WHERE HAVE I BEEN???? I'll tell you where......

.... I've been on top of this freakin' PLATEAU!!!!  See that little arrow up there???  I'm standing RIGHT NEXT TO IT!!!!  In fact, I think you can call me the QUEEN of the plateau!!!!!  The lowest I've gotten this summer was 145, but that was only after juicing for 2 days THEN getting the flu and basically not eating & only sleeping for 4 days.  Not exactly the healthiest weight loss - and it didn't stick!  Dammit....

After I got to 145 I started calling Scott 'fat boy' because I officially weighed less than him (he's 148 lbs).  The name calling was short lived as I officially weighed in on Saturday morning at 149.8, so less than 150 but not THAT much less, and not less than Scott.....  Do you know how EXCITING it was to weigh less than him - IT WAS AMAZING!!!!!

I starting tracking again on Sunday.  I'm so sad to say that I haven't tracked for about 3 months.  So no WONDER I've been at this damn plateau!!!!!  I've said it before - I'll say it again.....

YOU CAN NOT LOSE WEIGHT IF YOU DON'T TRACK!!!!!

I've spent the last few months proving that one!!!!!  AIGH!!!!

So, I'm back on track (hee hee), teaching Zumba 5+ days a week (WOOT!), starting school in a month (DOUBLE WOOT!) and feeling good!  My 41st birthday is in a little over a week and honestly, I'm in the best shape of my life... I'm happy.... I'm healthy....  I am feeling SO good about myself!  Now I just want to get these last stubborn pounds off so I can be a Weight Watcher's Leader.  THAT IS MY GOAL!

13 pounds.  I'm going to try to shed them before the end of the year.  I'd love to wake up on January 1st, 2012 and finally NOT have my resolution revolve around my weight.  That will be so cool.....

JENN IS BACK!!!!!!!!  :)

Tomorrow is a new day......

This will make sense in a minute......

Argh.  After having such a good day on Monday I had to blow it today!  I went out and about WITHOUT FOOD!!!!  DUH!!!!!  Well, I did pack 6 clementines - which I polished off quickly.  And I grabbed a hummus / pretzel thingy at the store.  Didn't realize until AFTER I'd downed it that it had TEN FREAKIN' POINTS IN IT!  And I ate that before 12:00!!!!!  So, when I was really hungry for lunch I grabbed a chicken thigh at the grocery store (yes - I broke a cardinal sin - I went grocery shopping HUNGRY!)  I was just going to eat the thigh and not the yummy, crispy skin, but then I caved and ATE THE WHOLE THING!  Shit. I also grabbed an 8 oz loaf of freshly baked bread and scarfed down HALF of it!!!!  WITH BUTTER!!!!! DOUBLE SHIT!!!!

THEN I got to the Horse N Rebel to drop off some stuff I'd bought at Costco (no - I did not have to do any squats there so that means I didn't SNACK!  YEAH!) I ended up making a YUMMY fresh mozzarella cheese / tomato / basil salad (snacked a little bit on it - I had to taste it ya' know!) THEN I dug into 2 of my chocolate chip cookies.  DAMN!!!!

Then I went home, cooked dinner (SURF 'N TURF -  14 FREAKIN' POINTS!), made cookies for the Horse N Rebel (ate one raw - DAMN!) and then I quickly brushed my teeth so I'd stop the bleeding!!!!

I'm embarrassed to admit that I ate 57 points today!  I'm now NEGATIVE 9 in the week with 3 more days to go!  Guess who is going to be the QUEEN of GOOD for the rest of the week?  Guess who is going to ZUMBA tomorrow and Thursday nights?  ME ME ME!!!!!!

Luckily tomorrow is a new day.  This isn't the end of the world.  Really.  It isn't, right????

Where in the hell have I been!?!?!?!??!

Well, I haven't 'been' anywhere actually - I've just been BUSY!  AIGH!  But busy is a good thing for me - it keeps me from pigging out!!!!

So, I'm at my lowest weight since I was diagnosed with Breast Cancer!  I weighed in on Saturday morning and was pleasantly surprised with 149.8!!!!!!  WOOT!!!!!!  I am officially in the 140s!!!!!  That means I've lost OVER SIXTY POUNDS!!!!!  HOLY HELL!!!!!  It seems like WEEKS that I've been saying 'this week I'll get to the 140s' and DAMN - it feels good to finally BE there!!!!  :)

This is what 150 lbs looks like on me!

I've been staying within my points every week, not having too many snack attacks (but I still have them!).  I've found that if I stuff my face with fruit at about 3:30 I don't tend to snack as I'm cooking dinner.  I'm satisfied.....  It's a good feeling!  Clementines are my friend.......

I started cooking at the Horse N Rebel in Starksboro.  That is a challenge.  I'm making yummy things like chocolate chip cookies, brownies, pulled pork sammies, bbq beef sammies, sweet 'n sour coleslaw, etc......  I'm chewing gum like a fiend when I cook, but I still found the time to eat a few cookies that I hadn't scheduled into my daily points balance.  I have little self control when it comes to chocolate chip cookies.  I also have found a GREAT way to eat pulled pork.  Instead of on a kaiser roll I put it on top of salad with a few crumbles of blue cheese & a little balsamic vinaigrette glaze on top.  YUMMY!!!!  I'll be cooking there several days a week.  Stop in and say hey (and of course grab a sammie!)

This Saturday is my ZUMBA instructor training class!  I am SO excited to become an instructor!  I'm really hoping that I can teach every morning!!!!  I'd rather get my workouts done in the morning than at night.  It's so hard to have to find a sitter for my kids while I go to the gym.  I feel like I'm gypping them of their time with me.  I only have them every other week, so I really try to spend as much time with them as I can!  They're such awesome little dudes!  They really are growing up so quickly!  It's hard to remember how little they were when they were babies.  I see babies and can't believe that mine were ever that small!  :)  I can't believe the hospital staff let me take them home with me!!!!!  But, I digress.......

I have less than 15 lbs left to lose - 14.8 to be exact!  I'm really hoping that my little plateau is just that.... LITTLE!  If I can lose 1 - 2 lbs a week I'll get to my goal in no time!  Currently I'm just doing Zumba, but I definitely see that I need to get my buns into the gym to lift weights a few times a week.  I'm not trying to be a muscle head or anything, but my butt is FLABBY and I want to tone it up!  I can't believe that *I* have a flabby butt!!!!  I think I'll try setting my phone to beep every hour - and every hour I'll do 10 squats & 10 lunges on each side.  If I can do 50 - 80 squats / lunges each day I'll firm that butt up in no time!  :)  Yeah - that will be my May resolution!  :)

I'm off to bed - need my beauty sleep ya' know!  :)

Weight In - So tired of this crap!

So, yesterday was weigh-in and I gained another freakin' pound!!!!  So now I'm up to 152.4.  Needless to say - I am not impressed.  :/

I know - I know.... I've lost nearly 60 pounds!!!!  BUT - I still have 15 (17??) to go and it's KILLING ME that it's taking this long!!!!  AIGH!!!!!

I seem to have a 4 month attention span for losing weight, and I'm there.  I was thinking about the FIRST 30 lbs and at the 4 month mark I kind of lost my fight.  I pretty much maintained for over a year, then BAM - I lost 30 more.  Now, here I am, struggling with the last little bit.  Damn.

I'm so lucky that THIS time tracking is so automatic for me.  Last time I was a pencil & paper tracker, and it's so convenient to 'forget' to track if you don't have your stuff with you at all times.

This time I'm on my iPhone, so I really have no excuse not to keep constant track of my food.  Obviously it doesn't mean that I EAT well 100% of the time, but in general I'm making better & better food choices.  It's easy for me to walk away from the 'free samples' at the grocery store & Costco.  If they're free they're probably NOT point free!

I'm exercising regularly.  Last week - not so much.... It was the kids vacation so not only did I not get out to exercise as much as usual (I'm talking Zumba here, not walking & playing with me kids....), but I definitely ate a lot more crap than usual.  Something about making the peanut butter & jelly or honey sandwiches TOTALLY makes me crave one!  :)

So, Spring vacation is over.  The weather is getting nicer.  My Zumba training is in LESS than 2 weeks!!!  I really think that things are starting to turn around for me!

Easter is today.  We've got a nice & healthy meal planned.  I'll be eating lots of salad with my ham on it instead of ham with salad on the side.  I'm making 'portion controlled' chocolate chip cookies for dessert.  Everyone else gets 1 T. of batter per cookie - me - I'll get 1 TEASPOON of batter per cookie.  That way I can have a few!  :)

I also plan on getting outside to untap our trees and perhaps do a little sugar house organizing.

I hope you all have a healthy & Happy Easter!  Don't hog out on your kids Easter candy (I've only had 1 piece - I made sure to buy the crap I DO NOT like!), and get outside to enjoy this beautiful day!  :)

Where did my spark go????

For the past several days I haven't had any spark.  I could blame it on 'that time of the month', but I'm not really sure that is it!

I think it's because I haven't seen any real weight loss in a few weeks.  I'm at 151.2 so I'm hovering around the 60 lbs mark - and I feel like I've been there for a VERY LONG TIME!!!!!!  Yuck.  Not fun.  Not fun at all......

This is also my kids spring break, so I haven't been getting to the gym like I want to.  The babysitters seem to be out of town, so here I am.  Starting to get VERY stressed out about my weight & lack of exercise when I should be enjoying the time I have with my kids!  And don't get me wrong - I have been enjoying it - but I've also felt like a bit of a stress-monster too.  Once again, Yuck.

So, what am I going to do about it?  What CAN I control right now?

I can control my eating.  I've been bringing lunches with us wherever we go.  So for the most part I CAN control my eating.  But am I - NO!  Yesterday we went to the ECHO Center and I brought lunches with us.  But then we ended up going to Pizzaria Uno and ate half of Preston's pizza.  Nine points.  I also ordered steamed veggies for myself - very good.  But Really - DID I NEED TO EAT HALF OF PRESTON'S PIZZA?!?!?!?!  NO - I did not.  I'm disappointed in myself.  I know better than that.

Tonight I got home from being out and about (did REALLY good with my food until I was home too!), then I came home and BLEW IT!!!!!  I PIGGED OUT!!!!! WTF is WRONG with me?!?!?!??!

I'm not happy with myself.  I'm pissed at myself.  I don't want to become that fat woman that I was.  I want to be thin & healthy!  I want to WIN this!

Plan.  I need a plan.  BAD!  I'm tired.  Stressed.  Pissed.  Frustrated.  If it's not good I'm feeling it.

Sitting here, writing this blog as I'm crying is not fun.  This isn't the Jenn that is supposed to be so inspiring.  This is the Jenn that struggles and needs help.  This is the Jenn that needs inspiration from somewhere.  I'm supposed to be getting inspiration from inside myself, right?  Well - I'm not sure where it went.  I'm still tracking and I'm disgusting myself every evening.

I look at myself in the mirror and I look good to myself.  But I'm still overweight.  Fifteen freaking pounds and I'm still overweight.  Ugh.

I'm tired.  I need to regroup.  I need a plan.

I'm going to bed.  Hopefully something amazing will worm its way into my dreams.

Good Night. 

Sometimes you've just got to make it work! (aka - what do you want to be when you grow up?)

This is Sad Jenn at the thought of no Zumba!

Tonight my kids were in a singing performance at school.  Know what that meant?  NO ZUMBA tonight.  :(  It made me sad to think about missing out on my class.  So, I went to www.zumba.com and found a class at Curves in Hinesburg.  It was a circut class (which I've never been to), but I thought I should give it a try to see if that was a certification I'd like to get.  When I got there I was welcomed with open arms.  I decided not to do the circut (there were some weird-ass machines I've never seen in there!), but I Zumba'd for 30 minutes and worked up quite a sweat!  Six activity points!  Yeah!  :)

It would have been very easy for me to say 'to heck with it' and just skip, but I want this BAD!  I want to stop obsessing about losing the last 15 lbs and start obsessing about what I'm going to DO with the rest of my life!!!!  :)

I actually made a very big decision lately.  I've decided to go back to school.  I've got my degree in Marine Biology, but no real practical experience.  I've got a lot of business experience, but no degree!  So, it's been hard to find a job!  But MAN - I'm ready to work again!  So, I'm going to go to school to become an  aesthetician!  Waxing, Facials and my personal favorite the artistry of makeup!  (That last part was very tongue-in-cheek, by the way..... I'm not sure when I'll ever have a need for putting 'smokey eyes' on a woman.  But hey - we'll see!)

This looks so relaxing!!!  I want one!

It's a whopping 4 months of school - then get ready!  My skills will be unleashed somewhere in Addison (or perhaps Chittenden) County!  I'm actually pretty excited.  I feel like I've been spinning my wheels for several years.  Not really knowing what I want to be when I grow up.  I would have NEVER imagined being interested in aesthetics, but now that I've gotten a bit older (and perhaps wiser?) I see the need for teaching people how to take care of their skin & taking good care of my own!!

In fact, a few weeks ago I went and had a facial - and I swear.  I looked 10 years younger when I was through!  I'm really lucky that I didn't spend my youth baking in the sun, and considering I'm 40 I think my skin looks pretty damn good!  But there's no time like the present to take care of myself so I look SMOKIN' HOT as a 50, 60, 70 year old!  :)

An Aside:  My ex-boyfriend from a million years ago's Mom, Grace, was in her 60's, and she had AMAZING skin!  I want to be like her!  :)

Wow - what in the heck does that have to do with weight loss?  Um... absolutely nothing!  But, wait.... maybe it does????

Losing weight makes you feel good.  When you feel good you want to do all that you can to look good.  Looking good - aesthetics.... I see the connection!  :)

So, once I'm 'settled' I'll be teaching 4 - 6 Zumba classes a week (that is my goal), I'll be a kick ass aesthetician & I'll be at GOAL!  Plus, once I'm at goal, I really want to be a Weight Watchers leader!  I think I'd be good at it.  I seem to motivate people.  It makes me feel good to help people move toward their goals....

Sounds like I finally know what I want to be when I grow up!

Do you know what you want to to/be when you grow up?  Do you want to motivate your kids / spouse / friends?  Do you want to live a happy & healthy life?  Do you want to fit into a sexy little black dress?  You need to do some serious thinking about what your goals are so that you can start to move toward them!

Back when I was 210.2 lbs I had no goals.  I had no motivation.  I have no IDEA what I wanted to do when I grew up!  I was in a marriage that was steadily getting unhappier.  I was fat.  I was close to filing for bankruptcy.  I lost several homes in Massachusetts to foreclosure.  The shit was hitting the FAN!!!!!

Now that I've got some defined goals I see the path I need to take to get there.  And let me tell you, there is NOTHING that will get in the way of a focused & motivated Jenn.  NOTHING!!!!  Not even a decadent piece of dark chocolate!  :)

So, I haven't cooked any amazing recipes in a week or so.  This week has been nuts, but NEXT week is the kids vacation!  I'm going to spend some time planning meals with the boys this weekend.  Expect some masterpieces coming out of my kitchen next week!  If anyone is interested in coming over to cook a meal, just let me know!  I'll do everything I can to help you create a delicious & healthy meal your whole family will love! :)

Why is everyone so afraid of vegetables????

Two things happened in the past two days to make me say this.

First thing - a friend of mine was doing my hair (Thanks Michelle - it looks so SEXY!!!) and she told me she wanted to try making the Enchilada Suizas for her family.  (In fact, I have a batch in the oven right now!  Smells so GOOD!)  I showed her a picture of what they look like on my phone and she said "WOW!".  Then she wanted me to show the picture to her husband and the first thing out of his mouth was - "What's all of the green stuff?"  :)

Second thing - I was reading Cooking Light Magazine last night and in the note from the editor it was saying that the Secretaries of Agriculture & Health and Human Services unveiled the new Dietary Guidelines for Americans at the end of January.  The guidelines are based on a 2010 report that 'obesity is the single greatest threat to public health in this country'.  Does that scare you?  IT SHOULD!!!!  It sounds like that means that obesity is a bigger threat than cancer, heart disease, diabetes, etc!!!!  WOW!!!!!  And guess what - OBESITY CAN BE CURED!!!!!!  And by 'curing' your obesity you can cure (or at least prevent) many of the diseases that obesity contributes to.

Anyhoo - the report made specific mention that our dietary habits are linked to obesity.  NO KIDDING!!!!!

The letter went on to say that many of us are getting fat because we're eating a diet where 'bad fats' and 'empty-calorie sugars' push nutrient-rich foods (PLANTS) off of our plates.  The general message of the new guidelines is to eat less food, but to eat more plants, exercise more & watch fats, sugars & salt.  All of this should come as NO SURPRISE to ANYONE!!!!  This is how we are supposed to eat!  Where along the way did boxed foods, that are full of calories and BAD STUFF, become the norm?

I was a lucky child.  My Mom didn't subscribe to the convenience of boxed foods.  She cooked us some VERY healthy meals!!!!  We didn't have chips & soda in the house, and I'm not a chips & soda kind of a girl!  She cooked most of our meals from scratch, AND SO DO I!!!!!

I'm so afraid for our next generation.  I go grocery shopping and I look at the baskets of the other shoppers and I can't BELIEVE how much CRAP is in there!!!!  Do people not know how to cook, or do they truly feel like they don't have the time?  Well honey - You'd better MAKE the time, or you're going to end up with some FAT KIDS!!!!!  I don't want the legacy that I leave my kids to be worn on their asses!  I want them to be able to impress the HELL outta' their girlfriends by being able to whip up a great, healthy meal!

Part of teaching our kids has GOT to include teaching them how to eat healthy foods.  So many parents complain that their kids don't eat vegetables, so they don't offer them to their kids.  Well, I ask you - how in the HELL are your kids supposed to start eating veggies if they aren't even on their plates?!?!??!?  Do you think little Suzie is going to say to her parents, "May I please have some broccoli?".  Um, NOT ON YOUR LIFE!!!!  BUT, if given the choice between green beans & broccoli she'll have to choose one!!  Then, once it's on her plate, she's more likely to try it!

There is a website (www.mypyramid.gov) that tells you how much you're supposed to eat daily according to the new guidelines based on your age, weight & gender.  I just plugged in my boys and they're supposed to eat 2 cups of veggies & 1/1/2 cups of fruits PER DAY!!!!!  How many kids do you think eat their recommended amount of fruits & veggies a day?  I'd hazard to guess NOT MANY!

It looks like about a third of our diet should come from fruits & veggies!!!

I plugged my info in and I was immediately told that my weight is above the healthy range for me height.  It then gave me the choice to see how much I'm supposed to eat daily based on maintaining my current weight or if I want to 'gradually move toward a healthier weight'.  I chose the healthier weight option.  I'm supposed to eat 2 1/2 cups of veggies and 2 cups of fruit a day.  Now that I'm eating Weight Watchers-style I'm sure I get that much a day, but before I started making better choices I'm sure there were rare days that I ate that many veggies & fruits.

The website also has these great tips on how to encourage your kids to eat their veggies:

Vegetable tips for children:

• Set a good example for children by eating vegetables with meals and as snacks.
• Let children decide on the dinner vegetables or what goes into salads.
• Depending on their age, children can help shop for, clean, peel, or cut up vegetables.
• Allow children to pick a new vegetable to try while shopping.
• Use cut-up vegetables as part of afternoon snacks.
• Children often prefer foods served separately. So, rather than mixed vegetables try serving two vegetables separately.

OK - moving on.  What is it about veggies that is so SCARY to people?  It really makes no sense to me!  I LOVE VEGGIES!!!!  I LOVE FRUIT!!!!  It's not a chore to eat those foods - it is a  TREAT!!!  I love trying new veggies that I've never tried before.  If you're unsure of how to cook a veggie look it up on YouTube or in The Joy Of Cooking.  Make a commitment to buy a new fruit or veggies each time you go grocery shopping - you just might find a new favorite!  :)

So, some of my favorite veggies are going to be FREE in just a few weeks!!!!  Fiddle head Ferns, Wild Leeks & Cattails!!!!  My Mom also likes Marsh Marigolds (aka Cow Slips), but I find them to be quite bitter.  I do try them each year - perhaps this year I'll find an AMAZING recipe for them!  :)

Fiddle head Ferns

Cattails

Wild Leeks, aka Ramps

Marsh Marigold, aka Cow Slips

I'll be making Wild Leek Potato Soup & Ramp Pesto.  I'll also slice up the greens and put them in salads. I'm going to try pickling some with asparagus (Thanks Cooking Light for the recipe!).  I'll saute the fiddle heads in a little bit of olive oil & just a sprinkle of salt.  I'll steam the cattails.  I'll pick the Marsh Marigolds for Mom!  :)

Here are a few recipe suggestions.  If anyone wants to go foraging with me for some wild edibles, just let me know!  :)

How to cook Wild Leeks.  http://www.slashfood.com/2008/06/20/ramp-pesto-recipe/

How to cook Cattails. http://www.slashfood.com/2008/05/25/cattails-the-supermarket-of-the-swamp/

How to cook Fiddle Head Ferns.  http://localfoods.about.com/od/spring/r/Fiddleheadsaute.htm

How to cook Marsh Marigold.  http://patesden.livejournal.com/71853.html

Don't be afraid of veggies!  Hug them!  Kiss them!  EAT THEM!!!!  :)

Am I becoming a self-regulator? It's a piece of the puzzle!!!!

My boyfriend, Scott, is a self-regulator.  He's 145 lbs soaking wet & he stops eating when he's full.  Novel concept, eh?  Stopping when you're FULL instead of when the plate is EMPTY!??!??!!!  Yeah - that's what self-regulators do!  They listen to their bodies and STOP EATING WHEN THEY'RE FULL!!!!!!

Tonight Scott had to go to work & he grabbed the bag of chocolate chip cookies I made on Sunday off the counter.  I immediately had sadness!  I wanted cookies!  I asked him to leave one for me AND it is STILL ON THE COUNTER!!!!  The old Jenn would have pigged that thing RIGHT DOWN!  The New and Improved, Self-Regulating Jenn LEFT IT ALONE!!

Wow.  SO, I think I'm turning a corner!  I've been collecting small pieces of the weight-loss puzzle, and the closer I get to goal the closer I get to actually finishing my puzzle!  I just hope someone didn't steal a piece and hide it on me!  My family has a tendency of doing stuff like that.....

Here is what I learned tonight.  I don't have to eat something just because it is in front of me!  Really - I don't!!!!  I wasn't hungry.  I was done - so I decided that I'd put it in a zip-lock and have it tomorrow for an after lunch snack.  NICE, eh?  :)

I started in January with the goal of only drinking water.  I did allow myself 1 cup of coffee in the morning, but that's it!  I also committed to tracking every single thing that went into my mouth.  I did it!  February's goal was to visit my home meeting to get recognized for losing 50 lbs, which I did.  March's goal was to start going back to the gym.  I haven't been as dedicated about lifting weights as I wanted to be, but I've found a new love - ZUMBA!!!!  And I've got to a LOT of Zumba classes - so that SOOooo counts! :)

In my last post I decided I was going to be good at stretching in April.  I haven't done so good with this goal - and I'm not really sure why!  I've got Physical Therapy exercises I need to do every day - and I miss a lot of days.  That might explain why my damn shoulder & hip aren't healing, eh?  So, I'm going to modify my April goal to just doing my PT exercised until I'm BETTER!  Then I'll add stretching...

I really need to break this into baby steps.  I think that when people try to do it ALL at once they've successful for a short while, then it all falls apart.  Doing it ALL is exciting at first!  Then it just becomes a chore.  I've said this before, and I'll probably say it again - but the second 25 lbs I lost was done COMPLETELY with modifying how I ate.  AND BY TRACKING!!!!!  I didn't exercise at ALL!!!!  I was just mindful of what I ate and HOW MUCH I ate.

In speaking with people about their diets I hear this all the time.  "I actually eat really well."  I usually just end up staring at them with a blank look on my face remembering all the times I said the same thing!  OBVIOUSLY I didn't eat all that well to get my weight to 210.2!!!!!  I then want to shout "BS!" to them!  :)  (As someone that was under the misconception that I ate really well I think I have the license to do that!) Usually the person telling me that they actually eat very well looks kinda' chunky too!  Guess what - WE DON'T EAT AS WELL AS WE THINK WE DO!!!!!  We're a passel of hogs!!!!!

A Passel of Hogs

The reason I mention this is not to discourage you - quite the opposite.  It is meant to ENcourage you!  Look deep within yourself.  What small change can you make that will start you (or help you continue) on your weight loss journey?

I think the best place to start is to truly track what you eat WITHOUT MODIFYING YOUR DIET AT ALL for a week or two.  This will help you to see where (when?) your trouble is.  My trouble time is right when I get home to start dinner.  I am usually SO hungry - so I start snacking as I'm cooking.  What is my plan?  I chew gum while I cook!  Either that or I will drink a tall glass of water and eat a piece of fruit. It usually keeps me out of the snack cabinet!  (Usually..... sometimes I slip!!)

Once you see your trouble areas it's time to get control of your food.  I think you need to continue tracking, but THIS time you need to try to keep within a certain food budget.  If you're doing Weight Watchers you need to calculate points.  If you're doing something other plan you need to figure out how many calories you're allotted a day and TRACK IT!!!

Do you want to eat better, but don't know how??  Then you need to learn some simple recipes!  Weight Watchers puts out a lot of really great cookbooks.  Most of them list on the top if the recipe is easy, moderate or advanced.  Try some easy ones!  Also - feel free to ask your friend that is a gourmet cook for some help!  She (he??) would be honored!  I don't think you can lose weight effectively if you eat from a box!  You need to shop at the outside edges of the store (where the fresh foods live) and stay the hell AWAY from boxes foods!

As an Aside:  When mud season ends in Lincoln I'm going to have a small Weight Watchers cooking party at my house!  I'll have you bring the ingredients to a recipe you haven't cooked before.  You can choose one of the ones that I've posted, or bring a new one!  We'll all work together to create some delicious meals that you can bring home for later!  We'll also have plenty of WW food to eat while we're cooking!  Who wants an invite?!?!?!?

If you truly do eat really well (which I will VERY quickly ask you to prove to me), then you need to focus on exercise!!!!  There IS time in your busy schedule to exercise!  You just have to make it a priority!  And if you miss a day don't beat yourself up over it!  Just make sure you exercise the next day!  :)

So, What is it?  What are you afraid of?  Why have you started to lose weight so many times and FAILED?  Is it because you treated your weight loss like it was a 4 letter word???  (D-I-E-T)  Don't be afraid of changing something - THAT IS NOT A DIET!!!!  A lifestyle change is what you're going for.  A permanent change that you can LIVE with!!!  :)

Who's in????

Oatmeal-Buttermilk Pancakes

PointsPlus: 7 per pancake

Serves: 4

Ingredients:
1 1/4 c. fat-free buttermilk
1/2 c. uncooked oatmeal (instant or regular - doesn't matter!)
1/2 t. vanilla extract
1 t. canola oil
2 large egg whites
1 1/4 c. all purpose flour (you can substitute 1/2 for whole wheat flour to boost the fiber content)
2 T. unpacked brown sugar
1/2 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt

1.  Combine buttermilk, oats & vanilla; let stand, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes.  Stir in oil and egg whites.

2.  In a large bowl, mix together flour, sugar, baking soda & salt.  Add oat mixture to flour mixture and stir until smooth.

3.  Spoon about 2/3 c. of batter onto a hot, nonstick griddle.  Flip pancakes when tops are covered with bubbles and edges start to curl up.

If desired you can add 1 t. of mini chocolate chips for 1 PointsPlus.  :)

Before & After - same shot, 1 year apart! (aka OWN YOUR NUMBERS!!!!)

 Wow - what a difference a year makes!  These shots were taken approximately a year apart!  Same guy, same shirt - SKINNY girl!  :)

I can't even begin to tell you how excited I am looking at these two pictures.  It gives me renewed vigor!  :)

I weighed in today.  I was 150.2.  So damn CLOSE to the 140s, but not quite there.  Grrrr......  NEXT WEEK!  :)  But guess what?!?!?!  I have now lost EXACTLY SIXTY POUNDS!!!!!  YEAH!!!!

I also got my cholesterol test results back.  In 2007, the last time I had a cholesterol test, my number was 199.  (Desirable is less than 200).  This year my number was 144!!!!!  I've dropped my cholesterol by 55 points just by modifying my diet & losing weight!  That was pretty exciting news too!

I am OWNING my numbers and I'm PROUD of them!!!  My next goal is to be in the 140s.  The next goal will be to get to my next 10% loss (138).  Then just three more pounds and I'll be at my goal of 135!!!!!

Listen to your body!!!

I am tired this morning.  VERY tired!  I've had a busy week, I've done 3 of the 4 Zumba classes I committed to doing this week, and I think I really need a rest day today.

When you push yourself hard it's a great feeling!  After my Zumba classes I feel so exhilarated!  Like I'm on top of the world!  Like I could seriously KICK some ASS!  :)  I felt that way last night.  I got home, ate some food, talked with Scott a little bit, read some Kindle & then I was just falling over asleep!  :)

I woke up this morning not feeling very rested.  My body hurts.  I crave stretching!  In fact - I'll stretch right now!

Damn - I wish I could do this!  :)

That felt GREAT!!!!!  My body was telling me to stretch!  Usually I'd ignore it because I've got something else to do - but I've decided to listen to my body.  It's trying to take care of me!

The reason I missed 1 of my 4 Zumba classes this week is in my Tuesday night class I pulled my hamstring a little bit.  Not enough to be hobbling around, but enough that it felt weak.  I didn't want to injure myself further so I decided that a night off would be better than pushing myself.  And I was right!  Last night I went and I felt completely fine!  :)

Your body doesn't want to feel bad.  It wants to feel GREAT!  Sometimes taking care of yourself involves getting a serious sweat going - but sometimes it involves a hot shower, a cup of tea & a rest on the sofa!  :)

I started out this year by making 1 change - that was to only drink water for meals (and of course just 1 coffee for breakfast).  My second change was adding exercise into my life.  My third change is this - stretch every day.  Right now I only stretch after I work out - and because I'm not working out every day I'm not stretching every day.

I've got a swiss ball in my bedroom.  It is so easy to hop on the ball and just S-T-R-E-T-C-H!!!!  It feels so GOOD!  Seriously - after I stretch myself out I wonder why I don't do it more often.  Well - here I am - shouting to the world (at least to my blog) - I AM A STRETCHER!!!!!  :)  I think my body will appreciate it.

Ok - off to face the real world......

Have a great day!

Do you REALLY want it on a silver platter???

So, I've had a few conversations regarding weight loss recently - and I keep hearing the same old shit.  Wanna' know what it is?  Well - here it is....  "I can't do it."  WTF are you talking about?!?!?!?!  Of COURSE you can do it!  You just don't WANT to do it - at least not right now.  You're too damn hung up on EXCUSES that you're not looking for REASONS to DO IT!!!!!  What, do you want it on a freaking silver platter????  You got FAT eating from the silver platter, remember?????  Now is the time to get SERIOUS!  NOW is the time to figure out how you CAN do it instead of making excuses as to why you CAN'T do it.....

My friend Paula posted this link the other day and I'm gonna' steal it.  You HAVE to watch it.  For real.  Right now - then come back to my blog.....

CHECK THIS LINK OUT RIGHT NOW!!!!!

So - now I want you to take a good look at your situation and answer these few simple questions:

First Question:  DO YOU WANT TO LOSE WEIGHT?  (Yes or No)

Second Question:  ARE YOU INTERESTED OR COMMITTED TO LOSING WEIGHT?  (Yes or No)

I assume if you are reading my blog the answers you just circled are YES!  (don't really write on your computer screen, ok?  Just do an air circle so you don't mark up your screen!)

Ok - now the THIRD Question: WHAT are you going to do about it?  Hmmm....????

Are you going to bitch and moan about how you can't?  How it's too hard?  How you don't have time?  blah blah blah????

Or are you going to make a PLAN!?!?!??!  Are you going to figure out how to OWN your weight loss?  Are you going to figure out a way to make it work for you?!?!?!?!?

Let me tell you something - We are ALL busy!  We ALL have excuses! 

Excuse:  I just had a baby (yeah - RIGHT!  My babies are now 6 & 7.  That excuse stopped flying when they were 1 & 2!!!) 

Excuse:  I don't have time.  (Do you watch TV at night?  Turn the damn thing off for ONE SHOW and go for a power walk!!!) 

Excuse:  I can't walk.  (SIT IN YOUR CHAIR AND FLAIR FOR 30 MINUTES - Trust me - you'll sweat!!!!)

Excuse:  I don't have the money for a gym membership.  SO FREAKIN' WHAT!!!!  Use your legs!  Dance!  Walk!  Jump Rope!!!!  JUST MOVE!!!!!

Excuse:  I can't exercise at all.  I have no arms or legs.  WATCH WHAT YOU EAT!!!!!

Excuse:  Insert Excuse Here  E-mail it to me.  I'll show you that your excuse isn't gonna' fly with me!  :)

You want to know the REASON you're overweight?  Same reason I was - I lost my motivation. I stopped caring.  I got lazy.  It was EASIER to eat crap than to seek out healthy choices!!!!

This LAST time I started on my weight loss journey I lost 25 lbs without moving a muscle.  I was a food NAZI!  I'm gonna' say this now - you can NOT eat out and expect to lose weight unless you are SOOOOooooo serious about it!  You've got to ask your waiter how your food is prepared.  You've got to ask your waiter to ask the chef if they can saute in broth instead of oil.  You've go to hold the drinks, dessert, massive loads of tortilla chips & bread.  (You can have SOME - but not as many as they bring you!  If you think this will be a problem ask them not to even bring them!)  I've even asked for several orders of steamed veggies as an appetizer (HOLD THE BUTTERY GLAZE!!!!).  That way my boys (and I!!) will snack on something healthy to take the edge off.  That way I'm not as hungry when my main course (usually SEVERAL servings) comes out.  Also - ask for a box with your meal.  Eyeball what your servings sizes should be and PACK THE REST AWAY IMMEDIATELY!!!!!!  You're less likely to eat all of the food on your plate that way!!!!

If you don't think you can do these things - PLAN and bring your own food EVERYWHERE!!!!!  When you cook dinner; cook extra!  Instant lunch!  If you have a free afternoon - cook a LOT and freeze it!  If you feel like you're going to have a crazy week go to the store and only buy healthy foods!  Save the junk for when you're not as busy - you'll be less likely to crack & snack!

Losing weight isn't easy.   Yes, it takes time out of your day.  And YES, it DOES get easier!!!!  Tracking is a habit now.  I don't feel right if I don't track.  I still slip up (51 PP on Monday - AIGH!), but I pick myself up, dust myself off, and keep on going (33 PP on Tuesday).

I hope I don't sound harsh.  And I'm certainly not trying to single anyone out.  People notice how much weight I've lost, ask me how I've done it and then say "I can't do it".  It makes me sad because I know that EVERYONE can do it!  Figure out ONE THING you can start with.  I started with my food - and I think that is a good way to start.  Then once I felt comfortable with that I added exercise.  YOU CAN DO THIS!!!!!


And please PLEASE - ask me for help!  If you need ideas, a shoulder to cry on or some pats on the back - just send me a message through Facebook or through this site!!!


And start making a list of the reasons WHY you want to lose weight!  :)


Enjoy the rest of your day!

Chipotle Chicken Salad

 

CHIPOTLE CHICKEN SALAD

Hands-On Prep: 15 Min
Cook: 12 Min
Serves: 4
PointsPlus: 4

Ingredients:
12 oz. cooked boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into bite-sized chunks
1 t. chipotle chili powder
1/4 c. tomato salsa (whatever you have on hand!)
2 T. reduced-fat mayonaise
1 red onion, chopped

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl.  I served mine over salad greens with 1 oz. mozzarella cheese & balsamic vinaigrette glaze!  (This added 2 points to my lunch.)

Enchliadas Suizas

Hands-On Prep: 25 Min
Cook: 55 Min
Serves: 6 (2 enchiladas & 1/8 of sauce)
PointsPlus: 10

Ingredients:
1 lb cooked chicken, shredded
25 fresh tomatillos (about 2 1/2 lbs), husked, rinsed & quartered
1 jalapeno pepper, halved & seeded
2 t. sugar
1/4 t. salt
1/4 t. freshly ground pepper
1 onion, finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
16 (6-inch) corn tortillas (I like La Tortilla Factory from Hannaford's - SO GOOD!)
3/4 c. shredded reduced-fat Monterey Jack cheese
4 T. fat-free sour cream
1/3 c. fresh cilantro, chopped

1.  To prepare the chicken:  Place the chicken in a large deep skillet; add enough water to cover.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce the heat; simmer about 15 minutes.  Remove from the heat.  When cool enough to handle, shred the chicken.

2.  Preheat the oven to 350 F.  Spray a 9X13 inch baking dish with nonstick spray.  Put the tomatillos, jalapeno pepper, sugar, salt & black pepper in a food processor;  pulse until coarsely chopped.

3.  Spray a large nonstick skillet with nonstick spray and set over med8ium heat.  Add the onion and garlic; cook, stirring, until softened, about 5 minutes.  Remove from the heat and stir in the tomatillo mixture.

4.  Dip both sides of 1 tortilla in the tomatillo mixture.  Top with about 1/4 c. of the shredded chicken, 2 t. shredded cheese & 1/4 t. of sour cream.  Fold two opposite sides of the tortilla over.  Place, seam side down, in the baking dish.  Repeat.  Pour the remaining tomatillo mixture over the top.  Sprinkly with the remaining cheese and the cilantro.  (I ended up with 3 tortillas that wouldn't fit, so I just put them in a small baking dish.)

5.  Cover the dish tightly with foil.  Bake 20 minutes, then uncover and back until the edges just begin to brown and the cheese is melted, about 10 minutes.

I AM SO ANNOYED WITH MYSELF TONIGHT!!!!!!

Dammit - I really REALLY thought I was having a great day of eating today - and somehow I managed to pack away FIFTY-ONE FREAKING POINTSPLUS!!!!!  WTF?!?!?!??!

You wanna' know my problem?  I didn't track as I ate!!!!  I made a bunch of recipes today and I just sat down to figure out the PP values in them and DAMN!!!!!!  I ate a lot.  Grrrr......

Well, tomorrow is a new day. I went to Zumba tonight, I'll go tomorrow night (and Wed AND Thurs AND Fri!!!!).  I really REALLY want to get to the 140s by Saturday!!!!  But - I need to be smarter about my food!


Off to bed!  Cholesterol test tomorrow morning!  :)

I'm really cooking today!!!! (aka - Don't be scared of new things!)

Literally.  I can't believe how many meals I cooked today!  If I have food prepared - I'll eat it!  Last night I ate french toast made with white (ACK!) bread.  I wasn't prepared, so I cooked what was available at my Mom & Dad's house.  And Mom has been on a cruise for the last 2 weeks, so that means I ate MAN food.  Not healthy.  Ugh.  PLUS - we're still boiling sap into syrup, so there is a LOT of syrup at my M&D's house right now.  DANGER!!!!  :)  Every time I head out to the evaporator I sap suck.  I'm tracking my sips - and I need to stay away.  I have no self control when it comes to syrup fresh from the evaporator!!!!  :)

Anyhoo -

So - Today I cooked WOMAN food!!!!  Food that my boys and my boyfriend LOVES!  Food that *I* love!!!!!  And that's what really matters, right???  RIGHT!

So, I started off by cooking some boneless, skinless chicken breasts a few nights ago.  So I had those as a base.  I had also purchased a bunch of tomatillos the last time I was at the grocery store.  (What in the heck are tomatillos, you ask??  Basically a green tomato with this weird husk on them.  VERY good!)

Tomatillos, ready to prepare!

So, I had a recipe in mind.  Enchilada Suizas.  If you've ever had these - you'll know they're quite possibly the most delicious latin food ever invented.  If you've NEVER had these - MAKE THEM SOON!!!!!  (As always - the recipe is below).

So, as the Enchilada Suizas were cooking I finished up another recipe I had started the other day.  I bought several eggplants and oven roasted them the other night.  Then today I finished up the recipe for Eggplant with Tomatoes & Chickpeas.  SO DAMN GOOD!!!!!  I'll also post this recipe after I have a chance to take a picture of the finished product.  I packed it in the fridge already without taking a picture.  Oops!

Well, I ended up with some leftover chicken from the Enchilada Suizas, so I whipped up some Chipotle Chicken Salad for my lunch.  WOW!!!!  First time I ever made that - and it was SOOoooo good!  I served it on a HUGE bed of arugula & spring mix, chopped up an ounce of fresh mozzarella cheese.  Yum!

I tend to be a whirlwind in the kitchen.  In the span of about a hour I prepared 3 separate meals.  I'm prepared - and that is SUCH a good feeling!  I got a babysitter for tonight so I'm ready for Zumba.  I feel in control!

The reason the second title of this blog is "Don't be scared of new things" is for this reason - It is VERY easy to get in a rut.  A rut of cooking - a rut of exercise - a rut of using the same bathroom stall every... single... time....  (Well - the bathroom stall thing might not be an issue, but I think doing the same thing every day is NOT good for you!)

When you join Weight Watchers you get free access to e-tools.  E-tools is a tool (duh!) that you can use to help you be successful with weight loss!!!!!  You can track your meals (which I do, religiously, every SINGLE day).  You can track your exercise, create recipes, look up recipes, get ideas for exercise, etc....  I'm sure I haven't even used e-tools to my full advantage.

The reason I mention this specifically in this post is for the recipes.....  It's easy to climb out of your rut when you cook different foods OR if you cook the same foods - differently!!!!  Here's what I mean.....

I was speaking with a friend yesterday about Weight Watchers.  She was asking me how I was doing it because she is struggling.  The first thing I asked was if she was tracking.  She's not.  But she showed me this space-aged scale that I could NOT figure out!  Supposedly you can track your entire day on the scale, but apparently you need an advanced degree in mechanical engineering to figure the damn thing out!  So, she has this kick-ass scale that she DOESN'T USE!!!!  So, because of this she doesn't track.  So, the second thing I mentioned was e-tools.  It is such an easy way to track.  You don't need any fancy tools (just a computer, some measuring spoons / cups & a scale - a LOW-TECH scale!!!).  If you happen to have a smart phone you can track on that instead of on the computer.  I have an iPhone, so all of my tracking happens pretty much as I'm putting the food in my mouth.  The days that I slack, and track later, all hell usually breaks out and I go over on my points.

Back to the topic....  e-tools & recipes.  My low-tech scale just shows me ounces.  I then plug in the weight of the food I just had on the scale into e-tools.  It miraculously calculates how many PointsPlus in the food.  Couldn't be easier!  E-tools & my low-tech scale also makes it very easy for me to create my own recipes.  A lot of the recipes I've posted in this blog are just recipes I've modified from foods I like to cook.  Others are from my extensive collection of Weight Watchers cookbooks.  Others I've found on e-tools.....

So, back to my conversation with my friend.  Just for shits & grins we got onto her e-tools and I showed her around a little bit.  She'd mentioned that she made Shepard's pie that day and we looked it up on e-tools and she was shocked to see that a serving was 10 PointsPlus.  So, to see if her recipe was similar to the recipe we found in the Weight Watchers list of foods on e-tools we created her recipe - and sure enough - it was 10 PointsPlus.  I don't think she was very happy about this.

I then logged onto my e-tools & my blog and showed her the Shepard's Pie recipe I'd made the other day.  It was 5 points (and was delicious, I might add!!!!).  She noticed that it had a lot of veggies and immediately thought that her family (a BUNCH of boys) would NOT like it.  I have a few boys (not as many as her!!!) and my kids ate it and LOVED it!  I've pretty much figured out that if I cook it, they'll eat it - because if they don't - they're going to bed hungry!  I also started them off with lots of fruits & veggies when they were little - so eating Shepard's Pie with spinach, carrots & corn wasn't a very big deal.  In fact - Grayson even asked "How do they make it so you don't taste the spinach?"  I answered that *I* made it, and I didn't know!!!  He just kept cleaning his plate and was so satisfied!  :)  Makes me feel pretty damn good!

So - really - I'm finally to my point of Don't be scared of new things!!!!  Don't be scared of new things!!!!!  :)  Feed your family the SAME FOOD that you eat!  Modifying your food choices does NOT mean you have to cook completely different meals for you as you do for your family!  Eating right is a FAMILY affair.  You owe it to yourself AND your family to cultivate some seriously good eating habits for ALL of you!  I don't care if you've been feeding your kids hot dogs & mac 'n cheese every day for the past 5 years.  SWITCH NOW!!!!!  Trust me - they won't starve!!!!!  I read somewhere that it takes something like 2 dozen tastes of a new food for you to acquire a taste for it.  (I wish I could find the reference - but here is a link to how to learn the foods you don't like instead!)  http://summertomato.com/learning-to-love-foods-you-dont-like/

So, I ALWAYS require that my kids try the new food on their plate.  Sometimes they surprise themselves and like it right off the bat!  Sometimes they struggle, and I'm ok with them just eating 1 bite of whatever they're REALLY not liking.  BUT, that doesn't stop me from offering it to them again and again and again and again - until I hear "Wow, Mom, this is really good!".  Trust me - IT WILL HAPPEN!!!!!  :)  There are very few foods that my boys won't eat.  They're pretty adventurous little foodies.  Grayson LOVES seafood, and Preston will usually eat everything that is offered to him without much of a fuss.  If they're REALLY struggling I'll squirt some light ranch on their plates and tell them to dip!  It really works!!!!

So - how do YOU start liking new foods?!?!?!  COOK THEM!!!!!  You might look at the tomatillos at the grocery store and SERIOUSLY not want to eat them - but have you tried them?  Have you tried Jicama yet in the Sesame Crusted Chicken breasts with Jicama mango salsa?  WHY NOT??!?!?!?  Stop being stuck in the rut of the SAME OLD FOODS.  Browse through a cool cookbook at the library.  Check out a foodie blog.  http://foodblogga.blogspot.com/2008/10/this-mac-n-cheese-tastes-like-doritos.html Look on e-tools.  Try one of the recipes that I cook!  Try something new!!!!  Hey - you just might like it!  :)

Why are Saturdays so difficult?!?!?!?

Saturday is the first day of my WW week, and for some reason I ALWAYS pig out on it!!!!!  I guess it's good that it's the beginning of my week, when I have lots of points to choose from, rather than the end of my week when I'm barely hanging on!  :)

I did a lot of cooking today.  I made some DELICIOUS Portuguese Kale Soup (recipe below) and some Chewy Low-fat Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies (recipe also below).  We were supposed to go to a friend's house for dinner tomorrow night, and it's my job to bring the dessert since I'm all Weight Watchery and stuff....  Well, right after I put the cookies in the oven I got a call that her oldest son is SICK so we won't be going over there tomorrow night.  So, now I have two sheets of COOKIES staring at me!  And DAMN - THEY ARE SO GOOD!!!!!!  Three points each.  I ate 3.  That makes 9 points.  Must go to Zumba.....  :)

Speaking of Zumba (I know - I know... I'm obsessed!!!!) I went today and had a GREAT and VERY sweaty workout!  Nakeeya's class on Saturday mornings absolutely KICKS MY BUTT!!!!!  And it's so much fun!  I'm already starting to think about what moves I'll be busting in my Zumba classes - it's gonna' be FUN!  :)  Lots of booty shaking!  :)

I started a challenge a few weeks ago to lose 2 lbs a week for 7 weeks - a total of 14 lbs.  I lost 3 lbs the first week and NONE this week.  :(  So, today's weight was 151.8.  With the crappy eating I did last week I didn't DESERVE to lose any weight - and I'm glad I didn't!  If I had lost weight I would have happily kept on eating like a HOG and gained weight next week.  I do NOT want to gain!  I'm SO CLOSE to being in the 140s!!!!!  I just want to get there so badly, but I keep sabotaging myself with bad food choices.  What is WRONG with me?!?!?!  Am I afraid to succeed?  I don't think so, but perhaps I should put a little more thought into that one.....

I DO know that I don't want to be fat anymore.  I really wish that I had all of the time in the world to just work on ME!  Once I'm at the gym I usually want to stay longer, but there is always something competing for my time.  I know that is a horrible excuse - but that's what happens!  I've got so many people that NEED me all the time.....  So, how to I solve this?

Today I just said - I've GOT to go to the gym.  I've GOT to get my Zumba on.  I've GOT to exercise.  I asked for help with the boys & I went.  I was so happy that I did.  I felt great!  (Tired, but great!!!!)  There is something so affirming about doing something for yourself.  I'm going to be making maple syrup tomorrow (perhaps even doing more tapping which means a hike up a hill!), then I'll get to the gym on Monday since I just found out I don't have to work.  I will work on MYSELF!  :)

Have a great night and I hope you're trying my recipes.  Can someone PLEASE tell me if they're actually cooking any of these?  They're such a pain to load - if no one is cooking them I'll just TELL you about them instead of posting them!!!!  :)

Nutritional Diary 4/2 - 51 total points
Breakfast:
     3 Banana & Chocolate chip Pancakes (9 PP)
     1 T. maple syrup (1 PP)

Lunch:
     3 Banana Pancakes (7 PP) - I made the mistake of making the last of the batter into pancakes.  Then, when I was cooking lunch, I ate these as a snack.  Next time TOSS THE FREAKIN' BATTER!!!!!  :)
     1 1/2 servings Portuguese Kale Soup (8 PP)

Dinner:
     1/2 La Tortilla Factory 100 calorie tortilla (1 PP) w/ 2 T. 2% Mexican Cheese (0 PP) - ate off of Preston's plate.  I O 10 squats!!!!  I was too damn tired from Zumba to do them!  (At least that's what I'm telling myself.....)
     1 artichoke (0 PP)
     1 T. light mayo (1 PP)
     3 1/2 oz. lamb shoulder (9 PP)

Snacks:
     1 c. water chestnuts (2 PP) - I LOVE these sprinkled with a little salt as a snack!
     3 T. maple syrup (boiling today - can't stay away from the stuff!!!!)
     3 Chewy Low-fat banana chocolate chips cookies (9 PP)

I've got 27 PP remaining for the week.  I'm going to try to hit the gym a lot this week, so hopefully I'll get below 150 this week.  THAT IS MY GOAL!!!!!!  :)

Damn Almonds....

So, remember the bag of almonds I threw into the back seat of my car a few days ago?  Well, I found them.  It's funny - I had totally forgotten them until I was rooting around in the back seat today and THERE THEY WERE!!!!!  Damn.

I wish I'd never bought them.  That's a big struggle for me - is to make sure I make the healthiest choices at the grocery store!  If I'd never bought them I'd never have a chance to eat them!  But, there they were.  I thought about just diving into them and saying 'To HELL with it!', but I didn't.  First of all I ate a clementine.  I had brought plenty of food with me today, so I wasn't STARVING!  In fact - I'd just made it through Costco without having to do any squats (that means I ate no snacks!!!).  I was close to grabbing some sweet potato fries, but there were SO MANY people in Costco - I'd feel weird doing squats in the middle of all of them!  So, I just kept walking.

Anyhoo - I counted out 6 of them (there are between 6 - 8 in an ounce) and I absolutely savored them!!!!  I was very happy about it.  I could've gone HOG WILD as I'm known to do every once in a while, but I didn't.  I showed restraint.  This is a new thing for me!  :)  I have to keep telling myself that having SOME of a good thing is ok, but having a LOT of a good thing is what got me to 210.2 lbs in the FIRST place!!!!!  I will always find room in my points for chocolate, but I definitely need to make sure I've had my fruits, veggies, lean protein & whole grains first.  :)  Oh - and my daily cup 'o joe!

I had a weak moment tonight. Actually a few of them......

1.  We boiled tonight.  I have a VERY hard time staying away from the spiggot - so I estimated that I ate about 4 T. of syrup.  It was SOOOooo good!  :)

2.  When we got home I spied that same damn bag of chocolate covered almonds - so I grabbed another ounce.  I just couldn't (didn't??) stop myself!

It's all tracked.  I'm dipping into activity points now (which I do NOT like to do).  Luckily tomorrow is the last day of my week.  Then I can get started again!  I'm going to be boiling again tomorrow, so I'll just have to keep my mantra in mind.  Skinny tastes better than syrup.  Skinny tastes better than syrup.  It's crap, but I'll keep telling myself that!  :)

I'm tired - no nutritional diary tonight.  I was at 37 PP.

I'll have a GREAT day tomorrow!  :)

Shopping is FUN!!!!

I went to Zumba last night and I was uncomfortable in my workout clothes - THEY ARE TOO BIG!!!!!!  I kept having to pull them up - So, today I was in the thriving metropolis of Middlebury and I decided to go to TJ Maxx (my all time FAVORITE location to buy workout clothes!!!!).  As usual, I grabbed the large workout pants / shorts and for shits & grins (and because I thought they JUST MIGHT FIT) I grabbed some mediums too.  GOOD THING I DID!!!!  The larges looked like CRAP!!!!  The mediums FIT!  As in WELL!!!!!  :)  I also grabbed some tops and was a medium in that too!  :)  I was doing Zumba moves in the dressing room.  :)  Really!  I was!!!!

So - I'm all geared up!  I'm ready for ZUMBA instructor training!!!!  Really - it can't come soon enough!  Less than 6 weeks!!!!  I've been going to a few classes and my FAVORITE instructor is Nakeeya at Bristol Health & Fitness.  She only teaches there on Saturday morning.  :(  I want to be the kind of instructor SHE is!  Motivating.  IN SHAPE!  Fun!!!!  I am seriously VERY excited about this!!!!!!  Who is going to take a class with me when I'm an instructor?!?!?!?!?  HUH HUH?????

I haven't blogged since my VERY fast weigh in on Saturday.  Sorry!  I've been a little busy!!!  :)  But seriously, I hit my THIRD 10% goal!!!!  Just one more 10% will bring me to 138.  Then 3 more pounds to get to goal!  WOW!!!!!  It seems like just yesterday I was struggling to get to the 150s.  NOW my goal is the 140s!!!!!  WOOT!!!!!  I haven't seen the 140s since before I was pregnant.  After being diagnosed with breast cancer in 2002 I quickly gained to get to the 150s.  Then I got pregnant and I haven't been in the 150s since then.  THIS IS A HUGE MILESTONE FOR ME!!!!  I'm still as excited about this weight loss journey now as I was in January when I really committed to following Weight Watchers again.  THAT is amazing to me!  I've blogged about this before - there is the honeymoon phase of weight loss.  Everything is exciting!  It is Rainbows & Unicorns!  IT IS FUN!  Well, guess what.  THIS IS STILL FUN!!!!!!  :)

Don't get me wrong.  I certainly have my days when it's a pain.  Days when I want to just DIVE into a large bag of chocolate - or start snacking on potato chips and JUST NOT STOP!!!!!  But, those days are diminishing.  It DOES get easier.  It's such a habit for me to track now.  I just do it.  It is part of my day.  Like flossing my fangs or taking a shower.

I was asked today if I will continue to track my food when I reach goal.  YES!  I certainly will!!!!!  I made some HUGE mistakes to get myself to 210.2 lbs!  I certainly don't intend to make those same mistakes again - and I feel that by continuing to track my meals I will keep myself accountable.  I only want to lose this weight once.  It's too damn hard to have to do it again!  So yes - I will continue to track my meals.  I'm looking forward to maintenance!!!!

Today I did something that made me VERY proud of myself.  Something that makes me see the light at the end of the tunnel!  As I said, I went to TJ Maxx to buy some workout gear.  After that I went to Hannaford's to grab some groceries.  I almost made a FATAL mistake.  (Well - that might just be a WEE bit dramatic.... It probably wasn't going to be a fatal mistake - just a goof, really...)  I WENT SHOPPING HUNGRY!!!!!  Everything looked so damn DELICIOUS!!!!!  CHEESE!  CHOCOLATE!  STEAK!  COUS COUS with Cranberries & Almonds!!!!  CHOCOLATE COVERED ALMONDS!!!!  Shit.  Chocolate Covered Almonds.  SHIT SHIT SHIT!!!!!

Yes - I poured a BUNCH in a bag (it was the bulk section).  Yes - I ATE ONE (well - it MIGHT have been 2....).  Shit.  I pulled out my iPhone and IMMEDIATELY tracked the almonds.  Then I put them in my basket and kept shopping.

When I got in the car I noticed the almonds on the top of the bag.  SHIT!!!!!  I thought they looked lonely so I brought them to the front seat with me.  I looked at them while I ate a clementine.  While I ate a second clementine.  While I ate a THIRD clementine.  Then I grabbed the bag.  I had put the price sticker on the part of the bag I would have to untie to get into them as a deterrent.  I tried to peel it off and it wouldn't come off without me ripping a BIG hole in the side of the bag.  MY DETERRENT WORKED!!!!  In fact, I ended up throwing the whole bag of almonds into my back seat where I couldn't reach them!

Phew - that was a narrow miss!!!!!  You know what I kept thinking as I was lovingly caressing those almonds with my eyes?  THIN TASTES SO MUCH BETTER THAN THOSE DAMN ALMONDS!!!!!!  Yes, I will have them as a snack.  BUT - I will measure them before I eat them.  I will NOT hog out on them.  In fact, I already had a bunch of them in my cabinet.  I'm PRETTY good with them when I'm home and controlled.  When I'm out and about and get hungry - now THAT is danger!!!!  When I got home I measured out the rest of my ounce portion and ate them there.  NOT as a maniacal and stark raving hungry woman!  Phew....

So - what did I do wrong that I almost went NUTS on the NUTS?!?!?!?  I left the house today with a lunch and a snack, but I didn't have enough food with me for the AFTERNOON snack.  So, what do I need to do to fix this?  I just need to travel with a BUNCH of HEALTHY food so I'm not tempted.  I'm just so damn happy I didn't go HOG WILD!!!!  :)

So - a little catch up.  Saturday was my weigh in.  151.8!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  That night I went to the Waybury Inn and ate 48 FREAKIN' POINTSPLUS!!!!!  Going out to eat is DANGEROUS!!!!  I've been much more subdued the rest of the week, and I still have 15 weekly PP left for Wed, Thurs & Fri.  I've also accrued 15 activity PP (which I try like heck not to use!), so I'm not really that worried.  :)

Nutritional Diary 3/26 - 3/29

3/26 - 48 PP
Breakfast:
     4 Clementines (0 PP)

ZUMBA!!!!  11 Activity Points!!!

Lunch:
     3 Pancakes (6 PP)
     2 T. maple syrup (3 PP)
     Jenn's Coffee (2 PP)

Waybury Inn:
     Salad with 6 walnut halves, 1 T. dried cranberries, 6 apricot halves, 1 T. maple vinaigrette (4 PP)
     1/4 c. calamari (5 PP)
     8 oz. filet mignon (19 PP) - are you freaking kidding me?!?!?!?!?  Should have tracked this bad larry before I ate it!  :)
     1/4 c. mashed potatoes (2 PP)
     1 c. broccoli (0 PP)
     1 T. butter (3 PP) - I added this for miscellaneous fat that was on the veggies.

Snacks:
     1 serving peanut butter covered pretzels (4 PP)

3/27 - 34 PP
Breakfast:
     Jenn's Coffee (2 PP)
     Jenn's Oatmeal (5 PP) + 1 mango (0 PP)
     1 c. pineapple (0 PP)

Lunch:
     Salad with 1 T. dried cranberries, 3 apricot halves, 1 oz. gouda, 2 T. wasabi peas, 1 T. maple syrup, 3 oz. sirloin (13 PP)
     1 oz. dark chocolate almonds (4 PP)

Dinner:
     MEATLOAF - 3 PP
     1/4 c. sweet potatoes (1 PP)
     1 artichoke (0 PP)
     1 T. light mayo (1 PP)

Snacks:
     1 passion-mango sorbet (1 PP)
     2 t. mini chocolate chips (1 PP)
     1 1/2 oz. fresh mozzarella cheese (3 PP)

3/28 - 39 PP
Breakfast:
     Jenn's Coffee (2 PP)
     Jenn's Oatmeal (5 PP) + 1 mango (0 PP)

Lunch:
     1 La Tortilla Factory tortilla (2 PP)
     1 oz. fresh mozzarella (2 PP)
     5 oz. tuna (4 PP)
     2/3 T. light mayo (1 PP)
     1 artichoke (0 PP)
     1 T. light mayo (1 PP)

Dinner:
     3 blueberry & banana pancakes (7 PP)
     1 T. maple syrup (1 PP)
     1 serving chicken 'n dumplings (4 PP)

Snacks:
     Jenn's Coffee (2 PP)
     1 square Dove Dark Chocolate (1 PP)
     1 serving Cherry Fool (2 PP) w/ 2 1/2 t. mini chocolate chips (1 PP)
     1 Fiber One Bar - Oats & Chocolate (4 PP)

3/29 - 28 PP
Breakfast:
     Jenn's Oatmeal (5 PP) + 1 mango (0 PP)
     Tea (0 PP)

Lunch:
     5 oz. tuna (4 PP)
     2 t. light mayo (1 PP)
     2 T. hummus (1 PP) w/ carrots (0 PP)
     1 La Tortilla Factory tortilla (2 PP)

Dinner:
     1 c. steamed cauliflower (0 PP)
     1 c. steamed broccoli (0 PP)
     1 serving cranberry pear chicken (5 PP)

Snacks:
     2 T. hummus (1 PP) w/ carrots (0 PP)
     1 yogurt / peanut cluster (1 PP)
     1 Weight Watchers Dark Chocolate Raspberry Bar (2 PP)
     1 oz. dark chocolate almonds (4 PP)
     1/4 c. brown rice (1 PP)

151.8!!!!!!!!

Off to Zumba - catch you later!  :)

Where does YOUR motivation come from!??!?

Tomorrow is weigh in day!  I did a sneak weigh in this morning and I was pleasantly surprised with the number!  I'm not gonna' tell you what it was - you'll have to wait until tomorrow! But I think you'll like it! I know I do!  :)

The first several weeks of losing weight is the 'honeymoon' phase.  It was exciting!  It was new!  It KICKED BUTT!!!!!  Then is gets to be a chore.  I mean - REALLY - do I REALLY have to track EVERYTHING that goes into my mouth!?!??!  YES I DO!!!!!

I've been in that mindset before - the FIRST time I lost significant weight with Weight Watchers.  I was so fired up about it!!!!  You couldn't STOP me!  I tracked everything - and this was before I had an iPhone.  I had to do it ALL on PAPER!!!!  How 2000 & late!!!!  :)  Now I track with my iPhone and it makes it so I really don't have an excuse NOT to track!!!! 

Then you hit this horrible phase.  Weight lose becomes a chore.  It became tough to stay focused.  I didn't power through it and I stopped losing weight.  :(  Then I just gave up, and some of the weight started creeping back on.  I'm sure it was a combination of stopping my tracking, meeting a boyfriend that could literally eat ANYTHING and not gain a pound (He's been the same size since his 20's - and now he's 35.  Jerk.  :)), and flat out being LAZY!  I mean - REALLY - who wouldn't be excited about losing weight and looking good!!!!  Yes - it is hard work, but the results are WORTH IT!!!!

This time is proving to be VERY different!  I'm celebrating small accomplishments with rewards!  This week it was official - all of my jeans were too big again, so I went to Plato's Closet yesterday.  When I walked in I automatically grabbed the 11/12s off of the rack.  I also grabbed a few 9/10s just for shits & grins.  I started with the bigger sizes and they were HUGE!!!!!  I was shocked!  So I put on the 9/10s and THEY FIT!!!!!!  I went and grabbed a few 7/8s and they BUTTONED, but didn't look that great - so I put them back.  It's the small celebrations like this that are keeping me motivated this time.  Last time I didn't take the time to celebrate my small accomplishments as much as I am this time.  These small accomplishments MOTIVATE the HELL outta' me!

I also went to The Salon Professional Academy yesterday and got a facial from a new student there, Rachel A.  It turns out I was her first 'real' client!  The only other person she'd done a facial on (besides her classmates) was her Mom!  :)  I left feeling like a brand new person - and I looked a LOT younger too!!!!!  Seriously.  I was glowing.  :)  I'm not sure how much was due to the facial & how much was due to the 9/10 jeans sitting in the seat next to me in the Rover!  :)  Probably a combination of the two!

Unfortunately I didn't get in any exercise this week.  I've been really busy being a Mom to Zyla and being a Mom to my boys.  She's doing SO well!!!!  She's taking cute little baby steps & only goes outside to do 'her business'.  Such good news!  Oh - the boys are doing well too.  :)  In fact - they're amazing!!!!  They must take after their Mom!!!!  :)

I'm getting my buns to ZUMBA tomorrow morning!  I was going to go on Thursday night, but Scott wasn't able to watch the boys for me.  :(  So, it looks like I'll either miss Zumba the week I have my boys OR I'll have to get a sitter for the nights I want to go.  I'll probably look into a sitter - I LOVE Zumba and I need to tighten up my flabby butt!  :)  PLUS - there are only 6 weeks until my Zumba instructor course - and I don't want to look like a COMPLETE dumbass when I'm there!


Wow - so I haven't blogged since Tuesday.  I'm not sure if I want to bore you with all of my food details.  I just reviewed them and I've pretty much eaten leftovers.  I'll just post the points then I'm going to watch a movie and get some beauty sleep!  :)

Wednesday 3/23 - 33 PP

Thursday 3/24 -  31 PP

Friday 3/25 - 40 PP (The only different thing about this day is I drank 2 oz. of Madeira wine for 3 PP.  I think this is pretty much the first alcohol I've had since the 1st.  As I'm sure you've noticed I'm not a drinker - so not consuming isn't really a big deal for me.  In fact, I've been burping up wine burps and I can taste the yeast - YUCK!)

I've got 2 PP left for the week and I'm not going to spend them.  I've already flossed & brushed my fangs.  I'm just going to drink a bunch of water as I really didn't remember to drink much today.  :(  I'm usually a water drinking FOOL!  Not really sure what happened there!

Have a wonderful weekend!  Get some exercise!  Decide on one SMALL change you can make this weekend to start on your journey toward being a healthy & strong individual!  :)

Is there an App for that???

Don't you wish there was an App for losing weight?  Don't you just wish it was EASY?  Well - I thought I wanted it to be easy, but you know what..... I really don't!

The EASY part was getting fat.  I did it without trying!  It just Freakin' HAPPENED!!!!!  It's like I was in the left lane of a super highway - I was just zooming along at high speed (mindlessly eating) & when I finally got to the exit I wanted I was going too fast to merge - I was TOO FAT!!!!  It ended up being a DISASTER!!!!  I was very overweight and didn't know where to start - so I just languished at 210 lbs for a while - INTERESTED in losing weight, but not COMMITTED.  Not by a LONG shot!!!!

I don't want losing my weight to be easy.  I want to have to struggle to lose this weight.  I need to remember, and I mean REALLY remember, how frickin' hard it is to lose 75 lbs!!!!!  If I keep this struggle in my mind I think it will be a lot easier to keep the weight from creeping back on!  I think that's why gastric bypass surgery often fails.  You don't LEARN anything - you just keep eating the same crap that got you in trouble in the first place - and BAM - you're fat again!  Let me tell you - I have learned!!!!!!  What have I learned?  Let me tell you!

I've learned that I NEVER want to be fat again!!!!!  I am getting so much JOY out of being thinner - and I'm still considered to be overweight (just not obese....)!  I'll catch my image in a mirror, or in the reflection off of glass, and I am amazed at the transformation!  I've worked hard & I can see the results AND I APPRECIATE them!!!!  I think that is the big thing - I really appreciate how hard it is to lose this much weight, and how GREAT I look!!!!  It's fun to get a second glance from someone.  It's fun to see someone you haven't seen in a while and they go "WOW!"  That is the kind of stuff that gets me STOKED!  :)  It's so exciting to image how I'm going to look in 20 more pounds.  It's exciting to look at some sexy lingerie or a cute bikini online and imagine it FITTING!  I've worn those damn 'old-lady' suits for too many years!  You know that one I'm talking about - with the 'cute' little skirt and the huge flowers all over it!!!!!  They are NOT cute!  :)  And they don't hide our big asses either.....  ;)

Anyhoo - I'm glad this is hard.  I'm learning how to live a healthy life.  I'm teaching my sons how to live a healthy life.  This is what it's all about!  :)

Nutritional Diary 3/22 29 PointsPlus
Breakfast:
     Jenn's Coffee (2 PP)
     Jenn's Oatmeal (5 PP) + 1 banana (0 PP)

Lunch:
     2 c. steamed zucchini (0 PP)
     1 serving leftover Butternut Squash Mac 'n Cheese (7 PP)

Dinner:
     4 1/2 oz. Sesame-Crusted Chicken Breast (5 PP) w/ 1 c. homemade mango salsa (0 PP)
     1 steamed artichoke (0 PP)
     1 T. light mayo (1 PP)

Snacks:
     1 Fiber One Bar Oats & Chocolate (4 PP)
     1 Weight Watchers Dark Chocolate Raspberry Bar (2 PP)
     1 cup coffee w/ 2 servings Coconut Milk Cream (0 PP) + 1 T. sugar (1 PP)
     1/4 c. Kix (1 PP)
     1/8 serving Butternut Squash Mac 'n Cheese (1 PP) + 10 squats (ate off of Preston's plate!!!)

P.S.  I just tried on my goal shorts - they're starting to fit pretty damn good!  :)