Taco Bell and other photos!

Alrighty.  So, I did the Taco Bell planned cheat today.  It was TOTALLY worth it.  I should clarify by saying that I didn't experience any negative side effects aside from the slightly uncomfortable full feeling I had.  No TacoBellRuns here.  I ordered a Nachos Bell Grande, a Bean Burrito with no onion and a Cheese Quesadilla.  Yum, yum, yum!




The Insatiable Host asked if I shoved said items directly into my mouth and inhaled, or if I savored them.  Love the question.  I sat lovingly with the tub of nachos first and smelled them.  Then I sort of cooed over them like they were my baby.  Then I ate the baby slowly.  I started with my fingers, pulling chips out, and then decided I needed a fork.  I took quite a while to eat the nachos.  Then I moved on to the burrito and about half-way through realized I was eating it too quickly.  I savored the second half of the burrito.  I was pretty damn full by the end of the burrito, but was NOT going to NOT eat the Quesadilla.  (Hello, food-finishers-anonymous...)  Plus, it was my damn cheat, so I was gonna get all I could out of it.  The cheese wasn't exactly melted inside, and it wasn't the best cheese quesadilla I've had from Taco Bell, but I was still happy.  By the time I was eating it I'd kind of lost the magic, but I couldn't stop myself from finishing the damn thing. 

I feel completely satisfied in my craving, and ready to get back on my normal eating plan tomorrow.  :)  Now, it's not all hunky dory because I am battling some little voices telling me that I shouldn't have done it, and that I'm going to regret it when I see that water weight creep up on the scale tomorrow.  I feel a little guilty.  But for me, this was a small exercise in allowing myself a little bit of room to be human and to indulge a craving or two.  I enjoyed the food, and I need to just remember that I can get back on the horse tomorrow.

I will say that this is something I did after dieting my face off.  I haven't had sugar in over two months, so I did the TCBY at the airport.  And I've not had Taco Bell in about eight months.  This is not something you'll see me doing weekly, or monthly.  It was a gift to myself for losing 55 pounds.  A lot of people do "cheat" weekends, and I think that's fabulous if you're at the point in your journey where you are maintaining your weight.  For those of us on the weight loss wagon... I don't know if cheat days or cheat weekends really help us to our goals.  I can only share what works for me, and 99% of the time, that means being on plan every day.

I'm just saying, I don't want anyone to read this and decide to eat crap every week and see stalls in their weight loss.  Just keep going on your journey, stay on plan, stay active, and drink tons of water.


SO!  Moving on... Here are some other photos from the trip!

My Brother and I:


Me and my Mom:


My Parents:



Oh, and I can't stop thinking about this... it's my desktop background:



And did I mention?



Stay tuned for some really cool stuff and a giveaway tomorrow!!

~Jenn

All Things Delicious.

Yes.  That includes:  TCBY, and Chris Thile.  And yes, I also need to apologize for how few and far between my updates have been.  I'm safely home in Milwaukee now, so I'll be doing closer to daily updates. :)

So, yeah.  Let me start at the beginning.

My Brother and I are huge Chris Thile (and Nickel Creek) fans.  We have been to roughly 20 of his shows, and we drive all over to see him play.  This past weekend we saw the Punch Brothers show in Boulder,  and ran into our old choir teacher!  It was really fun to see the show and hang out with her and her family:




Then two days later drove up to Beaver Creek, in the mountains, to see another one.  The drive typically should take around 2 hours, but on the other side of the Eisenhower Tunnel, the weather was crap snow and the drive ended up taking 3 hours.  We missed most of the show and only saw five songs.

BUT.  The guys came out into the lobby, and we got to meet them all.  Oh, holy, crap.

You guys, seriously.  I met Chris Thile before his solo albums and all his genius was on display for the world.  It was cool then, but this time around, for some reason, I totally fell under the spell of his amazingness.  I was shaking so hard... when he put his arm around me, I thought my knees were going to give out.



/sigh.

He's number 2 on my top 5 for a reason, y'all.  Now I have met the guy, and seeing as though he Tweeted me last month, and (at least pretended to) remember who I was when I met him, I figure I have half a chance to seduce the guy at some point.  I'm not kidding.  Seriously.

SO!  If you don't know his music or the Punch Brothers (his current band) - check out "Deceiver" and "How To Grow a Woman From The Ground."  Phenomenal albums.

Moving on.

The binge!  Okay, I don't mean the "binge," 'cause it wasn't a "binge."  I mean, the "planned, controlled cheat.  Well, I have to report that I haven't done the Taco Bell yet.  I still want to, but just wasn't hungry when I got home from the airport and today I also wasn't hungry.  But, I'll tell you that I DID have TCBY.  In fact, it was sort of ridiculous.  I got two small sizes... one White Chocolate Mousse and one Peanut Butter.  The White Chocolate Mousse, I got chocolate chips on.  Oh, yummmmm.  It was just awesome.

A little over halfway through:

And then, the end (3rd cup is my Mom's):




I was so....




But also so....





So yeah!

At this point I don't feel mad at myself or like I did anything "bad."  I did feel a little uncomfortably full after I ate them, but they were frickin' delicious.  I did find myself questioning whether I'd be still wanting to eat the Taco Bell, and as of right now, I still do.  I have been eating low carb other than the TCBY, and sneaking two of Dan's curly fries from Arby's.  

I had the opportunity to eat bad when I had Denny's with my Mother on Tuesday before my flight.  I actually said to her, "Well, I'm already cheating later today so shouldn't I just say to hell with it today?"  She was supportive, but I ended up ordering a veggie omelet.  She just said, "You can't help but to be good!"  Well, I guess not.  I just feel like I'll be I'd rather be in control.  I mean, yes, when you decide what you want to eat, you technically control that... but sometimes we feel OUT of control when we make those excuses.  You know:  "Well I've already eaten bad today, why not go all out?"  or, "I'll start my diet Monday morning." 

I did take a picture of the omelet.  The thing was incredible, it looked just like the menu.



My Mom got the yumtastic Slamwich with fries.  Mmmmm....


I'll have more updates and photos of other stuff tomorrow. Don't despair! I just don't want to put everything all on one post. :) <3

~Jenn

I'm Planning a Binge.

Okee Dokee.

So, I have just got to share this with you all.  I'm not sure if I'll regret it, but I'm planning a little binge.  I've never done it before.  Well, I've never done it with this degree of planning, though I definitely have eaten this way in the past.  And now that I think about it, I don't think it actually will qualify as a binge, but it's at least a planned break in my diet.

You all know that I'm a freak of nature when it comes to my eating plan.  I'll stick to it come hell or high water, and refuse even the greatest holiday temptation or the sweetest offer of non sugar free gum.  I've lost two pounds since being on vacation, and I'm pretty damn proud of that.  I'll be doing a post later on losing weight (or simply maintaining it) while traveling.

Anyhoo.  I should back up and explain WHY I feel the need to do this.

I used to work at the most awesome place ever.  In high school, I worked at TCBY.  If you don't know what that is, I'm really sorry.  It stands for "The Country's Best Yogurt."  And that's the damn truth.  I worked there for a few years, and it was delicious.  I seriously hope some of you know what TCBY is, because I'd hate to be alone in my obsession with their yogurt.  So.  I've been craving and craving and craving it.  I'm not normally a sweets person.  I don't go nuts over ice cream usually (though I do have my favorites:  Mint Chocolate Chip or Coffee Ice Cream... yum!  Oh!  Or Peppermint.  That's the greatest thing ever.)  But because I used to work there, I figure there's also some kind of wiring in my brain that associates it with happy feelings.

So for the past six weeks I can't stop thinking about White Chocolate Mousse.  With mini chocolate chips.  And Golden Vanilla with chopped peanuts.

Here's the trouble:  a) My diet involves no dairy or sugar.  (Well, shit.)  b) There aren't any TCBY's in Denver or Milwaukee.  Except... at the airport.  YAY for the airport!

So I'm actually asking my parents to drop me off at the airport an HOUR early.  This, so I can go to the TCBY, order something fabulous and sit and eat it really slowly and savor the experience.  And then, I still will have time to order another flavor if I want to.  I'm serious about this, people.  I'll be sharing pictures.

Many of you are probably thinking I'm insane, and that's okay.  We all know I'm a lunatic.  But you're probably like, "Umm, Jenn?  A half cup of low fat yogurt is NOT a binge, and it's barely a cheat, mmmkay?"  Yes, I know.  It's simply a huge break from my very specific diet plan.  It's just a big deal to me.

...But you guys?  It doesn't end there.  'Cause I can't stop thinking about Taco Bell.

So, of course, I've decided that I want to go get Taco Bell with Dan when I get home.  I want a bean burrito with no onion, a cheese quesadilla  and a crunch wrap and a super bell grande nacho deluxe or whatever it's called.  Now we'll see if I have the guts to follow through with the Taco Bell idea when I actually get home, or if I'll feel satisfied and guilty enough over the yogurt to not do it.

I know, I know, I shouldn't feel "guilty" over something like that.  But, I will.  I mean, it's been a vacation full of compliments and my head is huge now, especially 'cause you all are so damn sweet and supportive.  But I still am not to my goal.  I'm still overweight.  I just happen to carry my weight fairly well, and I'm blessed with decent proportions.  But I know how I feel and that the beginnings of muscle definition I have in my legs and the smaller waist I'm enjoying are only whispers of what I'm capable of.  I know I have more fat to lose, and I'll be more comfortable at that smaller size.  I still can't fit into those size 8's. :)

But then again, they say it's "okay" to cheat.  And I feel like it's sort of a reward for my hard work, and it's food I miss.  But, on the other hand, they also say you should have NON food rewards.  Well, I shop my face off and totally have no self control when it comes to just buying what I feel like I want to wear or getting a pedicure if I want one.  I'm a spoiled brat.  So, I just get confused and right now I want to stop writing about this because I'm sure you're confused too.

My point is:  I want TCBY and Taco Bell. 

So!  I wanted to update you all with my nuttiness and see if you have ever planned a binge.  Yeah, I guess this is only counting as a pseudo-binge if I do the Taco Bell thing, but dammit, I REALLY want to.

Mmmm, Taco Bell.

~Jenn

Wow, I Suck.

Clearly, being on vacation is BAD for blogging.  I'm sorry guys!

I wanted to share some fun stuff with you all.  I've been doing some mad shopping lately, and I have two new pieces I LOVE.

First, this coat was my Christmas gift from my parents.  They have crazy good taste, and I'm obsessed with it!!



See the detail on it?  The shoulders!  The buttons!  The belt!!!



PLUS, it's got the best collar ever for Milwaukee cold:




Okay.  So, the other thing I wanted to share is about clothes and losing weight.  I talk about it all the time, but one of the reasons I wanted so badly to lose the weight was so that I could feel comfortable wearing cute clothes.  ie:  dresses and skirts.  This is the first dress I've worn above the knee in, like, four years or something.  It's awesome!  I found it at Target.  It's a "juniors" dress, size "Large," which I think is like a 9 or 10-ish.  :)




SO cute.

So yeah, needless to say I'm thrilled that I'm pretty comfy to be wearing the little number, and though I'm not at my goal weight yet, I'm still doing just fine! :)

I hope you all are doing well, and be sure to visit these other fabulous blogs while I suck and forget to update mine. :)

Long time no posty.

Hello all!

Well, I'd like to offer my profound apologies for my calloused neglect in updating the past few days. We all know that being on vacation can make the days fly by and for me, that has definitely been the case.

I REALLY want to thank all of you for the sweet, awesome, kind, fabulous comments you left on my last post about the New Years dress and how I looked. You all are so sweet, I can't even stand it!!!

So, I've been keeping up my low carb eating, and I'm really happy about that. I know that low carb eating isn't for everyone, but I feel amazing when I cut bread, potatoes and pasta from my diet. No more snacking on crackers or eating mac and cheese. I feel lighter, my bloat goes away completely and I have a TON of energy.

I've been roughly maintaining around 169-170 over the vacation. I have had Pho twice, so that's probably to blame for a little bit of the fluctuation, plus normal fluctuation, of course. :)

So! I have nothing else cool to report. I wanted to share some more photos with you guys, 'cause, well, that's what I do.

The whole group, first party of the new year!

I'm a tiger! Growl!




Baller.





Baller, again.




Me with my friend Lori:




What????




Me with my old pal Dan:




Me with Rico and Dan:




Me with Beth, check out her blog!





ALSO! I did a family shoot, (weird, I know,) and a band shoot on Saturday. Check 'em out!


The Leyba Family (click here for more shots):





The awesome Mestizo (click here for more shots) (click here for their website):






~Jenn

New Years: The Party!

Just thought I'd check in and share some photos of last night! I hope you guys had a great New Years Eve and are excited to start the new year. :)




















Probably my favorite one of the night!







My friend Beth and her husband:






My brother and I:







Jesse with Wes from Swish Embassy.