Day 201: Choose Wisely

"Every second brings a fresh beginning, Every hour holds a new promise, Every night our dreams can bring hope and Every day is what you choose to make it."

After a restless night this is the perfect quote for the day. I dreamed a lot last night and didn't feel very rested when the alarm went off. I dreamed that I ate a huge donut stuffed with cream and slathered with chocolate ! I think I ate something else too but I can't remember what it was. Then I was upset when the scale didn't show any weight loss. Well, duh ! No idea what planted that little seed in my subconscious mind ! When the alarm went off it took me a minute to orient myself and realize it was only a dream. Such a weird feeling ! That 80 ounces of water I drank also woke me up, so that didn't help. Last nights dream didn't bring hope but I was glad it was only a dream ! I do believe every day is a new opportunity and it truly is what you choose to make it. When I dragged myself out of bed I reminded myself that come September I won't have to get up at 5:30 every morning. Even on the days I go to the office I won't need to leave so early because there will be no parking hassles and no 3 block walk. I also reminded myself to be thankful I still have a job to get up and go to. My outlook on life has changed quite a bit since the fire. I really do look for the positives instead of dwelling on the negatives or the things I can't control. I was thinking about my life tonight and I realized that just as our years are counted as BC and AD (Before Christ and Anno Domini, Latin for “in the year of the Lord") I am counting my years as BF and AF (before fire and after fire). My life before the fire was a train wreck. That's not to say life after the fire has been perfect, but it's certainly been much better. This thought came to me because I often find myself thinking or saying "before the fire...". I feel pretty fortunate to have what feels like a second chance at a better life.

Breakfast was a 2.1 ounce 180 calorie cinnamon roll with Green Mountain Breakfast Blend coffee. Second cup was French vanilla. Morning snack was a 155 calorie vanilla shake with peanut butter powder. Lunch was a 3.8 ounce 220 calorie pepperoni pizza melt with raw carrots. Afternoon snack was 3/4 cup of yogurt (90 calories) and a 0.65 ounce 100 calorie bag of Skinny Pop popcorn. This left 455 calories for dinner and an evening snack. Dinner was a 4 ounce 180 calorie artichoke and spinach stuffed chicken breast with steamed broccoli. Evening snack was a 1.4 ounce 150 calorie bag of vanilla shortbread cookies. I would have loved a glass of milk or a cup of coffee with these but I have no milk and I'm afraid coffee would keep me awake. I love milk and would drink it every day but on Nutrisystem I could drink so little it's not worth keeping in the house. Total calories for the day are 1075 and I got all 64 ounces of water in.

Looking at the 1.4 ounce bag of cookies I had for my snack made me realize I need to purchase a food scale. 1.4 ounces was 5 pretty good sized cookies - a lot more than I expected. If I try to eyeball everything when I start eating food I cook myself I suspect I'll be overeating much of the time.

Weather cleared overnight and the day dawned with blue skies and sunshine. We had a little ground fog in Mexico and everything was sparkling due to a heavy dew. It was really a pretty morning after such a gloomy day yesterday. Looks like the rest of the week and the weekend are going to be nice as well ! The cooler weather makes my workout a little easier to get through but tonight I had to pause at the 10 minute mark because I felt like something was biting or stabbing my leg. I found no marks and nothing to explain the sensation so I got back on the treadmill and resumed my workout. The sensation recurred so I just pulled up the legging on that leg and was able to finish my workout. I have no idea what caused it, maybe just a nerve misfiring. Weird !

On that note, it's about time for a warm shower and hopefully a better nights sleep !