I'm STILL here!!!

I know, I know!! I've TOTALLY slacked on the postin' lately, but I'm still here! I'm motivated as ever and can't wait to weigh in for HFH this Friday. I'm really hoping to put up good numbers. I can't believe I missed the last weigh in. What's even more horrible? I haven't posted here forever!! I need to get into the habit of writing here daily!! Even if it's ramblings full of scatter brained thoughts, at least I'm posting! Maybe I should start a food journal. Ya ,that'd be good. Can you all tell I'm tired!?!

Anyways, I'm super excited and motivated as I think I'm gonna hit my mini goal by my birthday! I'm focused and determined and GONNA DO IT!

BUT, my main reason for busting this post out is to say this: I AM SO SORRY I HAVEN'T BEEN BY SOME OF YOUR BLOGS!! I HONESTLY love LOVE all your sweet comments and you truly help to motivate me. I know I LOVE getting comments and I need to return the love! I'm gonna try really hard to get around to all the people's blog's who have commented as well as my blog roll! IF FOR SOME REASON I'VE MISSED YOU, DO NOT be afraid to point this fact out to me. Don't be afraid to say: "Um, hello rude head, why don't you come share some love on my blog and give me some motivation?"  I'm ALL ears and I PROMISE to do better at updating on this blog and responding to all your WONDERFUL comments!

Anyways, enough with that. Right now, I'm down for this week and I'm feeling great. I really hope to have a super fantastic weight number on my drivers license when I get it renewed. Ya ya, I know you can lie and most people do, but I want to be truthful and I want to be HAPPY with the true weight I put down!

Alright, I'm done rambling for now! Be back soon to post some more!

I got a Wii Fit!

Can I tell you all how excited I was to get the Wii Fit? I've wanted it for sometime now. The funny thing is I've never seen one in action or even used one, but just the concept of it totally intrigued me! A new and fun way to exercise? I'm all in!

Anyways, my sweet husband found me one this weekend and I was finally able to play it tonight! OH my gosh, I LOVE IT! LOVE LOVE LOVE IT! I exercised for 2 hours without even realizing that much time had gone by. I really love the step aerobics and the strength training is awesome too! The balance games are not yet my friend as I'm a total klutz, but I really LOVE this Wii Fit! Have I mentioned I love it? 

I'm so excited to get this new exercise motivation! It's at such an opportune time where I feel like I've hit a plateau and keep staying at the same weight plus or minus a pound or two here or there. Therefore, I'm ecstatic to have something to bring back my motivation to push myself that much more! Plus, The Biggest Loser is on again on Tuesday, YAY! I'm gonna totally do the Wii Fit the whole time I'm watching the show! Yes, you can totally do that!!! How cool is that? OH AND I SUPER LOVED Christie's post about adding weights and alternating the weights with aerobics. I'm totally gonna do this too! I'm planning on purchasing some weights this week! YAY! 

Alright, you all know now that I LOVE the Wii fit! I'm super pumped to see great numbers on the scale this coming Friday!! YAY! 

Say out loud to myself again:

I WILL BE HOT FOR THE HOLIDAYS!! 

HOT for the Holidays!

So, I was over reading at Bye Bye Fat Mom and found this AWESOME idea! I'm totally gonna do this! Not that I will necessarily be "hot", but I'll be on my way if I do this! It's seriously a great idea! See that Hot for the Holiday's thing over on my sidebar? Ya, click there and it'll tell you all about it! Or ya can just click HERE!

It started yesterday, but you can start anytime and it's totally easy. You just have "weigh in" on her blog every Friday and you're eligible for a prize! Prize or no prize, I'm SO IN! I love finding new things that give me more motivation to get my rear into gear! 

YAY!

I'm Back and full of Motivation!

Well, we had a wonderful vacation in Yellowstone. Now that we are home, I'm even more eager to lose more weight!! I feel really good right now, but know that my weight can get lower on the scale. I'm about 2 pounds from my WW goal, which makes me ecstatic! So, that is my focus right now. Once there, I have a goal to get 10 pounds below that. I originally set my WW goal at the higher end of the spectrum. I know I feel good at goal, but know I feel even better 10 pounds below that. It's funny because I don't feel as "skinny" as I did when I have been at goal before. I know it has a lot to do with having 2 kids. There are just some things that don't go back to where they were. I just have to come to terms with that. It's just hard to still see a roll when I sit or whatever. I want it GONE! I think another 10 pounds will help ease that frustration a bit. 

It has been nice to start doing some shopping. I have bought 2 new pairs of jeans. It's been a long time since I've done that. Not because I haven't had the money or have been told I can't, I just didn't want to. I felt gross and fat and had NO desire to shop. I love that the desire to shop and look good is slowly coming back. The best thing is to grab jeans off the shelf and think they're gonna be too small and tight and to realize that you can put them on and pull them off again without unzipping or unbuttoning! That is an AWESOME feeling. I can say I had a HUGE smile on my face when I had to go not only 1 size smaller, but 2 sizers smaller than I thought I was when I walked into the store! YAY!

Another great bonus of my weight loss journey is that my husband has decided to start his own weight loss journey. This makes me SO HAPPY! I love my hubby dearly and love him no matter what he looks like, but also want him to be healthy and around for a long LONG time. It makes me so happy that he's deciding to try to lose weight and is starting with little goals and going from there. He's already lost 8 pounds in a week! I'm thrilled that he's having this new outlook on life and health! 

Well, that's about all I have to report right now. I'm sorry I haven't been around for awhile, but plan to be back full force and checking out all of your blogs. I hope to find even more weight loss buddies and get even more motivation!

Have a great week!

I'll BE BACK!!!!!

I'm headed off to vacation! Life has been crazy and hectic, but it doesn't mean I'm not eating well and losing weight. I'm excited to come back from some time away and get back to posting again on this blog! I've missed all the motivation and inspiration I get from my weight loss blogging buddies! Sorry, I haven't been around, but I WILL BE BACK!!! 

Here's to a fantastic weight week for us all!!!!

YAY, an AWARD!

Well, I woke up this morning to find that I was the recipient of a fine award! Boy, did this ever MAKE.MY.DAY!! I've been lacking when it comes to writing posts on this blog, probably because I have been lacking when it comes to doing well with my weight loss goals. It's not like I'm gaining left and right, but I'm not losing like I want to either. I'm been stuck around this same weight for some time now and need to get my rear into gear! I hate that I'm not seeing the scale go down as quickly as I like. However, I need to remind myself that when you get closer to your goal, getting the weight to come off becomes even more difficult. Those last few pounds prove to be really stubborn!!!

Nuff said about that. I'm happy to get this great award from Lorie!!! Her blog is inspirational to so many of us and I can't go a day without reading it. It's my "pick me up" when I need the extra push to keep going!! 

I really need that push right now because I want to make my goal I set for myself. I wanted to get to my original WW goal before my MIL got home and she gets home on the 24th of July!! AHHHH! I don't have much left to lose to get there, but what I do have to lose is proving to be rather difficult to get off! I'm TRULY gonna focus and write EVERYTHING down that I eat and try really hard to get to that goal. Although I know it is obtainable, I'm also not gonna beat myself up if I don't quit make it. I'm not saying I'm already giving up, I'm just being realistic and gonna be happy with the LOSS I see by the time she gets home. I WILL weigh less in a few weeks than I do now and that will be great motivation for me to KEEP ON GOING! I have additional weight loss goals beyond this goal on the 24th of July, so I have reason to keep my spirits high and remember to FOCUS ON WHAT I HAVE ACCOMPLISHED, NOT what I have not yet accomplished. It's best not to wallow in our downfalls. We must pick ourselves up and try try again! We'll be SO MUCH HAPPIER with ourselves if we focus on the positive and look to the future rather than justifying our downfalls and getting trapped in the vicious cycle of over-eating and sedentary lifestyles! 

Alright, there's my soapbox for now. I'm too lazy to re-read it and ensure it makes any sense. Hopefully it does. I'm so happy to have met the bloggers I have that continue to motivate me and pick me up when I am down. That is truly the reason for my success!! To all of you bloggers that have not yet received the award I have made and are here reading, be sure to snag up my custom made award for all my MOTIVATORS! It's over there on my sidebar!

It's all of you who truly keep me on the path towards weight loss!!

Fitness on Fridays!!

Well, I don't have anything really motivational to write this week. I haven't done exceptionally bad, but I haven't done anything fantastic either! It's all good. There's no gain, no loss, just stayed the same! Can't really complain about that I guess.

We have family in town and not sure how long they are staying. It's making it difficult to stay focused as we are going going going, but I'm trying my best! I'm hoping that I have a loss next week despite all the chaos around me ;) 

I also haven't been around to all the great blogs that motivate me as much as usual. That is key to my motivation. It really is. I just really haven't had the time, but I don't wanna make excuses. I just need to make the time. It's all about priorities and weight loss is definitely one of them!! We also need to make the time to ride our bikes again even with family in town. We were really disappointed a few days back to come out to the garage and see that my hubby's tires on his brand new bike were both flat. SERIOUSLY, what is up with that? It's not like we were cheap on what we spent on these lovely exercise apparatuses. Oh well. My hubby bought a pump and some new tubes for his tires and hopefully he gets out and fixes them really quick and we can get back to our fun bike riding exercise excursions! 

Well, I'm rambling on and on! Just not sure what to say, but wanting to be sure to post because when I don't, I don't have as much accountability with my goals with losing weight :) 

I hope everyone did fantastic this past week!! Let's keep our focus and be sure to motivate each other along the way! :)

My first WEIGHT LOSS AWARD!

So, Natalie over at Normal to Natalie gave me this award a few days ago. It TOTALLY made my day! I just wanna post it with pride. THANK YOU SO MUCH Natalie!! I've so needed the "pick me up" this week and I truly appreciate your kindness, comments and motivation! YOU ROCK! Thank you Thank you Thank you!!

Fitness on Fridays!!

Click the badge above for more Fitness on Friday participants

or to participate yourself :)

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!!

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!!

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 :)

Fitness on Fridays!

Okay, so it's been over a week since I returned home from vacation. Since being home, I'm even more determined to LOSE weight. My first goal is to get back down to my Weight Watchers goal weight. I know I feel so much better about myself when I'm at that weight, so I'm looking forward to getting there! I know I can do it as I've done it before twice. I'm a life time member of Weight Watchers and TRULY love everything about the program. It's exactly what they say. . . It's  "not a diet, It's a way of life!! I was able to lose a lot of weight originally on this program and then after having my first baby, I was able to get back to my goal weight. I'm currently trying to get back to this goal weight after having my second baby. I slacked off for a bit, but there are NO EXCUSES now! I just keep picturing myself at that weight and CAN'T WAIT to be there again! I am more determined than ever to lose lose lose!

Once at my goal, I'm hoping to lose a bit more and even feel better! At Weight Watchers, there is a range that you can be in that is considered healthy for your height. My goal is not at the tip top of the range, but is also not at the very bottom. However, it is closer to the top of the range than bottom though, thus, I can lose more after getting to goal and still be A-okay! But, FOR NOW, my focus is to get to my original goal weight.

What have I done this week to accomplish this? Well. . . I've stayed within my points EVERYDAY! I've also tried to drink more, but could still figure in more water. I exercised, but not as much as I had planned, so that is my goal for this coming week. I plan to exercise at least 5 days this week and drink more water/Diet V-8 Splash ;) ;)  I did however, lose all the weight I unfortunately gained on vacation (which won't happen again btw!!) and am thrilled about that :) Everytime I stand on the scale (which is WAY to often), I'm excited to see the number go down even if it's only a half a pound or whatever. It's still a loss and not a gain! 

This past week, I've also been enjoying visiting tons of new blogs and websites and reading about other people's journeys with weight loss. I find this really helps to motivate me! By surrounding myself with people on the same journey I am, I find I am more motivated than ever!!! I've linked to a few of the sites I've found and need to link to more and will hopefully get that done this week. (I do have a lot of them bookmarked :) I've found LOTS of delicious recipes and am really enjoying making new things that taste great, yet are low in points. I'll try and get some of the recipes posted later on this week as well. Right now, I need to go to sleep as it's almost 2 am and SLEEP is, believe it or not, a important component in losing weight as well. 

Last, but certainly NOT least, I leave you all with a quote from a great friend of mine named Leeann who posted this on her blog recently (take a moment to go read her entire post, it's VERY inspiring!)

Nothing in this world, tastes as good as confidence and respect for yourself!!!

Good luck to you all this week and I'm looking forward to reading other Fitness on Friday entries for motivation :)

I'M GONNA LOSE WEIGHT!

So, I've decided to start this blog as a way for me to motivate myself even more to lose weight. I feel more accountable by posting my progress and my accomplishments as well as set backs. It's my hope that by keeping up with my posts here, I can get back to my goal weight with WW quickly and then lose more beyond that! 

I've been REALLY motivated this past week after getting back from vacation to have NO EXCUSES and eat right, drink my water and exercise! It's helped me a lot to visit other blogs who talk about losing weight and the journey they are on. I've found great motivation there!! I've got tons of new recipes and have made some good bloggy friends who help me to keep on going with my determination to lose weight.

I am a participant in Fitness on Friday, which you can find on Bye Bye Fat Mom! It's a great place to check in with others who are trying to lose weight and be more active. If you haven't stopped by, be sure to check it out. 

For now, I thought I'd share some recipes I found on Honey I Shrank Myself. I LOVE this blog and all the encouragement it gives me. Plus, she's always posting terrific recipes that are not only WW compliant, but TOTALLY delicious!! 

I made these yesterday:

Slow Cooker Lasagna:

1 pound lean ground beef
1 small onion, chopped
1 medium garlic clove, minced
28 oz. canned crushed tomatoes
15 oz. canned tomato sauce
1 tsp salt
1 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp. basil
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1 cup part skim ricotta cheese
1 1/2 cup part skim mozzarella cheese, shredded, divided
6 no cook lasagna noodles
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Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Add beef, onion, and garlic, and cook, stirring frequently and breaking up meat with a wooden spoon as it cooks. Stir in crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, salt, oregano, basil, and crushed red pepper; simmer 5 minutes to allow flavors to blend.Meanwhile in a medium bowl, stir together ricotta cheese and 1 cup mozzarella cheese.Spoon 1/3 of beef mixture into 5 quart slow cooker. Break 3 lasagna sheets in half and arrange over beef mixture; top with half of the ricotta mixture. Repeat with another layer and finish with remaining 1/3 of beef mixture.Cover slow cooker and cook on low setting at least 6 hours.Sprinkle remaining 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese over top of mixture. Cover and continue cooking until cheese melts and lasagna firms up, about 10 minutes.
Makes 6 generous servings.
8 WW Points Make sure you check the points based on the ingredients you use.

OKAY AND WHEN THIS SAYS GENEROUS SERVINGS, IT'S LITERALLY TRUE!! YAY!!!

I also made:

Chips Ahoy Dessert

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1/2 cup fat free milk
18 reduced fat Chips Ahoy Cookies
2 cups fat free milk
1 8 oz. fat free Cool Whip
1 small box chocolate fat free, sugar free pudding mix
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Pour 1/2 cup of the milk in a shallow bowl. Dip cookies in the milk very briefly and line 8 X 8 dish with them. Take 1/2 the Cool Whip and spread over cookies. Mix the chocolate pudding with 2 cups milk. Layer over top of Cool Whip. Dip next 9 cookies in the milk and lay on top of pudding. Top with remaining Cool Whip. Refrigerate at least 2 hours before serving.
Makes 9 servings, 2 WW points.

ALL of these were delicious and SO FILLING!! Loved them!

Oh and today my hubby and I took our kids swimming, so while it may have NOT been a total work out, at least we weren't home sitting around :)

Okay, there's my first post! I'll get more added on here soon! I'm excited at least have this blog up and running! YIPPEE!