No More Fat-Girl Stores!

It's official.  I no longer have to shop at the fat-girl stores.  I guess now it's safe to cut up my Lane Bryant card.  My mom and I went shopping today.  It's really the first time I've tried on clothes since I started WW 17 weeks ago.  I'm down 16.2 pounds as of this morning.  We went to Marshall's and I started to find all kinds of cute clothes, but the biggest the pants went was a 14, and the tops only went to an extra large.  I grabbed some 14's knowing I had a shot at getting them buttoned.  Then I was really brave and grabbed a couple of the extra large shirts I liked.  Even when I was in high school I had a hard time finding tops that fit correctly because the good Lord blessed me with a more than ample chest. 

Anyways, I headed to the fitting room, strangely confident.  I put on the first pair of 14 pants, and low and behold, they buttoned without much hassel.  Then they zipped...and I could still breath!!!  Granted, they would be more comfortable in about 4 or 5 more pounds, but I could totally pull them off.  Then I tried the shirt.  Amazingly, it fit as well, and looked good!  I couldn't believe it!  I think I was yelling at my mom in the fitting room because I was so excited.  The top was a flowy, sleeveless pull-over made out of a fabric that was cut on the bias, so there was no give at all.  I found 4 things I really liked, but couldn't afford all of them.  I couldn't decide which 1 piece I wanted so I didn't get anything.  In hindsight, I think I should have bought the gray top.  I have the perfect little shrug to go with it too.  Oh well. 

I'm having a hard time remembering when I could walk into any normal store and buy clothing that fit and looked good.  Right now most of my wardrobe consists of items from Lane Bryant or Torrid.  Granted, they are both great stores, but I have always hated to have to shop there.  It's very limiting.  I think I need to start putting away $5 for every pound I lose so I can buy some new clothes. 

Last week I was in a big time funk.  I blame a lot of it on the weather.  My head really wasn't in the game and I got really complaicent with my tracking.  I also didn't earn very many activity points.  The weather is finally starting to get better and I'm determined to make this a better week.

I have a goal for the month of May.  On the Weight Watchers website, you can earn "trophies" for tracking different things.  If you track food, log activty, and track good health guidlines (how much water you drank, how many fruits/veggies you ate), you can earn trophies.  The key is you have to track all 3 on a given day to earn a trophy.  The biggest one I've gotten is for tracking all 3 for 15 days during the month.  My goal for May is to earn the 30 day trophy.  I always track my food and my good health guidlines.  My problem is, I don't earn activity points every day.  So for May, I need to earn a minimum of 1 activity point every day.  Tomorrow shouldn't be a problem because me and the hubby are walking 6 miles round-trip for breakfast. 

This is going to be a good week!

Someone Has A Case Of The Mondays

Ok, I know it isn't Monday, but it feels like a Monday to me.  I'm having a really hard time staying focused and motivated this week.  I'm still on plan, even with Easter brunch, but I just can't seem to get my head into the game.  I don't know what my problem is.  I'm having really good success on the scale.  I actually made it through the first day of C25K without any issues.  I've been doing a lot of stuff around the house instead of just sitting around watching TV.  I've taken the dog for a walk.  I've stuck to my points.  I've changed up my menu.  I'm not having any cravings.  But I just feel ho hum about all of it.  I don't know why I'm in this funk.  Maybe it's all just becoming routine and habit, where as before it's all been exciting and new, even though I've been doing this for almost 4 months.  Becoming routine is good, because this is definitely a lifestyle change, not a diet, but I need something to spice it up.   

Success Breeds Success

Weigh-in this weekend was awesome!  I'm down another 2 pounds for a total of 15.8 pounds since January 8th.  That leaves me with 64.2 pounds left to lose to hit goal.  I'm at 194.6, which is almost pre-Jamaica weight.  The morning my husband and I left for Jamaica last September, I weighed 193.  I gained 6 pounds while we were on vacation, and by Christmas had gained 20!  My next goal is to be back at pre-Jamaica weight, then after that it's my 10%, which is 189.4. 

It still amazes me how good news on the scale can give so much motivation to keep doing well.  When I have a good weigh-in, I want to stay on plan, eat the right foos, make sure I drink my water, and earn as many activity points as I can.  But when I have a bad week on the scale, it's so much easier to eat over my points and lay on the couch like a blob.  It seems to me, in the logical side of my brain at least, that it would be just the opposite.  But I'll take it.

My fantastic weigh-in yesterday gave me the motivation to go out and run today.  The August 5k training has officially started!  My mom was wonderful enough to buy me some new running shoes yesterday and I had to go try them out.  I managed to get all the way through week 1, day 1 on my C25K app.  You have no idea how excited and proud of myself I am.  Normally it takes me 2 to 3 tries before I can get all the way through day 1.  Granted, my legs aren't feeling too well now, but it's a good kind of pain.  A lot of it, at least for me, is mind over matter.  I just have to keep telling myself that I can do it, even if I feel like I can't.  I actually danced a little jig at the park when I finished the last run.  A guy who was sitting at a picnic table gave me a really weird look. 

Oh, we tried a new recipe last night.  I'm a big fan of King Ranch Chicken.  Normally, I would have made it with flour tortilla's, cream of chicken soup, salsa, lots of cheese, chicken, and then eaten it like a dip with tortilla chips.  Well, I found a healthified version on http://www.eatingwell.com/.  It's a little labor intensive, but can easily be sped up by buying already chopped veggies, and a fresh rotisserie chicken.  It took me about 40 minutes to get put together and into the oven.  It turned out really good.

Ingerdients

• 1 1/2 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
• 1 cup nonfat milk
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup nonfat plain yogurt
• 1 14-ounce can diced tomatoes, drained
• 1 4-ounce can green chiles, drained
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro, or parsley
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• Freshly ground pepper, to taste
• 1 1/2 teaspoons canola or olive oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 red or green bell pepper, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 cups diced coked skinless chicken
• 10 corn tortillas, cut into quarters
• 1/2 cup shredded reduced-fat Cheddar Cheese

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Bring broth to a simmer in a medium saucepan.  Whisk milk and flour in a small bowl until smooth.  Add to the brotha nd cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until thickened and smoot, about 3 minutes.  Remove from the heat and stir in yogurt, tomatoes, chiles, cilantro, chili powder, oregano, and cumin.  Season with salt and pepper.
3. Heat oil in a large nontick skillet over medium-high heat.  Add onion, bell pepper, and garlic; cook, stirring occasionally, until tender-crisp, about 3 minutes.
4. Line the bottom of a shallow 3-quart baking dish with half the tortillas.  Top with half the chicken and half the onion mixture.  Spoon half of the sauce evenly over the top.  Repeat layers with remaining tortillas, chicken, onion mixture, and sauce.  Sprinkle with Cheddar.  Bake until bubbly, 25-30 minutes.

Serving Size: approximately 1 cup
301 calories, 5g fat, 38g carbs, 25g protein, 6g fiber
7 points plus per serving

Know Before You Go

Today, I was once again reminded of the importance of planning ahead, as well as making sure you have information available.  Lunch made me think back to a couple of weeks into my journey when I unknowingly ate a 32 point baked potato for dinner. 

Today, after a mid-morning doctor appointment, my husband and I decided to go to Pei Wei for lunch.  For those of you who haven't heard of Pei Wei, it's PF Chang's fast food restaurant.  My mom and I had gone a few weeks ago for lunch, so I thought I had saved the nutritional information in my WW app on my phone.  Well, we got to the restaurant and I found out that I did not have it saved.  I didn't feel like searching all the way back to try to find the date we went, so I ordered what I thought wouldn't be too bad.  I normally get the mongolian shrimp, but I didn't want all of the sodium from the sauce since I have to weigh-in tomorrow morning.  I got a cup of hot and sour soup and 4 crab wontons.  I knew the soup was higher there than other restaurants, but I couldn't remember the points exactly.  I know on the old program the crab wontons weren't that horrible either, and I knew I could keep my sodium down as well. 

After we got done eating, my husband found an app on his phone that has Pei Wei's nutritional information.  The soup was 5 points.  That's not a huge deal, I had 17 available for lunch.  Then I looked at the crab wontons.  Well, come to find out, 4 of them are 9 points.  Ouch!  I mean, in the grand scheme of things it wasn't a big deal.  That still left me with 3 points, and I had already entered my dinner, so I didn't have to count that.  It actually did fill me up, so I wasn't left hungry.  But it just goes to show that you can't guess on points.

I have been doing Weight Watchers for 15 weeks now.  There are days when I feel like I'm completely new at it, and I'm really careful about tracking every morsel that goes into my mouth, and making sure I make good, healthy decisions.  Then there are days when I'm overly confident, feel like I know it all, and those are usually the days when I eat something without checking the points first, and it burns me. 

Tomorrow morning is weigh-in.  I know I'm going to be down, which is awesome!  I don't want to speculate as to how much because I don't want to be disappointed if I retain water overnight.  I stayed completely with-in my points the last couple of days and it's been a pretty good week.  I didn't get in as much activity as I would have liked, but that all changes on Sunday.  I'll let you know how I do!

But I'm Still Hungry!

I find myself saying that after almost every meal.  Even when the dinner I had was 8 or 9 points, has tons of protein and fiber, and I've eaten all of my points for the day, I'll still say I'm hungry.  It never made sense to me and it used to frustrate me.  But today at lunch I had an "ah ha" moment.

I need to redefine my sense of being full.  I have gotten so used to eating until I was stuffed, that it's hard for my brain to tell when I'm really satisfied and full.  If my stomach isn't bloated and hurting after a meal, I equate that with still being hungry. 

I'm struggling with that today.  For lunch I had a Lean Cuisine Garlic Chicken Pizza and a cup of sugar-free pudding.  My total lunch was 11 points, and tasted very yummy.  I didn't over-eat, but I didn't under-eat either.  I feel comfortable, and in the logical side of my brain I know that I'm satisfied and not really hungry, but the emotional side of my brain is telling me that I didn't have enough food.  Now the birthday cake sitting on the desk across the floor is staring me in the face saying, "Come eat me because you're still hungry!" 

I've realized that I need to make a conscious effort to really recognize not only my hunger signals, but also my satiety signals.  Lets be honest, the hunger signals are much easier to recognize and deal with.  Starting today I'm going to give that logical side of my brain a fighting chance to take over the emotional side of my brain when it comes to being satisfied with my food. 

Today, I'm going to plan out my meals and snacks for the rest of the week (I usually only do it 1 day at a time).  I am going to commit to only eating what is already in my food journal, and take the time to reflect after each meal to really, logically, evaluate my hunger/satiety level.  I commit to no longer being stuffed!

Have Your Baseball And Your Work-Out Too!

We are only 3 and a half weeks into the baseball season, and already I'm finding it hard to fit in time for exercise when the Boys of Summer are in town.  Let's face it, I'm not a morning person.  I can get up and head to the gym a couple of mornings for about a week and then sleep takes over.  I much prefer to get my activity in after work.  But with 81 baseball games to contend with this summer, I'm finding this could be really difficult. 

I went to the ball game last night with my parents.  My mom is doing WW with me.  We decided that to get in some movement we would do 3 laps around the ballpark.  The nice thing about Kauffman stadium is that no matter where you are in the ballpark (with the exception of the designated smoking area) you can keep an eye on the game, whether it be a direct view of the field, or on one of them many TV screens around the park.  Our 3 laps took us almost an hour (we had a couple of short stops along the way), and we didn't really miss much of the game.  Then it hit me.  I can do this for every game this summer! 

I don't have to give up my work-outs just because the Royal's are in town!  When I got home and told my husband, he upped the ante.  At Kauffman, there are stilll 2 of the old spiral ramps that lead from the ground level to the upper deck.  I hate going up them because I get winded.  I would much rather take the escalator and say hi to our favorite usher, Bob, on the way.  But what if I walked up one ramp, across the back of the stadium, and down the other a couple of times before games?  It would definately get my heart rate up.  I don't think it would take me the hour that walking all the way around the park would take, but it would definately be at a higher intensity.  There are also stairs at either end of the upper deck that I could use to get to my seats.  Do you think anyone would look at me funny if I was jogging around the outer concourse with my headphones in doing my C25K? :)

Zucchini Rice Casserole

Weigh-in was great on Saturday.  I was only expecting to be down about half a pound, but I ended up being down 1.2!  That makes 13.8 pounds gone since January 8th, and 66.8 pounds to go for goal.  Not bad for 14 weeks.  Now I just need to keep the scale moving in that direction.

I tried a new recipe tonight from EatingWell.com.  They actually have some pretty good recipes but you need to check the nutritional info on them.  Some of them may sound healthy but are really high in fat or carbs.  This one is very healthy, called Zucchini Rice Casserole.  A 1 cup serving may seem small, but it's so rich and creamy that a cup is more than enough!

• 1 1/2 cups long-grain brown rice
• 2 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 4 cups diced zucchini, and/or summer squash (about 1 pound)
• 2 red or green bell peppers, chopped
• 1 large onion, diced
• 1 1/2 cups low-fat milk
• 3 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 cups shredded pepper Jack cheese, divided
• 1 cup fresh or frozen (thawed) corn kernels
• 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 8 ounces turkey sausage, casings removed
• 4 ounces reduced-fat cream cheese
• 1/4 cup chopped pickled jalapenos

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Pour rice into a 9x13 baking dish.  Bring broth to a simmer in a small saucepan.  Stir hot broth into the rice along with zucchini, bell peppers, onion, and salt.  Cover with foil.  Bake for 45 minutes.  Remove foil and continue baking until the rice is tender and most of the liquid is absorbed, 35-45 minutes longer.
3. Meanwhile, whisk milk and flour in a small saucepan.  Cook over medium heat until bubbling and thickened, 3-4 minutes.  Reduce heat to low.  Add 1 1/2 cups jack cheese and corn and cook, stirring, until the cheese is melted.  Set aside.
4. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat and add sausage.  Cook, stirring and breaking the sausage into small pieces with a spoon, until lightly browned and no longer pink, about 4 minutes.
5. When the rice is done, stir in the sausage and cheese sauce.  Sprinkle the remaining 1/2 cup jack cheese on top and dollop cream cheese by the teaspoonful over the casserole.  Top with jalapenos.
6. Return the casserole to the oven and bake until the cheese is melted, about 10 minutes.  Let stand for about 10 minutes before serving.

Makes 12 1 cup servings - 6 points
248 calories, 9g fat, 5g saturated fat, 34mg cholesterol, 29g carbs, 13g protein, 2g fiber, 491g sodium

I ended up adding another 4 ounces of the cream cheese to the top because I didn't want to waste the entire brick I bought.  It only adds a minute amount of calories and fat per serving.  Add 1 more point per serving if using the extra cream cheese.  I also left off the jalapenos because neither my husband nor I are big fans.

http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/zucchini_rice_casserole.html

Enjoy!

Weekly Recap

Here I sit, another Friday night, and another week in my weight-loss journey under my belt.  This week just kind kind of ordinary, really.  I splurged on dinner a couple of times last weekend (burgers at The Flea and Chinese), stayed within my points the rest of the week, not a ton of activity because my foot was still recovering but managed to earn a few.  I did go a bit crazy last night.  I had a meatball sub at the ballpark.  I had the points so I don't really consider it a splurge.  It was mighty tasty though! 

The scale has been moving in the downward direction this week ever so slowly.  Slow is good though.  I'm really sick of this lose 3 pounds, gain a pound and a half, lose a pound, gain half a pound thing.  I would much rather just steadily lose about a pound a week.  Even though I bounced back and forth during the month of March and first part of April, I'm still averaging .9 pounds a week, which is just shy of my 1 pound a week goal.  I just want things to be more consistent. 

I'm hoping that next week I can finally start the 5k training.  This weekend I'm going to make a training chart and try to fit in the training around all of the Royal's games we have this summer.  I'm looking forward to trying some new recipes next week as well.  If they are good I will post them.  Weigh-in is tomorrow...can't wait to see how I did!

The Importance Of The Buddy System

When we were kids, we were taught about the buddy system.  Whether it was for field trips, swimming, or crossing the street, parents/teachers/adults realized that it was important to do things in pairs.  When it comes to weight loss, it's extremely important to have a buddy.  We actually talked about this a few weeks back during our meeting.  A buddy can help you stay accountable for getting up and going to meeting (I go on Saturday mornings at 7:45 and definately need that help), staying on plan, and getting to the gym.  They can give you a pep talk when you're down, and give you a reality check when you're completely off-base.  They can celebrate your successes with you, and commiserate on the not-so-good weeks. 

I have been very fortunate to have some awesome buddies since I joined Weight Watchers in January.  I started going with my mom.  We've done it together before.  We can share recipes and ideas, and I know that if I don't get out of bed on Saturdays that I'll get a phone call, and no breakfast (we go out after meetings...I know, I know).  I also have 3 cousins that are doing it with me, and while they don't live near me, we can still keep up with each other through Facebook, the WW website, and my blog.  But I am truely excited to announce my newest Weight Watchers buddy, my husband!  He texted me today and told me that he's going to start doing this with me. 

I can't even begin to tell you how excited I am!  He has always been a huge support to me and this effort.  He's always there to make me feel better after a bad day, give me encouragement, and also give me a swift kick in the pants if I'm making excuses.  He has played a vital role in my weight loss thus far, and now it's only going to get better.  By him joining, it's going to make my life easier, but it's going to make his life easier as well.  He's been doing his own thing to lose weight and has had some good success.  But trying to cook point friendly dinners for myself, and then having to write down all of the nutritional information for him has been a chore, and unfortunately most nights we've just said forget it which hasn't helped him at all.  It's going to help me because now he'll know where I'm coming from on certain things because we're doing the same program.  He's going to be my ultimate buddy.  I know he's going to do fantastic on the new WW plan, and I'm so proud of him!  Thanks Babe!

Rum Glazed Pork, Onion, and Clementine Kebabs

Dinner tonight was so yummy!  I've made a lot of Weight Watcher's recipes in my day, and they used to be horribly bland.  They had absolutely no flavor and the portion sizes were terribly small.  Let me tell you, they have come a long way.  Shortly after I started this year, I bought one of their new cookbooks.  I think a big thing that has helped is the fact that fruit is zero points now.  Tonight we made rum glazed pork, onion, and clementine kabobs.  To go along with it, I made baked sweet potatoes. The recipe calls to have these broiled in the oven, but we did them on the grill and they turned out great!  Here's the recipe.

6 Clementines
2 Tablespoons packed brown sugar
2 Tablespoons rum
1 whole star anise, broken in half (I couldn't find this so I left it out and this turned out just fine)
1 pound boneless pork loin, trimmed and cut into 1 inch pieces
1small red onion, cut into 8 wedges (I used sweet onion)
1 red bell pepper, cut into 2 inch pieces
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teasoon black pepper

To make basting sauce, squeeze 3 clementines to get about 1/3 cup juice.  Transfer juice toa  small saucepan; add brown sugar, rum, and star anise.  Cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until liquid reduces to glaze, about 6 minutes.  Remove and discard star anise.

Spray broiler rack with nonstick spray and preheat broiler.

Cut remaining 3 clementines into quarters and thread clementines, pork, onion, and bell pepper alternately onto 8 metal skewers.  Sprinkle kebabs with salt and black pepper.

Arrange kebabs on broiler rack; lightly spray withnonstick spray.  Brush kebabs with half of sauce.  Broil 5 inches from heat, turning once and basting with remaining sauce, until pork is no longer pink in center, about 10 minutes.

Serving size: 2 kebabs - 6 points per serving
264 calories, 8g fat, 3g saturated fat, 0g trans fat, 67mg cholesterol, 352mg sodium, 19g carbs, 15g sugar, 2g fiber, 25g protein

This dish is so versitile that you could serve just about anything as a side.  I baked some sweet potatoes...just wrap them in foil, put in a glass baking dish, and pop them in the oven at 350 for about an hour and a half.

Enjoy!

3 Months Down - A Lifetime to Go

I've been doing Weight Watchers for 3 monhts now as of Friday.  I had a really good weigh-in on Saturday.  While I'm really excited, I need to do it 2 weeks in a row.  I've been gaining and losing the same three pounds since the end of February.  As of April 9th, I've lost 12.6 pounds.  I'm officially out of the 200's which makes me really happy!  Current weight: 197.8.  My goal for this whole thing was to average a pound a week.  I'm .4 off of that pace.  I can totally live with that.  I have also officially hit my 5%, meaning I've lost 5% of my starting weight.  As you know, I'm a huge fan of stickers and I got a nice, big 5% one today. :)  That was my first goal.  As my reward I'm getting my nails done on Monday.

My next goal is to hit my 10% which is 21 pounds.  I only have 8.4 pounds to go before I hit that.  I'm still working on what my reward for that will be.  I'm open to all ideas and suggestions.  I'm toying with the idea of a massage or massage/pedi, but I don't know. 

I am sad to report that the 5k training hasn't started yet.  Apparently I did something to my foot about a week and a half ago, and today is the first day that it hasn't hurt 24/7.  I don't know if it's a stress fracture, if I just sprained it, or what, but it hasn't been fun.  The only way I've been able to walk without pain is in 6 inch heels.  I'm pretty sure I can't run a 5k in those!  I have a doctor appointment on Tuesday to have it looked at, but if it's still feeling this good come Monday morning, I may cancel.  I have until August 14th to be able to run 3.1 miles, I don't think a week and a half late start is really going to throw me off too badly.  I'm going to take it easy on the foot until water aerobics on Wednesday.  Hopefully after that I can start my running regimine. 

I'm actually going to be walking in a 5k in May.  Weight Watcher's is doing the 3rd annual Walk-It Challenge on National 5k day.  They are sponsoring a 5k here in Kansas City.  You don't have to be a Weight Watcher's member to walk in it.  If you're interested, let me know.  If you want to come out and show your support, that's great too.  Being that my husband and I walk 6 miles round trip to breakfast (or for a cupcake) a lot of weekends I don't think walking a 5k is going to be a big deal.  I did tell my husband though that he needs to be waiting at the finish line for me with a red velvet cupcake!

Eating Out On Plan

As I've said in earlier posts, I'm not much for cooking.  I'm all about convenience.  That means that we eat out quite a bit.  I think I've already blogged about my meal at Outback Steakhouse.  I love going there because I can get a really good dinner for 10 points.  That's my go-to restaurant when I'm craving steak.  I get the 6 ounce Outback special, on the light side, which includes a 6 ounce sirloin, and then for sides I get a plain baked sweet potato and mixed veggies.  By ordering it on the light side they don't use any butter or fat in the preperation.  It's very satisfying. 

Well, now I have a go-to place for seafood.  Last night, the hubby and I went to Red Lobster for dinner.  It's Lent, so seafood seemed fitting (and we were ready for dinner early enough that we could actually get in...and I had a coupon).  I think I spent 15-20 minutes looking at the menu.  I really wanted lobster and some shrimp, but a lot of the meals also included shrimp scampi, some kind of pasta, a bread based seafood stuffing, or they are cooked in a garlic butter.  After much debate I decided to order the peach bourbon BBQ bacon-wrapped scallops and shrimp.  Instead of grilling the scallops and shrimp in the BBQ sauce I asked them to put it on the side.  I also ordered a garden salad with a red-wine vinegar dressing on the side, and steamead broccoli as my side.  I took the bacon off the scallops, and just dipped my fork into the BBQ.  It was so sweet that you didn't need much to get the full effect of the flavor.  I also indulged in a Cheddar Bay biscuit.  How can you go to Red Lobster and not have a Cheddar Bay biscuit?  My entire meal was so good, and felt so indulgent, but it was only 10 points.  The biscuit was 4 and the shrimp and scallops, salad, and broccoli were 6. 

I'm still looking for a relatively low point Chinese and Mexican meal, but so far, not a whole lot of luck.  I do know that I can get a 4 point salad at Chipotle.  I get the lettuce, chicken, and pico.  Then I use my own 2 point dressing on it.  But I wouldn't really consider that Mexican food. 

By the way, don't ever be embarrased to take your own condiments into a restaurant.  I've taken my I Can't Believe It's Not Butter spray, bottles of dressing, and little tupperware containers of dressing into restaurants in my purse.  I will also start taking my own sour cream if I'm going out for a baked potato or Mexican.  I don't know how widely available the Belfonte brand is, but Belfonte's fat free sour cream is 0 points for 2 tablespoons, 1 point for a quarter cup.  And it tastes fantastic!

Tonight we are going out for burgers and fries, which are very high in points, but my weekly's started over again today :)  Bring on the fried pickles and ranch!

A Few Random Thoughts

I know it's been a while since I've blogged.  Last week was not a good week.  Despite eating completely on plan and doing my routine exercise, I gained 1.2 pounds.  Since the end of February I've netted a 1 pound gain.  I cried on my way to Weight Watcher's on Saturday morning because I didn't want to weigh in.  I started thinking and the only thing that had changed was the fact that I had quit smoking.  Now, I'm hesitant to even admit this on here, but I'm smoking again.  I was at my wit's end.  I decided at this point that mentally it's more important for me to get the weight off than to be smoke free.  So far it's actually working, which is kind of sad.  But at this point I'll take what I can get.

So far baseball season is treating me pretty good.  I was really good on Thursday and Friday.  I didn't have any ballpark food.  I gave in on Saturday and Sunday, but only because that's when I use a majority of my extra points for the week.  By the way, ballpark food has come a long ways in the last decade.  Kauffman now offers a phenominal meatball sub.  That was dinner on Saturday.  Sunday consisted of an order of buffalo ranch fries.  That's a basket of french fries covered in Frank's Red Hot Buffalo Wing sauce and ranch dressing.  Why no one thought of that sooner is completely beyond me because it's just about the best thing on earth.  Other than that I behaved myself pretty well. 

Unfortunately, my activity level has dropped this week.  Last Thursday my foot started hurting really badly.  I'm not sure what I did to it, but unless I'm in heels I can barely walk.  I'm going to the doctor next week to have it looked at.  I'm thinking its either a stress fracture or tendon issue.  I'm eager to start training for my 5k that I'm running in August.  Someone at work said I should start running in my heels!

That's all for now...weight-in is in 2 days and I'm really anxious to see how I'm going to do!

The Art of Self-Sabotage

I think I'm the master of this art.  If not the master, then I could definitely give anyone a run for their money.  I had an epic performance last night.  Let me explain.

Yesterday started off pretty good.  I was a bit frustrated that the scale hasn't moved all week, especially after a rather intense water aerobics session, but at the same time I hadn't drank all of my water on Wednesday and I had been a little sparse with the food, so that could be part of the problem.  I had the day off since it was Opening Day for the Royals.  I convinced my husband to walk down to Brookside for breakfast, a walk that is 6 miles round trip.  I wanted and felt that I needed the extra exercise.  So off we go at 6:22am.  It was a great walk.  I was breathing hard, and we were really moving.  Once it was time to order I made the executive decisions to order breakfast potatoes instead of fruit.  I was originally going to order the fruit in an attempt to keep breakfast somewhat low point, but lunch plans had changed so it wasn't a big deal.  After breakfast we swung by the coffee shop with the really good cupcakes.  I mean, we were already there, why not?  They had one big red velvet cupcake, and a whole bunch of mini red velvet cupcakes.  I decided to be good and just got a mini one.  The walk back was just as good, still moving at a good pace and still breathing hard.

For lunch we were originally going to go to Arthur Bryant's for BBQ, a Kansas City landmark.  But I knew I just couldn't pull it off in the points department.  So I suggested we all go to The Mixx, and everyone was on board.  I my usual, a steak salad and sweet potato fries, but I didn't eat very many of the fries.  Shocking, I know. 

I was beyond good at the ballpark.  It was mandatory that I walk around and see what each food stall had to offer, just so I would know, but I wasn't tempted by anything.  Towards the end of the game when it was almost 6:30 I started to get hungry and a hot dog was sounding (and smelling) really good, but I didn't give in.

The sabotage came after the game.  I didn't see a plate of nacho's the entire day at the ballpark, but for whatever reason I was craving Mexican food.  I said something in the car and we decided to go to El Maguey for dinner.  I was bad.  I was beyond bad.  I didn't do my research first.  I didn't look up any points values.  I was good in the fact that I stayed away from the burritos and chimichanga's (2 of my personal favorites), but I ate way too many chips (you know it's bad when your husband whisper's to you "You need to be careful, " and you just give him the evil eye), and I ordered a quesadilla.  Said quesadilla came complete with shrimp and refried beans in the middle, then it was drenched in a white cheese sauce, and served with rice, quacamole, and sour cream.  I only ate a couple fork-fulls of rice.  I left the quac and most of the sour cream alone.  But I ate the whole quesadilla.  It could have been worse, but it could have been a whole lot better.  This was all bad enough, but add to the mix that I was eating between 7:00 and 8:00.

I'm sure you can imagine what the scale said this morning.  It had moved alright, but not in the right direction.  I went way over my points yesterday and took in way too much sodium.  I am trying to combat that today by drinking a ton of water (I feel like I'm going to burst) and eating low points, but unfortunately I think I've screwed myself for weigh-in tomorrow.  Guess I'll have to wait one more week for that damn 5% sticker.