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.

I'm Back in the Saddle Again!

Weekend over, everything tracked, still on target.  I've made it a point to work out every day, whether it be at the gym or simply some extra walking, or both!  I've been tracking it all- the good and the bad, and it's working out.  I feel good!  We'll see how I do at the end of the week.


I have a few new recipes I'm working on, and I'll post them when they're all worked out.  In the meantime, if you subscribe to the WW E-tools, you need to make their apple crisp and their chicken breast with honey-balsamic glaze.  I can't post them here since they are licensed material, sorry!  The chicken is so easy and so good!  The apple crisp is pretty much a crust-less pie, so sweet and perfect for the fall.

It's a New Holiday!

Today is officially "Get Back On Track" Day!  Between my birthday and many other things, I haven't been the best WW member in the world.  Last week I lost the weight I gained the week before, so that was good, but I know that this week was bad.  I'm opting out of weighing in tonight for the first time EVER since last December.  I know that I should weigh in just to know where I'm at, but I know I've gained something and think it would just depress me at this point instead of inspire me to lose again, so I'm going to work really hard this week to not have a gain next week.  I don't know if it will work, but it makes sense to me, and that's what counts!


Planning ahead has been my weakness lately.  It's been extremely busy.  I don't have everything I need in the house, I've been getting home late and not wanting to cook, the list of excuses could go on and on.  It changes NOW!  I've already tracked my entire day, planned everything out with ingredients I know I have at home.  


I'm starting off my 27th year with optimism!!!

Endomondo Walking Workout

Endomondo Walking Workout: was out walking 1.45 miles in 22m:52s using Endomondo.

Wendy's Dinner

Tuesdays are very long days for me.  I am at school for 11 hours, then I go to the gym.  I get home for dinner somewhere in the 8 o'clock hour.  The last thing I want to do is start cooking.


Yesterday, I decided I would treat myself to something from Wendy's.  I took my time to research the best nutritional options for me and decided on their Apple Pecan Chicken Salad and a small chili.

Let me tell you, this salad is DELICIOUS!!!  The full-sized salad by itself it 9 Points+.  Their pomegranate vinaigrette isn't too bad, 2 packets have 3 Points+, and are more than enough for the salad size.  12 Points+ for a large salad with chicken from a fast food restaurant seems very reasonable to me.  Since I was famished by this point in the day, the chili was mandatory, and a small has 4 Points+.


So, 16 Points+, dinner was enjoyed, I didn't have to cook, and I worked it into my plan for the day.  Success all around!

Butternut Squash Bisque

I love thick, creamy soups.  Unfortunately, my favorite one is loaded with potatoes, cream and cheese.  Not so Weight Watchers friendly.


Since butternut squashes are abundant this time of year, I decided to create a soup to utilize their texture and really taste like the fall season.  The recipe below makes 6 big servings (depending on the size of your squash) and each only has a Points+ value of 2!  It's so delicious, too!  Most of the ingredients have a zero points, so this is perfect for when you are craving a nice, hearty soup in the colder months, but don't want to abandon your eating goals.

Ingredients:
1 butternut squash
1 tbsp oil
1 tbsp Brummel and Brown Spread
1 clove garlic, diced
1/2 onion, diced
3 carrots, peeled and diced
2 apples (Galas are delicious), peeled and diced
3 cups vegetable stock
1/2 cup light cream
Salt
Pepper 
Nutmeg


Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350.  Carefully cut the butternut squash in half lengthwise.  Place each half in a pyrex, cut side up, and fill pyrex with about an inch of water.  Bake squash until tender, at least an hour, more for larger squashes.


In a medium-large pot, heat up oil and B&B spread over medium heat.  Add onion, saute until translucent.  Add garlic and saute for another 2 minutes until it just begins to brown.


Add carrots, apples and stock.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low, simmer until the carrots are tender.  Scoop the squash flesh out of the skin with a spoon, and chop it roughly.  Once the carrots are soft, add the butternut squash and simmer for 5 more minutes.


Remove pot from heat.  Use an immersion blender to puree the ingredients.  Leave it as chunky as you'd like.  Once everything is smooth, slowly add in the cream and stir.  Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg.


Note:  Nutmeg is stronger than you think.  I'd start with a half-teaspoon and add more from there.  

Week 41 Weigh In

Current Weight: 188.6 lbs

Weekly Gain: 1.8 lbs   Total Loss: 33.4 lbs

I'm struggling way more than I thought I would.  I just realized that I've been stuck around this area since May.  That's almost 6 months!

I'm getting myself back in gear.  I'm going back to the beginning, measuring every single thing I consume and getting to the gym as much as possible.  I'm going to switch it up, too.  I'm going to take different classes at my gym and get back into yoga, which I LOVE, but I haven't gone to in way too long.