Striving To Maintain

Hi everyone! Sorry, I missed posting yesterday. I'm finding my summer days are filled to the brim with entertaining the daughters and by night time, I am just too tired to post. It's been fun though! I'm trying to keep to a schedule as best I can so as to keep the sibling blow-ups to a minimum. So far, so good! What is not so good is my eating plan. While I can't say it's gone to hell in a handbasket, it's just not been up to par. I'm not physically tracking my food, however as a habit, I do mentally count what I am eating. And I'm noticing a lot of picking here and there: crusts off daughters' sandwiches, an extra chip or two, bites of leftovers... you know, that kind of thing. I know from experience that it all adds up in the end. But, my mindset seems to be to just get through the summer without packing on any more pounds. I think I'll have good weeks where I feel completely on track and in a losing mode and then, I'll have others when I'm just trying to get by without a massive gain. I looked at the calendar and see nothing but holidays, parties and vacations in the upcoming weeks. UGH. So, instead of stressing about losing and making it to my goal weight, my NEW GOAL is to get through the rest of the summer without gaining. If I lose, great. If not, that's okay, too. And come September, when everyone is back to where they should be, I feel like I can focus on myself again. Does this sound like a cop-out? Maybe. But, I know the more stressed I feel, the more I want to eat. A lot. Lots of eating = gaining. I don't want to go there. So, maintain is the state I'm striving for!

Now, onto the food...

After Jillian kicked my non-Shredded butt, I made a yummy wafflewich using 2 Eggo Nutrigrain Waffles, 1 tbsp. PB2 and a sliced Fuji apple for 4 POINTS...

Lunch was completely boring. Please excuse my lack of creativity in the lunch department. I've been trying to be good about using leftovers and I also find the usual sandwich, chip, fruit combo to work best during these busy days. So here's today's: leftover grilled chicken in a small La Tortilla Factory tortilla, Kettle Baked Chips (oh, I've missed having these -yum!) and watermelon for 7 POINTS...

Non pictured snacking went on in the afternoon. Not too crazy, though. Just some reduced fat Cheez-its and some No Pudge Brownie batter licks!

For dinner, I tried a recipe from Devin Alexanders' book, The Most Decadent Diet Ever, for Salisbury Steaks in Rich Brown Gravy. It was very good; definitely a family favorite...

Salisbury Steaks With Rich Brown Gravy

1/3 c. egg substitute

1/4 c. old-fashioned oats

1 tbsp. plus 2 tsp. onion soup mix

1 tbsp. dried minced onion

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

1/4 tsp. black pepper

1 lb. 96% lean ground beef

3 tbsp. flour; divided

1 c. fat-free, lower sodium beef broth

2 tbsp. ketchup

2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

olive oil spray

1 onion, sliced and separated into rings (about 3 1/2 c.)

Combine egg substitute and the oats in a medium mixing bowl. Let stand for 3 minutes to soften the oats. Add onion soup mix, minced onion, garlic powder, pepper and beef. Mix until well combined and then shape into 4 oval patties about 1 inch thick, 3 inches wide and 4 1/2 inches long.

Put 2 tbsp. flour in a medium shallow bowl. Dip the patties in the flour to coat them on all sides. Put the remaining flour in a medium mixing bowl. Slowly whisk in enough broth to form a paste. Then slowly whisk in the remaining broth, ketchup and Worcestershire sauce until well combined. Set aside.

Preheat large nonstick skillet to medium-high heat. When the skillet is hot, lightly mist it with spray. Put in the patties and brown on both sides. Pour the broth mixture into the skittlet. Add the onion rings to the skillet. Bring the liquid to a boil; cover and reduce heat to low. Simmer aobut 15 minutes, flipping patties once, halfway through. Transfer to a platter; spoon onions and gravy over the patties and serve.

Makes 4 patties; 4 servings

1 patty with 1/4 of the gravy and onions has 205 calories, 26 gr. protein, 13 gr. carbohydrates, 5 gr. fat, 60 mg. cholesterol, 1 gr. fiber, 573 mg. sodium

To go with it, I had 1/2 c. high fiber noodles and a scant 1/2 c. peas. A hearty 8 POINT meal...

Of course, I had to have one of the No Pudge Brownies that I made this afternoon. So dessert was a Brownie Strawberry Shortcake for 3 POINTS...

I'm off to enjoy the beautiful evening! Have a great night everyone!!!

An Evening With Joe

Hey everyone! We got in late last night, so I have been spending the day catching up on housework and blogs. You all have been busy!


I really missed my bike ride this morning. It was so fun to be able to ride around the shore town and it seemed so easy to get in 4 or 5 miles in a day. I may have to look into where bike trails are near my home. A new form of exercise to throw in the mix! As for my exercise this morning, I broke out an "oldie but goodie"- Leslie Sansone's Walk Away The Pounds. Kelly over at Happy Texans had mentioned this a couple days ago and I remembered I had it, so I gave it a whirl this morning. I was able to do the 3 mile (43 min.) with no problems. I have the one for abs that comes with resistance bands, so it was a nice full body workout.

After the workout, it was breakfast time. I decided to try something else new, a wafflewich! I've been salivating over these since seeing them on Danica's blog, so I tried my own version today. I used these Eggo waffles (2 for 2 POINTS) ...



smeared with 1 wedge of Laughing Cow Light Cheese and one egg white. It was delicious and a filling 3 POINT breakfast...



After more blog reading and a trip to Trader Joe's, I was ready for lunch. I was in the mood for a big salad today. I decided on a Turkey Bacon Ranch Salad using romaine lettuce, 2 slices center cut bacon, tomato, 1 tbsp. Kraft Light Three Cheese Dressing topped with my Ranch Turkey Burger for 5 POINTS...

and some beautiful blueberries and watermelon for 1 POINT...

The afternoon munchies came to visit, so I did end up digging into a box of reduced-fat Cheez-Its and a handful of chocolate covered raisins. Later, I was thinking that I should make a serious effort to take pics of these munchies when they occur. It may be a "tool" to help jar me out of that mindless eating mode. Either that or I'll just be extremely mortified to have to show all that junk! Hey, whatever works ;P

And tonight, I had dinner with Joe. No, that is not my husband; just all eats came from my home-away-from- home, Trader Joe's. First, was one of these...

then, 8 of these guys...

and for some veg, 1 cup of this yummy mix...

Altogether, now...

It was an awesome "heat and eat" dinner for only 6 POINTS! Gotta love all the great Weight Watchers-friendly food at TJ's!

And I couldn't resist a little (okay, maybe not so little) piece of organic dark chocolate to finish the night (2 POINTS)...

So, just to update you on some things... I tiptoed to the scale this morning, hoping for a good result considering all the exercise I was getting in at the shore, and thankfully, the scale was nice and slid me a 2.5 lb. loss since my last WI. I'll take it! Nice to see it heading down toward that goal number again! Another thing is that I've decided to stop my "Counting Experiment". If you remember, I was going to try to start my day's POINTS allotment at lunch instead of breakfast in an effort to help me with the afternoon munchies. I can't say that it didn't work. It actually helped pull me out of that funky eating mode I was in, but what I found is that it was too hard to "reset" myself if I fell off the wagon. It just seems easier to start the day fresh, rather than the middle of the day or later in the evening, if that makes sense. And actually, I've stopped being compulsive about counting every POINT, too. Now, hopefully that doesn't bite me in the big rear-end, but I don't want to stress about figuring out how many POINTS is in every little morsel that I eat. Mostly where I'm applying this strategy is going out to eat and eating at someone's house. I will always "mentally" count POINTS for my meals as best as I can. It really is the same thing as calorie counting and I need a general knowledge of how much I am putting in my mouth. But, let's face it, it's difficult to POINT count or calorie count when you are eating out or away from home. I will always do my best to make the healthiest choice possible. That is my lifestyle change. It has to be that way for always.

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

I'll Be Back!

Hey everyone! I just got back from a graduation party (finally, the last of them!) on our way back from the beach. I'm headed to bed, but looking forward to catching up with everyone tomorrow! See ya then =)

Ride On

Finally!!!! Some sun! We woke up to a beautiful morning. The husband and I decided to ride bikes to go get some bagels for the morning's breakfast. It was a nice 2 mile ride in the sun! While everyone chowed down on giant bagels, I made my cereal bowl of 3/4 c. Puffins, 1/2 c. Almond Breeze and strawberries for 3 POINTS...



After breakfast, I took another 2 mile bike ride to return a movie. I am loving this bike riding! I was thinking during my ride how nice it would be to live in a little town where you could ride your bike everywhere. I would have one of those cruiser-type bikes with a cute wicker basket on the front. I might even wear a big hat with a giant flower on the front! LOL!


Before heading to the pool for the afternoon, I made an easy lunch of leftover roasted chicken breast with lettuce and a half slice of cheese on a small whole wheat roll. I had more carrots and pineapple to go with it. A quick 5 POINT lunch...

We spent the afternoon swimming in the toasty pool. I love heated pools! I took the opportunity to do more pool exercises (about 40 min.) and then goofed around with the husband and daughters in the pool. It was a great time!


We headed home late in the afternoon and I was starving! I dug into some pretzel sticks...

and some Annie's Cheddar Bunnies...

Mom and Gram made another wonderful dinner tonight. I was feeling hungry, but I mentally prepared myself before sitting down. I took a few minutes to "talk to myself" and figure out what my game plan was going to be. I thought about exactly how I wanted my plate to look with the prepared food and told myself to stick with my plan. My plate looked just like it did in my mind...

I enjoyed every bit, passed on the bread, and put my silverware on my dish and pushed myself back from the table when I was finished. I was still engaged in the table conversation, but wasn't tempted to add more food to my plate. I felt good about that =)

And after dinner, guess what I did?? Big daughter and I went for another 2.5 mile bike ride! I'm a ridin' fool today! When we got back, I dug into a bowl of Breyer's Fat Free Vanilla Ice Cream topped with about 1/4 c. freeze dried blueberries and a squirt of Hershey's Special Dark syrup for 3 POINTS...

Another day of sun is on tap for tomorrow, so I'm looking forward to some beach lounging! See you tomorrow; have a great night!!!

Water Logged

Still no sun at the shore! I decided to take advantage of the bikes here and went on a 3 mile bike ride this morning. I enjoyed being able to do something different, but those bike seats are brutal! My butt is sore!

I came in and helped myself to a breakfast of Fiber One yogurt and 1 c. blueberries for 2 POINTS...


and a light english muffin (1 POINT) to go with it...

Despite the weather, we had a great day of swimming planned. My friend and her daughters came to spend the day with us at the pool. We packed a lunch to eat poolside and after lots of swimming, we sat down to a turkey hummus wrap with baby spinach on a La Tortilla Factory wrap, carrots and a cup of watermelon for 4 POINTS...

For dessert, a Blueberry Apricot Oat Bran Muffin for 2 POINTS...

Then it was back in the pool. I think we set a record for most hours spent in the pool! We didn't want to get out because the pool was heated and felt so toasty and it was freezing if you did try to get out. We even stayed in during the intermittent rain showers! Talk about die-hards! We did lots of pool exercises, so I'm sure we burned some major calories today. Hmmm... 5 hours of pool exercise have to count for something, don't ya think?!

Finally, we forced ourselves to get out (aaaaahhhhh...brrrrrrr), got cleaned up and said goodbyes to our friends. Then, the daughters and I settled in for a pasta dinner made by Mom and Gram. I had 1 c. rigatoni pasta with meat sauce for 5 POINTS...

and salad for 2 POINTS...

I left the table not long after that so I would not indulge in more pasta. Believe me, that was a major accomplishment! The pasta was so tasty and for some reason, I never feel very full eating a portion of pasta, so it's difficult to keep from eating more than one serving!

I ended the night with dessert inspired by my dark chocolate dipped pineapple treat from yesterday. I used 1/2 c. Breyers Fat Free Vanilla Ice Cream and topped it with pineapple and a squirt of Hershey's Special Dark Chocolate Syrup. A yummy 3 POINT treat...

Now, I heard that the sun may come out tomorrow. Could it really be true??? I'll let you know tomorrow =)

Have a great night!

Opportunities Are Everywhere

The yucky weather seems to have followed us to the beach. It was an overcast morning and on the cooler side which is not great beach weather, but turned out to be great weather for a run. I headed out early and enjoyed the nice breeze during my 35 minute run. This was an exciting run for me. While I was out, taking in the scenery, I thought back to this time last year. I was just starting to "learn" to run and I was struggling with the whole process. Last year, I could barely make it around the beach block, but this morning I ran close to 3 miles! It was a neat feeling. A sign of progress.


I came in and whipped up my usual breakfast of 3/4 c. Puffins, strawberries and 1/2 c. Almond Breeze for 3 POINTS...



Even though the weather wasn't exactly cooperating, I took the daughters to the pool for some swimming. I took the opportunity to get in a few laps and do some strength exercises using the deep water as resistance. I love this form of "nonsweaty" exercise!

All at once, we were starving, so we headed back to have lunch. I went with a turkey hummus wrap (turkey slices, 2 tbsp. hummus, baby spinach in a La Tortilla Factory tortilla), leftover Asian Slaw and a half serving of Sour Cream and Onion Rice Chips for 6 POINTS...

After lunch, Mom and Gram joined us for an excursion to a quaint little nearby town. There are interesting shops, restaurants, paddle boats and a couple little rides for the kids. It is a very animal friendly town with lots of geese, customers with dogs, and even some of these guys walking around...

We couldn't resist stopping in a sweet shop with rows of candy and chocolate! I indulged in a dark chocolate dipped pineapple ring for a delicious afternoon snack...

And a frozen cappuccino to wash it down...

That was pretty filling and ended up killing my appetite for dinner. Not a bad thing, since chinese takeout was on the menu and I'm not good at saying no to fried dumplings and egg rolls! I sat with everyone at dinner, but waited until I felt some hunger brewing to eat something. I decided on a leftover chicken sausage and broccoli rabe from Father's Day dinner...

Big daughter and I went for a 20 minute bike ride around the town and then, little daughter and I went for an evening walk to end the night. I really enjoyed the extra "exercise that didn't feel like exercise" today! I'm going to take advantage of as many opportunities for extra activity as possible this week. It's a challenge to keep the eats completely "on program", but hopefully, the additional exercise will counteract some of that! Here's hoping ;P

Have a great night!!

POINTless

Greetings from the beach! I have been busy celebrating, packing and doing lots of eating. I'm not sure what's going on with me, but counting POINTS has been pointless lately. I am disappointed in myself. I have been gaining and losing the same 10 pounds since January. I know I need to buckle down and just do this, but I keep getting detoured. I will never give up, though. I have come too far and still have a ways to go, so I will ride this out and keep trying every day to be a little bit better than the day before. That's all I can do right now. So, I have some catching up to do! Let's start with...


FATHER'S DAY


Breakfast (for me) was 1/2 c. plain greek yogurt topped with 1/2 c. berries and a Blueberry Apricot Oat Bran Muffin for 4 POINTS...


The fresh fruit and veggie stash was dwindled down in preparation for going to the beach, so I dug out a Ranch Turkey Burger ,only topped it with cheese and put it on an Arnold Sandwich Thin. I had it with some leftover crinkle potatoes and an apple for 7 POINTS...

Later in the afternoon, we headed to my parents for Father's Day dinner. The daughters wanted a snack when we got there, so they helped themselves to some fresh raspberries that they picked from Mom's garden...

Then, the food fest began...

Cheese raviolis with marinara sauce...

grilled chicken sausages...

Crunchy Asian Slaw (yay, a low cal dish!). Mom used THIS recipe...

Lots of "Turf" for the guys (ribeye and bbq ribs)...

And yummy "Surf"....

so corny...

My "plates".... ravioli...


and the rest....

Of course, there were desserts...

In an effort to minimize the damage, I made Hungry Girl's Double Chocolate Trifle...

It was really good. Like a healthier version of "Dirt Dessert". The recipe made 4 servings and came to 3 POINTS for each serving.

My 3 POINTS worth...

and I had to taste the apple pie...

It was a great day honoring my 2 favorite guys...

Love you both!!

BEACH EATS

We left early this morning to come to the beach for a mini "School's Out" vacation. Every year when the daughters are finished school, we come to the beach with my parents and Gram to hang out. Before we left, I grabbed a bowl of Puffins with the last of the blueberries for 3 POINTS...

We got to the beach house at lunch time and everyone was immediately hungry. Something about that salt air! Mom brought lots of leftovers from Father's Day dinner, so I had much to choose from. I decided on a Lobster Asian Slaw Salad using a leftover lobster tail and 1 1/2 c. of the Asian Slaw. A delicious 5 POINTS...

Alongside, I had a Blueberry Apricot Oat Bran Muffin and carrots for 2 POINTS...

I spent the afternoon unpacking and grabbing handfuls of snacks here and there. A little Goldfish crackers, half muffin, watermelon. Just stuff.

We decided on a healthy dinner of roasted chicken, broccoli and potatoes. I added a small slice of wheat bread to this plate, too...

Mom forgot the leftover apple pie (thank goodness), so I got to have one of these for dessert...

A smooth and creamy 2 POINTS...

So, since I've been here, I have been drowning myself in water in an effort to curb my appetite that has been majorly stoked by all this overeating. I'm also hoping that it will help the scale come down a little. I got on this morning and it was a hideous sight. I can't believe the number I saw. I'm hoping that I am retaining a major amount of fluid. I'm thinking that might not be the case, though. All this whooping it up is catching up with me. And the scale. This could be a wake up call for sure!

Sorry for the super long post! See ya tomorrow!