Sorry, Katy Perry, I Didn't Like Pop Chips

I had a really fun and relaxing weekend. I got in TONS of activity points and tracked everything I ate.  Friday night we had my favorite potato soup with a serving of cheese (9 points for a two servings) and enjoyed it so much. It is one of my favorite comfort foods! I just wish I would've added spinach to get a veggie in but I forgot.

Saturday was pretty uneventful, but we did go out to Applebees with out friends. Applesbees didn't have what I planned on ordering, but luckily I have learned to be more prepared and had a few options saved in my phone. My meal was good, I had the Roasted Garlic Sirloin, a side of grilled shrimp and a Chocolate Mousse Shooter for a total of 28 points. I dipped a bit into my weekly points and was completely satisfied with my choice, especially the shooter! 

Today, I got even more activity points in bc I got up and worked out for a hour and probably will bike for another 30 during the Pats game. We also got out with the dogs for a walk even though it was super humid here. 

I have a few reviews this week, the first one is my awesome bike. I bought the Exeroeutic 300SR Foldable Bike for $140.00, although I looked on Amazon just now, and it's $135.00. This bike is GREAT! Matt said it was easy to set up, but it really doesn't fold. Even though it doesn't really fold it hardly takes up any space and it is super quiet. It has a comfortable seat and side handles. It tracks you miles, time, distance, speed, heart rate and calories. It can hold a person that is 300lbs and less. LOVE IT!

I also tried PopChips this week and I wasn't impressed. I choose the regular flavor bc I'm a plain eater and they were even too plain for me. Matt tried the BBQ ones, but said he liked them, but will not buy them again bc there were hardly any in a bag. We bought a big bag and the chips came below the half way point of the bag! What a waste! I will get the Quakes instead.....sorry, Katy Perry! 

Next, I tried Burt's Bee's Ultra Conditioning bc my lips have been so dry in this crazy weather. I love this stuff, bc it worked pretty much immediately. My lips are nice and soft and not greasy. 

At the suggestion of Julie (you can check her out on her blog, Fat Girl Running), I bought Garnier BB Cream and I was impressed. It is so light on my face and I don't even need foundation. Just a bit of BB Cream and some powder and I'm good to go. A big thumbs up from me! 

The last product I tried was Smart Balance Light Butter and it is good. I use it bc of my high cholesterol and it's only 1 point for a TBSP. I had it on my french toast today and it was light and buttery. Another thumbs up!

   

I'm trying a new dessert and even as I made it I didn't think it was worth 3 points, especially when I compare it to my Mini Ice Cream Cupcakes. The dessert is called Frozen ButterFinger Pie and I'm interested to try it tonight. I just don't think it's going to be as satisfying as the cupcakes. I was also supposed to save half the butter finger bar to sprinkle on top, but I threw it all in the whipped cream. Opps. Oh, well!

Anyway, all in all a great weekend! I'm signing off to watch the game. GO, PATS! 

*All opinions in the blog post are my own and I was not in anyway compensated in any way.*

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CIMT

My day started out with panic bc I was almost to Clayton and realized I had almost no gas in my jeep. As many know, I don't pump gas. The only other time I pumped gas, I got it all over myself....that was in 1996. I stunk like gasoline all thru Thanksgiving break. Awesome. Luckily, I made it to work (barely) and Kelli filled my tank.

Anyway, I was in Clayton today to finally get my CIMT (Carotid Intima-Media Thickness) done. It will show if I have blocked arteries. Given my family history, high cholesterol, weight etc, it was probably a good idea. It was basically like an ultrasound but on my neck. It took about 10 minutes, if not less. I should get the results in a week or two. 

I had a pretty busy day, but I planned ahead this time. I sucked it up and got my water and tea from endo's water cooler. I ate breakfast, and had a lunch I looked forward to. It was a combo if my baked ziti, chicken and peas.

We went to the grocery store and stocked up on healthy foods and recipe ingredients for the week. My plan is to make Weight Watchers Slow Cooker Chipotle's Barbacoa Beef Recipe, Weight Watchers Frozen Butterfingers Pie and Oatmeal Banana Bread Recipe this week. 

After shopping, Matt made my favorite potato cheese soup, I had 2 cups topped with cheese and it was 12 points. It was so good! 

Alright, off to relax! Here's to a great weekend! 

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Comfort Food

Phew! What a crazy day, we saw patients all day and the phones wouldn't stop ringing! I was exhausted when I got home. I was definitively craving something that wasn't good for me. I took a couple minutes to relax and evaluate my points. I had enough for 1 1/2 cups of Trader Joe's Mac and Cheese, 4 oz of Jennie O Turkey Kielbasa and green beans.

Here was lunch! 10 points....yum! 

Dinner was PERFECT for my crazy day! Once, I got home, I unwound with a magazine, I jumped on the bike while watching Big Bang Theory and earned 3 activity points.

I'm pretty proud of myself bc I was so exhausted and I could've easily ordered a pizza or went over my points by a crapload, but I didn't. Plus, I even got on my bike!

I'm getting excited for my New Orleans trip, my friend really did her research and came up with a few fun hotels, including the one where Double Jeopardy with Ashley Judd was filmed. I'm excited to go to   some different restaurants and try their cuisine. I wonder how many points alligator is? 

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Weight In #1

I weighed in this morning and I'm down 2.1lbs. I'm not getting too excited, but it's encouraging. I'm not getting too excited bc I've been down this road before, losing and gaining, losing and gaining. Same old story. I'm not getting down on myself, I'm just being realistic. I have a long road ahead.

I racked up 6 activity points this evening with 30 minutes of biking and 30 minutes of strength training. I was SUPER hungry and Matt made such a great dinner! It was a serving of Trader Joe's BBQ Chicken, 1 cup of Bird's Eye Rice and some green beans, all for 8 points!

I'm excited bc FitBit announced on Facebook that we will soon be able to sync our FitBits directly to our phones soon and I'm so excited! I always forget to do it bc I have to hang out by our desktop and wait for it to sync up. I can't wait for this! 

In other news, it looks like I'll be heading to New Orleans in March with some of my friends for a long weekend. I'm really excited bc I have never been and I really want to try alligator and craw fish. I'm hoping to be down at least 15lbs by then and will be able to fit in some fun clothes. 

I'm gonna kick back with a Mini Ice Cream Cake and an US Weekly, have a good night! Did you workout today? 

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Crustless Spinach Quiche

Ah, day three of my healthier me campaign and it's going well! I freaking love watching TV and I'm not even going to lie about that. I decided that every 30 minutes of TV, I have to move for 30 minutes, whether it be weights, marching in place, dancing etc. Basically, 30 minutes of rest, 30 minutes of moving my ass. Once the bike I ordered comes in, I'll add that to the mix. I did weighs during an episode of Kendra yesterday and my arms are super sore today.

Eating has been going well too. I have a really hard time when we go out to eat bc I don't know what the best thing to order is, so I emailed my nutritionist and she is going to help me out with that next visit. I want to learn how to make smart choices and feel comfortable going out with my family and friends.

Matt assisted me in cooking today, as always. I found a recipe on SparkPeople called "Crustless Spinach Quiche" and it was relatively easy to make. I altered the recipe a bit bc I don't like onions or feta cheese. So, we used onion powder, whole wheat flour, used a serving of shredded cheese and mixed it in (not just on top), and I added more spinach than required. It came out really well and can't wait for breakfast tomorrow!

Here is the recipe:

Crustless Spinach Quiche

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Irish Oatmeal Bread

We have a great Cooking Light cookbook and we (ok, Matt-haha) have made Irish Oatmeal bread before and it is so good! I decided that I wanted to help make it last night and I have NO IDEA how long it would take! We started at about  8ish and I ate my warm piece of bread about 1am! I'm not going to lie and say I was a HUGE help, bc I lost interest and then fell asleep-haha! It did make me appreciate Matt more bc of how complicated (in my eyes, a non cooker) it all was!

It came out great and I love that it is healthy! Here is the recipe: 

Cooking Light's Irish Oatmeal Bread

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Healthy Eating

Well, I read Cholesterol Down: Ten Simple Steps to Lower Your Cholesterol in Four Weeks--Without Prescription Drugs and I'm following the recommendations. I have lost about 4.5lbs and I feel pretty good. I'm not going to lie and tell you it's easy....helllllllllllll no. I'm still struggling getting used to eating healthy without gagging, the plain oatmeal and beans are a killer. It's a big change for me and it's tough. Reality has set in and yes, I have crazy high cholesterol, crazy high LDL and now I'm pre diabetic. I HAVE to do something about it before I have a freaking heart attack. No thirty three year old should be dealing with this bullshit. So, to avoid going on meds, I have to change my diet and keeping working out. I'm avoiding candy, eggs and lowering my cheese intake.

We celebrated our anniversary this weekend at the Melting Pot and it was pretty good. It is crazy expensive and probably not worth the price, but was fun and different.

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