Pilates, Parks + Patience

Thank you all for your condolences regarding my breakup :) It's still a little rough going, but physically, I felt better today! You all had some great ideas for some coffee alternatives, too; I will definitely be checking them out!

The hips were still sore today and moving into feeling stiff, too. I thought it best to not do any cardio again and now, don't you know , I am craving running??!! But, my hips will not be happy if I pursue that, so I decided to try something new - Pilates. I bought a cheap-o DVD at Five Below that is a one hour basic Pilates workout. I planned on doing the whole hour, but needed to get in some breakfast first. I went with a quick bowl of cereal. In the mix...

• 1/3 c. Special K Protein flakes
• 1/4 c. Post Trail Mix Crunch
• 2 big ole strawberries
• 1/3 c. unsweetened vanilla Almond Breeze

I stared longingly at the coffee pot and out of habit almost started brewing! I guess I have to put it away...

Instead, I micro-brewed some tea. I went with a China Oolong this morning. It made me oo-long for some coffee...

The tea bag tag had positive sayings on it. Mine said this...

Yeah, I 'd like to reward myself with a cup of coffee! *sigh* But, I went on to reward myself with a Pilates session. I have to say, despite the annoying voice of the instructor and the waif-like "level 1" demonstrator in the background, I REALLY liked it! It is hard, but not so hard that you want to quit. My muscles were shaking, but heck, you get to lie down for most of it, so I'm game! I made it through 45 minutes before I had to stop and tend to the daughters. I was pretty wobbly in the legs, so it must have done something! I'll definitely try this again.

Lunchtime rolled around before I knew it. I was in the mood for my good old 'wrap and chip' combo. I made a Cali Veggie Wrap using a high fiber tortilla, Dr. Praeger's California Veggie Burger, Laughing Cow Light Cheese and lettuce. Trader Joe's Sour Cream and Onion Rice Chips and carrots were perfect sides...

After lunch, the daughters and I (and dog) went to the park for the afternoon. We did a little walking, playing and hanging on a blanket reading books. It was a great afternoon.

We got home just in time to get dinner started. As I was prepping some mozzarella cheese for the entree, I sliced and snacked...

I had to hurry up and put it away before I snacked away the whole block of cheese! How's that for being intuitive?! I intuitively knew I would eat the whole thing -lol!! Not funny, but I'm trying to make myself feel better ;P

Dinner was Grilled Chicken Antipasto along with salad and grilled bread...

I grilled thin-sliced chicken breasts then topped them with a mixture of tomatoes, diced mozzarella, a few Kalamata olives, 3 artichoke hearts (chopped), fresh basil, garlic and a tsp. evoo...

While cleaning the dishes, I fished for a dessert...

So, I'm feeling a little anxious about intuitive eating. I think I'm having a low point where I'm not sure if I'm doing the right thing. I was feeling really strong last week, but this week has been up and down so far. I'm finding that this takes lots of practice. Lots and lots. I know it's going to take a long time to undo the dieting damage. I think it's okay to take a while, but I also think I have to be okay with maybe not losing weight while this changeover is occurring. And I'm not sure if I'm okay with that...

Patience. It's not a virtue that comes easily for me. But, to feel like I've given this the "old college try", I'll hang in there a while longer and do a progress report mid-Sept. to see where I'm at.

Have a great night, everyone!

Before I go... a Question of the Day... Have you ever tried Pilates?

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!!

Soul Searching For A New POINT Of View

I woke up with a lot on my mind this morning. It all had to do with my weight loss journey. I haven't been happy with the way things are going, or shall I say, not going. If you're a regular reader, you know I keep lamenting about my difficulty with getting to my WW goal weight. I've been playing with those last 10 pounds for months now and it's wearing on me. I was thinking today that you are all probably tired of listening to me winge and whine about it, too! But, this has become a place to not only document my eats for the day. I realize it is a therapeutic exercise to blog every night. I write about my frustrations with myself, my trials and tribulations and it all seems to help me move on and be able to start over when I've gone off track. Sometimes, I feel badly to have you all put up with my boo-hoos and pity parties, but I began this blog as a tool to help me through the remainder of my weight loss, and as much as I don't want to bore you with it all, I have to maintain the integrity of why I started this blog to begin with. That being said, I really did some soul searching today. I was feeling like I've lost it. Lost my desire to keep losing. Lost my will to keep going with this and hit goal. I thought maybe this is a sign that I am just done. I am okay at this weight and I should just get on with my new healthy life. But, I'm not feeling it. I need to keep going, but how do I get the strength to keep going, the drive, the will? Well, I came upon THIS article on Wellsphere that gave me the answer I was looking for. It's not will power that's missing; it's WANT POWER! This article spoke volumes to me! It's exactly the boost I needed. So I give you my New Point of View: There is no such thing as will power, only want power! Spread the word, not the icing!!!





So, I came up with a new plan for myself today. I devised it over my breakfast of a whole wheat cinnamon raisin english muffin with a tsp. butter for 3 POINTS...


Okay, this may sound weird to those of you that count WW POINTS, but I think this may be my answer. I am going to start my tracking day with lunch. I will start off with my 21 POINTS at lunch and subtract the day going to breakfast the next morning. Why? Well, it seems that I really have trouble in the afternoons with snacking. So, I thought if I start at lunch, make lunch bigger and end with breakfast, if I had an "incident" or maybe overate a little in the afternoon, it wouldn't be that big of a deal to only have a couple of POINTS left for breakfast. But, if I kept it the same and overate leaving me only a few POINTS for dinner, that would leave me feeling deprived and sad. I know this may seem like a strange way to look at it. It's mind games. It may or may not work or make any difference at all, but it dawned on me today and I felt excited to try out this "experiment". We know all that matters is "calories in, calories out" in a 24 hr. period, so who cares what meal starts your 24 hr. day, right?


So, I decided to embark on my new plan at lunch, making it as "big" as necessary to feel full. Guess what? I wasn't so hungry today! Murphy's Law. But, I know that the afternoon has been rough lately, so I just ate what I was in the mood for and therefore, had lots of POINTS for later, just in case. Lunch was an almond butter and sugar free jelly sammie with carrots and sour cream and onion rice chips for 6 POINTS...

and a Grande Mocha Lite Frap for 2 POINTS while picking up a few things at the supermarket...

Well, that took me all the way to dinner! I decided on a quick dinner of Trader Joe's Chicken Chow Mein (split with big daughter) for 6 POINTS...

and for dessert, a Weight Watchers CandyBar Ice Cream Bar for 3 POINTS...

That leaves me with 4 POINTS for breakfast tomorrow! I know it's just switching things around, but for some reason, I felt much better using my tracker this way. If anything, it's at least a fun twist on my "old" program. I'll still be blogging the same way, beginning with my breakfast, but I'll just be counting that breakfast with my previous day's POINTS.

If you made it through this everlasting post, I commend you! Thank you for listening to my rambling and for all the wonderful comments and suggestions. I really appreciate you coming along for my crazy ride :)

Have a great night !

Stock In Trader Joe's

This post is going to read like a big ad for Trader Joe's! I will apologize right off the bat to those of you who do not have one in your area. I know it's frustrating when you see things that people rave about but are unable to find them in your vicinity. But, keep in mind that Trader Joe's does a lot of private labeling, so you may find something in your supermarket that looks the same as what I find in Trader Joe's. With that said, I'll start off with the only meal that didn't come from Trader Joe's; breakfast! A simple bowl of Quaker Crunchy Corn Bran with 1/2 c. strawberries, 1 tbsp. dried cranberries and 1/2 c. unsweetened vanilla Almond Breeze for 3 POINTS...




After breakfast, I did a 40 minute weighted workout on the elliptical followed by 20 wall pushups and 20 tricep dips. Then, I cleaned up and headed out to my home away from home...Trader Joe's! Boy, I did some serious damage in there today. I bought lots of my staple items and a few new goodies. Grand total - $132!!! I'm going to make sure I really dwindle down the freezer items before I stock up again. I ran into someone I knew in there and ended up chatting for a while too. Before I knew it, it was almost 2:00 p.m. I was starving and shaky. I don't like messing with my blood sugar like that. I knew if I didn't eat a little something before I got home, I would start grabbing a bunch of junk, so I broke out a Larabar from my grocery bag to tie me over...


I ate half (2 POINTS) and my body thanked me...

That was a good move. It gave me time to put the groceries away before fixing some lunch which involved this great find...

Here are the facts...

I decided to top 2 slices with a Laughing Cow Light Cheese Wedge, 1 oz. smoked salmon (also from TJ's) and a little fresh dill. I went with some good ol' carrots and TJ's Sour Cream and Onion Rice Chips for a long awaited 6 POINT lunch...

Note to self: don't wait so long to eat. It seems when I do that, I feel munchie in the afternoon. I think I eat so fast, it doesn't have time to register. I ended up grabbing a bunch of honey wheat pretzel sticks and a cheese stick. Then, I had one of these...

Can't feel too badly, they are only 1 POINT...

But they sure are tiny little things...

Then, it was time for dinner. I got out my last serving of Rigatoni with Three Cheeses from the freezer and added a cup of Trader Joe's Potato Vegetable Medley to it for a tasty 7 POINT meal...

I was pretty stuffed after that, but I couldn't help digging into these...

Just a note about these; I bought them a while ago and noticed that the nutritional information was incorrect. It stated that the total fat was 4.5 gr., but under that the saturated fat was listed as 8 grams. Well, that doesn't compute, so I contacted them and they finally emailed me back stating that all the nutritional information was correct, except the total fat and sat. fat were inadvertently switched upon printing. So it should be listed as a serving of 9 pieces are 130 calories, 8 grams total fat, 4.5 gr. of that is sat. fat, and there are 5 gr. fiber. That makes 9 of these guys out to be 2 POINTS. I should not know this. I did MEASURE out 9...

Plus another handful :( Ick. Now, I feel gross. I have crossed off all my Weekly Allowance POINTS. That's it; I don't want to use any more this week. *talking to myself* C'mon, you dope! You're almost to goal. Now, KNOCK IT OFF!

Okay, I'm better now :) I'm not messing this up! Too close. Gotta remember...GOAL....GOAL....GOAL!!!!

I thought I'd throw out a Question (or two) of the Day for you all...

How much do you spend a week on groceries for your family? Do you think it costs more or less to eat healthy?

Fast Food

Yay for Friday! Where did the week go?? Time is really flying. Unfortunately, my weight is not "flying off" as I had hoped. I took a peek at the scale this morning and it looks the same. I guess, I can't expect much since I had a pretty good loss last week. Besides, I haven't been perfectly staying within my POINTS. Too many BLT's. Not the sandwiches, more like the chocolate. We'll see what the scale says for my last BLBE weigh-in tomorrow.

No time to work out this morning. I had a coffee date with my pregger friend, Rosemary (who is due this month!), so I had to get out the door early. Before I left, I had a quick bowl of Quaker Crunchy Corn Bran (3/4 c.) with 1/2 c. unsweetened vanilla Almond Breeze and strawberries for 2 POINTS...


While coffee talking, I had a tall nonfat iced latte with sugar-free white chocolate syrup for 2 POINTS...

Our morning coffee ran into lunch time (we're so chatty!). I had to stop at the store on the way home and by the time I made it home, I was so hungry and shaky! I grabbed the quickest thing I could find in the fridge - salmon salad. I spread it on an Ezekiel Bun and had a side of TJ's Sour Cream and Onion Rice Chips and carrots for a body fueling 7 POINTS...

Then I did the happy dance because my shipment of Vitatops arrived!!!! I was down to my last one. I ordered these the other day and chose the Mother's Day Pack which allowed you to choose from a list of your favorites. I chose Deep Chocolate (my #1 fave), Fudgy Peanut Butter Chip and a new one to try - Banana Nut! I am soooo excited to try that one! Mmmm... a box of goodies....

With this Mother's Day promotion, I got this "Gift of Health" for free...

A box of 12 heart shaped chocolate muffins! How cute...

I couldn't contain myself. I had to try one right away....

I feel sad. I didn't like it that much. I KNOW!!!! Can you believe I just said that about my beloved Vitas! Well, I think the issue with these hearts is that they are pretty thick, therefore a bit on the dry-dense side. I like "dense" if it's moist, but not "dry dense". Dry cake sucks :P However, Vitatops are not as thick, so that's why I haven't had the dry issue with those guys. They are the best! I think I'll pawn these hearts off on the daughters. I'll ice them up with a frosting of their choice and they'll love them. No, they will HEART them. Sorry, it's Friday and I'm tired ;)

Dinner was homemade calzones for the husband and daughters. I didn't have time to make whole wheat dough for myself, so I went for some leftover pizza that I had in the freezer. This pizza was made with spelt pizza dough which is awesome! I had this veggie pizza and 2 super sweet clementines for another quick meal of the day. Delicious for 9 POINTS...

I was tempted to have another Vitatop for dessert, but I felt pretty full. A little later, I had a spoonful of the daughters' Cookies and Cream Ice Cream. No chocolates followed. That's progress!

Have a great night =)

Recovery Run

Thanks to all for your nice comments about my friend's Dad. I feel sad for her and I have been moping around the house all day, not doing much of anything that I should be doing. Well, except eating. I always manage to get that in. I think that even if I had my jaws wired shut, I would find some type of food that could fit in between that labyrinth of wires :)

I decided to try out a treadmill run this morning since the last of my stitches fell out yesterday. I think I am pretty well healed, so I cranked up the treadmill and did my 40 minute run. Yay! It felt so good! I can't believe how much I miss it when I don't run! I threw in 20 tricep dips and 15 wall pushups, too!

After that, I fixed a quick breakfast of an Ezekiel English Muffin with a wedge of Laughing Cow Light for 3 POINTS...


I fiddled around on the computer and did a little cleaning (very little), then it was time for lunch. I made a salmon salad wrap with a side of carrots and TJ's Sour Cream and Onion Rice Chips for 5 POINTS...

I still felt a little hungry, so I had 2 very sweet clementines -YUM for 1 POINT...

Before taking little daughter to dance class, I broke out a snack...

Another great Gnu Bar! I crumbled it onto 1/2 c. nonfat Greek yogurt for a filling 3 POINT snack...

While little daughter was in class, my friend ,Coleen and I went for a walk around the parking area and solved all the world's problems. We walked at a pretty good clip, so I got in an extra 30 minute exercise today! I love when bonus exercise happens :)

I was not into providing a creative plan for dinner that no one would appreciate anyway, so I gave the husband and daughters sandwiches and fruit and I had my leftover Polenta with Smoked Gouda and Mushroom Sauce for 8 POINTS. I added some roasted peppers to it to change it up tonight...(sorry about the pic; hard to make it look "pretty")

Here's the recipe for this full flavored dish:

Polenta with Smoked Gouda and Mushroom Sauce

• 24 oz. tube of prepared polenta
• 1 tbsp. butter
• 1 tbsp. flour
• 1/8 tsp. pepper
• 1/8 tsp. salt
• 3/4 c. skim milk
• 2 oz. lite smoked gouda ( or lite smoked mozzarella), grated
• 1/4 c. grated parmesan cheese
• 8 oz. container of baby portabella mushrooms, sliced

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Spray a 11x7 baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Slice tube of polenta into 1/2" slices and layer in baking dish.
3. In a medium saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Stir in salt and pepper. Sprinkle flour over butter; whisk quickly and cook for about 1 minute. Whisk in milk and cheeses. Stir in mushrooms.
4. Pour sauce over polenta slices and bake for 25-30 minutes.

Makes 3 hearty servings at 8 POINTS each.

I ended the day with some Righteous Rounds for 2 POINTS...

And a handful of little chocolate eggs and bites, licks and tastes of Cookies and Cream Ice Cream. Ugh! Glad I took that extra walk today ;)

Looking forward to getting in bed early. Have a great night =)

Putzerella

You know how when you're sick, you just don't feel like eating?? Okay, well explain that one to me because I have NO IDEA what that is like!!! I woke up feeling blah with a scratchy throat and yet, could not wait to eat my breakfast! I would need full blown bubonic plague to not be able to eat and that might not even do it!!



I gave my body its fuel; a delicious Ezekiel Cinnamon Raisin English Muffin with 1 tbsp. lite cream cheese (and a huge cup of green tea!) for 3 POINTS...





Then, I putzed. Cleaned a couple things here and there, did a load of laundry and putzed some more. I didn't have much energy for anything. It was such a nice bright sunny day and for a second, I thought I might go for a run. I quickly decided against it - too taxing for my body in my weakened state ;) But, the need to exercise was looming over me so I popped in the Shred! Whew, I DO NOT miss Jillian ;) Still rough as ever, although I can rock a push-up now!



Soup was on the menu for lunch today. I had planned to make this Stuffed Pepper Soup yesterday, but never got around to it. It's a tasty soup; actually reminds me a lot of chili without the beans. I think I may morph it into a chili by adding some beans and chili spices to it next time I eat it. Here's what you'll need to make it...

• 1 lb. 96% lean ground beef
• 1 c. finely chopped onion
• 1 c. chopped green pepper
• 1 (14oz. can) diced tomatoes
• 1 (15 oz. can) tomato sauce
• 1 c. fat free beef broth
• 3 c. water
• 1 c. cooked brown rice
• 1/2 tsp. chopped basil
• 1/2 tsp. chopped dried oregano
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/8 tsp. pepper

1. Brown beef with onion in a large pot sprayed with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Add in remaining ingredients and simmer uncovered for 30 min.
3. Makes 6 servings - 3 POINTS per serving.

Along with my soup, I had a Golden Corn Vitatop and cantaloupe slices for 5 POINTS...

I was missing some crunch though, so I had a serving of TJ's Sour Cream and Onion Rice Chips for another 2 POINTS...

Then, more putzing. I actually got back in bed and soaked in the sun coming into my bedroom. Reminded me of 'the good ol days', when I was young and barely did anything, but still took naps on the weekend! *singing* Memories.......of the way we were...... Gotta love Babs:)

Back to my usual snack of Weight Watchers Yogurt topped with a serving of TJ's long name cereal for 2 POINTS...

I finally got my rear in gear to take little daughter to dance. I had planned on breakfast for dinner for the husband and daughters. There were squeals of delight, which I don't get because they just had breakfast for breakfast so what is the big deal??? But, it's easy for me, so I won't complain:) I wanted Spinach Artichoke Dip. Appetizer for dinner? I guess I'm just as bad!! So, I whipped up this dip for dipner (hehe)...

• 2 tbsp. minced red onion
• 7 oz. bag baby spinach
• 3/4 c. chopped artichoke hearts (not marinated)
• 4 wedges Laughing Cow Light Cheese
• 2 tsp. Hidden Valley Ranch dry dip mix (packet)
• 4 tsp. grated parmesan cheese
• 3 tbsp fat free sour cream
• 2 tsp. lemon juice

1. Saute onion in nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray. Add spinach and cook until wilted. Add artichoke hearts.
2. Add cheeses and stir until melted. Stir in sour cream and dry dip mix until heated through.
3. Take off heat and add in lemon juice.
4. Makes 4 (1/3 c.)servings - 2 POINTS

I used the dip to top a Kim's Light Bagel and had a side of carrots and a Fuji apple for a great 5 POINT dinner...

And for dessert....Banana Cream Pie! Oh yeah! I whirred one whole graham cracker sheet in a mini processor until finely crumbled, added in 2 tsp. melted light butter, pressed the cracker mixture into a small ramekin to form an even crust. Then, added 1/2 c. Jello Banana Cream Sugar Free Fat Free Pudding (made from the box) and topped it with 2 tbsp. fat free Reddi Whip. A yummy 3 POINTS....

Well, it was a day of accomplishing nothing around here. I was Putzerella. But, I am feeling better; I think I killed the cold with B-12 and Vitamin C :) Thanks to everyone for the well wishes, too!!!

One more thing before I go....

I got a Blog Award!!! What a surprise! I have no speech planned, DARN! My BWWF (Best Weight Watcher Forever!) Heather - the ww chick sent me this cool award! Thanks, Heather - you are so awesome and my IDOL!!! I'll continue the blog award love and send this off to Angie of Angie All The Way. She has lost an amazing 130 lbs., is a team leader for the Biggest Loser Blog Edition and has a wonderful inspirational blog!

Have a great night everyone!

Putzerella...out :)