Back to Work

GAG!

I'm back. One positive aspect? I'm not sitting on my fat ass at home eating all day long. I can not eat in my cubicle instead :) and WALK. As most of you know, Ft. Ben is enormous and I can get a mile in looping it twice. Today I walked 3 miles and that wasn't even on gov't time.

So-results....down another 2.4 lbs. This makes a total of 12.4 lbs. I have to say it was really refreshing for people to notice too. I mean, sure- people are going to say I slimmed down. I gave birth! However, I'm 12.4 lbs below my pregnancy weight. I'm glad people are noticing. It keeps me motivated. I was also told today that someone liked my goth lipstick. I must be pretty pale if people think my lipstick is goth. Maybe my next goal will be a spray tan. AHAHAHAHA!

What a Week!

It's been a not so good week. I'm not too excited for weigh in and I'm REALLY hoping I lost something. No excuses, I can tell you exactly why I haven't done well. The reasons? Well, for starters-I'm pretty bummed I'll be returning to work, paired with several last lunches with friends during the week, and having to see people that stress me out. So, time will tell tomorrow, but I'm not foreseeing 2lbs lost.

First Goal-ACCOMPLISHED!

I can go buy those shoes this week :) Yes, that's right-I lost the 10lbs I was going for before I went back to work. It wasn't too difficult since this fatty has a lot to lose, but it's also done! 50 more to go! I didn't know what the scale would hold for me b/c I did not eat what I said I would when we went out on our date. In fact, I'm just hoping I stayed in my points plus my 49 extra for the week in that one meal. That is how badly I blew it. Fortunately, one meal didn't really matter b/c I'm now officially down 10 POUNDS! Woohoo!

We enjoyed 2/5 recipes that I tried last week. The Spanish Tortilla and the Tamale were excellent. The Quinoa Asian Salad and the Rosemary Chicken were both eh. Both recipes called for orange congealed nastiness and I'll definitely not use it next time I make these recipes. This week I am doing recipes from Jessica Seinfeld's book, Double Delicious. Ryan bought it for me for my birthday. I have her first cook book and it hides fruits and vegetables in your normal food by pureeing. This week I am doing Baked Ziti, Grilled Cheese and Tomato Soup, and Meatball Subs from that book. An Egg, Avocado and Pico Tostada from the Ready, Set, Go WW book, and my Mom's Mediterranean Meatball Pitas. I am REALLY excited to try the Grilled Cheese sandwich as it is made with a white bean spread and then adds cheese to it. I think it will give me a nice creamy texture that I am always on the hunt for. Planning out my meals for the week has REALLY helped me achieve the 10 pound loss goal. It helps me space out my points all day so I'm not loading up at night. Another thing that has really kept me motivated is having a few weight loss buddies. Just want to say thanks to Stacey, Kelly and Aunt Pam!!!

Struggles this week-going out on my date with Ryan. Epic fail on staying in my daily points. As I'm sure I didn't go over my slush fund, I am still disappointed I used them. Now I think, could I have lost 4 lbs instead of 3? MUST STOP. It's also a big struggle to see my son eat all these yummy things that I can't have. Not cool!

Goal for this week-2lbs.

Until next time...

Weekend is Here

The weekend is here which means I'm remarkably hungrier than I am during the week-all mind over matter. Ryan and I are going on a date tonight and I can't wait. We are going for Mexican before. I'm going to eat 7 chips with salsa, and two tacos without cheese and pico! 14 points! I'll report back to see if I stuck to it :)

Until next time...

Exercise and Pants On!

I conquered the ever time consuming working out today! Thought I would also share that I can fit into my non-maternity clothes! HELL YES! If I can make it to the 10lb mark by Monday, I'm going to go out and buy myself a new pair of work shoes. I'm really going to have to either way, but we can pretend it's a reward.

Results are in

Down another 2.8 pounds making it a total of 7!

I'm definitely getting the hang of this points plus program. Guess what big thing I'm going to tackle this week? Converting my sedentary lifestyle into an active one! I need to EXERCISE! I'd really like to start swimming again, but since I'd rather not give up the whole 2-3 hours I get with my kids daily [after work], I think I'm going to stick to taking them for walks around the block, the elliptical in my basement, and the Wii fit for now. Maybe when I plateau, I can sign up for a gym membership.

We tried the rosemary chicken recipe from weight watchers. It was NOT a hit in this household. Ryan actually gagged it down and then said, "don't make that again and I will not be taking these leftovers to work." It wasn't bad, per se, but the recipe called for orange marmalade. I was very hesitant to put it in seeing as how I don't even like the crap when it's not being covered by strong herbs and spices. Well, the orange gunk didn't let me down. It was GROSS. I had all these leftovers and I'm not about to let an $8.69 [not joking] cup of flipping wild rice go to waste so I'll be choking it down the next few days. It was much better with some Dijon mustard on it yesterday. It really took that sweet orangy taste away. I definitely recommend it if you like marmalade though.

Yesterday, I basically starved myself so I could go to qdoba [after weigh in] with my friend, Kelly. I wanted to be able to have a burrito [without cheese] without having to sacrifice too much. Although I stayed in my points, I felt GUILTY. GUILTY-and I stayed in my points. I'm not saying I won't do it again, but I felt badly for eating all those carbs. What the hell is wrong with me?! Q is my favorite!

Until next time...

A Big Thank You!

I have managed to make it through the week without using my slush fund! Thank you to my oldest friend Stacey for cluing [yes, this looks weird but it is the proper spelling] me in on all the weight watcher friendly treats out there. The Fiber One Brownies [2 points], Better Than Peanut Butter [1 point], and Dulce de Leche WW bars [3 points] are definitely the BEST. The weight watchers cake recipe is also a good pick me up. Do you know the recipe? It's a box of cake mix, a can of diet coke [can of diet sprite if yellow/white mix], and cool whip. It's a 4 point, satisfy the craving, piece of cake. Literally. Ryan and I added cherries to it as well. Another big helper has been the 0 point vegetable soup. When I get hungry during the day and don't want to blow my points, I warm up a bowl of soup! It definitely gets me by.

Something that has been difficult this week is GOING OUT TO EAT. I'm spending a TON of money on groceries and don't want to eat out. Unfortunately, it's the social thing to do. It is insanely difficult to eat well when you go out. Even with the WW guide, I find it so difficult to control myself. I have been avoiding restaurants so if you ask us to go out to eat, don't be offended when we say, "no."

Finally, a big helper today has been planning out the recipes I'm going to make before I go to the grocery store. I had zero impulse buys because of this. What will I be serving this week to my hungry husband? Well, a spanish tortilla, a mexican tamale, rosemary chicken with wild rice, asian quinoa salad, and asparagus and wild rice salad. I can't wait to try these new recipes!

I can't wait for weigh in tomorrow! Until next time..

On a Mission

I'm on a Mission. Two kids and 18 months later, I need to get rid of this saggy FUPA that I acquired during pregnancy. Yes, I've been fat before, but not saggy skin fat. Now, I have saggy skin and I need to eliminate this before it expands, or before I let my husband and myself get too comfortable with it.

I've been overweight for roughly 13 years of my life. The last 13 to be exact. It all started the summer that I worked at the Dental Center as a Dental Assistant and front office staff. They had this AMAZING Chinese restaurant upstairs which I frequented at least 3x a week. On top of that, I felt it necessary to stop at Dairy Queen on the way home probably 2x a week to get those awesome cookie dough blizzards WITH extra cookie dough. Be jealous. That delicious diet afforded me the advantage of gaining 25 pounds that summer even though I was going through rigorous swimming sessions every morning for the swim team. Amazingly enough, it was after I received my driver's license too. It was me making my own decisions to be FAT. Yeah, I'm awesome. I've literally been battling my weight ever since. Back then, I wasn't fat though, just fat for superficial high school standards. Now, I'm FAT. I'm down to pre-baby weight, still can't fit in my clothes. It's time. With no kids on the way, I'm going to do this. I've also enlisted my husband. He's packed on the pounds right along with me because I'm the one cooking the crap, and he's the one eating the crap. I don't want him to die. I don't want to die. AND most importantly, I don't want to show my two boys that eating like crap is the way to grow up. My Parents didn't teach me that [although they eat like crap now too].

So, HOW am I going to do this? Well, after much research on all the latest and greatest diet fads out there, I've decided to sign up for Weight Watchers. Weight Watchers will teach me portion control [MY BIGGEST ISSUE! because if the pan of brownies is there, the pan of brownies will end up in my stomach in all of two hours flat. I'm a glutton], and how to eat correctly [even though I already know]. My ultimate goal is to eliminate all the processed, hormone infused foods as well. I know this is a LONG way down the road. Right now, I'm just concerned about shedding some weight and doing it the correct way. However, like I said, my ultimate goal is to be a "most of the time organic vegetarian" with a few slight slip ups per year for a good burger, Italian beef, or steak [notice ALL beef-lol]. I'd love to eliminate cheese too, however, I just don't see that happening EVER. It's too amazing. I think a severe health problem would be the only way to make that happen and I'm going to shed these extra pounds in order to avoid that health problem. It's something I can control.

So-we have joined! After my first week, I've dropped 4.2 pounds. My goal is roughly 60 more. Yes, 60. SUCH A BIG NUMBER! However, the first week has definitely had its ups and downs. First obstacle-going home to Chicago. I tell my Mom we are limiting meat and that we are on weight watchers, but she really is not supportive. She has that mentality that you need to pound your body with protein. She doesn't realize that protein comes in different forms like beans, soy, quinoa, etc. Her idea of protein is MEAT. She can't have enough. She doesn't realize that meat has cholesterol, saturated fat, and all that other nasty crap. Yes, I know, not all meat is laced with death, however, the meat she cooks-yeah, it is. So we get home at 10PM! PM! and she has chicken wings in the oven, bbq beef waiting, potato salad, and something else that is not losing weight conducive. Which in all reality is really funny because she has been my biggest critic all these years. Telling me how I don't fit in my clothes properly, being a sort of embarrassment to her. You think she would be supportive. It's one of those situations where you are damned if you do and damned if you don't. I think I'll be damned if I do from now on. I now know that telling her I'm on weight watchers isn't enough. I'm going to be bringing my own food when we go there from now on, however rude it may be. Obstacle solved. Second obstacle? The BEST fast food joint ever-PORTILLOS! Portillos makes the BEST Italian Beef with hot peppers and has the BEST fries EVER. Now to the amazing people who have put the point values out there on the Internet-The Italian Beef is 18 points and the Fries are 24 or something close to that. I found it on the Internet somewhere and am now having troubles locating it. Well-I get a whole 31 points in a day [plus 14 for breastfeeding, but I have found I don't really need those if I eat my whole grains, fruits and veggies] and I was determined to have this delicious meal. AND I DID. It was my decision, I went over my points, BUT the beautiful thing is-I used those 14 breastfeeding points and I used some of the slush 49 points for the week and still lost. Weight Watchers is a beautiful thing. How am I going to overcome this obstacle next time I'm home? Well, I'm not. I'll probably do it again and I'm ok with that. As I said earlier, I'm going to slip up for a good Italian Beef and Portillos has the best! Obstacle #3-sweets! Oh sweets, how I love thee. I decided to buy some of the weight watchers sweets products like fruities, peanut butter bliss bars, and chocolate pretzel bars to satiate that craving. It worked, but let me comment that sugar alcohols and aspartame have been known to cause cancer which is not healthy. I want to make sure I can eliminate these SOON. I'm hoping that after a few weeks, these cravings will drop down significantly and I can substitute with an actual brownie made out of real sugar instead. Stay tuned for that obstacle.

Good things about the week? Well, I tried several new vegetarian recipes. I did a broccoli polenta one night. I added a few extra things for flavor like mushrooms, onions, and a little Parmesan cheese, but it was a definite winner. We have been roasting veggies on the grill daily since it's minimal points and beautiful weather. I've literally been eating 3-4 cups of these daily just so I can make it through my day. Everybody knows that when you start a diet, you automatically throw yourself in ravenous mode because you think you need all the crap you had before. The roasted veggies have REALLY helped. Oh, and finally, let's not forget the 4.2 lbs down. :)

So, there you have it. My first week wasting away in a semi-healthy way.