207.0 - I Think It's The Baby's Fault

Weight - 207.0
Weight Lost - 28.4 lb. in 69 days

Total Calories Eaten - 1598
Today's MFD calorie allowance range - 1883 for a 2 lb loss/week rate, 2883 for weight maintenance
(*Note - For the time being, I'm just going to list my calorie allowance through MFD's method of BMR + exercise/activity calories burned)
MFD occupation activity level - Moderate Activity
Total MFD Exercise/Activity Calories Earned - 544
MFD Calorie Balance - 285 left to eat at 2lb loss/week rate
MFD Weight Loss Rate Today - 2.6 lb loss/week
HWHL Points Today - 37 (353 total this session) I did everything, including an extra 30 minutes exercising
Exercise - 65 minutes Zumba class

It occurred to me today what my problem is, why I've been so unfocused Sunday, yesterday and today. Sammy's sleep pattern has changed. He now wakes up once or twice in the wee hours of the morning, needing me to put his binky in for him. Then, he gets up at 5am, and only a bottle will put him back to sleep. Then, he's up again at 7:30am. I am getting to bed these days around midnight (it's all that blogging after the kids go to bed,) so even though I sleep until 7:30am, there are enough interruptions to that sleep, that I feel kind of mentally unfocused and need a nap before or after lunch, yesterday I had both. Time to retrain that baby. And I've got to stop blogging so late at night, but it's hard to resist the free time I have after the kids go to bed.

Breakfast - 20 oz. water, 1 pluot (a plum/apricot hybrid), 1/4 cup creamy wheat cooked with 1 cup water and dash of salt, 1 cup frozen strawberries cooked with the creamy wheat, 1 wedge of Laughing Cow creamy swiss cheese, 4 Triscuit Reduced Fat crackers
Total calories - 394

Lunch - 20 oz. water, 1 piece Smith's whole wheat Cottage Bread, 1 teaspoon Miracle Whip Light, 1 slice Oscar Mayer White Turkey Smoked round lunchmeat, 1 wedge Laughing Cow light swiss cheese, 1 large roma tomato (3/4 cup worth), 1 cup or 4 oz. baby carrots, 1 pluot (a plum/apricot hybrid), 1 E.T. Munchies cookie (recipe below)
Total calories - 413

Dinner - 1-1/2 cups Potato Broccoli Bacon Cheese Soup (recipe below,) about 1/2 to 2/3 pluot (a plum/apricot hybrid), 5 E.T. Munchies cookies, 16 oz. water
Total calories - 791

Post Dinner - 8+ oz. water

E.T. Munchies - earned this name because they have Reese's Pieces, E.T.'s favorite candy from the movie. We all got this recipe from my Gram back when the movie first came out. Sue or Mom, do you know where she got the recipe?

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1-1/2 cups chunky peanut butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
3 eggs (I used 5 egg whites instead)
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. light corn syrup (I'm not sure what this small amount does for the recipe, but it's there, so I put it in)
2 tsp. baking soda
4-1/2 cups oatmeal, quick oats
1/2 bag of 1+ lb. bag (about 1-1/4 cups) Reese's Pieces

95 calories for a 1 oz. cookie (can you see why I blew 1/3 of my calories today on these babies?! But hey, at least there's a ton of fiber in them with the oatmeal.)

Just like most cookie recipes, cream the butter, peanut butter, and sugars together. Add all except the oatmeal & blend, then add the oatmeal & blend. Nope, there is no flour in this recipe. Add the Reese's Pieces & blend. Place about 1-1/2 tablespoon scoops on a baking sheet. Flatten slightly, or the center won't cook enough before the bottoms brown. Bake at 325 for 8 - 11 minutes. In my oven, it's 9 minutes, and not a second more. These cookies will brown on the bottom quickly, so keep an eye on them. When you take them out, let them cool several minutes before moving them to a cooling rack, otherwise they will fall apart. When you store the cookies, you may want to separate the layers with wax paper, but I hardly ever bother, because they don't last very long in my house.

Potato Broccoli Bacon Cheese Soup - made to feed my army

7 cups cubed (1/4" to 1/2" cubes) raw potatoes, peeled
2 cups raw broccoli crowns, chopped into big chunks, 1/2" to 1"
2 cups sliced baby carrots
5 cups water (cook the veggies in 4 cups water, then use the remaining cup to make the cornstarch slurry)
6 cups skim milk
8 oz. (I used 9 oz. tonight, but you can just use an 8oz. bag) grated cheese (cheddar is probably best, but I used colby/jack tonight)
6 tablespoons cornstarch
2-1/2 teaspoons salt
1 4.5 oz. bag of Oscar Mayer Real Bacon Bits

Makes about 16 cups of soup, each cup has 184 calories, 6.3 grams fat

First cook the veggies in 4 cups of water until the potatoes are tender. Add the milk and bacon bits and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally to keep the milk from burning. Mix the cornstarch into 1 cup of cold water, pour into the soup. Stir soup occasionally until it is thick and bubbly. Add the salt and grated cheese. Stir until the cheese is melted into the soup. Taste the salt level, add more if you like. You could also add more broccoli. I probably would have used a 16oz. bag of frozen cut broccoli, but the little bit of raw broccoli is all I had on hand.