Losing in the wrong places.

I bought a dress towards the middle of April to wear to my brother-in-law's upcoming wedding.

Last night I was talking to my sister and she asked if it still fit.. I told her I hadn't lost THAT much.. but figured I better try it on again just in case. Plus, I feel FABULOUS in it.

It slipped on much easier and still fits great (and is two sizes smaller than what I would have purchased pre-WW) except for.. the chest area. Yeah, I'm going to have to buy some double sided tape or something. :-S

Figures.

To be expected.

This past week I gained .4 and I'm ok with that. Really, I am. After two weeks of large losses I'm not surprised (even if the scale was down .8 two days ago.. grrr). It was also my friend's bachelorette party, which I hosted, which meant there was fresh chocolate chip cookies, chocolate chunk brownies, ghiardelli chocolate, hershey kisses and of course Mint Oreo truffles, all available at my finger tips.

Not being one to intentionally set myself up for failure, I also put together a veggie tray with low fat ranch dip (made with a tub of reduced fat sour cream and a fat free Hidden Valley Ranch dip mix). And I had regular chips and baked ones (I ate the baked). The brownies were cut small and the chocolate chip cookies (from pre-made cookie dough) were the Mini ones where there is 40 in a package.. making them 1 point each. And I figured if I made the Mint Oreo truffles small enough, they would be less points.. they ended up being the perfect size and 2 points each. And they were Fantastic!!!

While it wasn't the most healthy way to use my points (and use them, I did) I did stay with in my allotment and was conscious of what I ate. No throwing in the towel for a night and eating everything in sight. And you know what? It wasn't a big deal! I enjoyed great food and didn't go to bed with any regrets. This is definitely something I can live with long term and be happy.

I also went walking at the track behind my house yesterday (and managed to burn my arms and chest.. oops) and went 1 1/2 miles. Exercise is still something I struggle with.. I have attempted many times to use an exercise video, etc. only to have Kaitlyn (or sometimes Carson) want to be held or attach herself onto my legs, which makes things difficult. Even this morning, I pulled out my severely neglected wii fit and I only was able to spend 10 minutes on it before I was attacked by children. (and I'll have you know that wii fit says I weigh 3 pounds less than my upstairs scale) Anyway, now that the weather's a little better (minus the weird storm last night) I really hope to continue walking. Oh, Drew and I are also working on cleaning out and dusting off our weight system set thingy (it's a big one that has 3 stations). It's been awhile.

Hoping for more progress this next week!!

downside of downsizing

For the most part, I'm fine with no longer fitting in my larger sized clothes. It was very satisfying this morning to try on a larger shirt and feel like I'm drowning in it. I'm still a little sad (which I say loosely.. I mean I'm not crying or anything) about my favorite pair of jeans. They fit perfectly.. just the right length (a huge deal for someone 5'2").. dark color.. they were the best. *sigh* That's ok though, I'm very confident that I'll be able to again find another favorite pair. Right? And of course it will be in smaller and smaller sizes.. and hello, that's just FANTASTIC!!!

Anyway, so this is my biggest downside to the weight loss so far.

My wedding ring. It doesn't fit.

Yesterday I put it on and shook my hand and it didn't take long for it to slip off. I *could* work with it (I don't walk around shaking my hands) but if my hands get cold, which of course will happen, then I don't even have a chance.

I knew this was coming and I even bought a fun ring from Kohl's for really cheap. I love it and have been wearing it on and off for the past two weeks. But still.. it's not my wedding ring..

Who knows, maybe I'll find a couple of great rings to rotate through. Or maybe I'll get a big rock for my upcoming 10 year anniversary in August (anyone have $$ they want to donate?? no??? darn).

Or maybe for my 10 year anniversary I'll be able to have my ring sized back down to what it was on my wedding day. Now that, gives me warm fuzzies.

Thai Grilled Chicken Thighs

This is a new recipe that I tried last week. We had a few friends over and I wanted to have something that was WW friendly and serve a lot of hungry people. So I went onto recipezaar.com and looked around.. and finally stumbled upon this:

http://www.recipezaar.com/Thai-Grilled-Chicken-Thighs-99156

It is SO FANTASTIC!! Drew and I liked it enough that we made it again on Saturday night when we had a different friend over. And her picky daughter even liked it. And, the leftovers are great too- it makes a lot.

Thai Grilled Chicken Thighs
12 Boneless Skinless Chicken Thighs
1/3 cup fresh chopped basil
1/3 cup fresh chopped cilantro
1 TBS minced ginger
1 TBS minced garlic
1 TBS minced chili (I used a sauce I found- wasn't really any heat to it at all)
1 1/2 TBS Olive Oil (I used 1 TBS Sesame Oil and 1/2 TBS Olive Oil)
1 1/2 TBS Soy Sauce
1 1/2 TBS Fish Sauce (I just used more soy sauce)
1 1/2 TBS brown sugar

Combine all of the ingredients, except chicken, in a bowl (it IS enough marinade).

Mix thoroughly.

Add chicken and leave to marinate at least one hour, preferably longer.

Grill chicken until cooked and enjoy!!

The points value (using the sesame/olive oil combo) is 3 for one piece or 7 for two. It would probably be less if you used something like chicken tenders that is white meat.

~~~

I haven't experimented with using less oil.. if I did, I would still use the sesame and not the olive oil. If only I had some basil.. I could try that tonight. The sacrifices I"m willing to make for others.... ;o)

And if you don't know, 1 TBS is 3 Tsp.. so for 1 1/2 TBS, it's 1 TBS and 1 1/2 Tsp (or 4 1/2 tsp). Or just eye ball it like I did.

My new favorite lunch.

I have a new favorite lunch. It's delicious! I've convinced my sister that she should try this and it's now a favorite lunch of hers as well. Wanna know what it is?

It's.. taco's!

I'm really enjoying corn tortillas right now (I'm in the process of trying out different brands). Only 1 point each!! I usually eat 3 or 4 depending on how hungry I am, how many points I have to use and what toppings I'm using. They're so easy too.. keep them in the fridge and then you just throw one in a pan on medium for a few minutes (flip once) to warm it up. SO EASY! (pst, I tried microwaving as the bag suggested and thought it was BAD!!)

Next, I spread Guacamole on it. I know, you're thinking it's too fattening, right?? I did at first. But turns out it's full of fiber! Cha-Ching!!

I do realize it's probably much cheaper to make your own guacamole, but I have been buying it instead. I really like how this is in individual servings (six per box) so there is no waste or me trying to prevent waste and consuming the leftovers (trust me, I would).

It's called Wholly Guacamole and was in the refrigerated area of my walmart by the Tofu (I think??) and healthier snacks (prepackaged apples, carrots, etc.). Each package has 100 calories, 8g fat and 4g fiber.. so 2 points total. And, I think it tastes great!! Not like Guac. dip I've tried before that was horrible. (btw, Costco sells bigger packages of this)

To finish it off, I add lots of salsa (preferebly fresh.. mmm..) or pico de gallo (sometimes I buy that already made if I'm feeling super lazy) and if I have it, I add fresh cilantro. Figure if I get enough veggies on there that I can claim it as a serving or two.

If I have leftover grilled chicken then I'll add that too (again, depending on how many available points).

If you try it, let me know.. I LOVE IT!!

it's Picture time!!

This past week was yet again wonderful for weight loss.. down THREE pounds. YAY!!

That's a grand total of 28.

I feel so great too, I really do.

First, I thought I'd post a picture of me at my heaviest. At least I think that's when it was. This was in July of 2004 (that's my now 5 year old!!). I didn't own a scale so I don't know a number but I was wearing jeans that were 2 sizes bigger than what I'm wearing now.

Now, this was in December 2008 right before Christmas. And being as it was before christmas, I DID indeed gain more.. oops. My start date for WW was Jan. 5th, 2009.

Not a flattering picture.. but sure makes it look like an even bigger difference which is what I'm going for. ;o)

And here was yesterday.
(my 9 year old told me how to pose.. lol)
And because if I take the picture myself, I can always make my face look thinner.. I'll include one of those too (I don't mind at all if that makes you laugh.. I know it's silly!!). Plus then you can see my fabulous new red necklace/earings and my cute baby!! (do I still get to call her a baby at almost 16 months??)

So it's been awhile..

I've decided I need to try and show up on here more often. Especially since it's been a month since the last post. One a month.. shouldn't be hard to beat that. ;o) Guess I had a couple of weeks of not doing much so I didn't feel there was much to report.

I'm almost done nursing Kaitlyn so I have stopped the nursing points and with what i've lost, I've gone from 34 points down to 26, per day. Just means I have to be more selective in my snacks and side dishes but it's going well.

I've lost over 10% of my body weight, which I'm thrilled about and a total of 25 pounds. Not bad since January! I feel great too.

I need to have Drew takes some pictures so I can show you my progress. :o)