Weigh In

This morning I had my first weigh in.

I wish you could come to my meetings with me.  It is so dang funny.  Ladies with water bottles.  Ziplocks filled with fresh fruit because heaven forbid we get caught hungry while we are out and about.

And gum.  Oh the gum.  Folks chewing gum like their lives depended on it. 

I was a little nervous about stepping on the scale. 

We ate good pizza this weekend.  Birthday cake and ice cream, twice.  I had pie.  Saturday morning I went to Panera with ladies from church and had a cinnamon crunch bagel with hazelnut cream cheese and a mocha.  One night I made burgers and fries and another night we ate Pioneer Woman's beef and bean enchiladas.

All that to say, we ate really well this week and I enjoyed myself.

There was even a little impromptu surprise last night.  After church Shane surprised us all with a trip to Marble Slab for ice cream.  Uh-Oh I thought as I jumped for joy!  This might kill any chances of weight loss for me. 

So, are you curious?  Do you think I ate real food, enjoyed the celebrations, and gained weight or do you think I was able to loose?  Well, I'm not tellin.

Heh Heh Heh, I'm playing with you.  Mean old joker, geesh.

I am a looser.

2 pounds to be exact.

I can't even believe it.  I'm so stinking excited I was able to loose weight in the midst of real life.  For whatever reason, WW is the only thing I have found that works for me.  So, here are a handful of ways last week looked different than before I started WW.

• Monday I planned my week on my tracker.  I looked ahead and thought about times I would be eating away from home/celebrations/etc.  This helped me mentally prepare for when to use my extra 49 points for the week.
• Each night I planned what I wanted to eat for the next day.  This was AWESOME.  It was sort of like online shopping.  Sort of.  But come to think of it, not really.  It made me happy anyway, to know the next day I would be eating real food.
• I view my 26 daily points like money.  You have to spend all 26 in order to loose.  You get to choose how you want to spend them.  It is like a game for me.  Fruits/veggies are free. 
• My breakfast each morning was fruit.  First I enjoy my coffee and cream.  Then I ate an orange most mornings.  Later on I'd eat a banana.  Around 11 I'd toast some bread and make a great looking turkey sandwich with a pickle on the side.  Dinner each night was real food (as in things I normally make-spaghetti, burgers, etc...).
• Normally I don't eat breakfast.  I know, I know...bad girl.  After I got going last Monday, I woke up every day hungry and ready to eat.
• Since I don't know who reads this, I'm not going into detail about this next part, but let's just say fruit/veggies are very fiber filled.  Good material to talk with your Grandma about.
• I have felt really good this week.  There is really no reason I should be grumpy over the fact that upping my salad, fresh fruit, fresh veggie intake gives me energy, but it sort of does irritate me.
• It goes back to the chocolate covered potato chips labeled "crack" that I pinned before Christmas.  Why can't that be the life giving food?
• Counting points makes me want to eat at home more.  Going out to eat can be stressful when you are trying to loose weight.  Here's a good example for you.  Taco Bueno.  Pretty much my home away from home.  My beloved nacho salad is 28 points.  2 crunchy tacos, 10 points.  You know how you hear folks who have lost weight talk about making different choices (and it makes you want to punch them in the face)?  This is a prime example.  I could have had the nacho salad today, so why did I choose the tacos?  I chose tacos today because we're going out to eat for dinner and it is only Monday.  Personally, I like to save my extra points for later in the week.
• You should also know I didn't exercise.  Hallaluer!

Razzlebery Pie

This is my weekly tracker.  Once a week you jot down what you've got going on during the week.  This helps you plan when you might want to use your extra 49 points.  I'd like to direct your attention to Wednesday if I may.

Bible study night.  I had Razzleberry pie on the menu for dessert tonight.  I have been thinking about that piece of pie since Monday.  Razzleberry pie is a mix of blackberry, blueberry and raspberry and it is heaven in a pie pan.  That piece of pie was going to cost me 10 of my 26 points and I was going to make a way to enjoy my piece of pie.

This is my first day on the program.  I ate what I had at the house.  No pie?  No problem.  But Wednesday?  Wednesday we eat pie.

And this is a picture of my beloved pie that I burned about an hour ago.  I turned broil on for just a sec to brown the top a wee bit.  Then I got sidetracked working with one of the boys.  Then I started to smell something awful.

My pie was completely charred on top.

Words cannot convey the depth of my heartbreak over this tragedy.

After a bit of pie surgery, this was the best I could come up with.  No buttery and golden sugar cascaded top baked to perfection.  Only charred bits of dashed dreams remain.

When I say I have been excited about having a slice of this pie, I mean, I have been excited. 

What's that?  You just broke a window?  It's cool, I'm having pie Wednesday night.

Hmmm?  You just overflowed the toilet?  It's all good, pie is on the docket for this week.

You just colored a mural with permanent Sharpee on the wall in the hall?  No big whoop, let's eat pie.

Last night, after I got in my pj's, I got my tracker out to plan for today.  I started from the bottom up since I knew for sure I was getting pie tonight.  I knew I may have to eat lots of lettuce leaves, water and air but it was all going to be worth it.

And here I sit, jipped.  I ate the lettuce.  I ate the air.  I drank the water. And my dreams have been dashed.

As I sit here, it is as if the Pie Nazi has visited me.  No pie for you! Goodbye old friend.  I hardly knew ye.

This Fine April Fool's Day

I thought about telling you we were having a baby for a joke but then decided that'd just be too mean.

You should know I really love April Fool's Day.  In college, we had a really great choral director.  He ran a very strict program and we always did exactly what we were told.  This is strange, I am warning you, but I always thought it would be rip roaring hilarious if we all just sat down on the risers mid-rehearsal for a joke.

Do you want to know the reason I'm in a bad mood today?  Because when I click post I'm driving up to the Weight Watcher meeting.  You may remember I was supposed to go back in January but here we are on April Fool's and I've fooled around and not gone back.

There have just been too many good things to celebrate and I am the Queen of Excuses.  I'll find any doggone reason to celebrate, and usually it is with Mexican.  Hmmm.  It's Thursday!  Let's party!!!  I am not even lying.

Stinkin' old Weight Watchers really does work and I love it but I hate it.  I love that I can eat what I really want.  I love that I have control and say.  I hate that I have to make choices.

Here's what I mean by that.

Last year when I was on WW we'd go on dates.  I got 28 points a day and 49 extra points a week to spend when and where I wanted.  In my mind it was like cash...I got to budget where I wanted to spend and I had to spend them!

I loved saving my extra points for the weekend because weekends were made for good food and fun.  So I was a stickler with my extra points.  They were for weekend use only. 

One Tuesday we went on a date.  Since it was not the weekend, we went to Subway for subs and Baked Lays.  Movie with no popcorn and we had a great time.

Another  mid-week date was my favorite Mexican place, Cantina Laredo.  What I really love are the cheese/chicken enchiladas.  So that is what I got-2 a la carte enchiladas.  Chips/salsa and I was in heaven!

Skip forward to Valentine's day when I was not on WW.  We rolled up to the Mexican food joint and they were having a $20 special.  One appetizer, two entree's, one dessert for $20.  Cha. Ching.

After barrelling my way through a large cheese dip, 3 enchiladas and strawberry nachos I was happy happy happy.

But you can see the difference.  Cheese dip, one more enchilada than I really needed, I went ahead and ate the beans and rice even though they weren't my favorite, and you would have seriously been impressed at the speed in which we devoured the strawberry nachos.  Lord have mercy, it was impressive.

So I'm going back today to stand on the scale.  I'm kind of excited and kind of not.  I am signing up for 14 weeks, so if you want to join me come on.  Our vacation is going to fall in this time, but it is what it is.  This is the reason I haven't rejoined.  Because there is always something fun on the agenda that I don't want to miss out on.

Thank you and good-bye.

Hopefully this time next week there will be one pound less of me to love.  I'll let you know.

Weight Watchers

If you sign up for 14 weeks, you save $1.50 per week on meetings.  My 14 weeks ended yesterday.  The program works, it is good.  I like that I get to eat what I want.  My choices are my decision and that was helpful for me.  If we had a birthday party or plans to go out to dinner on the weekend, I ate healthier during the week to save my points for when I really wanted them.

After a lot of thinking, I'm 99.9% sure I am going to wait until the first of the year to re-join.  My goal is to make Lifetime Membership.  That means when you hit your goal weight you attend 6 more meetings.  If you maintain that weight for 6 weeks you are a Lifetime Member.

The reason I am not re-joining right now is because of where the next 9 weeks fall.  The holidays!  During those weeks I am not going to be looking to loose, I'm going to be looking to maintain.  I didn't want to be paying for weight loss when 5 out of the next 9 weeks my goals are different.  My goals will be to enjoy the celebrations and maintain my 19 pound weight loss.

If I start to gain then I'm going to go ahead and go back to meetings, even if it means before the first of the year.

In the meantime, my plan is to weigh in with my friend.  If I loose weight I get to pay myself $12 (the cost of a mtg).  If I gain or stay the same, I don't get the $12.  This is for the next 9 weeks and my plan is to start back up with official meetings the second week in January so that I can hit my goal of Lifetime Membership.

I still need the accountability, I just didn't want to be giving the $12 away each week for maintaining.

3 pounds of gain is my flag that it is time to go back to meetings.  That's the plan Stan.  I worked so hard to loose my weight and I reeeealllly do not want to gain it back-holidays or not.  I'm just going to see if over the next 9 weeks I can do it at home.

Wish me carrot sticks luck!

Weigh In-Rate your Plate

I've got to start by telling you about my dinner Friday evening.  Mamaw came home from rehab and we spent the day getting her settled back at home.  We went to Outback for dinner and days later I'm still thinking about that dinner we had.  It was a fun celebration, her first day in over a month to be out in the real world.

It started with a Bloomin' Onion followed by bread and honey butter.  I had steak and a sweet potato topped with honey butter, cinnamon and brown sugar.  Then.  Then.  Wait for it, wait for it, we got a Chocolate Thunder From Down Under.

It was the best dang dinner I've ever had.  This weight loss journey has made me change some things.  Years ago I read the Weigh Down Workshop and loved the concept.  Eat what you want, when you want it, stop when you are full.  That concept, combined with Weight Watchers has helped me drop...

19 pounds

• I think about what I really, really want before I eat it.
• I've realized I can have fun and enjoy a fun dinner.  Just not every day :).  No more big Mexican celebrations just 'cause it's Monday and I can.
• When we go out to eat, I share with someone.  If I don't share I end up overeating and feeling miserable.  In my mind, sharing never seems like enough food, so I make myself feel better by telling myself I can always get a dessert if I'm still hungry.  Crazy thing is, half a meal out fills me up.  5 of us shared this dessert and it was perfect.  A few bites of heaven was all we needed!

Back to point number 1, thinking about what I really, really want.  I already LOVED food and eating, but this makes it even better.  Food, especially really good food, is an experience.

Two weeks ago I was in Memphis.  We had BBQ for lunch, of course.  Everything about the lunch experience made me happy.  The way the sun was shining and the bright blue sky did not have one cloud in it that day.  The way 14 of us women gathered around a table and chatted happily over what we were learning.

The way the smell walking in should be bottled and made into perfume.  The cheese biscuits.  Oh those cheese biscuits.  The 2 real Dr. Peppers I drank.  The brisket and french fries.  It was gooooooood.  I ate what I wanted and when I was full there was half a plate of fries and bread from my sandwich left over.  I enjoyed it all, rated my food, decided the meat and fries tasted best, so most of my bun got left behind.  Normally it would have found it's new home on my rear end.  Ha ha ha get it.  Buns, Buns?

Later that same afternoon we went to Chick-fil-A for shakes and the craziest and I mean craziest thing happened.  It was weird.  Like, I've heard of this happening to people but never experienced it first hand.  As I stood there looking at the menu for a shake (still full from my BBQ lunch that was so satisfying because I ate exactly what I wanted) I decided the fruit cup looked best.  So that's what I got.  A fruit cup.  Mediano.  $2.46.  About an hour into our trip when I got hungry I whipped that puppy out and it hit the spot.

A fruit cup.  Is that not crazy?  I'm tellin' ya though, that lunch earlier was so fantastic, I didn't even need the shake.

My other tip besides halving your food at restaurants is halving your portion size at home.  I'm a seconds kind of girl, probably always will be.  When we had chili this weekend man, I know I'm going for 2 bowls.  So I trick myself and just have smaller size bowls. 

Before weigh in this morning I wanted to quit.  But man, it's working and I've still got 11 pounds to go.  Last week I lost 2 pounds and ate out a couple times.  I just used my eat what I really want trick and it worked.

Weigh In

The last 3 weeks have been off schedule for us.  It started with us tearing out all the tile in our house.  A week later we left for 2 weeks.  I wandered how my weight loss would handle the lack of routine and the lack of healthy food.

This morning I went for my weekly weigh-in, but before I tell you the results, I have to tell you what I've been eating the last 3 weeks (because it has been heavenly!)

• Chicken & Fries (x too many too count)
• Pizza & Caesar Salad (ditto)
• Krispy Kreme
• Chili Cheese Nachos (x4)
• Wine
• Steak and Mashed Potatoes
• White Cheddar Cheese Its
• Snicker's (fun size)
• Frozen Reese Cups
• Ice Cream
• Ice Cream
• Chili Dogs
• Fried Fish, Fries & Hushpuppies (x2)

I'm probably leaving some things out, but I have not eaten healthy the last 3 weeks.  It has been fast food and processed food.  So, did I loose weight?

My goal was to maintain what I've already lost.  I was able to maintain my weight loss and even lost another pound, bringing my grand total weight loss to...

 

15 pounds!!!

Shane and I are puzzled that we did not gain weight on vacation.  I've tried to think of how on earth I ate like I did but managed to not gain.  The biggest thing I can attribute it to is that we shared our meals (except for that last day at Disney when I was hot, tired and grumpy and looked at Shane while we were in line ordering lunch and said today I'm getting my own combo!  big butt or not i gotta do what i gotta do!)

So, our portion sizes were smaller and it was a very active trip-we walked all day every day.

When we got to Orlando we went to the grocery store.  I picked up a carton of grape tomatoes.  I never once even cracked into them.  They traveled across 5 states with me and finally last night they got eaten.

When I look at the list of food we ate on vacation, it is a huge contrast to the new normal at our house.  Last night I cooked Potato Corn Chowder and we ate Salads with it.  It was the first meal I've cooked in awhile.

Tonight-My sister's famous Chili recipe.  It is the best!  I'm going to share the recipe with you later this week!

Spaghetti Squash

This was my first spaghetti squash to buy. It sat on the counter for about a week before I got the courage to crack into it and figure out what to do with it.  The squash seemed small, so my big question was how much is it going to make.  There was a lot of squash in that little guy, enough for 4 servings at least.

The first thing you do is cut it down the center.  Use your sharpest knife for this part and be careful. 

Then you want to scoop out the center part with the seeds and pulp. This was the part I was unsure about.  I thought the strands in the middle were the actual squash, but they are not.  It is like cutting a canteloupe.  You know how you take a spoon and scoop the middle part out, seeds and all?  Same concept here.  The part of the squash you'll be eating is that smooth looking outer layer.

Then place the halves in a 9x13 pan, cut sides facing up (like in the above picture). Pour about an inch of water in the bottom of the pan and cover tightly with foil. You can put a little butter, salt and pepper on the squash before you bake it if you want to, I did not do that step because of my diet lifestyle change and what not.  Bake at 375 for 30-45 minutes (I cooked mine 45 minutes).

Then the magic happens.  You take a fork and scoop the spaghetti like strands out onto your plate.  It is so stinkin' cool!  And unlike pasta which is 5 WW points, this is 0 points!

Top with your favorite pasta sauce and you have yourself a fantastic dinner.

Noodle Free Lasagna

This lasagna is so good! It is hearty and the meat sauce and cheese topping are delicious.  I thought it was easier to assemble than regular lasagna because you do not have to deal with hot lasagna noodles which can be hard to deal with.  The noodle part is actually thinly sliced vegetables.  I used zucchini and eggplant.  You will see the recipe actually calls for mushrooms.  We don't like mushrooms so I changed it up.  Next time I will use all zucchini for the noodle layer.  Sliced thinly they almost disappear.  Almost. 

The first step is thinly slicing the vegetables, sprinkling them with salt and broiling them.  Set broil on high and let them roast.  The salt is to draw out any water in them.

4 zucchini, sliced (I only used 2)
2 portabella mushrooms, sliced in strips (I did not use)
8 oz. lean beef (94% lean)
1/2 yellow onion, finely diced
28 oz. can diced tomato
5 garlic cloves, minced
15 oz. fat-free ricotta
1/4 c. egg beaters (I used liquid egg whites)
1/2 c. reduced fat Parmesan
2 T. chopped fresh basil (I used dried)
1 t. tried oregano
1 c. part skim mozzarella (do not use fat free on this part!)

-Sprinkle veggies with salt and broil.

- Preheat oven to 350.  Spray skillet with Pam.  Saute' onion and 3 of the minced garlic cloves, 3-5 minutes.  Add in ground beef and brown.  Add in diced tomatoes, oregano, basil, salt and pepper.  Stir well and cook until thick.  (Check on your veggies, are they looking good?  I like mine a little brown on top.)

-Mix ricotta, Parmesan, remaining two minced garlic cloves, egg, salt and pepper.

-Pam a 9x13 pan.  Spoon meat sauce in dish.  Layer veggies, ricotta, sauce, veggie, ricotta, sauce.  Top with mozzarella (my favorite part!).  Cover with foil.  Poke 3 holes in foil (to allow steam to escape).

-Bake 45 minutes.  Remove foil and bake another 10 minutes. (I usually go a little longer because I want my cheese browned)

-Let stand 10 minutes before serving.  This step really does make a difference.  It allows the lasagna to set up properly.  Cut into 6 portions.

6 servings-6 points each

One of the trickiest parts of lasagna is figuring out when to start it to have it ready in time.  The easiest thing I do is work backwards.  If we want to eat at 5pm, this is how I figure it.

4:50 lasagna out of oven to rest
4:30 foil off top of lasagna (bake another 20 min. to brown cheese)
3:45 lasagna in oven to cook for 45 minutes covered with foil
3:15 start dinner prep

The Donut Shop (and a weigh in)

Have I ever shared with you how much I LOVE the donut shop. Oh how I love the donut shop.  We only go on special occasions and every single thing about the experience sings joy.  The sheer fact that you can walk in with bed head and pajama bottoms on says a lot right there. 

You open the door and see that steaming pot of coffee on the burner keeping warm only for your eyes to be diverted to the rows and rows of sweet cakes. 

Which leads me to my current weight loss. 

Today I am officially at 10 pounds gone.

One thing that drives me nuts is when someone has lost weight and you ask what they've done.  They act like its no big deal that they've, ya know, dropped 30 pounds and just say, "Well, I've been eating some fruits and vegetables and I don't know."  It is not a casual, flippant, accidental thing to drop the pounds.

I joined Weight Watchers because I needed some help.  Today I want to share some changes I've been making because apparently it is working.  Did I tell you that I never, ever loose weight?  I am amazed that this is really working.

So for starters I cut out my coffee and cream.  It's not something I had to do, it is something I chose to do.  Each day I get 28 WW Points.  Every morning I was using up around 8 of those points on coffee.  Then I wouldn't be hungry for breakfast, then around 10:00am I'd head to the kitchen starving and would grab the first thing (usually some chips, stellar choice, I know).

It was an entire meal I was using in calories on coffee and cream.  I'm pretty much a go big or go home kind of girl so having a little coffee everyday was not an option for me.  If I made a pot I was having 2-3 cups.  Maybe you have more self-control than that and can handle a little serving.

One of my goals 5 weeks ago when I started was to try new things every week at the grocery store.  So far we've tried almond milk, liquid egg whites, eggplant, spaghetti squash and this week I bought a rutabaga and organic beets.  (recipes to come because I know you're dying for them, lol)

For someone who used to hate sandwiches, I've pretty much settled on a bowl of cereal and skim milk topped with sliced strawberries or bananas for breakfast.  Some days we whip up some fruit and yogurt smoothies.  Snacks are fruit like an apple, orange, cantaloupe or watermelon. 

Lunch most days is a sandwich on toasted bread.  I put on Oscar Meyer rotisserie chicken, ham or turkey and WW sliced cheese.  Then I add lettuce, tomato, banana peppers, salt and pepper.  You know those good pickles in the refrigerated section?  One or two of those.  Some days I'll have a cup of soup on the side (like tomato or vegetable).  Other days I'll have some Baked Lays.

I save most of my points for dinner.  Some things we've had for dinner are baked potatoes topped with chili and cheese and a salad, chicken, rice and broccoli, stir-fry, lasagna, spaghetti, BBQ, and chili-relleno bake.

One big thing I've noticed about my plate and snacks are the lack of bread.  You can have bread, but it's a big point sucker upper.  One dinner roll is 4 points.  Most days, like every day so far, that has not been worth it for me.  But spending 4 points on chips, totally worth it for me.

Now let's talk about Starbucks.  Tall Skinny Caramel Macchiato.  3 points and my new best friend.  And since I'm not having coffee in the mornings it tastes soooooo gooooooood. 

And for the record, one donut is 14 points.  So, for the meantime I am kissing them good-bye.

Today I held a 10 pound bag of potatoes.  In the last 5 weeks, these little different choices have added up to 10 pounds of weight loss for me.

I'd like to thank Jared, Subway and the Academy.

Drum Roll Please

Even in the midst of mansion parties, dinner meetings, cupcakes, BBQ, and pizza...

I have lost...

8 POUNDS

I can't believe it.  I really didn't think I could loose weight.  I've read Dr. Phil's book, Greater Health God's Way (Omartian), The Weigh Down Workshop and The Maker's Diet.  All great books but I never lost good weight with them.

We've eaten real food the last three weeks and lost weight doing it.  Here is an example of what a typical day looks like foodwise.

Breakfast:  Special K (high fiber and protein) cereal, skim milk topped with strawberries

Snack:  Orange

Lunch:  Sandwich and 1 cup soup or Baked Lay's

Snack:  My left arm...and on some days a banana or apple

Dinner: Nacho Salad (with a lettuce bed vs. chip bed) and I crumble a few tortilla chips on top

Mansion Parties

We attended two birthday parties today.  When I came out of my room after getting ready, with hair, make-up, real clothes and jewelry on, my middle boy said,

"Mom, this is not a mansion party, you don't have to look your best!"

That boy, I'm telling you what.  Apparently I've been taking the yoga pants deal a little too far.

Tonight I had a cupcake at the Dinosaur Oden party.  Came home, calculated it and found out it was a 10 point cupcake. 

Ay-yi-yi 

It's OK though because I've done good on my Weight Watcher Points this week.

Every week you get an extra 49 points to spend.  I hoard those babies till the weekend.  Oh, and guess what else I found out.  Each week, I enjoy a 4 day weekend.  Realized it Thursday night when I kicked my weekend off.  Isn't that nice, only to have a 3 day week.  I just like to party and celebrate and have fun I guess.

Tuesday night we had a $13 date.  Our sweet friends from church came over and watched the boys and we went to the movies to see a VIP showing of Unconditional, the movie.  Yeah, that's right, the screen said VIP.  How do you like me now?  Technically Shane got the invite so I guess really he's the famous one.  He does have 1800 Facebook friends so that would make sense.  We ate Subs at Subway where you can have it your way but don't go crazy.

Speaking of sandwiches, I've always hated sandwiches.  Do you like them?  One of my best friends is a sandwich aficionado.  Me, not so much.  Only, wait for it...wait for it...I am changing my ways.  The secret is toasting your bread first.  It makes it less sandwichy somehow.  Try it, I know you'll like it.

I've got some good recipes coming down the hopper for ya' so get ready.  And Monday I'll let you know how much weight I have lost in the last 3 weeks.