Weight Watchers...Weeks...um...a lot of them up until now. :)

I've been slacking in my posting, sorry.  Things really are VERY busy and when I DO have the time to blog I'm just not in the mood at all.  Mostly I'm in the mood to curl into a ball, watch a movie, and fall asleep, pretending the rest of the world doesn't exist.  But we just finished a day of delicious thunderstorms and that always has me in the mood to write.  And since I'm probably not going to get to housework much this week (it's been a stressful, eventful 3 days as it is), and I have no motivation to go write a novel at the moment, blogging is happening.

Get excited. 

:)

Anywho, I was bad for much of March, and I've been revisiting recipes or eating more basic, non-recipe type foods lately, so I don't have many recipes to share.  But I'll share a few that I DO have and hope you enjoy them.  I AM still losing weight--as of Friday I have lost 17 pounds!--but I still have very far to go until I reach my goals, no REAL motivation to stop eating any chocolate I can get my hands on, and until the weather cooperates I am not moving as much as I really ought to.  So hopefully this summer will be even better!  But let's focus on the positive.  GOOD FOOD!

Mango Chicken Spinach Salad--with homemade Mango-Curry Vinaigrette!

My own chicken noodle soup--nothing fancy but soups seem to fill me up for less points with all that water and veggies!

Ham and Beans (GREAT with cornbread!)

Amazing grilled salmon with avocado-lime dressing and fried plantains!

I mostly have perfected the method of broiling fish to the right consistency...

 

...and boiling/dying eggs...

 

...and smothering grilled meats with chimichurri sauce!

Recipes and other tips to come!

I laughed at myself today a little.  It was the first day I actually could tell I'd lost any weight at all.  I haven't gone down a pants or bra size and really I felt the same as always (just hungrier a little sometimes, especially when I'm stressed), so even though I know my scale isn't lying to spare my feelings it's been a little confusing and frustrating sometimes feeling like things aren't REALLY changing.  Well, today I wore my "fat pants," the ones I bought just a *little* too big already because there are days when bloating or self-image issues take over and I need a pair of professional pants that fit loosely and still look good.  And they were sliding down all over the place!  So funny and rewarding to have to keep hiking them up all day long.  Guess I'll either have to go to GoodWill again soon or invest in some tailoring!

Also, I have discovered another unexpected tidbit about myself through this Weight Watchers experience: I am a SHOE PERSON!  I had no idea.  I have always had about four pairs of shoes--one tennis shoe, one slightly more professional but still comfy shoe, one dressy shoe, and a pair of flip flops.   I don't accessorize and I don't invest in anything beyond the cheapest, blandest pair ('cause it has to go with EVERYTHING).  Well, ALL my shoes wound up getting holes or broken soles within two weeks of each other (darn you, WalMart!) and I decided to go to a real store and buy real, grown-up, not-on-a-$15-budget shoes.  And it has been magical.  I had no idea that a pair of red flats, a golden buckle, or a light pink studded wonder could make me feel so different.  I like it.  A lot. So now it's a motivator for me.  I get a new pair of shoes ($50 or less) for every 10 pounds I lose.  Which means I have three more pounds to go 'til I get to go shopping again!  And I still will have 50 more pounds to lose before I reach my goal so that's 5 more fancy pairs of shoes comin' my way in the next year or so (I hope!).

Do whatever it takes, right?  :)

Weight Watchers, Week 3

Hello!  Another week down, and it wasn't all that bad, even with a dozen cookies from a secret buddy at work, a splurge on a Kit Kat Bar, and eating out once!  I hit my first goal, my 5% goal (passed it, actually, for a total of 12 pounds so far), and am now working towards a new 10% weight loss goal.  :)  This is just through changing my diet, not my exercising routines (yet)! 

I don't really notice or feel a difference in my own body yet, though.  I haven't lost a pants size or anything, and I feel like my gut is as big as ever...so I'm not quite sure where these points are melting away from!  And I have to admit, some days I feel super deprived and other days I feel like I'm shoving food begrudgingly in my mouth at the end of the day to use up all my points.  I'm rarely hungry anymore, and smaller meals are the norm now, but I am ALWAYS MUNCHY.  So my new goal for this week, in addition to walking with a coworker after school AND doing 1/2 hour of yoga in the mornings, is to chop up veggies and have whole fruits handy for when I'm getting the munchies, instead of wasting the points on low-calorie chocolate brownies, peanut butter, and the like.  :)  This will save those points for much-needed lean proteins, and more CARBS!  (Not that I'm not eating them now, but sometimes I don't so I can sneak in a brownie later...no bueno!)  Also, no more chopping fruits up for fruit salad--I tend to eat WAY MORE than I need to if it's in a salad form, which is eating into our budget.  So whole fruits, one at a time, will be better for our wallet AND my waistline.

Although, my hubby got a HUGE promotion at work this week so I WILL be eating out tonight...and there WILL also be Cold Stone involved.  :)  Thank goodness for those activity points I'll be racking up!

Anywho, here are some of the meals that have kept me satisfied this week, as always, with recipes to come (linked in the captions):

Easy Egg White Omelette (my new favorite breakfast!) WW 2+ Points

Raspberry-Dijon Glazed Ham (WW 5+ Points)

Grilled Cuban Chicken with Black Bean and Mango Salsa (WW 7+ Points)

Herb-Roasted Pork Tenderloin (WW 3+ Points)

Lemon Chicken & Broccoli with Penne (WW 6+ Points)

Enjoy!

Weight Watchers, week 2

Just had my second weigh-in.  I've lost 9 pounds in the last 2 weeks!  I don't really feel it or notice a difference yet, and I know it'll plateau soon, but I'm pretty stoked nonetheless.  Still adjusting to not eating ALL THE TIME, but at least I'm not starving!  With yummy dinners like:



The Chicken Satay from Last Week (8 WW Points)

BLT Salad (6 points)

BBQ Chicken & Black Bean Pizza (10 points)

Boyack De-LIGHT (3 points/bar...my dessert all week!!!)

Breakfast fruit pizzas with nutella (8 points)

 

Hot Dog Dogs (7 points)

We also had Papa Murphy's Hawaiian pizza (a mere 7 points per slice!), and Applebee's, which has a great Weight Watcher's menu (I got a roasted garlic sirloin for 13 points).

Recipes are linked in each caption!  :)

One thing I'm grateful for is that paying for Weight Watchers gives me an excuse to spend a little more money on things like fruits and veggies, Fiber One brownies, rice cakes, and ingredients for these awesome recipes I am trying.  It also FORCES me to cook more, which is important even though I don't particularly love it and I don't always feel like spending the time on it.  When I look at the restaurant app and see how many "points" I was consuming before on a weekly basis, it's not much of a surprise that I've been gaining weight like crazy this year.  It's sad that I need a reason to take care of ourselves and cook/eat well, but I do.  And this is it for me.  I can't wait to see what the next 3 months bring me, and hopefully it'll help me to develop better eating habits that I can enjoy for a lifetime.  If things continue as they have been going, I will definitely be continuing in WW, too.  :)

Weight Watchers, week 1

Apparently I'm in a blogging mood today.  :)

So, I've officially gone through 7 days of Weight Watchers.  Not gonna lie, it's been hard.  I didn't realize how much I ate before--especially JUNK.  It didn't seem like much until I couldn't do it anymore.  Tracking my every bite has been a wonderful challenge, and it has kept me accountable to myself more.  I've already started to enjoy smaller portions and not feeling full all the time, which is the beginning of a paradigm shift for sure!  And I love the apps that aid you--another post on that to come!

Anyway, I'm not starving.  Here are some of the yummy things I've enjoyed this week:

Tuna salad in cucumber cups (6 Points)

LOADS of fresh fruit salads--0 points, quick and easy side to any meal!

Not pictured, but worth mentioning: Eating out, SMART, at O'Charley's and Papa Murphy's for Valentine's.  Southwestern Salad.  Beef Ginger Stir Fry.  Apple Thyme Chicken.  Homemade Veggie Soup (DELISH).  Marie Calendar casseroles for the nights that are just too busy to cook.  And discovering Fiber One 90 Calorie Brownies and Special K Chocolatey Delight.  :)  Popcorn, chocolate milk, lots of fresh fruits and veggies and almonds "fill in" any extra points I have each day. I still snuck in a whole box of chocolates, and I lost 4 pounds, give or take 2.  So I'd say week 1 was a success!  Here's hoping Week 2 is even better!  I'll post some recipes and the like soon and link it all up, as well as give out any tips or tricks I find that help make my weight loss goals easier.  :)  It's not gonna be a regular segment or anything, but I'm always looking out for healthier recipes and, as you know by now, I like to share.  :)