Week 4 of C25K

Weighed in at 248.8 this morning.  Only .2 pounds down from Wednesday.  But I'm trying to look at it as only .8 away from my 20 pound goal!  I took ate a bit more than I should have Wednesday night and took yesterday off from exercising, so I guess it's not bad.

Today was my first day of week 4 of the C25K challenge.  I had to run a total of 16 minutes and walk 16 minutes.  The running was done in 2 5-minute and 2 3-minute stretches.  The 3 minute ones weren't bad anymore but the 5 minute ones were tough!  I keep thinking, here I am almost half way through the training, and running 5 minutes at a time is hard.  Am I really going to be running 35-40 minutes straight in another 5 weeks?!  Because that seems unrealistic!  But I'm sticking with this!  I'll stick it out and maybe I'll be surprised.  I'm growing more and more nervous about the 5K though, wondering if I can really do it, thinking I'll have to walk it....

Jen and I are going to do 1 mile on her road tomorrow.  We're doing a combo run/walk, but I really want to prove to myself that I can do this.  It's going to be like 15 minutes of running/walking....but I've only ever run in place.  Plus there will be hills, which I am worried about.  And I don't have good shoes.  We're going to Walmart tonight, and I'll see if I can get good shoes and something to use as workout clothes.

What I've been trying to do to stay in the moment and motivated while running is to look at myself in the mirror and watch myself run, and think about how I'm going to look thinner.  And how it's going to get easier as I lose more weight.  The more I do it, the easier it will become.  I need to focus in my next decade of numbers.  I'm 9 pounds away, and I'm going to bust my butt to get there by end of March!  I know 10 pounds each month isn't going to continue to be reasonable, but I'm going to ride that train for as long as I can.  I want to be 20 pounds down tomorrow, with 9 to go for March.  

I Did It!!

I weighed in this morning for my weekly weigh-in...249!!!  I did it!!!  I made it to my first goal!  And not even just barely!  I am solidly at that first goal!  And only 1 pound away from the 20 pound mark.  I am so excited and thrilled.  It's definitely made me even more motivated and refocused!  Next goal is to get below 225!  

Yay!!! Progress once again!

Weighed in at 250.6 this morning, exactly 1 pound less than last Wednesday and now only .8 pounds from my first goal!  I am really hoping I can still make it by tomorrow.  I did an extra (quick) walking workout this afternoon, hoping to help toward it.  I'm keeping my fingers crossed, but I'm also telling myself that I shouldn't be disappointed if I don't quite get there.  I'm going to be close, and anything that's a negative number is a good thing!

I would love to hit 248 by March 1...20 pounds down in 2 months.  But that is a lofty goal.  And again, I'm going to get so damn close!  

When we go to Vermont this weekend, I'm already planning ahead.  If we order Chinese for dinner Saturday, I'll get the steamed dumplings and then buy salad stuff to make.  If we order from Zachary's, I'll get a salad and split an order of wings with someone.  For breakfast on Sunday, I'll order eggs and a fruit/yogurt deal.  For lunch Sunday, I'm not sure yet.  

I'm just going to push as hard as I can to keep myself motivated and keep moving in a positive direction.  Because really, what is the alternative?

Finally!!

Weighed in this morning back at 251.6, same as I was last Wednesday!  So now I only have 2 days to get more weight off before this Wednesday's weigh in!  Still hoping for that 249.8 number but I'll take whatever I can get at this point.  

I did my C25K today but it tired me out!  I think it was a combination of things:  1) I had just done some running yesterday, and 2) Colby was awake from 12:30 - 4:00 am which means we were too...I am exhausted!  Hoping Wednesday's run will be a bit easier.  I'm trying not to get discouraged at how much the running for even 3 minutes is making me out of breath.  I know I have a long way to go, and it'll improve with time.  

Jen said that when we go to her house this weekend, we can do a mile fast walk/run.  I'm nervous about that too.  Just a pile of anxiety lately!

Finally headed back in the right direction...

Was still up this morning...and more than a little aggravated!  We went out to Cracker Barrell for breakfast and I had fruit/yogurt parfait, turkey bacon, and 2 poached eggs.  The bacon and eggs were good ... The parfait was a bit lacking.  I had a normal lunch, then omelets for dinner.  This afternoon I suddenly felt like I should exercise .  So I did 10 minutes straight of running, 7 minutes of fast walking, another minute of running, then 2 more minutes of fast walking, then a 5-minute cool down.  I felt really good after!  And I felt good that I had run 10 minutes straight!  I was trying to find a speedometer app for running, but the 3 that I tried were awful! I may have to have Louie map out 1 mile, me run it, and see how long it takes me.  But I'll have to wait til I can actually run for more than 10 minutes at a time.  And til I have good running shoes.  Maybe in a couple weeks, as it gets closer to my 5K.

I did sign up for the 5K in April!  Jen and Tracy both are doing it with me.  I'm both excited and nervous!  On one hand, I would love to be able to say I ran the whole thing.  I think it would be proof to myself, and my family, as to how far I've come and that I'm serious.  On the other hand, I'm so afraid I'm not going to be able to do it, or that I won't be able to run the whole thing, or I'll be the last one passing the finish line, or that people there will judge me or make fun of me....so many thoughts going through my head!  I need to tell myself that people's thoughts about me don't matter, and that the important thing is that I'm being active.  If I have to walk part of it, so be it.  If I'm the last one across the line, at least I finished.

I'm going to increase the frequency of my workouts though.  Right now I'm only exercising 3 times a week.  I'm going to increase that to 4 days a week for now, adding a session on the weekends.  Then I'll eventually increase it to 5.

I know it's night time, but I just weighed myself and it was a more normal night time number - 253.2.  Hopefully this means I'll be back to Wednesday's weight in the morning.  And then I'll have 2 days to get more weight off before this next weigh-in.  But I also have to tell myself that it's ok if I don't get below 250 this week.  It WILL happen if I keep pushing forward.  

I want to get a tape measure and take my measurements, as another way to track my progress.  Hannaford didn't have any, so I need to find one.  I can order off Amazon but seems silly to do that for a $3 item!  I want to go to walmart and look at their activewear, and I'm certain they'd have a tape measure.  It's just a matter of actually going!  Amazon is so much easier!

Not Impressed...

Ok, sodium sucks!!  I've had more water today, ate well, and STILL seeing a gain on the scale!  Hard to tell how much right now since it's night time, but geeze!!  I'm really frustrated!  I guess this is a lesson for me, to NOT go out to eat!  Sad thing is, Louie wants to go to breakfast at Cracker Barrell tomorrow!  Ugh!!!!  Going to look up their menu tonight, make a plan, and stick to it!   

I am just so frustrated because I wanted so badly to be well below 250 for Wednesday's weigh-in, and now I'm wondering if I'll even be below what I was this past week!  I guess the other lesson it teaches me is to not get too cocky about my weight loss.  :(

Starting to get concerned...

I understood the gain yesterday, due to the sodium.  But I weighed again this morning and I was still up 1 pound - 252.6.  And I weighed about an hour later than I usually do.  I didn't think the sodium would hang on that long!  I'm trying really hard not to let it get to me, but it is bugging me.  I was really hoping to be under 250 this week, and now I'm not so sure.  I know I have until Wednesday, so still possible...I just need to be very careful!  Louie wants to go out to breakfast tomorrow morning...I'll probably just get some eggs, maybe some fruit...have to see.

I'm working on my grocery list for this week. I think we have enough leftover meat that I can make meals using the stuff in the freezer.  Trying to think of some new things, too.  

Damn Sodium!

Louie really wanted to go out to dinner last night.  I wanted to do Friendly's because I knew I could get a Caesar salad.  But he really wanted to go to Shane's Rib Shack.  So I looked up the menu and found that they had a chicken tender salad.  I figured out the calories and I had enough so we went.  Well, the sodium is what killed me!  I knew it was going to be bad when my stomac started gurgling so bad last night!  I weighed myself before bed and it was 253.8!  I weighed again this morning and it was 253.2!  I know it's the sodium, and it'll go away pretty quick but ugh!  Even with the best choice I could do, it caused a setback.  Today is a C25K day (1st day of week 3) so hopefully by tomorrow I'll be back down.  Will have to push water today.  

I found a 5K in April that I want to do.  I need to check with my manager, though, because the 5K is on the weekend when he will be in NYC, so that may be when we all try to meet there.  But if not, I really want to so this 5K.  Jen said she'd do it with me, and Tracy said she'd check with Davy about traveling up for it.  So we'll see.  This one allows walking and running, so I can run as much of it as I can (with the goal being the whole thing) and then walk if I need to.  If I can't do this one, there is another one in May.

Just Some Thoughts

I'm wondering if my weight loss is becoming more noticeable.  I can't really tell but I do feel lighter, and I think I can see a slight difference.  When we went to Corning this weekend, my sister-in-law said I was looking good, and I hadn't really told her that I was dieting.  Though I had talked to her about her diet last time we saw them, so maybe she was more closely looking.  I don't really feel any difference in how my clothes fit yet.  That's the part that I'm really wanting to see!  I know I'll get there, just have to keep this up!  

I can feel myself starting to get complacent...not necessarily wanting to give up, but I have caught myself a few times thinking about eating food I shouldn't, or not exercising.  Or just stopping everything altogether.  I need to re-visualize my goals and how I want to look.  I'm so close to being under 250, and so close to a 20 pound loss!  I keep thinking about how much better I could look by April when I go to NYC to meet my manager, co-worker, and CEO.  I keep thinking about how much weight I could lose by August when we go to the beach!  I keep thinking, maybe I can run a 5K this spring.  I really need to keep at this!  I need to do this to prove to myself that I can!

When I weighed this morning, I was 251.2...down another .4 from yesterday.  I found myself feeling disappointed, and had to actually tell myself that it was OK that I'm not pounds down from the day before!  It's impractical and not necessary.  Yes, I want to reach that 249.8 goal, but I will get there in the right timing.  And that's only 1.4 pounds away from today's weight!  I CAN do this!

I know I should avoid timeline goals, but I'm going to make 2 of them anyway.

I want to be 235 by the time I go to NYC in 8 weeks.

I want to be as close to 200 as possible by the time we go to the beach...24 weeks.  I'll say no more than 210.  That means in 24 weeks, I want to lose another 41 pounds minimum.  Not unreasonable but definitely means I need to keep up what I'm doing.

Go Me!!

Today was my official weigh-in day.  251.6!!  I am so close to being under 250, and if my weight loss pattern keeps up, I should be there next week!  I haven't been below 250 in probably 4-5 years!  I've lost 16.4 pounds since January 1!

I finished week 2 of the C25K program today.  Friday starts week 3, where I walk for 90 seconds, run for 90 seconds, walk for 3 minutes, run for 3 minutes, and repeat that for 20 minutes!  It's gonna be brutal, but I just need to visualize the pounds melting away and my body getting thinner and stronger.  I need to keep my motivators in the forefront of my mind.

Success!!

I weighed myself this morning after traveling this weekend.  That meant 2 fast food meals plus some party food at the baby shower.  I tried really hard to make good choices but wasn't sure where I'd end up.  So I weighed this morning...252.6!  Only up .2 from my last weight check, and still down 2 pounds from last weigh-in!  Tomorrow is my official weigh-in so hoping to be down a little more.  Just so anxious to get below 250!!  I'm so close!

Tomorrow is a C25K day, the last day of week 2.  The first day of week 2 felt really hard, but the last one I did wasn't as bad.  

Lily had her 2-month appointment today, including shots.  They are also putting her on Zantac for the reflux.  She's growing well, 90th percentile for weight, 86th for height.  

First Huge Challenge

Friday when I weighed myself, I was 252.4!  We then traveled to Corning.  We stopped at McDonalds on the way, and I got the 6-piece nuggets, small fry, and a coke.  It was all within my calorie budget.  Then Saturday I had oatmeal for breakfast, then headed down to Mary's baby shower.  I packed hummus and veggies, but ended up eating 2 chicken wings, 2 ham and cheese slices, some shrimp, fruit (1 piece dipped in chocolate), and salad.  I declined the cake.  On our way home, though, we stopped at McDonalds again, and I ordered a salad with crispy chicken, and a white chocolate mocha.  I should have gotten grilled chicken and skipped the mocha.  I ended up 7 calories below my daily target.  Today I'm doing better...had fruit/yogurt parfait for breakfast, and for lunch I'll have a coupe hard boiled eggs and veggies/hummus.  For dinner, Kathy is making a beef roast, and I bought salad stuff to go with it.  She's making brownies for dessert though, and that's going to be tough!  But I've got to stay strong.  Then tomorrow we're heading back home which probably means more fast food....traveling is so hard!  But if Louie's driving tomorrow, I can get a salad.  Plus tomorrow is a C25K day, so I'll have some extra calories.

I would love to go home and weigh myself Tuesday morning and be down more, or even to maintain my current loss this week.  I haven't stepped on Kathy's scale - I'm afraid to!

Ups and Downs

I'll do the ups first.  I weighed myself again this morning, and I was 253.6!  I haven't weighed this little in a very long time!!  I'm excited, but I'm also very nervous for this weekend.  We're traveling to Corning, then I'm going to Mary's baby shower on Saturday, and there's going to be a lot of unhealthy food there.  I'm thinking about buying some hummus and veggies and bringing my own stuff.  Also for while we're at Louie's parents'.  At least that way I'll have a bit more control over what I eat.  I can bring some oatmeal for breakfasts, and the hummus/veggies for lunch, and then eat smaller portions of whatever for dinner.  And really it's only Saturday and half of Sunday that I need to worry about.  

So that was the ups.  Now for the downs. Louie sent me an article stating that IBM has started massive layoffs.  It's hit India and Europe today, expected to hit the US on either the 19th or 26th.  I am terrified this time!  Louie has gotten lucky through so many layoffs, and it's kind of feeling like its unlikely he'll get lucky again.  I hope to God he does because of our insurance for Lily's formula, and the possibility of moving....that thought makes me physically sick!  I love this area, love the daycare and the people we've met, our house....the fact that Davy and Tracy are moving here this summer...I would be so upset to have to leave!  And worrying about finding a new job, and how our daily dynamic would change....I hate to even think about all of that!  But we do need to start figuring out a plan B, even if Louie does survive these layoffs because the writing is on the wall...it's a matter of time.  Louie said there's other jobs in this area, but I also know he wants to find something he'll enjoy, and that's the tougher part.  

Between the whole formula ordeal with Lily, and Colby being sick, and now this...I feel like I am completely stressed out and anxious!!

Yay!!!

I weighed in this morning...254.4!!  I am so damn excited since I was so scared to start exercising and how that would affect my weight.  I am pumped!  Less than 5 pounds to go before my first big goal!  13.6 pounds gone total between January 1 and now!  I am very proud of that.

Today is my last day of week 1 in the C25K program.  I'm going to kick it's butt!

Feeling Empowered!

I completed Day 2 of the C25K yesterday, and figured I'd be up on the scale again this morning, but I wasn't!  I was down to 255.6!  I weighed myself just now before bed and that said 256.4, which means tomorrow should be a good number!  I hope so, since it's my weigh-in day!

I've noticed that since being really good with my eating, I feel so much better...I have more energy, I feel more alert, and I just feel like my body is running more efficiently!  I'm surprising myself with the C25K program because I almost feel like it doesn't have the difficulty level that I could do right now.  Though that's about to change starting week 2.  I was thinking at first about skipping ahead, but have decided against it.  I want to do the program as designed, and don't want to risk injury or pushing too hard and it not being fun anymore.

Tonight I made beef roll-ups.  I got thin-sliced round steak, sprinkled them with Montreal-style seasoning, laid provolone and fresh spinach leaves on top, then rolled them up and stuck them with a toothpick.  I sprinkled the outside of the rolls with more of the seasoning, then baked them for 11 minutes.  They came out awesome!  I made green beans drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with grated lemon peel, too.  They were ok.  

I'm feeling like this is becoming easier and actually feels doable for me!  I'm fairly certain I'll be around 255 for my weigh-in tomorrow, maybe less.  And I'm starting to think that I could actually reach my first goal (under 250) by end of this month maybe!  Though I have to reign myself back in because I am trying to focus less on the number on the scale.  But it is exciting to feel so hopeful!

Can I have a mulligan for today?!

I need a do-over for today!  Not off to a good start at all!  Frustrating night, running late this morning, late to work, then had a rough call with a new consulting client who's already asking me advice on which of our competitors to leave us for.  There's been a confirmed case of fifth's disease in the infant classrooms too, so now I'm worried that Lily will get it...ugh!!  I wish I could just go back to bed and start the day over!

We had steak and shrimp fajitas last night...also good but I could have done them better.  Oh well, I'll know what to do differently next time.  I'm thinking of doing oven fried chicken tonight, though I should do the calzones tonight since I'll have the calories for it.  Maybe Wednesday.

I was 256.8 this morning.  Still higher than Wednesday, but lower than Saturday.  Today is another C25K day, though.  Just gotta focus less on the scale and more on what I'm doing for my body.

Louie has definitely been more supportive  of my weight loss efforts this time, and maybe it's because I'm not really doing any drastic "plan" or anything - just trying to eat better.  He doesn't really want to do the C25K program with me, but said he'd do his boot camp app while I do this one.  Plus we talked about trying to exercise while Colby's around.  We want him to see us do it, so he realizes it's a normal, healthy, and important thing to do.  Right now, he sees us come home from picking him up, and me walking out from work, and he and Louie play a video game, while I make dinner.  Then we watch TV while we eat, play games after, and then go up to bed.  Not a lot of activity.  And even if Louie and I exercise during lunch, he doesn't see us do it.  So we're going to try to exercise in the evenings with him.  Louie brought out Wii Fit, so he and Colby have been playing that. 

I think I need to shift my focus from the scale to just getting in the exercise and eating better.  Which sucks because I'm in this Biggest Loser competition and there's $50 on the line!  ;)  But I think the weight will catch up if I just try to get in activity and continue eating better.  I've been doing REALLY well with eating for over a month now - 41 days today to be exact.  I'm getting at least 3 veggie servings a day and 1 fruit, but this week, I'm bumping that up.  I got fruit, yogurt, and granola, so I'm having fruit and yogurt parfaits some mornings.  I also got some hummus and raw veggies to have with or for my lunches.  I figured I needed to add some variety because I was starting to eat the same things day after day.  I don't want to get sick of what I'm eating and then get bored with being good.

Hopefully my day gets better as it goes along!

I knew it!

I knew it would happen.  Started the C25K yesterday, and sure enough, up .8 pounds from Wednesday's weigh-in! I'm trying not to panic - this is normal, and exercise is a good thing , this is only temporary...but damn it is so hard to see that gain!  It sucks!!  My mind starts whirling with thoughts like "Maybe this is not the right time to start.." or "I can wait til I've lost 30 more pounds...."

I'm trying to think what I want people to see.  People will not see the number on the scale.  They will see my body and face, they'll see whether or not I get out of breathe or red-faced.  So the exercise means more than that number.  

I'm just so programmed to care about the damn number!!

Couch to 5K

I started the C25K program tonight.  It was a little boring and repetitive, but it wasn't as exhausting or difficult as I thought it would be.  I'm going to try to do it Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.  I'm trying not to get too concerned about potential gains in the scale....but it's hard not to.  Even right now I'm thinking about weighing myself, and how I'm going to react if the number is higher than it usually is this time of day, etc.

I had a long talk with Louie at lunch today (KFC/Taco Bell, but I made decent choices, I think).  I told him all about my goals and what I wanted to do, my philosophy about wanting to do this my way and ease into things, my fear of the number on the scale, etc.  I think he gets it and will be supportive and encouraging.  I still worry that he's going to tell me I'm doing things wrong or that this is how I should do it instead...but I told him that I need to do this my way for now and start slow.

On an unrelated note, I am feeling much more positive about Lily!  We've been using gripe water at night and it's made a huge difference with her gas and fussiness!  She's a very happy baby most of the time now, and she's sleeping pretty well.  And I'm starting to feel that strong love for her.  She's in daycare now and I miss her during the day.  Having less stress around her has been a huge help!

Week 5 Official Weigh-in

Well, after being down to 256.2 late last week, then going up to 257.6 earlier this week, I officially weighed in at 256.6 this morning.  Not bad, I'll take it!  That's still 11.4 pounds down, and I plan to keep going.  

I had planned to start the C25K program this afternoon, but both Colby and Lily are home from daycare today due to the snow storm.  I'm not sure if I'll get a chance to do it at lunch, but would still like to try to start today.  I'll have to see how things go.  It's only 30 minutes so maybe if I can't do it at lunch, maybe I can do it after work quickly.

I would like to be below 255 for my next weigh-in!  Keeping my fingers crossed!  

I Think I've Found a Pattern

So this morning I weighed myself and I was 256.8 - heading back down again.  I looked over my weight checks for the last 2 weeks and I've noticed a pattern.  After I weigh-in on Wednesday, I lose more weight from Thursday through Saturday, then climb back up a little bit Sunday and Monday, then drop back down Tuesday and Wesnesday.  We'll see of that holds true when I weigh-in again tomorrow.

Tomorrow I'm going to start the C25K program.  I'm actually getting more and more excited about it.  I think it will be good for me and a good achievable goal that I can feel proud of.  Then I'll consider training for the 10K.  I need to change my mindset from being so scale-focused to being health-focused.  Exercise is beneficial no matter what the number says on the scale.

I've also been using a pedometer app on my iPhone to see how many steps I get in a day.  I know the ultimate goal is 10,000, which is something like 5 miles (or pretty close), but I set my goal at 6,000.  Yesterday I had 1,712.  Not even close.  It's so hard when I work a desk job!  I try to get up and move around often, but there's only so much I can do around the house.  I guess that's another goal I can work towards, and the C25K training should help with that too.  

Contemplating Couch 2 5K

I've been doing fairly well with my eating now, so I'm starting to consider adding in some exercise. It scares me to do it, because I know I'm apt to see a gain in the beginning. Plus I've kind of figured out how many calories I need to eat to lose, but now adding exercise into the mix may throw that off. But on the other hand, I feel like exercise would be so good for me, it would help slim me down faster (even if it doesn't help the number on the scale).

 I'm considering starting the Couch 2 5K program. I downloaded the app on my iPhone, and it seems like it would be pretty easy to work into. Of course Louie wants to do the Boot Camp circuit training again, which I'd like to do again, too....but that does a lot of weights, and I'm thinking maybe just cardio wouldn't affect the number on the scale quite so much. I can ease into weights later on when I feel a bit more comfortable with the weight I've lost. But I think the C25K would be a good challenge, with a set timeframe, and maybe an end goal of actually RUNNING a 5K!

 I am struggling with this decision, though. I can't express how terrified I am of the scale going up, even if I know what I'm doing is good for me and my body. But then again, I use the example of The Biggest Loser - those contestants watch what they eat and exercise their ASSES off, and pull in negative numbers all the time. So, maybe I can do it too. Maybe it won't affect the scale quite as much as I'm thinking. If I do start it, I'll probably wait until after my weigh-in on Wednesday. That way, if there is an initial gain, maybe it will be gone by the next weigh-in.

Gonna Be A Rough Day...

Frustrating start to the morning.  A few days ago, I was 256.2, and this morning I was 257.2!  I know it's probably normal fluctuation but still pisses me off.  My weigh in is on Wednesday, so hopefully I can get back down, and maybe beyond! We did have Philly cheesesteaks for dinner last night but I carefully budgeted and went easy on the carbs.  Part of me wonders if I'm getting too many calories. I'm eating around 1400 per day right now.  Maybe I need to drop it down to 1200.  I guess I'll see.  I hate to drop it right now because I'd rather still have that option for when the weight loss tapers off later on.  I keep telling myself that I need to be patient and dedicated.

Today is also rough because it's Lily's first day at daycare.  I did ok dropping her off but started to tear up on the way home.  I was thinking about how empty the house was going to feel without her there.  I'm ok again now.  They sent pictures of her already, and she's smiling big in one of them.  It's going to take some getting used to!

A Big Achievement!

In addition to the 11.8 pounds that I'm down in 1 month, I had another major success today!

We took my 2-year old son to see Sesame Street Live tonight.  The show started at 5:30, so we had to leave at 4:45, which meant we didn't have time to eat dinner before we left.  We didn't get out of there til 7:00, so Louie suggested we stop at McDonalds after.  I immediately took out my phone and brought up My Fitness Pal.  I planned to have a 6-piece chicken nugget and small fries.  When I told Louie, he suggested that we get the 10 piece nugget meal and split it.  So that's what we did!  I'm still a little hungry but not starving, and it's bed time anyway.  But just the principal that I ate McDonalds and still kept within my calorie goal...that is pretty exciting!

I really like My Fitness Pal.  I can keep track of how many calories I'm eating, how many I'm using for exercise, general nutrition, what I do for exercise, water consumption, notes..and it's not very time consuming.  Plus I can scan the bar codes of foods and it will bring it up with the nutrition info.  If I want to add it to a meal, I can do that easily.  I've rarely had a food that the bar code couldn't find!