My first graze box came today!  If you’re unfamiliar with the company, it’s a natural snack delivery system that recently became available in the United States.  It started in the UK and when I learned about it I knew I wanted to give it a try.  To sign up you need an invitation code but luckily a friend of mine gave me one.  If you decide you want to try it too, I can give you an invite code!

What else is there to know about graze?  There are two types of boxes - the Nibblebox and the Lightbox.  Both are delivered weekly and contain 4 snacks coming from 9 different categories.  Snacks in the weekly Lightbox are between 50 and 150 calories per container!  Healthy snacks are sometimes hard to find on my college campus so I was really excited to sign up for the Lightbox.  The nutritional information is available for both types of boxes.

I haven’t tried anything yet but here are the snacks I got in my box this week:

• el picante - jumbo salted corn, hot chili peanuts and mini paprika breadsticks
• festival fruits - pear, blackcurrants, apple and pitted dried plums
• bounty hunter - milk chocolate drops, coconut flakes and cranberries
• banoffee pie - fudge pieces, almond slices, pecan nuts and banana coins

I’m so excited to try all my snacks!  I’ll probably try some of them in my oatmeal :)

Each box is regularly $5 but your first and fifth box is free!  That pretty much reeled me in to sign up.  I can cancel whenever I want so if after the fifth box I get bored (there are over 50 snacks I could get in my Lightbox so that’s unlikely to happen), I can stop the service.  

If you want to try graze, feel free to ask for my invitation code!  Happy snacking :)

If you don’t know what graze is, it’s a weekly healthy snack delivery system. Your 1st and 5th boxes are free! If you wanna try it, message me for my invitation code :)

input/output

• breakfast: oatmeal made with u/s chocolate almond milk and some semisweet choco chips (amazeballs)
• workout: 3.7 mile run, 5 minute walk
• lunch: tomato-basil humus, romaine, lo sodium turkey, and mustard on WW & Flax sandwich thins, white chocolate Luna bar
• snack: apple sprinkled with pb2
• dinner: turkey burger topped with tomato and mustard on a WW bun, guac, multigrain scoops, salad with romaine, spring mix, cucumbers and carrots
• snack: glass of OJ and diced watermelon
• what i’m eating now: more animal crackers with a mug of apple cinnamon tea
• veggies: 4; fruits: 2.5
• water consumed: 131oz

lots of snacking today.  it might have to do with the fact that i need to pick my sister up from preseason at a different time than normal tomorrow morning, which will affect my workout time.  this observation screams control issues but when i need to manage time differently, my snack impulses skyrocket.  i’ve had an obsession with time for as long as i remember :/  last month when i changed to full time from part time at work i started binging at night.  

happy news: today is my half-birthday!  in 6 months i will no longer be a teenager OH MI GAD

“Cakes have gotten a bad rap. People equate virtue with turning down dessert. There is always one person at the table who holds up her hand when I serve the cake.

‘No, really, I couldn’t,’ she says, and then gives her flat stomach a conspiratorial little pat.

Everyone who is pressing their fork into that first tender layer looks at the person who declined the plate, and they all think, That person is better than I am. That person has discipline.

But that isn’t a person with discipline, that is a person who has completely lost touch with joy. A slice of cake never made anybody fat. You don’t eat the whole cake. You don’t eat a cake every day of your life. You take the cake when it is offered because the cake is delicious.

You have a slice of cake and what it reminds you of is someplace that’s safe, uncomplicated, without stress. A cake is a party, a birthday, a wedding. A cake is what’s served on the happiest days of your life.”

friday the 13th! :)

input/output

• Breakfast: cheerios with granola mixed in, skim milk; an orange
• Pre-workout: granola bar
• Post-workout: Luna protein bar, trailmix, peaches fruit cup
• Dinner: salad with romaine, spinach, feta, balsamic vinaigrette; 2 oatmeal raisin cookies
• Snacks throughout the day: mini Kind bar, vitamins
• Water consumed: 72oz so far
• Veggie servings: 2/3
• Fruit servings: 2/2

Exercise: 3.6 mi on elliptical

Deficit: 356

whoa, this was the first day that i didn’t get at least 3 servings of vegetables in a long time!  it’s because for some reason the caf did not have cucumbers or carrots at the salad bar .. booo.  

there’s this nice, sweet guy who i’ve been texting for a few weeks now, and today we had our first in-person conversation :3  we live in the same dorm but for some reason i never saw him around campus.  i had always counted him out because of the guy i mentioned in a previous post, and because i just am a goof when it comes to guys.  but it was nice talking to him.  hmmm.

input/output

• Breakfast: oatmeal with splenda, granola; an orange
• Lunch: 1 triangle bruschetta pizza, golden delicious apple, carrots, small piece of coffee cake
• Dinner: salad with romaine, spinach, feta, cucumbers, balsamic vinaigrette; carrot cupcake
• Snacks throughout the day: tropical fruit snacks, small godiva coconut chocolate, vitamins
• Water consumed: 94oz whatttt
• Veggie servings: 4/3
• Fruit servings: 2/2

Exercise: 3.5 mi on elliptical

Deficit: 360

too much sugar today :L that comes from two desserts.  those are definitely my weaknesses.  however, this is the first day this week i had dessert, so that’s something to be okay with.  now that Lent is over the temptation to eat cookies is back.  i’m lucky that my caf hasn’t served any since Easter.. it’s only a matter of tiimmee.  current problem = Easter chocolate sitting in my fridge.  i need to learn how to enjoy it in moderation or get rid of it!

my roommate has a huge chocolate bunny sitting on her desk and i swear it watches me when i sleep lol

input/output

• Breakfast: oatmeal with chocolate almond butter, orange
• Lunch: Luna bar, “trailmix cocktail”
• Dinner: salad with romaine, spinach, feta, carrots, cucumbers, balsamic vinaigrette
• Snacks throughout the day: red velvet cookie, peaches fruit cup, vitamins
• Water consumed: 64oz
• Veggie servings: 4/3
• Fruit servings: 2/2

Exercise: 1 hour of Zumba

Deficit: 410

meeeeep, foodage was not superb today.  i had to run to a meeting for a group project right after Zumba so i packed a luna bar to eat.  when i got back to my room i showered then combined 3 trailmixes to make a delish cocktail as i worked on an essay.  i’m feeling a granola bar so i won’t wake up starving tomorrow, my intake has only almost reached my BMR.

this month is going to be crazy, it’s definitely not time to assign any new, fun goals to try.  i have 4 essays due at the end of the month, some that i’ll get the prompt only a week before the due date.  so college .. hopefully i can tackle one a week.  i still plan to eat healthy and exercise, which will help my mood and temperament :)

in personal news, this guy i’ve been kind of waiting on informed me he got drunk with one of his lady friends last weekend and called her the wrong name after hooking up with her.  i feel like i wasted time on him but hey, live and learn.  now i need to get him out of the back of my mind.

input/output

• Breakfast: apple pancake, mini wheats topped with applesauce
• Lunch: chicken parmesan, golden delicious apple, mini rocky road brownie
• Dinner: salad with romaine, spinach, cucumbers, feta, diced chicken, balsamic vinaigrette
• Snacks throughout the day: Luna bar, mini KIND bar, vitamins
• Water consumption: 86oz
• Veggie servings: 3/3
• Fruit servings: 2/2

Exercise: 1 hour of ZUMBA :)

Deficit: 362

interesting day food-wise.  splurged at breakfast and freaked myself out a little bit, but i don’t want to feel uncomfortable about choosing to eat something out of the ordinary. the calorie count scared me the most but it was delicious, and at the end of the day i stayed in my count.  lunch was also higher than usual, but then again it all worked out.

i’m going home for Easter weekend tomorrow, that should be nice.  i’ll probably weigh myself friday morning?  depends on how i eat tm, if i think i’ll be bloated i’ll postpone it.  no need to see a number on the scale i don’t want to … hopefully i haven’t gained since last month when i was home.  i’ve had some bad days and some changes in my workouts and deficits.  then the challenge of eating at home presents itself to me!

plan for the rest of the night: study until American Idol, make a packing list after the show, sleeeeeeep.

input/output

• Breakfast: oatmeal with mini chocolate chips, raisins, cheerios
• Lunch: tomato + mozzarella sandwhich, golden delicious apple
• Dinner: hotdog (no bun, with mustard), salad with romaine, spinach, feta, cucumbers, carrots, balsamic vinaigrette)
• Snacks throughout the day:  Luna bar, KIND bar, vitamins
• Water consumed: 81oz
• Veggie servings: 4/3
• Fruit servings: 2/2

Exercise: 3.3 mi on elliptical

Deficit: ~300

back to documenting everything :) snacking now to up my intake.  because my BMI is smack-dab in the middle i’m going to keep my deficit between 200 - 300.  it’s all good.  

i realized today there is no way i am getting ~50g of protein, which is my dra.  i’ll need to research for some good sources.  meat is a great option of course, i just can’t always get some in the cafeteria.  plus i need to adapt / apply the mantra “nutrition > calories.”  i’m usually good with caloric intake, now i need to improve my habits to create a well-balanced intake.

tomorrow i’ll reflect on my March goals and make some for this month! :)

input/output

• Breakfast: oatmeal with peanut butter & 1/4 apple diced in
• Lunch: mac and cheese, ham, small apple
• Dinner: salad with romaine, spinach, carrots, cucumbers, feta, balsamic vinaigrette; full-sized KIND bar
• Snacks: pink grapefruit candy, s’mores granola bar
• Water consumption: 70oz
• Veggie servings: 4/3
• Fruit servings: ~1.5/2

Exercise: 1 hour of Zumba :)

Deficit: tbd, going to snack soon.  aim is 300.

i think it’s safe to say i am over my fear of spinach!  :o)  it adds vitamins and color to an otherwise blase salad.  that works for me.  i think it’s going to be a lot easier to get to and exceed my veggie servings in thanks to spinach.