11/22/2007

Happy Thanksgiving

I thought I'd write a quick post this morning while I prepare for my Thanksgiving feast. My first turkey finished cooking around 6am this morning, not sure why I thought a 14 lb. turkey would be a good size for two people! I had a small taste and its actually pretty good.

Update on weight watchers round two: I'm in week four and I've lost 1.8 every week for the last three weeks. 1.8, every time. What are the chances? Anyway, I'm watching my home scale go down a lot this week due to a nasty cold. What is it about sickness that brings on weight loss? I can't say its less food, in fact maybe even more than usual as my appetite has increased, not including all of the orange juice I've been drinking. I hope I don't blow that today. Stop when full, stop when full.

I've been feeling a bit manic about my health lately which is going to prompt me into going to a much dreaded doctors appointment soon. I've become a bit of a hypochondriac and every time I hear of someone dying or getting illness it puts my imagination into full swing. I admit the craziness of it, but there are times that I'm convinced that my body is harboring cancerous cells waiting to attack, or possibly I've contracted any other illness of some sort. I'm long due for a check up and I'd like to put my mind at ease. Sometimes I feel like Bob from the comedy "What about Bob?" he believed that if he feared diseases and pretended to have them it would prevent them from actually happening. Oh, God. I'm relating to fictional crazy people now.

I've decided to live 2008 as the year of no fear. Going to the doctor and heading off any denial is a huge part of this, though will probably go before the New Year.

Anyhow, Happy Thanksgiving! Enjoy friends, family and yes food.

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11/13/2007

Ground Chicken and others

I had my week two weigh in and I'm down another 1.8 lbs. Isn't that weird, the same loss two weeks in a row. Thats a total of 3.6 for me so far. Mr. Josh was down 3.6 lbs! Go him!

I thought I lost more and was shocked it was only 1.8, but I'll take it because honestly if I wasn't doing this I could very much be up 1.8lbs.

I've been using my points more wisely this week, which is a hard lesson to learn. I tend to eat a meal of point dense foods and it leaves me with less points in the evening making it hard not to dip into the 35 extra points I get a week. This week, I'm saving my flex points for my moms visit and our work dinner.

My mom is visiting! I'm so excited to take her around the city and make breakfast for her. My mom has a way of making things feel warm and cozy. The summer before I moved to NYC she spent the night with me every weekend for about four weeks helping me pack and just hanging out. I really loved that time we spent together.

I'm also looking forward to Thanksgiving next week. One because of the three days off of work, and two because I'm going to tackle making a traditional spread. I've never made a turkey before or sweet potatoes, but it should be interesting. I'm getting all Martha and planning the menu and place cards. It will be too much food for three people, anyone in the area want a thanksgiving meal?

And finally ( I think), I made a great dish last night that some of you might enjoy. It was similar to baked steak, but I used ground chicken. Sometimes I find ground chicken to be tough and bland, but this was tender and very wonderful served with mashed potatoes. Plus, it was only 9 points for one serving of chicken and mashed potatoes.

I don't know what to call it...Baked Chicken "Steak"
Who knows!
Okay...
1 lb. ground chicken breast
2 egg whites
1/2 cup seasoned bread crumbs
add your preference of other spices, I used garlic, salt and pepper

Mix ingredients with your hands and form into 4-5 4oz. patties
Heat a large pan with 1tablespoon of olive oil
Begin to cook patties on both sides, squashing a little with a spatula to thin out
Then add one can of cream of mushroom soup, one can of cream of chicken soup (you can use reduced fat for fewer calories and points!), and a 1/2 can of water (you may want more as the water evaporates)
Cover with a lid and let simmer for about 20 minutes
5 points per serving

Off to work! Have a lovely and healthy Tuesday!

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11/09/2007

oh girllll

So uh yes, on a small continuation to my coffee discovery. Er...uh...it made me quite sick. Stomach ache, bathroom exchanges...yada, yada. Too much? The wrong kind? Who knows.

I did have some green tea yesterday to soothe the ache, so that was nice. I think I got too excited and drank too much, which is very possible.

After weighing myself this morning, I have to say I'm really excited to have my official weigh in tomorrow morning. The scale here is 2-4 lbs. less than the one at weight watchers. My first weigh in at weight watchers is 287 (yikes, i know) and at home the scale read 285 (still yikes, see how easy it is to regain?). Then the next week my home scale read 283.5 and weight watchers read 285 (1.8 loss). And so this week my home scale is reading 277.5! I'm excited to be back in my weight loss groove again, officially.

I'm trying to not get ahead of myself like last time and get all weight loss cocky. Reminder to self: you still have a ways to go!

It feels good to eat less. And I'll be saving my flex points this coming week for my moms visit and the flex points the week after for my Thanksgiving feast. It feels good to have flexibility and not worry that I'm "cheating" and get mentally torn up over that.

Also, me and Josh have been making a treat of chocolate rice cakes with a thin layer of peanut butter spread on top. It's very good and at the same time we both realized that is tastes very similar to a Little Debbie's Nutter Butter. The rice cake is 1 point and then the peanut butter is about 2-4 points more depending on how much you use.

Exercise? Oh yes, that needs to start happening again too.

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11/07/2007

Coffee: The Discovery

Today, I decided to give coffee a chance. I paid about 50 cents for a small coffee with skim milk and I have to say it gave me exactly what I was looking for: a perk. I know a few coffee devotees, but I never really got what the big deal was until today.

The High:
My food cravings went away
My appetite decreased
I felt positive and upbeat
I was creative and productive
My fears and ambitions that usually keep me down went away
I was more confident
I had more energy

It defiantly stimulated me and now I get it, I'm hooked. Shamefully enough.

The Lows:
Upset stomach (I had too much, will limit myself to one cup a day)
The positive effects did dwindle down, but I felt like the mental boost and positive thoughts were enough to make me push myself past old/lazy habits when the coffee boost wore away.

I hope you'll forgive me for advocating a drug on my blog.

Cheers to coffee! (for now at least)

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11/06/2007

losing weight again

I'm here. Blogging has gone from something I do daily to something that I've put on my to do list. That isn't what I intend, but sometimes it happens temporarily. Like other weight loss blog absences that I've had, this one does not involve lots of food. I'm actually losing weight! Woo.

I'm in my second week of weight watchers, and I have to say its a lot easier doing this with Josh. We are both counting, watching and avoiding. We actually had a conversation last night that was like "it was a bit harder today, I wanted more food". So its nice to share thoughts like that with someone I live with. He takes the program very seriously, so I know I'm working with someone who won't give up, or let me give up. He actually has about 20lbs to lose. My mom asked "why is he going? I bet they wanted to kick him out!"

Yesterday, I forgot to take my lunch to work again and I really really wanted pizza. Instead, I went and had a manicure, talked myself out of the pizza and got a salad and flat bagel.

I truly believe that its the times when I tell myself "no" and reroute my old habits, that makes me stronger to not even want to consume junk the next time. Its almost as if I am stockpiling all of these "no" points, like an army that stands behind me when I'm ready to cave in.

I think my lack of blogging lately is a result of feeling that I need to do less talking and more doing. I have a new layout in works and will be moving to word press soon as well. I want to continue documenting my weight loss+goals, I just want to have more action for now.

I'm going to blog more often, I'm just going to spend less time (for now) documenting everything.

My first weigh-in was pleasant, I'm down 1.8 pounds and that is even with a few getting back on track food blunders. Its getting a lot easier this week, now I just need to get to the gym!

There is always a battle with me that cannot decide if I should go in the mornings before work or in the evenings after work. I'd like to get back into a groove of going. When I started kickboxing, I went for two months at 8:30pm every monday and wednesday. Now, I'm finding excuses for not going. I really want to move past my excuses and start doing things even if I don't feel like doing them.

As far as a goal, I would really like to reach 240 by my birthday on March 14th. 240 is a size 20 for me, and I actually have a pair of size 20 jeans that I wore after following the Atkins plan. I will be 240 by March 14th...damnit!

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