You know it’s gonna be a rough run when…

your sunglasses are broken…

and this happens to your socks…

on both feet!  Please excuse the bad socks (they were the last pair in the drawer) and my narly-in-desperate-need-of-a-pedicure-but-will-have-to-wait-til-spring feet  :0

I was psyched to run outside because it was sunny and 40 degrees, but on the trail there were quite a few icy patches that I had to jump over.  Then, I got to a stretch that was just complete ice and I was nervous about falling on my arse.  I tried to run on the grass a little, but that was really muddy.  Huff.  So, I walked in those spots until I got to the cleared trail.  That was sucky.  I don’t like having to stop during a run.  I lose my momentum in a nanosecond and it disturbs the flow of the run for me.

At the start of mile 2, the socks bunched.  I had already stopped to walk through the ice patch, so I really didn’t want to stop to unbunch the socks!  I was getting peeved and decided that I would just finish up this mile and be done with it.  I wasn’t enjoying this run at all.  But, at the end of the second mile, I said to myself, “These little frigger socks are not gonna get me!”  So, I trudged on.  Lumpy socks, icy trail and all!  I was pretty thrilled that it was all over when I finished the 3 miles

I went straight home for a well deserved breakfast!  I baked up some Pumpkin Oat Bran Muffins last night and was looking forward to having one this morning…

PUMPKIN OAT BRAN MUFFINS
(adapted from Quaker Oat Bran Cereal box)

• 2 cups oat bran
• 1/4 cup brown sugar, packed
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
• 1/2 cup canned pumpkin puree
• 2 egg whites, beaten slightly
• 1 cup skim milk
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1 tbsp. canola oil
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1/4 cup Special K granola or other lowfat granola (optional)

Combine dry ingredients and mix well.  Add combined pumpkin, egg, milk, honey, oil and vanilla.  Stir until incorporated.

Spray a 12 cup muffin tin with cooking spray.  Fill muffin cups about 3/4 full.  Sprinkle each with granola, if using.  Bake in a 425 degree oven for 15 minutes.

Nutritional info per muffin (including granola topping):  107 calories, 2.4 grams fat and 2.8 grams fiber. 
2 POINTS per muffin. 
(nutritional info calculated using www.calorieking.com)

Of course, I had to kick it up a notch with some PB2…

and a cup of joe with half and half…

The muffins are nice!  Hearty, but with a light and moist texture.  The pumpkin flavor was very mild.  Next time, I might pump up the spice a bit!

I ran some errands and came back for a low-key leftover lunch.  I heated up the remaining serving of Progresso Chicken and Barley soup with a handful of shredded baby spinach.  The result was delicious and the addition of the fresh spinach made it taste more like homemade…

Along with that, I heated up the last of my Taco Bean and Cheese Burger  and served it on an Arnold Sandwich Thin with more baby spinach and salsa…

Later in the afternoon, I snacked on a Chobani Pomegranate yogurt topped with a funky fruit bar that I picked up at Target…

It was like a plump fruit leather – kinda chewy and rubbery.

Dinner was BBQ Meatloaf (using 96% lean ground beef) with sides of broccoli rabe and roasted butternut squash…

I heart butternut!

GTG – Day 7:  Total – 21 POINTS

Do you walk during a run?  Do you feel it disturbs the flow of your run?

I’ll be back later with the winner of the Souper Giveaway!

Have a great day, everyone!

The husband and I had a great night of uninterrupted sleep and got to lounge around in the morning since the daughters were at my parents.  We miss them so much when they’re gone, but it was nice to have such a leisurely morning!

I spent some time blogging and catching up on blog reading.  Before I knew it, it was close to 11:00 a.m. and I hadn’t eaten yet!  I had to fix that and quick  

I whipped up a huge bowl of plain nonfat greek yogurt (TJ’s brand), strawberries and 1/4 cup of Special K  granola…

I just came across the Special K granola in the supermarket.  I believe it’s fairly new.  And pretty POINT-friendly for granola…

I wanted to run today, but it was raining like crazy and the treadmill wasn’t exciting me since we have limited TV channels in the dungeon basement to hold my attention.  I didn’t want to skip working out altogether though, so I went to Plan B…

We are housing the Life Cycle bike for my parents while they are building their new home.  I thought it would be a decent fill-in for my run and I could read while biking to avoid being bored and stuck down in the dungeon lovely basement.

My reading material…

I have seen this book being discussed around the blogosphere and checked it out of my library this weekend.  I can’t tell you how stoked  I am about this book !!!  I started reading it  while riding and didn’t want to stop.  It is chock full of great advice and information so far.  It involves a process and skills to learn how to manage weight loss for a lifetime!  Guess what one of the tools that the author recommends is?  Flashcards!!!  Well, she doesn’t exactly call them that.  She refers to them as Response Cards, but just seeing this being suggested and discussed made me feel so positive about what I am doing.  I feel confident that I’m on the right track with these!

Thanks to The Beck Diet for Life, I had a great 35 minute bike workout equaling 12 miles.  Fun!

Later, the husband and I headed to my parents’ house to have dinner all together for the last time in their current house.  I lived in that house from the time I was 12, so we had lots of great memories there.  I know we’ll miss the pool for sure!

I knew my Mom had planned a  huge dinner and I wasn’t quite sure how I was going to handle it.  I thought about maybe bringing my own dinner, but realized that I would most likely feel uncomfortable and deprived if I wasn’t eating the delicious food my Mom was making.  Normally, I would start to come up with a variety of excuses for not sticking with a plan of eating well.  I came across many of the excuses I have used in the past in a chapter of The Beck Diet for Life…

I’ve used many of those.  The last two statements were already forming in my head before I even got to my parents’ house!  So, I came up with a plan of action for how I would approach dinner time and told myself I was sticking with it.  Period.

First, I ate a light lunch when we arrived at the house.  A filling bowl of Progresso chicken barley soup…

and an Arnold Sandwich Thin with cheese…

When dinner rolled around, I was prepared with my plan.  Pasta is the hardest for me to resist.  I grew up with large portions of pasta as the norm, so a recommended serving (1 cup) does not cut it for me.  Besides, pasta is usually just the first course for our big dinners!

I knew there would be other, more filling foods to enjoy, so I opted out of this…

But, what would I eat while everyone was chowing down on delicious tortellini??  I decided my first course would be a big salad served in a pasta bowl like everyone else had

Just noticed my carrots said “hi”!

My Mom had an assortment of meats to choose from including breaded chicken cutlets, meatballs, short ribs and sausage.  She also made a boatload of broccoli and had some fabulous rustic bread for the table.

I decided ahead of time that I would eat the chicken and broccoli, but no bread since I have a hard time limiting myself to one piece…

It was all delicious! 

We said our goodbyes to the “house” and headed home.  I felt in the mood for a little dessert, so I broke out an old favorite…

Remember the Deep Chocolate Vitatop with PB2???  I forgot how awesome this dessert is!  It was a great ending to a perfectly planned day

GTG – Day 5 :  Total – 22 POINTS

Don’t forget to enter the Souper Giveaway!

ONE GOOD THING:  Family get-togethers and dinners are often a minefield for me.  There are so many delicious foods to eat and I have a difficult time limiting myself when the options are plentiful (especially pasta!).  Today, I felt like I managed it well.  I had an advance plan that wouldn’t leave me feeling deprived and I stuck to it.  I knew I would overeat if I just chose the pasta because it wouldn’t have been filling enough.  Resisting it altogether made it easier to enjoy my other foods and I left the table feeling satisfied with what I ate and with my choices.

Have a great day, everyone!

What is your favorite family dinner?

I know you’ve probably seen this giveaway making the rounds in the blogosphere, so if you haven’t participated yet, here’s another chance for you!

I was contacted by the nice people over at Progresso Soup  about testing some of their light 100 calorie soup and to spread the word about their SOUPER You Debut  contest for a chance to win a full makeover in New York City!  But, wait…included in that is a $1,000 wardrobe shopping spree!   Hello, new clothes!!!  Here are the details from the Progresso rep:

Three grand prize winners will be awarded a trip for two to New York City from May 21st-23rd. The prize includes roundtrip airfare, a two-night stay in a NYC hotel, a full makeover, a $1,000 wardrobe shopping spree and personal consultation at a New York department store.

To enter, you´ll need to do the following:

* Go to www.Progresso.com/SouperYou to learn more and enter the contest
* Submit your essay (200 characters or less) telling Progresso why you love Progresso Light or 100 Calorie Soups and why you would like a makeover
* In addition, please submit a photo of yourself that visually reinforces the theme of your essay

Once you enter, you´ll have the chance for your photo and/or an excerpt from your essay to appear on www.Progresso.com/SouperYou, so be sure to check back frequently! Once the 10 finalists are announced, you can visit www.Progresso.com/SouperYou from March 29 through April 12 to vote for your favorite.

In addition, throughout the duration of the contest you can visit www.Progresso.com/SouperYou to download a coupon for $1 off any three varieties of Progresso Soup! "

So cool!

The Progresso peeps were also generous enough to send a boatload of their new soups for me to try out.  So far, I’ve sampled the Chicken Noodle and found it very tasty!  Along with the soups, they sent a Souper You Debut gift pack including 2 cans of soup, a Progresso Soup mug, and a digital jump rope that tracks your jumps and calories burned!

They would also like to giveaway a SOUPER You Debut gift pack to one of my readers!

All you need to do is leave a comment telling me your favorite soup! 

The contest is open to the United States only (I know, sorry!).  One lucky winner will be chosen using random.org on Wednesday, January 20.

Disclosure:  Progresso contacted me and provided me with the above information, soup samples and Souper You Debut gift pack.  Any opinions regarding the soup are expressly my own and I have not been compensated monetarily for review of this product.  Major eyeroll that I am obligated by the FTC to state this.)

Good luck, everyone!!!