I'm so hungry right now. It's 8:13 p.m. and I haven't eaten dinner yet! Absurd. It's in the oven. I realized today that I haven't been 100% honest on my blog because in between my healthy snacks and dinners I have nibbles of this and that there. I'm going to try to either catch myself in the act or start owning up to it. I had many nibbles yesterday but I already forget them. I decided to let myself sleep in until 8:00 a.m. yesterday. What a luxury! I had an exam that I needed to study for so I had to get up early anyway...unfortunately.

Breakfast was simple-- Fiber One Honey Clusters with strawberries and 1% milk. I've drank skim a lot recently but am finding it's just not really that tasty. Unless you get "super" skim, which is essentially a thicker version--much better. The problem with this breakfast is the lack of fat. I get protein from the milk, and some from the cereal, tons of fiber and carbohydrates, but no fat to keep me satiated. So in a few hours, I'm already hungry. I got coffee before class. Even though I thought it would be this great idea to buy store coffee and make it myself, it never tastes as good! Maybe I need to invest in a new/better coffee pot.

So I went to the grocery store which conveniently has it's own Starbucks and when the woman asked if I wanted cream I said "just a little." What I got was half a cup of coffee with enough room for about a half cup of cream. She even had an attitude when I asked for more. I hate unfriendly people. Right before me a woman ordered oatmeal and no joke, the clerk threw everything into the bag as if she had an agenda. It was bizarre. The pumpkin creamer + Starbucks coffee was okay. I think Starbucks has too much of it's own bold taste, and wasn't complemented well my the pumpkin. It still tasted good... but something was off. Come to think of it, I think the coffee might have been a little cool. Gross. Anyway, that's entirely too much time spent on my coffee.

I forgot to take a picture of lunch!!! Luckily, I had the same sandwich as Monday, so if you're desperate to see, it's up there. Avocado, turkey, ham, black pepper on Oatnut. No mayo or tomato this time...still delightful. Not as messy. I had an apple with cinnamon too. I didn't have a big lunch because right after class I planned on working out and I didn't want to be heavy. I sailed through my exam and soon enough I was leaving the NOVA campus and on my way home. It was soooo nice outside. For a fall day--wow. Bright sun, slight breeze. It was the perfect day for a run. But... I didn't. Ugh, my foot is killing me! (Figuratively, not so much literally). So I went for a walk. Lame, yes. A good substitute, yes. In the past, this would not have sufficed as a good workout, but I'm listening to my body. The pain in my foot/ankle is getting pretty bad. I'm not talking a small sore. So hopefully it will improve with rehab and lighter workouts but I am really bad at taking it easy.

After my walk I was hungry, so I made one of my favorite snacks: banana with peanut butter and shredded chocolate. I know, I know, it doesn't look that appetizing-- but it is. I had plans to go out to dinner and so I had a few hours to kill. Between the few hours I got hungry again. Big surprise. I just had a corn tortilla with avocado and sour cream. A true treat, right? Ha.

Dinner was at one of my favorites-- Noodles and Company. It's pretty cheap and doesn't feel like "fast food." They also have a section of healthy choices on their menu-- I didn't go that route. Oops. I usually get the Japanese Pan Noodles, which I love, but instead I went with the mushroom stroganoff with extra mushrooms and broccoli. They definitely skimped me. I asked for it instead of meat so I thought they would at least plump it up a bit. Wrong-o. Also, I think they skimped me a bit on the sauce. That's okay in my book, because it was a cream sauce. They call it a "light" cream sauce. I guess it's true advertising.

I had a diet soda before dinner--bad idea. Diet soda is sweetened by artificial sugars, which have been linked to causing sweet cravings. When you drink a diet soda, your mind isn't satisfied by the fake sugar, and thus craves real sugar. It also may be because diet soda is so sweet, that you just want more of the feeling. True sugar releases endorphins. Fake sugar, does not. So what can turn into a small nibble of a cookie here or a spoonful of ice cream can lead to a binge. I've tried drinking less diet soda, but when I do... this sweet attack always occurs. I dove right into a bag of candy at home and had a couple Dove Chocolates. Knowing full well what I was about to embark on, I tried tricking myself and I made a caramel apple. No, this wasn't exactly what I wanted, but the apple kept me chewing long enough for the true craving to pass. And long enough for me to regain control of the situation. I know this probably sounds crazy for all you completely normal eaters out there, but like I said, I've struggled some in the past, and it's really important for me to keep my habits in check.

Success... sort of. I'm getting better as I keep posting. I feel bad posting a lie, so I just don't. Time to go. Happy Wednesday!

Well... today was supposed to be productive, and I can't say I failed miserably. Even though I had a ton of time today, it seemed to slip away. This usually seems the case but I've been hoping to just get a chance to relax and take my time getting back into the swing of the week. Nope. Monday mornings are always early, and this one was no different. Jump and Pump at 6:00 a.m. It's impressive people come. Well... they used to. This week I only had 2 participants, and one was late. It was really chilly out, and my boss told me numbers drop drastically when it's cold. He might have just been saying this to not bruise my ego... but I'm choosing to believe it's the weather. Before the class I had my apple, and after I practically scarfed down my oatmeal and almonds. Oatmeal becomes so much more appealing when it's cold outside. It almost tastes like an indulgence...okay that's a bit of a stretch but a big bowl of warm gooey sweet stuff is usually pretty easy to put down. The almonds add a nice crunch and nutty flavor. Good combo, in my book.

Just like clockwork, 7:00 came around and I actually resisted coffee!!! (Until 7:45) I gave in and decided it was worth it. I have to drink coffee to survive my nutrition class because my teacher is just the most worthless professor I have ever had. That's another story. Right after class I headed to the gym and as promised, I took it easy. My bad ankle/foot has been super sore lately and I stopped doing rehab months ago. Oops. Yeah. Bad. Don't ever stop doing rehab. Your body only gets older with age. Obviously, right? But seriously, it's not going to get any easier for me. I was told I have the knees of a 30 year old when I was 19. That's dimming the future a little. So I only did the elliptical for 30 minutes... and not hard. I just blazed through it at an easy pace. I spent a lot of time stretching. When you're super active, it's easy to neglect stretching but it felt oh-so-good. By then, it was lunch time. We didn't have any bread or lunch meat so I made a grocery store stop. (Three in 18 hours I think). I got my favorite bread of all time which I usually neglect because it's 120 calories a slice. I usually would recommend about 70-90 calories per slice, but this bread is just so good. It's Arnold's Oatnut. I've been a fan for about 6 years but haven't had it forever. I only used one slice for my sandwich because it's a pretty big piece. I had deli sliced ham and turkey and put avocado and tomato. I used avocado instead of cheese/mayo as a healthy fat alternative. Grapes on the side. Yummy sandwich. Okay grapes.

A few hours into errands and whatnot, I got hungry and went into the cabinets for my roasted, salted trader joe's almonds. MISSING. My parents ate them all. It was a sad day. Susie did buy more trail mix though. It's alright... not my favorite. It's called Wake Up, or something like that, because it has chocolate covered espresso beans. It's good, not great. It did keep me satisfied until dinner though, and that is a feat, so I'll give it credit. So then, I needed more coffee and I didn't want to leave the house but we had no fresh stuff. I made another grocery trip and got pumpkin coffee and a pumpkin spice creamer. The coffee wasn't good! I think it was like the bottom of the barrel leftover type thing. The creamer is delicious and now I realize why pumpkin coffee from Dunkin is so good. The creamer is PACKED with sugar. But it's one tablespoon and honestly, it's not going to break the bank so I go for it.

I don't often say this. Dinner stunk. I was super excited for my first try at ratatouille. Let me first inform you: I didn't make it. Susie did (no offense, you're usually a good cook!). It was a flavorless blend of egg plant, zucchini, squash, onions, basil, and tomato. This sounds right up my alley. I had to drown it in Parmesan for it to be okay. And this was the "main dish." We had it with quinoa, which is really good! I've never had it before. It's a nuttier rice-type dish known for it's high levels of protein. We had really good cinnamon raisin rolls with a salad on the side. The main dish lacked but everything else was alright. Overall....not the best dinner ever.

To make up for the lackluster dinner I cleaned out the cookie dough ice cream. Yum. Ice cream can never harm. This I know. It's the way to my heart. Just ask someone who knows :)

Until next time....

My 5 minute tangent...

Okay, I'm at work right now. It's 7:50 a.m. and as usual, I was on my way toward coffee salvation in the cafeteria. When I was leaving, the automatic handicapped doors were closing. The button is about 5 yards away from the door. A man was walking toward me, as if to go through the doors. Instead of just opening the door the other half way on his own, he walked 5 yards out of the way so it would open automatically. I mean, I would say this is a perfect example of a person's laziness, but he actually probably did more work to go out of his way to hit the button. I'd be lying if I said I never hit those buttons. Sometimes it's necessary-- maybe your arms are full, or you're on crutches. Or maybe you're just lazy. I think that's it. You know, I've learned in my age that having good health isn't about a diet. It isn't about cutting out what you love or working out every single day. It's about small changes baby steps. Really, it sounds silly, but taking the stairs every day over the elevator will give you benefits. Okay, look at it this way. A pound of fat is about 3,500 calories. To get an idea, an order of cheese fries from Outback has about 2200 calories. Most people need around 2000 in a day. That's more than 2000 in one meal. Anyway... if you walked an extra mile every day (or had that much equivalent of any activity) you'd burn about 100 calories. Over 35 days, that is one whole pound. Out of a year, that's more than 10 pounds. So you see, a little goes a long way. Take the stairs, park further away, or take one more lap around the block with the dog. Any step you take, is one in the right direction.

All caught up, and ahead of schedule. I'm actuallyposting for what I ate today. Today was rough, because I had to leave PSU. I get attached real quickly when I'm up there. It was my life for four years, and now when I'm there, it's strange that it's not my home anymore. It's upsetting, to say the least. On top of that, this trip was hard because Alex is basically miserable with pain, and it isn't fun to see someone you care about feel so down. So all in all, today (and most of the weekend) was long and hard.

Breakfast was Honey Bunches of Oats. Oohh la la. I didn't want mini wheats... again, so I had to switch it up. It was with 2% milk and an apple.

The morning flew by. I had to pack, get Alex to treatment, get my car, etc etc. I packed a lunch for my long trip home-- half a turkey and ham sammy on wheat with miracle whip, pepper, and mustard and fresh sliced cheddar cheese. Yum. Not bad for a boring old sammy. I also had the craving for graham crackers. I had a lot this weekend, I forgot to add them to my older posts but graham crackers + peanut butter = heaven. Halfway into my trip I stopped at the Starbucks in Harrisburg for a recharge and a snack. I got a medium coffee with half and half and a sprinkle of cinnamon. I also got a packet of their almonds. Non-salted. Umm.. not as good without salt, sorry!

Susie and Dick invited me to go out to dinner but after a weekend eating out/poorly, I wanted to just make my own food. I concocted a really tasty pita pizza with basil, italian cheese, pizza sauce, oregano and tomato. It was soo good! I was impressed. I also had some leftover broccoli from Susie's cooking last night. Not as good as the pizza, but still, alright.

And finally, last but not least... They bought CAKE. I hate it when they do this, because like I said, I cannot say no. I only took a little though... see:

Okay... I had a little chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream too. See, I'm a bad influence. Sorry. Do as I say, not as I do. Okay, 10:00 means bed time... pathetic but true!

In an attempt to catch up again, I'm just going to list my meals. With a few side comments, maybe. Breakfast Saturday was Dunkin' Donuts. I went with the veggie egg white flat bread. It is better than the turkey sausage one, I think. I skipped the a.m. coffee because I knew I'd want some later. I snagged an apple to feel like I was being healthy. Plus, all this "take-out" food makes my stomach hurt.

We finally learned how to make one big trip, so right after Alex's rehab, we went to his Aunt's house to pick up stuff, go to the grocery store for lunch food, and then got coffee. So efficient. Lunch was half a turkey and ham sandwhich with american cheese, miracle whip, black pepper, and mustard.

Well, even in the great attempt to shack up and stay in, we both were craving soft pretzels by 3:00, so I braced the drunkies out for the football game throwing snowballs and went out. We also decided to make grilled cheese and tomato soup for dinner... and it's probably a sin to have grilled cheese on wheat bread, so we needed back up. I bought (and don't judge me) energy drinks. I felt like such a bro... "uhh yeah, gimme some white bread, a monster, and a rockstar." Real cool.

Haha... so that was my snack. Here is dinner: it was scrumptious and hit the spot.

And of course... sweets and treats before bed time. I could get used to this...

Something I love about State College is the weather. Something I hate about State College is the weather. It's beautiful there in the fall, spring, and even in the winter, when snow covers everything. It's so cold though. If you're not a person who can take it, don't ever go there in the winter. You'll cry, Well, I thought it was October, and I woke up to this:

Yep, that's my little baby stuck under a tree. A tree fell on my car! Let me tell you, I've never had a problem with cars in my life. Within the past 10 months however, the following have happened: first speeding ticket, got towed for the first time, and it happened again, my first accident, my dad got hit by a car, my car got backed into by a taxi, my car got backed into by a mosquito killing car, and now, my car has been banged up by a pine tree. Lovely. So, the driveway was completely covered with branches and debris, snowy, and scary. You could hear trees cracking in every direction, and I saw many fall. It was scary. The power went out, the phone lines were dead, and as Alex described, it felt like the Twilight Zone because we had to get him out of the house so we could get to rehab etc. So we were rushing around and trying to pack up everything. Breakfast was semi-stale Honey Nut Cheerios, skim milk, and almonds.

Lunch was a wrap from Redifer Commons. It was ham, turkey, american cheese, mustard, lettuce, tomato, and onion. It was alright... I've had better. I prefer the paninis, obviously. By around 4:00, I hit the wall. It was coffee time...hooray! I didn't take a picture.

We chilled real hard the rest of the day, and there was no way we were leaving again. Chinese good was the answer. I love Chinese food, but it makes me feel so bloated, so I don't often get it. When I do, I try to get one dish with a lot of veggies. So Alex and I split Chicken with Broccoli, Lo Mein, and Egg Drop soup. I thought the lo mein was good... everything else was average. It didn't matter though; we were starving. Later we crashed on the couch with big bowls of Nutty Caramel Caribou frozen yogurt. I may/may not have had a few fun size candy bars too... oops...

Okay, it's a good thing no one religiously follows my blog or else I'd have some really angry fans. Sorry to the four people who read this. I'm sure your lives were put on hold all weekend anxiously sitting at your computer, eyes glazed over staring at the screen just waiting for an update. Well, I'm back, and now you can breathe again. This weekend was exhausting. Actually, the past two weeks have been draining as I've driven up and back to PSU twice and have had work, homework, and now my foot I had surgery on has flared up again. So things are splendid. Actually, things are fine, just busy. That's how I work though. Someone told me one time that "busy" people are always busy. I'm a busy person; I never take a break to just be. This is one of the things I do that actually relaxes me, surprisingly enough.

So, Thursday was an early morning work day, if you couldn't tell by my 6 a.m. post. So is tomorrow, oh hooray. I love getting everything done so early, but I mean...it wouldn't be horrible to be on a normal schedule. Breakfast was two packets of oatmeal and about 1/8 cup almonds. Soon after had an apple and my morning jolt of coffee. I participated in J&P because I knew I wouldn't be working out because after my shift ended I just wanted to get on the road ASAP. We did a pretty tough workout with a lot of jumping. We did thirty seconds each of jumping over a rope feet together, right foot, and then left, followed by about 4 minutes of strength exercises. The next part of the circuit was more jumps, and more strength exercises. There were four mini patterns, and we repeated the whole pattern twice. We also worked with bands and then did a good ab workout. I mean...I was tired, so they had to be. I'm getting the rep of being a butt-kicker. It's fun. I must admit though, I just wanted to leave work so much that I didn't really care about the class. 1:00 couldn't come fast enough, and of course, for the first time ever, the girl who works after me was late. My boss let me go--hallelujah, because it's snowing in State College by now. I ran home because I forgot something and decided just to eat at home. i made a Boca burger with cheddar, tomatoes, lettuce, and a pickle. I also had a Kellogg's fiber plus bar. These are actually really good-- not as good as the fiber one kind though.

After I stuffed my face as fast as possible I got into the car and when I was about 3 minutes from home I realized I should probably bring a light jacket to PSU--umm... it was 32 degrees...really Jessie? A light jacket? So I turned around and then, and only then, was I truly on the road. Halfway into my trip I got so so sleepy and had to pull over and get coffee. I think it's getting bad if I need two in a day. In my defense, it was like 4, and I was up at 4...so that's okay right? It started to get grey and I could feel the air from inside my car. Welcome to Pennsylvania. It started snowing in the mountains and I get really nervous driving. People are such horrible drivers in bad weather. Good weather too, for that matter. Finally, after what seemed like a drawn out version of a normal trip, I was pulling into Carogin and almost to my destination. It was so nice to be there and stop driving. By this time, I was starving. Alex's drugs make him lose his appetite. This is strange. If you knew how much he eats normally, you'd be baffled at how little it is now. For instance, he could only take down 5 tacos...instead of the usual 11. Things like that. Well, that gave it away--tacos for dinner. Mine were made with ground beef, cheddar, lettuce, salsa and sour cream. I actually had 3, contrary to my picture. It hit the spot.

Alex was pretty excited about his snicker's ice cream bars, so after watching TCAP (umm...To Catch a Predator, duh?) we both had one. Delicious. And good for me because usually I just keep eating sweets but I was forced to only get what was in the package--great idea for OverEatersAnonymous. Because I can easily clean out a huge thing of ice cream if I don't control myself. It's a rough life, huh? Well, I do say, it's nice dating a fellow foodie. Never have I been hungry when he hasn't. I never feel like a chubbo going back for seconds. Even though he calls me tubby... I don't think it bothers him too much.

If you can't tell, I eat relatively healthy, minus my desserts. I'm trying to cut back. Not because I think I need to, but because I'm trying to be a better example of health to people. I know how to help people, but I don't always necessarily set a good picture of what to do and what not to do. So, when I make comments like "ohh I'm such a chubbo," I don't mean it. I know I'm in shape, and I work pretty hard for it, especially so I can eat the foods I want. Some people can diet. I'd rather workout longer, harder, more often, so I can eat what I'd like to. Plus, my metabolism is only going to get slower, so I might as well take advantage. I just don't want you to get the idea that I'm one of those annoying girls who complains about how fat she is etc. Believe me, I've battled my own issues, but I finally think I've got it down. Anyway, til the next post, hugs not drugs.