My Friday song and dance

 

Yesterday was my day off. I tend to stay off the computer on my days off because I like to just unplug. I may pop up here and there, but for the most part I’m just…unplugged. I had high hopes for yesterday.

I slept until almost 9am. I rarely sleep that late. When I woke up, I did one of Jillian Michaels workouts, can’t remember the name, on Exercise TV On Demand.

It was pretty good, reminded me of 30 day shred a lot. It makes me wonder if all of her DVDs are that repetitive.

After the workout I started to get a headache. I drank a green monster and started out and about on my errands. I had to run to Wal-Mart and the farmer’s market. My headache got progressively worse as the day went on. I did score some great loot at the farmer’s market. I got fresh strawberries, kale, peppers, tomatoes and corn on the cob! I love spring produce! I should have taken a picture…but again, when I got home I just unloaded quickly so I could sit down because my head hurt.

My plan at this point was to spend the afternoon at the pool with a book, but the sun was making my head hurt worse, so I ate some leftover Goulash Coolash (which tasted even better the 2nd day!) and got on the couch. While on the couch I started thinking about all of my strawberries and how I was out of fancy dessert cups, so I decided to make my own. Did you guys know that Strawberry Shortcake is my most favorite dessert ever? Well, now you do. It is.

2 cups of Reduced Sugar Yellow Cake mix and 1 cup fat free plain yogurt. Mix them together (mix will be thick), divide evenly into 12 muffin tins and bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Voila, 2 point dessert cakes perfect to be topped with strawberries and fat free cool whip! (or whatever your heart desires…)

I still had a headache. I made tuna burgers and kale chips for dinner. Still had a headache, so the rest of the day was a wash on the couch. That, was my day off. Thrilling, huh?

Weigh-In

Last Week’s Weight: 160.1

This Week’s Weight: 156

Difference of: –4.1lbs

Holy Cow Batman! I knew I was having a better week, but not that much better. I moved beyond recycled weight loss. The lowest I have been up until this point is 157.4. So, this is a new low for me! This also moved me down to 21 weight watcher points per day. It will be interesting to see how I do with that.

High/Lows

Highs

• I got my eating back on track and stopped the crazy snacking.
• I made lots of healthy food.
• I got back on the exercise train.
• My knee is feeling SO MUCH better.
• I lost 4.1lbs!

Lows

• Last weekend was pretty high calorie.
• I was on call for work and my stress level has been through the roof. I think that’s the reason for yesterday’s all day headache.
• I drank more diet soda than I normally do. I usually have 1-2 a month. I had 2 this week. I have no idea why, I just wanted it.

All and all, not that bad. My lows weren’t that low this week and my highs felt pretty high.

What was your highest high and your lowest low this week?

Eventful Saturday!

 

First off, I did GREAT at the movies last night! I snuck in two 100 Calorie bags of popcorn (one for me, one for Kelly) and a bottle of Diet Peach Snapple. Kelly snuck in some “fun size” (aka – evil size) chocolate candy!

I almost got busted at the concession stand when my dear friend Kelly, who forgot her drink and had to buy one, badgered me in front of the guy at the register about why I wasn't buying a drink. I had to give her the "giant eyeball are you serious stare-down" before she realized what she was doing. I ate my bag of popcorn and 1 evil size Snickers bar. My snacks were better than the movie “Dear John” I’m afraid. I just was not impressed at all. We rented “Whip It” to try and redeem the evening and it did! That movie was fantastic!

This morning I took Chaser to the Vet. He’s such a happy dog, no matter where he is!

 

However, after his appointment he was not too happy. I got home with him and he began panting heavily and broke out in terrible hives. Having been a Vet Tech for a few years I recognized the signs, he was having a vaccine reaction and took him right back to the Vet. They gave him some IV Meds and stopped the reaction. I’m very happy to say that he is doing much better but tonight he is a very tired pup!

After our eventful morning, The Husband and I headed out to get groceries and supplies for the Super Bowl party at the bar tomorrow. While I was out, I picked up this!

I’m sad to report that it appears my Wii Fit has been correct on my weight, only off by about a pound.  However, I am happy to have this new scale and have set up a weighing area in my laundry room along with a graph to track all the body analysis this crazy scale does! Remember, there’s a $5 off coupon at Coupons.com for WW Conair scales! I ended up paying $24 for this after the coupon.

 

Once home, I was famished, the yogurt I had eaten at 10am was gone. So I whipped up a quick Tuna Salad and ate it on tostadas with some spinach. YUM!

My Tuna Salad is simple!

1 package of tuna

2 Tbsp Miracle Whip

1 Tbsp Dill Pickle Cubes

1-2 squirts of lemon juice

Salt, pepper, garlic & onion powder and paprika to taste.

The whole shebang, with 2 Mission Corn Tortillas (baked until crisp to make a “tostada”) ended up only being 7 points.

So, it’s been a very eventful day here! I’m relaxing with a beer watching Iron Chef with the husband. We plan to watch some movies tonight and rest up for tomorrow.

I hope you are all having fantastic weekends!

I don't know if I'd call it a proud moment but...

Monday morning is back again, it's such a tricky little thing. It seems like it comes out to play so much faster than Friday afternoon. I don't know how it does that.

I had a great weekend though. Friday night I was low key, just stayed home and watched TV. Saturday the husband and I did some shopping. We also stopped at our friends new Sweepstakes place (it opened that day) to do a little gambling on computer slots. I won $76! I was the first winner!

After a trip to the grocery store we headed home for dinner. We got a call from our friend Chris who we had not hung out with in a while and he wanted us to come out and play. So, the husband and I headed out for "a few beers" those few beers turned into lots of beers, more friends showed up, many shots were consumed, dancing done, GREAT times had by all but it lead to...



One of my top 10 worst hangovers of all time. Basically, I spent several hours in the bathroom. That's all I'll say about that. It was a rough day, but my 3pm I finally started to feel human again.

I am proud of myself not for consuming large quantities of alcohol, that wasn't in my better judgement, but I am proud of myself because I tracked nearly all of it. I tracked my alcohol intake until I couldn't do it anymore (I'm guessing I stopped just shortly after midnight) and then I tracked my entire hangover day. Now, I had a fantastic time with my friends and luckily, these days, nights like that are few and far between for me. I am just proud of myself for keeping up with my points in a situation that normally would have sent me to in a no man's land of calorie consumption for a day and a half.

So, that's my weekend success (kinda) story...what's yours?

Be sure to check back later tonight for Meatless Monday! It's Black Bean Cakes with Avocado Butter. I think you guys are really going to like this one!

I started my morning with a Banana Mango Smoothie and a little 30 Day Shred! Let's make this a great week, together!

Rebirth

I have been doing WeightWatchers on and off as "diet" plan of choice for years. I don't consider WeightWatchers a "diet". Those who know me know I hate that word. I have changed my life. I have learned portion control and lifestyle balance with the help of my trusty Weight Watchers books. Here's a little secret for you though...

I have never actually joined Weight Watchers.

Shocking, I know. I have hand me down books, used any online information I could find and did my own thing. Well, that all changed today.

I could feel myself backsliding my new lifestyle a little more often than I was comfortable with. WeightWatchers was waiving their sign up fees with the New Year, so I decided to actual join the program that I have believed in for years. I joined WeightWatchers Online. I consider it almost a rebirth. A new start.

I am excited to use the new online tools and to see what the program has to offer...officially. I signed up for the 3 month savings plan. If I benefit from actually paying for the plan, I'll stay on...if not, I'll cancel. Either way, I like what I see so far. :)

I love Pizza. Did I tell you guys I love pizza?

I have 2 favorite foods. Cheeseburgers and Pizza! They end up being the downfall of every "diet" I've ever tried. So since I'm on this whole "make my life healthier" kick, I decided to start making my own low weight watcher point pizza dough. I knew I wanted something whole wheat, but didn't taste whole wheat, so I pulled from a few different recipes to make up my very own.

I LOVE PIZZA Pizza Dough for Bread Maker

3/4 cup warm water (110 degrees F)
1 tablespoon EVOO
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon minced garlic (I used the jar kind)
2 teaspoons of dried Italian seasoning
1 Cup Whole Wheat Flour
1 Cup Bread Flour
2 teaspoons instant active dry yeast

Add liquids and garlic to the bottom of bread pan. In separate bowl mix together the bread flour, whole wheat flour, salt and Italian seasoning. Pour on top of liquid in bread pan, make a well in the center of dry ingredients and place in it the 2 teaspoons of yeast. Set your bread maker on the Dough setting and let it go.

Once dough cycle completes, remove dough and let it rest until a towel for 10 minutes. You have 2 options at this point, you can make one GIANT pizza (19 points for the whole crust) or what I do most of the time is divide the dough into 4 small balls (I use 5 weight watchers points each for calculation) and freeze* 3 for later use.

Roll out your dough into a square or circle, place on baking pan and bake at 450 degrees F until edges are crisp, about 7 minutes for small ball of dough and 15 for the whole amount.



*To Freeze dough, spray a piece of plastic wrap lightly with cooking spray, wrap ball up and then place in freezer bag. All 3 can be placed in one bag this way.


Tonight I made BBQ Chicken & Squash Pizza. 1/2 of the finished product is only 8 points! Can't go wrong there. You can be as creative as you want with toppings and you will will scoff in the frozen pizza section of your grocery store.

I am not a nutritionist or weight watcher's expert. I just added the points of all the ingredients and used some elementary division. :) If you decide to try it, please let me know what you think!

My brain is a sitcom gone wrong

My brain is a flurry of activity. I hate to admit it, but if you are talking to me I am probably at that exact moment thinking of new recipes to try, a new purse I'd like to have, a TV show I watched the night before or what I need to do after we finish the conversation. I listen, but I will admit it, I'm a self absorbed person.

Sometimes what is going on inside my head is quite comical, and maybe just to me. When I first started exercising and run/walking on the treadmill I started very slowly. I would build myself up 1-2 minutes at a time. I never ran in my life before. I was the chubby girl in middle school that only jogged when the teacher was watching. The night I ran my first consecutive 5 minutes, I was elated. I made sure to jot down what was going on inside my head, the following is that self conversation:


Minute 1

"She's a man-eater make you work hard make you sweat hard..." I don't really know if I like this song...I wonder what I'll make for dinner. I'm starving....Oh, almost at the end of the minute...I'll keep going.

Minute 2

Yeah, I really don't like Nelly Furtado, I mean she's ok; I need something else *reaches for mp3 player*...OH, OH!! Don't fall down, just pick a song, hold the rail, hmmm Muse...that will work, oh this is faster. I better go to 5.2...holy crap, it's been 3 minutes

Minute 3

Ok, 5.2 too fast, too fast....back to 5.0. "Starlight I will be chasing your starlight, until the end of my life..." what does he say after that? I need to look up those lyrics. Ew. My hair is soaking wet and it still smells like hair dye from yesterday...

Minute 4

Ok, 4 minutes. I should stop. No I shouldn't. Think about the big kid on The Biggest Loser! If the big kid can run for 5 minutes, you can do it! You can do it this time, come on...5 minutes. You can. "It's the eye of the tiger..." damn, I wish I had that song. Why haven't I downloaded that song? "Starlight...."

Minute 5

Holy Holly. You're going to do it. You're going to make it. Almost there....deep breaths! Don't stop now, 20 seconds, 19...18...5 minutes! You are a champion dude. Think people would notice if I started clapping and cheering for myself right now? *looks around* yeah, probably....


Now I'm running more for distance than time. I can run 1.5 miles and I'm working to increase that every week. I had weigh in today and only lost .4lbs. You could hear crickets in my head I was so stunned when I saw such a small fraction of a number.

Looking at the bigger picture, I wanted to take a glimpse back on how far I've come since I started this journey. While the weight loss is a great part of my new life, that's not what it's about anymore. It's about pushing myself, getting healthier and actually enjoying the process.

They call(ed) me the chubby one...

Like most people on January 1st, 2009 I made a list of goals I would like to accomplish this year. It went something like this:

1. Lose 50lbs



2. Go to the gym more (at least 3x a week)



3. Quit Smoking



4. Read some Classics



5. Save Money

It looks like every list I've made, every year, since puberty. On January 5th, I stepped on the scale and at a short 5'4'' was depressed (although not surprised since my diet consisted of beer and pizza) to see that my weight had climbed to 209.6lbs. With the support of friends at work, I started following the Weight Watchers Points system, which had worked for me in the past, working out and weighing in weekly. I could barely run at 5.0mph for 40 seconds and 20 minutes 2-3 times a week was my work out schedule.

Today, I weigh 178.4lbs, I quit smoking, I go to the gym at least 5 times a week and I'm so busy reading up on healthy recipes and fitness tips that I haven't had time to read any classics. I can run 1.5 miles at 5.4mph without stopping to walk and my goal is to do a 5k this fall. I want to write about how I've made it this far and continue writing about how I'm doing. I still have quite a ways to go. So, here I am.

I want to use this place to share recipes, stories, workout plans, my goals, my hopes, my accomplishments, my weaknesses, my phobias (two piece bathing suits and snakes, in that order) and my set backs.

This is my new life and I'm in it for the long haul.