What's on your menu today (Monday) RNYers?

Mornin' All!

well if I'm going to get out this week, today will have to be the day. Storms coming tonight, all day tomorrow, and Thursday. I HATE this! We've really only had a true winter for about two weeks, but it's been pretty much non-stop since then!!

Saturday my Turkish friend and I hit some outlet and secondhand stores with a goal of finding him some warmer clothes. A sweatshirt and a cloth coat just don't cut it in this weather. He didn't find much, but I found a great handbag at Goodwill for $4. I knew from the feel of the leather that it was high-quality and figured it originally cost $100 or more. I checked the manufacturer's Web site when I got home. This particular model isn't made anymore, but their current shoulder bags are priced at $200-300. Score! I had no idea!! (I would never in my life pay that much a bag - sheesh!!). Yesterday we stayed in - I did my taxes but that's about the only productive thing I did. This week I'm going to do some stuff I've been putting off since I'm most likely going to be stuck in my house again starting tonight Ugh. I can't wait for this to end!!

QOTD: snacking/grazing when I'm bored. If I can get myself out of the house, I'm usually fine, but sitting around here is risky. I can usually stop myself before it really gets out of hand, but still, it's hard to drop a couple of pounds when I'm often eating at the top of my calorie range. This week is going to be a real challenge with these storms coming...

3 years 8 months out:

B: homemade coconut Greek yogurt with 1/3 mango, coffee with half & half

MS: protein shake

L: 2 oz chicken and chopped raw veggies on a Flat Out wrap

AS: light yogurt and/or raw cauliflower dipped in ranch Greek yogurt (the latter works miracles...)

D: probably chicken again. With veggies.

ES: same as AS

ex: something. If I'm going to get out of the house much this week, it'll need to be today...

Happy Monday, I'm back at work this week but I feel like I didn't really take the time off last week since I had morning calls every day. My fault for not setting better boundaries.

QOTD - I'm still learning my way through this new world and trying to move past what I know works is hard.

Accountability - well, the best thing I can say about Saturday is I didn't go out and buy chips or ice cream; but I did over indulge in cheese and cheese and a few nuts (I did portion the nuts and cut myself off after 2 portions). Sunday was fine and on track!

Menu today is coffee + half and half X3, tea with half and half X1 and then tea/water all day.

B - 4 oz ever roast deli chicken, one cheese stick

L - elli quark, one cheese stick

D - 4 oz ever roast deli chicken

S - skyr

Have a great Monday all!

Ahh cheese! It's just so delicious, right?! I have found that I can't have cheese sticks in the house. A perfectly pre-portioned snack...but I never eat just one! And I am a cheese LOVER, I love good cheese, and I am well aware that pre-wrapped Polly-O string cheese is no quality cheese, but somehow it's very satisfying for me to peel string after string...so hence, no more string cheese allowed in my house! Luckily I also can't go off the rails with chips or ice cream because I don't have any here!

Lol, that's my secret weapon too--if I don't have it in the house, I know I won't be bothered to leave to get it, lol!

We all have to know our limits. I love to have string cheese handy since it is portioned. If I have brie or Stilton, etc. around, I'll eat the whole chunk!

I love cheese too. I prefer the full fat versions over low fat choices. I savor my portions, but I wish that it was less caloric! So I restrict my purchases to half of what I I'd would actually like to buy over the week. That way even if I have more than I should one or two days, it still doesn't derail me. For me not having things I am really tempted by in the house is a workable way to help myself stay on the straight and narrow!

morning everyone!

I had a nice weekend, it was good to see DH's friend (I havent seen him in a few years) and Story loved having company over. she was very excited to have a "sleepover" lol. I went to my sister's house yesterday to watch her 2 older kids (4 and 2) while she and her hubby went to a home expo to meet Clint Harp from the show fixer upper...my BIL is like a superfan. He builds the same kind of furniture so it was cute that my sister found out about it and took him out for a little day date.

I am hoping we can try to get our taxes done this weekend. I am still debating whether to do it ourselves or just go to H&R block or something comparable. We are typical middle class Americans living month to month, so paying $200 for someone to do our taxes is kind of pricey especially if we won't be getting much of a refund but really I have no idea what it is going to look like this year. We have never had to pay anything but our refund has been getting progressively smaller every year so who knows.

QOTD: for me the hardest part at this point is figuring out how to balance the physical need for food with the mental desire. I am great about logging my food and tracking everything, but often times I end up low on protein because I sacrificed something I should have eaten for the nutrition, for something I wanted to eat because I had a craving. I also have this number in my mind of what my "goal weight" should be and I have no idea if it is realistic for me. I have really only lost 3 lbs in the past month, my loss is slowing significantly and I know it's because I am smaller and getting closer to my goal weight, but also because I am getting more lax in my diet. I really only have 13lbs to go til my "goal" that I originally set for myself, but those last 13lbs feel almost as far away as 100lbs felt in the beginning.

Morning: coffee w/ 1/3vanilla PP and a few drops of pumpkin spice extract
B: 1/2C cottage cheese & 3 strawberries
L: Enchilada pulled pork w/cheddar & sour cream
S: Greek L&F yogurt
D: the last of the leftover big mac in a bowl (super good btw- tastes just like a big mac!)

have a great day all!

I love the Big Mac in a bowl!!

I use TurboTax - and they have lots of deals on it at Costco and I have even seen them online. It's SO super easy and intuitive. Seriously, last year, I was stuck on something so I clicked on the "get help" button and it was a live video chat with a woman who helped me and it didn't cost a dime to use the help. I used to pay someone to do it because it was confusing for me, but TurboTax seriously guides you through each part. And you only pay at the end once you see what you are getting back (ie you pay for them to file it). You can even have the payment come out of your refund, if I recall correctly.

I saw on the news this morning that fewer Americans are getting taxes back this year and the refunds are less. Thanks, Administration.

(I haven't done mine yet this year, BUT they already have my W2s imported and all of last year's info already in there so it will be easy for me to log in and get it done!).

I have always used Turbo Tax in the past too, and It is easy but my sister said something to me about maybe hiring someone to do it since they found out they got way more money back when they had a professional do it for them.
granted, they have a lot more complex situation with all their jobs and businesses, and 3 kids.
I usually just have my dad give me a copy of his Turbo Tax since he always buys it haha.
I will probably just go ahead and run it through myself first and see what it says. just need to get this year's software.