Category Archives: Diet

Day 8-0: A Whirlwind of a Day

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80 days. Legit.

Today has been pretty nutzo, full of lessons of learning to go on faith. To explain today, I take you back to pre-Weight Loss Fotographing Fat Kid. Once upon a time, (this summer) I applied to get in to FSU for grad school. I had been looking for a job in Tallahassee and it was slim pickens and my grades in undergrad were kind of cruddy because I didn’t hit the books like I should have so I knew getting in was kind of a long shot. Anyways, when I took the GRE in June, my score well below the admissions requirement, but the department still let me in as a non-degree seeking student and under the condition that I would work retake the GRE and get a closer score. Well, the semester went by and I spent more time on my classes instead of studying for the GRE. So about a month ago I decided to retake today since it was finals week and there wasn’t much going on. Anyways, so a lot was riding on the test (obviously it doesn’t depend all on the score, my grad school GPA is a factor too) and I woke up this morning with unbearable sinus pressure and snot coming out of every orifice. I was freaking out. How could I take such a huge test with this bad of a sinus attack? So I sent out a facebook plea for prayers and they were definitely felt and heard (thank you.) I actually did better than last time! I somehow did really well in the quantitative section which really surprised me because I’m really bad at math (go figure.) I still didn’t get as high of a score that I needed, but it’s in God’s hands and there is no other place that I would rather have it. Anyways, quite a day. Let’s talk about some food.

Breakfast: Dayquil and Halls, the breakfast of champions (and people with colds)

Lunch: I just had some chicken soup and a ham sandwich which was a total of 6 points works.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dinner: During the GRE, I didn’t feel sick at all, but it hit me like a sack of snotty hammers when I was driving home. When I walked in, Megan had put up some Christmas lights! The house is very Christmasy now. Anyways, since we are both still sick, sat and enjoyed some r&r before venturing to free burritos at Chipotle! We bundled up and headed out. Were we sick? Yes. Was it cold? Freezing. Then why go out you ask? BECAUSE IT’S CHIPOTLE!!!! We only had to stand outside for a few minutes and then we got in to the newest Chipotle in the world. It’s a different lay out than most and it’s pretty cool. Anyways, we got ours to go because we were starting to feel a little sick again so we ate at home. Anywho, I had the chicken burrito with the works: cheese, guac, and sour cream. It wasn’t so much stress eating, more of just relief eating after a stressful day. The burrito was really high, like 26 points high, but it was delicious. We definitely won’t be able to go there all the time, but I’m still in the process of trying to find a better, lower point option there like a veggie burrito bowl or something. Anyways, Megan just made some low fat chocolate chip cookies which was 2 points. Yum.

So today, I’m at 34 points so 2 over isn’t too bad. See ya tomorrow.

Day 79

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I’m feeling sick. No bueno.

Megan has been sick and I have been fighting it pretty hard but I woke up with a little drainage in the back of my throat so that’s awesome.

Breakfast: in efforts to fight off the crud, I had a glass of orange juice (2 points) and when Megan had said that she was getting sick on Facebook, one of our friends suggested this home remedy that involved unfiltered apple cider vinegar, honey, and water. I wasn’t skeptical, I figured it would work, but I figured it was going to taste disgusting. And it did. I got it down and it actually really helped. It burned where it was hurting so I just equated that with healing.

 

 

 

 

Lunch: Since we were sick, we had some other food with healing power: chicken noodle soup (or as my dad called it: German Penicillin because that’s what my grandma made for him when he was little.) It felt so good down the pipe. Since it was only a point for a cup (2 points) I had two Hebrew National 94% ff hot dogs with buns which was 6 points. Not too bad of a lunch.

 

 

 

 

Exercise: Matt and I played some racquetball again today to try to sweat this crud out. I apologized to him in advance if I started to reek of apple cider vinegar half way in to it. (I don’t think I ever did smell, but I did sweat a lot more than I usually do.) Anyways, it felt good to get a good cardio work out. We played for a hour and a half so it was 22 exercise points which was just epic. After, I had 6 points of snacking which was baked lays and a chocolatey chex bar.

Dinner: I made some vegetarian chili at home because we just felt like staying in and recooping from this semester. I added a lot of Tabasco so I could clear my sinuses and it worked… for a bit. Anyways for two servings of chili and rice with cheese and a big glass of milk it was 19 points which is a lot but it really sticks to your ribs and keeps you a lot fuller than 19 points from a restaurant.

 

 

 

 

So today I got up to 35 points but with the workout points I’m alright. I have been bad and I haven’t been doing my sit ups and push ups so I got back on track by doing 75 of each between commercial breaks during the Biggest Loser. Feeling pretty good. See ya tomorrow.

 

Day 78

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Finally an assignmentless Monday,

It was a great day full of… not much. Woke up and it was freezing outside. I know I keep saying this, but it really does feel like fall here in Tally. AND CHRISTMAS IS ONLY 19 POINTS AWAY!!!!! HOW CAN YOU NOT BE EXCITED!?! Anyways, on to food.

Breakfast: While Megan was busy studying and writing papers, I made some breakfast. Back in the day, there was nothing better than a fast food breakfast sandwich, (at one point, everyday I got a mocha and bacon egg and cheese griddle which it around an 800 calorie breakfast. Yikes. The sad part is that I was aware about how bad it was because I had looked it up but I still put that in my body. My how things have changed.) Anyways, we had a few WW bagels left and so I made a Bacon Egg and Cheese Baglewich. It was 5 points and then some watermelon for 1 point. A good alternative to some breakfast greasy goodness.

 

 

Lunch: I had some leftover mac and cheese. Absolute yuminess. I put some ketchup and mustard on it like I usually do with leftover mac and cheese. Does anyone else do that? Anyways, it was 6 points.

 

 

 

 

 

Snacking: I had 3 points of chips and a 2 point chocolatey chex bar. (BTW, this is me while I was cooking. That is an Alaskan Ulu and that is my crazy face.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dinner: Even though we are going to Chipotle on Wednesday, we were still both craving some burrito action so I made black bean and cilantro rice burritos. It was awesome as always, but I also tried my hand at making baked tortilla chips. I brushed 4 flour tortillas with some olive oil, cut them in the sixths, then threw them in the oven at about 350 for about 10 minutes and I flipped the cookie sheet around once. They were a little burnt, but pretty good. Dinner was about 10.5 points which was a little high but that was also for 2 massive burritos so it’ll work!

 

 

So today I am at 27.5 points which will work. See ya tomorrow.

Day 77: Weigh In Day Awesomeness!!!!!

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So this week was über stressful (with a capital umlaut) and I’m glad it’s over. With that, I thought this I was going to gain a crapton back which would suck. Luckily, this week was a little better than I thought: I lost 2.2 pounds! I’m really stoked about it! So now I’m at 312.6 and I have lost a total of 44.4 pounds since September which is just insane. It’s definitely more than I have ever lost in a single attempt. I can’t believe I’m that close to 50 pounds! I know I have a lot more to go, but it’s coming off slowly but surely! Like I said yesterday, I’m really starting to see the difference which is really encouraging. Alright, on to food.

Breakfast: Let the week of three squares commence! I made scrambled eggs and bacon before church which was just delicious. That’s really all that needs to be said about that. It was about 8 points so not too shabby.

 

 

 

 

 

Lunch: After an awesome church service, we had to have a quick lunch because Megan had a thing at 2:00, so we hit up Subway to go. We had the “Megan Classic” (The same sub she has had since High School) which is ham and cheese with other awesome things. Since we just split a $5 foot long, we had some chips and soda at home, we skipped the combos and ate at home. The sandwich was 6 points and our baked sour cream and cheese lays were only 2 points (which is pretty awesome.) Pretty awesome lunch.

Exercise: Matt and I played racquetball and I was really pooped after. We hadn’t play since before Thanksgiving break, but it was a lot of fun and since this is finals week, we are going to try to play a few times more. It was 15 exercise points which is also pretty awesome.

 

Snack: I had some watermelon after racquetballin’ it up (1 point!) and some fat free cheez its (which is only 3 points for 29 crackers… or cheese things… or its?)

Dinner: After some cardio workout awesomeness, Megan made my new favorite low fat dish: Creamy Stovetop Mac and Cheese with broccoli. Since I was starving, I had two super heaping helpings with a ton of broccoli. It was 12 points and it was super duper delicious.

 

 

 

 

 

After dinner, Megan and I heard about this facebook promotion that the first 50 people in front of the FSU library got an invite to a special invitation only shindig at the new Chipotle the night before they open! Did I mention free burritos? Super stoked. So I got that working for me. This is us waiting in line but the camera on my phone sucks but awe well.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Today I got to 32 points even so that works out pretty well. See ya tomorrow.

Day 76!

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It’s finally the weekend. Thank God.

This was an insane week while I’m glad it’s over, it’s depressing to thing that I will have to bear at three more weeks like that in the future at the ends of my semesters. Anyways…

Breakfast: Megan woke me up around 9 and then we ran to Publix to get some things so she could make her awesome WW Sour Cream Pumpkin Pie for her department party. I finally had a decent breakfast today which just makes you feel better, especially if you are use to eating it and you haven’t for a while. I had some glorious Kashi Autumn Wheat which was 4 points with milk.

Party Time Round 1: I knew better than to go to a potluck party hungry, but for some reason I still didn’t eat lunch even though the part was at 2. Luckily, the requirement for the dishes was that they were suppose to be healthy so I had a lot of hummus with pita quarters, this awesome Indian dish with basmati rice, and these spinach pizza sticks that were just fantastic. Of course, I had some pumpkin pie too. After doing some number crunching, it was somewhere in the neighborhood of 24 points. It was all really good and I didn’t feel gross after or anything.

Party Round 2: After the department party, we went to a party for the college group at church! They had lasagna, but I wasn’t hungry so I just drank a lot of water. I’m kind of worried that since I’ve been so stressed this week that my body was going to go in to survival mode and retain water. In an attempt to avoid that, I drank a lot of water today until my pee was clear. I have no clue if that was effective or not but I guess we’ll see tomorrow. Anyways, there were a lot of goodies at this party, including ice cream cake, but I still wasn’t hungry so I just had water and some grapes. We had a white elephant gift exchange and I bought some random crap at Starbucks and put it in a Starbucks plastic cup and filled it napkins. I ended up with picture frames, but Megan made out like a bandit and got a 12 pack of bottle toppers for canned drinks (As Seen on TV!)

So I am at around 28 points today. I really don’t like estimating, I mean I did my research, but I’m ready to get back to pseudo-normalcy with meals. Hopefully that will commence tomorrow. I used a 5 weekly points this week so that’s a plus if I’m off any. Well tomorrow is Weigh In Day. I have no clue what to expect. Although I really hopes this doesn’t happen, if I gained weight, meh. I have next week to lose it and there will actually be time to exercise and prepare meals so we’ll just see what happens. Regardless, I’m really happy with where I am right now. I’m actually feeling and seeing the difference when I look in the mirror. I’m starting to see the skinny guy that has always been under the fat. It’s not a different personality, just a petite version of my present self. I know there is still a lot to go and a lot more weight to lose, but I’m doing it and that weight is not coming back. See ya tomorrow.

 

Day 75: Dec. Goals!!!!!

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I know I keep saying this, but I can’t believe it’s already Day 75! The time has flown just like the semester has. This evening I turned in my final project so I just have one final next week on Friday at 3 (which is super lame) so I feel like life has slowed back down… for now.

Breakfast: Today was another day of craziness along with strange eating habits. (As you can see from this pic, I’ve gone a little crazy.) Megan bought some WW bagels that are 2 points and she also got some low fat cream cheese and I put about 1 point on it. That’s all I had to eat until around 4 when I ate a Chex bar which was 2 points. I have never had weird eating habits like this before. It’s insane. I just haven’t been hungry when I’m working on stuff. I’m not a big fan because after I eat a really meal I feel stuffed. I’m reading to get back on a regular eating habit.

 

 

 

Dinner: Tonight, we went out with our friends the Wises who we haven’t seen in a long time. We decided on Cabo’s which is this Mexican meets seafood meets surf shop. The food is great and it’s relatively inexpensive. Plus they have really good healthy options. I got the black bean and rice meal that came with tortillas. We also had chips and salsa. At the beginning, I went nuts on the chips but then realized what I was doing and laid off a bit. I didn’t eat all of my dinner so this is for about half of how much it would have been The spanish rice was 3 points and the black beans were about 1 point. Then the 3 tortillas were about 6 points. The chips were also about 6 points. It was a great dinner with great friends.

GOAL TIME!!!!!!!!!

Tie a Bow Tie: I really want to wear one at Christmas and I bought one a while back but I have had issues learning to tie it.

DecGTD: I set a another a goal of 50 miles for this month of trail/tread wogging. My reward will be something from Under Armour. Last time my goal was jeans but since I really need a pair since none of my pants fit anymore I need to actually buy a pair.

Finally Finish HP4 and Then Conquer HP5: This month I’ll actually have some time so it’s worth a shot.

Not Gain Any Weight at Christmas: This might be a tough one. I love Christmas treats. However, I asked my parents to give WW a shot when we are there for a while and they said sure! I’m pretty stoked about it!

Read Bible: I really want to work on that.

Do 25 Push ups and 25 Sit Ups every day: I need to work on my core  (and take care of some loose skin. Is that gross?) so that should help.

Break 300: This is a pretty lofty goal. I know that going in. Basically, I would have to lose 14 pounds in 4 weeks (which is like 3.5 pounds a week.) Even if I get close, that’s still pretty awesome.

With more free time this month, before life gets nutzo again, I’m going to try establish healthy goals that will carry over in to the new year like getting up early and working out.

So I got to 21 points today (…er Friday) so that works. Like I said, I’m ready to get back to 3 squares, but tomorrow we are going to 2 Christmas parties. Both of which are going to have amazing food. I guess I’m going to break out the Biggest Loser DVD and let Jillian Michael kick my butt in the morning. See ya tomorrow.

Day 74: Almost the Weekend.

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This whole semester felt like it had flown by, then this week has just been dragging. I’m so ready to be done with this weekend. Almost there. I’m down to one more paper that is due at midnight on Friday so I’m pushing on just like everyone else.

So we went to school around 9, worked on my computer project until 3, came home for a hour and a half break, then went back for another hour. It’s been a day. Since that is all I have done today, this blog is going to take like 5 minutes:

Breakfast/Lunch: Luckily, I brought a Chex bar (2 points) and ate it during my class. I didn’t really have time to go grab lunch so I just kept working.

Snack?: I went home for a little bit because I had a hour before my lab this evening where I turned in the project. (One kidney stone down, one more to go) It was then I realized how starving I was so before I left to go back I popped two waffles in the toaster and some peanut butter (8 points.) Then my stomach really hurt and it stopped after I sent in the paper. Coincidence? I think not.

Dinner: So after my lab, Megan and I decided to go out and get something to eat as a pseudo celebration of the week almost being over. I might have went a little overboard at dinner…. yikes (which is really bad because I haven’t worked out at all this week.) When we came here for Megan’s interview in February, we came across this Cuban restaurant that was really good and nothing says comfort food more than Cuban food. I was bad. I had a chicken empanada and a plate of fried pork with white rice and black beans and some plantains. I scarffed it down I was so hungry. I wasn’t sick from being so full or anything, but I still felt bad about it. It’s just one of those days.

Goals. Tomorrow Afternoon. Mark it.

It will be the highlight of your day. Conversely, sorry this post really sucked. See ya tomorrow.

Day 73: A Very Busy Day

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Today might have been the longest day this semester. We left our house at 7:30 am and didn’t get back until 9:00pm. The rest of the day was filled with projects and papers. Oh the joys of grad school. This is going to be a short post because I have to get back to work so I will post my December goals tomorrow so I can have time to actually think about them (plus I don’t want to rob you, dear reader, of a decent post… so you’re welcome?) Luckily, my stuff is due tomorrow and Friday so then I’ll be done… until next week. Luckily I only have one final but it is next Friday at 3:00 until 5:00. It kind of epitomizes how crappy that class it. Alright, let’s do this thang.

Breakfast: Let me ask you a question, when I say my name (Nathan,) does it sound like I am saying Hank? Well that is what the Starbucks employee thought I said this morning. Maybe I was grumbling because it was so early, but that’s what she wrote on my cup. Anyways, I was really in the mood for some hot chocolate this morning, so I went to my Starbucks App and tried to make it as healthy as it could be. Sadly, a grande non-fat, sugar free, no whip or mocha drizzle hot chocolate (can you even call it hot chocolate at that point?) was still 5 points. So I just went with a Venti Skinny Vanilla Latte which was only 3 points. I only drank half of it because I’m a slow hot drink drinker so I drank 1.5 points of it.

 

 

Lunch: After a long morning and getting a lot done, Megan and I met up for some Greek comfort food at Pitaria. I had the falafel pita and we split some pita fries (it helped ease the pain.) It was a 15 point lunch and it really held me over. We could totally do the Mediterranean diet 🙂

 

 

 

 

 

Dinner: We met up with some people at church in the plush Tallahassee Mall (it’s really a dump and kind of looks and feels like that weird abandoned mall that everyone takes shelter in in a zombie movie.) Luckily, they have a Subway so we split a footlong black forest ham sub. It must be “hire employees who don’t listen” day because we said lite mayo and he said “lite mayo, you got it” and then put regular mayo on it. We didn’t fight it because we were really hungry. I’ve been thinking about something like that for a while, it’s really disconcerting that you have to just trust the employees that they are making your food light or adding that fat free sour cream and you have to just trust it because you don’t really know. It’s kind of annoying, but that’s like I guess. Anyways I’m rambling. The sub was especially good because of the real mayo lol but awe well. It was 8 points. Life goes on.

Snack: After church, we ran to Publix to get some studying snacks to get us through the next at least 48 hours. We didn’t get anything extravagant in points (and I got some 25 calorie Swiss Miss so I can have my hot chocolate.) We also got these Chex Mix bars that are super chocolaty and were only 2 points which was nice.

Right now I am at 26.5 points but the night is young.  I don’t plan on going overboard tonight with food, but some seriously healthy snacking are definitely in the cards. See ya tomorrow.

 

Day 72: Nov. Goal Recap

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Tuesdays also suck.

This is the last week of the semester and I have a ton to do. I’m so glad I have this outlet to take a break. Two weeks from today I’ll be in Texas and I am so stoked! I can’t wait to see my friends and family. Until then, there is a lot of studying to be done. Let’s do this thing!!!

Breakfast: I made some peanut butter on waffles. It is so filling for 8 points.

Lunch: Didn’t happen, I was cooped up in a computer lab working on a project. I eventually approached a mental breakdown so Megan and I met for a Starbucks mental pep rally. I had a chai tea latte for 6 points. Not exactly a meal replacement shake, but it held me over. I also had 2 pumpkin spice cookies which was 3 points. I needed the sugar rush.

Dinner: Megan and I both needed a break from studying so we had planned on a Pizza Hut date at some point this week and tonight seemed like the best fit. We split a large Thin Crust Veggie Lovers and it hit the spot. It was 4 points a slice so I went a little over and had 16 points worth of pizza. I won’t lie, 3 of those slices were to fulfill hunger and the 4th slice was for emotional purposes. I haven’t eaten my feelings in a long time but it was that kind of day. It didn’t do me any good except to prove that food isn’t really the answer.

So today I got to 33 points which is a point over. That works for a stressful day like today.

Goals!!!!!!!!!!!!

50 miles for NovGTD: I only ran 26.31 miles which is a little more than 50% of my 50 mile goal. I played a lot of racquetball instead because it’s a lot more fun than running. I didn’t make time to work out on Mondays so I should have ran some then. This month I’m shooting for 50 miles again and I’ll have more time and I won’t get to play racquetball as much so I’m actually planning on getting past 50 miles.
Workout 4 times a week: I averaged about 3 times a week. Again, not having making time on Mondays really threw me off so I’m going to be better about that next semester because when I exercise in the day it really helps me focus.
Get up early enough to workout 4 times a week: umm….. I got up in time, but Frasier on Lifetime always seemed more appealing.
Beat Matt in Racquetball at least 3 times: I beat Matt twice and we won as a doubles team so is that considered 2 1/2 wins? That works.
Finish HP and the Goblet of Fire: Opened the book once… and that was it. More time for recreational reading in December.
Successfully do No Shave November: It was gross, and I looked kind of homeless, but I did it. At midnight, I’m going Sweeney Todd on this bad boy.
Finish my HM research paper by Dec 1: Nope. I wish I had, but it’s getting there.
Read my bible more during the week: Not as much as I would have liked to. I really need to make this a bigger priority.
Not gain any weight the week of Thanksgiving: Holla! Totally did it! I even lost 4.8 pounds that week. I don’t think that has ever happened in my life.
Break the 320 mark: I karate chopped that ish. At this week’s weigh in, I was at 314.8 pounds. I’m shooting for 300 by January 13th (my 24th birthday.)                                  Recap: So I thought I was going to better on these (like a 90% success rate) but I tried and made a lot of progress on them which is a when in itself. I did accomplish the weight based ones which I focused on a lot so that made me really happy. I did learn a lot about where my priorities are and that put a lot of things in perspective for me. Like the watching TV in the morning instead of doing some push ups or reading my Bible. I’m definitely not saying TV is the root of all evil, instead my laziness gets in the way of my progress. Compartmentalizing has always been my issue and I’m learning that this week with a lot of project deadlines and not a lot of time. I’m getting better about it and these goals really showed me how to improve on that.

Challenge Time!!!!!: This month, make a list of 3-5 goals that you want to accomplish and work on them. They all don’t have to be monumental or extremely far fetched, but try to think of something you could work on regularly and do. Feel free to write a comment with a few goals so I can bother you about it when I see you :). I am going to put up my December list tomorrow. See ya then.

Day 71: Mondays Still Suck

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I don’t know why Mondays sucked so much this semester, but today was the last one! Hip Hip Hooray! In lieu of a final in my Hispanic Marketing class, we have a paper and we had a test today which wasn’t bad at all but I (like everyone else) freaked out about it so in turn I flipped out about it because that’s how the world works. Alright, let’s talk turkey… again X(

Breakfast: (This is my crazy face. I coo coo for breakfast.) My awesome parents brought me some H-E-B Organic Creamy Peanut Butter so I cracked that sucker open and it was pure bliss. I made toasted some Publix Waffles and PB. So good and 8 points.

 

 

 

 

 

Lunch: I am severely Turkied out. I’m sure it has something to do with eating it for at least 1 meal everyday since Thursday. I think if it was in actual leftover recipes and not just cold turkey I would be okay, however that is not the case. So I ate about 8 points worth of light and dark meat with some ketchup. I’m ready to do some grocery shopping. For a snack I had a 1.5 point waffle.

Dinner: I was on my own for dinner and I’m kind of sick of eating out so I was going to make something after my class. (I was really proud of myself. During class, a girl had a dozen Krispy Kreme doughnuts for the class. I looked up on my iPod and one doughnut was 4 points so I declined. I had the points, but the idea of putting a doughnut in my body sounded really gross. Is that a good thing?) Anyways, after fighting the the sea of jocks and hippies at Publix, I finally figured out what I wanted. I bought some Sweet Italian Turkey Sausage. When I cooked them they looked really funky because the skin burst but oh me oh my were they good with some ketchup, mustard and some sauerkraut. I had 3 and 2 of them were with hot dog buns. It was 16 points but I needed some stress eating so that worked.

Exercise: After dinner and about 3 episodes of Family Guy, I needed to get some exercise. A while back, Megan bought this Biggest Loser workout DVD. I have seen her do it before and it looked pretty tough so I thought I would give it a try. It was brutal. This DVD cover should of had Jillian with Devil horns with flames all around her. She is the Devil. It was a circuit training that alternated weights and cardio. I sweated a lot and I’m already a little sore but I’ll probably do it again. I should have done it this morning. Working out in the morning really puts my day in the right direction. The workout was about 9 exercise points which is awesome because Megan just made a batch of pumpkin spice cookies. Can you say just in time? (Just in time.)

So today I was at 33.5 points but with the exercise points I am good (with some room for a cookie or two.) See ya tomorrow.