Weigh-In: Week 2

Current Weight: 235lbs

Weekly Loss:  -3lbs    Current Loss:  -6lbs

I feel good (da na na na na na na)..I knew that I would!

I feel so amazingly awesome this week!

My body has accepted physical activity and all the pain has stopped!  

My muscles are tight and sore, but I feel strong!

This week, I walked 9.33 miles.  I'm going to keep track from week to week.

I've been doing yoga and walking.  I do at least one of these every day, and many days I do both!  I was afraid of moving from regular yoga to vinyasa because of my back pain last week, but I went and it was awesome!  I'm also walking further and further each time I go out, adding in short bursts of jogging.  We're on the slow and steady path, so I don't want to push myself too far too fast and end up hurting something.

I know there isn't really a physical change in the pictures, but a lot of my bloated feeling has gone away.  My clothes feel good, not tight.  My stomach has gone down slightly, and I can really feel the change.

6lbs down, many to go, one day at a time!

Stuffed Plantains

Who said that eating healthy has to be tasteless and boring?  

This is probably one of my favorite recipes.  It's so flavorful and completely different!

If you haven't ever tried plantains, you should!  They are starchy, not mushy like bananas.

Serve with a side salad for a really hearty meal!  

You can also make a larger amount of the filling in advance and have it on hand 

for the week, so all you have to do is bake the plantain and stuff!

Ingredients:

2 ripe plantains, peeled and sliced almost through lengthwise

olive oil spray (I use my Misto)

1 tsp coconut oil

1/2 white onion, minced

1 cup canned black beans, drained and rinsed

Handful of cilantro, washed and chopped

1/4 cup tomato sauce (if you like spice like me, use the small cans of Goya hot tomato sauce)

1 tsp cumin

2 tbsp shredded Mexican blend cheese

salt to taste

Preheat oven to 400.  Coat baking sheet with olive oil, place in plantains, and coat with olive oil.  Bake for 40 minutes or until tender.

 

Meanwhile, heat the coconut oil in a pan over medium high heat.  Add the diced onion and sauté until translucent.  Add in cilantro and black beans, continue to cook for 3-5 minutes.  Reduce heat to low, add tomato sauce and cumin, and season to taste with salt.  Remove from heat.

When plantain are tender, carefully remove from oven and fill each with half of the bean mixture.  Top each plantain with 1 tbsp cheese, and return to oven for 5 minutes or until cheese has melted.

Weigh-In: Week 1

Current Weight:  238 lbs

Weekly Loss:  3 lbs     Total Loss: 3 lbs

Roxy really wanted to be in the pictures!

So, yeah, I was up to 241 lbs!  Again, I can't beat myself up about it.

I have to see it as a starting point!

Man, I haven't really looked at my side-profile in a long, long time.  

At least my stomach balances out my rear end!!!  : )

I'm happy being down 3 lbs this week!

My body is still adjusting to exercise, my back is not happy, but we're getting there!

Reality just slapped me in the face!!!

So, I know that I've gained a large amount of weight over the past few years.  I've accepted the fact that I'm back up to the point where I was the last time I began this journey (weigh-in coming on Monday!).  

What I didn't realize is just how out-of-shape I let myself become.  I'm not a sedentary person, but I haven't "exercised" in who knows how long.  The most exercise I've gotten as of late has been practicing the choreography with my 5th graders for their play, or doing folk dances in my classes.  

Last night, I went to a yoga class at Yogaholic in Center Moriches (I purchased a Groupon deal for 2 months of unlimited classes for $49.  The deal is still available if you're interested).  I LOVED the class, but I was horribly upset to find myself unable to do things I had easily done in the past.

I will make one excuse, and I had my husband check to make sure it was a valid one and not just one I'm making up to make myself feel better.  The yoga mat I bought is so slippery, I couldn't hold any poses without slipping.  It will be returned, and a stickier one will be purchased.

That being said, man, I suck!!!  I really can't believe how weak my muscles have become.  I did get upset about it for a good hour or so, but I've flipped it around.  Now, my mantra is "this is my starting point."  I can't change where I am right now, but I can change where I'm going to be!  The only place to go from here is up, and that's where I'm going!!!

I'm still frikkin cute, though :-)

Follow me on Facebook!

Follow me on Instagram!

I Love Myself!!!

I'm a firm believer in feeling good about yourself no matter your weight. 

One thing I rarely lacked was self-confidence.

When I'm not feeling good about myself, I really, REALLY come down hard...

I have always had a very hard time spending money on myself, and up until recently I didn't realize how my ill-fitting, dumpy clothes and generally not-cared-about looks were affecting how I felt not just about myself, but about everything! Those who know me know I'm not a "girly" girl at all, so I have to make an effort at some things, but they are worth it! The past week or 2, I went shopping for some new clothes, have been doing my nails, makeup (let's not get crazy, we're talking eye liner, that's about it!), made a hair appt, and try to feel good about myself each and every day.  I'm not doing these things to make myself look attractive to others, they really make my feel good about myself!   

Feeling good makes me feel like I can change whatever I want to! 

I'm moving up my official start day! It's tomorrow!!!

 I'm so overly ready mentally, going to make up some menus and go shopping later. 

I'm excited and energized, and it's just the beginning!

I'm back!!!

It's been a while friends!  Life is going well in general, but I can honestly say I haven't been caring about my weight at all for a very long time.  I've been eating and drinking whatever, and exercise is almost non-existent.  I haven't had the energy to even be upset by it, which is a problem, but hey, that's reality.

I have gained so much weight, and I'm at the point where I am ready to get myself back in gear.  For me, when I do anything, I put 100% of my energy into it, and I'm finally ready to do that with my food and exercise.  I'm starting in April.  

Yeah, I'm still cute, but I know this isn't healthy!

Why wait 2 weeks?

I know myself.  I need a starting point where I have no excuses.  March is extremely busy at work, I have limited time to cook and/or exercise, so if I start now I'm setting myself up for failure.  Failure = frustration = eating and being lazy.  Not good.  April starts with spring break, giving me time to collect my recipe ideas, plan out exercise, shop, etc.

I know that blogging about everything is something that really works for me, so I will be blogging here again starting in April.  I hope you can join me on this journey.  I'm older, wiser, and more fed up this time around, so I'm optimistic that I'll be successful and keep the weight off this time so I can be healthy for the rest of my life!

Zucchini Marinara

Simply delicious!  I'm a huge pasta-lover, and this truly takes care of my cravings!  

It's super easy to make, too!  The cook time depends on the texture you want to get out of the zucchini.  Some people like it raw, I prefer mine soft but not completely mushy.

I have a lot of kitchen gadgets, the latest is the Spirooli! 

It's very easy to use and clean, and can create veggie noodles, ribbons, shreds, and chips.

It's not expensive at about $25, so if this is something you plan to make regularly, you should go get one!

Ingredients

1 zucchini, turned into noodles using the larger attachment on the Spirooli

Sprinkle of salt

1 tsp olive oil

1/2 cup marinara sauce (I love Mamma Lombardi's- nice and garlicy!)

2 oz. shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

Heat the oil in a large pan over medium heat.  Add zucchini, sprinkle lightly with salt, and sauté until it reaches your desired texture.  Add marinara sauce and cook one minute.  Plate and sprinkle with cheese.

Enjoy!