Misery

I've been told once or twice that I am capable of two states of being: hungry or sleepy. If not one, then the other, but sometimes both at the same time. My current state? Sleepy with a side of misery.


D and I had errands to run this weekend, like potting soil for the plumeria tree we bought in Hawaii last month and a few additions to our cold-weather wardrobes. I finally rolled out of bed at nine this morning and managed to down four cups of coffee before heading out the door. After running around town for a few hours, we decided to grab lunch at Harry's Tap Room since we were heading to Fashion Centre. I've never actually stepped inside this venue before and considering it's located in a shopping mall, I didn't really know what to expect. I figured I needed to eat something relatively healthy and with a high vegetable content. I skimmed over the menu twice and fell in love with the idea of the fall salad (consisting of bibb lettuces, endive, roasted butternut squash, McIntosh apples, chopped walnuts, dried cranberries and apple walnut dressing, topped with blue cheese  crumbles) and the southwestern veggie burger (made of buckwheat, kidney beans, onion, corn and rice seasoned with chili powder, cumin and cilantro). I opted for the veggie burger with a side of butternut squash (instead of fries) and aside from the burger needing a little more flour to hold it together, it was pretty darn good. In fact, I couldn't even finish the butternut squash because I was already uncomfortably full.


To set the record straight, I am not a vegetarian but I am a huge fan of homemade veggie burgers. Like I said before, the veggie burger at Harry's Tap Room was good, but the veggie burger that will always hold a special place is my heart is at Brick Restaurant in Jacksonville, Florida. I don't remember what exactly makes this particular veggie burger so magical, but whatever it is, it's an intoxicating blend of brown rice, black beans, milled flax seed, quinoa, barley, beets, mushrooms and provolone cheese. Brick's veggie burger puts any beef/turkey/bison burger I've ever had to shame. 


Tomorrow, I am hoping to get myself back into a regular schedule. I start a new job, which means less time to sit around eating because I'm bored. The less time I have, the more I am motivated to exercise. I guess this means the two-week love affair I've had with the couch is over and my return to my real love, the treadmill. Since D is traveling this week, I have no excuses.


On another note, do you know your recommended caloric intake for your age, weight and height? The BMI-Calculator website is a good resource (I recommend talking with a doctor first, because I'm not an expert). I've been told that for my height, at 5'8", and weight, ranging from 132-140, I should be eating 1200-1400 calories a day to maintain my weight. The more I exercise the more calories I need to eat so I'm not starving myself, but let's face it - I've probably doubled or tripled that number over the past few days and not counteracted that with real physical activity.


Feeling guilty, sleepy and full, expect a much more reasonable caloric intake report from me tomorrow.