Another Saturday, Another Weigh In

I stepped on the scale on Saturday morning and I was pleasantly surprised that I was down another 1.3lbs and earned my 5lb badge.  So, I lost 6.1lbs in January. Not great, but encouraging. I was so exhausted from working out so much, that I hadn't worked out in four days. I got back on the bike today and lifted some weights for a hour and then napped for two hours! I've decided to do 60 minutes every other day instead of daily. My body isn't bouncing back from workouts like it use to.

I made, with Matt's supervision, two recipes: Weight Watchers Shells (11 point plus) and Weight Watchers Oatmeal Banana Bread (5 point plus).

Here are pictures from the shell recipe:

The shells were good! Very filling, but I would put less oregano in it bc it was super strong!

Here are pictures from the bread:

Bread was decent, but a little dry. My 1 pp butter took care of that though!

It was super icy this past week and we basically stayed in with the dogs.

I have one item to review and that is the Hungry Girl: The Official Survival Guides on two CDs . I got it for about eight bucks on Amazon and I think it was worth it. It had some really great tips and she really isn't annoying to listen to. I will say that I thought she was condescending in some spots and when she mentioned some "bad foods" she made it seems like you were a disgusting person for even wanting fair food or anything considered unhealthy. I'm sorry but a lollipop isn't going take the place of cheesecake on a stick at the state fair. Listen, I'm all about eating healthy, but I'm a firm believer in eating treats every so often.....even if they have fifty grams in it. I'm not saying everyday, but I'm saying everything in moderation. If I want to plan a meal where I eat four pieces of pizza from Pizza Hut, I'm gonna. Most of the time, I plan and get all excited from a cheat meal and then boom! I don't even want it anymore or maybe instead of the four I planned, I'll only eat one or two. I might be full, maybe I don't  even want it, maybe I want a healthier meal or maybe I am actually thinking of all the fat I'm eating. Anyway you want to look at it, it's my choice! My choice is moderation and nothing is considered "bad food", it's just food. If you label it as bad and say that you can't have it....you'll want it! Instead of saying, "I can't have it" say "I don't eat (insert food) much anymore" or "I don't really want that". To me, it makes it seems like MY choice. I don't want to eat it bc I don't really want it, not bc I can't have it. That food becomes forbidden or the Bad Boy, if you will. Whatever we can't have, we want....badly.  

Anyway, that's it for now! Hope everyone has a great week! 

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

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Exhausted Mentally and Physically

It hasn't been a great week, I gotta admit. My body feels tired and I feel mentally tired. I think I might be working out too much, bc I feel exhausted. I took yesterday and tonight off completely off and will get back on track tomorrow after work. I have been eating a bit more the past couple days and not working out, so I'm a little concerned about my weigh in. Fingers crossed.

Here are a few of my meals and snacks this week:

6 point lunch- Smart Ones Alfredo and Broccoli (which I picked out and replaced with spinach), green beans and 2 clementines. 

 My new favorite snack: pretzel chips and Laughing Cow Cheese: 4 points

Turkey burger, cheese, bun and fries, I needed a break from veggies. Worth the 10 points, it was so filling!

I also ordered this Hungry Girl CD to listen to in the car. It got really high ratings and people have been raving about it....we'll see! 

Tuesday night we headed to opening night for the Canes and had a good time...well, kinda, we lost, so that sucked. We will be going to Bruins game on Monday, so that will be great bc I love both teams!

We are having icy weather tomorrow afternoon, so I'm heading home early from work to avoid the clutter we dealt with back in 2005. We were stuck on the road for hours, I don't think we got in til almost 9pm! It was nuts!

So, that's it for now! I haven't decided on my recipes that I want to try yet. I think my bananas are finally ripe enough to make my bread. I'm thinking of making Shepard Pie, we'll see.

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Happy Hockey Day!

I'm so happy that the Canes play tonight, hockey is back. I have a lot of reservations with the lockout and everything. I'm a big hockey fan, but the lockouts put a huge damper on the sport, it's really sad. I want not to want to watch (ha, that was a mouthful!) but I love hockey. I hate that this was about the fan's money and the fans suffer. I guess keep forgiving, but never forget? I don't know. I'm tentative, but I'm happy hockey is back and I will watch with my Ray Whitney t shirt on.

Onto other news, I'm down another 2.1lbs for a total of 4.8lbs in about two and a half weeks. I'm happy for the loss, but I'm dying to hit my first goal of 10% loss. Fingers crossed it will be within the next two weeks. I'm a bit worried about losing my lean body mass bc every week it gets a little bit lower. Not sure why bc I do weights for 30 minutes three times a week plus a crazy amount of squats daily. Maybe not enough protein? Not sure.

This weekend I'll be trying three new recipes: Chicken Cashew Chicken (10 points), Red Velvet Cake (4) and Chocolate Marshmallow Fudge (2pts per per piece). I'm excited to try all of them. I've got some recipes for Superbowl Sunday that I want to try as well like baked chicken wings and a few different dips, but we will see. Normally, I just splurge and eat taco dip, but the whole thing has about 4,000 calories, so I'm a bit hesitant now-haha.

My dad is ok but he got hit by an alleged drunk driver last night. WTF is wrong with people?! He could've killed my dad and who knows who else. He could've ruined our lives bc he had to get behind the wheel hammered. Fucking idiot. I think my dad is more upset bc his week old truck is busted up.

I'm hoping to make my flight to New Orleans in the next two weeks, I've been watching prices like a hawk. I'm so excited to go there with my friends, take in all the sites and try some new food.

So, I guess that's it. Here's to a great weekend! Here are a few pictures from the last few days:

My nasty smoothie--YUCK! Not sure what I'm doing wrong, but the last few smoothies I've made are so disgusting! 

We made chipotle beef in the crockpot and it was good. I thought it was a bit too spicy but the leftovers are growing on me. This meal was 7 or 8 points, I believe.

Turkey meatballs from Trader Joe were great! I can't wait to have them again! I think it was one point per meatball.

Chicken tacos, one of my favorite meals! 8 points!

2 Point choices at work:

I have been drinking out of my Pats mug all week, can't wait for the game tomorrow! 

My babies

Guinness was driving us crazy last night until Matt picked him up, then he got all "Blue Steel" with the camera.

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Fuck The Scale

Fuck the scale. Seriously.

I lost .6lbs and I'm pissed. I worked out like crazy this week and banked all my activity points. I do cardio six days a week and weights three times a week. I went thru my weekly points, but  didn't go over. I'm super frustrated. I know, I know. I hear the same old things:

"At least you lost and didn't gain."
"I've had those weeks too"
"It's all part of the process"

Blah, blah, blah.  Bottom line, I haven't lost  the weight I've wanted and it's all on me. I'm mad, frustrated and annoyed. All my numbers sucked! My lean body mass went down and my body fat when up. Am I not working hard enough? Am I miscalculating my points? Is it really my thyroid?

Ok, so enough of that. I'm acknowledging the craptastic weigh in and looking forward to next weigh in. I decided a few things:

1) Change my weigh in day to  Saturday bc Sundays are a heavier meal for me and I tend to use most of my weekly points on that day. Although, I think I will be more careful doing that now! I will weigh in again this Saturday.

2) Work out 60 minutes a day. No whining, complaining, or bitching.

3) Rearrange points so that I'm not eating as many at night, basically lighter dinners.

4) Positive self talk. I've got to work on this! I have a huge support system and they say all the right things, and I just have to believe them. Friends on Facebook were so supportive today and I really appreciated it. I also watched Biggest Loser and the Red Team was going thru what I'm going thru now so it was helpful to watch tonight.

We tried another recipe that I wasn't all that excited about bc I had a feeling it was going to be spicy. Matt liked it but I wasn't all that excited about it bc it was kinda dry and yes, spicy. It was better in a pita with cheese. It is 1 point per ounce, pretty good! I wish I liked it more.

So, tha's it. The scale fucking sucks, but I'm going to kick ass next weigh in! 

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Last Chance Workout

Urgh, I do NOT have a good feeling about tomorrow's weigh in at all. I used all but one of my weekly banked points (and most of them on Sunday) and I don't feel good that that. I feel more comfortable spreading them out thru out the week if needed and if I have some the last night, I just let them go. I racked up 30 activity points this week, which I think it awesome. Every week I want to try and beat it by one point. We shall see I guess, but I have a feeling I'm going to be bummed out when I step on the scale tomorrow. I will try to work harder next week and make up lost ground.

Anyway, I had a super busy day at work and I walked almost 7,000 steps! I also drank water and green tea like crazy. I was peeing ALL DAY LONG! It was a pretty good Monday and as soon as I got home I jumped on my biked and biked 60 minutes. It was totally my last chance workout before my weigh in!

Dinner was AMAZING tonight!

Matt made Trader Joe's Mandarin Orange Chicken, rice and green beans and it was 13 points. It was so good and super filling! I can't wait to have it again! 

So, I guess that's it for now! Fingers crossed for ANY loss on the scale! 

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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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