Genius!

I thought I would just post quickly since, again, I have been MIA.

My eating has had it's ups and downs. Did ok on Saturday, not so good at a party on Sunday, did great on Monday and Tuesday and binged on Chocolate and Cookies on Wednesday!

But I will say that on Saturday, I chose to stray slightly from the plan during lunch. I went to my parents restaurant with my cousin's for lunch. I was undecided on what to order. My parent's restaurant isn't exactly the healthiest place to go. There are a few things I get there that are "less" bad.

However, what I really wanted was a reuben! The reuben sandwiches there are the best I've ever eaten! In case you are not familiar, it's rye bread with corned beef & sauerkraut, swiss cheese and 1000 island dressing too.

I was torn! Do I spend a lot of points on something that is good but not what I really want? My cousin, always the genius she is, said that if I was going to spend points, I might as well have something that I truly will enjoy! Genius!

So I did. I got the reuben! I don't like the dressing so I skipped that. I also got it without the butter on the bread that they use to grill it. That made me feel better :p It was delicious!

And what better way then to top it off with some of their delicious ice cream! It's a premium ice cream and WAY high in calories and fat! So I had 1 scoop of the newer flavor Tiramisu! Yummy! Now that's a way to spend some points!

So I'm back in business today.

On another note, I have a phone call scheduled for later tonight with a new date. I've only emailed him so far and never met in person yet. We were set up. One of my cousins and his mom work together. Talk about matchmakers! And I really hate being set up. So we will see how this goes.

We will be speaking for the first time today and a potential date is tentatively scheduled for Tuesday night (yes, we are taking things soooooooo sloooooooooowly!) lol. I'm kind of nervous. I'm not a huge dater! And haven't dated all too much while losing weight! I just felt like I needed to take care of me first, then do the dating thing. But I SO hate the "dating thing!" To be continued...

**Giveaway news...Momma of 3 on the Run is having a Nalgene water bottle giveaway! Check out her blog to enter!

*Results Not Typical

Don't you hate when you see a weight loss success story and they include the little asterisk that says *results not typical. It makes it seem like whatever those success people did will not happen for you.

I'm going to be one of those "success stories!" But I'm not being featured in a paper or magazine or anything. My weight watcher leader told us at my meeting on Saturday that there was going to be "real life success stories" on Monday Oct. 4th at one of the other locations and we were all invited.

Then after the meeting she came up to me to ask me if I would be one of those success stories. I was kind of surprised because I wasn't expecting that. I'm pretty shy in general and don't like attention on me. But of course I said that I would! She didn't really know the details or anything (gee, thanks for the heads up so I could prepare!). She just said that I need to bring a before and after picture.

So I perused old vacation pictures of myself on Saturday (ugh!). The only ones that really have me straight on are vacation pictures. Otherwise I really hardly have any full length pictures of myself! They were not cute! I'll post on here which one I choose.

So I'm kind of nervous about all of that but it is kind of nice to have been asked.

My weigh in on Saturday went good. I lost 1.6 lbs! Then I blew it at a party on Sunday with tons of cookies and cake! When will I learn!

In good news though, I went shopping for a pair of new jeans, a jacket, etc. I am officially in size 8 jeans now! A single digit? I didn't know they made single digit sizes? I've never been a single digit size! In high school, I was a size 12-14. And after that, I was pretty much 18-20 in college and after! But I tried on 8's and 10's on Saturday and the 10's were mostly all too big and the 8's mostly all fit. I say mostly because it does vary on the brand of jeans.

And I bought a medium jacket and a medium top. When I started I pretty much wore a big XL or a 1x (sometimes even a 2x although I usually don't admit that).

New Goals Update

This week I set some new goals for myself. I realized that the past month, I was eating at night with no control! I think I went through a whole loaf of bread in 4 days, ate my way through a package of cheese, etc. The thing is, even though I love bread and cheese, this isn't the way I love to eat it! So I wasn't enjoying myself. I was just eating and eating and eating!

So my goals this week were as follows:
1. No eating past 9:00 pm unless it's veggies or 0 calorie liquid. The exception to that rule is that if I got home late due to working out straight after work, I was allowed to eat a small, healthy dinner.

2. Spend 15 minutes a day cleaning. My house was out of control which equals life out of control. So my cousin suggested setting your timer for 15 minutes and clean as much as you could for those 15 minutes. Then stop. If you want to go back later and do another 15 minutes, that's fine. But this way, you won't burn yourself out.

3. Track everything I eat!

4. Spend at least 30 minutes a day doing some form of movement or exercise. This can be walking, gym, whatever.

So have I been succeeding in my goals? Damn straight!! It feels so good too! Every one of my goals I have been succeeding at!

Yesterday was hard though. I got home about 9 pm from the gym, took a shower, realized my DVR didn't record The Biggest Loser (grrrrrr) and ate dinner (chicken and veggies). I really really wanted something else to eat. And I didn't want veggies! I wanted something, anything! I sat gazing in the fridge. I weighed my options. I thought "It's ok if I cheat just this once." But no, I got more veggies from dinner and sat down to eat them.

I also didn't want to do the 15 minutes of cleaning yesterday either. I thought "One day won't hurt." But it's my goals! I have to do it! So after I watched TV but before I went to bed, I got up and did my 15 minutes of cleaning. So glad I did! You can get a lot done in 15 minutes!

My movement has been good. I didn't "officially" workout on Monday but I did walk to and from the train by my house. It's a little over a mile both ways. Some days I drive, so when I walk there, I count that as movement because I don't do it every day.

And I've been tracking everything that I've been eating!

**On a different note, please help support my friend Courtney raise money for Team in Training. She is really short on her goal and needs your help! She is having a super awesome (yes, I said "super awesome"!!!! lol) raffle. Please stop on over to her blog and show her some love and support!**

Lastly, Danica over at Danica's Daily is having another awesome giveaway! Check out her blog here to find out how to enter!

New Lease! New Goals!

I've got a new lease on life! I feel much better about my eating starting Saturday. I have made a few minor goals for the week to help me stick to my plan.

My first and biggest goal is to not eat all the way up until I go to bed! So for me, that means no eating after 9:00 pm. There are a few exceptions! (Hey...baby steps!). If I feel hungry, I can eat only veggies after 9:00 pm. I am also allowed to have a glass of milk if I still need a milk requirement. Other than that, it's water or tea. The only exception to this exception :) is if I get home late and haven't eaten dinner, I'm allowed to have a small dinner. Sometimes after work I go straight to the gym and just eat a snack before I workout, then I get home at 9:00. If that's the case, I'm allowed to eat something.

But this has been working very well the last 2 days! I got home Sat. night at 9:15 and wanted to have an ice cream cup, but nope! It was past 9:00 pm! So I made Roasted Red Pepper Hummus and had that with baby carrots.

I wasn't 100% thrilled with my hummus. It's just ok. My cousin's was better when she made it, but it's a great snack!

Sunday, after 9:00, I had a cup of Milk. That's it!

Normally, I can eat all the way until I go to bed (between 11-11:30)! So this is a huge accomplishment for me!

The other goal is that I'm tracking everything I eat! I should be doing that anyway!

Last goal is to make sure I do some form of exercise or "movement" for at least 30 mins each day!

I'm making a different goal as well to spend 15 mins every day cleaning something in my house. Otherwise, it gets out of control!

Sunday morning/afternoon, my parents had off of work at the restaurant they own. This usually doesn't happen. One usually works, then they switch and the other one works. But my dad scheduled them both off!

So we had a family day! We went to the gym for an hour, then went shopping at Home Goods, then went out to eat. There is a restaurant in Bolingbrook, Illinois (there are some in a few other states). The name of the restaurant is Mongolian Grill.

The way the restaurant works is you pick a meat or seafood (or combination) and put it in a bowl, then pile HIGH with veggies! After that, you pick a sauce. They have a variety and you are allowed to taste them first. I tasted about 6 but I'm weak and went with my favorite, sweet and sour. I played it safe. Then you add spices. Bring it up to the counter and they have a giant round grill thing. It looks like a hot stone but it's big and round. They throw your food on there and cook it up with these giant knife looking things! Very cool and fun!

You can either order 1 bowl. Or you can get 1 bowl and soup and salad. Or you can get unlimited which means you can go up and get all of that as many times as possible and as many bowls as possible.

My mom and I got the 1 bowl with soup and salad. My dad got unlimited but only went back 1 other time. He wanted to go a third but decided against it.

And I got sweet and sour pork. The website even has where you can build your own bowl and it gives you the nutritional information. I had to estimate if I had a serving of something or more. With the sauce, I calculated as 3 oz. instead of the 1 oz. they give, just to be on the safe side.

It's a relatively healthy place to eat and I was excited! Nothing is deep fried! Very healthy and natural ingredients. If you have one near you, you should give it a try.

Part way through my meal, I remembered that I should take a picture! When will I remember to do it beforehand!


And they had brown rice! So we had the brown rice with it. Sorry, my picture looks like a mess! It's brown rice, pork, onions, broccoli, pineapple, carrots, sweet and sour sauce. Delicious!

I had an onion soup and some salad with fat free french dressing.

So I'm doing better, thanks for all the encouragement from Friday's post.

Also, a friend I have through Weight Watchers online (that I did meet twice) passed away a few weeks ago. It was sad for my weight watcher group. She had gotten an infection in her legs and then found out she had cancer, the infection got worse, her cancer got worse, they amputated her legs, she was doing better, then it all went downhill. I'm glad she is no longer suffering.

Also our meeting receptionist passed away a few weeks ago too. I didn't realize it was her that passed away until last Saturday. She found out she had lung cancer and the next week, she passed.

I also know that a few other bloggers have been dealing with death as well. So sorry to everyone.

It really reminds you that life is short. Live each day as if it's your last!

Hiding

I've been in hiding. Hiding from you guys.

The other day I posted a great post of my journey of getting to goal and what that means to me, but here I am ALL WEEK, not tracking, eating an entire loaf of bread this week, lots of cheese...just all nonsense!

And here I am, doing the opposite of what I should be doing. And I've been doing it ALL MONTH this way! There was 1 good week squeezed in and I felt great that week! I felt so empowered and in control, but the rest of the month has been crap. Pure crap!

What makes me even more infuriated is that it's not even good food that I'm eating. I'm not eating a cheeseburger and fries for a meal because I really want it and will enjoy eating it. I'm eating stupid stuff that doesn't satisfy me and therefore, I keep eating it.

My house is a mess, work is a mess. I guess I'm in one of those moods.

I almost don't want to weigh in tomorrow. I would still go to the meeting but I just don't want to see the number. I know, I should weigh in and stay accountable. And I'm sure I'll still be in my goal range. I'll think about it today.

But I did run twice this week. I also went for a walk with my cousins yesterday. I did some weights at home once. Those are my positives for the week. And I signed up for 2 upcoming 5k runs with my cousin's husband Nick. I'm doing them for/with him so I'll be running at his pace with is slower than mine. That's ok, the distance is the same and I'm happy to help encourage him along.

I even scheduled a short run with Nick tomorrow afternoon to help him get back into the running. We may only go about 2.5 miles. We will see how it goes tomorrow.

Other than that, my weekend plans are to clean my mess of a house and to shop for a fall jacket.

What are your weekend plans?

And now a word from your sponsers...

Is it considered cheating if you use other people's blogs to take up the space in your own blog post? Maybe, but I don't care. These two blogs are worth mentioning for very different reasons.

First, Courtney at Run, Courtney, Run is having a great fundraiser. She runs for Team in Training, which benefits Leukemia & Lymphoma. Many companies have donated some wonderful gifts, so please stop in and give a little money. It's for a great cause and you will be entered to win some fabulous prizes!

Next on the agenda...this weeks weight watchers meeting topic. Now, I haven't been to my meeting this week. So how do I know the meeting topic if I haven't gone yet? It's magic!

Well, ok, not really magic, per se! It's from *Bitch Cakes* blog. Yes, that's her real name! What were her parents thinking?

Ok that's NOT her real name, per se! It's Sheryl. Sheryl has recently made goal and lifetime after following the weight watchers plan for four years! Way to go Sheryl!

Be aware...Sheryl is a "tell-it-like-it-is" kinda gal! I think that's a great thing for a blogger. And she is such an inspiration for everyone!

The meeting topic this week is about getting to goal (hm...the title of my blog! How ironic!). Sheryl talks about the feelings she had in her weight loss journey and about her fears of getting to goal.

So I thought I would talk about my challenges with weight loss and getting to goal.

For my entire adult life, I've been overweight. I've probably been in the 200's for my entire 20's! I was a size 14 my senior year of high school and a size 18-20 consistently throughout college (and thereafter). Hey, at least I was consistent right? *Sigh*

Now, I've always worked out. From the age of 11 or 12, I belonged to something and worked out somehow. In my 200+ lbs, I was doing runs, going to the gym, doing advanced step aerobics classes! I worked out hard!

I always looked at myself as "The Fatest Fit Person!" I could out-work any skinny-mini! Well, there may have been a few that could kick my...well, you get what I'm saying.

So my biggest problem? Denial! Now, I knew I was overweight. How could I not know that being over 200 lbs and in a size 18-20 wasn't overweight. I was in denial how overweight I actually was. At times, I thought I looked pretty darn good! Then I see a video or picture of me and think, "How could that be me?" That must just be a bad picture!

I also didn't think I could lose weight. I knew I could lose 20 lbs. I've lost 20 lbs on Weight Watchers before, back around the year 1999-2000. But I couldn't get below that dreaded 200 lb. mark. That's what I thought was impossible.

So when I started this last and final journey of mine on Weight Watchers, I was a little scared. I had just weighed in at home right about 250 lbs. 250 POUNDS! Men weigh 250 lbs! And overweight men at that!

In February of 2007 is when I began "doing something" again. I was actually afraid of joining WW again and failing. So I thought about Nutrisystem. I've never tried NS before. Luckily for me, I received a call from a cousin at that moment saying she just tried NS! It was fate! I never said anything to her before about thinking about it.

I'm not knocking NS! If it works for you, fine. But my cousin hated the food! The portions were tiny and she didn't like the taste at all! After 3 days, she returned it.

But I was in a quandary! NS was out! What was I going to do now? So for the next 3 months, I tossed back and forth with joining WW. Of course, in May 2007, I decided to go for it. If I failed, then I would be right back where I started! No harm right?

But instead of doing it online, which I'd done before, I decided to join the meetings. This time was it! I said to myself that I was not quitting. It wasn't an option this time.

And instead of looking at the big picture of how much I had to lose, I took it 10% at a time. I wrote on a sheet of paper at work the following goals:

Starting Weight: 251.2
First 10% Goal: 226.2
Second 10% Goal: 204.2
Third 10% Goal: 184.2
Fourth 10% Goal: 166.2

This is where I stopped writing my goals down. I never thought I would ever get that far! And if I did, then I would determine then what I wanted my goal to be.

And I did it. I went with each 10% goal and just kept it up. And I'm so glad I did! I now beat myself up that I didn't start in February 2007 when I wanted to! I wasted 3 months because of fear!

It's always good to have goals. When I set my goal at 160 (the upper weight for my height according to the BMI scale), my goal was to maintain that for a little while. Now that I did, I have re-set a new goal of getting down to between 150-155.

But even if I didn't, I'm proud of where I am now. According to that silly BMI chart (which really doesn't account for may factors), my BMI has reduced from 39 (obese) to 24.5 (normal). That's a huge accomplishment.

Another thing I've learned throughout this journey, is to accept a compliment. I hated getting compliments (because I didn't think they were real). I'd always say "Shut Up!" or something to that effect when I got a compliment.

Now, I've learned to say "Thank you!" That was really hard to do for me!

So thank you to all of you who have read my blog and become my cyber-world friends! And thank you for all of your blogs (if you have them). We all may be on different journey's but you are all inspirational for different reasons!

Now, I must go, because I'm getting a little teary-eyed! That's happened to me a lot more now too. I more emotional!

And I feel as though this post was getting long-winded! I talk too much. My dad has compared me to Edith Bunker from All in the Family (60's or 70's sitcom) for her ability to, while telling a story, drag it out to the very last possible moment because she keeps going and going and going...

...Kind of like the Energizer Bunny...because....

"Stifle it Edith!"

Broken Record

I had my weight watchers weigh in on Saturday morning. I feel like a broken record! I didn't want to go. I didn't track all week (except for the first day). I ate terribly. When I eat terribly, it's never the main meals, it's always the snacking. I just need to do some mental self talk on that one.

But I stepped on my scale before hand, convinced that it would show a 2+ pound gain! My home scale showed that I might actually lose weight this week! How is that even possible?

Well, I don't want to pi$$ off the "destiny" gods, so I just went with it. I weighed in at my meeting and low and behold...a 0.8 pound loss! Now, that might not seem like much to some of you but considering I'm below my original goal and I ate terribly, it was pretty huge for me!

So I need to re-focus this week because I will not be so lucky on the scale this week if I don't watch myself!

And I did track...on Saturday. On Sunday, I did good the first half of the day. My parents both had off of work at the restaurant in the morning. That never happens. Usually one parent works and they switch off later in the day and the other one works to close.

So since both parents were off, we decided to go to the beach. Now, it's been pretty cool around here in Chicago lately! Summer was leaving and fall was pushing in.

I loved our summer this year. It was nice and hot ALL SUMMER! That never happens around here! Some people might think it was too hot, but I figure we have cool or cold weather so many months out of the year that I like it hot sometimes.

Anyway, we reviewed the weather and even though it was going to be slightly cool, it was going to be a beautiful day. At the beach it was in the mid-70's and sunny. So beautiful!

I didn't do good with eating the rest of the day. I'm letting it go.

I'm refocusing on these next 5 days! I'll report back tomorrow and let you know how I did!

Don't Wear Shoes You Can't Walk In!

Men, hang on, it's not only about shoes!

I was walking during lunch yesterday in downtown Chicago. I see women all the time wearing something like 4 inch heals that they can't even walk in! The shoes might be cute but you don't look cute wearing them when you can't even walk like a normal person wearing them!

Now, don't get me wrong. I will sometimes wear slightly uncomfortable shoes but only if I will be sitting most of the time (and I usually regret wearing them later!). And of course, there is that occasional funeral that your ex-boyfriend will be at and you want to look SO GOOD and wear shoes that are way too uncomfortable to make him jealous...sigh...I digress...

Anyway, while I was walking around noticing these people walking in their obviously uncomfortable shoes, it got me thinking. These shoes are a metaphor for life!

Let me explain. Many times (myself included), people will embark on weight loss journeys with plans that they aren't able to live with. People go on diets that are strict or restrict certain foods, (hello cabbage soup diet!). Yes, sometimes they lose the weight, but often times, they don't keep the weight off.

Why? Because they can't live with the plan for the rest of their life. They can't "walk in their shoes" forever!

The same analogy applies to workout plans. When my brother and I both lived at home, my brother would periodically say that he was going to start working out (again). And he would! For about three days he would go into the basement where there are some weights, or go to a friend's house and bust his butt with these weights. Then he would complain that he hurt himself. Without fail, every...single...time, he would stop after the three consecutive days and not think about it for at least another 6 months to 1 year!

And after all those months, he would, inevitably, say to me, "I'm going to start working out again." I would say to him, why don't you start off slower. Just do a few days out of the week or don't put so much weight on the bars that you are using. I want to encourage him and help him stick with the plan! But of course, my slightly older brother never listened to me and the cycle continued! He couldn't "walk in his shoes" forever either! It was too strict of a plan. He didn't ease into it!

For me, the right "shoe" is weight watchers. It works for me. Will it work for everyone? Well, I'm a believer that it can if you want it to. But it may not be the right plan for you. I like it because I don't feel deprived. I can eat what I want, just not so much of it. They encourage you to eat healthy, choose from filling foods, get a required amount of dairy in and eat a certain number of fruits and veggies. I never did all this before! *Any views or opinions presented in this blog are solely those of the author (me) and do not necessarily represent those of weight watchers or any other company mentioned*

I also have a workout plan I can live with. I have a gym membership and some classes there that I love to go to. I can also workout outside when I need to (run, walk, whatever) and I also have some videos at home in case I don't feel like going anywhere. I have no excuse! I don't work out for 1-2 hours at a high intensity pace every single day. I alternate some high intensity days with low intensity days. I do this because I know I will burn out if I do too much all the time! You need to find a good balance.

And no one is ever perfect. Even if you find the right plan for you, every once in a while you will put on those shoes with the four inch heals and regret it later! But you can always put on your comfy flats as soon as you get home!

Detox!

I'm in detox. Detox from the all the food I've eaten the past two days. Ugh, my poor tummy hurts. So for the next 4 days, I'm in strict "I'm a perfect weight watcher" detox! I hate when you eat so much that your stomach hurts! I guess I deserve it!

Saturday, I didn't do great as far as the types of foods I ate, but I only went over by two points for the day, so it could have been much worse.

Sunday, I had my family picnic. Gorgeous day, whole family was there. But they made enough food for 10 times the amount of family members! I wish I had pictures to share with you because the food was so fresh! Lots of veggies from their garden were in the foods. But just because there are vegetables doesn't mean it's not high in calories.

But I started out good. Not going crazy or anything. But then came the desserts and I lost all control! So good! But I did run 6.2 miles that morning. So I wasn't going to beat myself up.

Monday, I didn't have any major plans for Labor Day. My cousin was taking me to a toboggan hill that has lots of stairs and a trail. We went up the stairs and walked the trail, the repeated several times. A few times I sprinted up as much as I could. I thought it was a good workout.

I also did pretty good food wise, until I went grocery shopping. Then all hell broke lose. Well, I'm paying for it today.

To top it all off, my sinuses are starting to bother me a little bit. Oh well. Going to the gym tonight for 1 hour of powerflex (weights/abs/squats) and 1 hour of step aerobics. I'm kicking my own butt!

How was your labor day?

WI Results and HoneyBar Review

It's a bit chilly in the Chicago area today! Highs are not even getting into the 70's! When did fall move in! I want summer back!

I had my weigh in this morning. Lost 0.6 lbs. I guess I'm happy with that considering I was maintaining. I also lost 3.4 last week so that's 4 lbs in 2 weeks. How can I not be happy!

I won a giveaway the other day from Embracing Balance. It was a sampler package of HoneyBar granola bars! This is what it says about honeybars..."HoneyBars are great tasting snack bars that just "happen" to be healthy. They combine some of Mother Nature's tastiest ingredients, held together with ONLY honey."

I tried 3 different kinds: Nutty Apricot, Sweet & Salty, and the Organic Cranberry. They really are delicious. (Please note: HoneyBar is not paying me to say this!). They are filled with nuts and honey! So good! One thing I really liked about it was I could pronounce and I knew all of the ingredients! What a novel idea. :p

I went into the cabinet at work and looked at the ingredients in the granola bars there and there were at least 4-5 ingredients that I had no idea what they were.

For example, my favorite of the 3 I ate was the Sweet & Salty. Here are the ingredients: Peanuts, honey, peanut butter, almonds, almond butter, crisp brown rice, kosher salt.

So thank you Jaime from Embracing Balance for having the giveaway and also the people from HoneyBar for allowing her to have the giveaway!

I have a family picnic to go to tomorrow. I will do the best I can. There are usually some healthy things to eat so I'll try to focus on that and just have fun!

What are your plans for Labor Day or the weekend in general?

My First Time!

Oh man, I apologize for this cheesy post title. It can be misleading. Bring your minds back to the world of blogging please!

Before we get to "My First Time", I'll share a picture of my lunch. This is one of my favorite lunches because it's so easy to make and tastes delicious!
I saute bell peppers (in this case, green bell peppers), onions, home grown cherry tomatoes, and baby bella mushrooms. Add cooked chicken and brown rice and you have yourself a meal!

I had cooked a split chicken breast, which has the bone in it. I was too lazy to cut it off the bone beforehand and add to the food, so I cut as I went along.

See the cut in the chicken already? I was going to chow down and thought a picture was in order first! See, I'm getting better! :p
And tonight was my first time meeting some blogging buddies! Thanks to Courtney from Run, Courtney, Run and Becca from One Step Forward for meeting and running with me. We ran at a nice walk/run interval pace for approximately 3.2 miles. Of course I made them pose for a photo op!


(In order of appearance left to right...Me, Courtney, Becca)

Courtney and Becca have started The Bad Girls Club. I'm now an official member! Which then makes me a bad girl! Yay! It's my first time being a bad girl! lol. So if anyone who lives and/or would like to run in the Southwest Suburbs of Chicago, please visit the site.

Another first time? My first blogger award! Now, I wasn't officially notified that I got this award but I saw it on Courtney's Blog. I hope that counts! I'm counting it because it's my first time!!

Courtney awarded me the "Cherry on Top Award"! Thanks Courtney!

The Rules:

1. Answer this question: If you had the chance to go back and change one thing in your life, would you and what would it be?

2. The second thing you have to do is, pick 6 people and give them this award. You then have to inform the person that they have gotten this award.

3. The third and final thing is, thank the person who gave you the award.

My Answers:

1. The only thing I can think of that I might change is to have less fear of doing things. I think I hold myself back from doing things out of fear of looking stupid or failing. Also, that I would have stuck with weight watchers the first time I did it back in 2000! :)

2. I love all my blog buddies but I can only choose 6! Drum roll please....

Reen from Losing it for Life!My Journey/My Life
Kathleen from A Journey to Becoming Healthier Inside and Out
Kelly from Happy Texans
Marisa from Loser for Life
Tami from Nutmeg Notebook
Biz from Biggest Diabetic Loser

3. Again, thanks Courtney for giving me my first blog award!

My eating yesterday was right on par. My daily points were 25 and I ate 25 points! That's got to be a first too! I did the run with "my club" for the 3.2 miles and did the stationary bike (while watching Big Brother...yes, I watch that really stupid horrible reality show) for 30 mins. Estimated AP's earned: 4. Pretty good day if you ask me!

What's your favorite meal to make?

Hair, Eggplant and Poppers...Oh My!

First things first. I got my hair cut. It's pretty much the same style as a few months ago. Short, about chin length. I got it more angled to the front. It's a little hard to get used to the angle but I still like my hair shorter rather than longer. See my post from June when I chopped my long hair to a short bob! Hm...I'm wearing the same shirt in those pictures and in these! Really, I have other clothes!

I did take a few pictures but it was later in the evening and I was cooking and doing things all night so it's a little on the messy side. Also, the pictures were taken with my phone and might be a tad blurry. My apologies!


Moving on. Have you ever had roasted eggplant? If so, how do you roast it and what do you do with it? This is only the second time I've tried this. I just slice the eggplant into round pieces, spray them with cooking spray, season with salt and pepper and voila!

Oops, didn't take a picture! Then I like to eat it on arnold sandwich thins spread with laughing cow cheese! So good. If I had one, I would also roast red bell peppers and cut that up to eat on the sandwich. Hm...this is lacking without the picture! Maybe next time. I have leftovers.

Another thing I decided to try was to make jalapeno poppers! My mom and I both have pepper plants. Since my garden is pathetic, I only get one here and there. My mom's garden is overflowing! She does have a few jalapeno pepper plants but then we both have melrose pepper plants. I didn't think the melrose peppers were supposed to be spicy but they are, so we are having trouble using them.

I decided to make poppers with them. Here's how I did it, but if you google "Healthy Jalapeno Poppers" you will get all kinds of baked ones. I also used fat free cheeses but by all mean use real cheese or lite cheese. Whatever floats your boat.

My improvised Jalapeno/Melrose Popper's

1. Cut peppers lengthwise and remove ribs and seeds.
2. Take 4 oz. FF cream cheese, 3 TBPS FF shredded Cheddar Cheese, little bit of chives, garlic and onion powders and mix all ingredients together.
3. Fill each pepper half with 1 tsp of the mixture and set aside.
4. Put 2 egg whites in a bowl and fluff with fork.
5. Put bread crumbs (I used Panko) in another bowl.
6. Take 1 pepper with filling and roll in egg whites, then roll in bread crumbs
7. Set peppers on cookie sheet lined with foil and sprayed with cooking spray
8. Bake peppers on 350 degrees for 20-30 mins until bread crumbs are slightly browned and crispy.

My poppers due to the fat free ingredients were only around 20 calories each! Not bad. If I were making them for other people, I may use lite ingredients but for me, this was fantastic.

I also didn't think the panko crumbs were going to work right. I have never used them before. But these poppers came out nice and crispy! Loved the panko crumbs!

Again, no photo! I was too excited to eat a few of these. There are some leftovers but not sure how they will hold up to be eaten a day later! I let you know and if a photo op presents itself, then so be it!

Now on to my Tuesday Eats! (I know, I apologize, compared to some of you all, my food seems kind of boring!)

Breakfast
Banana = 2 pts
3 oreos = 3 pts (left from the other day but I didn't emotionally eat them, I ate them because they are delicious!)
Yogurt w/ a few strawberries = 2 pts

Lunch
Subway Turkey/Ham on Wheat, veggies, oil/vinegar = 6 pts
Baked Doritos = 3 pts

Snack
Nature Valley Chewy Fruit and Nut Granola Bar = 3 pts

Dinner
My eggplant Sandwich (Eggplant, Laughing Cow Cheese & Arnold Thin) = 2 pts
2 slices 2% cheese (I had a weird snacking moment) = 2 pts
Slaw = 1 pt
tomato/cucumber salad = 1 pt

Snacks
Misc BLT's (bites/licks/tastes) while making poppers = 1 pt
3 poppers (then 3 more poppers!) = 2 pts
Watermelon = 1 pt

Activity
2 total miles (walking to and from train in the morning) = 1 pt earned

Total Stats:
My daily points= 25
Points Used = 29
Points earned = 1

I think I did pretty ok. Still a little more snacking than I would like but I actually thought before I ate! That's an accomplishment all in itself!