Update

I gave into a lot of temptations this week. What's wrong with me? I know better than that! My scale showed me what I already knew, I messed up! This time of year is so hard for me! I also had kids most of the week since school was out and that did not help me because I seemed to have less exercise time. This has been such a bad month for me I worked so hard last month to lose weight only to gain a whole lot back this month. What's wrong with me? I had so much motivation last month because of the contest, now I know I'll never win. I weight too much and because of percentages, I have to really lose a lot to mean anything and do I really want to lose that fast? I know and have been taught that the healthy way to lose weight is to lose it slowly. Like 1-2 pounds a week. So, yeah I guess I lost a lot of motivation this month. I hope that I can at least get some support from the competition since I know I am never going to win. I am not stating the negative just realizing what I can do and what I want out of this competition. I have seen really good weight loss in the past and have a lot to share with others on the journey. So, hopefully I can help others in the challenge who need support too. Well that's about all for today. Hope everyone has a great week and Happy Halloween!

SOUPer Thursday

Today I want to share with you my favorite chili recipe since being on Weight Watchers. In fact, this is what I have planned for Hallowween dinner.

Crockpot Brown Sugar Chili
8 Servings
240 Calories 4 g. Fiber 6 g.
FatFROM: “Fix it and Forget it Lightly” Cookbook
1 lb. extra-lean ground beef
½ c. brown sugar
2 T. prepared mustard
1medium sized onion, chopped
2 cans (14 oz. each) kidney or red beans
2 c. low-sodium tomato juice
½ t. salt
¼ t. pepper
1 t. chili powder
Brown ground beef and onion in a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Stir in brown sugar and mustard. Combine all ingredients in slow cooker. Cover. Cook on HIGH 2-3 hours. If possible, stir several times during cooking.

I like to serve this with cornbread.

Weekly Weigh-in Update

I lost 1 pound at Weght Watchers last night! Last week we talked about taking care of ourselves. We seem to do so much for others that we forget to take care of ourselves and make time for us. So, I've been thinking about this. I went for a walk on Saturday, it was the first sunny day in a long time, and cold, but I still went. Sometimes I have a hard time getting my exercise in because my dh gives me a guilt trip. I really don't know if he knows he does it but he really just wants me to stay at home and I can tell that. So, that makes it hard. We take the kids to the park and I go walking on the trail and he gets to play with the kids. He's told me before I need to play with the kids too. We have gotten them to walk with us on the trail with their scooters and they really enjoy that. So, figuring out how to get my exercise in and not feel guilty or let others make me feel guilty is hard right now.

Another thing I have really been thinking about is what kind of exercise to do. I keep hearing people say they do things like running. I just really do not ever think I will be a runner, mostly because I would never be motivated because I hate that. I love walking briskly though and it really does help me with my stress management. I think I will continue this and maybe pull out some of my Walk Away the Pounds tapes since it is getting so cold.

Goals this week:
1. Track my food- some weeks I do better than others on this, I used to never miss writing things down and I really don't know what got me out of that habit. But, I do know it is a bad habit to get out of!
2. Exercise- I need to find away to get time to myself to get this done.
3. Milk servings- I need to do better about getting in my milk servings. I bought some White Chocolate Peppermint smoothies at my weight watchers meeting this week. I used to have one of these everyday and I loved them since you can count them as 2 milk sevings if added with skim milk.
4. Water,Water,Water- Drink more!
5. Take my picture- Believe it or not, I just have not had the time to do this important thing!

Menu Plan Monday October19-25

Here's my meals for this week:

Dinner

Monday- Pizza Cups, Salad

Tuesday- Tomato Soup and Sandwiches

Wednesday- Crispy Chicken Drumsticks, green beans, rolls

Thursday- Lentil Tacos, Spanish Rice, Corn

Friday- Weekday Lasagna, salad, Low-fat Bread Machine Italian Bread (made into breadsticks

Saturday- Halloween Party (I'm bringing Crockpot Brown Sugar Chili)

Sunday- Potato Soup, Peasant Bread

Breakfast

Monday-Eggbeaters Omelet, English Muffin, fruit

Tuesday-Eggbeaters Omelet, English Muffin, fruit

Wednesday-Eggbeaters Omelet, English Muffin, fruit

Thursday-Eggbeaters Omelet, English Muffin, fruit

Friday-Heart Smart Waffles, sausage links, (kids will eat with homemade syrup)

Saturday-Heartsmart Pancakes, bacon, (kids and dh will eat with homemade syrup)

Sunday-Cereal, yogurt, fruit

Lunch

Monday-Cheesy Vegetable Soup

Tuesday-Cheesy Vegetable Soup

Wednesday-sandwiches, fruit

Thursday-Refried Bean Soup

Friday-Refried Bean Soup

Saturday- sandwiches, fruit

Sunday- Fat Free Hotdogs, oven fries

Snacks

Air popped popcorn, , String Cheese, Fat Free Rice Krispie Treats, Chex Party Mix

My family is also wanting some Caramel apples, but since they are so expensive at the store, I'm making my caramel from scratch.

Come back and see how my shopping went. for the Grocery Cart Challenge.
Go here to see more plans.

New Recipe Friday

On Friday's, I will be sharing a new recipe I tried recently. This week I tried Sloppy Tacos(which I'll be sharing soon) and we had some baked fries with them that were awesome. I got the recipe from Chubbie Chica. My kids loved this recipe too! I do think it could use less olive oil, like 4 teaspoons. instead of 5 and still be really good. Enjoy!

Oven Fries
Serves 6 @ 3 points
2 pounds baking potatoes, peeled and into 1/2 inch strip
1 tsp. salt
3/4 tsp. sugar
5 teaspoons olive oil
1 1/2 tsp. paprika
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees; spray a nonstick baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray. In a large bowl, combine the potatoes, 1/4 tsp. salt and the sugar and cover with cold water. Soak for 15 minutes; drain and blot dry. In another large bowl, toss the potatoes with the oil and paprika. Place in a single layer on the baking sheet. Bake, turning the potatoes over as they brown, until cooked through and crisp, about 45 minutes. Sprinkle with the remaining 1/2 tsp. salt. Divide into 6 servings!

I have also linked this recipe Grocery Cart Challenge Recipe Swap. I found a great deal on potatoes... .99cents for a 5 lb bag. So, that's why I went looking for a potato recipe and came up with this one.

So what new recipe did you try this week?

SOUPer Thursday

Every Thursday, I will be sharing a soup recipe. This soup is one of my favorites!

Cheesy Vegetable Soup

Makes 10 servings
2 lb of frozen veggies - your choice--California Medley is good
3 cans Fat-Free Chicken Broth
1 can Rotel tomatoes
10 oz. Light Velveeta
Dump all ingredients except cheese in the pot and bring to a boil. Let simmer for 4-5 minutes. Add 10 oz of Light Velveeta in small pieces (to melt faster). When it's melted in, you're ready to eat.
SERVING SIZE: 1 cup
POINTS: 1
Note: Some people like one serving over a baked potato.

Lorie's Update

Well I gained weight this week at Weight Watchers. Hmmm....I know I was sick most of the week and my throat was so sore I ate a lot of things I don't normally eat and I did not exercise much because it rained so much so I guess I should have expected it. Well, time to look to next week!

Grocery Cart Challenge

I try to spend about $120 a week on food for the week, stocking up and on items to put in my food storage for a family of 6. Here's how this week went.

Day's Resale Bakery

2 Loaves sandwich bread, 1 loaf potato bread, 1 Arnold Sandwich Thin-$4.00

Walmart

5.34 lb bananas- $2.56

King Size M&M's- $1.00 (Child treat)

1.59 pounds tomatoes- $3.15

4.46 pounds red grapes- $5.44

2 Velveeta cups- $1.96

Smart Taste Rotini $1.50

2 Nature's Own Hamburger Buns- $3.94

Celery $1.36

Weight Watcher Cheese Singles- $3.62 minus $1.00 off coupon

Whole Cantaloupe $1.00
2 Fat Free Sour Cream-$2.00

2 Weight Watchers Yogurt- $1.08 minus $0.55 off 2 coupon

2 Weight Watchers Yogurt- $1.08 minus $0.65 off 2 coupon

Fat Free Yogurt- $2.14 minus $0.55 off coupon

2 bacon- $4.96 minus $1.50 off 2 coupon

Heart Smart Bisquick- $2.94 minus $0.60 off coupon

Cherry Limeade- $1.98

Herbal Tea- $2.32

2 popcorn seasoning- $3.74

2 pizza cheese- $3.96

Turkey Pepperoni- $3.32

2 frozen steam broccoli- $2.50

Lunch meat- $3.00

Weight Watchers Mexican Cheese- $2.68 minus $1.00 off coupon

Sunchips- $2.68

Great Northern Beans- $0.98

2 cooking spray- $3.36

Bacon pieces- $1.56

2 pasta sauce- $3.06

Salsa- $1.44

Whole Chicken $5.30

Fat Free Hot Dogs- $2.98

I Can't Believe It's not Butter- $3.24

2% Velveeta- $4.46

Orange juice- $1.98

Rice Krispies- $4.18 minus free coupon so I got for free!

Diet Dr. Pepper- $3.98

Nestle Water- $3.88 minus $0.50 off coupon

Total: $98.05

Save a Lot

Lettuce- $1.29

cucumber $0.59

apples $3.49

24 cans tomato soup- $11.76

Total: $17.13

Food City

3 bags popcorn: $4.47

Total: $4.47


WIC

2 gallons milk
1 bag rice
1 juicy juice
1 eggs
2 boxes cereal

Total for the week: $123.65

See how others spent their money this week at The Grocery Cart Challenge.

Menu Plan Monday-October 12-18

I've decided to have theme day's on my blog here is the plan for now:

Monday: Menu Plan Monday

Tuesday: Grocery Cart Challenge

Wednesday: My weight loss update

Thursday: During the fall new soup recipes

Friday: New recipes that I have tried

Saturday: New products I've tried (If I have tried any that week)

Come back and see the changes. Here's my menu for this week:

Dinners

Monday- Sloppy Tacos (made with 2% cheese and lean meat on light bun), oven fries

Tuesday- Soft Tacos, Mexican Rice, Corn

Wednesday- Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup, Peasant Bread

Thursday- Chicken Sandwiches, green beans

Friday-Homemade Pizza, Salad

Saturday- Spaghetti Casserole, salad, Low-fat Bread Machine Italian Bread

Sunday- We are going to a friend's house who invited us (but I am bringing some fat free hot dogs for the grill

Breakfast

Monday-Eggbeaters Omelet, English Muffin, fruit
Tuesday-Eggbeaters Omelet, English Muffin, fruit
Wednesday-Eggbeaters Omelet, English Muffin, fruit

Thursday- Heart Smart Waffles, sausage links, fruit

Friday- Cereal, yogurt, fruit

Saturday-Heartsmart Pancakes, bacon, (kids and dh will eat with homemade syrup)
Sunday-Cereal, yogurt, fruit

Lunches

sandwiches and soup or leftovers and fruit each day

Snacks
Chex Party Mix, String Cheese, Fat Free Rice Krispie Treats, air popped popcorn, granola bars

Come back and see how my shopping went. for the Grocery Cart Challenge.

Go here to see more plans.

Can I do my weekly grocery shopping on $120 a week?

Here's how my shopping went this month......

Day's Resale Store

2 loaves sandwich bread, Weight Watchers English Muffins, Arnold's Sandwich Thins $4.00

Save a Lot
4.51 pounds bananas $1.50
Basil $1.39
4 Biscuits $3.56
Cheese Puffs $1.19
2 cream cheese $1.98
4.02 pounds ground chuck $6.79(on sale $1.69lb)
Lite Ranch Dressing $1.29
4 lbs onions $2.99
Oregano $1.39
5 lb bag potatoes $0.99
Pretzels $0.99
Powdered Sugar $1.29
2 Sugar $3.98
Brown sugar $1.29
Dill pickles $1.69
Tortillas $0.99
Vanilla Ice Cream $2.29
Total: $35.59

Walmart
Bell Pepper $0.94
Cucumber $0.66
Lettuce head $0.98
Cereal $5.24
Shell Macaroni $1.00
Strawberry Syrup $1.34
Hawaiian Punch $1.97
3 Butter Non stick Sprays $5.04
2 Non stick Canola oil spray $3.36
Spaghetti $1.50
Bacon $2.49
Red Velvet Cake $1.16
Cream Cheese $1.82
Lite Hot Dogs $3.00
WW String Cheese $3.42 minus $1.00 off coupon
1 lb Ground Turkey $1.98
Ham Cheese Loaf $3.00
2 shredded cheese $3.96
6 WW Yogurt $3.24 minus 2 free from two buy 2 get 1 free coupons
White Rice $1.32
Egg Beaters $4.38 minus $1.00 off coupon
Yogurt $2.00 minus $1.00 off coupon
WW Cheese Slices $3.62 minus $1.00 off coupon
4 Progresso Soups $6.00 minus Two $1.00 off 2 coupons
Lite margarine $0.62
Yogurt $2.14 minus $0.55 off coupon
2 Granola Bars $$4.52 minus $1.00 off 2
Sunchips $2.98 minus $1.00 off coupon
Margarine $0.50
2 mini marshmallows $1.92
2 All purpose flour $3.48
2 Bread Flour $4.28
Diet Dr. Pepper $3.98 minus $1.00 off coupon
RF Parm Cheese $2.42
Orange Juice $1.98
Sloppy Joe Envelope $0.88
Cherry Lime aide Drink mix $1.98
Total:$86.14


Food City
3 White Popcorn $4.47
1 small package M&M's $0.79(kid treat)
Total: $5.31

WIC Vouchers
2 boxes Multi gran Cheerios
2 gallons milk
1 Juicy Juice
1 dozen eggs
1 package brown rice
2 huge bunches grapes
Total: FREE

School Snack Program
My child's school got a grant to give kids on free and reduce lunch snack on days off school and weekends. Since we have Fall Break this week, here is what they sent. I don't usually buy these things so they will be treats. There are pop tarts, crackers, fruit cups, pudding, juice boxes, ravioli, applesauce, etc.
Total: FREE

Total Spent: $131.04

Week in Review: While I went over $11, I still feel good because I bought extra Butter sprays because I have not been able to find them when I go to the store and they had lots this time, I bought more ground chuck than I needed because it was like $1.00 cheaper a pound than I had been paying. I also bought some beginning of the month stuff like basic baking supplies. I also bought extra stuff for a birthday that we would not usually buy. I am also feeding my kids breakfast and lunch this week which they usually have at school. (That added a lot) All in all I am pretty happy this 1st week of doing this.

See how others spent there money this week at The Grocery Cart Challenge.

Menu Plan Monday- October5-October 11

This week I am trying something new. On Monday's I'll post my menu and then on Tuesday's I'll show you how much I spend at the grocery store. We have decided to budget $120 a week for groceries, but some week's may be a little more and others may be a little less. I have a family of 6 to feed. I think planning is key to making that happen. It seems really hard to eat healthy meals and spend less at the grocery. So, here's my attempt. My kids are home this week on Fall break, so I have to plan more food because they usually eat those meals at school. We also are celebrating my dh's 40th birthday this week.

Dinners

Monday-Spaghetti Casserole, Salad, Low-Fat Bread Machine Italian Bread

Tuesday- Headstart Family Fun Night (I'm bringing Pickles and Chips)

Wednesday- Lentil Tacos, Spanish Rice, Corn

Thursday- Soup beans(made with ham bouillon), Sauerkraut with Lite Hot Dogs, cornbread

Friday- Sloppy Joe Casserole, Corn, fruit

Saturday- Spaghetti and Meatballs, Low-Fat Bread Machine Italian Bread(made into bread sticks), salad, Red Velvet Cake with cream cheese icing, vanilla ice cream (This is the meal my dh picked for his birthday: I might be using my 35 weekly points for this meal)

Sunday- Crispy Chicken Drumsticks, green beans, baked potatoes, rolls

Breakfast

Monday-Eggbeaters Omelet, English Muffin, fruit

Tuesday-Eggbeaters Omelet, English Muffin, fruit

Wednesday-Bagels with light cream cheese, yogurt

Thursday- Heart Smart Waffles, sausage links, (kids will eat with homemade syrup)

Friday-Biscuits and sausage, yogurt (I'm having same as Monday)

Saturday-Heartsmart Pancakes, bacon, (kids and dh will eat with homemade syrup)

Sunday-Cereal, yogurt, fruit

Lunch

Monday-Sandwich on Arnold's Sandwich Thins, fruit

Tuesday-Sandwich on Arnold's Sandwich Thins, fruit

Wednesday- Grilled Cheese, Tomato Soup, fruit

Thursday- Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwiches (for kids), Sun Chips (For me: Boca Burger on Arnold's Sandwich Bread instead of P&B sandwich, fruit)

Friday-Grilled Cheese, Chicken Noodle Soup, fruit (Weight Watchers Progresso Soup for me instead of Chicken noodle soup)

Saturday-Sandwiches, Sun Chips

Sunday-Leftovers

*I made my dh some homemade bread in the bread maker and he is eating that with some soup this week.

Snacks

Chex Party Mix, String Cheese, Fat Free Rice Krispie Treats, air popped popcorn, granola bars

Come back and see how my shopping went.

Go here to see more plans.

What's up with Blogger?

I tried to post my menu all day yesterday and blogger would not recognize my password. Well I reset it to the same password btw and it now works. I am going shopping this morning so I will be back later and post it. I am trying something new. I am going to post my menus on Mondays and then on Tuesday's post what I got and how I stayed within budget. We decided to try and spend about $120 a week for our family of 6. We will see if I can do it. We also have a birthday this week and I am buying Halloween stuff, so we will see if I can do it. I also need to post a new picture. I'll be back later. BTW, I'm going to wear my pedometer and see how many steps I use to go shopping. Hey, any activity counts, right?

Weigh-in Day and My Story Updated

Today is the first weigh in day of the Biggest Loser Challenge. I stepped it up a notch this month (in food intake, tracking better, drinking more liquids and exercising) and had such good results. I started the challenge at 265.4 and ended this month at 256.0. A 9.4 pound loss. I can really feel the difference in my clothes. Some of my pants were so tight I felt like I could not breathe and I can breathe now! I could not be happier with that and a lot of it came at the end of the month. I have finally got over that hump that I have been in all year and I know this challenge has had a lot to do with it! I am going to start doing full body pictures each month again and will post mine later today. I encourage anyone to do full body pictures because I have one for each month of the whole first year I started losing weight and it is fun to look at them and see how far I have come.

I also am working on personal goals for my weight loss. I met my 5% and 10% in Weight Watchers and never really set another goal. A reason goals are so important! I like the baby step goals Weight Watchers sets and plan to follow when setting my next goal. My next goal is to reach 241. I was so close before I started gaining back all of that weight. That will make my 20% for Weight Watchers even though they really do not do 20%. I have read just having a 10% weight loss will help you so much in regards to health. I know that 20% will do me even better. I feel so much better having a goal and even if I do not win anything in this challenge, I know that I am working toward that goal of a 20% weight loss.

I am sorry to my fellow Biggest Loser contestants. There are so many blogs I just have not made the time to get to all of them or the time to update my list on my blog, which makes it easier to go visit all of you, but I will try to visit each blog at least 2 times next month.

In case some of you don't know my story, I'd like to share it with you again(or for the fisrt time) with some updates. I started trying to lose weight in January 2008 after I had what I like to call my wake-up call! I think most people who are extremely overweigh have at least one of these in there lives. I cut my finger in the kitchen when some bowls fell out of the cabniet and I tried to catch them and they broke in my hand. I went to the clinic to get some stitches and my blood pressure was so high they would not let me leave the clinic until they got it lowered and I started blood pressure meds that day. I also remember not believing my weight, as I had been scared to get on a scale. I knew it was bad but I never dreamed I was over 300 pounds. I went home knowing I was going to have to do something about it but not really knowing how to start or what to do because there was not a lot of money. I remember seeing Tammy post something about a Biggest Loser Competition and how they were going to start blogs. It hit me that this was my answer. I could get support from people online through a blog and while I did not join that year in the challenge as the fee was much higher then. They let me be a supporter and while I gained no money, I gain a lot of support from the participants and people in blogland struggling too. I noticed several people were doing Weight Watchers and had remembered hearing really good things about it. I even met a woman who had lost 100 pounds doing Weight Watchers and it never hit me then that I should do it. I knew we did not have the money for me to go to Weight Watchers so I went searching for infromation on the webas to how to get started and also some friends told me some about it. I lost 8 pounds the first week and conitnued until I lost about 25 pounds on my own and then felt a need to go check weight watchers out. We used our income tax money to pay for the fees and I have loved the support I have gotten from there. It is my motivation for the week. I lost 80 pounds by October of 2008. I really just yo-yoed until the end of the year but I stayed in the 240's. I remember going to a Christmas party that I had gone to the year before I started losing weight and my husband had taken a picture of me sitting in a chair. I remember that picture and I remember not being able to sit in the chair because I was so big! I have a new picture from the same party in 2008 and I wanted to take a picture and it felt so good that I could sit in the chair. (Here are those pictures if you want to look)In Jan 2009 my blood pressure meds dosage was lowered and while I am not totally off of them I know I will be eventually. I have had success, but I struggle everyday with food and food choices. If I had to list some things that help me with that struggle I'd show you this list: personal prayer, my blog, weight watchers meetings, online supporters, weight watchers tools for living (i think that's book 3) and my family. I don't know if I will ever not have a problem with food but I know I can and will get to the weight I desire. Thanks for listening to my story and all of those who have helped me along the way! Good Luck to all of you in your challenge for weight loss.

Here are some of my weight loss pictures if you want to see how I was doing.