Update on taking a break..

Just thought I'd update on my non-point counting, taking a break, lifestyle.

It's working well for me.. I was gaining a little at first but for the most part I've stayed with in a two pound range and this past week it's been dipping down a little more (even with Drew's work party at a yummy Italian resteraunt).

Today I was down .6 from my last 'official' weigh in day- love having new numbers show up on weigh in day, even if it's so small.

Last week I had my bra measurements taken since it's been since Feb. that I've purchased new ones (I know, you're welcome for me sharing) and I'm a 36D or 38C. I totally laughed out loud when she told me that. Me? A D size??? Uh, yeah, must be the shape my current bra has to it but I'm thinking those might need to be a cup smaller on each of those. LOL

Go figure, in doing my measurements today, my rib cage is a full INCH smaller than last week. Just great. I still have 45 more pounds to loose! :-S By the time I get there, I'm going to be so flat.. if you've seen The Proposal, you know what I mean when I say it's going be like an Easter Egg Hunt.... :-D

Gotta love being a pear shape.

Taking a break.

So here's the scoop.

I'm lazy.

I haven't been to the gym in like 2 weeks..

I haven't even really logged on to the WW website for 2 weeks.

I'm still at 37 pounds total loss. (thank goodness my weigh-in day wasn't on saturday.. after three thanksgiving meals, I was up 3 pounds! haha)

I'm just going to call it good until the new year- no more guilt about not losing more than a pound every couple of weeks. I've clearly mastered the skill of maintaining so I'm not too concerned about the holidays.

However, I do intend to start working out again. I miss it.

And that's where I'm at. :o)

my.. head..

I haven't posted in a few weeks. I forgot.. and then I went out with Drew where I indulged in Spinach Artichoke Dip (I KNOW!- I did show a little restraint though) and I gained a few pounds.. and it took it's time to come back off which of course was a little discouraging. Who knew a few pounds heavier would make me grouchy. It's silly, really..

Of course it didn't help that I had a headache for a few days last week.. who wants to wake up EARLY to work out when your head hurts? Not I! And my hip was really bugging me.. it's sad when anyone near me can hear it randomly pop. It sounds like it's cracking! grrr

I did go twice though, I think it was. I've been giving the treadmill a whirl instead of the elliptical machine. I'm only doing 30 minutes but I walk at a some-what quick pace on an incline of 4-5.. and then after 10 minutes, I lower the incline and run.

I always feel silly when I try running because I've never been good at it.. and I feel so jiggly!!

When I first started trying to run a few weeks ago, I about died once I hit 45 seconds. Now I can last 1 minute before about killing over.

I know, I know. Who can't even run for a minute?? It really kicks my butt though. But at least I'm getting better at it, right?

I'm not feeling so hot today so I'm not sure how working out will go this week.

At least my weight is back down.. 37 pounds lost.

Anyone have a game plan for Halloween and treats/candy??? Most of it I think I'll be able to resist.. but we'll see. :-S

(good news is no bags of chocolate have even been purchased, therefor not even consumed.. huge difference compared to last year!!)

mmmm chocolate

I haven't been able to resist snacks all weekend long. What gives??? The chocolate called to me and while I resisted some, apparently I didn't resist quite enough. LOL

My scale says I'm either up .2 or 1.2 I'm recording the 1.2 on my WW thing. I think it will quickly come back off with getting back into better eating habits. All of my inches were the same as last week (which is really what I care about).

I didn't make it to the gym today. Yesterday afternoon I left the house to go grocery shopping and my hips and left hand (the top area that hit into the steering wheel) started aching. I wonder if it's from the weather and it being stormy?? So weird... my hand was BAD though. I was pretty uncomfortable last night too. GRRRR

Ok, that is all. LOL

I'm Baaack!

I did really well tracking at the beginning of the week and not so much at the end of the week. But I was VERY good at tracking in my head!

I was a little worried about dinner last night because I had no way of knowing the points.. I haven't had spaghetti for awhile so I couldn't remember what a serving size was, once cooked.. and how many points for 'regular' pasta (we usually eat the high fiber or whole wheat kind). And the sauce had hamburger in it.. and all of the bread had butter on it. I did my best with guessing what to eat and for the bread, I just ate the crust and gave Kait the rest (plus she wanted it).

But everything still turned out well because I'm down another 2.6 pounds!! I haven't seen these numbers in.. like 7000 years! Or 10. But whatever. WOO HOO!!!

I'm also down a 1/2" on my waist and hips.

And my total loss is at 36.8. Go, Me!!! :o)

I'm hoping to go to the gym more this week.. I need to be better about that. I do fine going one day but then the next day I'm totally exhausted from lack of sleep. I need to go to bed earlier. But that's my alone time with Drew so I hate giving it up.

In other news, this past weekend I tried on pants that were a size smaller and I was able to get them all of the way up, just not zip them. So that was exciting.. I'm getting closer to a smaller size.

And I bought some XL Old Navy shirts and they fit nicely. And I got a sweatshirt thingy (it has half sleeves) from Walmart and it's a size Large. Always encouraging, right??

Here's to another great week!!

I'm tracking!

Just thought I'd update that I'm doing my WW tracking. I really am!!

Might as well admit that yesterday afternoon I ate a lofthouse cookie with frosting (4 points) and two mini powdered donuts (1 point each). And one of those swiss roll things (2 points). And then another of those swiss roll things (2 points).

I labeled the 10 point splurge as "crap" on my tracker.

Oops. Not sure what my problem was.

Sure was tasty though.

I did make sure to get my veggies in though so hopefully that canceled some of it out. Right? Or not.

Oops.

Want to know my current favorite lunch?

It's basically an open face Tuna sandwich..

1 Tuna Pouch (1 point)
1 slice whole wheat bread (2 points)
1 1/2 TBS Light Miracle Whip (1 point)
And then a frippery of condiments: small scoop of relish (0??), chopped up celery for crunch (0??), squirt of mustard (o), fresh pepper

And the most glorious part: one slice of havarti cheese.

I HEART havarti. Big fat puffy heart it.

Unfortunately, it's 3 points for one slice. Which is the real reason for the open-faceness.. I'd rather have a slice of cheese than two slices of bread.

And then I have a slew of cut up red/yellow/orange peppers (1 point I guess??)

Total points is 8. Kind of high for lunch.. but I'm not a big breakfast person, so I have them to use.

Also, I went to the gym this morning. I really enjoyed it (minus the waking up early). It was also enjoyable to put my jacket on that I purchased a year ago and see how large it was on me. It was not enjoyable to walk out of my bedroom into the dark hall and run into the wall. Nice.

I'm still tracking today! And I'm eating a better breakfast to hopefully avoid all the *crap* I did yesterday. :o)

And, I'm down!

I'm going to do better this week. I WILL do better.

My friend, Trish, met her WW goal! SO awesome and she looks amazing. She's done such a fantastic job and even better, it's a lifestyle she can live with. I want that!!

I've been telling people that since April, when I lost my enthusiasm to track points, I haven't really lost anything, maybe a few pounds.

But today I plugged in my weight and looked at the chart and what do you know.. since the end of April I've actually lost almost 10 pounds! When it's maybe 2 pounds a month it just goes sooo slow.. ya know? But it sure adds up. And even better, I haven't gained anything back, either.

And today, I'm down .2. Tiny, tiny, I know. I weigh this amount, or less, ALL the time during the week but never on weigh in day. But today I was down! That puts me at 34.2 lost. It also puts me in the next range so I'm down another weekly point. Never thought I'd be so happy to finally be down and have that happen!! LOL

And the 1/2" that I gained in all areas (some places an inch) a few weeks after the car accident (I'm certain was from lack of moving around) is finally dropping back off.

I've lost 5.5" from my waist and hips.

5" from my bust (well, just below where my bra strap is).

3" from my thighs.

2.5" from my arms (I'm still up a 1/2" from where I was at pre-accident).

Not too shabby!!

This was kind of fun too.. on Saturday, one of Drew's friends (since they were kids) had a birthday party and we went over for an hour or so while Misty watched the kids. I haven't seen Rob in at least a year and I haven't seen his other buddies in almost 2 years or longer. (we're at different places in life where they don't have kids, we do, etc.)

ANYWAY, Rob had one of our Chirstmas Card pictures on his fridge that was from 2005. I was 7 months pregnant with Carson, Hayden had just turned 2. Apparently I didn't put the year on that card because his friends thought it was this past year's and were expecting to see THIS when we walked through the door:

It really was pretty funny.. I was like HELLO, we have FOUR kids, not two!!

And because I'm lame, here's my recent facebook profile pic. for comparison. lol

It was sooo nice getting lots of compliments. What a boost.

Now, I just need to figure out how to get the exercise in. I was planning to go this morning to work out (in just a bit actually rather than 6:30 like usual) but I've ran into a bit of a speed bump. It's cold outside and we keep our window cracked open (I heart the cold) and I guess I can't do that anymore because I woke up in so much pain. My hips hurt, my back hurts and my neck is aching so much.. I'm hobbling all over the house. Nice. grrrrr I need to think this through more. Maybe I need to go in the evenings or late afternoons? Or maybe as I get better, that will help too??

Speaking of that, I'll quickly report, the Chiropractor thinks I'm about 60% better.. I usually feel pretty good until the afternoon when turn to the Advil/Excedrin Back & Body. On Saturday, the Dr. gave me some stretches/minor exercises to help me strengthen/tone my lower back. Hopefully it will help my hip too.

My wrist still gives me trouble, I have to be careful how I pick things up to keep it stabilized. It's still really weak too.. Try this: Take your thumb and pinkie and squeeze them together.. use your other hand to try and pry apart. Can't really do it, right?? Yeah, on my left hand, it comes right apart. And on our new bag of chicken nuggets that reseals? I can't get it open because my hand can't hold on tight enough. Frustrating. And this is with improvement!

Ok, done whining.

This next monday I am hoping to see 35 pounds total loss!!!! (or more!)

Wasn't meant to be...

This morning I went to the gym.

Upon scanning my membership card so that I could enter I discovered that I had actually brought my Costco card with me.

At least I was able to joke that I had two forms of ID for the front desk to look at and then let me in.

I started out in the weight room like I always do only to realize that I had not brought my wrist brace with me. It's still sprained/weak enough that I have to have the support if I'm going to be pushing and pulling with it. So I stuck to a few leg options and even tried out one to help chunky butt out only to find that it hurt to have to grip the handles.

So I went upstairs after that and walked on the treadmill (w/ an incline). I was done after about 8 minutes but pushed myself to fifteen. My hips were just not feelin' it. I'm not sure if it's because I forgot to take advil before bed last night (oops- I won't forget that again for awhile! Talk about hard to sleep!) or why. And my neck has been hurting all weekend as well.

I guess it just wasn't meant to be today.

Oh well.

I'm down 1.8 this past week and back to my 34 pounds loss. Sometimes I'm a pound or so lighter.. just fluctuates. I'm anxious to see it go down more.

My new favorite snack is peppers. You can get a bag of mini ones at Costco for $4 and it has red, yellow and orange. I have no idea on the point value, I should look that up. But you know my favorite saying.. I didn't get fat off of veggies. ;o)

I have a couple of other foods that I've tried out and I"ll try to take pics this week and talk about them.

Has anyone seen my will power??

Cause I really miss it.

It used to be so EASY for me to pass up treats and the less healthy options.

Now, not so much.

I know that all of that would be much more simple if I would just eat enough fruits and veggies.

Why does that part have to be so difficult?

I guess I need to go back to the beginning of my blog and read all of my own advice. Can't hurt at least, right??

I think I'm going to attempt going to the gym once this week too. I can tell things aren't as firm as they used to be and I miss that. I just worry about how uncomfortable it will make me after I'm done.. this past weekend I painted my front door and that night and yesterday were really bad. My right hip keeps popping and it aches.. my neck hurts.. I guess it was all the standing on my toes to reach the top and squats I did to paint lower (since bending over hurt my back).

But I was sore when I first started working out so maybe it just has to happen. I'll just be super slow going with the weights.

At least the good news is I haven't gained back what I've lost. I just have the same two or three pounds that come and go.

Ok, wish me luck!!

Frustrated.

I don't have a new measuring tape yet so I don't know what's going on inch wise (I presume nothing) but weight wise.... it's frustrating.

I was down 1.6 which I'm happy with considering I haven't counted points at all. At. All. But today I'm back to exactly what I was last week. So I guess it's not that big of a deal all considering.. I was just excited to move down some. lol

I'm still pretty banged up from the accident.. my bruises look NAS-TY! Guess they always do look the worst later on though, huh. It's been 10 days.

My neck and upper back and hips/bottom of my back throb almost all of the time. Even taking 800mg of Advil. I take a muscle relaxer and loratab at night to help me sleep. I tried sweeping the kitchen yesterday and hurt pretty badly after.. grrrr Since when did you use so many back muscles, etc. to sweep?

My left wrist is still pretty bad (I hit it into the steering wheel, it's sprained).. I can't even twist the cap of the milk off. And that's with wearing the brace. I wear an ace bandage at night to keep it stable. The Chiro. adjusts it every time I go in.

I still get overwhelmed when there's a lot of noise (loud music, kids going crazy) and I can't remember what I've told people or haven't told them. I'm just... not normal. I was told it can last up to two weeks after a minor concussion.. anyone else have experience with this? I'm having some headaches now I but I don't know if it's from the neck pain or what.

I leave to Cedar City on Thursday (through Sunday) to go to the Shakespearean festival and am kind of doubting my decision to go. I thought I'd be more normal than I am by now... the long car ride and sitting in seats for plays plus the walking we do... might not have been my smartest idea. It's just hard to figure out, ya know? We've been planning on it since we went last year and the kids are so excited.... wish me luck. :-S And hopefully I can choose good food choices as well.

My plan at this point is if I'm still not doing much better by next Monday then I"ll make a Dr. appointment to see what he thinks about everything. I was hoping to be working out by that time.. that's when the Chiro. said I probably would be able to start.. but I don't know. I'm exhausted just after being awake a few hours. I really miss it though! Who would have thought. I miss the grown up time with Janae too.. she's so much fun to talk to.

So yeah.. that's where I am. Just sitting around feeling sorry for myself and frustrated that I can't do anything I want to do. Or even the things I don't want to do. LOL

Back where I was.

On last week's weight in plus I gained even more after that. Thank you, TOM. Or muscles. Or the cookies from Smith's. But whatever.

I exercised on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday mornings doing thirty minutes of weights and then 30 minutes on the elliptical. It was much easier to do them then previous times and I was lifting heavier weights. Woo hoo!

On Thursday evening, for those that don't know, I was in a car accident where I had stopped on the freeway in the fast lane and I was hit from behind (she was going 55+) and I crashed into the car in front of me (and the car in front of them).

I'm still having a hard time.. I had (have?) a minor concussion.. no headaches but I've been really confused and just kind of out of it. I've been able to type (and text) but it takes me much longer. I'll write something incorrectly and it takes me awhile to figure out how come. And I'm in all sorts of pain with my left arm, neck and back. *grumble*

But, my kids are mostly ok which I'm thrilled about.

I'm a little down about the fact that I'm not sure when I'll be able to work out again. I've really been enjoying it and having the adult time to talk to Janae while we thin ourselves out. I was hoping by the end of the week that I'd be back in the gym but I'm not so sure now.. I'll see what the chiropractor thinks tomorrow. And I've been building up my muscles so well! Argh.. I'll never beat Grandma Thunder Thighs at this rate!

My appetite has gone way down (which is impressive considering the amount of cookies I consumed earlier this week.. bad, me!) and apparently I dropped the weight I had gained... 1.8. Which puts me back at the 34 pounds loss. Which puts me back where I was about two weeks ago. I can live with that.

It hasn't really occurred to me to count points (just realizing this) so I guess I should put more thought into that. Maybe I should write that down.. I've been writing everything down in this little notebook of mine so I don't forget things.

Which reminds me, I forgot to call about getting the neck x-rays from the Hospital so I can take them to the Chiro. tomorrow. Clearly my notebook method is effective.

Anyway, so that's where I am.

And no inches measured, due to the loss of my measuring tape. ;o)

I won't be measuring inches...

Just thought I'd let you know that I won't be measuring my inches tomorrow.

Apparently Carson, who has been VERY naughty today, decided to check out my measuring tape...



... with his scissors.

*sigh*

It's muscle, right?

Today I'm up over a pound. 1.8 to be exact. Oops.

I was starving last week. I should have eaten more fruits and veggies but I didn't.. I really wanted bread. Go figure. Ok, to be honest, I REALLY wanted chocolate but I didn't have any in the house. And from the weight gain I had, I really think that was actually to my advantage- can you imagine the damage if I lost control on chocolate?? Whew.

Janae, my work out buddy, pointed out today that some of it might be muscle.

I think that is true too.. when I flex my arms now, I have a cute little muscle pop up. Aaannd, I'm down a 1/2" from just under my bust area (I measure all over) and I'm down a 1/2" from my muffin top area.

The elliptical that kicked my butt last week was so much easier today. It still took effort obviously (a LOT) but I was able to do the 30 minutes (300 cal. burned!) without feeling like I was going to kill over and die. Yay!!

I really do feel so much healthier and I'm enjoying working out. Who would have thought.

Costco.

I need to go to Costco. We're out of Dinosaur nuggets so you understand the urgency.

Because I'm no longer above bribing my children, we stop up front at the food court area prior to leaving to reward those with good behavior (Aubrey: no whining, Hayden: no provoking Carson or doing copy-cat to everything that Aubrey says, which makes her very mad, Carson: no hitting or running off).

Costco supposedly has the nutritional information for their items located behind the counter but it's always so busy that I forget to ask.

Here is a website that people have contributed too when they ask about the nutritional information. People can comment below the chart and they have, when they think there is a discrepancy, so I feel that it's pretty accurate.

Thirsty??

The Fruit Smoothie has 290 (cal)/0 (fat g.)/1 (fiber) = 6 points
But if you can share with someone and not be a pig about it then 3 points for half isn't so bad.

Want a treat?

The Non-fat Yogurt is listed as 390/0/0 = 8
(I'm presuming that's just the yogurt, no fruit/chocolate topping- isn't that an option?)
Which means 1/4 of it is 2 points.. or just a few small spoonfuls is only 1. :-D

A Churro is showing in at 410/18/3 = 9

Only one point more than the non-fat yogurt. I still get surprised at just how much fiber effects a food's nutrition. This is a very valid point on why I am fat. I always thought something fat free would be a WAY better choice than something with 18 grams of fat (but with 3g fiber).

Oh, and If you can sneak 1/4 of a churro without having to wrestle your kids to Costco's floor then it's only 2 points. Who knew.

Need actual FOOD?

The hot dog including the bun and condiments is 550/34/3 = 13
The polish sausage including the bun and condiments is 540/32/3 = 13
Slice o' Cheese Pizza (1/6 of a pizza) is 700/28/3 = 16
Chicken Caesar Salad including the dressing is 670/40/7 = 16
Chicken bake sandwich is 770/25/2 = 17

This last item was particularly painful to find out the nutritional information on- I'm such a sucker for anything that includes Havarti!

The Turkey Wrap is 810/38/7 = 19 Yeah, not so healthy! I can't tell you how many time I ordered that thinking it was so much better than a hot dog.

Hope some of this helps you in your Costco adventures!!

Unexpected.

After the first few times that I worked out, I was pretty sore. But it's been getting better which I was happy about. It was only the 'good' sore where you really felt it was working and not the 'bad' kind where you might kill over and die.

Yesterday, I was able to lift a little heavier weights with my arms. And then there was that episode where I was trying to not feel weak about Grandma Thunder Thighs.

Not my smartest day, I'm thinking.

My body ached slightly just before I went to bed.. but today? Um, OW! My arms.. my back (a little), my sides (a LOT) and my inner thighs all hurt. HURT, I say!

I woke up enough last night (every time I moved) that I decided to skip the gym today. Just confessing.

I'll catch it on the flip side: tomorrow.

I declare it lost.

My scale said I'm either down a pound or up .2. I sure I really lost so I declare myself down a pound for a grand total of 34 pounds. Yay!!

A~N~D I'm down a 1/2" on my arms, muffin top area, waist and hips.

Which is really exciting for me since I only worked out once this past week and this was a hard week emotionally with my brother-in-law and his wife moving out of state (they were at our house All. The. Time. so this was a huge impact on my little family).

Also pleased to report that I made it to the gym this morning. I read that you burn more if you lift weights prior to cardio so Janae and I did that.. half hour of weights and half hour of elliptical (last time I only made it 15 minutes!!).

Oh. OH! Have to tell you this.. so I mostly worked my arms but I also did the machines that work your inner/outer thighs (they need it!) and there was an old (like OLD) lady on it prior to my turn. I figured I'd probably be able to do the weight she had on it- she was a LOT more frail looking than me. So I sit down at the inner-thigh machine and she had it at: 120 pounds! :-O I was able to do ONE and then I stopped because I was afraid I'd hurt myself. (no one ones to hurt there!!) I really pushed myself to do my reps at 90 pounds.. but yeah. Holy strong thighs, batman!

Funny, huh.

Hope everyone else is doing well..

Accentuate the Positive

I didn't lose or gain this past week. Earlier in the week I was down.. then I went up a little.. and today I'm back where I started.

I know that my problem is not tracking my points (finally updated my card yesterday so I can access it again). I have a hard time eating breakfast which I know is what I should be doing.. but I'm just not hungry and then in the late afternoon I get munchy and I snacked on not as good stuff instead of healthier options. Not BAD stuff.. no bowls of ice cream or anything but I could have made wiser choices.

Although I did have one night at Cheesecake factory.. I was careful with the appetizer and bread (no butter) and resisted the 200 page menu and ordered their Lower Fat chicken dinner (which was fantastic, by the way) and saved half of it for lunch the following day. And I did order cheesecake.. but I took TINY bites and skipped the whip cream.. and took 90-95% home for Drew and the kids to devour. (by the way, it was lemon raspberry and FANTASTIC!!)

So.. trying not to be discouraged that I'm yet again sitting at the same weight.. cause it's my own fault.. so I'm going to accentuate the positive.

Since January 6th, I've lost:
5 inches from Hips
5 inches from Waist
4 inches from my chest (just under my boobs)
3 inches from each thigh
and 2.5 inches from each arm

33 total pounds (and kept it off)

Really, that's not so shabby, right???

And I woke up early to exercise again. Honestly, it helps that my friend Janae is there.. I know she'll go no matter what but it's motivating that someone else I know is there. Not sure why that is. You should see her though- she's a freaking rock star on the eliptical!! I had to get off after 8 minutes because I was about to die. Almost. So I switched to walking on the treadmill but at 4 to 4.5 incline. For weights I focused on my arms for today. And because I'm sure you wanted to know, boy shorts undies (no matter how cute they are) that are a little big are NO GOOD for working out. They were all over the place!

In other motivating news, my sister came over on Friday and I tried on EVERYTHING in my closet. It took hours. Although we did take a few breaks.. it was fun seeing how much didn't fit. (anyone want them??) I was surprised just how big some stuff was too.. I put on a sweatshirt that was a little loose (back when I was bigger) and told my sister I'll probably keep it because who doesn't like a big sweatshirt.. she started laughing and told me to turn around. I did, and I had my arms out, and it was HUGE! I could have flapped myself away... it was pretty funny. Then we were talking about the fact that she could probably fit inside of it too... and so she climbed in there a la Two Headed Monster. Very fun. I even peed my pants from laughing so hard.

Bring on this new week and I WILL report a weight loss this next week. :o)

Yogurt Chicken, Curried Potatoes & Golden Basmati Rice

The family next door to us is from India. Their son is the same age as Aubrey and their daughter is six months younger than Hayden. Any time they have any sort of celebration, they invite our family over to eat and eat and eat. They even expect Drew's brother, his wife and my step-brother to join the party since they're always at our house.

The last time they brought food over was after Drew mowed their lawn. I resisted as much as I could since it was Ten at night and really, I didn't need to indulge that late.. but it's just so tasty! Renu, my neighbor, even knows to let me know which items don't have as much heat since I can't handle much.

My friend Trish just finished up a week of lettuce wraps on her blog and one evening they enjoyed indian inspired cuisine.

I decided I was going to give it a whirl... I'm so glad I did!

Yogurt Chicken
1 cup plain yogurt
1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut in small pieces
1 small onion, slivered
1/4 cup scallions, sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tablespoons chili sauce
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground tumeric
1/2 teaspoon garam masala
1/4 teaspoon salt
fresh ground pepper

Combine all ingredients in medium bowl. Let stand in refrigerator at least 1 hour. Longer is better.

Heat large skillet over medium high heat. Pour chicken and yogurt mixture into hot skillet. Cook and stir till chicken is cooked through and sauce has slightly thickened. 10 - 15 minutes.

My variation: I used a 1.25 lb package of Chicken Tenders and I did NOT have scallions or chili sauce to use.


Curried Peas and Potatoes
1 Tablespoon butter
1 small onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoon finely chopped ginger
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1 (15 oz) can crushed tomatoes
1 pound diced, raw, potato
1 1/2 cup frozen green peas
1 teaspoon garam masala
4 teaspoons fresh cilantro, chopped

In a large saucepan, saute the onion in the butter over medium low heat for 5 minutes. Add the garlic and ginger and saute for one more minute. Add the cumin, turmeric and coriander. Cook and stir till spices are fragrant. About 1 minute.

Add the tomatoes and bring the mixture to a boil. Add the potatoes, cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Add the peas and cook for 10 more minutes. Stir in the garam masala. Cook one more minute.

Just before serving, top with chopped cilantro.

My variation: I forgot to buy peas! Details, details. Oh well. I also forgot to buy ginger.

Golden Basmati Rice
2 Cups Basmati Rice
4 Cups Water
1/2 tsp Cumin Seed
3/4 tsp tumeric
1/3 chopped onion
1/2 tsp salt (stirred in at the end)

Combine all ingredients except salt in a large pot and bring to a boil. Reduce to a gentle simmer, cover and let cook 15-20 minutes. Use a glass lid if possible.

Check after 15 minute and let it continue to cook till the water's gone. If it starts to stick on the bottom don't worry; take it off the heat.

Let the rice sit, mostly covered, for 7-10 minutes. This time will allow the rice to firm a little, and none will be stuck to the pot.


The above is how I prepared the rice, it's slightly different than the original recipe (you can get to the link by clicking on the recipe title). It made a TON! Next time I'll probably make half.

I also soaked the rice for 30 min. and then rinsed and drained until water until it ran clear.


I looove the yogurt sauce that my neighbor always has available at her meals. I've asked for a recipe before but rather than giving it to me, she just gives me some. So at the beginning of the prep time I sent Aubrey over to get the recipe and not return until she had it. It worked!

Yogurt Sauce
1 cup Plain Nonfat Yogurt
1/2 a bunch of Cilantro
1/2 of a tomato
1 clove garlic
1-2 jalapenos depending on desired heat
Salt to taste

Combined in a food processor and serve.

I don't have a food processor. But I do have a vita mix blender. Which liquidized everything. Oops. So then I mixed that into additional yogurt so it was the right texture and added more cilantro. It was good.. but not as good as Renu's.

Mine's on the left.. Renu's on the right. Yes, Renu's... I'll explain more in a minute.

So this is how it all went down..

I was about 10 minute in and feeling like I belonged on Top Chef.. I was mixing this and adding that and nothing was burning. Then, there was a knock at the door. Which I ignored. I was busy!! Plus, I didn't shower this morning after I worked out and never put any make up on.. and I was wearing a fitted tank top that was not flattering to my "I've had 4 kids" tummy (plus I hate my arms). But I was comfortable so that was fine...

Well in walks Renu.

Her: Becky? What are you doing?

Me: (resisting the urge to throw that same question back to her) Umm.... cooking.

Her: I thought you never cooked.. Aubrey said you were going to make something but I didn't think you were serious. But I could smell Indian food outside so I had to check it out.

Me: (walking around Kaitlyn who was stepping in and out of all of the pots and pans that she had pulled out) Yeah, I know.. apparently I eat out too much, huh. But my friend made it sound easy so I figured I'd give it a try.

Drew: (who walks in the door) Smells good, Oh Hi Renu, did you bring dinner over?

Renu: Nope, it's your wife's doing! Did you know she can cook?

It was all slightly awkward, at least for me.

Especially since she stayed. She stirred everything around and told me what to do.. like the chicken, it says it's supposed to have a sauce.. she said to cook it until it's gone and then add butter. I reminded her I was making these Weight Watcher friendly (which she's interested in) so she had me get out the fat free 1/2 and 1/2 and stir 3 TBS in. I figured by the end that it would just be best to let her do what she does every day as long as it was still healthful.

And then she saw my sorry attempt at the yogurt sauce and had Aubrey go back home with her so she could make me some real sauce. lol Hers tastes that much better so I was fine with that. I took pictures while I waited for Aubrey to return.

Reviews: Aubrey and Drew looooved it! They were very happy sweaty people and ate a lot. Drew is exicted for the leftovers tomorrow.

Me: I lreally liked it and the portions were big! Yum. About half way through I started getting hot and my mouth was burning so I had to mix my yogurt sauce (a little spicy) with fat free ranch dip that I had on hand and then eat almost every bite with a little sauce. Gotta do what ya gotta do. ;o)

Can't wait to make this again! I'll have to post the individual point values later.. my CC expired and I guess the monthly billing was just done because it's saying it needs the new exp. date.. but my purse is across the room. I'm tired. Sorry about that.

I'm... ow... sore.. ow....

Looks like I lifted the right amount of weights yesterday.. the back of my arms hurt.. and my shoulders and back and sides are a little sore too.

Guess those muscles have been a little neglected.

Oops.

I'm going to hit the treadmill today.. or I need to go food shopping too. Maybe I could power walk in Walmart while pushing the kids in the cart for resistance. Hmmmm...... lol

Down 2.6

So apparently the working out thing actually.. works!

I counted my points and worked out on Wed. and Thurs. (the daycare was closed Friday or I would have gone then) and it was the boost my body needed. I'm down 2.6 for a grand total of 33 pounds.

Woo hoo!!

This morning I met my friend Janae at the fitness center so she could give me a run down on the weight machines and how to adjust them for us short people. She rocks. I think adding this in will really help.. my poor 'I've had 4 kids' body. May the flabbiness go away!!

Let it begin.

Tuesday I finally went and signed up at the fitness center. (sorry, it used to say Monday but apparently today is Wed. so that means I signed up on Tuesday).

Today I went and worked out.

Apparently I need to work on being smarter than the machines though.. I had to try THREE before I figured out how to get it to turn on. I guess I missed that day at exercise school.

Anyway, I finally settled on a treadmill and it was a kind of ghetto one with no fancy stuff. Which is why I was able to get it to work, I'm sure. But I bumped up the incline and walked at a decent pace.. I was sweating after 10 minutes. I hardly ever sweat! I walked for 24 minutes and burned 130 calories.

Then I walked around trying to figure out the bikes.. finally got one to work AND where I was able to reach the pedals but in case you've never noticed, I have a big butt and this particular seat was NOT comfortable at all. We were definitely fighting.

After 5 minutes, I bagged it and asked a lady near by how to make a different one turn on plus how to move the seat forward.. turns out it was a simple as sitting on the seat while moving the handle thing (I wasn't sitting before). And you just pedal to make it turn on. Seriously, who knew??!?!?

I'm sure I was the amusement for many people.. so for that, I'd publicly like to say: You're Welcome!

I biked for ten minutes and went a little over 2 miles and forgot the calories.. like 30?

My ankles pop a lot when I walk up and down stairs and apparently it applies to biking as well. So it wasn't all that fantastic. Hard to concentrate on texting (my sister was giving me mucho encouragement) when all you hear is pop pop pop. ;o)

Then I took a quick hop onto the scale and I was 8 pounds lighter than from when I went to Zumba 6 weeks ago. AWESOME!

At that point I went to pick up Aubrey and Hayden from the play area (where they had a lot of fun and reported they were nice to each other) and then Kaitlyn and Carson from the daycare. They were playing together when I got there.. that's pure magic in itself!

I'm happy to say that I feel great! I'm looking forward to going with some friends too and learning from them. And I'm really proud of myself for finally starting this part of my life to be healthier. I can tell it's something I'm really going to enjoy.

p.s. please remind me of that last sentence if I wake up sore tomorrow and feel like being lazy..

Olive Garden: Before and After

On Saturday afternoon, Drew's parents gave me the best birthday present- they watched the kids so we could go out!!

I knew they had other things to do so we decided to stay in our neck of the woods. Plus we drove the Mustang, which has no A/C (it's a '67).. making me a little glad we didn't drive to far.

There's a new Olive Garden that recently opened up near us. We haven't been there in probably years (switched to Jonny Corino's) so we figured that would be a good option. I love to eat out and if you just take the time to research it, there is NO reason why you can't enjoy good food. And enjoy, I did.

I figured I might as well share what I used to order and what I ordered on Saturday. :o)

BEFORE:

Appetizer: Spinach Artichoke Dip
One half of that is 7 points. Drew knows how much I love Spinach, Cheese and Artichokes, especially all mixed together, that there may have been a few times where Drew let me eat a little more than half. Such a giver. What! I'll go ahead and own it: oink, oink. I can't help it! So good. I don't know if this includes the bread to dip it in.

Side Salad w/ the Dressing on it
If you could stop at just one serving (Bahahahaha) it's a whopping 9 points. NINE! It's all the oil in the dressing. I know, it made me sick to discover that too. Although I do skip the croutons so it was probably slightly less..

Breadsticks: At least 3
3 points each. Ouch.

Entree: Ravioli di Portobello
The entire plate is 15 points which is actually less than I thought it was (next time I'll probably order this!). However, I always only eat half of my entree's because I ate extra salad.. you know, trying to make smart choices and all that... LOL I ate the other half for lunch the following day. Sometimes I would order the Seafood Alfredo: 24 points. Double Ouch.

Total: I figured for what I ate, it was aprox. 40 points, maybe more. For one meal. And that's w/ no specialty drink or dessert so add those on and.... I'll just stop now.

AFTER:

No Appetizer.
It was lunch time and there was no need to eat that much food, especially with the avilable options.

Breadstick:
I only ate one (3 points). That's right, ONE!! Drew was my witness. He was happy to make up for my lack of eating.. I think he had five. ROFL The trick is to eat. very. slowly. VERY. SLOWLY. S*L*O*W*L*Y

Salad:
Did you know that they offer a light dressing and of course you can ask for it on the side? The only N/I (nutritional information) they offer on the website is that it's has less than 2 grams of fat per ounce (the serving cup is 2 ounces.. I ate aprox. half an ounce). Not bad at all! Works for me. Drew thought it was as good as the normal stuff. And I skipped on the croutons and I dipped my fork in the dressing before I ate a bite. I did eat two olives. And most importantly, I resisted the urge to pour the dressing on and mop it up with my lonely breadstick. :-D I enjoyed 2 servings of salad. I'm guessing it was 3 points, maybe less?

Entree:
They had their dinner menu going on and I had done my research on the lunch items. I thought as much as I could about everything I had looked at and ended up ordering the Shrimp Primavera. Total points was 15. But I'm used to not finishing an Entree and so that wasn't an issue and I ate until I was full which was aprox. 1/3 of the plate. Turns out that's only 4 points. LOL (I just looked up the chicken special that Drew ordered and it was 31 points!)

I did also order a specialty drink that was 5 points but it was really good.. next time I'll share one with Drew to cut down on the points.

Grand Total: 15 points, possibly less.

And I was FULL for quite awhile.. no need for afternoon snacks.

Props to Olive Garden for having such extensive Nutritional Information on their website!!

http://www.olivegarden.com/menus/garden_fare/nutrition_information.asp

Fiber One Waffles

First thing is first: I'm talking about Waffles.

Go ahead, say it in your best Donkey voice.

I'll wait.

"... and in the Morning? I'm making Waffles!"

Good, now that we have that out of the way, I can continue.

For Christmas I bought Drew an awesome waffle maker.. you pour the batter in it and then flip it over resulting in huge round circles of yumminess. mmmmm

The first time after I joined WW that we had a waffles, I didn't research it first and I figured it wasn't that bad. Unfortunately, with the mix we used and Drew's way of making it (a lot of batter) it ended up being FIFTEEN points. :-O

Since then, I'm always on the look for a way to enjoy it in a more healthful way and in a mix, because I'm lazy.

Last week I found this at the store and figured I would give it a try as the serving size is 1/2 cup of mix (not prepared) is 3 points.

I followed the directions on the back for the waffle version only in an individual size (going off of the mix serving size).

-1/2 cup of mix
-1/4 cup plus slightly more of water
-1 1/2 tsp. oil

Total points is 5.

I measured out 1 TBS of regular Aunt Jemima syrup and put it on the side. I have a huge hatred for soggy items so I put mine on the side and dip it in. Last week my brother-in-law told us that whip cream and syrup is really good together and turns out he's right. So, I measured out Two Tablespoons of regular cool whip (because that's what I had) and added it to the side as well. Each one is 1 point.
I had around half of the syrup and whip cream left by the time I was finished so I only counted 1 point total for the two of them- next time I'll measure it accordingly.


The entire plate was 6 points. Now THAT is my kind of waffle. And it tasted good!

And this is yet another example of how it's possible to really pack on the calories and fat when you think you really aren't being that bad. If you're my husband, you would make the serving size much larger than needed, you add some butter on (well, a light spread not real butter) but then fill each little spot with syrup. It really adds up!

Can't wait to have Breakfast for Dinner again with some delicious fruit on the side.

P.S. I tried some Sugar Free store brand syrup awhile back and it's NASTY! Don't do it! I did have some Smucker's Sugar Free at IHOP once and it was ok. I just stick with the reg. stuff now but measure it out.

Being better.

I have had such a hard time tracking points the past few months.

I'm not surprised.. usually I get really into something and after about six weeks, I fade back. I was impressed with myself that I made it a few months.

But my weight loss has hardly been much the past what, two months, so I obviously need to do something more about it. Yesterday, the scale was up .4. On saturday it was down 1.5 and I saw a number that I haven't seen since the year 2000. I think that was the motivation to actually follow through tracking, etc.

And yesterday, I tracked all of my points. Every single one.

My friend Trish posted about what she ate the other day and I loved that insight- it was a big reminder that I wasn't getting enough fruits/veggies in. Plus I easily get stuck in ruts with what I'm eating (again, remember that 6 week thing??).

So here's what I ate yesterday. It was a lot- I was super hungry yesterday. But like I tell people, if you are choosing the right foods, it's just fine to eat that much. There's no starving on this end!!

Breakfast:
1 slice Sourdough Bread- 4 pt (it was a little larger than the serving size)
(this was given to me on Sunday, fresh from San Fran, when I picked up my friend from the airport.. I heart Sourdough Bread!)
1 mug Coffee- 0 pt
1 TBS fat free caramel vanilla creamer- 0 pt
1/8 cup skim milk- 0 pt

(met a friend mid-morning and then went to the store so no snack)


Lunch:
10 baby carrots- .5 pt
1 mini cucumber- 0 pt (sooo cute! found at Costco)
3 TBS Fat Free Ranch dip- 1.5 pt
(used fat free sour cream and fat free hidden valley dip mix)
4 romaine leaves- 0 pt
1 serving Chicken Salad- 3 pt
(I chose to eat the salad on the leaves rather than bread because I knew I'd want more sourdough bread later)
1 sheet Reduced Fat Graham Cracker- 1 pt


Snack:
1 serving Blender drink- 2.5 pt
(used 1 small can pineapple juice, 4 baby carrots, 1 banana, 1 clementine, 6 large frozen strawberries and about a cup of a 5 spectrum blend of frozen fruit from Costco. I usually use 1 cup of skim milk to get some dairy in but we ran out earlier in the day) Made 3 servings- each is 2 pt but I drank the rest of Carson's.
1 Eggo Lowfat Multi-grain waffle- 1 pt
5 squirts of I can't believe it's not butter spray- 0pt

Carson is enjoying his drink.. he loves it. Nice since Hayden hates it (the whole mixed items thing)

Little later snack when I was really munchy:
1 diet coke w/ lime- 0pt
10 baby carrots- .5 pt
2 TBS Fat Free Dip- 1 pt

Drew was almost home from work and I wanted something sweet:
1 Oreo stick thingy - 1 pt

Dinner:
Cilantro Cream Chicken- 7 pt
(I used 3/4 lb cooked chicken I had in the freezer and made 7 ounces (dry weight) of higher fiber Penne pasta (3.5 servings) but 1 ounce was for kiddos that wouldn't eat it all mixed together and I used mushrooms instead of red pepper). YUM! Oh, and I calculated 1 serving as 6 points but I ate a little extra.
1 slice Sourdough Bread- 3 pt

After dinner snack:
2 Ande's mints- 1 pt (yes, each one is just .5!!)

I really didn't need it because I wasn't hungry but I was really munchy snack before bed:
1 mini bag of popcorn- 1 pt

Water through out the day- 0 pt

Grand Total: 28
Daily Points: 28

I definitley could have made some healthier choices and nomrally I do- I pretty much never eat 7 points of bread in a day. mmmmm so yummy. Just can't resist so I made it work.

Scale: down a pound this morning. :-D

Still fighting.

Well, apparently I'm still fighting with my scale.. and I think I won't win. I'm going to have to buy another one. GRRRR

The first number (and second) showed that I was exactly the same. After that point, it said I gained. Whatever. So I'm choosing that I stayed exactly the same. :-D

Not losing is actually not that unexpected for this past week as it was the 10 year anniversary of my brother's death. I did have an afternoon where I ate six one point cookies. But considering that I could have totally pigged out, I'm ok with that. To be honest, emotional eating is something I've been working on for years. YEARS. I've definitely improved.. no more eating an entire bag of chips, half a package of cookies or huge bowls full of ice cream when I'm upset!

After starting Weight Watchers and I was tracking my points all day long, I was suddenly aware of other triggers for emotional eating. Like when I'm getting us all ready to leave somewhere, I would grab a snack. But I wasn't just leisurely enjoying a cookie, I was inhaling two at a time. No wonder I was gaining weight! Now I try to be aware of possible.. anxiety.. times and if I really need something, I make sure it's just a 1 point cookie, some pretzels or a big glass of water (or diet coke).

Over the weekend there was a night that our (Indian) neighbors invited us over for a birthday dinner and like last week, I tried to pick what I thought was point friendly but really I don't know. Maybe they dump lots of butter in their rice or their chicken was marinated with oil. Know what I mean? It's always hard figuring out what to eat in those situations. I'm hoping I sweated enough to cancel out what I might have gained. lol Maybe that's why my neighbor is small! And at the Air Show on Saturday, I had some snacks that I would have normally avoided (frozen lemonade, etc). But I also walked a LOT.

After all of that rambling, I forgot to share my happy new though.

I lost INCHES!!

Arms, waist and thighs are all down a 1/2". My rear end is down 1".

*happy dance*

I've been camping out at around this weight range for awhile now but it's nice that my clothes are fitting differently. In fact, I desperately need new shirts. Before I could wear my old shirts and they just looked bigger.. they definitely look sloppy now. What I can wear and look ok in, is limited. Although my awesome husband says I look amazing in everything. ;o)

I told my mom that for my birthday (in less than 2 weeks!) that I want her to watch my kids so I can go shopping with my sister. It's really hard with all of our crazy kids plus my brother John, but I hope it works out.

Speaking of my birthday.. you know what that means.. a big fat piece, guilt free, of carrot cake!! YUM!

Chicken Salad... oh how I love thee...

I love chicken salad.

I didn't really know this until about a year ago. Before then I thought it was just so-so . Who knew something as simple as a sample at Costco (say that five times) would change my thinking? I never even had a chance to walk away. The taste.. the texture.. the crunch of the celery.. deeee-licious! Yum!

Something I have given up entirely since starting Weight Watchers is mayonnaise/miracle whip. I love it all. And previous experiences with the reduced/non-fat versions left me incredibly disappointed. Ick! Nasty! And I wasn't about to waste oodles of points on the real stuff. I instead choose to moisten my sandwiches with Light Laughing Cow cheese.

Anyway, so, I need to confess that I've been considering cheating. I was at Costco last week and walked by my love and instead of continuing, I slowed down my pace. I shot a few glances to the side and even ogled a little. After the innocent flirting, I gave into temptation and walked over.

I whispered sweet nothings to the container.. I even expressed the anger I've had for not being able to eat it- let it all out. Who knew I had missed it so much??

I used my mad texting skill to see if my sister could google the nutritional information.. maybe Costco by chance had a miracle chicken salad that was amazingly healthy for you. Yeah, that's why I'm not fat. Right.

My sister didn't respond and I almost gave in until I decided to be resourceful. I waltzed over to the pre-packaged chicken salad and noted it's nutritional information. I figured out that 2/3 of a cup was almost 30 points. sigh That's more than my daily points! Even half a serving wasn't worth it.

I considered stomping my feet in attempt to protest. Instead, I chose to pout and mourn a little.

And I walked away.

The Chicken Salad has not left my mind since that time though. After several days of this, I decided that today was the day to do something about this unhealthy obsession. I searched and googled. And I found a recipe!

I felt very Trish like as I prepared the recipe. Look at me actually making something!!


Chicken Salad
3/4 pound cooked chicken, cut into bite-size pieces
1/2 cup celery, finely diced
1/3 cup dill pickle or sweet gherkins, finely diced
1/4 cup reduced calorie mayonnaise
2 TBS reduced fat sour cream
2 TBS parsley, fresh, chopped
1 TSP dijon mustard
1 tsp fresh lemon juice
1/2 tsp table salt
1/4 tsp black pepper, freshly ground

Place all ingredients in a large bowl; mixed until blended.

(this my largest bowl- the others were being washed in the dishwasher)

Yields about 2/3 cup per serving (that's a lot!!)
Only THREE POINTS per serving!!


My version: used dill pickles, reg. mustard and no parsley (didn't have any). A little extra pepper. Chicken had already been cooked and shredded and was in the freezer.

We ate ours on Sara Lee Wheat Bread (3 points for two slices- if you use the low calorie bread it would have been 2 points.. meant to buy that but didn't.. sad for me). And because I had the points and love cheese, I had a slice of Sargento reduced fat Colby Jack cheese (2 points).


We also enjoyed watermelon and low fat cottage cheese (I only ate 1/4 cup- 1 pt or 1/2 cup is 2 pt).


What we thought:

The boys won't eat anything mixed together so they had just plain chicken and the side items.

Aubrey picked out the pickle and celery because they were spicy. Um.. not sure where that came from since she is The Spicy Queen!! And really, celery? Spicy?? At least I had a good laugh over that.

Drew thought it was great and loved how light it was. He had two sandwiches.

Me: I thought it was FaBuLoUs! It was everything I imagined and hoped it to be. I found that 1/3 cup or so was pleanty on a sandwich (for all of us) so I had some on the side as well. Plus it was so simple to make, it's crazy! This will definitley be something will enjoy on a frequent basis and probably on rolls instead of bread.

I'm so glad I didn't cheat. And, I'm SO glad there are leftovers for lunch tomorrow!!!

If you know of any variations to make this even better, please share!!

Down a pound.. I think??

My oh-so-reliable digital scale is giving me trouble. We're fighting. It first said I lost almost 2 pounds this morning. I had gained weight earlier last week (I can't help weighing in daily) so I was surprised.. stepped on again and said I only lost .4. Tried again and it was almost 2 pounds. Then it was 1 pound down. grrrrrrr

So I've decided 1 pound. lol

I was tracking my food but was gaining so I got discouraged and went back to doing it in my head. And it went down after that.

Although maybe some of the weight loss is from this:


On Saturday I had 13" cut off and 12 were donated to Locks of Love.

I lightened the exposure so you could see the cut a little better.


I looove it! So easy to do and it feels great.

Oh, back to the weight loss.

So yeah.. not sure what's going on.. little frustrating. Oh well. As long as it keeps moving down and not up. lol

I don't have anything else really profound to say and my house has been greatly neglected today.. so I better hurry and read other blogs because I have a lot to clean up. All about priorities. ;o)

Panda Express: Before and After

Last night I didn't know what to cook for dinner. Maybe it's because I desperately needed to go food shopping and my options were very slim. After discussing with Drew, we decided to have Panda Express for dinner. Yum! But before we ate, I decided to take pictures so that I could showcase a before and after of what I used to order and what I order now, and their point values.

Why?

Because when I talk to friends about Weight Watchers (and they are considering joining or struggling with following it) it seems like many people have a hard time giving up their favorite food items. Which I totally understand. Trust me, I do. But is it really worth eating an entire days worth of points in just one meal? Really?? Not so much. In fact, when i look at it that way, the food generally becomes very unattractive.

Presenting: Drew's dinner (this is what I used to order as well).

Mandarin Chicken: 6 points
Sauce on it: 1 point
Orange Chicken: 13 points
Chow Main: 4 points
Fried Rice: 5 points

Grand Total: 29 points
(my daily point total is currently 26-28)

My dinner:

Mushroom Chicken: 3 points
Broccoli Beef: 3 points
Veggies: 2 points
Steamed Rice: 2 points (aprox.)

Grand Total: 10 points

BUT! Because my portion sizing has gone down, I wasn't able to even finish it all. That is a LOT of food!! So what I actually ate was less than that.

And as a side note, the rice is actually a lot less than what the picture looks like.. there were veggies under it. It measured out to be about 1/3 of a cup. You know you can ask for that, right? Mostly veggies and a little rice? I love rice so I ordered just enough to be satisfied. Sometimes I get just the veggies though and that's 3 points total.

If you feel like you need something greasy, again, just check out your options before you order. Turns out the veggie spring rolls aren't nearly as high in points as one would think.

One of them, is ONE point. That's all! Or two of them is three points. It's a little better than one potsticker which was 2 points or an order of 3 is five points. I did eat one egg roll (they ran out and I didn't want to wait for more so they gave me a potsticker, which Drew ate a little of.. he didn't really like it). Just be careful of the sauces.. if you were to eat the entire container of sweet and sour sauce, that's 2 points. The potsticker sauce is 1.

After looking at all of that, it's so eye opening at what I used to eat and why I weighed what I did. I knew what I ordered wasn't so great for me (hello, fantastically delicious orange chicken!!) but realizing that was just my dinner... yeah.

I hope this was a little helpful for some. Again, my biggest advice when you're going to eat out is check out the nutritional information BEFORE you go. Then if you still choose to eat more points than you should, you can at least hold yourself accountable for it and not play it off as "I had no idea...".

THIRTY!!

I just realized I never blogged this past monday.. I know I was busy with the holiday and just life in general (what is with the last weeks of school??) but sheesh!

Especially because... I finally hit THIRTY POUNDS! Yay!!!!!!!

I've been really close for awhile now and have had a few mid-week weigh ins where I got that low but never on weigh-in day.

I think I'm going to have to bump up the exercise thing (ok, maybe just start at all... lol). Just eating right doesn't seem to be quite enough.

Which really, is ok.. I really want to be healthy and not just weigh less. Now I just need to figure out how to get it in and get the motivation. I'm always motivated when I blog but by the afternoon or evening I'm just too tired. Or maybe it's that I'm lazy. Hmmm... lol

I have to say that I'm feeling really great overall. I'm in such a great place right now.. life is fantastic! I can definiltey feel a difference in how my body moves with being thirty pounds lighter. For example, last night I was at the school behind my house watching the kids play and I was by the swings.. well Carson managed to almost fall off of the playground and was screaming and holding onto dear life and I was able to run up the hill (not huge but good enough for sledding) and run to the playground and grab him before he let go. I never run!! And I wasn't even out of breath!-

My pants are getting looser too.. I find that when I'm walking around a lot that I have to grab at the waste and pull them up a little. And when I went and bought some pants to work out in (lol- see? the intentions are there..) I was able to get the size that I am. I have such a big (huge?) rear end that I almost always get a size up if it's tighter fitting. But not now! :o)

Things I'm going to work on this week:
-Eating breakfast (I'm not hungry in the morning so I've been slacking.. but weight loss is slowing down so maybe this will help)
-Tracking points better
-at least make a plan about exercising

Zumba!

I tried out Zumba today at the local fitness center.

Wait, back up, I woke up at FIVE this morning so that I could try out Zumba today.

Those of you that know me or are aware of my genetic disposition know that I stay up late and waking up early just doesn't happen. Of course I kept waking up during the night because I was afraid I'd sleep though my cell phone (set on vibrate, right by my pillow- yes that wakes me up). That alone was an accomplishment!!

Back to Zumba.. it was nice that the class had a large variety of people in it. Some skinny.. some not (whew!). And I was so happy that I had a friend that went just so that I knew someone.

It was definitely high impact. We were all over the place! I am not one to sweat a lot (even when I was in high school and went to the gym twice a day) but fifteen minutes in, there I was sweating. Oh and bright faced. If I do almost any activity my face turns bright red (sometimes purple) or even if it's just hot outside. It's super attractive. ;o)

Anyway, my only complaint was that by the time I actually figured out how to move, twist, hop, shake and repeat, the instructor moved onto something else. In all fairness I'm not coordinated so it takes me a bit.. but still! I might give it a few more tries.. I'll have to see how I survive waking up so early.

I still can't believe I made it through an entire hour!! Yay!

Well that went horribly wrong.

So, the scale is up .8 today.

What is up with that????

I have been so good this past week. When we went to the zoo w/ my side of the family I did have an obligatory ice cream cone but I threw the cone and it's contents away (I was full at that point). I was mindful of the snacks I ate and I packed an appropriate lunch. And while I was there I even raced my sister up TWO of the hills. One being the one from the giraffes to the tiger exhibit. Actually it's not really a hill.. it's more of a mini mountain. Yes, I ran up a mini mountain thankyouverymuch. While pushing a stroller. And I never run! Seriously, if a 'bad guy' ever pointed a gun at me and I had the chance to turn and run but it was uphill? Yeah, I'd be like Not worth it. Just shoot me. lol But there I went.. and I even won the first time. The second time my sister took me out with her stroller. At that point I was just glad I didn't pee my pants from laughing so hard.

Oh! Can I tell you how fantastic my sister looks? She's lost 17 pounds (I think?) and started WW the same time I did.. She's a few pounds away from her goal weight and will be switching to lifetime at that point. Want to see what an improvement she's made?

This is just because I have the pic and we're both chunky so it makes us look even better now. Shallow, I know! ;o) This is just after her first baby (she has two). I was newly pregnant with Hayden. (look how cute Aubrey is!)

This was at Kaitlyn's first birthday party- she started WW a few days before (I waited until after the party so I could enjoy it all lol). I thought she looked great then..
.. but look at her now!!! She looks sooooo good!

And here's both of us together. Feel free to scroll back up to that first picture and compare our faces. Nice, right???


Anyway, back to me. I haven't been tracking my points through WW the last little bit but I'm so comfortable with knowing what I can/can't eat that I don't feel that I need to use that.

But maybe I'm wrong.

Obviously I'm wrong. Because just a few days ago I was down 1 1/2 pounds from last week's weigh in. I'm seriously baffled that it's gone up! I even sent my sister a text saying :-O

So here are my goals for the week:
-track my points daily
-drink more water
-start walking in the evenings
-start lifting weights (we have one of those 3 station things in our basement- Drew and I don't remember when we last used it- nice.)
-try Zumba at a gym with my friend Janae (super excited for this- I keep laughing at how goofy I'm going to look- sooooo uncoordinated)

And that's it. :o) Here's to a really fun week!!

Helpful Blog & Chicken Stuffed Shells

One of my friends is an amazing cook. She loves flavors and isn't afraid to try new recipes which is something I really, really struggle with. She is also successfully doing Weight Watchers (she looks fantastic!!) and she blogs about the recipes she uses, the point value and her reviews (including her kids) with pictures!! Amazing, right??? And if that's not enough, she's currently also posting the approximate cost of the meal- everything is under $10.

I can't even begin to tell you how much her blog has helped our family.. I'm willing to try something if I know that it will be good. LOL Plus she answers my silly cooking questions! Really, she's just fabulous.


Anyway, last night I tried the Chicken Stuffed Shells. I was worried there wouldn't be enough plus I was trying to get my step-brother to join us for dinner so I made 1 1/2 of the recipe. The serving size of 3 shells turned out to be a LOT (they're stuffed so full!) and I probably would have been just fine eating two of them. Drew ate four and Aubrey had two.

Drew really enjoyed these and was surprised that they're WW friendly (well as long as you don't go crazy on them). Aubrey kept talking about how great they were and asked for more. I had her finish her veggies and roll and by then she wasn't hungry for more. Carson wouldn't touch his (I think it was the spinach that he was worried about- next time I might do one without it for him). Hayden wouldn't eat it either but that doesn't surprise me as he doesn't like food that's mixed together. I didn't give any to Kaitlyn since she's staying away from dairy. So those three had leftover cooked chicken, applesauce, veggies and a roll.

For our veggies I used a yellow squash, a zucchini and a handful of mushrooms and sliced it all up. Added a teaspoon of Olive Oil to the pan and cooked for two minutes or so and then I added some chicken broth and let them cook until tender (stirring occasionally). Yum!

The split-top potato rolls were from Walmart (ours had them right by the rotisserie chickens) and one of them is two points or two of them is three points (I only had one- I was seriously so full!!).

I'm looking forward to having the leftovers for my lunch today (so is Drew!!). This is definitely something I'll be making for company some time as well- very easy to serve a crowd.

Definitely give it a try!!

Love the inches.

So this week I only lost 0.6 pounds. Yes, I count every little bit (on Saturday it would have been a full pound, by the way). Know what's better than losing poundage though?? Losing INCHES!! Everything is a half inch smaller. Going from the arms, chest, waist, hips and thighs, that's 3 1/2" total. NICE.

I'm certain I could have lost more weight this week but I attended two weddings over the weekend which means food and drink that I would normally not even eat (consider, yes.. eat, no). I sipped punch and flavored lemonade (I'm still trying not to cringe at the calories in the lemonade and the flavoring). I enjoyed a small piece of cake at each one.. and I shared half of a brownie and half of a pudding tart thing with Kaitlyn. I passed on the other desserts that called to me.

So I guess this is the part where I'll go ahead and admit that I hoarded a cream cheese brownie into the diaper bag so that I could eat it after we got home. Because then I wouldn't have to share with the kids. Come on, admit you've done it too!! However, there was no shame as I ate it slowly and fully enjoyed it.. and I actually threw the last of it away because it was so rich. I can live with that. Really, if you can't make this "lifestyle change" work with you, you'll never keep it off, right?

And who knows, maybe walking around for a few hours, in heels, counted as some activity points too. (Oh, I didn't fall!!)

I also enjoyed seeing family members that I haven't seen since Christmas.. nothing like being almost 30 pounds lighter to make a girl feel great! My dress was two sizes smaller than what I would have purchased back in December.

And this was something fabulous.. Marci (the bride), because she's the BEST, had the photographer take some pictures of Drew and I. When he was done, I went up to him and asked if he got any good ones of me because I either take good pictures or BAD ones (you know, where suddenly you have a fifty foot double chin, etc.). He laughed and said, "It would be pretty hard for you to look bad in any of them when you look that good." hehehe I'm sure he says that to all the girls, but it was nice to hear!! I can't wait to see how they turn out.

In the meantime, here is one we took at the end of the night back at home (you can kind of tell we're tired and my hair isn't so great).. not the best angle because we put the camera on the piano but what do you do.


Just me.. you can see the design of the dress better (the torso is fitted and then it poofs out).

Yay for feeling great!!