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!  :)

Busy days keep me from hogging out!!!!

I just don't find the time to eat!  Not that I didn't eat - don't worry about that!!!!!  It's just that I don't have those M-I-N-D-L-E-S-S noshing sessions that I used to have!

So - today I was BUSY!!!!!  I called the vet to update them on Zyla's progress (had to report the poops and pees!!!!) and was told to call their other office to speak with the doggie surgeon.  I called and was told they had a space for Zyla to have her surgery today!  So, we brought her in for her bionic bones surgery!  The last report was that she'd come through the surgery just fine.  She ended up having a dislocated femur on the right side & a pretty smashed up acetabulum - the 'socket' that the femoral head (or 'ball') plugs in to on her left side.  She had was is called a Femoral Head Ostectomy (FHO) - which is having the head of the femur cut off and the acetabulum repaired.  Then her little muscles will start the process of healing and will actually compensate for her not having the ball & socket any more!  AMAZING STUFF!!!!!  Her prognosis is WONDERFUL!!!!!  I can't believe this is the same little dog I thought was dead on Thursday night!  We're so relieved.....  I'm sure you can imagine! 

One funny thing - in looking at her x-rays the vet determined that she has an extra vertebrae in her backbone AND her sacrum (tail bone) is missing one of the vertebrae that are usually fused together - so she's a little mutant!  I always KNEW something wasn't quite right with her!  HEE HEE!!!!  There are times when she looks EXTRA long - we call her 'long dog'.  I wonder if it has anything to do with her extra bone!  :)

In this x-ray she is on her back, so the left side is actually her right, and vice-versa.

Anyhoo - after that I had to run to SoBu for a bit of work (ate my lunch on the way up), then had to jet back to Lincoln to pick up the boys, bathe them, feed them, floss them, brush teeth, blah blah blah....  By the time all of that was done I was pretty damn hungry!  I made a yummy salad, ate some other veggies & then had my requisite chocolate inhalation for the evening.  Since then I've been researching FHO on youtube.  I also got insurance with Progressive - their policies come with FREE PET INSURANCE!!!!!  And their rates are quite comparable to what I was already paying.  I hope I never need it - but it will be so good to have it!

The bad side of being so busy that I don't hog out is that I usually start to get so stressed about the smallest things that I sometimes just SNAP!  I snap at my kids, I snap at Scott, I just... freakin'.... SNAP!!!!!  I have this quick-to-anger temperament that I HATE about myself!!!!  I want to be calm.  I want to be like the other Mom's I see that just seem to have IT all together - whatever IT is!

Scott was mentioning today that as long as I have a 'cause' I'm happy.  I guess he's kind of right.  When I was diagnosed with breast cancer I made sure EVERYONE around me knew about my cancer, saw my boobs, felt them if they wanted to.... blah blah blah....  I was consumed by it.

When I was working on finding breast milk for my boys - same thing.  It consumed me.  I ate, slept, breathed donated milk!  It was MY THING!!!!!  (I should've had t-shirts printed up.  Oh WAIT - I DID!!!!!)  I had T-shirts printed up that had "TEAM TADPOLE" on the front & Mommy / www.feedmybaby.com on the back.  Everyone that was involved in the birth had a shirt.  Brandon's was "Daddy".  Aunt Ali's was "Coach".  Mom's was "Public Relations".  Dad's was "Videographer".  Yes - he videoed it.  Nothing is sacred.....  I can't remember what my brother's said.  I didn't sell them, but I did use them to advertise my website (which is sadly no longer active - someone bought it and wants $1500 for it.  Screw that!)




Now my cause is Zyla's care.  With over $3000 of vet bills I need to find a way to pay for them!  I'm thinking of t-shirts (they're gonna' be cute - trust me....) AND a pulled pork dinner fundraiser!!!!!  I make some KILLER pulled pork.  Really - I do!

Zyla before going into surgery

Well, I was thinking about this today....  When does my cause get to be ME????  I don't really get time for myself.  I'm always busy.  Always doing something.  Dishes, sweeping, laundry, folding laundry, picking it up off the damn floor.  Now we're going to be full-time nursing care / physical therapists for Zyla.  I spend so much time taking care of everyone ELSE in my life that I don't take care of ME!

At least I hadn't been taking care of me before....  Because now I am!  I've made the commitment to lead a healthier life.  I'm eating right.  I'm cooking some VERY healthy meals....  It is second nature for me to track everything that goes into my mouth now.  Absolutely automatic.  :)  I've been starting to exercise.  Not as much as I'd like to - but sugaring season, and now Zyla, has trumped exercise.  That does NOT mean I'm going to stop!  In fact, I'm going to try like hell to get to Zumba on Wednesday night.  (Unfortunately I can't tomorrow night as we're getting Zyla tomorrow afternoon and we'll have to settle her in at home).  I also would like to get to the gym to lift weights on Thursday.  But, if I don't, I'm going to do some weight training at home.  And then I've got Zumba on Saturday morning too.  I'm fitting exercise in.  Once sugaring season is over it will be a LOT easier for me to do some of my evening classes.

I've also GOT to carve out some personal time for me.  Time for just reading a book, or taking a spring walk, or just taking a poop without someone NEEDING me.  I think that is the hard part.  It is nice to be needed, but sometimes it just isn't.  Sometimes you just want to be left the hell alone and not hear ANYTHING related to being a caregiver!  (Especially when you've got to poop!)

So - I'm going to give that some thought and try to figure something wonderful out.  Maybe it will take the shape of getting a babysitter every Saturday night and just going somewhere.  Maybe it will be leaving the boys with Scott and going for a night time walk with my dogs.  Who knows.... but DAMN - I need to figure this out!!!!!

Ok - I was about to post my nutritional diary - but I haven't eaten anything 'dramatic' or super delicious yet this week.  So, in the interest of time (and so I can have some ME time before I go to bed) I'll just post my total PP for each day.  Deal?  Deal!

3/19 - 40 PP
3/20 - 44 PP (remember the wings???  I sure do!)
3/21 - 33 PP

G'night!

Buffalo Wild Wings..... REALLY?????

Ok, so the first day of my Spring into Summer challenge was today and I ate 7 Buffalo Wild Wings for 13 freakin' points.  REALLY!?!?!?!?  WTF was I thinking???? 

I'll tell you what I was thinking.  I was close to that damn restaurant, I haven't eaten there yet, and it was getting to be dinner time.  Damn.

THIS is what started this perfect disaster:

My brother, Jared, and I took our Mom clothes shopping today at Dress Barn.  Like a good WW / Challenge girl I packed a bottle of water and 4 clementines.  The perfect amount of snack for an afternoon of shopping.  I really only thought we'd be there for about an hour to get Mom 'a few things', then we'd be out the door.  Yeah, right.  Not so much.  I swear Mom tried on at LEAST 100 different pieces of clothing.  Shirts, skirts, pants.....  We found some REALLY cute stuff for her!!!!
 
This is the bad part - while we were finishing up I started thinking about my hungry little boys (they were sugaring with Scott & Grampa).  Because I was thinking about food I started thinking about the food that would be easy to feed them - and I came up with WINGS!  We were close to Buffalo Wild Wings so I figured that would be a quick & easy meal.

We ordered them & picked them up.  OH MY GAWD - they smelled SO DAMN GOOD!!!!!  Just to do a little pre-planning I decided to look up the points value on the way home .  HOLY EFFING CRAP!!!!!  Two PointsPlus / Wing!!!!  AIGH!!!!!  And I'd done really good today - and now I had DANGER sitting just INCHES next to me in the Jeep!!!!!

Well, this is what I decided to do.  On the way back from shopping we had to stop and check on Zyla.  I decided to make a quick salad when I was home so I could rip the meat off of several wings & throw them in the salad instead of just eating a ton of wings by themselves.  That way I'd keep my PP to a minimum & still be able to enjoy my wings.  It still brought me to 44 PP, but I still have many points left over for the week, so I'm not too stressed about it.

Zyla is doing really well, by the way.  She held her pee AND poop all day and I guessed that she was too much of a lady to mess in her crate so we brought her outside tonight and propped her up on a snow bank.  About 10 minutes later she'd done her business & we brought her back inside.  She even stood up on her own a little bit, which must have hurt like HELL!  Poor little girl.....

Wow.  I took a Trazedone to help me sleep and I'm getting all dizzy sitting here.

I'll end this now but I'll make sure to post my nutritional diary tomorrow.  I'll also make sure I whip up some good foods this week so I can post photos & recipes.  Last week kind of got away from me!  :)

Conspicuously absent......

So, I'm sure you've noticed that I haven't posted in a few days.  Well, even if you haven't noticed - believe me - *I* have!!!!!!

Wednesday is the last night that I blogged and SO MUCH has happened since then.

I had a relatively good day of eating on Thursday.  36 PointsPlus.  I went to Zumba and burned a bunch of calories.  Then - tragedy struck.  Dad, Scott & I were outside boiling sap to make sugar and we heard a car go by, then a strange 'thump'.  All of a sudden we realized that our dogs weren't around us and both Scott & I just had this very bad feeling.  Sure enough - our small female black lab / beagle mix (we call her a beaglador), Zyla, had been hit by a car.  The woman that hit her turned around to see what she'd hit.  She never saw her until the last second.  Zyla is a black dog.  It was a black night and she was darting across a black road.  The 'imperfect' storm, if you will......

I thought Zyla was dead.  She had a very faint heartbeat and was breathing very shallowly.  She was bleeding out her nose & mouth.  It.... Was.... Horrible.....  I had asked Scott to go into my parent's house to get a gun to put her out of her misery.  I just can't stand to see an animal suffer.

Well, when Scott got back to where Zyla & I were we decided to move her off the side of the road so we wouldn't become roadkill.  As we started to move her onto a piece of plywood she tried to sit up!!!!!  HOLY SHIT!!!!!  She was ALIVE!!!!!

So, we loaded her into the Rover & hauled ass up to the emergency vet.  The next morning, and $425 later, we were able to see her, and she was looking so much better!!  She totally recognized us and lifter her head in greeting.

We then brought her to our normal vet in Bristol and she stayed there for x-rays and observation.  We went yesterday with Preston to visit her at about 2:30 and she wagged her tail in greeting and was SO happy to see us!!!!!

She stayed overnight & this morning we called for a report and was told she was 'tremendously better'.  YAY!!!!!  We went to pick her up at about 11:30 and another $340 later we got some serious tail wagging, happy eyes & tongue licks!!!!!

The BAD news is her pelvis is fractured in several places and we're looking at some pretty expensive surgery.  :(  Poor little girl!!!!!  We're not even sure if she'll walk again.....

So - I have an idea.  I'm going to design some t-shirts to help to pay for her vet care.  I don't want donations, but I figured if we had some awesome t-shirts designed that people would buy them.  Whaddya' think?  Do you think people would buy a t-shirt?

The t-shirts are going to be based on this very true story:

Blazer, our black lab / blue tick hound mix has been very sad since Zyla was hit.  He came out to the road with us and found her and sniffed her.  I chased him back over the bridge and he was put in the house.  So - he really had no idea if she was alive or what.  So, he's been moping around and looking for his friend.

Last night I gave him Zyla's collar and he gently grabbed it in his mouth and put it in Zyla's spot in front of the fire.  I kind of thought it was a fluke so I took the collar away and gave it to him again.  He repeated that action no less than half a dozen times.  Each time very gently taking the collar in his mouth and laying it in front of the fire.  That is the dogs' night time spot.

Well, needless to say, Scott & I were sobbing as we were watching him do this.  He's a big dummy of a dog, and he has the biggest heart.  It was so touching to watch him repeat this ritual several times.  Scott's quote about this sweetness & love was this:  "You don't have to be smart to be a good friend"

This morning he brought the collar up onto the sofa with him.  The sofa is the dogs' daytime spot.  He was laying there with his nose pressed against her collar.  Just about broke my heart, but I knew he was going to be so excited to see his best friend!!!!!

When we brought her inside he just about turned himself inside out with excitement!!!!!  We put his harness on him and let him stick his head in her crate.  You could just see the sadness melt away and relief enter his body!  He was SO happy to have his best friend back!!!!!!

Grayson's quote about his devotion to his best friend was this: "If your best friend gets hurt make sure you take care of him."

So, I've got a cute little logo in mind, and I think we'll each come up with a sweet saying about best friends and dogs & print them on the shirts.  Anyone interested in a shirt????  Do you think they'll sell?????

So, back to Weight Watchers.  Today was weigh in.  I'm still 154.8.  So... nothing lost.... nothing gained.  I went slightly over on PointsPlus for the week.  I didn't stress eat.  In fact, yesterday was a VERY good day of eating.

I'm not going to post my nutritional diary for the past few days.  I'd rather go downstairs and sit next to my little Zyla.  I figured I'd start a new week with renewed vigor & attitude!  :)

I start my 7 week challenge tomorrow.  The first day of spring so I can Spring into Summer 14 lbs lighter!  It's going to be 7 weeks of eating right & exercising.  Incidentally - the last day of my challenge is the day before my Zumba Instructor Training!  So - this is a great jump start for me to be healthy enough to actually lead exercise classes!  :)  Wish me luck!!!!!!

Why do I do this to myself????

Wow - I have had a busy couple of days.  The sap is running like CRAZY so we've been tapping & just had our first boil tonight!  Hopefully we'll be making some syrup tomorrow night!!!!!

I feel like I've had a slightly out of control week.  I've been doing a terrible job of planning my meals, so I've had a few slip ups.  Nothing too major, but enough that I'm bummed.  I also think 'that time of the month' is upon me - so that might explain some of my freakish eating behaviors too!  I'm going to pick myself up, dust myself off, and jump right back on the wagon!

I started the week planning on hitting Zumba on Tuesday and Wednesday nights.  Didn't make it.  I had some VERY serious intentions, even 1 hour before the class time, but sugaring got in the way.  I promise (I mean REALLY promise) that I will get to Zumba tomorrow night!!!!!  There is a class in New Haven at 6:30.  I will be there.

I've been obsessing about Zumba lately.  It is truly one of the funnest workout I've ever done.  In fact, I've signed up to be trained to be an instructor.  My class is in May, so hopefully after I'm all certified I'll have a few classes that I teach a couple of times a week.  Might as well get paid to lose weight!  :)  I'm also toying around with the idea of taking some nutrition classes.  I've had so much fun with posting recipes and eating healthy.  It would be great to be able to help others in their journey for health!

I joined a 7 week challenge today.  It is a challenge sponsored by my friend, Paula, to lose 14 lbs in the next 7 weeks.  We'll be weighing in on Sunday (I'll just use Saturday's weight) and keeping track of our weights on her blog.  She's lost close to 125 lbs and she's struggling with the last 25.  I'm down to the last 20 - so hopefully this challenge will bring me down to the last SIX!!!!!  Wouldn't THAT be AWESOME!?!?!??!??!

Ok - now for the blog of shame.....

Nutritional Diary - 3/16 Total PointsPlus - 46 (ACK!)
Breakfast:
     Jenn's Coffee (2 PP)
     Jenn's Oatmeal (5 PP) + 1 c. raspberries (0 PP)

Lunch at the Bristol Bakery:
     3.5 c Spring Mix (0 PP) (so far, so good)
     3 oz. chicken breast (3 PP)
     1 1/2 oz. candied walnuts (7 PP) - oops!
     2 T. dried cranberries (1 PP)
     1/2 oz. gorgonzola cheese (1 PP)
     1 T. maple syrup (1 PP) w/ 1 T. balsamic vinaigrette glaze (0 PP)

Dinner:
     1 La Tortilla Factory (2 PP)
     1/4 c. grass-fed ground beef (2 PP)
     1/4 medium avocado (3 PP)
     2 T. shredded cheese (1 PP)
     1 c. tomato (0 PP)

Snacks - watch out - here comes FATTY!!!!
     1 Weight Watcher's Dark Chocolate Raspberry Ice Cream Bar (2 PP)
     1 oz. mozzarella cheese (2 PP)
     2 heels whole wheat bread (2 PP) w/ 2 t. peanut butter (2 PP)
     2 oz. chocolate covered almonds / blueberries
     2 T. dried cherries (2 PP)

Damn - I need to grab FRUIT instead of all of that other crap!!!!!!

Grrrr........

What do I feed my kids?????

I have been asked this question a lot.  And here is the answer - They eat what I eat!  We have a rule in our house - you HAVE to try at least one bite, and more than one bite if you like it!  My boys have often been pleasantly surprised when they taste a bite of something that they don't think they'll like.  I tell them that "this is something you LOVED eating when you were a baby!!!".  That usually gets them all excited.  My philosophy on kid eating is this - if they're hungry enough they'll eat what you offer them!  Don't get me wrong - there are definitely days when the pizza kit comes out of the freezer, but most of the time I prepare home-cooked meals & the boys are expected to eat them.

One trick I've come up with to get them to eat the food on their plates without much fuss is to get them involved in the process!  I'll give each kid a Weight Watchers cookbook and 5 sticky notes and ask them to look for 5 meals they'd like me to cook.  Luckily they start toward the front of the cookbooks (the desserts are in the back!) and they usually find several really good sounding meals.  Now that Grayson can read he always finds the seafood section and makes his choices from there.  Preston usually finds the steak / pork section.  They also like noodle-dishes a lot.  A lot of times I'll have them cook with me.  In fact, Grayson knows how to make waffles ALL BY HIMSELF!!!!!  :)

I also bring them to the grocery store with me and have them choose the veggies / fruits.  Preston is a big kiwi fan, and Grayson LOVES him some tomatoes!  Once it is farmers' market season we'll be there doing the same thing - choosing healthy & delicious foods to eat!  A really fun way to get your kids to eat fruits (if that is a struggle for you) is to make a giant rainbow with them!  We'll go to the grocery store and grab strawberries, mandarin oranges, pineapple (fresh - not canned - I can't STAND that stuff!!!), kiwi, blueberries & grapes - you get the picture.  We'll cut them into bite-sized pieces and arrange them on a large platter to look like a rainbow.  You can put cool-whip, mini marshmallows or yogurt as 'clouds' on the ends.  I give each kid a tooth pick and have them go crazy!  Sometimes when the boys each have a friend over I'll make this as one of their snacks.  They always think it is cool, and I think it's cook that they're eating so much fruit!
 

I also have days where we 'eat the rainbow'.  Mondays will be all red (apples & tomatoes), Tuesdays all orange (oranges & sweet potatoes), Wednesday will be yellow (bananas & yellow squash), etc....  We'll have a fruit & a veggie of each color.  This is a GREAT way to get kids to try new foods!  I also ask the kids for suggestions when we do this.  It does get challenging to find blue veggies, but we've decided that purple potatoes are close enough!  :)

Another trick with veggies is this:  Don't ask, "What kind of vegetable do you want with dinner?".  You KNOW the answer will be a very whiny "I don't want any veggies!!!".  Instead ask, "Do you want zucchini or green beans for dinner?".  You're more likely to get an answer that contains a vegetable with that question!  :)

(Speaking of veggies - if you're in the Addison County area of Vermont check out Elmer Farm.  They have a great CSA program.  My parent's joined last year and I couldn't believe how much great produce they brought home each week!!!!  I joined this year and I can't WAIT for farmers' market season!!!!  If you sign up make sure you mention that I sent you - I think I get a gift certificate or something!)

So, anyway, my kids eat what I eat.  There are rare instances where they just won't eat what I've made - and on those nights I just find some leftovers from the fridge (there are usually many of those!) and offer them something that I know they've eaten before.  I also make sure I put a lot of fruits / veggies on their plate, and that usually helps to fill them up!

If you have any tips - share them with me!!!!  :)

Nutritional Diary 3/14 - 35 Total PP
Breakfast:
     Coffee w/ 4 t. sugar (it was STRONG!!!) & 2 T. half 'n half (3 PP)
     Jenn's Oatmeal (5 PP) + 1 banana (0 PP)

Lunch:
     1 serving Chili Verde (7 PP)
     1 c. white hominy (5 PP)

Dinner:
     1 serving Butternut Squash Mac 'n Cheese (7 PP)
     2 c. steamed cauliflower (0 PP)

Snacks:
     1 small clementine (0 PP)
     1 orange (0 PP)
     1/2 c. grapes (0 PP)
     1 cheese stick (2 PP)
     .75 oz. chocolate covered almonds (2 PP)
     1/2 c. Butternut Squash Fries (0 PP)
     1 serving Cherry Fool (this was a culinary disaster that was WW's fault!!!  The recipe is WRONG!  When I figure out how to fix it I'll post the recipe.  It still tasted good, though....) (2 PP)  w/ 1 T. mini chocolate chips (2 PP)

Thank you dear Blog......

..... you are stopping me from eating more.  I made the MOST DELICIOUS Butternut Squash Mac 'n Cheese tonight AND I WANT MORE!!!!!!  But, I'm probably not really hungry.  I inhaled the Mac 'n Cheese, so I need to give my stomach a chance to figure out that it is really full - so here I am!

Sometimes I think you just need an interrupt to stop yourself from pigging out.  It is so easy to be a 'mindless eater'.  Kind of like those 'mindless drivers' you pass going 55 mph in the left lane on the highway.  They THINK they're going fast, they MIGHT have been going fast, but now they're just zoning out and being a pain in the butt!!!!

My goal this week is to be mindful of what I am eating.  I have a goal of making it to 153 by the end of this week.  That is just shy of 2 lbs.  What am I going to do to reach that goal?

1.  I will go to the gym Monday to lift weights.  Tuesday night to do Zumba.  Wednesday night to do Zumba.  Thursday to lift weights & Friday I will treat myself to a massage.

2.  I will think very carefully before I put ANYTHING into my mouth.  I might choose to eat something, but I will weigh the costs & benefits associated with the consumption of it.

I think those two tasks will help me reach my goal.  We'll see how it goes!

Nutritional Diary 3/13 - 30 Total PointsPlus
Breakfast:
     Jenn's Oatmeal (5 PP) + 1 c. blueberries (0 PP) + 1 banana (0 PP)
     Coffee w/ 1 T. sugar (1 PP) + 4 T. Coconut Milk Cream (0 PP)

Lunch:
     5 oz. tuna, packed in water (4 PP)
     2 t. light mayo (1 PP)
     1/2 c. chopped pickled peppers (0 PP)
     1/2 c. carrots (0 PP)

Dinner:
     5 oz. Butternut Squash Fries (0 PP) - see recipe below!!!
     1 serving Butternut Squash Mac 'n Cheese (7 PP) - see recipe below!  VERY good!!!

Snacks:
     1 chocolate chip cookie (3 PP)
     2 maple glazed scones (9 PP) - see recipe below!
     3/4 oz. cracked pepper turkey breast (0 PP)

Hey - will you do me a favor!?!?!?  If anyone that is reading this blog makes any of the recipes I make can you please write a comment in the blog & let me know what you thought of it!?!?!?  Also - if there is anything you'd like me to find a Weight Watchers recipe for - let me know that too!!!
    

I'm such a loser......

...... OF WEIGHT, that is!!!!!  Yesterday's weigh in brought me to OVER 55 lbs of weight lost!!!!  WOOT!!!!!   I'm at 154.8.  Less than 2 pounds to get to my third 10% goal of 153.  I'm going to try to hit that by next weigh in!  After that it is just one more 10%, then 3 pounds, and I'm at goal!  That is less than 20 pounds!!!  That is REALLY starting to sound attainable!!!!

I've been spending a lot of time with my Dad lately with our sugaring, and I've been realizing just how much I have to be grateful for.  I have the BEST family in the world..... EVER!!!!!!!  My Mom & Dad love me and my brother so unconditionally.  I've caused them a lot of financial turmoil - with some very bad real estate investments - and I think if they were any other parents they would have probably have disowned me.  It makes me sick to think about the fact that they could be living a pretty comfortable retirement right now, and a decision that I made has made that seem pretty impossible.  Mom & Dad - I'm so sorry.  I love you guys so much and I wish like crazy that I could change the decisions I made in the past to make a better future for you guys.

I hate living with regrets.  I try really hard not to.  Some of the things in my past have paved the way for things in my future - and for a great many things I truly believe that everything happens for a reason.  But I can't seem to wrap my mind around a few things.....  1.  How has the financial stress my decisions have placed on my parents been positive at all?  I just don't see it.   And 2.  Why did I need to gain 75 lbs?

I don't think I'll ever have an answer to #1, but perhaps there is a reason for #2.

Losing this weight has made me feel so GOOD about myself!  I felt so BAD about myself at 210.2 lbs, and I feel so GOOD at 154.8 lbs!!!!  I feel like I have grabbed destiny in my hand and *I* am in the drivers seat now!  Every time I hear the words "You look so great" it's such a HUGE boost.  I feel so good inside.  It is a feeling that everyone should have.  Hopefully you won't go through something as annoying as gaining 75 lbs just to lose them again, but I'm sure there's something in everyone's life that gives them that boost.  At least I hope there is.

I think I needed this weight gain / loss to reinvent myself in a way......  I never was that fat girl in my mind - I was always me, but when I looked in the mirror I didn't see me looking back at me.  I saw the fat girl.  I didn't want to see her anymore.  She was seriously bringing me down......

I'm so thankful for my friends & family.  My sons.  My boyfriend.  My life.  Wow - I am SO thankful for my life!!!!  I hope that all of you can find that thing you have to be thankful and grab onto it.  Use it to motivate you!!!!!

So, foodwise, last night I made a decision that makes very little sense to me.  I calculated all of my PointsPlus after eating dinner and I was at 30.  Good, right?  Well yes.... and no.  For some reason I decided to make chocolate chips cookies!  WTF?!?!?!?!?!?  I had a great day of eating and for SOME damn reason I tried to sabotage it!!!!!  Does that even make the tiniest bit of sense?!?!?!?!?  Well, it kind of does for me.  Once I start thinking about something, be it a treat, or a food, or whatever - I start obsessing about it.  I think this is a very NORMAL thing to do!!!!!  I'm not really big on cutting foods entirely out of my life.  I just need to make the best choices that I can, within the constraints of my WW PointsPlus allowance.  Yesterday was the beginning of my WW week - so I always feel like I have a little more leeway with my food choices than I do on Friday (which last week didn't seem to matter much, hee hee.....).  So, anyhoo, I decided that it would be smarter for me to go ahead and make the cookies, eat a few, then put them to rest.  My favorite way to eat cookies is raw - so once I cook them I'm pretty safe.  I COULD have gotten by with just eating one.  Instead, I ate 3.  That was annoying.  Instead of 3 PP I added TEN!!!!!  Argh......

Oh - on a POSITIVE note - I was around that same damn bag of Cheetos Cheese Curls yesterday, and I wasn't even tempted!  I'm willing to bet if I'd cheated the way I was PLANNING on cheating (you know - grabbing a few and not calculating the points) I probably would have grabbed a few more!  Knowledge is power!  :)

This morning I woke up, checked my e-mail & Facebook and I saw a recipe for maple glazed scones.  Ugh!  REALLY?!?!?!?  So of course, now I had to make the damn scones.  BUT, I decided to try to Weight Watcherize them.  What started as a ridiculously high PointsPlus treat turned into 4 PointsPlus!!!  Not too bad!!!!  As of this writing I still haven't eaten one.  I started out with my oatmeal & coffee, and decided that I'm not hungry for scones.  I'll probably eat one as my mid-afternoon snack.  I'll most likely be up in the woods tapping, so I'll need the pick me up!  Scott did try one - and he's not one to like scones.  He said that they were very good!  I think the process of me making them was what I was really craving, not really the scones themselves????  We'll see how many are left at the end of the day!  :)

Nutritional Diary 3/12 - 40 Total PP
Breakfast:
     Jenn's Coffee (2 PP)
     Jenn's Oatmeal (5 PP) + blueberries (0 PP)

Lunch:
     5 oz. tuna fish, canned in water (4 PP)
     2 t. Light mayo (1 PP)
     1/4 c. pickled peppers (0 PP)
     1/2 c. carrots (0 PP) - I mix these into my tuna instead of eating bread.  VERY yummy!
     1 La Tortilla Factory tortilla (2 PP) spread with 1/3 avocado (3 PP)
     2 small clementines (0 PP)

Dinner:
     Chili Verde made with zucchini AND spinach - SO GOOD!!!!  (7 PP)
     1 T. low fat sour cream (0 PP)
     1 La Tortilla Factory tortilla, sprayed with non-stick olive oil spray and baked in oven until crispy (2 PP)
     1 c. grapes (0 PP)

Snacks:
     1/4 c. white hominy (2 PP)
     Jenn's Coffee (2 PP)
     3 raw chocolate chip cookies (10 PP)

I cheated - on purpose!!!!

OK - so today was parent / teacher conferences for my kids.  They're brilliant.  Enough said.

THEN - we went sugaring!!!!  For those of you that don't understand the concept of making *REAL* Maple Syrup, not the fake shit they sell in Wal-Mart, it's a heck of a process!  One where I don't understand how anyone actually makes any money at it!  We just do it for fun.  It's a great time to bond with my kids, Dad & Scott.

First of all, you have to plow ALL OF THAT SNOW out of the way.  We started plowing out the 'sugarbush' last week, then on Monday we had over 2 feet of snow dump on us, so we had to clear it all again!  Don't you just LOVE Mother Nature????  Next, you strap on the snowshoes & start hiking into the woods with a drill & hammer.  If this is the first year you string a run then you also have about 500' of plastic tubing slung over your shoulder.  Luckily we were tapping a run, we call it the "Red Line", that is already established.  So all we had with us were some pieces to repair chewed or broken lines.  The REALLY fun part is that you're hiking uphill, with snowshoes on, for 1/2 of the time.  Then, for the other 1/2 of the time, you're sliding down some pretty steep hills on your butt!  We were out there for about 4 hours and we ALL had such a good time!!!!  The boys declared that sugaring was more fun than TV!  I think I had the biggest grin on my face the entire time!  I love it when the boys have more fun outside than inside!

Anyhoo - once you 'tap' the trees, which means you drill a hole in the side & plug it with a hollow plastic part that fits onto the tubing.  From there gravity takes over and you end up with a bunch of tree sap.  You then boil 35 - 40 gallons of the sap down into Maple Syrup!

We still have quite a bit of tapping to do, but we finished the "Red Line" and we'll move on tomorrow.  It is a great workout & a great opportunity to get outside.  And the BEST part will be on Sunday when we're boiling the sap down into syrup!  It smells SO good!!!!

Last year I was dubbed a sap sucker because I kept drawing off sips of boiled down sap.  As it starts to boil down the sugars are concentrated & you pretty much can't HELP but want to drink it all!!!!  Unfortunately, at 1 PointsPlus per Tablespoon, I won't be able to just drink it willy-nilly.  I think that is going to be hard not to do!  I decided I'll keep a Tablespoon out there with me and allow myself 2 T. per night.  I'll just have to budget it in.  But, since I'll be tracking it, it will be easier not to just hog it down.  PLUS, we'll probably end up with at LEAST another gallon!!!!  :)

On to my food day......

I cheated.  But really - it was on purpose!!!!!  I weighed myself this morning and I'm down almost 2 pounds from last week.  I ate a healthy breakfast (that isn't usually my problem).  In fact, I even showed restraint this morning!  Scott pulled out George Foreman and cooked BACON!!!!!!  Oh.... how I LOVE me some BACON!!!!!  But I said - no thanks!  I had to decide if it was point-worthy.  It wasn't.  I knew I was going to be cutting it VERY close today, and I know that I'm usually VERY good for breakfast, so I didn't want to blow it on breakfast!

Well, then I packed up a lunch to bring to my parent's house.  Usually if we're over there for lunch time we'll find something to eat, or we'll head to the store in town to grab a sandwich.  I didn't want to do that this morning, I wanted more control, so control I did!  But THEN disaster started to strike.  I made the boys a snack of some peanut butter covered pretzels (LOVE 'EM!) & grapes.  Of COURSE I had to test some of the pretzels, do some squats, THEN I figured out how many points they have.  Why oh WHY do I do that to myself?!!??!?!  I need to know the points BEFORE I stuff them in my mouth!!!!!!  SO, 4 Points later, there I was.  Grrr.....  I quick ate some clementines to counteract the pretzels, but the damage was done.....  So, I tracked, and moved on.

I ate my lunch at my parent's house and of COURSE I brought the molasses oatmeal bread I'd made the other day.  (Oops - I just realized I never posted that recipe.  It was ok, but not great, so I think I'll skip it and give you another bread recipe instead.  I just have to get it from my Mom.  It is SO damn GOOD!!!!)  Anyhoo - 1 slice of the molasses oatmeal bread has 4 points.  Add to it the butter that it HAS to have and you've got yourself a 6 point piece of bread!  I usually just eat my tuna plain, so eating a slice of bread with it shouldn't be a 'bad' thing, but I'm usually so good about NOT having the bread that it felt evil.  Bad.  NO GOOD!  But still, it's just BREAD!  Plus, I made it with part whole-wheat flour & oats - so it was healthy!  Right?  Just agree with me, ok?

All of this transpired before I went out to tap trees - and I did NOT bring a snack for tree-tapping!  BIG MISTAKE!!!!  I got back into my parent's house at a little before 5:00 and I spotted the Cheetos.  What in the HELL are Cheetos doing in my parent's house!?!?!?!??!?!  Well, I ate 3 of them and wasn't going to track it. CAN YOU FREAKIN' BELIEVE IT?!?!?!?!  All of this hard work AND I WAS GOING TO CHEAT!!!!!  Well - SCREW THAT!!!!!  I've worked too hard to cheat myself!!!!  So, I went to the bag, saw that a serving was 7 curls, grabbed 4 more & STUFFED THEM IN MY MOUTH!!!!!!  I did this to teach myself a lesson.  If this is going to work I have to be honest with myself.  I can cheat myself & wonder why the scale isn't moving down or I can own up to my mistakes and learn from them.  I choose to learn.  I punished myself for sneaking 3 curls by eating 7.  Does that even make any sense?  As I write this it makes much less sense to me now than it did then.

The my parent's & brother decided to go to Fire & Ice for dinner and invited Scott and me.  It was SO tempting to go, but I only had a few points left by then, so I decided we'd go home, I'd eat a salad (that would bring me over points - but so what), and we'd save not only my health but some money too!  And, I've got to tell you, the salad was a WORK OF ART!!!!!!  Both my Mom AND my Dad suggested we go to Fire & Ice, but that I just get a salad.  Yeah, RIGHT!  I'd get the salad - but I would've added every bad thing POSSIBLE to it because I'd want to get my money's worth.  So, I've got to say, as much as it would have been nice to go out to dinner, I'm glad I made the choice to stay in.  The food was good and Scott & I sat in front of the fire for a while with the lights out and talked.  A very nice ending to a very nice day.

Old habits die hard.  I've spent most of my 30's being overweight, but I STARTED my 30's at my goal weight!  I have a picture of myself in early 2002 looking OHHHhhhhhh SO good.  I've got to dig that thing out and post it sometime soon.  I didn't realize how good I looked!  I was always searching to lose that elusive 5 pounds.  WAS I NUTS?!?!?!?!  If I could snap my fingers and be the weight now that I was then, I'd be at goal!

This is a slow process.  I will mess up.  I will gain weight.  BUT - I will also lose weight.  I will be focused like laser beams.  I will get to my goal.  That's just the way it is!

Tomorrow is a brand new Weight Watchers week for me.  I weigh in tomorrow morning.  I am excited to see how this week will end for me!  I started it with Zumba, got sick in the middle & ate Cheetos at the end.  I am human......

Nutritional Diary 3/10 36 Total PointsPlus

Breakfast:
     Jenn's Coffee (2 PP)
     Jenn's Oatmeal (5 PP) + 1 c. raspberries (0 PP) & 1/2 banana (0 PP)

Lunch:
     5 oz. tuna (4 PP)
     2 t. light mayo (1 PP)
     1 serving Molasses Oatmeal Bread w/ 2 t. butter (6 PP)

Dinner:
     3 c. spring mix (0 PP)
     1 oz. smoked mozzarella (2 PP)
     3 oz. grass-fed sirloin beef (3 PP)
     1 oz. dried apricots (2 PP)
     2 chopped tomatoes (0 PP)
     1 c. grapes (0 PP)
     1 T. maple syrup w/ 1 T. balsamic vinaigrette glaze (1 PP)

Snacks:
     1 oz. peanut butter covered pretzels (4 PP)
     2 clementines (0 PP)
     1 Cheetos Twisted Puffs (4 PP)
     Jenn's Coffee (2 PP)

To Blog or Not to Blog, that is the question!

So, I had a good day of eating, but THEN I went to a pot luck dinner in my town.  Those ALWAYS mean DANGER to me!  The LAST potluck was pre-blog so I didn't have to share with the world when I took a spoon to the leftover frosting that my Gramma & Aunt had brought to frost their brownies.  Too many points to count!!!!

Well, THIS time I've decided to suck it up and TALK ABOUT IT!!!!!

All in all I did pretty well.  I didn't go back for seconds.  Well, I DID go back for seconds on salad - does that count?!?!?!?  I ate the WW Portabella Mushroom Pie that I made, because that was a known.  5 PointsPlus of PURE HEAVEN!!!  (Don't worry - the recipe is below!)  I ate salad and guesstimated at the number of points in the dressing & cheese.  I ate hummus & a whole wheat pita, and that was it!  Oh, and then there was that oatmeal chocolate chip cookie.  Yum!  Honestly, looking at the food I ate I didn't make really 'BAD' choices - I just ate too much!  The story of my life.  The reason I was 75 lbs overweight!  BUT, as I said yesterday, days only have 24 hours.  I'm done eating for the day.  I have no points left for the week so tomorrow it is ON baby!  The kids have parent / teacher conferences and I think we're going to try to tap some trees - so I'll be slogging around in the woods for hours.  I'll DEFINITELY get my workout in!  :)  I'm also feeling SO MUCH BETTER!!!!!!  I'll be hitting the gym on Saturday for some Zumba.  I'll also be getting my buns back into the gym to lift weights next week!  I'm EXCITED!

Nutritional Diary 3/10 44 Total PointsPlus
Breakfast:
     Coffee w/ 4 T. coconut milk cream (0 PP!!!) & 1 T. organic sugar (1 PP)
     Jenn's Oatmeal (5 PP) + 1 mango (0 PP)

Lunch:
     4 oz. grass-fed sirloin (5 PP)
     1 serving Asian noodles w/ peanut dressing (10 PP)
     1 slice bacon (1 PP)

Dinner:
     1/8 Portabella Mushroom Pie (5 PP)
     Salad w/ 1/2 oz. goat cheese (1 PP) & 2 t. dressing (2 PP)
     2 T. hummus (2 PP)
     1 small whole wheat pita (2 PP)
     1 oatmeal chocolate chip cookie (3 PP)

Snacks:
     6 clementines (0 PP)
     1/3 c. dehydrated chocolate covered bananas (5 PP - this is a TOTAL guess!!!!)
     1 string cheese (2 PP)

Even your worst day only contains 24 hours!!!!

I was sick yesterday!  Did I call that one or what???!?!?!  I was also feeling crappy (quite literally!) today, and still not feeling well tonight.  So - needless to say - I did NOT exercise.  :(  I DID, however, keep track of points!  So, yesterday was a very random day of eating.  The minute I put something in my mouth I had the WORST CRAMPS I've ever had in my entire life - yeah... they were THAT BAD!!!!!  BUT - I was still hungryish.  So, I ate and then grimaced.  Not a whole lot of fun!

Today when I woke up I felt a BIT better - but still pretty crappy.  Once again, I was hungry, so I kept my meals to a more WW friendly menu.  Still crampy after....  Hrmpf... what in the HELL is wrong with me?

I'm definitely feeling better tonight, but not fantastic.  I ate a few prunes tonight in hope of 'moving things along' so to speak.  We'll see where that brings me as far as lower GI comfort goes.  Hopefully I'll have lots of 'success' in the morning and I'll be able to get back into my working out.

Today I was reading a book at a sentence pretty much leapt off the page to me!  It was:  "Even your worst day only contains 24 hours".  AWESOME QUOTE!!!!!

Before my 'sick days' I was feeling pretty out of control.  I blogged about it.  I was feeling down about it, but - here is the AWESOME thing.  Even though I had a bad day (well, two actually) it was ONLY 24 HOURS!!!!!  I can wake up the next day, start fresh, and kick some SERIOUS WEIGHT WATCHER ASS!!!!!!  So, even though I might feel like I'm failing for a day (or two.. hee hee), how much damage can I *REALLY* do in a 24 hour period?!?!?!?!  So there - I'm feeling better.  I ate below points on Tuesday, just a bit above today and I'm feeling BACK ON TRACK!

Nutritional Diary 3/8 "Fat Tuesday aka Pancake Tuesday"  27 Total PointsPlus
Breakfast:
     None

Lunch:
     8 oz. ginger ale (2 PP)
     Jenn's Oatmeal (5 PP) + banana (0 PP)

Dinner:
     1 large banana pancake (7 PP) w/ 1 T. chocolate chips (2 PP) & 1 T. maple syrup (1 PP) (It was pancake tuesday and I had an urge - then I cramped like a Mother Fooper afterwards!!!!  Not the smartest move I've ever made....)

Meal between lunch & dinner:
     9 saltine crackers (3 PP)
     1 T. peanut butter (3 PP)
     2 servings matzo ball soup (4 PP)

3/9 Total PointsPlus 33
Breakfast:
     Jenn's Oatmeal (5 PP) + 1 banana (0 PP)
     Jenn's Coffee (2 PP) I ended up throwing more than 1/2 away because Scott made it the consistency of MUD!

Lunch:
     1 slice homemade Molasses Oatmeal Bread (4 PP) w/ 2 t. butter (2 PP) & 1 T. strawberry jam (1 PP)
     4 oz. grass-fed sirloin (5 PP)
     1 oz. smoked mozzarella cheese (2 PP)
     2 c. spaghetti squash (0 PP)

Dinner:
     4 oz. baked cod (3 PP)
     1/4 c. brown rice (1 PP)
     2 c. steamed zucchini (0 PP)

Snacks:
     4 small clementines (0 PP)
     Coffee made with 1 T. organic sugar (1 PP) & 2 T. Coconut Cream Milk (found at Mountain Greens in Bristol - pretty good and ZERO POINTS for 2 T.!!!!)
     4 prunes (3 PP)
     1 dried fig (1 PP)
     1 Weight Watchers English Toffee Ice Cream Bar (3 PP - not really sure WHAT I was thinking here - certainly did nothing to make my belly feel better!!!!)

Tomorrow is another day!  :)

I've felt like a wild pig and I'm wondering - It is a HOG FUNK?????

So, I've had 2 days in a row of feeling like I'm eating WAY too much food!  Yesterday I ate 41 PointsPlus and today I've eaten 39.  I'm supposed to keep it at 29 for the day and then use my extra 49 throughout the week.  I only have 15 extra for the week to last me Tue, Wed, Thurs & Fri.  Looks like I need to rein it in and EAT MORE FRUITS & VEGGIES!!!!  Hmmm.... SO what is going on????? 

For one thing I made those damn brownies on Saturday night.  I did a good job of not diving into them that night, but yesterday was a disaster!  Today was better, but I still ate one.  I didn't need it, and I felt sick after eating it, but I stuffed it in my mouth.  Not sure if I was self-medicating or just mindlessly eating.  Probably mindlessly eating - I've felt pretty mindless the last two days.....

Another thing - I was home all day today with the kids - a snow day, but I can't blame my hoggilocity on that.  I could certainly have thrown the brownies out (remember Waste or Waist? Let's hope I don't see Waist on Saturday!!!!).  I could have turned on the iPod and jammed out with the boys - burning some calories.  Instead, all I wanted to do was sit and veg.  I'm not really feeling that good, so that might explain my lack of energy.  I was also craving soda (a VERY rare thing for me!!!), so I poured myself 4 oz.  The only time I crave soda is when I don't feel well.....

Tomorrow is another snow day but I'm getting us out of the house.  I need milk, bread & eggs.  I need to escape from the feeding trough!  I need to get more fruits & veggies!!!!  I also need to get to my Mom's house and help her for a while.  Hopefully the change of scenery will knock me out of the hog funk I feel like I'm in!!!

So, here are my nutritional diaries for the last 2 days.  Don't judge me....  I'm trying SO hard not to!  One day at a time, eh?  And tomorrow is a BRAND NEW DAY!!!!  :)

Nutritional diary 3/6 - 41 Total PointsPlus

Breakfast:
     Jenn's Coffee (2 PP)

Lunch:
     Huevos Rancheros (11 PP) - I posted the recipe yesterday down below.  SOOOooo GOOD!!!!

Dinner:
     4 oz. salmon w/ 1 T. Pacific Northwest Salmon Marinade (8 PP)
     1/4 c. brown rice (1 PP)
     1 c. Spring Mix (0 PP)
     1/4 c. raspberries (0 PP)

Hog Funk Snacks:
     1/2 grapefruit w/ slight sprinkling of sugar (0 PP)
     7 1/2 servings Smart Pop Kettle Corn - Yup, the whole damn bag!  (2 PP)
     3 oz. boneless, skinless chicken thighs (picked off of my kids' plates) (3 PP + 10 squats)
     2 c. fresh cherries (0 PP)
     6 servings Chocolate-Almond Brownies (14 PP - HOG FUNK!!!!)

Nutritional Diary 3/7 - 39 Total PointsPlus
Breakfast:
     Jenn's Coffee (2 PP)
     Jenn's Oatmeal (5 PP) + banana (0 PP) + 3/4 c. raspberries (0 PP)

Lunch:
     4 c. Spring Mix (0 PP)
     1 oz. smoked mozzarella cheese (2 PP)
     1/2 oz jalapeno smokehouse almonds (2 PP)
     4 oz. boneless, skinless chicken thigh (3 PP)
     1 T. dried cranberries (1 PP)
     1 T. maple syrup w/ 1 T. balsamic vinaigrette glaze (1 PP)

Dinner:
     1 1/2 slices Homemade Molasses Oatmeal Bread (6 PP)
     2 t. butter (2 PP)
     1 serving Asian Noodles w/ peanut dressing (10 PP)

Snacks:
     4 oz. ginger ale (1 PP)
     1 Chocolate-Almond Brownie (2 PP)
     Jenn's Coffee (2 PP)

I DID get outside and shovel for about an hour, but that was pretty much it for physical activity.  I'll do better tomorrow!  I'll also post recipes for Asian Noodles & Molasses Oatmeal Bread tomorrow too.  I'm ready for bed!

Wow - I just googled 'Hog Funk' and apparently there is as song by that name by a group called Niacin.  They've got some WAY funky grooves!!!!  I'm listening to them on YouTube now!  So, I've been in a Hog Funk, I'll listen to Hog Funk, BUT I'M DONE WITH THE HOG FUNK!!!!!!

WASTE OR WAIST?!?!?!?

Yesterday we started to tap our trees to make maple syrup.  We usually make between 15 - 20 gallons per year - so not a very big operation, but enough to keep our family in syrup for the year!  As I'm sure you've noticed I have maple syrup every day - on my oatmeal & salads.  I am a true Vermontster - gotta have my syrup!

Last year during sugaring this picture was taken of Scott & me.  The difference in my body shape and face shape between then and now is quite dramatic! Once we start boiling I'm going to pose us like this again for a comparison shot.  The picture below is of me yesterday.  I can't tell you how many times I walked up and down the field then I strapped on some snowshoes and walked up into the woods.  Now THAT was a workout!  Plus, I did Zumba in the morning.  So, three guesses as to who woke up at 3:30 am with a sore back!  I might have overdone it a bit!!!  Ibuprofen is my friend!!!!  :)

I neglected to post my nutritional diary last night.  I'm not sure if it's because I totally HOGGED OUT or because my Dad was over visiting so we were talking until late.  Probably because of the hog part!  Either way - I didn't post it.  Then I just got TIRED and crashed!  On the plus side, I did make WW brownies last night for a dinner I was supposed to be going to tonight & I didn't eat any!!!!!  (I did, however, lick the bowl so I did 10 lunges on each side.  My legs were so tired I was shaking by the end of them!)  Because of the yucky weather today (snow on top of ice) we're having to cancel our dinner so that means I have a pan of brownies here!  I did eat some right before I ate my Huevos Rancheros (see recipe below), but I tracked them so - oh well!!!!!  :)  They are SO chocolately, fudgey and good!  I'll post that recipe too!  If they start to become a problem I'll just throw them away.  If there is one thing I have learned through this process it is this:  IT IS OK TO WASTE UNHEALTHY FOOD!  I'd rather throw it in the WASTE than see it on my WAIST!!!! 

Nutritional Diary 3/5 - 41 total PointsPlus

Breakfast:
     Jenn's Coffee (2 PP)
     3 Banana pancakes w/ 1 t. chocolate chips instead of blueberries (8 PP)
     1 T. maple syrup (1 PP)

Lunch:
     5 oz. solid white tuna packed in water (4 PP)
     2 t. Light Mayo (1 PP)
     2 T. jalapeno peppers, chopped & mixed into tuna (0 PP)
     2 small clementines (0 PP)
     Jenn's Coffee (2 PP)

OK - are you ready for HOG OUT time???  The lunch meat was eaten between the store & home.  Preston hadn't eaten any lunch, and the boy gets GRUMPY if he doesn't eat - so I bought it for him then proceeded to eat it WITH him!
     2 oz. roast beef deli meat (2 PP)
     2 oz. smoked ham deli meat (2 PP)

Then, when I got home, I started cooking lasagna for dinner (I didn't eat any - it was for everyone else because it definitely WASN'T Weight Watchers friendly!!!!)  As I was cooking I was snacking!!!
     1 oz. cooked pasta (1 PP)
     2 oz. sirloin (I just added the total points to my dinner because I ended up eating 8 oz. of grass-fed sirloin)
     1 c. fresh cherries

THEN, I ate dinner!!!!
Dinner:
     6 oz. grass-fed sirloin beef marinated in teriyaki sauce (9 PP including the 2 oz. above)
     2 c. spring mix (0 PP) with:  1 oz. mozzarella cheese (2 PP), 1/2 oz. jalapeno smokehouse almonds (2 PP), 1 T. dried cranberries (1 PP), 1 T. maple syrup w/ balsamic glaze (1 PP)

THEN, as if I wasn't full enough, I ate a Weight Watchers English Toffee Ice Cream Bar!!!!! (3 PP)

WHAT A FREAKIN' HOG!!!!!!

Luckily it is the first day of the week so I can commit to being good for the rest of the week and hopefully see a LOSS on the scale on next Saturday!
    

The dreaded P word!!!!

Well - it happened.  I started working out this week, ate well, didn't go over on my weekly points - AND THE SCALE DID NOT BUDGE!!!!!  Dammit.  It's very frustrating to feel like you're having a successful week and end up with no weight loss!!!!!  AIGH!!!!!!!!!!

But - I've made a decision.  I'm going to keep on keeping on!  While it seems CrAzY that I could have gained muscle this week (which weighs more than fat, blah blah  blah) I'm just going to grab on to that and ROLL with it!!!!!  I'm feeling good.  I'm looking good.  I'm DOING good - so no change on the scale isn't really that big of deal (yeah RIGHT!!!!).  But seriously, it isn't.  This is part of the journey (or perhaps I should have said struggle....) of weight loss.  It's not always going to be unicorns & rainbows!  Sometimes I'll plateau, sometimes I'll even have a gain (ACK!), but it doesn't mean this weight loss journey is failing.  NOT BY A LONG SHOT BABY!!!!!

I'm going to go drink a tall glass of ice cold water, eat a few clementines, and figure out lunch.  THEN I'm going to clean off the kitchen table (flat surface disease hit HARD last week!!!  hee hee)  Then I'm going to make lunch & enjoy a nice afternoon with Scott.

In short I'm keeping my chin up and moving forward!  Have a great weekend everyone!

It's gotta' look good!!!

Today I put on a pair of my jeans and they honestly looked like crap.  Baggy where they used to be tight - in front AND in back!  I've never been one to not have an ass, so having mine get smaller is a HUGE deal!!!  I've still got plenty to share, but it's not ENORMOUS like it used to be!  In fact, before I lost weight sometimes I'd turn around and smack my poor kids with it by accident!  They became very wary of standing behind me!  Hee hee......

I tried on my next size down of jeans (the same style, just a size down) and they're too tight!  AIGH!!!!!  I'm going to have to go jeans shopping again!  Hey - I'm not complaining, but losing weight is getting expensive!  I'll reward myself with a new pair of jeans when I hit my next 10% goal - 153 lbs.  I'm getting close to that!  We'll see what I'm down to tomorrow morning.  I'm pretty excited!!!!  In the meantime I'll do what I can to make my jeans look good.  Maybe if I dry them on high heat for about 3 hours they'll shrink???  :)  All I know is having the reward of a good looking pair of jeans will definitely get me to my next goal FASTER!  I'm no fashionista - but now that I've got my smaller body to play with It's gotta' look good!!!!  :)

So, I went to the gym today and started lifting weights.  Nothing too dramatic or heavy - but just getting in there and getting the routine down again.  The workout I do is from The Fat Burning Furnace.  It is a relatively short workout - about 20 - 30 minutes.  It's heavy weights for as many reps as you can do - up to 12.  When you can comfortably do 12 reps you add more weight.  This seems to work well for me.  I'm not the type of person that wants to spend hours in the gym - I want to get in and get out.  I hurt my rotator cuff over Christmas so I can't do anything over my shoulders, but I'm doing what I can and I'll just keep going to Physical Therapy to get my shoulder back into shape.  Something exciting happened when I was at the gym!!!!  When I was in the locker room I caught a peek of myself in the full length mirror and DAMN - I am looking good!!!!  I was totally checking myself out!  This is definitely starting to get fun!

I didn't share this with you (didn't want to sound like I was bitching), but Scott was gone again all week.  :(  He left on Monday morning to head to Southern NH again for work and he just got back late this afternoon.  He took one look at me and said he could tell that I'd lost more weight.  YAY!  :)  I'm so happy he's noticing!!!!

So, today COULD have been a bad day of eating.  I started with the usual (coffee & oatmeal), then I went out to get my hair colored.  I thought briefly about bringing some lunch with me (my appointment was at 12:00), but for some damn reason I DIDN'T!!!!  As I was sitting in the chair with color on my hair I started to get hungry - as in SERIOUSLY hungry!  I was wishing for my big bowl of lovers from yesterday (CHOCOLATE!!!!!).  Well, instead of panicking I asked Michelle for a Special K bar & a banana, which she had.  (We did the color in her home kitchen, so it's not like I was raiding her work snacks or anything!!!  AND she HAD been offering me the Special K bar earlier....).  Those snacks got me through the lunch hour, then I went to the gym, then I headed home and made the most AMAZING looking salad I've ever seen!  I even took a picture of it to share it was so good looking!  In fact, I took a picture of my breakfast too!  (OK - the REAL reason I took these pictures is I have a new iPhone 4 and the quality is AMAZING!  No more washed out looking pictures for me!!!!  Now they're gonna' look all professional or something!!!)  By saving myself with a snack earlier I was totally able to derail my thoughts of pigging out!  Unfortunately I ended up eating pizza for dinner - which isn't the healthiest choice in the world, but oh well.....  I bought one of those pizza kits from my kids' old school and my friend, Kristin, dropped it off at my house this afternoon.  I was bound and determined to eat another killer salad for dinner BUT Preston had chapped lips and couldn't stand the thought of eating pizza!  So - being the good Mom that I am I let him have my chicken (mixed with some brown rice) & I ended up eating 2 slices of whole wheat pizza.  THEN the little stinker didn't really end up EATING the chicken, so I ate that too!  (Yes - I did squats for that one.....)


Anyhoo - back to my perfect salad....  As I was looking at it I was thinking to myself that the key to EATING healthy is 'It's gotta' look good!'  When I make a meal that looks like my salad did today I tend to take my time and savor it.  I really was making sweet love to that salad!  It was really nothing too special - spring mix, smoked mozzarella, dried cranberries, Lean-Mean-Fat-Grilling-Machine boneless skinless chicken thigh (SO TENDER!!!), jalapeno almonds & my delicious maple syrup / balsamic vinaigrette glaze 'dressing'.  If you've never had a balsamic vinaigrette glaze before it is SO good!  I don't use dressing anymore at all!  In fact - I am a creamy ranch dressing convert!  The glaze I use is called Blaze and I buy it at Costco.  You can also get it Amazon.com. It only has 20 calories for 1 T. and zero PointsPlus!  Something about drizzling it over my salad just makes it look so..... GOURMET!  AND I save a TON of points by just using this with 1 T. of maple syrup instead of 'real' dressing.
 

Another thing about 'It's gotta' look good!!!!' is definitely presentation!  When I was single and doing Weight Watchers I made a point of taking my Smart Ones and transferring it to a small plate.  This served 2 purposes.  1. It didn't look like some crappy TV dinner and 2.  It looked like I had a LOT of food!  In fact, I very rarely use my big plates!  I have some smaller 'lunch' plates that I use for most of my meals.

So - It's gotta' look good!  I'm definitely taking the time to make sure I look good before I go out.  Back when I was 210 lbs I honestly didn't give two shits about how I looked.  I think I mentioned before that I had just given up - I didn't care.  Losing over 50 pounds has had such a positive impact on me.  I care what I look like - but not for others.... for ME!!!!  I'm proud of myself.  I've worked hard and I deserve to look good!  My kids deserve to be proud of me!  I don't want them to remember a fat Mom that can't keep up.  I want them to remember a HEALTHY Mom that THEY can't keep up with!!!!  Taking the time to look good, and to make my food look good, is definitely a step in the right direction!

Nutritional Diary 3/4 Total PointsPlus - 40!!!  ACK!

Breakfast:
     Jenn's Coffee (2 PP)
     Jenn's Oatmeal (5 PP) + 1 c. raspberries (0 PP)

Lunchish Snack:
     Special K chocolately pretzel bar (2 PP)
     banana (0 PP)

Late Lunch:
     The PERFECT Salad!  2 c. spring mix (0 PP) with: 1 oz. smoked mozzarella (2 PP), 1/2 oz. jalapeno smokehouse almonds (2 PP), 4 oz. boneless, skinless chicken thigh (3 PP), 1 T. dried cranberries (1 PP), 1 T. maple syrup w/ 1 T. Blaze (1 PP)

Dinner:
     2 slices whole wheat cheese pizza + 2 pizza bones (13 PP)
     2 oz. boneless, skinless chicken thigh (2 PP)
     1/3 c. brown rice (2 PP)
     1 Weight Watchers English Toffee Ice Cream Bar (3 PP)

Snacks:
     1 1/2 c. fresh cherries (0 PP)
     Jenn's Coffee (2 PP)

I didn't use all of my weekly points (I have 7 left), so I'm feeling pretty good!  I did two Zumba workouts and lifted weights once.  I'm excited to see what the weigh in reveals!