Eating On The Fly

I could not get out of bed this morning. I slept so deeply (for a change) that it was hard to wake up! Since I got going so late, I didn't have time to work out although I put on my exercise clothes in anticipation of fitting it in sometime during the day. I ate a quick, but filling, breakfast of Whole Wheat Pumpkin Blueberry Pancakes (from the freezer) and 2 hard boiled egg whites for 3 POINTS...


Then, the daughters and I headed to my friend's house to help with preparations for a big luau party she's having tomorrow. I set out making 60 hamburgers then moved on to chopping, chopping and more chopping lots of fruits and veggies. Next up was grilling all the veggies and making up the tray. I put some aside and made us grilled veggie sandwiches on an Arnold Sandwich Thin with some garlic hummus that she had in her fridge which is AWESOME! The garlic flavor went perfectly with the veggies. It was a great 4 POINT sammie eaten "counter style" (aka standing up!)...

I also snacked on some Goldfish while prepping some other dishes and helping to set up. Before we knew it, it was 5 p.m.! Party prep is brutal!

I headed home and found a wonderfully healthy dinner waiting. NOT!! The husband found a way to get pizza 2 nights in a row! He was so happy :) He ordered us a plain pizza and also, a panzarotti which is like an inside out pizza. Too tired to think of making something more healthy for myself, I indulged in a slice of the pizza and a piece of the panzarotti...

I made sure to eat some broccoli, at least...

I also chomped on some of big daughter's pizza crusts. I didn't feel very satisfied after that. I definitely could have eaten more. I guess my hunger kicked in. Thankfully, there was no more pizza left or I probably would have gone to town. Instead, I went right to dessert - a No Pudge Brownie with PB2 for 3 POINTS...

Never did get in that exercise, although I was on my feet the entire day from 10:30 - 5. I will make sure to get in C&K's 10 minute strength routine though, so it's not a total wash. Then, I will flop into my bed and fall into a coma deep slumber })

Have a great night!

I'm Just Not Getting It

Everyday I wake up with all good intentions of being on track. I know what to do. I know what it takes to lose weight. I have been doing this since July 29, 2007. I haven't been perfect. I have had detours, but this particular detour that I am taking is especially long, winding and moves treacherously close to a cliff with a steep drop to fatdom come. I don't know why this is happening. Not sure why I can't wrap my brain around getting these last pounds off. I want to. I want to be a Lifetime member. But, apparently I want BROWNIES a lot more...


I woke up to a beautiful sunny morning! So terrific! I wanted to go on an outdoor run this morning, but ended up getting sidetracked with housework, so I headed to the elliptical for a weighted (18 lbs.) 30 minutes and then did 10 minutes of weights and tricep dips. Before my workout, I had a breakfast from the freezer. I found some whole wheat pumpkin blueberry pancakes that I had made a while back. Luckily, I wrapped them well, so they were in perfect eating condition. I had 2 with some low cal syrup for 2 POINTS...



Then I nibbled on some chocolate covered almonds (no pic). Mistake #1 !

Even though it was such a beautiful day, I ended up spending most of it inside :( Hate that! Did some more house cleaning, then made some lunch. I have been craving salmon again. Last time I was at the grocery store, I picked up this...

The nutritionals are great: 60 cal. and 1.5 gr. fat per serving which is 1 POINT. The bag serves 2, so even if you ate the whole thing, it's only 3 POINTS. A healthy bargain! I decided to make this into salmon salad. I mixed in a bit of onion, chopped celery, dijon mustard, 1 tbsp. lite mayo, fresh parsley and a squirt of lemon. I wish I had fresh dill - it would have been perfect in here! I served the salad on an Ezekiel Sprouted Grain Bun with a side of cantaloupe and 1 oz. Penny Sticks Honey Wheat Pretzels for an AMAZING 8 POINT lunch...

I heart salmon salad...

I spent the rest of the afternoon prepping for pizza night and hanging outside with the daughters. Oh, and snacking. I kept moving back and forth from pantry to fridge. The damage was deep. Pretzel sticks, more chocolate covered almonds, lite string cheese, pepperoni. The stuff cellulite is made of. I felt my hips widening with every bite. Mistake #2.

I made a healthy pizza for dinner. Why, you say? Beats me. Dare I say, to "try to get back on the wagon"??? Yes, I will say it. Not buyin it? Yeah, me neither.

I bought some spelt flour a while ago and thought I would make pizza dough with it. Here's the recipe I used (adapted from www.recipezaar.com):

• 2 c. spelt flour
• 1 1/2 tsp. yeast
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tbsp. olive oil
• 1 tsp. honey
• 2/3 c. warm water

I mixed all the ingredients in my stand mixer until a dough formed. I did need to add a bit more water to have it all come together. I thought the baking powder was a strange addition , but I did read that wheat -free crusts have a tendency to not rise very much, so I believe this may have helped along with the yeast in that department. I left the dough to rise, which it did quite a bit, then spread it into a well greased (with cooking spray) pizza pan. I always pre-bake my crusts before topping and I did with this one also. I put it in a 450 degree oven for about 15 minutes. Then, I topped it with my homemade pizza sauce, fresh baby spinach, fresh mushrooms and about 1/2 c. part skim mozzarella. I ran the pizza dough ingredients through the Recipe Builder and came up with 4 POINTS per serving (4 servings). With my toppings, 2 slices came to 8 POINTS. I served it with some salad dressed with Kraft Light Three Cheese Ranch for another 1 POINT...

Very filling and very delicious. I really liked the way this crust came out. It was light in texture, yet hearty enough to hold up the toppings. It had a mellow taste; lighter and a bit less bitter than whole wheat crusts come out sometimes. If you're looking for a new pizza dough recipe, give this a try! And if you're gluten-free, this is your dough!


To end my evening, I had this...

Plus another few bites of the "hard, crunchy edges" that no one wants to eat. I totally talked little daughter into making these with me. Mistake #3. I labeled it "an experiment" as I wanted to try to use up some plain nonfat yogurt in the fridge that was on it's last legs (plus I'm not a fan of plain yogurt anyway)and thought I would mix it with a box of regular brownie mix that I just happened to have lying around. This is the way to make No Pudge brownies, but I wondered if it would work for a regular brownie mix. Well, it works. They are good and fudgy. I will call them Fat Ass Brownies. I have no idea of the POINTS; I was too lazy to calculate and not inclined to think that it even mattered at this point. The husband and daughters liked them and wolfed down quite a few which is good for me. Less to look at tomorrow when I "begin again".

This up and down is exhausting me mentally. I'm not sure what to do to get my fires burning again for more than a day or two. I am heading to my WW meeting tomorrow morning; maybe that will do it. I'm hoping after I see the number from the scale on my member book, in black and white, that it will give me the wake up call I need. I peeked on my own scale today and it's not looking good. At all.

Sorry to be such a downer tonight. I know I just have to keep trying. I know I say it over and over, but I don't seem to be getting it. But, I'm going to keep doing it. Keep trying. Keep starting everyday with resolve to stay on program. Fake it til I make it =)

Homebound- Day 2

Little daughter is still sick, so another day in the house. One would think I would get a myriad of things done around here, but on these sick days, I tend to sit with the sickie all day and not do much of anything! House is still a mess, clothes unlaundered, food barely made. I have had zip in the creativity dept. lately with my food. I really need to get some planning done with some new recipes on the menu to spice things up around here! I gotta get a fire goin under this butt! So, onto my boring food today...



Breakfast was whole wheat pumpkin blueberry pancakes that I had in the freezer with a side of 1/2 Weight Watchers Strawberry Yogurt (split with little d -why do they have to eat MY stuff!!) topped with a few slices of banana for 3 POINTS...





After breakfast, I forced myself to do Level 3 Shred. Hanging around the house has made me very lazy, but I knew this was the only exercise I was going to do today, so I did my best "bad-ass" workout. Jillian was happy; she told me so. She says that at the end; it's way after the part when she tells you she wants you to feel like you're gonna die ;) Only 4 days left, Shredders!!!



For lunch, I wanted a giant shaker of salt with shavings of chocolate on the side. I didn't think that would look very nice on the plate, so I opted for a Chicken BLT using a leftover thin sliced chicken breast (1 1/2 oz.) on an Arnold Sandwich Thin, topped with 2 slices of center cut bacon, lettuce, tomato and a tiny squirt of Kraft Light Three Cheese Ranch. On the side, I had a serving of Baked Cheddar and Sour Cream Lays Chips and a sliced apple for health's sake. A salty-licious 7 POINT lunch...



Just like yesterday, more chips followed along with some chocolates all while reading my new book that I got at the library, Intuitive Eating ! Seems I need more work in this area ;) So, here's a positive- during this eatfest of salt and sweet, I downed a TON of water! That's good, right?? Definitely got in all my WATER today! The bloat has set in and I am fairly certain that I have gained 40 lbs. today :0



Dinner was quick and easy. The daughters wanted breakfast for dinner - cool! I went with the same for myself. I made an egg sammie made with egg whites, baby spinach and a slice of 2 % cheese on a Weight Watchers Petite Bagel along with a side of carrots and grapes. An easy, healthy, back on track 4 POINT dinner...

I'm just gonna keep trying. Keep reeling it in everytime I go off the wagon. There is no other choice; just keep on keepin on. Eventually, it will click and I'll be on a roll again. Right???? Right!!!

And brownies are on the wagon!! At least these guys are. They do not cause "pudge" - the box says so! Best of all, they are only 2 POINTS. I went with a naked one tonight...

Okay, tomorrow is a new day and it will be another homebound day with little daughter. I have pretty much eaten every salty and sweet snack in the house, so I think I should be pretty good tomorrow!!LOL! I plan on making a new and exciting dinner that no one will eat except me because it will be healthy and POINT friendly and I will spend the day dancing around the house singing, "what have you done today, to make you feeeeeel proud". It's gonna be a great day =0)

Snow Day!

Whooo Hooo! It was great to have a snow day! We slept in a little (til 7 a.m.) and lounged around in bed. Such laziness :) I didn't do my normal early morning workout, but knew I would have time to fit it in later. I ended up spending the morning helping the daughters with homework projects, but I made sure to get in a good breakfast before I got busy with them. I made Whole Wheat Pumpkin Blueberry Pancakes(they were huge!) with a few slices of banana on the side. Delish and only 4 POINTS...


I finished helping little daughter with her project, so she and I took the opportunity to "Shred" before lunch. Brutual! I hate Jillian today ;) My legs are sore and I suck at push-ups, but she says" nothing is for free" so I have to keep on keepin on. Ugh! Little daughter, on the other hand, rocked this workout! As if she needs it; she weighs all of 43 lbs.!

After "Shred", I shakily made my way to the kitchen to make some lunch. I decided to go with another big salad since I really enjoyed the one from yesterday. Today, I used a bunch of lettuce, 2 oz. lean ham, 1 light string cheese sliced, 1 hard-boiled egg white, tomato, carrots and 2 tbsp. Marie's Lite Chunky Blue Cheese dressing. I looked at the bottle today and realized that this is the "proper" name of the dressing !! Lots of bites for 5 POINTS...

I still required some more crunch (and salt!), so I grabbed a handful of pretzel sticks for 1 POINT...

Later in the afternoon, I had the urge to exercise. HUH??!! I know, I thought that was bizarre, too! But, I rode the wave since I need to make up for some cals, so I hit the elliptical for 30 minutes. My legs were not thrilled with this decision. Still shaky and kinda burny. Tomorrow should be REAL fun; hope I can get out of bed !

I almost went without a snack, but suddenly I felt ravenous and still had an hour until dinner, so I didn't want to chance a pig-out session. I had a Weight Watchers Vanilla Yogurt and a serving of Cinnamon Puffins for 2 POINTS...

For dinner, I made Chicken Cacciatore with a side of Gram's green beans. I also had a half slice of some delicious whole wheat bread that little daughter and I made earlier in the afternoon. This was a big hit at dinner; she was so proud!! A delicious 7 POINT family favorite...

And, of course, there had to be a dessert for me. I debated about letting it go since I have weigh-in tomorrow and I'm thinking it's not gonna be so hot. But, my sweet tooth got the better of me! I had a Weight Watchers Peanut Butter Cookie with PB2Fluff icing. Oooohs and ahhhhs for 2 POINTS...

I have to admit that, although I was excited for a hang-out snow day with the daughters, I was secretly worried about being stuck in the house all day with lots of food! I was hoping the munchies wouldn't surface and cause me to blow this whole week out of the water. Thankfully, I kept busy enough and I made it through unscathed:) We'll see what tomorrow brings...

Hope everyone had a great day =)