Year in Review

Christmas 2010

Christmas 2011

It's been quite a year.

  

I've lost about 30 pounds!  

I have to say, I did that in the first 6 months.  I really let myself down the last half of the year.  I wasn't focused enough, ate things I shouldn't have, and didn't exercise enough.  Still, this year was a good one!  I'm down to a size 12 jeans and large shirts.  I wore a bikini in public for the first time in my life.  It was in a foreign country, but it's a big step for me to take.  


On non-weight related notes, Chris and I worked our butts off this year.  He paid off all of his debt, and I'm almost done with mine.  It's nice being able to keep the house at a comfortable temperature during these cold months instead of walking around bundled up.  We finally went on a honeymoon, and it was amazing!  Work is going very well for the both of us, things are going to be good!


So, this is the time of year many of us set goals.  I have 3.  1- lose another 30 pounds.  Ideally, I want to get down into the 140's, which is 50 lbs away.  I would LOVE to do that this year, but I'm taking the more realistic goal and can always do better.  2- fit into a size 8 by next year.  12 was my first "normal" size, but I want to get out of the double digits.  3- wear a bikini in public and not worry about how I look or if I'll run into someone I know.  No, I don't expect a 6-pack any time soon, but I do want to be able to tan my tummy at the beach, not just in my backyard.


The plan- track my food like CRAZY!  I fall off the wagon when I make a bad choice and don't write it down, so I'm not allowing myself to do that anymore.  The good, the bad, the ugly- they will all be written down.  I'm also getting back into my exercise routine.  I've been getting back into it this past month, and I actually enjoy it, so I'm looking forward to it again. I drink a lot of wasted calories, but I don't do well with cutting things out of my life completely, so if I want to drink, I'll have ONE drink, and that's it.  One glass of wine, one beer, whatever it may be.  I'm also letting myself have one meal a month where I don't track- like a party or another celebration.  If I give myself one a month, I can plan for it and know I'll have a meal that I don't have to measure and count everything.


I wish you and your families a very happy and healthy new year!  What goals are you setting for yourselves in 2012?

MIA

Sorry I've been MIA.  Since the end of the summer, my mind just wasn't in it.  I'd been dealing with a plateau since May, I just came back from vacation, and school was starting.  I didn't totally sabotage myself, but I neglected the gym and wasn't measuring anything or tracking anything.  Whenever I tried to get back on track, it felt like torture because I wasn't ready.  So, knowing that I was going to gain, I made the conscious decision to take a little break before going gung-ho again.  


Last Thursday was my day.  I went back to my Weight Watchers meeting, I was up to 196 again, but that was okay.  I was finally mentally ready to do it all again.  So, the measuring cups and scales came back out.  I made all of my meals for the week.  I had a plan.  I scheduled workouts at the gym so I didn't have any excuse not to go.  I've also decided to do more than my usual workout routine- I'm taking new classes multiple times a week to switch it up for my brain and my body.


After one week back on track, I dropped 3 pounds and I'm at 193 now.  I am very optimistic and excited, knowing that I can and WILL do this again.  I still aim to eventually reach the 140 area, but I'm giving myself more time to get there.  I originally wanted to hit it by next year, but I'm adding a year to it now.  Hell, I'll even say let's get to goal before I hit the big 3-0 (turned 27 this October).  


I lost track of my progress.  I was so focused on my plateau that I forgot how far I'd come.  I am down 60 lbs from my all-time high, and down 30 from last year.  That's AWESOME!!!  As I should remember from the play I did with my students last year "slow and steady wins the race."


I will be posting again, at least once a week to let you all know how I'm doing at my weigh-ins.  I will continue to post recipes and everything else as the inspiration hits me.  Thank you all for supporting me through this!!!


Before I go, check out the new jeans I bought about a month ago.  These are my first pair of "expensive" jeans ($70 on sale for $30, that's how I roll!).  I am in love with them!!!

Butternut Squash Ravioli with a Creamy Sage Sauce

This is such a delicious meal!  Be warned, the recipe below makes WAY too much filling (like, enough for 100 ravioli), but I have a tip for you at the end (or you could just cut the recipe in half!).  One serving of 8 ravioli with sauce has 7 Points+.  Pair with a salad or a side of veggies and you've got yourself a full meal!


Ingredients:
For Ravioli:
1 Butternut Squash, cut in half and baked until soft, insides scooped out and mashed
2 shallots, chopped
1 tbsp butter
1 tsp dried sage
4 ounces goat cheese
Salt
Pepper
Nutmeg
Wonton Wrappers (8 per serving)


For Sauce:
2 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup light cream
12 sage leaves, chopped 
3 tbsp butter
1-2 tbsp Wondra flour


Instructions:
Melt 1 tbsp butter over medium heat.  Add shallots and dried sage until the shallots are nice and caramelized.  Add to mashed butternut squash and mix.  Crumble in goat cheese and mix, seasoning to taste with salt, pepper and nutmeg.


Bring a pot of salted water to a boil.  While it's heating up, lay out wonton wrappers.  Place about 1/2 tbsp in the center of each wrap.  Dip your finger in water, and moisten 2 adjacent sides of the wrapper, then fold over to make a triangle.  Try to get out any air and make sure to seal it well.  Prepare as many ravioli as you need for your meal.


Once the water boils, reduce the heat so that it's just barely boiling, not going too crazy.  If it's boiling too much, your ravioli will come apart!  Drop in ravioli a few at a time, making sure that they don't stick together or to the bottom of the pot.  Boil for about 5 minutes to cook the wrappers.


While cooking the ravioli, it's time to prepare the sauce.  Bring the chicken broth to a boil and add the butter and sage leaves.  Simmer until leaves are softened.  Slowly stir in the light cream.  If you want to thicken your sauce, add the Wondra flour 1/2 tbsp at a time, sprinkling it little by little while mixing to avoid lumps.  Cook a few minutes longer, and voila!


Serve 1/8 of the sauce over 8 ravioli (about 1/4 cup sauce per serving).
______________________________________________________________
Now, you will have SO MUCH leftover ravioli filling.  What I did was drop 1/2 tbsp servings on wax paper, freeze on a cookie sheet, and them drop them all into a freezer bag once they were frozen.  Now, the next time I want ravioli, I will just wrap the frozen filling and cook them that way.  Hopefully they won't explode!

Week 44 Weigh In- Halloween Edition!

Current Weight: 188.2 lbs

Weekly Loss: 1.6 lbs    Total Loss: 33.8 lbs

 I was very happy to be down this week!  I was at the gym almost every day, ate very well, and luckily saw the results on the scale.  This week, I'm aiming for the same, but as we all know, anything could happen!

Happy Halloween Everyone!!!!  

Go for the Snickers or 3 Musketeers Minis (1 Point+ each!)

Slow Cooker Chicken and Dumplings

I haven't been home much, and I have been really sad at my lack of eating food that I've cooked.  So, the other day, I ran to the grocery store in between my million things, grabbed what looked good, and threw together the following meal.  Luckily, it came out really good!  You can buy the chicken with skin and bones and prep it yourself, but I didn't have the time to do that, so I spent more money for the convenience.  Also, feel free to substitute any "cream of" soups for the ones below.  1/4 of the chicken mixture has 6 points, and one biscuit has 5.  This is the ultimate throw together meal.

Ingredients:
4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1 can "healthy" condensed cream of mushroom soup (I used Campbell's Heathy Request)
1 can "healthy" condensed cream of celery soup (same as above)
1 box frozen peas and carrots
1 cup frozen corn kernels
2 cans sliced mushrooms, drained
1 can Pillsbury reduced fat biscuits (or any other brand)


Directions:
Add all ingredients to the slow cooker and mix well(I used my old, trusty Crockpot since it would be on all day while I wasn't home).  Cook on "low" for 6-8 hours, until chicken is cooked.  Stir and season with S&P if needed.


For the dumpling part, open can of biscuits and arrange on top of mixture.  Cook for another 2 hours until biscuits are done.  

Even with all of this cooking, the chicken still stays moist and tender.  If you use chicken breast, it WILL dry out, so make sure to use the thighs if you make this recipe.  

The Slow Cooker Debate

I love my slow cookers.  Crockpots are a brand of slow cooker, so don't be thrown off by the difference in names, they are one in the same.  I will be posting a few recipes for them, but before I do, we need to go over some important information first.


Size matters.  Slow cookers work the best when they are at least 2/3 full, so I tend to have 2 sizes.  A "normal" one (5 qt) and then a mega-one ( 8 qt) incase I need to feed a family of 12 for some reason.


The other difference comes from the year they were manufactured.  After doing some homework (and ruining a few meals) I found out that newer slow cookers cook at higher temperatures due to different regulations.  While this sounds like a good thing, it means that some recipes are meant for lower temperature cookers.  


My rule of thumb- if it involves meat, I use my old CrockPot that looks like it's from the 70's that I purchased at a garage sale for $1 (the smaller one).  Any vegetarian meal, or any meal that involved already cooked meat, can go in the new slow cooker.  I've tried cooking meat in the new cooker on low, and it is still too high of a temperature and the meat ends up being tough.  Some other meals end up burning a little on the sides as well.  I don't worry if I leave something in my old cooker past the "end" time, but the new one will burn it, sometimes before time is up!


If you ever come across an old slow cooker at a thrift store or yard sale, buy it!  The difference it makes when cooking meat is well worth it.  

Week 43 Weigh In

Current Weight: 189.8 lbs

Two Week Gain: 2.6 lbs       Total Loss: 32.3 lbs

Frustrated doesn't even begin to cover how I'm feeling.  I've been back on track, going to the gym when I really don't want to, eating what I should be eating, and there's still a gain.

I'm hoping that it's a combination of my body catching up after multiple birthday celebrations and also possibly gaining muscle from my more intense workouts, but I feel like that's just an excuse!  I'm trying to focus less on my weight and more on how I feel, how my clothing fits, etc, but it still sucks to gain weight when I am trying so hard.

In other news, I bought the outfit in the picture last December (sorry about the picture quality, a self-portrait was all I could do at the time!).  At the time, it barely fit me and showed every lump on my body.  Now, it fits me like it should!  I even had to tighten the belt because it was falling down.  The boots were purchased sometime late last winter, and they barely zipped up over my calves.  Now, they are LOOSE on my legs!  I couldn't believe it!  I wore this the other day while walking around the city, and let's just say the feedback from strangers made me feel pretty good about myself : )

I'm starting to realize that I'm too busy for my own good.  I never say "no" to anything, and it's caused me to have an insane schedule.  These past few weeks I haven't been home at all to prepare my food, and it's been rough.  So, I'm changing my choices.  I'm starting to say no to things that are just going to cause more stress and take up too much of my time.  

The plan:  gym EVERY DAY, get back into my yoga classes, take a whole day on the weekend to cook my food for the entire week since I'm not home in time to actually cook anything on a weeknight.  So far, so good.