture and the fact it just tastes like grass to me. Next time, I may add some lemon or red wine vinegar and see how that tastes.

Once I get my new bread maker set up and make some bagels, I’ll make the sandwich with that, too. This is absolutely going to be a repeat in my meal rotation.

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Today’s Workout: Percentages

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More desk peddler today but when I got on the scale this morning, I noticed that my body fat percentage is down. When I started keeping notice of it months ago, it was around 43% and now it’s about 33%. While my actual weight may be stuck, I think its awesome. It shows me that I’m not just spinning my wheels here and progress is being made.

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This looks like a mess but this was my lunch for today. Dinner was the same ole chicken and bok choy so, I skipped the picture this time. I have been trying to get more fish into my diet since I keep forgetting to take my stupid omega-3 supplements so I put in a can of tuna (in water to save calories even thought I really like the tuna in oil). I used red wine vinegar and olive oil as dressing and Nufield’s Garlic Croutons are a suitable replacement for the discontinued Garlic Parmesan Croutons from Trader Joe’s (Omg, bring those back!).

I don’t view salads as ‘diet food.’ I legitimately enjoy them and sometimes even have cravings for them. So, if you see me posting them, it’s not because I think a salad will be more beneficial to my weight loss than something else, it’s because I like them. Besides, I’m trying to avoid the ‘good food, bad food’ mentality with my regular meals and save the ‘bad food’ thoughts for when I’m treating myself to take out or something. 

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Today’s Workout: Splitting

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I split my workout in two for today. I did the first one at work with my peddler and the second one at home on the big desk bike. the bike at home has the resistance turned way up so, it’s much harder than the little peddler. I actually break a sweat and I’m still able to write since I have the desk.

Not that my brain will let me write. Post COVID brain fog makes writing feel like I am trying to pull the words out of my head kicking and screaming. It really sucks because the ideas are there, the will is there, but I just can’t focus.

I had my usual lunch today but I didn’t get up in time to properly wash the bok choy so, snow peas filled in. It takes less time to cook than broccoli but I can add it sooner than bok choy; that gets way too soft. I like my veggies to still have some crunch, not be soggy. It was super filling so I didn’t eat much for dinner. Just some left overs.

All in all, this was a good day. I can’t say I’ll always be able to get in almost an hour of cardio like this but, I’ll do my best.

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