Cherry pie and Nilla wafers.

Breaking up with Diet Coke is hard to do. I’ve found that I’ve been drinking a little too much sugar (in the form of juice) since giving up sodas for Lent.

I need to control myself.

Even though you know a lot of the things you drink aren’t good for you, this list of the worst drinks in America (sent to me by my love co-worker, Kelsey) shocked me.

For example, one bottle of a Starbucks Vanilla Frappuccino is the equivalent of 32 Nilla Wafers. I think on the satisfaction level, I would much rather eat 32 wafers (if that’s even possible—that’s a lot of cookie-eating, folks).

One bottle of SoBe Green Tea is the equivalent of 4 slices of Sara Lee Cherry Pie. CHERRY PIE! The SoBe people managed to cram 61 grams of sugar into one bottle of tea. Woah. And just so you know, the recommended amount of sugar per day for non-diabetic people is 40 grams.

I need to think about these things before I buy the canned apple juice from the vending machine.

Happy Monday!

I have lots of wedding to-dos this week because Mr. A is home this week!

Photo of the day: Celebrating St. Patrick's Day (last Thursday) with good friends and green beer. Yes, I realize the photo is blurry.

So long, soda.

I grew up Methodist, so we didn't always celebrate the act of giving up something for Lent. In college, I had several Catholic friends who always gave up something (or focused on improving something) during Lent. The more I looked into it, the more I decided it was something I wanted to do each year.

This year, it's soda. A few years ago, I stopped drinking regular soda (for the most part). I actually lost about 10 pounds that I attribute solely to the elimination of Coca-Cola Classic. I still drink a regular soda (or two) on the weekend. But I drink a diet drink (or two) EVERY day.

So, I decided it was an appropriate item to give up for Lent because it will be hard. Really hard. But that's the point.

Many of the things I eat and drink are so psychological anyways (I need a Diet Coke to get me through the afternoon, right?), that I won't be surprised that this is the end of my diet soda addiction. Let's hope so!

Do you give up anything for Lent? If so, what?

Banana walnut oatmeal and Train.

I watched the Train “Marry Me” video this morning while eating the best breakfast I’ve had in a long time.

First, let’s talk about the breakfast.

I love oatmeal, but I tend to stick with the familiar. Plain with cinnamon on top or maple and brown sugar (the lower sugar version).

But today was different. A while back, I bought a box of Quaker’s new instant flavor—banana walnut. It was the best oatmeal. Ever. The walnuts added texture that is often missing from oatmeal, and if you like bananas, you will love the banana flavor (and pieces!).

Delicious and nutritious!

And now on to Train. Like most girls in the world, I love the Marry Me song by Train (did you see when they performed it on The Bachelor???). The video is better than the song. It’s so sweet. In the beginning, it has all different types of couples talking about their love for each other and how they met. WATCH IT NOW!

I’m wearing yellow today because I really want it to be spring. Like really, really don’t want it snow again.

It's really hard to take a normal picture of yourself.

Tomorrow’s Friday, ya’ll!

It's OK to feel full. (and giveaway winner)

We have a giveaway winner! (You know when I said I would post last night that really meant today.)

Congratulations to Mrs. Bear from Think Happy Thoughts. Send me your addresss (allisonrwalker@yahoo.com), and you should get your prize pack soon!

I used random.org to pick a winner. I enter all the names (some of you got four entries) into the list randomizer, and then I use the random number generator to pick a winner. I should have another giveaway soon!

It's OK to feel full
Throughout high school (and college, to some degree), I struggled with an eating disorder. Disordered eating can be a scary thing. But I also think we all deal with a lot of the same "fears" when it comes to eating (and exercise). I'm not ashamed to admit that I've struggled with how to eat healthy and be happy with my diet. Sometimes, I still think I can get obsessive about knowing exactly how many calories are in my dinner, but life's one big balancing act, right?

I think the most important thing I've learned over the past few years is that it's OK to feel full. For me, this used to be something I was afraid of. It seems many of us are conditioned to believe being hungry = losing weight.

So not true.

Being hungry for me = a grumpy, terrible person you don't want to be around!

For example, I had a great dinner last night. Turkey burger, sweet potato fries and steamed broccoli. But for a few minutes after I finished eating, I felt EXTREMELY guilty because I was full. Then, I remembered all the nutrients I ate that my body NEEDS. I remembered how the largest portion on my plate was the broccoli (no butter). I remembered that you can't beat yourself for giving your body the FUEL it needs.

Sure, it's not healthy to feel as full as you do on Thanksgiving EVERY DAY. But it is OK to tell yourself it's fine if you have just a couple more sweet potato fries.

P.S. I used Paula Deen's baked sweet potato fries recipe, and it was delicious. And no, there was no butter. :)

The Food Network photo was a little prettier that my baked fries.

Giveaway! Fiber One Fitness Fun.

*edited with correct dates :)

Are you a yogurt fan? Honestly, I eat a lot of yogurt. Lately, it’s been mostly Greek yogurt. Before that, I always ate Yoplait Light. Peach is my favorite flavor. Blueberry is a close second.

I recently got to try Yoplait Fiber One blueberry nonfat yogurt (I received a coupon for a free 4-pack of yogurt, a prize pack, and lots of great info from Yoplait and Fiber One through MyBlogSpark).

Important facts about my experience with the yogurt:

• I was honestly a little leery because it only has 50 calories.
• But it has 5 grams of fiber.
• Most of the Greek yogurt I eat has zero grams of fiber and more than 100 calories.
• The Fiber One yogurts are smaller, but left me feeling full. I usually eat some fruit with my yogurt.
• I still like the creamy, thick consistency of Greek yogurt, but I am definitely a new fan of the Fiber One yogurt.
• I’ll mix it up for breakfast, but I definitely think the Fiber One yogurt is a better snack choice than other yogurts because of the calories.

Another thing I MUST point out is that yogurt usually has a lot of sugar (unless you buy plain). The blueberry Greek yogurt I had for breakfast has 16 grams. I know I could buy the plain and add blueberries … and I do that sometimes … but prepackaged is always easier … Peach Fiber One Yogurt only has 4 grams. That speaks for itself. However, Greek yogurt has a lot more protein.

If you do Weight Watchers, I’m pretty sure these are 0 points for one and 1 point for two. But this might be different with the new points system.

One trick about yogurt that I learned from Julie at Peanut Butter Fingers is to buy plain nonfat yogurt (she uses Greek, but you could use regular) and add sugar-free Jell-O mix. It’s so good. I ate it a lot last year, as you can see here. My favorite is adding chocolate and fresh strawberries AND blueberries.

OK, enough with the nutritional info. You can win your own prize pack!

In addition to the delicious 4-pack of yogurt, you can win lots of other fun stuff.

This includes: 

An awesome water bottle (it’s a large, durable bottle—not one of those lame, flimsy bottles)

Perfect to keep in the car. You know in case you get thirsty at a stoplight on the way to work.

One last drink in the parking lot before I cram in the gym bag and head into work.

I get thirsty at my desk, too.

A gym/sport towel

Straight from my gym bag. It's perfect for spin.

No, it doesn't smell ...

A food and fitness journal (I LOVE IT), pen, and a blueberry stress ball

How can you win? Leave a comment with your favorite yogurt flavor, brand, etc. Or tell me what would be a good flavor to create. If you don’t like yogurt, what is your favorite breakfast food?

• One entry for your comment (and an extra entry if you’re a follower).
• Two extra entries if you blog about it.
• One extra entry if you Tweet about the contest.

In your comment, send me a link to your post or Tweet, or you can send me an e-mail with the link.

The giveaway ends Wednesday, Feb. 2. I will announce the winner Thursday, Feb. 3

If you want to go ahead and buy some yogurt, you can download a printable coupon for $1 off the purchase of a 4-pack of Fiber One Blueberry yogurt here!

Muffin pizzas, weigh-in and the shred.

Warning: I'm all over the place today.

Last night's english muffin pizza dinner was not the best. I blame it on the sauce. But I do love easy meals.

Did you watch Mr. President last night? Regardless of your politicial opinions/beliefs, you have to admit he's a pretty fantastic speaker.

"Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free." -Statue of Liberty inscription

You also have to admit we've still got a pretty amazing country.

I PROMISE I will post about my giveaway tonight.

Have you tried Jillian Michaels' 30 Day Shred? I am starting tonight ...

Today was the Week 2 weigh-in. It was not as good as last week, but that's to be expected.
Total percentage lost: 3.44

Happy Wednesday!

Diet coke.

I drink a Diet Coke or Diet Dr. Pepper almost every day for lunch. I've convinced myself that I need the caffeine, which means now, I probably do. Well, at least I do if I want to avoid a massive headache.

I guess I'm addicted to caffeine. But I know soda is sooooo bad. I used to drink regular Coca Cola every day, but then I realized that was not doing the size of my thighs any good. Now, I save it for special days (if you call days where I had one too many glasses of wine the night before "special"). So, I don't drink it anymore really, and I used to drink it every day. This should tell me it's possible to stop.

But I secretly like the concept of thinking something is going to help me get through the afternoon. Maybe I just need to become addicted to drinking something else at lunch. Like water.

Do you depend on anything to get you through the day?

Meals for one.

The boy (aka the best bf in the entire world who I miss so much) is traveling a lot for work now, so I’m on my own for dinner.

I wish we were here instead of 8 million miles apart.

Dinner is the hardest time for me to eat healthy, and cooking for one person is hard. It brings me back to my grad school days where I often opted for not-so-good-for-me food because it was easier than making something for one person.

That did not end well.

And I don’t want that to happen again.

Do you have any one-person meals that you love? I’m also thinking I should try meals that I can freeze and just heat up, but I’ve never done this before…

I'm a hoarse.

Yes, I’m voiceless today. In the literal sense I suppose.

It started last night at a birthday dinner for this lovely lady.

Vegas March 2010 for her bachelorette party.

I’m so proud of her! She has a fantastic new job, and I’m so glad I have her here in NWA with me. You can read more about how I know Ragan here.

She’s been my friend for more than 13 years. Woah.

And can you believe I forgot my camera at dinner? I blame it on the sickness. But Ragan had hers at least. I took some pictures with my phone, but honestly they're not eve worth it. And I have to say that Ragan's husband, Steven, got her a pretty fab purse for her bday, and he did it all on his own. Pretty brave!

Pesto Café is so scrumptious.

I ordered the salmon rigatoni, which means I’m super excited about my lunch today. Even if I can’t tell anyone about it.

And to top that off, I tried a new brand of Greek yogurt today (Fage blueberry), and it was the best I’ve ever had. Hands down. And the container itself is pretty cool. I highly recommend it if you like Greek yogurt. And if you’ve never tried it, this is the brand to go for.

Bring on the bagels.

Breakfast this morning was delicious. After yesterday’s bad experience of trying overnight oats (uncooked oats with Greek yogurt and fruit left in the fridge overnight—mine were gross), I wanted something simple for breakfast this morning.

110 calories of yumminess.

Cue a Thomas everything bagel thin with Laughing Cow creamy garlic herb cheese (yep, I'm totally unkissable right now). This is a first for me. I usually put peanut butter on these bagels. But this morning, I just wasn’t feeling the nut butter. And the cheese has fewer calories. Double score.

I promise the garlic doesn't hang around all day.
And even if it did, this is totally worth it.

Now, I know many people say carbs are BAD. I think those people are crazy. All of them.

Here is one reason why reason (besides the deliciousness) that carbs (no, not crabs Mr. Spell-check) are good:

Carbohydrates are the body's ideal fuel for most functions. They supply the body with the energy needed for the muscles, brain and central nervous system. In fact, the human brain depends exclusively on carbohydrates for its energy.

Do you like carbs for breakfast?

Soup, sweaters and salsa.

This weekend, my grandma gave me some of her homemade salsa. It even came in a jar just like this one.


It’s the best salsa I’ve EVER had in my life. Seriously. I’m not going to open up my jar until after vacation because I know I would eat it all. And that would not be good for my swimsuit body. The salsa is fine—it’s the chips. But you know what; I could probably just eat it with a spoon. It’s that good.

Speaking of food, I had a Campbell’s Soup at Hand for lunch. The chicken mini noodles kind if you’re curious. I’ve been lazy about my lunches this week because I didn’t want to buy a bunch of fresh food that will just go bad while we’re on vacation.

It’s cloudy outside, and the warm soup makes me kind of wish it was winter and I was curled up in a comfy sweater. But then I remember that I’m going to the beach Friday and that thought quickly fades away.

I am ready for football and fall, though!

White is the new peach.

I eat 75 percent of my daily sustenance at my desk. Is that sad?

No, I'm not an apple.

This morning, I was so excited about my white peach. But after one bite, I knew it just wasn’t time for that little peach. It was crunchy like an apple. I had about three more bites and then I just couldn’t do it anymore. '

I like to use my fine china at breakfast.
I call it "the napkin."

I wanted to add more peanut butter.
I controlled myself.

I moved on to the best part of this morning’s breakfast: an everything bagel thin with a light coating of peanut butter. So. Delicious.

Go try the Thomas everything bagel thin
if you haven't. Do it today.

Although, I’m still sad about my white peach. I’m not patient enough to wait on my fruit.

Edited to add: See...here's lunch at my desk after a nice lunch-time workout: My own version of a fresh berry salad. Tip: If you put a little Splenda on the strawberries before you add to the salad, it makes it super delicous.

*Phone photos—hence the quality…

80 round trips.

I estimate it took us at least 80 round trips via the stairs to get my stuff in my new apartment. And the sad thing? A lot of it went to the boy’s house. I moved in with my friend Liz, and the apartment is SO much better than my old apartment. It has wood floors and tall ceilings. It has a nice balcony with a great view. BUT it’s on the third floor. When I move out, I’m just tossing my stuff over.

Mmm...I only taste a little bit like cardboard.

I definitely needed some Starbucks this morning. Mostly because I have no idea where my coffee maker is (or my underwear…good thing I had some extras in my gym bag). For the first time, I tried a Starbucks breakfast sandwich. After using my seat heater as a warming tray because I had to run a couple errands after picking up breakfast, I tried my English muffin with egg and reduced fat turkey bacon. Not the best thing I’ve ever had, but it’s not terrible. I would have much rather had some yogurt or oatmeal, but it works.

And in case you were wondering, it has 330 calories. Definitely not your everyday breakfast.

Now I just have to find my workout proxy card so my old apartment place doesn’t stalk me…

Lazy states.

"You know, in my hometown of Hope, Arkansas,
the three sacred heroes were Jesus, Elvis, and FDR,
not necessarily in that order." -Mike Huckabee

Skinny runner posted about this, and I just had to post about it since Arkansas made the list. And this is not a good list to make.

Businessweek.com analyzed five years of data (2004-08) from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and compiled a list of the 20 laziest states. The BLS’ American Time Use Survey recorded time spent on daily activities such as sleeping, watching television, surfing the Net, playing board games, relaxing, thinking and socializing.

Businessweek defined lazy as the amount of time people spend engaged in sedentary activities versus activities requiring physical effort -such as exercising or working.

Arkansas is No. 3 on the list. Awesome.

Peter Katzmarzyk, associate executive director at the Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge, La., said Louisiana, Mississippi and Arkansas are all in the Mississippi Delta region, an area that is “very poor, has poor medical service and is hot, humid and has few opportunities for physical activity," he told Businessweek.com.

I DO NOT agree with this statement about Arkansas. Come visit (you can stay with me) and tell me there are not plenty of opportunities for physical activity. We are the Natural State. I hate when people make assumptions like that. You know what happens when you make ASSumptions…

In fact, in Fayetteville, which is where I live, we have approximately 20 miles of paved trails with future plans to expand the trail system by more than 100 miles in order to connect the city’s neighborhoods, parks, recreation, and shopping areas.

Arkansas has numerous rivers, lakes, caves, trails, and on and on.

I’m not denying the results of this study. It’s probably true. But I would like to tell Mr. Katzmarzyk that we have no excuse to be lazy.

FYI: The article does say, “To be clear, by ‘lazy’ we do not mean lacking work ethic or engagement.”

You can read the entire article here.

Oatmeal and Zappos.

Oatmeal
If you like instant oatmeal, then I have a tip for you. I eat it for breakfast a lot, so I started buying the Quaker Weight Control version a couple years ago. Well, I discovered about a year ago that the Low Sugar version is better all around (in my opinion). I would say the only thing better about the weight control is that it has more fiber. And this isn’t a problem for me because I get plenty of fiber. And more calories and fat aren’t worth the fiber to me. P.S. According to the nutrition facts on the box, the lower sugar version doesn’t have any saturated fat, so that’s the only mistake on the nutrition facts I’ve included. Interestingly, the lower sugar version has more sugar than the weight control version, but I still think it comes out on top.

Zappos
If you’ve ever ordered something from Zappos, have you paid attention to the e-mail the company sends you when your item ships? It’s interesting…and there are too many exclamation points, but it did make me smile. It’s a fun way to communicate with its customers. What’s not to love about a company that uses the word “Yay!” However, I would recommend a lower number of exclamation points in the future. I mean every sentence? Really?

“Your order with Zappos.com has shipped! YAY! We've enclosed some tracking information, so you can follow your order from Zappos Fulfillment Centers to its final destination! It's almost like being a superspy! Mission Control advises that you take a look at the top-secret information below!”

Choosing healthy.

Do you choose to be healthy?

I think being healthy is a decision you make for yourself, and lots of things affect it. I also think it’s very easy in the world we live in to become distracted.

This morning, I was reminded why I care so much about nutrition and want others to educate themselves as well. The woman (who was severely overweight) in front of me at the coffee bar had her own (large) cup. She filled it with sugar and cream before ordering her coffee, to which she added chocolate syrup. I’ve seen her order this numerous times. I wanted to tell her she could use skim milk, Splenda, and sprinkle a little chocolate powder or cinnamon on the top, and it would seriously taste just as good. Sure, I use half and half sometimes. And I think that’s OK. But I really try to be smart about what I eat (and drink). And when I am, I feel SO much better.

I really think there's a lack of nutrition education--especially for children.

We all need to think about the decisions we make on what we put into our body…every single day. I slip up sometimes (OK…maybe more than sometimes)…but I really think knowing your facts is one of the first steps.

Happy Friday!