Thought for the day and Monthly Celebration!

March 31: How will you celebrate your success this month? Reward yourself in a non-food way!
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I can't believe it is already the end of the month. When I went back to my progress page where I record my numbers every month, I lost 10 pounds this month. For me 10 pounds in a month is GREAT! I have never actually went back and figured monthly weight changes and I think I kind of like it! So, how am I going to celebrate in a non food way? I have to be careful here because money is tight, but I found that at the Dollar Tree, they have magazines for $1.00. They are from the previous month, but some come out in the middle of the month that they say on the front. I have enjoyed Family Circle, Fitness, Woman's Day, Ladies Home Journal, just to name a few, from there! So, I get $5 to go splurge on magazines that I usually do not go out and buy. I love reading magazines!
How are you going to celebrate your loss this month?
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This week has been really good, but I am really scared about going to the scales tomorrow! This is the first week since I joined WW meetings that I really feel like I finally did things right. I have been too sick the other two weeks! I have exercised everyday, but one and earned 3 AP's by doing my walking DVD. Friday(the day I said I did not exercise), I deep cleaned the house and worked really hard for two hours. When I tried to count this online I put in 2 hours of light exercise and it came up with 8 AP's. I did not even count that because I NEVER earn 8 AP's a day, but I probably should have counted it. Yesterday was just so pretty and we have been couped up in this house for just too long being sick that I took the kids, well all but the baby (I left him with daddy!), and we went to the park! We have a really small park, I can walk, while they play and still watch them. I walked for 1 hour and got 4 Ap's. I set a goal to get 18 Ap's this week and I think I might end up getting a few more, probably like 22! Walking outside felt so good! It was just a really pretty day! I also have done really good on my points even with eating out this week! Like I said I ate all of my points and I have said this before that I was doing the wrong points before going to WW and now I am doing a higher number and I am scared that I am not going to lose any. So, we will see. Most of the time I worry about nothing. I also have been trying to get in my 8 Healthy Guidelines this week(I really did not do these before going to WW) and have done really well! I had been having trouble with dairy. Well now that I have discovered WW cookies at 1 point each, drinking my milk is just not so hard! Cookie(s)( I only eat one a day!) and milk on WW! Also I have NEVER done good on getting in my 2 teaspoons of healthy oils. This week I have been using the WW website and message boards and they had a list of things to try to get in the oil requirement. I picked drizzling 2 teaspoons of canola oil on my microwave popcorn and at first I thought that just sounded NASTY, but it is my new fave! So popcorn and healthy oil at 3.5 points a day might be how I get in my healthy oil. I also started taking a vitamin, more regularly. The daily tracker on the WW e-tools has you check it off everyday so I remember! I always struggle with 5 fruits and veggies a day, but seemed to do real well this week, so I guess I will just have to wait until tomorrow to see how I really did. I hope everyone else had a great week!

Dole Joins Cantaloupe Recall

Since most of you who read this blog are trying to eat healthier and might be eating Cantaloupe I thought I would post about the recall. Here's the link: http://www.wcpo.com/news/local/story.aspx?content_id=544dd476-e2d0-4aaa-b0b9-c82b546a7955

My Applebee's Date Night

Dh and I went to Applebee's last night for date night. I was very surprised that what I got was really good! I got the Steak & Portobellos 7 point dinner. The steak and whatever kind of mushroom sauce was just so good. The broccoli was so good and had some kind of dressing on it that was fabulous! The potatoes were also good, but they did not have what I think looks like chives in the picture above. Then we had the Chocolate Raspberry Layer Cake. I shared half with dh so it was only 2 points for me. I had read a lot of reviews online that the chocolate tasted like rubber. I will admit that the texture is different but with the sauce it is really good. I also learned something about an appetizer we always order when we go to Applebee's. It is the Buffalo Chicken Wings w/Bleu Cheese Dressing. Dh ordered it again and I ate three pieces. There were 12 pieces in the dish, I counted. I picked the smaller ones and only used a very small amount of dressing. When we got home, I asked dh if he knew how many calories and grams of fat were in that appetizer. He said no so I told him and now I am going to tell you: Buffalo Chicken Wings w/Bleu Cheese Dressing (1724 cal/132 g fat/2 g fiber/) 45 WW Points!!!!! Dh was shocked, he said, "That is deadly!" I do not think we will EVER be ordering that again! I had to use some of my 35 weekly flex points to eat the small portion that I ate. I would have rather spent those points on a Caesar salad! Next time I might just do that! If you are interested in finding out calorie and fat content of things you eat you might want to visit Dottie's Weight Loss Zone. That is the best source I have found to get that information! But I warn you, you just might not want to know! LOL!

Thought For The Day

March 29: Avoid skipping meals. Allowing yourself to get hungry usually leads to overeating!

Freezer Food Friday- Mustard-Dill Chicken in Foil Packs

Mustard-Dill Chicken in Foil Packs (Freezer-friendly)

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1/4 cup Dijon mustard

1/4 cup plain fat-free yogurt

1/2 tsp garlic salt

1 Tbsp dried dill weed(can use fresh dill weed)

1 pound uncooked boneless, skinless chicken breast, four 4 oz pieces

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Preheat oven to 350°F.Combine mustard, yogurt, garlic salt and dill in a small bowl; thoroughly coat chicken with mustard sauce. Tear off 4 sheets of aluminum foil that are large enough to wrap each chicken breast individually. Place a prepared chicken breast on each piece of foil; gather foil loosely around chicken and fold over to seal.Place foil packs on a nonstick baking sheet; bake for 20 minutes. Using oven mitts and keeping your face away from steam, open foil. Broil chicken on foil until lightly browned and cooked through, about 3 to 5 minutes more.

Yields 1 piece of chicken per serving at 3 points each.
For more Freezer Food Friday recipe go to What a Crock!

Fitness on Friday #2

Well its time for Fitness on Friday hosted by Natalie at Bye Bye Fat Mom! This past week at my Weight Watchers Meeting, I was one of the few with a loss! I lost 3.6 pounds and got my first 5 point star! I have lost a total of 34.6 pounds now, 8.2 of that since joining Weight Watchers. This week was the first week that I really started to exercise again after having been sick for over 2 weeks and it felt good. I usually do Leslie Sansone walking DVD's and I really like those. My favorite one is the Walk and Kick DVD, it is 30 minutes and earns me 3 activity points! My goal is 18 activity points for this week and so far so good! Easter was not as hard for me as I thought it would be. I ate a Easter dinner of ham, mashed potatoes, corn, and green beans. I also ate about 5 deviled eggs. I love those but had to pay a lot of points for them. Most of my kids Easter candy is gone, but I really was not into the candy anyways. I ate a bite of a rabbit and that got me over my craving for it. Tonight dh and I are going on a date to Applebee's. The have Weight Watcher meals and I want to try them. I am also going to get dessert and it will only be 11 points for dinner! I like to leave you with recipes. I love to cook so here are some links to some recipes I posted this week and here I will leave the recipe we had for dinner! Enjoy!

Crockpot Rice Pudding with Fruit- 2 points per serving

Better than Spring Lemon Cake-points depends on cake mix 3-4 points?
I also have a Diet Cola Cake recipe there, so enjoy!

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Last night, we had Mom's Pizza. I found this recipe here, but i have changed it a bit since I last posted it, so here is how I make it. This is so yummy and only 4 points per serving, depending on how you cut your pizza.

Mom's Pizza Adam's Family Style

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Cheese Pizza
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1 (13.8-oz) tube of refrigerated Pillsbury classic pizza crust*

1 small 6-oz can tomato paste (Use the flavor of your choice.)

1 packet Italian Spaghetti Sauce Mix (Any brand is fine - I use Great Value Walmart brand)

1 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese (Or you can use a five-cheese blend like the one from Kraft which includes low-moisture, part-skim mozzarella, provolone, Romano, Asiaso, and Parmesan cheese)

* Alternately, you can use 1 box Pillsbury Hot Roll Mix, 1 package of refrigerated pizza dough, or any other ready-made pizza crust. These are all roughly the same points value, but please note that the Nutritional Info below is based on the refrigerated 13.8-oz tube Pillsbury pizza crust.

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Preheat oven to 400º. Spray or grease cookie sheet or pizza pan. Unroll dough on greased cookie sheet or pizza pan. Press to desired size, shape and thickness. Set aside.

Place tomato paste, 12-oz of water (use the paste can twice to measure), and sauce mix in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 5-10 minutes, stirring every few minutes with a whisk.

Top dough with pizza sauce, cheese, and desired toppings(add points for those toppings if necessary.) Bake 10-15 minutes.

Here is what I do differently, to me this pizza sauce is way too thick and tasted much better when I added 12 ounces of water instead of 6 ounces as in the original recipe. this is enough sauce for two pizza's which in my house I have to have two. Just add more cheese and other toppings. This is super easy and fast!
Yields: 8 slices

Nutritional Info:
(1/8 of pizza) 202.5 calories, 4.8 g. fat, 0.6 g. fiber (4 points per slice)
(1/6 of pizza) 270 calories, 6.4 g. fat, 0.8 g. fiber (6 points per slice)
(1/4 of pizza) 405 calories, 9.6 g. fat, 1.25 g. fiber (8.5 points per slice)

Thought for the Day

March 28th- Drink alcohol in moderation. your body will thank you.
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I do not drink anyways, so this one is not hard for me. Alcohol is just empty calories anyways! But if you drink it moderation is the key. I have so many relatives who have drank themselves to death! No joke. Too much of anything is just really bad for our bodies!

Slow Cooking Thursday-Rice Pudding With Fruit

Crockpot Rice Pudding with Fruit
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4 cups skim milk

1/2 cup rice

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 tablespoon diet margarine

1/8 teaspoon salt, optional

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 cup minced dried apricots or peaches

1/8 teaspoon cinnamon

2-3 packages Splenda to taste at end of cooking time

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Put all ingredients except Splenda into crockpot. Stir to blend well. Cover and cook on HIGH for 1 1/2 hours, stirring once after about 1 hour. Or, cook on HIGH for the first 30 minutes, turn to LOW and cook as long as you desire. Check after the first 2 hours of low cooking and stir. If rice is not absorbing the milk quickly enough, turn the crockpot up to HIGH again. Keep cover on at all times. Before serving, add Splenda to taste. Add a dollop of fat-free Cool Whip to each serving, if desired.
Makes about 6 cups. 1/2 cup serving is about 2 points

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Slow Cooking Thursday is sponsored by Diary of a SAHM go look there for more recipes.

Tasty Thursday-Spring Edition

Today for Tasty Thursday, Trista is asking for Spring recipes. When I think about the springtime, bright colors and fruits come to my mind! Especially lemons! I LOVE lemons! Recently at my Weight Watchers meeting, we talked about low calorie and low fat desserts and diet soda cakes came up. They are so good and all you need is a cake mix (any flavor), 1 can of any diet pop flavor, and one to two egg whites (optional but helps hold cake together.) All you do is mix those three ingredients (batter will be thick!) and then bake according to the cake package directions. The recipe I am sharing today is a similar kind of cake, but adds a few more ingredients. The Weight Watchers point value will depend on what kind of cake mix you use, all have different values for dry mix, so look on the package. Most of these cakes will be between 2-4 points. Enjoy and Happy Spring!

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Lemon Better Than Spring Cake

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18 ounces lemon cake mix
10 ounces diet Sprite(or any lemon lime flavor diet pop)
1 egg white
1/3 ounce sugar-free lemon gelatin
7 ounces fat-free sweetened condensed milk
8 ounces Cool Whip Free
2 teaspoons lemon extract

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Mix Lemon cake mix, egg white and diet soda. Grease a 9x13 pan with non-stick spray. Pour cake batter into pan. Bake at 375 degrees for 35 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.
During the last few minutes of baking, put lemon jello and condensed milk in a sauce pan and stir on medium low heat until smooth. Take cake out of oven and poke holes all over the top. Pour jello mix over warm cake, filling in the holes. Cool completely. Mix 2 tsp lemon extract with cool whip. cover cake with cool whip mix. Place cake in refrigerator until ready to serve.

Serves 24

Trista over at The Pumkin Patch is the host of Tasty Thursday, head on over to her blog to see more tasty Spring recipes.

Thought for the Day-Lighted Foods

I am going to put the last three days on here so you can understand this statement.
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Red-light foods are foods we can't handle successfully. It is often better to avoid them until we can.
Yellow-light foods can be eaten successfully in some situations. you may want to buy one cookie at the bakery rather than bake an entire batch at home.
Green-light foods are healthy and good for us. Stock up on them at the store.
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Here is a list of some of these foods for me:
Green-light foods: veggies (lettuce, cucumbers, carrots, green beans) fruits (strawberries, apples, oranges, grapefruits) lean meats (chicken breast, skinless), milk and milk products like yogurt, and whole grain breads.
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Yellow-light foods for me are some of the foods that I buy in the 100 calorie packs. I love the Grasshopper cookies and the 100 calorie pack allows me to still be able to enjoy it without overdoing it!
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Red-light foods for me are big bags of potato chips (even though they are cheaper than 100 calorie packs, I would eat the whole bag, I am not successful with the big bag. Some restaurant foods I just have to stay away from especially french fries and onion rings. Most cookies, cakes ,etc.
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What are some of these foods for you?

Weekly Menu

I know this is late but it helps me get organized so I am going to do it now!
Tuesday:Deep Dish Pizza Casserole, 6 points; salad w/lite dressing, 2 points
Wednesday:Stovetop Meatloaf Muffins- 2 points each, green beans, mashed potatoes
Thursday: Mom's Cheese Pizza-4 points, salad with lite dressing, 2 points
Friday: Eat out at Applebee's-I'm having Steak & Portobellos 7 points and Chocolate Raspberry Layer Cake 4 points
Saturday: Sweet and Sour Chicken 3 points, 1/2 cup white rice, 1 cup peas, 1 point
Sunday:1 cup Chunky Tomato Soup/Spaghetti Sauce with thin spaghetti, 6 points; 2 pieces multi gran Sara Lee bread sprayed with butter spray and garlic powder, 1 points; salad with lite dressing, 2 points
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We may switch Friday and Saturday depending on our babysitter.
I am also baking 1 pt banana bread, which is really 2 points per serving.
and a Diet Cola Cake, I'll post the recipe when I make it.

Here's my new progress chart!

That red line is where I am heading for my 10%! The red star is for my first 5 pounds, but really I have lost 8.2 pounds since going to WW, so I am getting close to my additional 5 points star! Sounds like grade school doesn't it? Very little weight was lost at this meeting which I am assuming is because of Easter. Many people even opted out of weighing in which I did not know was even an option. So, I feel good about my 3.6 pound loss! I also go down to 36 points per day. This week we went over monitoring yourself and how important it was to count every bite, lick, and taste. I asked how you do this and people thought I was crazy! But how do you give a points value to a bite, lick or taste? It was a reasonable question, I thought? The answer I got was to aim higher with your points when you actually eat the item. Like, if I was eating my Deep Dish Pizza Casserole instead of 6 points a serving, I should add a point to count for my bites, licks, or taste. I think I will just have to stop taking those "BLT" 's! When monitoring yourself, you need to pay attention to weight changes, progress with exercise, when you eat, when you snack, how well you follow the 8 HG, portion sizes, helpful habits(I have not learned about these yet they are in my new book 3), body measurements/size (sometimes you will not have an ounces change but an inches change), and eating triggers. Overall a really good lesson! We got off track a bit talking about desserts. Different combinations of cake mixes and different combinations of diet pops make wonderful low point cakes. Also for frosting, it was recommended to mix fat free cool whip with fat free, sugar free chocolate pudding and refrigerate it. We are suppose to get a list of things you can do with an Angel Food Cake mix next week so I will share that with you when I get it.

Daily Motivation

Yellow-light foods can be eaten successfully in some situations. You may want to buy one cookie at the bakery rather than make a whole batch at home.

Weight Watchers Weigh In #3

Well, I lost 3.6 pounds at my weigh in tonight for this week! That is 8.2 pounds since I have been going. I also got my first 5 star! I have lost a total of 34.6 pounds since I started in January! Hooray! I weighed in at 289.2. I'm out of the 290's! Barely, but I am out!

Good Morning

Sunday I started feeling so much better, yes it took me almost two weeks to really start to feel better! Then Sunday night I got sick to my stomach! I was in the bathroom or bed almost all day yesterday, but I really feel better now! Hopefully that is the last sickness for awhile! I have had enough! So, today starts a new day! I am going to be able to get stuff done and I feel like exercising again! I also have my Weight Watchers meeting tonight. I did eat a few things at Easter but I counted them in my points and I ate very little yesterday, so we will see. I'll check back later with my results.
Update: It's 9:30 am and I got my exercise done for the day. It was harder after not doing it for almost two weeks. But, it felt good! Also, my pants just do not fit me anymore, I guess after losing 30 pounds that was bound to happen. I am scared to buy some new stuff though because I plan to lose at least 100 pounds, so I think it is time to start digging through old clothes! That makes me happy!
Food Log for March 25
2 low fat frozen waffles- 3 points
1/4 cup Reduced Calorie Syrup- 2 points
1 cup Grape Juice- 2 points
WW Yogurt- 1 point
WW Meal= 7 Points
1 small apple-1 point
Total Daily Points Used: 16 points
Total Daily Points Allotted: 37 points
Total 35 Weekly Points Used- 0 points
Water Intake: 50.7 ounces
Dairy Servings- 0
Fruit and Veggie Servings- 2
Exercise Log:
30 minutes Walk and Kick DVD= 3 activity points

Fitness on Friday

So, Natalie at Bye Bye Fat Mom is doing a meme on Fridays about our weight loss journey and we can check in for some accountability.

Here is mine for this week:

This week was my first time being sick since I started trying to loss weight in January. I have had a hard time getting back into exercising, cleaning the house or just anything. I am still dragging from this flu. I was told it could last up to three weeks. So, I thought that would really hurt me, but I lost another 4.8 pounds at my Weight Watcher meeting weigh in on Tuesday. So, I still lost. :) I have now lost over 30 pounds! Hot Herbal tea has been one of my passions this week and I drank a lot of it and it made me feel better! I also tried the Peanut Butter Bliss bars from Weight Watchers and they are just like there name says bliss and only 1 point! I also tried a new recipe that I got from Weight Watchers and my kids LOVED it so I will leave you with the recipe.

Pizza Cups

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1 can reduced-fat biscuit dough

1 1/4 c. pizza sauce

5 oz. reduced-fat mozzarella cheese

1/4 c. onions, chopped

1/4 c. green bell pepper, chopped

20 slices turkey pepperoni

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Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Spray muffin pan with Pam. Flatten biscuits between palms. Pat onto bottom and up sides of muffin pan. Spoon 2 Tbsp. pizza sauce into each cup. Sprinkle onions and green peppers into each cup. Sprinkle the tops with cheese. Bake for 15 minutes or until biscuits are brown and cheese is bubbly.

2 Weight Watcher Points each.

Note: You can add pretty much any pizza topping to these, just make sure you count the points. I make my kids with stuff I know they like. This recipe makes you feel like you are cheating! Really good!

Oh and be careful with Easter this weekend.

Beware of the Chocolate Bunny!

This was read at our Weight Watchers Meeting thanks to Natalie for giving me a copy!
Beware of the Chocolate Bunny

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Beware of the Chocolate Bunny

He'll soon be hopping your way.

He'll bring a bunch of chocolate goodies

And leave them on Easter day.

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Just a little nibble

What could be the harm?

All those tempting sugary treats

Have such a seductive charm.

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I'll nip off just a bunny ear

What’s the harm in that?

It's not like I ate the whole darn thing

So....a little won't make me fat.

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Those ears were mighty tasty

But look at that cute little tail.

Just another nibble

It won't show up on the scale.

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The bunny looks so sad now

Just chocolate body and toes.

If I gobble up the rest of him

I'm safe.....nobody knows.

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Easter week is behind me now,

Ate a little beyond my plan.

The ghosts of Easter baskets haunt

As at the scale I stand.

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If I gained a little weight this week

It won't be one bit funny.

I should have heeded that sage advise,

BEWARE OF THE CHOCOLATE BUNNY!!!!!!

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I hope you all have a great Easter and Watch out for those Chocolate Easter Bunnies!

Weight Watcher Progress Chart

This is my Weight Watcher weight loss progress chart. My first goal is to get to that line. I am well on my way! It only shows one week. I started at 323.8 pounds.

I have lost over 30 pounds!

I just finished looking at my weight loss when I realized that I have now lost over 30 pounds since January 7th. That is such a good feeling! You can see all my progress by going here.

I still feel bad and now I am taking care of my kids. They all have fevers right now and bad runny noses, but for the most part they are just laying around so that makes things easier. I feel better except my head feels like it is swimming which makes it hard to do anything. I do not know when I will feel like exercising again? I hope soon! But I got to get better first!

Weight Watchers Meeting #2

I just got back from my WW meeting and I lost another 4.6 pounds. I did not exercise much at all this week either because I felt so bad! The scale at WW and my scale are a little different and I was weighing in first thing in the morning and now I am weighing in at night so my weigh in looks higher than last week at 292.8, but with the time of weigh in in mind I did lose weight this week.
We talked about Easter and how to get through it with all the food. We were suppose to talk about the Core program but we never got to that? The Core plan does not sound real good to me anyways, but maybe I am wrong? Our leader read this poem called watch out for the chocolate bunnies. I wish she would have given us a copy because it was really good. Something like you just eat the ears and then it goes to the tail and before you know it it is all gone. So, everyone watch out for the chocolate bunnies.
I also bought some smoothies and some Peanut Butter Bliss Bars, which they have not had any for 6 months. They said they probably will not get anymore for another 6 months? I only bought one box because I want to try them first and man the WW food is not cheap so I probably will not be buying much anyways.

Doing much better!

Hi! I'm alive but still not 100 percent those shots made me get some energy back and I was able to do some much needed things yesterday, but I think I did a little too much. I still can sleep at night real well because my chest tightens up. Two of my kids were also up late last night with fevers. But just getting over that initial bad feeling makes me feel better. I am planning on going to my Weight Watchers meeting tonight. Actually I have been looking forward to it. Then I get back on track and get this weight off me! I know I could have lost a lot more if I could have exercised and got things down my throat, but getting better was my first responsibility. I have to take all my kids to the doctor today, my dh is on Spring Break so I don't have to go by myself which makes me happy!

Update

I still feel so bad so I went to the doctor today. I do have the flu and a double ear infection. They gave me a Rossesin (sp?) shot and a steroid shot so hopefully soon I will be feeling a little bit better. But both of my hips are sore now. I can barely stand up my legs hurt so bad. Getting much sleep is hard for both of us because of the kids so we are taking turns. Dh went to get some pizza. I just can not cook. I lost 5 more pounds since my Weight Watchers meeting well they are different scales so who knows, but that made me happy. I was scared that I would not lose due to the higher, points but it seems to be working. The steroid shot is also suppose to make you eat more, so I have to be careful! Someone from church is going to bring us dinner tomorrow night. That makes me happy. I still have been doing my points but yesterday I was about two short. I am having a hard time getting much to go down. So, until I get better, I am just going to do the best I can. I got to get better. The doctor said that type b can last up to three weeks. yuck! :(

We have the flu! :(

I am so sick! I started feeling really bad last night. Dh has been sick almost a week now and he decided to go to the doctor today. He has the flu. The doctor said it was the bad kind type b. So, she wrote me a prescription for Tamaflu. Dh will just have to deal with his for another week or so because they did not catch his in time. I just started feeling really bad. I hope that the medicine will help me, the pharmacist said that she took it and started feeling better the next day. My kids all have bad colds they have had flu shots and their doctor said that it is good for flu type a,b, and c. So, that is probably why they are not so bad. That Tamaflu is $80 for a 5 day supply. I can't imagine if we had an epidemic like they are saying we will have how we would find the money for everyone in our family to be able to take it? That's scary to even think about! I probably will not be around for a few days while we try to get better.

Thought For The Day

March 14: A Goal without a plan is merely a dream. Write a Winning Outcome for this month and plan to reach it.
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I plan to start going to WW meetings this month and getting more support and information to be able to work on reaching my first 10 percent goal which I don't think will be this week. I need to lose 29 more pounds to reach my first 10 percent with weight watchers so that is going to take some more hard work and dedication.
Here is some more information to help you with this.
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What is your winning outcome for this month?

Dinner...yummy!

I have been keeping my food and exercise logs on the WW website instead of here. But, I do want to share some dinners I have with you. Tonight we have all been sick with the flu. Dh went to work so I told him to bring some Wendy's home. I had a plain baked potato, side salad, and a small chili. My WW leader had told us that that is what she gets when she goes to Wendy's and it is only 7 points and the state group was meeting and that was what they were all going to have. So, I thought I would try it. I added 2 Tbsp of reduced fat sour cream for 1 point and 1/3 cup cheddar cheese for 3 points, I added the cheese because I needed a dairy serving. I had all of this with 1 cup fat free milk and a 16.9 ounce water. This was a very yummy meal. I put the chili on my potato and my salad and added the sour cream and cheese and it all tasted good together!

Just for your info...

Well I have a friend doing WW and she did not know about Dottie's Weight Loss Zone. That is a really neat site, I use her restaurant point finder on there. She has over 500 restaurants and is always updating. This resource is so much better than the Dining out Companion and it is FREE! Go check it out for yourself! You will not be sorry!

Thought for the Day March 13

Thought For the Day: Make a list of 3 things to do, rather than eat, in response to an emotional situation. Keep the list handy to refer to when you need it.
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Here's my list: exercise, play with my kids, read
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What's on your list?

Thought For the Day

At Weight Watchers we get these monthly calendars that have thoughts for the day. I am going to be sharing those and answering the questions if there is a question to answer! Here is the first one:
March12: Negative thinking is mental malpractice- Dr. Robert Anthony
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Food Log
2 low fat frozen waffles-3 points
2 Tbs. Reduced Calorie pancake syrup- 1 point
Fiber One Yogurt-1 point
1 cup orange juice- 2 points
Curves Granola Bar- 1 point
Ww Fruit inspiration meal- 7 points
WW Cookies and Cream Bar- 2 points
1 medium banana- 1.5 points
Total Daily Points Used: 18.5 points
Total Daily Points Allotted: 37 points
Total Weekly 35 points used: o points
Water Intake: 67.6 ounces
Fruit and Veggie Servings: 3
Dairy Servings: 1
Exercise Log:
30 minute Walk and Kick Dvd- 3 activity points

My First WW Meeting

Well, it is official I heart Weight Watchers. I went last night for the first time and learned I was doing several things wrong! First off, I have been doing 31 points for awhile now. According to the points worksheet I should be getting 37. So, now I know how many points I have and why my snacking the other day and going over in points really did not hurt me. Why am I losing weight and not eating all of my points? I really do not know. I ended up paying for the monthly pass, it was $39.95 and got my books I wanted for $24.00. I still want to get a points calculator but they did not have any in last night. I get all the e-tools to help me with the monthly pass. It is so nice, it keeps up with all of your points and you can put recipes in the recipe builder to find out what the points value is. Well, I talked to dh and told him how much I needed and wanted to go and he said we will find a way for you to go. So, looks like I am going to be going! I can't be happier! It also give me some much needed time away from the house and kids that I do not get much. So, it makes it even funner for me!
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Weight Watchers Meeting #1
Here's what I got:
Booklet #1 Eat Wisely
Points slider
Point tracking system
I also bought a Basic Members kit
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Our lesson was on Detours the leader talked about how we get back on our road when we take detours. Here are some detours we might experience along the way:
Detours-Obstacles on the road to Goalville
1. Potholes- Unexpected and Unplanned events (leader discussed using extra 35 points to get back on the road.
2. Speed Traps- Slow Scale Progress (leader said this might happen but you have to look at what might be causing the slow progress ex: lack of exercise and work on that to get back on the road.)
3. Traffic Jams- Plateaus (leader said that sometimes this happens, sometimes switching plans could help)
4. Out of Gas- Getting Bored (Leader said that sometimes we need to change what we eat so we do not get bored)
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Then we reviewed the 8 Good Health Guidelines which they had went over last week, but she reviewed them:
1. 5 servings of fruits and veggies- I really need to do better on this one!
2. Whole grain foods- I do pretty good on this one just do not like brown rice and several of my meals use rice.
3. 2 servings of dairy- I try on this one, I learned that my WW yogurt serving is not enough to make one serving because it is not 8 ounces so I think I am going to buy some of the smoothies at the meeting, if you make it with milk you can count it as 2 milk servings.
4. Drink at least 6 glasses of water a day- I do pretty good on this right now.
5. Get 2 Teaspoons of healthy oil a day- I cook a lot with the canola oil spray and that counts, but really I have not been using anything else and I am going to have to make an effort to work on this.
6. Get at least 2 servings of protein a day- I also do pretty good with this one.
7. Limit added sugar and alcohol- I don't drink so that one is covered, but I need to watch my added sugar.
8. Take a multi vitamin-mineral supplement- I have been doing this too.
The leader said that lots of times when we hit a plateau we need to look back at these healthy guidelines. These guidelines is what makes this eating plan healthier than the fad diets.
Overall really good lesson. The Week 1 book has lots of recipes and meal ideas to get you started.

My new Jeans and March Picture

Well here are my new jeans that fit me. Like I said before, I have not worn real jeans in a long time, probably 12 years at least before that I wore all elastic waist. These zip up and I like my new shirt too. This will be my March progress picture too. I think the pictures were taken too differntly to tell much of a difference, but believe me I know there is a difference! If you want to compare, here are my last pictures. These jeans and shirt were my "reward" for reaching my first goal!

This is not to show you my big fat butt, but to show you my new jeans have no elastic, important only to me probably!

Well thanks for taking part in my exciting new jeans!

No counting points day! and First WW Meeting

Yeah you heard that right. I'm not counting points today. I am not going to overeat or anything, so don't worry. I will still eat how I always eat and drink my water. I made a decision last night that I am going to go to Weight Watchers meetings, well see for how long. But I really want to go and learn as much as I can! So, tonight is my first meeting and so I am going to eat however today and then tomorrow I will start counting points again. I think everyone needs a "cheat" day. As long as you do not overdo it and get right back on your meal plan. I do not feel bad about this at all! I pretty much have eaten the same thing I eat anyways, so there probably will not be much difference. Since my meetings are on Tuesday nights, I am going to change my weigh in days to Tuesday mornings, just so I can get a similar reading to how I was weighing in and then weigh in at the meeting that night. I know the numbers will be different and I have already lost a considerable amount of weight and I am counting that in my lose weigh even if weight watchers does not. My birthday is next month and I am asking for my family to buy me weight watcher passes. They are $39.98 for a month. So, hopefully I will get a couple of months paid that way! I am so excited about tonight because I have wanted to do this for sooo long! I am also kind of scared to. Not because someone is going to weigh me, I got over that a long time ago with this blog! The directions about the meeting just says it is at the high school. It does not tell you where at the high school so that should be really interesting. But I guess I am more excited than scared. I'll post back later to tell you all about it.

Monday Morning Weigh-In

Well, first let me say this was a very hard week for me! I started out doing so well and then my dh's grandfather died and we were gone from home a lot! We ate out at an all you can eat steak house one night. I have read some articles on how you should eat at these places and I pretty much followed it. A big salad first then fruits and veggies and then a lean meat, I had chicken instead of steak. Doing this really helped me stay on track. I was pretty full before I even started on the chicken! I also am looking at eating out in a different way now. I do try to watch my portions and fat in things while eating out, but eating out is such a luxury for us when we do go, I am going to stop worrying about it and just enjoy it instead of feeling so guilty. I counted all my points that day except the eating out because I really had no clue on some of the things as this restaurant does not have nutritional facts online or in the restaurant. I also was snowed in for a day and really snacked a lot! I did snack on healthy things usually 1-3 point items, but my points really added up that day! Still though I have a BIG weight loss for this week! Last week I weighted 298.6. This week, I weighed in at 293.2! That is another 5.4 pounds GONE! I am going to start making some weekly goals and then I will report back here at my weekly weigh-ins as to how I did.
Here are my goals for this week:

1. I am going to exercise! I am setting a goal of getting 12 activity points this week. That would only be about 4 days of exercise.
2. I am going to work on getting my servings of fruits and veggies in at least 5 servings.
3. I am going to get my dairy servings in at least 2.
4. I am going to drink my water, at least 6 glasses a day. I am going to try for at least 80 ounces!
5. Do a better job at planning my dinners and have points ready so I can plan my day.

So, here I go off for another good week, I hope!

Update: I forgot to add something really important to me. This weekend we went to Wal-Mart. I had some time to myself and decided to go try on some clothes. I don't want to buy a lot of new clothes because I am planning to shrink a bit more, you know. But, I did need a few things. One thing I tried on was jeans! I cannot remember the last time I wore "real" jeans. Maybe college? (that's over 10 years ago) I wore those elastic waist jeans, you know where the elastic goes all around before I got pregnant and then my stomach would not even fit into those after the twins were born. Well, I tried on those "real" jeans and they fit! I am even in a size smaller. I told my dh this is what I was going to buy for myself after reaching my first goal of being under 300! So, I got into those jeans and I really feel so happy! I will take a picture this week along with my regular monthly picture! So stay tuned!

Food and Exercise Log for March 10

Food Log
Breakfast
2 Special K Red Berries Frozen Waffles- 3 points
Lite Syrup- 2 points
1 cup orange juice- 2 points
16 reduced fat wheat thins-3 points
Fiber One bar- 2 points
Lasagna Florentine- 6 points
Total Daily Points Used: 18 points
Total Daily Points Allotted: 31 points
Total Weekly 35 Flex Points Used: 0
Water Intake: 33.8 ounces
Fruit and Veggie Servings- 1
Dairy Servings-0
Exercise Log:
30 minutes Walk and Kick DVD- 3 activity points

Menu Plan Monday March 10-18

My Weight Watcher Meal Plan for the week:

Monday- Roasted Turkey, 3 points; 1/2 cup mashed potatoes, 2 points, green beans, 0 points

Tuesday-Soft Tacos, 1/2 cup Mexican rice, 3 points

Wednesday- Deep Dish Pizza Casserole, 6 points; salad w/lite dressing, 2 points

Thursday-Sweet and Sour Chicken (see recipe below), 3 points; 1/2 cup white rice, 2 points; 1 cup peas, 1 point

Friday-Mom's Cheese Pizza, 2 slices at 4 points each; salad w/lite dressing, 2 points

Saturday-Sesame Chicken, 5 points; 1/2 cup white rice; 1 cup peas, 1 point

Sunday-1 cup Chunky Tomato Soup/Spaghetti Sauce with thin spaghetti, 6 points; 2 pieces multi gran Sara Lee bread sprayed with butter spray and garlic powder, 1 points; salad with lite dressing, 2 points

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Sweet and Sour Chicken

1 (8 ounce) can pineapple tidbits with juice

1 1/2 pounds chicken tenders, cut into 1-inch pieces

Cooking Spray

2 cups frozen bell pepper and onion stir fry mix

1 tablespoon cornstarch

2 tablespoons water

2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce

1 tablespoon vinegar

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1.Drain pineapple, reserving juice. Set aside.

2. Heat a large non-stick skillet over medium high heat. Coat pan and chicken with cooking spray. Add chicken to pan, and cook 5 minutes or until browned. Rinse stir fry mix with hot water and drain; add to pan and cook 2 minutes.

3. When chicken is almost done, combine cornstarch, next 3 ingredients, and reserved pineapple juice; stir with a whisk. Pour juice mixture into pan; stir in pineapple. Bring mixture to a boil. and cook 3 minutes or until sauce is thickened and chicken is done.

Yields: 5- 1 cup servings at 3 WW points per serving

Calories per serving- 174, fat per serving- 0.6 grams, Fiber per serving- 0.8 grams.

Recipe from Weight Watchers 3 ingredient 15 minute Cookbook page 58.

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Go here to see more plans.

Bad Bad Bad Day!

Today has been so hard for me! I have major snackies! I have heard that you should journal when you feel like this so that you can see why you are feeling like this and wanting to eat all the time. So here goes. We were suppose to do so many things today including take the kids to the circus. It snowed here and we have about 4 inches of snow and it is still snowing. One inch of snow scares people around here because I live in a very hilly part of Kentucky, but this time it really is bad so we are not going anywhere. The twins are sick with some really bad colds. Nathan woke up last night with croup, so I really did not want to take them out anyways. I probably will not take them to church tommorrow either, if we even have it. So it is snowny and cold and I just want to eat everything in site, oh and I went to the grocery and got some new snack stuff, it's low points stuff 1-3 points per serving, but that stuff adds up! I guess I am lonely, bored and feel trapped in my house. I feel like my hunger can not be fulfilled, it's hard to explain but that is the best I can do. It's kind of like my body is asking for something, but I guess I have not gotten it because I still feel the same way. I have only felt this way a couple of times since I started but today for some reason is worse than others. I have not had one fruit or veggie today or dairy serving and I have already used all of my points. I still have dinner to eat. Well, I am going to try to not feel bad or guilty because what's done is done, I can only move on and do better, right? I did go check the scales today most of the time that gives me encouragement to do the right thing in regards to eating. I know, I hear you all saying that it is bad to weigh yourselves so much but it really motivates me, but I bet when it stops moving it will not be going in the right direction that that will bother me. This morning I weighed 294.4 lbs. Which means I have lost over 4 pounds since last week's weigh in, but this day may affect me. Wa wa wa, why did I make the wrong decisions?:( :( :(

Trying to Figure Out What to Do

Well as most of you know I am doing Weight Watchers, kind of. I really did not have the money to join so I just gathered information from the web and started. I really had to do something, my health depended on it since I was over 300 pounds! I know I am not really doing it right, but I am losing weight. I really want to get the start up materials and maybe even go to the meetings, as I do not get out of the house much with the kids and it would be great for me to get some adult time! So, we have a little bit of money right now, but I am scared we will not always have it. Here are the options that I have found online:
1 You can get a monthly pass for $39.95. Registration fee is free right now. You take that pass and can go to all the monthly meetings, you also get to use the online stuff too. I could do one month maybe two but after that I really do not know if I will be able to afford it?
2. 3 months online for $65. I do not think you get the start up materials though? I do not know how long I will be able to continue this though?
3. I got the new Weight Watchers magazine and saw an article to buy the start up materials and a 1 year subscription to the Weight Watchers magazine for $129.95 plus shipping and handling. The magazine subscription is $17.70 alone. I would miss out on the online stuff which I think is really neat!
So really I don't know what to do and I am doing good an my own, but I really like some of the online features and I really want the start up kit.
Decisions, Decisions....

Food and Exercise Log for Feb 7

Food Log
2 Special K Red Berries Frozen Waffles- 3 points
Lite Syrup- 2 points
15 Wheat Thins, reduced fat- 3 points
Total points used: 8 points
Total daily points allotted: 31 points
Total 35 weekly flex points used: 3 points
Water Intake: 16.9 ounces
Fruit and veggie servings- 0
Dairy servings-0
Exercise Log:

Food and Exercise Log for March 6

I was gone most of the day and did not have internet when I got home so I will try to remember everything. I do so bad on water when I am not at home! My dh's grandfather died, but I have mostly stayed with our 3 young children so I did not have to eat with them and make tough decision about food. I heard they had a ton of food and the Fried Chicken was really calling my name! I did go to the grocery and tried several new things though and ate lunch at McDonald's so we will see how my points come out. I got no fruits and veggie in :( But here is my bad day, I had to use a few flex points but got no fruits/veggies and not enough water, okay onto tomorrow.....
Food Log
2 Special K Red Berries Frozen Waffles- 3 points
Lite Syrup- 2 points
Popcorn-5 points
Double Cheeseburger- 11 points
Brick Pizza- 7 points
WW candy-2 points
WW Ice cream- 2 points
100 calorie snack pack-2 points
Total Points Used: 34(Will have to use some flex points!)
Total Points Allotted: 31
Total Flex Points used: 3 points
Water Intake: 33.8 ounces
Fruit and Veggie Servings- o servings
Dairy Servings- 1 serving
Exercise Log:

Food and Exercise Log for March 5

Food Log
2 Special K Red Berries Frozen Waffles- 3 points
Lite Syrup- 2 points
popcorn-5 points
WW meal- 6 points
Curves Granola Bar: 1 point
dinner-Chicken Terriyaki 6 inch sandwich- 7 points
Total Daily Points Used: 24 points
Total Daily Points Allotted: 31 points
Total Weekly 35 Flex Points Used: 0 points
Water Intake:16.9 ounces
Fruit and Veggie Servings: 1
Dairy Servings: 0 points
Exercise Log:

Food and Exercise Log for March 4

Food Log
2 Special K Red Berries Frozen Waffles- 3 points
Lite Syrup- 2 points
banana-2 points
1/2 cup grape juice-1 point
Curves Granola Bar- 1 point
11 Doritoes- 3 points
WW Meal(orange chicken)- 7 points
4 oz Apple Sauce- 1 point
1/2 lemon- 0 points
Progresso soup 1/2 can-0 points
2 pieces toast- 1 point
popcorn-4 points
1/2 cup milk- 1 point
Fudge Lites- 1 point
popcorn-1 point
Cereal- 3 points
Total Daily Points Used: 31 points
Total Daily Points Allotted: 31 points
Total Weekly 35 Flex Points Used: 0 points
Water Intake: 67.6 ounces
Fruit and Veggie Servings: 4
Dairy Servings: 1
Exercise Log:
30 minutes Walk and Kick DVD- 3 Activity Points

Monday Morning Weigh In

Today I weighed in at 298.6 pounds. Last week I was 299.2 pounds. So, that is a lose of .6 pound. Not much, but I will take it. I know I need to exercise more. I think I only exercised twice last week. I seem to get a better loss on the weeks I exercise more. I am working on getting a group of people together to exercise once a week together. This would also get me out of the house a little bit and around adults. I will try and see what I can do, I know a few people are interested. Wish me luck.

Food and Exercise Log for March 3

Food Log
2 Special K Red Berries Frozen Waffles- 3 points
Lite Syrup- 2 points
banana-2 points
2 rice cakes- 2 points
popcorn- 2 point
fudge lite pop- 1 point
Leftover Manwich Tater Tot Casserole- 6.5 points
cereal- 3 points
Rotini with homemade spaghetti sauce-6 points
garlic bread- 1 point
salad with lite dressing- 2 points
Daily Points Used: 30.5 points (I can't figure out how to get a half a point in guess I will have to go look for something.)
Daily Points Allotted: 31 points
Weekly 35 Flex Points Used: 0 points
Water Intake: 84.5 ounces
Fruit and Veggie servings: 2
Dairy Servings-2
Exercise Log:
30 minute Walk and Kick DVD-3 activity points
Update: Well it is 9 pm and I just got done with my exercise, but I got it in before the day was over, now if I can just do that all week. It was like 75 degrees today and I played outside with the kids a lot. So, I got a lot of activity in today. I hope we have weather like that tomorrow!
Also, someone asked about my points. I do get my daily points in every day only sometimes at the end of the day I just don't get around to updating the post, but do not worry I eat all of my points!

Food and Exercise Log for March 2 and a POTLUCK

Today we have a potluck at church. I am bringing a main dish and a dessert that I can eat. I am telling you all that the desserts people bring are so tempting, so I decided to bring my own so I would not feel guilty. I hope someone brings a salad or veggies. Veggies at a potluck are hard sometimes to tell how they have been cooked because people use so much butter around here, so I am going to have to be really careful. There is one other person at church that is on WW and I think she will be so happy that I brought stuff she can eat. I just hope I can resist temptation!
Food Log
2 Special K Red Berries Frozen Waffles- 3 points
Lite Syrup- 2 points
banana-2 points
Manwich Tater tot Casserole- 6.5 points
Guilt Free Chocolate Cream Pie- 3 points
salad without dressing- 0 points
Busy Day Chicken and Rice 3.5 points
green beans- 0 points
Fiber One Bar- 2 points
1/2 lemon- 0 points
ww cake- 1 point
Total Daily Points Used: 23 points
Total Daily Points Allotted: 31 points
Total Weekly 35 Flex Points Used: 8 points
Water intake: 67.6 ounces
Fruit and Veggie Servings-5
Dairy Servings-2
Exercise Log:
Update: I did really good at the potluck and I am so proud of myself!

Food and Exercise Log for March 1

Food Log
2 Special K Red Berries Frozen Waffles- 3 points
Lite Syrup- 2 points
Orange Juice- 1 point
popcorn- 1 point
2 Fiber One Bar- 4 points
2 WW Chicken and Cheese Quesedilla- 8 points
4 Tbs. Lite Sour Cream-2 point
Dinner- 5 points
Total Daily Points Used-26 points
Total Daily Points Allotted- 31 points
Total Weekly 35 Flex Points Used: 8 points
Water intake:
Fruit and Veggie Servings:
Dairy Servings:
Exercise Log: