The Scale Will Come Out...Tomorrow

Hey, it's tomorrow! That's what I said to myself first thing this morning. Not gonna dwell on the cookie/pretzel incident at the party. Gotta get back in the saddle. I was scared smart enough to avoid the scale so as to not ruin my day :) But, I can't keep running from it. I have to get on and see where I'm at to make sure I'm not going too far in the wrong direction. My clothes still fit, so I guess I'm okay. Although, come to think of it, when I first started on this weight loss journey, it took me having to lose 27 lbs. before I came down a pants size. How the hell tight was I wearing my friggin clothes??? So, what do I know! But, I will not go there. The scale will come out. There's always tomorrow :)


On this bright new "tomorrow" day, I had to head out first thing to get both my car and the husbands' car oil changed. No, I don't have a clone. I had to drive back and forth which pretty much took up the entire morning. A clone would have been nice :) Anyhoo, I grabbed a breakfast to go before heading out - Banana Nut Vitatop and a blueberry crackshake for 3 POINTS...

Many of you have asked how to make the crackshakes. You can click HERE and HERE for some ideas. The base is really just unsweetened vanilla Almond Breeze and a tbsp. sugar free, fat free instant pudding mix and ice! Add whatever fruit you are in the mood for and count the POINTS accordingly. Warning: they are addictive; hence the name!

Breakfast didn't hold me over long and I was starving when I finally got home around lunch time. I made a big plate of food. I went with a Health is Wealth Chicken Free Patty on an Arnold Sandwhich Thin with a slice of 2% cheese, carrots, TJ's sour cream and onion rice chips and an apple with Lighthouse Reduced Sugar Caramel Dip. A huge spread for 8 POINTS...

That huge lunch carried me through until dinner. Mission accomplished! I made pasta for the husband and daughters and took out my homemade frozen dinner of the Chicken and Broccoli with Garlic Sauce from last week. I paired it with one of TJ's stirfry veggie eggrolls for a delicious 7 POINT dinner...

After dinner, the doorbell rang with a special delivery. A while back, I won Danica's Mac Pack Giveaway from Annie's and it came today! Yay! Thanks again, Danica!

I was craving a dessert tonight and decided to change it up a bit. I went with a ClifZ Chocolate Brownie Bar topped with PB2 for 3 POINTS. Super yum...

And I'm still trying out my counting "experiment". I'm going to give it a few weeks to see if it makes any difference for me. Or for the scale!

Have a great night everyone =)

Dance The Day Away

Whew, I am so tired tonight, so I'll try and make this quick! I woke up at 6:00 a.m. this morning (on a weekend!) so that I could make an early WW meeting. The husband wanted to take my mother-in-law out for a "surprise" Mother's Day breakfast(how cute is that!) and I needed to get back in time. I went to the 7 a.m. meeting which was surprisingly packed with members! I'm happy to report the scale was my friend and I am down 2.2 lbs.! Only 4 pounds til goal! Whoo hoo!

I rushed home after the meeting (which was all about positive self talk - very good topic!) and went straight to the elliptical. I watched really bad TV that kept me entertained during my 40 minute weighted workout. After that, I was ready for some breakfast. I went with an old favorite - Mock Egg McMuffin for 4 POINTS...



I tooled around on the computer, read some blogs and got myself and little daughter ready for an afternoon of dance! Little daughter had her dance rehearsal and she had to be in full costume and makeup. It took quite a while to put it all together. Before we left, I ate a quick lunch of turkey, baby spinach and dijonnaise on an Ezekiel bun with a side of carrots and soy crisps for 6 POINTS...

The dance dress rehearsal was an all day affair. After little daughter did her dance, she wanted to stay to watch the other dancers. We were there about 4 hours! Good thing I brought a snack (2 POINTS)...

I finally made it home, right about dinner time. I had planned ahead for the family and made Chicken Parmesan for them. I wasn't quite sure what I was going to eat and my stomach was letting me know that I had better figure it out quick. I looked in the freezer and pulled out these guys to try...

Look at the nutritionals; what a POINTS bargain!

A serving is 4 pieces, but I was starving so I went with 3 servings! That's 12 mini wontons and it only came to 3 POINTS. Now, they are little guys, but having a lot of them on the plate helped make them seem more filling. They taste terrific, too. I made a dipping sauce with 1 tbsp. soy sauce, 1 tbsp. water and 1/4 tsp. rice vinegar. I paired the wontons with a cup of fresh pineapple for a delicious 4 POINT dinner...

With plenty of room for dessert, I decided to end the night with a Fudgy Peanut Chip Vitatop with PB2 for 2 most delicious POINTS...

I'm off to bed! Have a great night, everyone =)

Tea With The Ladies

Happy March! So close to spring, but you wouldn't know it with the snow on the ground. More is on the way, too! Yuck! Despite the weather, I was so thrilled this morning knowing that I would NOT have to Shred today!! That is wrong, I know. Jil did fine by me and I should not be dissing her this way. I think I just need some space ;) So instead of Shred, I picked up the 5K Sunday. I was slow on the treadmill, but enjoyed the long run while watching brain numbing TV shows!

I tried not to watch any Food Network shows during my run because I was starving as soon as I got on the treadmill. I had bread on the brain. This bread in particular...


After my workout, I could not get this breakfast together quick enough. I toasted one slice of whole wheat tuscan pane and topped it with a Laughing Cow Light Cheese Wedge. An orange and huge cup of coffee rounded out this perfect 3 POINT breakfast that I couldn't wait to eat (notice the pre-pic bite)...


After breakfast, the daughters and I got ready and headed to my mother-in-law's for her annual Valentine's Tea. Every year, she hosts a girls only tea party for her daughters and granddaughters to celebrate Valentine's Day. She generally likes to have it closer to Valentine's Day, but due to conflicting schedules, this was the first available date. She puts out her fanciest dishes and serveware and makes wonderful tea sandwiches and desserts. I was excited this year that she provided so many healthier options. In some past years, she has made this amazing ham and cheese puff casserole-type dish that is next to impossible to not eat gobs of! Here are some of this year's yumminess...

Cream cheese and French strawberry jam on raisin bread and pink bread (how cute is that?)...

A beautiful veggie tray...

Raisin and plain scones...

Homemade chicken salad (made with chicken breast, celery and light mayo) on snowflake and egg rolls...

Homemade chocolate raisin nut candies...

take home treats (Hershey kisses and chocolate balls)...

My elegant place setting...

cute teapot place cards and perfect handwriting ...

The table was also decked with porcelain china bowls filled with nuts, chocolates, jelly beans, grapes and sliced cucumbers. She also made peanut butter and jelly sandwiches on the pink bread specially for the daughters!

Here is my plate consisting of chicken salad on snowflake roll, a small bite of chicken salad only, grapes and veggies. Not sure of the exact count, but I'm guessing it at 7 POINTS...

Then came dessert and tea! Desserts were poor man's cake, prune cake, more chocolates and ice cream! I decided not to indulge in the desserts except for a tiny piece of prune cake (2 POINTS) to go with my green tea...

It was a wonderful time with lots of chatting and laughing! Thanks to my mother-in-law for a terrific time! The "hostess with the mostess"...

We got home right about dinner time and since I lacked a plan, the verdict was breakfast for dinner. I'm so glad the husband and daughters love that! I decided to go with another soup and sammie night for myself. I made a 1 c. serving of Trader Joe's Organic Split Pea Soup and and eggplant meatball sub . For the sub, I used a club roll, 5 Dominex eggplant meatballs topped with a bit of marinara sauce and a lite string cheese melted on top. A delicious and filling 6 POINT dinner...

I still had room for dessert! I went with 1/2 c. Breyers Fat Free Double Churn Caramel Swirl Ice Cream topped with a crumbled Chocolate Brownie Clif Z Bar for 3 POINTS...

It's been a great weekend! Just got a call from school that there will be no school tomorrow due to snow! Yay - a sleep in morning!!!!

Don't forget to leave a comment in the Giveaway post for your chance to win the Exercise Anywhere cards! I'll be announcing the winners tomorrow!!

Sayonara Shred!!!

Whew, the February Shred Challenge is over!!!!!! Holy Moly, that was the longest 28 days of my life! LOL!!! Seriously though, what an awesome workout. I do really like this DVD; it was tough but I loved that it was only 20 min. I think it will definitely remain in my workout rotation, just not everyday like I did for the challenge! Even the husband is hooked and will keep doing it 2x a week. So now for the RESULTS! Was all this Shredding worth it??? Well, I jumped out of bed this morning, popped in the Shred and huffed that baby out for the last time this month, then grabbed my measuring tape for the big reveal. Here's the inches lost list...

• arms - 1/2 " each
• chest - 1/2 "
• waist - 1 "
• hips - 3/4"
• legs - 3/4" each

That's a total of 4 1/4" lost! Hey, not too bad for 28 days! Actually, I can't claim all 28 days; I did miss 2 days and probably had a couple "half-assed" Shreds when I just kinda went through the motions but didn't give it my all. This wasn't my only form of exercise; I still got in the elliptical and runs, but I definitely see the difference in my arms the most. I have developed a nice muscle on the sides of my arms, I'm thinking from all those stinkin push-ups! And my abs definitely feel "six pack-ish" under the 3" layer of fat that is currently covering it. So, even though I am not fully "shredded", I am happy with my results and proud of myself for sticking with the Challenge. To all the Shredders who hung in there with me during this Challenge, please feel free to post your experience or measurement results in my comments or link to your blog if you are posting them there. I'd love to see how everyone made out! Okay, let's get to the food...

After the Shred and measuring, I made a quick breakfast of 2/3 c. TJ's High Fiber Fruit and Nut Multigrain Medley with 1/2 banana and 1/2 c. unsweetened Vanilla Almond Breeze for 3 POINTS...

Then, I headed to my friend, Rosemary's baby shower. It was a lovely shower; she got lots of cute stuff for her little guy. A nice buffet lunch was served and I was happy to see some healthy choices. I chose a mixed greens salad, sauteed veggies and about 2 oz. of sliced steak. I had my own dressing packet that I keep in my purse and used that for the salad which made it a friendly 5 POINT lunch...


I have to admit, I was a little apprehensive about whipping out my camera at this shower filled with people that I didn't know, but I sat next to the guest of honor and she knows about(and has appeared) on my blog, so I didn't feel as odd to take a quick pic! Ugh, the woes of the food blogger!!!

A little after I arrived home from the shower, I was feeling hungry. Big daughter had a late basketball game scheduled and I knew we would be eating a really late dinner, so I made a filling snack of a Weight Watchers Vanilla Yogurt topped with a crumbled Chocolate Brownie Clif Z Bar for 3 POINTS...


Dinner was very late, so I had planned a soup and "make your own panini" night. I went with 1 c. Trader Joe's Creamy Tomato Soup and a panini made with rustic whole wheat bread, 2 tbsp white bean hummus, 1 Laughing Cow Light Cheese Wedge, baby spinach and sliced tomato. A comforting and quick 6 POINT dinner...

Since, I showed great restraint today at the shower by not eating the amazing looking cake or THE BROWNIES that were displayed so seductively on a tray, I decided to treat myself to a wonderful dessert. Okay, who am I kidding - you all know I "treat" myself to dessert EVERY NIGHT!!!!! But, anyway, I tried to make this one special; a " bananas foster - inspired "sundae. I sauteed a medium sliced banana in a nonstick pan coated with a bit of cooking spray then, stirred in Lighthouse Reduced Sugar Caramel Dip to coat bananas and poured this over 1/2 c. Breyers Fat Free Double Churn Caramel Swirl Ice Cream. Mmmm...warm bananas and caramel ROCK! A "better than those brownies" dessert for 4 POINTS...

That's the day! Hope it's been a great Saturday! Nite =)

Duct Tape

I need duct tape. Not for a household project -for my mouth. I need to tape it up with the strongest duct tape so that I will not allow anymore junk to find it's way into my mouth. I know it sounds extreme, but I think it will work! Okay, it's not realistic, but I am really having a hard time and I don't know of a way to get out of this overeating pattern. Every morning I wake up with the right intentions, but I head in the wrong direction from afternoon to evening. I need to snap out of this! I am kinda mad at myself for giving in to the whole "oh, it's a holiday - just enjoy yourself" hype because it clearly is something I cannot handle at this time. I don't just "get right back on the wagon". I chase after the wagon for weeks as it is doing the Indy 500 in front of me and I can't catch up with it!! So, maybe I am not ready to NOT be in weight loss mode. I need to stay as focused as I can so that I don't completely go off into "never never want to be there again "land. Well, let's get to the food - there sure was a lot of it...



Lunch today was a white bean, roasted pepper and spinach wrap. I used 2 tbsp. white bean dip, roasted peppers, a handful of baby spinach in a La Tortilla Factory Smart and Delicious Tortilla. I had the usual sides of grapes and Kettle Baked Potato Chips...







But this was not enough. I also had to eat all the crusts cut off from little daughter's PB&J and two handfuls of pretzel sticks.

Snack time was not a mountain of brownies that I wanted very badly. I decided on a brownie substitute...

I crumbled the Chocolate Brownie Clif Z Bar over 1/2 c. plain yogurt sweetened with a little Splenda...

This was a really tasty snack and pretty filling. I will definitely have this again.

I'm not completely sure, but I do think I grabbed a chocolate or two after this. Isn't that sad? I was in an eating trance!

My in-laws came for dinner tonight and I put out most of our leftovers to eat. They had lasagne and I made a baked penne with some leftover whole wheat penne, part skim ricotta and some reduced fat mozzarella. I also had a salad with oil and vinegar and a slice of some reeeally good rustic bread. I think I said I wasn't going to buy this bread again, but "whoot, there it is"...

I ended up having another piece and a half, PLUS some of little daughter's crusts. Wait, there's more. I picked on some more of the pasta and I had 2 of my Gram's deep fried veggies (she makes them every Christmas Eve). Sorry no pics. I think then I can pretend I never ate them!

But, WAIT, there's more...

and sad to say, more chocolate followed:(

I am ready for bed now, however I am probably so sugared up that I won't sleep right. I hope to snap out of this eating. I feel terrible mentally and physically, but it's almost like I can't stop myself. It's getting to the point where nothing is really looking that appetizing, but I am just compelled to eat it. I don't know. I need some "divine intervention" soon!!!! Or duct tape, whichever comes first...