Operation: McDon't. Week 3. McCheat!

Monday - Wednesday: Snowed in! Didn't leave the house until Wednesday afternoon, and only then to drive Baby Weena home and get groceries.

Thursday - Friday: Thanksgiving! Too full for fast food too!

Saturday: Flopped around on our bellies at home.

Sunday: Dim Sum brunch for Z and I with my dad and aunt and grandma, plus my brother and his girlfriend. Reckless shopping spree at JoAnn's on the way home. My husband went to a football game, so probably ate junk there, but it's not about him here, now is it? :)

So basically I was able to coast this week, due to snow and holidays!

I figured I should weigh-in here too. I'm not avoiding fast food to lose weight, since I've been happily hovering around 130 lbs for over 5 years, and was around 140 for a decade before that. A little over my ideal weight of 120, but not worth actually doing any exercise or restricted diet over. According to a BMI calculator, 130 (BMI 238) is within a normal range for my height, while 140 was borderline overweight (BMI 25.6.)
According to this site, women think they look their best with a BMI between 20 and 22 (men 23-25) with 23 to 25 not considered overweight, 26+ is.
So my personal ideal of 120 lbs has a BMI of 20.9, right within the "lookin' good" range. At 115 and 110 when I was (much) younger, people told me I looked unhealthy or too skinny, which is why I arbitrarily chose 120.

Anyway, while weight loss wasn't really part of my goal here, I figured it's probably an inevitable side-effect of eating healthier, so I'd track my "progress" (or lack thereof) here, in an informal sort of way.
Now, keep in mind that my scale is not awesome. It's default is at around 4 or 5 lbs, and it's one with the wiggly stick, not a digital. Also I have crummy eyesight, so it's hard to see which skinny little line it's pointing near on the number dial.
I'm not sure exactly where I was a few weeks ago, since I don't bother using this scale, so only know my weight at my annual exam, and when I go in for my pelvic (with the "pooter doctor," as Little Z calls her.)
But right now I weighed in at around 127. And that doesn't take into account the scale starting at around 5. So I don't know if I'm really 127, or 122! But 122 seems kind of awesome for only 3 weeks of avoiding fast food, when last I checked (sometime in the Spring, I think) I was around 128-130.

Operation: McDon't. Week 2. Epic Fail

Day 1. Monday. I almost went after preschool, but I sucked it up and drove past. She finished up the leftovers from her special Muffin Tin breakfast instead.

Day 2. Tuesday. I packed a lunch for after gym class because I had to pick something up from a friend's house. We went to a delicious Thai restaurant for dinner after my cute mani/pedi with my stepmother-in law (Gramma Barp) and her friend, and her friend's friend, and my stepsister-in-law (Auntie Kinzie)!

Day 3. Wednesday. We had pizza at the mall after ballet class, which is a fail, in my book, as it isn't any healthier or cheaper than McDonald's. [I had them water down the lemon-lime soda though. And they were out of lemonade.] Plus a pretzel at Auntie Anne's, but I will always get a pretzel if I even remotely have room in my belly for one, so I'm not going to count it. :P
Then we raced off to my sister's house to spend the night. We got a large Sweet Tea for me and a soft serve cone for her at McD's on the way over, since she refused to sleep on the ride and was starting to melt down, and I kept nodding off. They got us pizza for dinner. -_-

Day 4. Thursday. Little Z had been throwing up from 11pm until 3am, so we spent the day on water, Rice Crispies and Pedialyte. Auntie Kayneen and I took Piwu and snuck out and went shopping while Tually and Z stayed with Unka Rop. Surprisingly, Little Z did very well - she even took a nap while I was gone, and only cried a little when she woke up. By then she was ready for grapes, and did just fine. Wahoo! The girls had bread and noodles for dinner, and we had leftover pizza.

Day 5. Friday. Pancakes (courtesy of Unka Rop) and Corn Chex for breakfast (I had Lucky Charms!) We raced off to try and catch the ferry in time to have lunch with Daddy (missed the ferry, but he took a later lunch break after the next ferry.) We got Cheetos on the ferry and then fish and chips (and clam strips. Yum!) at Ivar's with Daddy. So technically fast food, for another day of fail. Ah well. Not that she ate much. If you combine all the food she ate Wednesday and Thursday, it wouldn't equal the amount she normally eats in a single meal. But she had a blast feeding the clam strip crumbs and french fries to the seagulls!

Day 6. Saturday. We had an early Thanksgiving dinner planned with my mother- and sister-in-law, plus some birthday presents to buy, so we took our special 2-day sale coupons in to the new Toys R Us/Babies R Us that just re-opened near us and got us some Buy 1 Get 1 50% off Lego sets for Tay's belated birthday and save for Christmas. I also had a coupon for a $10 gift card if you spend $75, so we were scouting for stuff for Z too. Zoobles singles were Buy 2 Get  1 Free, so we got her some as potty presents (she loves the Bakugan, and can mostly open and close them herself. These are WAY cooler, since they're animals, which she totally digs.) The sets were 25% off, so we got the Under The Sea one for the neighbor girl for Christmas, since she said she wanted it from a commercial and her mom had no idea what Zoobles were! We also got Z a tricycle for $100, and I had another coupon for $10 off a purchase of $100, so that was cool. They had a perfectly fine $40 trike, but this one has a removable push bar, which makes it easier for us to help her learn to pedal (the pedals go around, so she can keep her feet on them and feel how they make her legs move.) And a sun shade. And it was pink.
Anyway, we took too long, and still had to go to the grocery store to pick up stuff to take to Nana and Auntie Keesee's dinner, so we got McD drive-thru and ate it in the car while Daddy went to the grocery store. (Our other option was the pizza-by-the-slice that the grocery store sells, or Lunchables, but I view them as akin to McD as far as cost and nutrition. Plus I hate their pizza.) (Large Sweet Tea, some fries, and a McChicken for me.) She ate none of the yummy Thanksgiving feast, preferring to play with Tay and his Legos. Then on the hour-long drive home she requested "Apples and nuggets and fries and apples please." *sigh* So we got her another Happy Meal. I don't think she ate much of it though. She kept screaming that her lips hurt, so I'm guessing the salt from the fries stung her winter-chapped lips, because they certainly weren't too hot! Anyway, a total fail for the day.

Day 7. Saturday. Cereal for breakfast, leftover Muffin Tin Meal for lunch, and a PBJ for after-nap snack, and no dinner. Well, she ate some of the mixed veggies. She hasn't been eating much dinner lately. She still chows down during breakfast, lunch and after-nap snack though! [My husband brought back an Auntie Anne's pretzel for me when he went to the mall to exchange his new shoes while we napped. Oh, delicious, empty calories!]

Well... if you don't count the second McD trip Saturday night, since she really didn't eat any of it; or the much-needed soft-serve cone, we've only gone once in 2 weeks, which is more or less my goal... Lots of pizza for me this week though. Plus the deep fried fish and chips. And pretzels. [Omnomnom] But still. Only one meal at McDonalds!

Operation: McDon't. Week 1. Our Heroes So Far...

Day 1: Monday. Wanted to go to McD's after preschool, but went home to wash off flour and eat lunch in the tub.

Day 2: Tuesday. Normally pack a lunch for after gym class, but sometimes we go to McD's. Made sure to pack a lunch so I wouldn't be tempted. It was an awesome looking lunch, but it made us late. [I'm not renowned for my time-management skills.]

Day 3: Wednesday. Packed a quickie lunch for after ballet, since I needed to do some grocery shopping, and as far as I'm concerned, buying a pizza slice or a Lunchable at the grocery store is the same as buying McD's. Not ideal nutritionally, and a waste of money. Didn't end up eating the lunch. She instead sat in the cart and ate the strawberry/raspberry/blueberry tub I was buying for the kids on Saturday. Well worth buying more. And she had some grilled cheese that Unka Seesee made just as we got home.
In the interests of full disclosure, I bought a Starbucks Frappucino at the MOMS board meeting in the evening. But in my defense, I don't just -go- to Starbucks and get stuff. I buy one once a month at the board meeting (sometimes I don't. I generally don't unless I ate dinner already. Otherwise I buy a juice from the cooler to go with my bagels and cream cheese, since we meet at a Starbucks in the grocery store.) And I bought one on Saturday on the 3-hour drive back with some of my MOMS peeps from the annual luncheon. Special treat.

Day 4: Thursday. Stayed home. There was a fun pajama party with the MOMS, but Snorky McSnorkerson was starting to cough, and her drippy nose turned into a non-stop runny nose, so I decided to contain our plague and keep her cooped up.

Day 5: Friday. Stayed home again. I had a craft planned for one of my mom groups, but no one could make it, and so a few weeks ago I offered to do it with a different moms group, but only got 1 'yes' RSVP, and when I contacted her, she said she'd prefer not to risk getting whatever Z had, so we cancelled.
It was kinda easy to avoid McD's on these sick days, so it feels like I'm cheating to keep my goal, but in this case, the end justifies the means! We did go out to eat, since Unka Seesee wanted to go to the Japanese/sushi buffet ("shooshee boofay") for lunch, but it was much healthier than fast food. And cheaper, since Unka Seesee paid, even though I had planned to, since we kind of invited ourselves along. She didn't eat much. A fried mozzarella stick, 10-15 soy beans, and 3 piles of fish eggs off of spicy tuna rolls (we didn't eat the rolls. Too spicy for the both of us. But she looooooves fish eggs!) And her "ah-meem tone" (ice cream cone.) Okay. Only slightly healthier than fast food.

Day 6: Saturday. Party day. So I spent all morning cleaning and cooking, and sending husband off to the store to buy last-minute items. There wasn't a McDonald's in sight!

Day 7: Sunday. I almost slipped. Almost. We went to Disney on Ice and I hastily threw together an apple, a banana and some juice boxes, since we were running late and I didn't even have time to make a sandwich (we missed whatever the beginning of the show was.) And then I cleverly left it in the car 3 blocks away. >.<
I had to buy a $3 water, a $3 blueberry muffin and a $3.50 slice of chocolate chip banana bread (the barrista totally lied. I asked if it was banana bread and she said no.) I would have wasted money on nachos or a hot dog, but I didn't see that concession stand. I still don't feel that the muffin and bread were healthy options.
I got her a $12 cotton candy, which she didn't end up eating, because I told her she had to wait until we had eaten our muffin and chocolate bread (I know right? The irony was killing me too.) And then she saw... snow cones. She had rejected a snow cone when she wanted the cotton candy, but now she wanted a snow cone more. So I got a $12 snow cone flicked all over me as she hacked at it with her spoon and practically ignored the second half of the show. And then she wanted her cotton candy anyway. I stood firm, but I doubt her bite of blueberry muffin, 1/4th of a slice of chocolate banana bread and a snow cone was a much healthier (or less spendy!) option than McD's. And then I almost... almost stopped there on my way home anyway. Panera, which was right by where we parked, was standing room only. Ugh. But I waited it out, drove past and made it home, where she refused to eat her sandwich and wouldn't fall asleep for a nap. *sigh*

BUT I MADE IT! (If you don't count unhealthy options on Sunday as a fail. Which I won't. I rule.)

[As I finished typing this on Sunday evening before dinner, I asked my husband what his dinner plans were. He said, "I was thinking McDonalds with the play area or Chuck E Cheese.' Hmph. Well... I guess it doesn't count if he takes her. Although I'll probably have a pretzel at the mall with my friend Jeni, which is a kind of a fail for me too. But I love them so!]

Operation: McDon't!

I've made myself an informal challenge this week: See how long I can go without copping out and going to McDonald's for lunch. Day 2. So far so good. Normally I would have made some excuse and gone there after preschool on Monday, but I held firm (plus she needed a bath to wash off all the flour!)

My reasons are vague and varied. I'm sure if I read about their terrible farm practices, horrid labor conditions, non-sustainable land management, etc, I'd be horrified and hate them. And if I knew about how terribly they treat their meat animals, or what garbage they fill the meat up with, I'd swear off McD's for life. Of course I've heard about how bad it all is for you (fast foods in general, not just specifically McD's.) And I read an article saying I shouldn't let my child have fast food more than twice a month. Twice. A. Month. Ha! We've been going 1 to 3 times a week, probably averaging more than twice a week. Let's say 2.5 times per week, average.
And it gets spendy. I pay $6.50-8.50 per meal to feed Z and myself (Nugget Happy Meal w/apples ~$3.50, Large Sweet Tea $1, McChicken $1, small fries $1.30, plus tax. Sometimes I'll vary slightly to get a Monopoly game piece, or just get fries in her meal and not buy them separately.) So 2 to 2.5 times a week makes that around $ 15 to $18.75 per week on McD meals, more if I'm aggressively collecting the current toy, like I did for Strawberry Shortcake. But at $15-$18.75/week, thats $780-975 a year. Think of all the muffin liners and cute bento stuff interest we could earn in Z's college fund!
But I want the Happy Meal toys. Although apparently 'free' kids meal toys are being banned in parts of California, and possibly soon the whole US. And several years ago Disney stopped partnering with McD for Happy Meal toys in an admiral attempt to stop being associated with 'unhealthy' foods. Even grocery stores aren't allowed to offer junk food freebies with Disney products. At Safeway, for example, I used to buy the new release on sale, PLUS get a free box of microwave popcorn, 12-pack of soda, and bag of cookies. After Disney's turnaround, with the new Disney release, I'd get healthier fare. And actually, I'd get foods I actually ate before they went bad! With the "Enchanted" DVD, for example, I got a 12-pack of mini Dasani water, a box of lite microwave popcorn, and a bag of apples from - wait for it - Disney Orchards. That was my favorite part. Plus they were cheaper per pound than the other apples, so I bought several bags by the time the store stopped carrying them (at the time I was on a 3-apples-a-day diet, which was fairly effective, as I lost 10 pounds in 6 months, with no other changes to my diet. And really I only had 2 apples a day, usually only weekdays. But they fill you up, so you're eating less junk. They burn more calories to digest than they give you. Plus they're, you know, good for you.

Once, ages ago, long before I had kids, McDonald's was giving away mini Neopets plushies in the Happy Meals. They were random, and had rare ones. And I wanted them all! So my 5 days a week that I worked, I'd walk over on my lunch break (it was at the far end of the parking lot from where I worked) and order a Happy Meal. Around half the time I'd substitute apples instead of fries, and over half of those times, I didn't bother with the caramel sauce. I got the fountain lemonade to drink (I don't think it was diet, but it tasted funny, so maybe it was) and never upsized it. In the 2 weeks they had those toys, I gained 5 pounds. No lie.

In the first trimester of my pregnancy, they had their Monopoly game going on. And they had extra game pieces on their Chicken Sandwiches and Large Fries. So I'd get a grilled, but sometimes the fried sandwich, large fries and whatever size drink had the pieces on them. I never finished all my fries (even though I was pregnant!) and had the lemonade to drink. I didn't have that 5 lunches a week, maybe 2 to 4, for less than a month. I was craving them for a while, so I got them even after the Monopoly was over, but then I started being repulsed by them (and Double Stuf Oreos and Cheetos Cheese Puffs. Darnit!)
The books all said I should expect to gain around 10 pounds my first trimester. I gained 30. (Although I lost all my pregnancy weight, plus the 10 pounds I gained the first month that I wasn't going to count as pregnancy weight. Wahoo. It's okay. You can hate me.)

I'm not blaming McDonald's for my weight gain. I made my choices. I don't exercise (other than walking from work to the restaurant, back when I worked at a paying gig [parenting is work. I never say that I don't "work."]) If I made good choices in the other foods I eat, I'm sure the occasional fast food wouldn't be too harmful. But I'm lazy, and I still love their fries.

So for all of these reasons, plus a general desire to be more of a 'better' mother, I've decided to see what I can do. And it has nothing to do with overspending on cookie cutters, bento supplies or muffin tins and liners and needing to cut back in other areas. *Cough*

So I'll try full disclosure, and post when and what we ate there, and whether it was a planned treat, or a lazy cop-out last-minute decision. Even when I just pop through drive-through to get myself a Sweet Tea. *sigh*