Fitness on Fridays!!

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Well, another week has come and gone and I'm feeling big and large. Not that I've gained a ton, but I did gain. I was doing SO GOOD this week and then the past few days have felt sick and out of my element. Not to mention, I've started the whole process of trying to potty train my almost 3 year old. I guess all the stress of everything and me showing my daughter that the treats are good after using the potty and keeping her pants dry did a toll on me. But, I don't wanna be full of excuses! I'm NOT gonna sit here and say to myself, "oh I messed up, might as well eat some greasy or fattening food!" Nope, I'm focused and ready to get back on track to losing weight! I don't like how I feel when I gain. I don't like how I feel in my clothes. I DO LIKE seeing the scale go down in numbers. I DO LIKE how my clothes fit better as I lose the weight and I DO LIKE how I have more energy and desire to get out and enjoy the world around me when I'm eating right and exercising!

That being said, I'm here and focused on the upcoming week! I WILL meet my goal by the time my MIL gets home from her mission, which is at the end of July. I have less than 10 lbs to go, so it's attainable. I just got to keep my mind in focus and keep up the motivation. I get my motivation from all of the great weight loss blogs/websites I find out there. Thank you to all of you who post such great things to help motivate others! It would be a much harder road to weight loss without you.

On a brighter note, my hubby and I did purchase some bikes last week. We also bought a trailer to tow the kids around behind us. My hubby thought this would be a great way to exercise together and not have to get a babysitter every time we want to get some exercise in! To me, it was a FABULOUS idea! We went for our first bike ride on Wednesday night (the kids have been sick before that) and it was WONDERFUL! We took the ride after he got off work. We hadn't eaten dinner yet, so we biked down to the local Subway and got us some low point yummy sandwiches. Then we biked to the park that was furthest from our house and enjoyed a little picnic with the kids. We let the kids play at the playground for a few minutes and then headed back out on our bikes. We rode a long time and I loved EVERY MINUTE of it. The best part is my hind end doesn't hurt from the ride! YAY, hopefully I got the right seat then :) I look forward to more rides with the family in the near future. We plan to go out again on Saturday as my hubby has to work late tonight. It's our goal to go at least 3 times a week. I think it will quickly become more than that as the ENTIRE family LOVED being outside and biking. 

Well, I hope everyone had a great week! Keep up all the great work and let's all focus on trying to eat right, exercise and enjoy life!!

For more Fitness on Friday participants, visit Bye Bye Fat Mom!!

Memorial Day Yumminess!

We were invited to my brother's house for Memorial Day for a BBQ. They had Steak, Chicken (for me. . .thanks bro), and Garlic Burgers. There was also potato salad, corn on the cob, chips and dip, cupcakes, etc etc.  I knew there was gonna be LOTS of temptation, so I brought along a few things I knew I could eat and not KILL my points value. I brought along a fruit tray and some HOLY COW cake (I found the recipe over at Honey I Shrank Myself). 

Anyways, I was proud of myself as I had a couple pieces of grilled chicken tenderloin, some corn on the cob and fruit for dinner. I did try a bite of the garlic burger and it was DELICIOUS, but I kept it at a bite! Then, for dessert, I brought out the HOLY COW cake and HOLY COW, it was AWESOME!! We make this cake (the full fat version and called the better than sex cake in our family) all the time for birthday parties and family functions and it's always a hit. So, I thought why not try this lower point version and see what the family thought. WELL, it was a hit! They all couldn't believe it was a reduced sugar and fat version and that I had made the cake with Diet Coke. Everyone raved about how good it was! So, yay!! I can now make this version of the cake and know that nobody will be disappointed!

Here's the recipe. THANKS AGAIN LORIE!! I love that you post so many fun recipes!

Holy Cow Cake
~
1 box Devil's Food Cake mix
10-oz Diet Coke or Diet Pepsi
1 egg white
6-oz fat-free caramel ice cream topping
7-oz fat-free sweetened condensed milk
1 cup Skor Bar or Heath Bar bits
1 (8-oz) container fat-free cool whip
~
Mix cake mix, egg white and diet soda. Bake at 375 degrees for 35 minutes or until toothpick comes out smooth in a greased 9x13 pan. During the last few minutes of baking, put caramel and condensed milk in a sauce pan and stir on medium low heat until smooth. Take cake out of oven, and poke holes all over the top. Pour caramel mixture over warm cake, filling in the holes. Sprinkle Heath bits over the top, reserving some for the top. Cool completely. Cover with container of fat-free cool whip and sprinkle with remaining heath bits. Put in fridge until ready to serve.
Yields: 24 servings(they are small servings)
Nutritional Info: (per serving) 193 Calories, 5.25 g. fat, 1 g. fiber (4 pts per serving) (If you want to make the cake 3.5 pts per serving, only use 1/2 of the Skor bits)

Oh, I almost forgot. . . I also made this Strawberry Crustless Pie(once again from Lorie's blog). It was SO EASY to make and it was delicious! A perfect warm weather treat. It's refreshing and ONLY 1 pt per serving. I mean seriously folks, you could eat the whole pie and only be set back 8 points! That's awesome! The servings are generous too! YUM!

Crustless Strawberry Pie

4 cups sliced strawberries
1 small box sugar free cook & serve vanilla pudding
1 small box sugar free strawberry jello
2 cups water
1 small container cool whip free
Layer sliced berries in bottom and up sides of 9 inch pie plate or round pan. Mix pudding mix and water and bring to a full boil. Remove from heat and add dry jello mix. Let cool down some about 5 minutes. Pour over berries in pan. Put in refrigerator for at least 4 hours or overnight to chill. Serve with fat free cool whip free add points if needed.
Special Notes
* Make sure pudding mixture is thickened enough or berries will rise to the top. The strawberries are the "crust" This is a very yummy pie!
*I served this with 1 tbsp of FF cool whip and did not even have to add points for that! This makes 8 servings at 1 point each and worth every bit of that point.
*I am going to try this with other fruits and jello flavors. To make a dreamsicle pie add Mandarin oranges instead of strawberries and orange SF/FF Jello. To make a peach pie add peaches instead of strawberries and peach SF/FF Jello. I have not figured out the points on either of these yet.
*You can also put this in a pie shell if you want, but I am telling you my family loved it without the shell.
*If you are doing the CORE program, you could add FF milk instead of water to the pudding. you can add this on FLEX too, but you have to add the points and that's a lot of points! It was really good with just the water though and I did not have to add those points!

Anyways, I hope everybody had a fun and safe holiday weekend. Hopefully, we all stayed on track with our points, but if not, don't focus on what mistakes you may have made. . . look to the future and get back on track. We can do it!!

Mid-week Post

This week is going well so far. . . I still need to get my "official" exercising in and will get the 1st one in tonight. In order to meet my goal of at least 3 times, I gotta exercise tonight, tomorrow and Friday. I CAN DO IT!

Last night we made a recipe that I found over at Honey I Shrank Myself and it was delicious!!! The portions are hearty and it tastes really really good. I didn't think it'd have too much taste or flavor as you just use regular tomato sauce to make it, but it was amazingly flavorful! I thought for sure I'd have to make it again with some 'adding spices' adjustments, but it was great as is! YUMMY! It was very easy and the entire family ate it and enjoyed it, including my 2 and 1/2 yr old. My 9 month old wanted some too, but it was his bed time by the time we ate. He'll get some left overs today :)

Here's the recipe. . . THANKS Lorie!

Baked Ziti with Beef (6.5 points)(From Cooking Light) (and Nancy)
~
4 cups Tomato Sauce
1 pound ground round
4 cups cooked ziti or rigatoni (about 2 1/2 cups uncooked pasta)
1 1/2 cups (6 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese, divided
Cooking spray
1/4 cup (1 ounce) grated fresh Parmesan cheese
Preheat oven to 350°.Cook beef in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until browned; stir to crumble. Drain well. Combine beef, rigatoni, Tomato Sauce, and 1 cup mozzarella in an 11 x 7-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Top with 1/2 cup mozzarella and Parmesan. Bake at 350° for 20 minutes or until thoroughly heated.
Serving Size = 1 cup

UPDATE: My baby LOVED this dish today when I served it as leftovers for lunch!!

Tonight, I am planning on making twice baked potatoes, red lobster biscuits and some glazed ham. I'll post the recipes once I've tasted them and can do a little review on them. I'm excited to try it all though as it looks and sounds delicious!

Oh and I can't believe that Memorial Day weekend is coming right up! I'm gonna have to stay focused and bring my own food as we have been invited to a BBQ Saturday, Sunday and Monday! Wow, we never go that many places in a row! It's nuts, but I'm excited to hang out with family and friends. I really like BBQ's even though there's usually always tons of unhealthy things, it's easier to bring your own food and just have them throw it on the grill. Chicken is always a great option as well as Boca Burgers. You can marinate the chicken before you go and it will be even that more delicious. Then, you can bring a dessert or side that is WW compliant and you're good to go. BBQ's are mostly buffet style anyways and you're usually asked to bring your own meat and at least one side, so that makes it easy. You just gotta stay motivated, bring the necessary items to keep you in your points and have a WONDERFUL meal! 

Well, I'm off to run errands with 2 babies in tow. That burns a few calories right? C'mon, I gotta keep my motivation somehow right? LOL! ;)

I hope everyone's week is going well and you always remember that NOTHING tastes as good as losing weight!!!

Fitness on Fridays!!

Alright Alright, it's Friday again and I didn't post once this week on this blog. SHEESH! I'm awful! It's been a busy week with Mother's Day weekend and our Anniversary, so I sort of have an excuse I guess. But, I truly need to post more often and also need to plan my week ahead dinner wise, so I have everything I need for meals (plus it saves money).

Anyways, this week didn't start out well. We went to my grandma's house and all they had was horribly fattening food this past Sunday. Luckily, I hadn't eaten more than about 6 points all day, so I had some to spare. I had a small portion of Lasagna (which I know is a killer!). Then, I brought the Chips Ahoy dessert, which I've mentioned before in other posts,(THANKS LORIE for the recipe!) to grandma's so I'd know I'd have something I knew I could eat. (It's only 2 pts a serving). My hubby had a terrific idea to add just a little bit of sugar free carmel on the cookies as you layer it and it was delicious! It didn't even add points. I think the dessert went down in pts per serving as I didn't do the double layer of whip cream (only used half of what the recipe calls for). Long story short. . . or NOT, it was delicious. The BEST part was EVERYONE at the house LOVED it and it was gone within 5 minutes! I told them all AFTER they ate it how low calorie it was and they were shocked! Score one for Low Point Desserts, YIPPEE!!

Monday was our Anniversary and we decided to eat at PF Changs. I know I know, I shouldn't be admitting this to you all as this is a motivation blog, but I thought I'd be straight up honest. Let me digress here and let you all know that I rarely if ever even touch my "flex" points with WW. Although I do know I used those all up, plus some this week, it was fun to go out with my hubby. Previously when I've done WW (I'm a lifetime member now just trying to lose the baby weight and get back to goal), I usually would have 1 time during the week where I could eat something high in points (usually after my weigh in). I didn't do it every week, but I did find that it helped keep me going and motivated. I knew that if I was GOOD ALL WEEK LONG, I could splurge just a little bit. In essence, I guess I was just really using my flex points. Okay, I'm probably not making sense, but that's my tangent for the day. 

Anyways, we went to PF Changs and it was delicious! I enjoyed every bite. I can't say the same for that evening. It's been a pretty long time since I've eaten like that and my stomach was sure not used to it. I guess I can see that as a good thing as it made me not wanna eat the leftovers (I threw them out, YAY) and detracted me from wanting to eat like that again for awhile :)

After our Anniversary, I was set into full gear to do well this week, ESPECIALLY after looking at the damage I'd done weight wise on the scale. It's amazing how quickly you can gain and how much work it takes to lose.  So, I buckled down and stayed in my points the entire week, but was really worried I was gonna gain as I truly gained A LOT from that darn delicious restaurant. BUT, to my utter amazement, I have lost almost 2 pounds this week! Can you believe it? I sure can't! My goal of getting to my "goal weight" before my MIL gets home from her mission is looking more and more attainable each and everyday! I'm just so excited and super motivated.

Now, to slap myself on the wrist with a ruler! I still didn't do any official exercise. This being getting on a treadmill or something of the sort. I went on walks and chased kids, etc, but didn't meet my goal of exercising at least 3 times. SO, I'm making the goal again this week and AM DETERMINED to come back here and let you all (is anyone really out here listening to my long winded posts anyways, LOL) know that I DID IT!! Hold me accountable, would ya? ;)

Alright, I've said enough to put you all asleep. I hope everyone had a terrific week and I'm going to make an honest effort to get posting more often on this blog. I need to plan the week recipe wise and do some recipe reviews, etc. 

As one of my new blogging friends would say, 

''SENDING SKINNY THOUGHTS YOUR WAY!"

Fitness On Fridays!!

Wow, I can't believe it's already been a week since the last Fitness on Friday and I haven't posted anything in between. I need to be better at posting. I have all these things I intend on posting, but then somehow life gets me busy and I don't find the time to do it. That should be a goal for is to post more on this blog during the week. . . we'll see if it happens eh?

Anyways, this past week was a pretty good one for me. I ate within my points, despite going out to eat a few times. So, I was proud of that. I lost about 1 pound, give or take a few ounces. My scale can't make up it's mind ;) Not a huge loss, but any loss is GREAT by me. I'd even take no loss at all over a gain :) Wouldn't we all?

Well, when it came to drinking enough, I did great as long as V-8 Diet Splash counts. I was not so good at drinking water, but I'm gonna try to do better on that. As for exercise, I WAS LAME!!! I need to get off this big hind end of mine. No excuses! Sheesh, I'm pathetic. . . TRULY! I just don't know what my problem is. . . WAIT, I'm freaking lazy! Alright, so I am going to exercise at least 3 times this week. And when I say exercise, I mean truly work up a sweat, burn some calories, you know, EXERCISE!

I did try some new recipes this week. I found the link for these on Honey I Shrank Myself. There are TONS of recipes at this link called Aimee's Adventures. This lady is AMAZING! She has 3 different cook books here that you can look at that have ALL the points and servings for you and are ALL WW compliant! How cool is this? To top it all off, she even has pictures, YUM! A couple of the ones I tried are below.

First off, we tried this one:

CROCKPOT CHEESEBURGERS

1 1/2 Pounds Lean (96/4) Ground Beef
1/4 teaspoon Garlic Salt
1/2 teaspoon Black Pepper
2 Tablespoons Skim Milk
1 Cup Chopped Onion
2 Cloves Garlic
1 Tablespoon Prepared Mustard
1 Tablespoon Pickle Relish
8 oz. Velveeta Light Cheese

Brown the ground beef in a large skillet until no longer pink. Spray crockpot with non-stick cooking spray. Place the cooked ground beef into the prepared crockpot followed by the garlic salt, pepper, milk, onion, garlic, mustard, relish and cheese. Stir to combine. Cover and cook on low for 2-3 hours. Stir and serve on hamburger buns for additional points.

Serves: 10 (1/3 cup each)
Per Serving: 181 Calories; 7g Fat (36.2% calories from fat); 21g Protein; 7g Carbohydrate; trace Dietary Fiber; 53mg Cholesterol; 736mg Sodium. Exchanges: 0 Grain (Starch); 1 Lean Meat; 1/2 Vegetable; 0 Non-Fat Milk; 0 Fat; 1/2 Other Carbohydrates. WWP: 4(www.AimeesAdventures.com)

These were delicious!!! I used the Wonder Whole Grain White buns (3 points) There are obviously buns out there for less points, but these are really big, so one sandwich really fills you up. I also put some salsa on mine for an extra kick and 0 points. We will have this one again as it's very simple and easy and super good :)

I also made this one off of Aimee's website:

CHICKEN CORDON BLEU

4 (4 oz.) Skinless Boneless Chicken Breasts
12 Slices Deli Select Thin Sliced Ham
4 Slices 2% Cheese, mozzarella or pepperjack
1/4 Cup Seasoned Bread Crumbs
1/4 Cup Plain Nonfat Yogurt

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Coat a baking sheet with non-stick cooking spray. Place each chicken breast between 2 pieces of plastic wrap and pound out until thin. Try not to pound it so thin that you create holes in the chicken. Place 3 slices of ham and 1 slice of cheese at the top of each breast, and roll starting with the end that has the cheese and ham, bringing the sides in as you roll. Brush each breast with a thin layer of yogurt, and then dip into bread crumbs. Place on baking sheet and spray each breast with non-stick cooking spray. Bake for approx. 30-40 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink. 
 

Serves: 4
Per Serving: 249 Calories; 6g Fat (24.1% calories from fat); 36g Protein; 9g Carbohydrate; trace Dietary Fiber; 92mg Cholesterol; 930mg Sodium. Exchanges: 1/2 Grain (Starch); 3 1/2 Lean Meat; 0 Non-Fat Milk; 0 Fat. WWP: 6 (www.AimeesAdventures.com)

These were really good as well!! Here's a picture of what I made. Obviously mine weren't as pretty, but they tasted really good!

I also made this recipe. I obviously had lots of chicken on hand :)

CREAMY CHICKEN ITALIANO

6 (4 oz. Each) Boneless Skinless Chicken-Breast Halves

1 (.7 oz.) Packet Dry Italian Salad Dressing Mix

1/4 Cup Water

1 (8 oz.) Package Fat Free Cream Cheese, softened

1 (10 oz.) Can 98% Fat Free Cream of Chicken Soup

Place chicken in crockpot. Combine salad dressing mix and water. Pour over chicken. Cover and cook on low for 3 hours. Combine cheese, and soup until blended. Pour over chicken. Cover; Cook on low 1 hour, or until chicken juices run clear. Serve over noodles or rice. (Optional for additional points). 

Serves: 6
Per Serving: 204 Calories; 4g Fat (19.1% calories from fat); 32g Protein; 8g Carbohydrate; trace Dietary Fiber; 76mg Cholesterol; 895mg Sodium. Exchanges: 3 1/2 Lean Meat. 
WWP: 4  (www.AimeesAdventures.com)

With this recipe, I decided to break the chicken up once it was cooked and put it on noodles. I used the Ronzoni Smart Taste Penne Pasta and they are delicious. They are only 3 points per serving (you get a lot in a serving) and they are packed full of fiber. They look like regular noodles and taste like them too! If you haven't tried them, I suggest you do. You won't be disappointed! :)

Finally, this is the one I am trying tonight! It's already filling my house with the most delicious smell of seasoning and chicken. YUM!!! 

CHICKEN TACO FILLING

1 Packet Taco Seasoning
1 Cup Chicken Broth
1 Pound Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts

Spray crockpot with non-stick spray. Dissolve taco seasoning into chicken broth. Place chicken breasts in crockpot and pour chicken broth on top. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours. With 2 forks, shred the chicken into bite-sized pieces. Use in soft tacos, hard tacos, burritos, tostadas, taco salads, nachos, etc. To freeze, place shredded meat into freezer bags with juices. Press out all air and seal. I usually double this recipe so I have extra to freeze.

Serves: 4 (1/2 Cup Each)
Per Serving: 169 Calories; 3g Fat (18.6% calories from fat); 27g Protein; 5g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; 69mg Cholesterol; 833mg Sodium. Exchanges: 3 1/2 Lean Meat; 1/2 Other Carbohydrates. WWP: 3 (www.AimeesAdventures.com)

I plan on using the Mission Carb Balance Tortillas. These are delicious and once again packed full of fiber. The Fajita sized ones are only 80 calories and have 8 grams of fiber each (1 point). Then they now have Burrito sized and they are 200 calories each and have 8 grams of fiber (only 4 points) and these are HUGE!! They just came out with (or at least they are new to the stores around here) a soft taco size and this one is even white. It has 110 calories and 11 grams of Fiber (I say they are 2 pts, but they only have 2 grams of fat, so you could say they are 1 pt if calculate more fiber, it's just all in how you calculate your points).  SERIOUSLY, we've used these and you can't even tell a difference from the real deal, full of fat and calories ones. Once again, if you haven't tried them, I really think ya should :)

Alright, I'm babbling on like a moron. I made some other things this week as well, but won't post them all here as this is already getting long enough. I'm gonna try and post what I make throughout the week as the week goes along, so this post isn't so lengthy! 

THANKS AIMEE FOR A TERRIFIC WEBSITE!!! I LOVE IT!!! EVERYONE SHOULD DROP BY FOR A VISIT!! THERE IS JUST SO MUCH ON THERE YOU CAN MAKE AND IT'S HEALTHY AND DELICIOUS!!

GOOD LUCK EVERYONE TO A GREAT WEEK AHEAD!!!!!

Fitness On Fridays!

Well, this week was a good one for me in most aspects. I ate what I should be eating and stayed in my points despite being in situations where I didn't have control over what was fed to me. I was also proud that I did well when we ate out a few times as this is when I usually decide that I can deviate "just this once". I feel like I'm "in the mode" so to speak now and I'm just focused on my goal with my weight loss. This is a great feeling and I hope I can stay motivated!! I stay motivated by participating in this Fitness on Fridays and also by visiting other blogs throughout the week that help encourage me, keep my focus and share great recipes/tips/ideas etc. 

I am down 2 pounds this week and I am totally thrilled. I only have 10 pounds to go until I reach my original goal weight with WW. I plan to go even less than that, but for now my goal is to get to that goal weight by the time my MIL gets home from being overseas which is in July. I'm pretty sure POSITIVE I can do it!! I can do this by continuing to stay in my points, drink lots of water, stay in contact with people who motivate me and through exercise.

Speaking of exercise, that was my downfall this week. I've been horrible!! I need to get my rear into gear and get on that treadmill! I don't know why, but I keep finding excuses or I'm cleaning late at night when I usually work out. I realize cleaning burns some calories, but not like walking/running on the treadmill. 

Therefore, my goals this week are to continue to stay in my points, read up on motivating blogs and websites for weight loss (and hopefully find some new weight loss friends), find and try new recipes and finally. . . EXERCISE!!

I hope everyone had a successful week. . . and if you didn't have the best of weeks, try not to let this get you down!!  Instead, just focus on this week and how good you'll feel when you've lost the weight and are living healthier :)

Finally, I found this posted by Lorie on Honey I Shrank Myself and just LOVED it!! Take a moment to read this as it's straight to the point and VERY motivating! 

"If you don't quit, and don't cheat, and don't run home when trouble arrives, you can only win." -- Shelly Long

"Do you want to be successful at weight loss? Don't quit. Weight loss takes time and patience. I think I repeat those words every day. Are you listening? Or do you think I must be talking to someone else?

Do you want to be successful at weight loss in the fastest time possible? Don't cheat. The closer you stay to plan the better your chances of success. Are you following the WW plan or have you adjusted it so much that it now resembles a distant cousin?

Do you want to be successful at weight loss no matter the obstacles? Don't run home in despair and bury your feelings in a gallon of ice cream. You WILL have days of discouragement and disappointment. The way you handle those emotions will impact your continued success.

You CAN win. I believe it"

Thanks Lorie!! I totally agree!

With that said, GOOD LUCK to everyone on a successful week ahead :)