Another Great Weigh In!

Just returning from another weigh in and I very proud and excited to report that I lost another 2.6 pounds this week.

This will make my 20 week total - 45.8 pounds.

I will stay focused this week and continue to fight the fight. We have another busy week out at the trailer and should be able to keep myself busy.

Reward Day!

So as a reward for my successful weight loss progress so far, I have booked a morning at the spa with my darling daughter. I am going to have a pedicure done, while she has a pedicure and manicure done. She is only four and a half years old, but loves having her nails painted. We are having them done at the Beverly Ashdown Day Spa http://www.beverlyashdown.ca/ in Saskatoon. The package that my daughter is having done is called the Little Diva Pedicure and Manicure. I am having the Desperate Housewife Pedicure.

I have the day off from work and my son will be in school, so it is the perfect opportunity to do a "girls thing". It doesn't really happen very often, so I am totally looking forward to it. I will post pictures if I remember to take the camera.

I am so looking forward to this morning of fun with my precious little girl. :O)

Superslim Rice Crisps - Product Review

If you are looking for a low point snack with lots of flavour, I recommend that you go out and buy a box of these. They are 13 good size crackers for 2 points. I love the Sesame flavour; however they do come in other flavours, including Original, Sea Salt and Sweet Chili.

If you had 6 or 7 of these crackers along with 2 traingles of the laughing cow cheese, you have a great 2 point snack that is very filling. Even better, mix salsa with the cheese first.

Yum, what a great snack when you need to satisfy a craving.

Weigh In and Self Awareness

Had my weigh in today and lost another 2.6 pounds. I love learning that this is a new way of life and not a "DIET".

This week I am focusing on self awareness. One of the most important factors in building your self esteem and confidence is your self awareness.

Being self aware is knowing:

What you want in your life? I want to live long and enjoy a wonderful life with my family and friends.

Your strengths and weaknesses. Some of my greatest strengths are my greatest weaknesses. Some of my strengths would be that I am caring, well educated, creative, while some of my weakness are I am a perfectionist, stubborn and very private.

What motivates you and makes you happy? Definately my family is one of my greatest motivators. I cannot explain the overwhelming love and emotion that I have as a mother. I just want to be around as long as I can for my children. They are my pride and joy and I love sharing their life with them.

What you want to change about yourself or about your life? Part of my journey is too allow my body to exist in a healthier environment, therefore, this is one of the changes I would like to make and am actively doing it.

Your achievements so far. I have successfully lost 43 pounds. I am raising 2 beautiful children to be respectful people and love themselves and others. I am a successful business women, with a wonderful husband and extended family and friends, a beautiful home and other luxuries we can enjoy as a family.

How you relate to others. I can relate to others on a variety of different subjects. However, there are always certain areas that one finds hard to relate to, especially if you haven't experienced it.

You need to improve as a person. I have to learn to "relax" and take more me time. I find that when I have free time, I should be playing with the kids or doing other chores. I think it is important to have time alone, I just need to learn how to do it.

Your most important beliefs and values. I believe in respect for yourself and others and value friendships.

How you see yourself as a person. I see myself as a hardworking mother and wife that strives for happiness and fulfillment.

This was a wonderful exercise - it allowed me to really believe that I have lots to be thankful for and to keep striving for my happiness.

Thursday WI (18th Week)

Lost another 1 pound for a grand total of 40.6 pounds -- so far.

On my way back from the meeting I was reflecting on what has made me successful so far. I truly believe that staying for meetings is so crucial. It is amazing the hints, ranging from where to buy low point foods to coping mechanisms, you get out of the meetings. Obviously everyone at the meetings are dealing with the same struggles as I am, so for me it is far easier to relate to them and find the confidence to continue.

I also credit my children - my source of energy. I love them so dearly and I am enjoying every minute I can with them. It is so much to know that playing takes less energy now than it did a few months ago.

I am also very stubborn (which is an understatement), so with that alone, I cannot fail and will not fail. It may take me a while but I will keep at it.

Now onto week number 19 with 4 days at the lake - will be packing healthy and will earn as many ap's as I can.

:O)

Monday Evening Walk

Last night was so gorgeous out, so after my son's ball game, I decided to go for a walk. It took me about 30 minutes to do the above walk. Now I have something to beat and keep challenging me. I am going to slowly increase speed or distance. I will also keep track of each walk and see how I improve over time.

Having Fun Losing the Weight!

I am constantly trying to figure out ways to not lose interest in losing weight, which has definately been my problem in the past. The following are three ideas I am going to try this week.

#1: Play tag on the playground. This should be a fun activity for losing weight. Running, climbing, squatting and laughing are great ways to burn calories.

#2: Challenge my husband or children to a game. Will probably be basketball, road hockey or soccer. Should be able to have fun burning calories while participating in a little friendly competition.

#3: Pack our favorite healthy foods and head to the park or zoo for a picnic. Being outside, getting fresh air and eating healthy foods will feel great.

Weigh In #17

Down another 2 pounds today at weigh in. I LOVE IT!!! That is a total of 39.6 pounds. My BMI has also changed from 41.8 to 35.8. Very exciting.

So will be trying a few new recipes this week, including 1 point chocolate chip cookies (yum!) and trying to up the activity.

We will be going up to the trailer for the weekend so I need to go out and get groceries. Will be stalking up on fruit and veggies. I really try and have a great selection of food at the trailer so it is easier to stay on track.

What's your motivation?

What is your motivation for losing weight?

For me, other than the obvious (must lose weight to be healthier), it was to be able to wear my wedding rings again. I have not wore them since 2004. Yes, that is 4 years. I tried them on last night and they are not quite ready to go on. They are getting close. I am sure once I hit onederland it will be a matter of pounds. This definately motivation to continue the journey.

Another huge motivator for me was to be able to spend hours playing with my children. This gets easier with every pound I lose. It is such a wonderful feeling to play and run with them without getting tired or pulling something. I can't wait to lose another 30 pounds and see how much easier it is then.

This journey really has so many perks, I often wonder why I have derailed in the past as there really is no benefit.

Thursday WI

Had my weekly weigh in this afternoon and am proud to report I am down another 1.2 pounds.

Even though I am following the simply filling, I am going to track this week and make sure my portions aren't getting out of control. I want to make sure I am not slowly increasing portions, and how close I am to my aloted range.

Creamy Cauliflower Soup

I seen this recipe on http://weight-watchers-points-recipes.blogspot.com and it sounded so good. I have a head of cauliflower at home, so timing is perfect. Will let you know how it turns out.

Servings: 4 servings • Time: 20 minutes • Points: 1 ww point

1 tbsp butter
2 tsp unbleached flour
1 head cauliflower - chopped
1/2 cup chopped onions
4 cups fat free chicken broth (vegetarians can use vegetable broth)
salt and pepper to taste

In a medium saucepan, make a rue by melting the butter on low heat. Add flour and stir about 2 minutes. Add chicken broth, onions and cauliflower and set heat to medium. Cover and simmer until vegetables are tender (about 20 minutes.) Puree with an immersion blender until smooth. Season with salt and pepper.

Frozen Peanut Butter Cups

8 oz Cool Whip
6 Tbsp Peanut Butter
2 Tbsp Hershey chocolate syrup

Combine Cool Whip and peanut butter. Line 12 cupcake tins with liners and spoon in mixture.
Top with a drizzle of syrup and freeze.

That's it! (1.5 points each)

This is a great treat if you are looking for something to take care of a craving.

New Favorite Treat/Snack! :O)

Special K Bliss Mocha!

By sheer destiny I ran into this morsels of goodness at the local grocery store yesterday and I had to just try them. I couldn't even wait to get back to the office, so I opened one in the vehicle and to my pleasant surprise -- they were wonderful, and only 2 PTS! I don't really care for the regular granola bars. They are a little syrupy for me, these aren't like that. They come in several different flavours. I also bought the plain chocolate ones for my children, and they loved them as well. I love finding new low point snacks.

Another Successful Weigh In!!

So last Thursday was my weigh in, and I am happy to say that I am down 4 pounds for the week. I had some serious ap's this week which included three hours of raking on Sunday alone. I did make a concerted effort to ensure that I fuelled the body for the upped activity. So I must have done something right. I also received my 16 Week charm for the key chain. Hard to believe that I have been at this for 16 weeks and have lost 36.4 pounds. I am very excited and am looking forward to another 16 weeks.

The 2 most important things for me in being successful at losing weight is tracking and portion control. If I can stay focused on these two things, I see the results.

As a side note, we pulled the trailer out on the weekend to park it for the summer and we are going to try and spend the night this coming weekend if the weather is nice. So note to mother nature, please send nice weather our way.

Mentally Preparing for Dim Sum

So I was just informed that the office staff is going to go out for dim sum tomorrow for lunch. I LOVE dim sum and cannot wait. However, that does mean some pre planning. First of all my weigh in is on Thursday, so my first awareness will be the salt intake. Second of all, I only have 30 points for the day (I have definately used up all weekly ap's); therefore, I will have the typical 2 point grapefruit for breakfast at around 9:30 am and use about 18 ponts for the dim sum. I think if I stay to mostly steamed items I should be able to count 5 pieces for 4 points. If I end up eating 15 pieces, I will end up using 12 points, allowing room for a couple deep fried items. I think (I know) I will be okay. :O)

I will drink lots of water and tea to help with any of the salt intake. I plan on staying within points and being successful for weigh in on Thursday.

What a great week!

Last week was so extremely busy. For Easter we went to Medicine Hat to spend the weekend with friends. There was no school for my kidlets last week, so I took holidays and spent the week with them. We really had a great time. Painted bedrooms, went swimming, biking, shopping, visiting, etc. We even managed to get up to the lake to rake the leaves on our property where we park a 5th wheel trailer for the summer (about three hours of ap's). Now we are really stoked about summer.

Even with having the week off I managed to get to a weigh in, where surprisingly I was down exactly 1 pound. LOVE IT!!! I am sure this is a result of the extra eating and extra activity points, but hey not bad.

I have come to realize - I hate organized exercising. What I mean by that is treadmill, exercise program, gym, etc. I would much rather get my ap's in by doing yard work, house work, playing with the kids, going swimming with the kids, etc. I think for me it is a whole productive thing, with my time so limited I have to kill two birds with one stone - nothing wrong with that. So far this method is obviously working for me, so why change it at this point.

Here's keeping my fingers crossed that this Thursday will be a STS or a loss.

Happy Easter!

Just back from weigh in and I stayed the same. I am happy obviously that there was no gain. So we are off to Medicine Hat this weekend for Easter and I am totally prepared to stay op. We are taking the kids swimming, biking and other outdoor activities while we are there, so should be able to get some ap's in. I will drink my water (among other things) -- but I will prevail.

Happy Easter!! :O)

Motivating the Weight Loss

I have read many self help books, articles, etc. and have realized the common ground in all is finding out what makes you tick. As much as we want you to look your best and lose weight, there's much more to life than weight loss. It's important to know how to eat properly and to educate yourself on a healthy lifestyle.

We must continue to develop the person inside in order to gain the results we want on the outside. Be thankful for what you have. Do you have a job, house, spouse, car, children, friends, food to eat, nice bed to sleep in, television or credit card? If you have half these things, consider yourself lucky because the majority of the world's population would love to trade places with you.

It takes work and sacrifice to lose weight but you can enjoy the process by maintaining balance. Set days aside for eating your favorite meal with the family or taking that special person out to eat and don't worry about fat and calories.

Develop yourself by investing in others. Ask yourself what you can do to help someone make their world a little better. Develop into the person you want to be by educating yourself and taking care of family and friends.

Life is more than losing weight and fitting a certain image. So put your life in proper perspective and don't make appearance the main focus. Take care of your mind, soul and body. Seize the moment and take firm hold of the responsibilities placed before you.

This journey is worth it in so many ways.

New Progress Picture - Yikes!

So I have finally added a progress picture - not very flattering. There was a brief moment that I thought I should not even put it up, but I totally want to use it as motivation and I really want to see the transformation every few months.

On a positive note, I really feel the benefits to losing the weight. Going for a walk with my children outside is way easier. I LOVE IT!!! This is such a wonderful feeling.

I am not even going to comment on the whole weigh in thing this week; will just be hoping for the best.

One Point Chili Recipe

I love this stuff and will be making a pot of it this weekend. Sooooo gooood!!

Ingredients
10 ounces extra-lean ground turkey breast
1 medium onion, diced
2 (28-oz) cans diced tomatoes
2 medium zucchini, diced
2 medium yellow squash diced
1 (15 oz) can black beans
2 (15-oz) cans fat-free, reduced-sodium beef broth
4 celery stalks, diced
2 green bell peppers, diced
1 (1 1/4-oz) package dry chili seasonings

Directions

Spray a large nonstick skillet with nonstick spray and set over medium-high heat. Add the turkey and onion and sauté until browned, about 10 minutes. Transfer the browned turkey and onion mixture to a large soup pot and add the tomatoes, zucchini, squash, beans, broth, celery, bell peppers, and chili seasoning. Bring to a simmer over medium heat. Continue to simmer until the vegetables are tender, about 20 minutes.

Serves 20

Nutritional Info/Per Serving
Calories: 76.5
Total Fat: 1.3 g
Cholesterol: 0.0 mg
Sodium: 321.2 mg
Total Carbs: 10.7 g
Dietary Fiber: 3.0 g
Protein: 6.5 g

Woo Hoo!!!!

So just back from WI and am down another 2.6 pounds. All I can say is Holy Shit!! I really can't believe it. As I mentioned in my other post I thought I had cheated a bit this last week.

I do follow the simply filling and do not really record my extra weekly points, so I thought for sure this is what might really mess me up.

Anyway, I am very grateful at the loss and will take it any time I can.

This really does work!!

So I have been following the WW's plan now for approximately 3 months. The one thing I have really noticed is that if you follow the program as outlined, you are very successful; however, if you cheat, the program is not really forgiving. This past week I have cheated several times, so I am very curious as to how my wi will go today.

Quite often I wake up thinking why does it take so long to lose weight. I was never really a bad eater, I just ate too much too many days in a row. I have always been at the very least borderline over weight. It wasn't until after my pregnancy that I became obese. This was definately an eye opener for me, and I feel terrible I have done this to myself. However, I am committed to making the change. My family has a history of overweight people; does that mean these eating habits have not been changed down through generations?

I am adamant that I will provide my children with great eating habits. I want to break this cycle, if I can. Both my children are very active and so far they are doing just fine. However, I want them to continue to know how important it is to eat right and exercise. I will often tell them that we need to do this so that our muscles and bones remain healthy. They never hear the word diet in our house -- it is just "the way" we have to eat.

I feel great that I have been able to lose the weight I have and am looking forward to seeing the progress 3 months from now.

Have a great day and think "thin thoughts".

Where did the weekend go?

Wow, what a busy weekend. Friday night took the kids swimming for a couple hours; Saturday had karate, music, went to a garden show and then off to hear a friends band play at the bar. Sunday took some time to ourselves and napped.

As for being op for the entire weekend -- it went fairly well. Actually I would almost guess that if anything, I didn't use enough points (see that is the problem when you don't track). I don't really drink, so using points for alcohol isn't usually an issue.

I am still struggling to get the exercise in. I have not totally given up, it just seems to be difficult. One of these days it's just going to happen (because I will have wanted it bad enough)! :O)

Wow! Another WI down.

Had my weekly Thursday wi today, and was down another 1.4 lbs. I have lost a total of 28.8 lbs.

So one of my goals for the week was try and start regular exercise. To give you an idea of a typical day for me:

6:00 am - wake up/shower/get ready/make lunches
7:20 am - take children to daycare and go to work
5:00 pm - come home from work/pick up kids from daycare
5:30 pm - make supper/clean up (If not at children's activities)
6:30 pm - help kids with homework/play with kids/bathe kids/0ther nighttime routines
9:00 pm - me time (if I haven't fallen asleep when laying by one of the children)

So my mind set this week was if I can start incorporating exercise, I should have more energy and be able to get up earlier to go on the treadmill or do Wii FIt or stay up at night and do something. I must say the days that I was able to "Get Moving" the result was exactly this. So I will be attempting to continue increasing the exercise this week. I managed to do the treadmill 3 days this week for about 17 minutes each time.

Another Monday!

Wow, not sure where the last week went.

We had a very busy weekend. Friday went to hear a friend's band play at the bar (Awesome!), Saturday we had karate, music, hockey game, hockey wind up. Sunday we just had a hockey game. Needless to say, we all crashed pretty early last night.

Due to the busy week, I have been doing the simply filling technique this week, so hopefully, I will see another loss at the scale on Thursday.

I am always amazed at how good I feel when I eat good foods. Not sure why the system thinks it needs to cave into cravings - doesn't benefit anything.

I am really looking forward to hockey season being over, I am going to refocus that energy to the treadmill.

Have a great day!

Welcoming Spring!

I am so glad that today is the first day of spring. We have had a very long winter here in Saskatchewan. I hope it starts melting soon and fast. We have a 5th wheel that we park each summer and I am really looking forward to spending the weekends out there. At this point it seems a very far away.

As I mentioned yesterday, I am going to attempt to get more exercise in this week. At the very least I would like to go on the treadmill a few times and do some Wii Fit. Not sure if it has to do with the weather, but can seem to get my but out of bed in the morning and am too tired when I get home at night. This is definately a mind over matter thing. I have lost about 27 pounds doing very little or no exercise; however, in the long run, it is important that exercise be incorporated into my everyday life. I have to do it! :O)

I also have another Product Review (only if you like seafood): It is the haddock from M&M Meats: really tasty and only 1 point per fillet.
Nutrition Facts
Per 1 average fillet (70 g)
Calories 60
Fat 0.5 g
Saturated 0 g
+Trans 0 g
Cholesterol 40 mg
Sodium 50 mg
Carbohydrate 0g
Fibre 0 g
Sugars 0 g
Protein 13 g

Weigh In

So even after my apparent "collapse" this past weekend, I managed to achieve my 10% key chain. That means I have lost 10% of the total weight I need to lose. In many ways this sounds fantastic, but then I think how much weight is left to shed and I realize I still have a long way to go.

However, I am determined to become a much healthier person, incorporate exercise into my daily life and enjoy playing with my children.

My goals this week are going to be - tracking, add some exercise and try a new recipe.

So my total weight loss to date is: 27.4 lbs.

Low Fat Bran Muffin Recipe

Low Fat Bran Muffins (Yields 12 muffins - 2 points each)

1 cup(s) low-fat milk
2 egg white(s)
1/2 tsp table salt
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/3 cup(s) unsweetened applesauce
1 tbsp lemon juice, canned or bottled
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
2/3 cup(s) unpacked brown sugar
1 1/2 cup(s) uncooked wheat bran
1/2 cup(s) all-purpose flour
1/2 cup(s) whole wheat flour

1. Preheat oven to 375ºF. Grease muffing cups or line with paper muffin liners.
2. Mix together wheat bran, lemon juice and milk; let stand for 10 minutes.
3. Beat together applesauce, egg, sugar and vanilla and add to milk/bran mixture. Sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Stir flour mixture into milk mixture, until just blended. Spoon batter into prepared muffin tins.
4. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean.

When I make these for my kids, I add a few chocolate chips and they are even better.

Still Terrified!

So, I am still scared to look at the scale and see the damage that resulted from a weekend of poor eating habits.

On a positive note, I have been very good for the last 2 days and hoping that it will minimize the damage.

I will be making some Wheat Bran Muffins tonight. These are really a great snack for me. They are filling and are quite tasty. I will post the recipe when time permits (might even have it written out already somewhere on my computer).

I am also going to start taking progress pictures. I think this will be truly motivating and help greatly to keep committed to losing weight.

As a side note to Mother Nature - "I AM READY FOR SPRING - THE SOONER THE BETTER!"

TGIM (Thank God It's Monday!!)

So, for the first time in two plus months, I totally derailed on the weekend. Was somewhat bored and lazy (never a good combination) and thus didn't really plan any of my meals. For me to be successful with this, I must take the time to plan and make proper meals. I am not too sure how badly I have sabotaged myself. Was going to step on the scale this morning and see what the damage was -- just couldn't do it though. However, starting today, I have had no problem getting back op.

So note to self - "Forgive and move on!"

And, here's to hoping not too much damage was done.

Have a great day! :O)

What weighs 25 lbs?

So I had weigh in today and I am happy to report that I have lost another 1.4 pounds this week. This brings my total to 25.4 pounds lost. So this got me to thinking - What weighs 25 pounds?

A bushel of peppers:

25 pounds of cheese:

This tortoise:

I am very proud of myself that I have made it this far. My next goal is to achieve my 10%, which is another 1.6 pounds.

Blue Menu Wheat Crackers

Product Review
I have recently purchased a box of these crackers and I must tell you, there are fabulous. They are full of flavour and are crunchy. Nine of these crackers works out to 2 points. They are wonderful with light laughing cow cheese and red pepper jelly. Blue menu also has these crackers in Wheat & Onion and Wheat & Seasame. Can't wait to try those as well.

I love making finds like this -- Taste good and are point friendly! :O)

Here We Go!

So, I begin my journey of "weight loss". I have really been trying to lose weight for a couple of months now and have managed to lose about 24 lbs. I am very proud of myself and suprisingly it hasn't been that difficult. It really is amazing when you have the right mind set and the determination how easy things can be.

I have never really journalled anything in my life, so this blogging thing may be hard for me to keep up. However, I was hoping it could be my aid during this journey in my life.

My goals for the next couple of weeks are to begin an exercise program and try some new recipes.