Happy Almost New Year

I have a ton of weight to lose (almost literally)
So I'm back.
I'll be weighing in on Monday.
See you then

Hello

WOOHOO!! I'm so happy to see this blog getting attention again. I thought it was finished. Looks like I have some reading to do to catch up on everyone. Debs- CONGRATS! Sophia is beautiful.

Nikki- I am sorry about your loss. Prayers your way.

Everyone else...Hello! I hope this means we will soon be back full speed. I have certainly gained a few pounds that I would love to get off. It's been a while since I came to the page to check if there was any activity, so I was really excited to see some new posts today. Looking forward to getting back into the swing of things!

Have a great night!

not a weigh in post

because I know that I shouldn't be getting het up about my weight at the moment, but just need a couple of weeks focusing on on eating healthily and getting some fresh air and exercise.
Tami asked if I'd eaten better at the weekend - To be honest I haven't got a clue what I ate yesterday, let alone the weekend, but I think that yes, I am more aware (at the time I put it in my mouth) of what I'm eating.

We didn't get out yesterday as the weaher was horrible, and Sophia and I were both a bit under the weather, but the sun is shining today and we're out (I'm writing this at my mum's) so hopefully we'll have a walk a bit later.

How's everyone else going?

Any Goals?

It's good to see some friendly faces around here.

I managed to spark lots of panicked warnings when I talked about weight loss on my blog and facebook, so I'll clarify that although yes, I hate how I look at the moment, I'm not about to rush into any restrictive diet to get it all off quick. What I want to do is work on my healthy eating habits and dump the junk, whilst also beginning to get out and about with Sophia to give us both some fresh air, and me to get a bit of gentle exercise.

(Quick aside, my baby girl has hiccups, and it's so cute to hear, but a little heartwrenching to see her whole body shaking with them!)

So you all know where I stand at the moment. Anyone else got some goals they'd like to share? I see DebbieBoo needs accountability with exercise. Girl, I will bug you like crazy if you'd like me too!

Yay

People are still around. It's good to see you guys.
Anyone wanting to see pictures of my baby girl can check my blog.
Ok, night feed is over so I'm heading back to bed. But I'll be back again soon..

Oh, just weighed myself (yes at 6am, but I figured I should do it while Sophia was asleep and let me!) and I'm back up to 272.2. That is horrible, and yet I knew it. I suspected I was probably in the 260s, I can feel it in my face and my energy levels and everything. I need to get rid of this weight.

Is there anybody out there?

Ok, so my baby is here. Sophia Louise is three weeks old today. And I NEED to lose weight again. I know that I wasn't good with my eating habits while I was pregnant, and they've got worse since I gave birth, so it's time to take hold of them again. I'm not sure how much I weigh (I need to get my scales from my mum's house) but I know it's LOTS. I can tell cos I can see it on my belly and my thighs, and in my face.

I went shopping on Monday to get some trousers, since I was pregnant over the summer and the few maternity clothes I have are all too cold for the Autumn. I got a pair of black jeans, but it was quite depressing that I needed a size 24. That's only one size down from what I was wearing at the start of my weight loss journey a couple of years ago.

I know that it's still only 3 weeks since I gave birth, so I still need to be easy on myself. I need to rest and make sure I'm getting lots of sleep. For my sake, and Sophia's, but I also know that losing weight will help me feel so much more energetic and so much happier. So, this is it, I'm on the weigh again. I know that accountability helps me, so I'll be weighing in here (One weigh or Another) and I'm posting this post on my personal weight loss blog too (Can big change to beautiful?).

Is there anyone out there?! (Whether or not you're joining me in losing weight, it'd be cool to know if anyone is still reading this blog!)

Weigh in

It's getting late, so I thought I'd post the weigh in for today. Hope you are all doing well. What's you numbers?

Weigh in

Well I have no idea what I weigh at the moment, just that it's probably less than I did on Saturday morning, having been suffering with what's probably swine flu since Saturday night.
So I'll just head out of here and back to bed (after spraying some disinfectant around) and let you get on with the weigh-in without me.

Decadent Chocolate Cake

I found this recipe in a Suzanne Somers cookbook from the mid-nineties -- Eat Great, Lose Weight. I haven't made it, and I probably won't anytime soon, but I thought one of you ladies may like to give it a try. The picture of it in the book looks soooo yummy and chocolatey but it's definitely a once in awhile treat.

DECADENT CHOCOLATE CAKE
Serves 6-8

Cake:
7 1/2 ounces dark chocolate, chopped (no less than 60% cocoa)
11 T unsalted butter
4 large eggs, separated
1/3 C sugar (these days you could prob substitute Splenda)
1/3 C whole wheat pastry

Ganache:
6 ounces dark chocolate, chopped
3/4 C heavy cream

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour a 10-inch round cake pan.
For the cake: Melt the chocolate and butter in a double broiler (or in a bowl or smaller saucepan placed over a saucepan of boiling water). Set aside to cool.
Beat the egg yolks until light and fluffy. Slowly add the sugar and continue beating until mixture is pale yellow. Fold in the melted chocolate. Sift the flour over the chocolate mixture until it just disappears.
In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites until soft peaks form. Fold egg whites into the chocolate mixture in 2 parts. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and tap on the counter to remove air bubbles. Bake for 20 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean (see Note).
For the ganache: Place the chopped chocolate in a mixing bowl. Place the cream in the saucepan and bring to a boil. Add the hot cream to the chocolate and stir until it reaches room temperature, then poor it over the cooled cake and spread with a spatula.

Note For a thicker cake, double the recipe and bake for 35 minutes.

Day 12

FOOD
Breakfast: a banana with a tablespoon of peanut butter
Snack: A slice of watermelon
Lunch: 3 slices of lunch meat, 1 slice of mozzarella, celery sticks with hummus, half a cucumber topped with salt and lemon juice
Dinner: 2 chicken breast tenderloins topped with avocado & mango salsa*, broccoli and two small spoonfuls of mashed potatoes (I couldn't help myself!)
Indulgence: handful of cherries & 2 spoonfuls of chocolate cool whip

EXERCISE:
20 laps in the pool -- it started raining and then thundering so I had to get out before I could get more done!
200 leg lifts





*I don't know why but for the past few days I've been craving a fresh mango & avocado salsa. I don't recall even eating those two flavors together, but I thought I'd give it a try. I cut half a mango and half an avocado into small pieces and mixed together in a bowl. I squeezed half a lime over top and added a few leaves of cilantro, roughly cut with my kitchen shears. Then I threw in some chopped tomatoes and bit of finely diced onion. Also grated a clove of garlic into it. Salt to taste. It was quite delicious, if i might say so myself! It was what I used to resist the pull of the potatoes, and it basically worked! I did have two spoonfuls of potatoes, but that's easily 1/3 of what I normally would've eaten, so I'm quite proud of myself!

Days 8 - 11

Whoa! Sorry this post is so long and that I haven't updated the past few days! The computer wasn't available when I was ready to get online and then I was too lazy to type up a post. Here's how I've done, to the best of my recollection:

DAY 8
FOOD:
Brunch: 2 eggs & sliced tomato
Snack: 2 handfuls of cherries
Very Bad Indulgence: 1 pineapple empanada with 1/2 cup of milk (BAD BAD BAD! Sugar AND white pastry! But soooo yummy!)
Dinner: 1 grilled chicken breast, baked beans, squash & zucchini
Late-Night Snack: 1/2 cup garbanzo beans (seriously. I love the texture & taste of them so I just sat and popped them in my mouth as I watched tv and checked email and Facebook! Lol)

EXERCISE:
NONE. I got back from my grandma's house late and then I had some intestinal problems and didn't feel comfortable swimming. Probably the price I had to pay for having the milk & empanada!


DAY 9
FOOD:
Brunch: 2 fried eggs & 2 slices of bacon
Snack: Carrot sticks with hummus
Snack: 2 slices mozzarella
Dinner: Eggplant Bake & side salad

EXERCISE:
80 laps in the pool (no, that's not a typo -- 80! I did 40 and it felt like I had just gotten in the pool so I kept going!)
200 kicks (in the pool)


DAY 10
FOOD:
Breakfast: 5 bean salad (that was finally the last of it!)
Lunch: 1 1/2 chicken breast tenderloins with spicy zucchini
Indulgence: White Cherry Icee (while watching a movie. I know, I know, not sugar free! But it was a small one and I didn't even finish it all and it was better than eating a tub of popcorn like I wish I could've!)
Dinner: Taco Salad (leftover salad topped with chili I cooked). I went back for seconds and had a half-cup serving of brown rice with two spoonfuls of chili on top. I could've done without seconds, but it was sooo yummy!

EXERCISE:
60 laps in pool
Free weights (2 diff exercises; 5 sets of 12 each)
200 punches (with 2 lb weights)


DAY 11
FOOD:
Brunch: 2 scrambled eggs topped with cheese and salsa, one roma tomato
Snack: 1 handful of cherries & 1 handful of blueberries
Dinner: Taco Salad
Indulgence: 2 pieces of Ferrero Rondnoir (the dark chocolate version of Ferrero Rocher; I got a box for my birthday 2 weeks ago and I still have over half of it left, so I figured I deserved a little reward for not scarfing it all down!)

EXERCISE:
50 laps in the pool
200 kicks (in the pool)
200 leg lifts (in the pool)
250 punches (with 2 lb weights)


I've found some new recipes I want to try and also post. I'll try to do that over the next few days. How is everyone else doing, btw? Nikki & Christy, are y'all still doing phase 1? How's that going for you?

Although I went off track a couple of times I didn't beat myself up over it and there was so much grace to do better at the next meal time. I've also noticed that I'm controlling my portion sizes as well, which is really good for me! I only have one serving during most meals and they're usually even smaller portions than what I was used to eating. I hope I can keep it up!

What I had for dinner

I took Blest's old recipe and spruced it up a bit, and boy was is yummy! I gave it a boring name for now, but maybe later I'll come up with something better. Or does someone out there have any suggestions?

The ingredient measurements are not exact (I just eyeball most of the time) so you may need to adjust where appropriate.

EGGPLANT BAKE

1 large eggplant
1 cup sliced mushrooms
½ cup chopped onions
½ cup chopped red bell pepper
1-2 cups spaghetti or pizza sauce
1 ½ cups grated mozzarella
½-1 cup grated Parmesan
Italian herbs (I used marjoram, thyme, basil & oregano and crushed red pepper for a kick)
Olive oil
Salt & pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Thinly coat bottom of 9x13 inch baking pan with olive oil. Slice eggplant into ½ inch rounds. Lay eggplant rounds in baking pan, season with salt, pepper & herbs and drizzle or brush with olive oil and a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese (Optional: I rubbed the rounds on both sides with garlic before laying them in the pan, then minced the garlic and mixed it with olive oil before brushing it onto the eggplant.) Bake eggplant for 15 minutes.

After eggplant is finished baking, remove from oven and top with about ½ cup of spaghetti sauce (enough to spread so it barely covers the eggplant but not necessarily pooling onto the bottom of the pan). Sprinkle with about ½ cup mozzarella. Add mushrooms, onions and bell pepper then top with rest of the spaghetti sauce (in total, I used half a can of sauce, but didn’t measure so not sure exactly how much I put). Top with remainder of mozzarella & Parmesan. Bake 20 minutes or until cheese is melted, slightly starting to brown, and the sauce is bubbling along the edges.

Served with salad, this can easily feed 4 very hungry people! It’s so yummy that my meat and potatoes dad loved it and actually had two servings!

Day 6 & 7

DAY 6
FOOD:
Brunch: 5 bean salad (again, in a hurry and I need to finish it up!)
Snack: DanActive Yogurt drink with flaxseed, small Fuji apple
Snack: 2 sliced roma tomatoes drizzled w/ olive oil, red wine vinegar, and dried basil; 2 slices of mozzarella
Dinner: 1 Imam Baildi (stuffed eggplant; found the recipe through Kalyn's Kitchen. I only made 1 eggplant so my two halves were very full even though I cut everything! It was yummy!)
Indulgence: serving of sugar-free Rocky Road Ice Cream

EXERCISE:
NONE! Took a day off

DAY 7
FOOD:
Brunch: 1 stuffed eggplant; small serving of 5 bean salad (it's almost all gone!)
Snack: carrot sticks and hummus
Dinner: ??? ---> I'm heading out to stay the night at my grandma's so no idea what's on the menu for tonight

EXERCISE:
Free weights (3 different ones; 6 sets of 12 or 15, depending on the exercise plus 100 punches w/ the weights)
60 laps in the pool

Hey Everyone

I am loving the attention this blog has been getting recently. Welcome back Debbie, and a big hello to everyone else too. Sorry I haven't been around much. Life is busy, and I don't seem to be getting online as much as I used to. Which is probably just as well, as my lovely husband shouldn't have to spend his evenings talking to my back as I sit at the computer!

I'm almost 28 weeks pregnant now. I finally got around to registering with a new doctor (as I've moved, having got married. Yes, that was 3 months ago, but I'm slow about a lot of things. I'm also still writing wedding gift thank you letters, but that's another story).

Anyway, as part of registering with the new doctors surgery, I was weighed and measured by the nurse. I was last weighed when I had my booking in appointment with the midwife, which was in the first few weeks, I think around week 8 of my pregnancy. Anyway, the long and the short of it is that I've put on 9kg in that time. Which is about 20lb. It's certainly more than I'd have liked, but I'm trying not to panic about it. I'm trying to eat healthily and not use the pregnancy as too much of an excuse to eat junk, but I am aware that what with cravings and other people's encouragement that I'm "eating for two" that I haven't done amazingly.

I'm trying to up the exercise, but that's also been a struggle. I have a week and a half left of school until we break up for the summer holidays, and I'm hoping to be more consistent with exercise once that happens.

Anyway, since it's almost Monday, this can count as a weigh-in post for this week too! Tell me your numbers please :)

Day 4 & 5

DAY 4:
FOOD:
Breakfast: 1 slice of Florentine Frittata (my own invention; I'll post the recipe and pics tomorrow); 2 slices of bacon (I made the bacon before I decided to make the frittata more Mediterranean than Southwestern)
Snack: Shark bites (was actually large chunks of kingfish, not shark!) with dijon mustard sauce, cucumbers, fresh salsa and a few blue corn chips (all this was actually appetizers at my friends' house for lunch and I started eating the chips before I remembered I couldn't. Oops!)
Lunch: Filet of Ling fish and serving of wild rice (it's a carb, but at least a SB friendly carb!)
Dinner: Grilled chicken salad and I was bad and had a few chips and queso

EXERCISE:
None since I was out all day! Yikes! And I ate a lot, too! Double yikes!

My friends had me over for lunch and I was pleasantly surprised to see that almost all the food was SB friendly. My friend has had gallbladder probs so has had to drastically change her diet, hence all the fish and fresh foods. Also we met up with other people for dinner and a movie at one of those places where you could sit and order dinner while watching the movie. It was a fancy one, too! Although I had blown the diet and was tempted to get one of the pizzas or burgers, I DIDN'T! I didn't even get the fried chicken tender salad like I was tempted to. Nor did I take any of the people up on their constant and generous offers for alcoholic beverages. So even though I went off plan a bit and ate a lot, it could've been worse!


DAY 5:
FOOD:
Breakfast: 5 bean salad (I was in a rush and still have A LOT of that stuff left!)
Lunch: One portabella pizzetta with salad (I can't tell you how YUMMY those portabella pizzettas are!)
Indulgence: Cherries and 2 spoons of Chocolate Cool Whip
Dinner: 3 grilled chicken tenderloins, spinach and spicy zucchini (I still can't believe I got it in my head to COOK spinach! I usually only eat it raw in salads. But while I looked at the chicken cooking I thought, "Hmm...I wonder what it would be like if I tossed a few hand fulls of spinach in there..." And it was delish!)

EXERCISE:
60 laps in the pool
I was running all over town from 11 to 5 so I was exhausted by the time I got home and had a bit of a stress headache that was on the verge of a migraine. But I managed to subdue it enough to get some swimming in tonight, especially since I didn't get any exercise yesterday. And I ate well all day, so I'm feeling good about my day!

The joy of being thin

So I do remember being thin. I was there about a year and a half ago. I was 160 lbs. I am on the taller side, so that was pretty good. I have a large build, so I will never be very light. I could have lost another 10-15 lbs, but I was feeling pretty good where I was. Healthy, energetic, feeling and looking comfortable. Then...I slowly but surely gained it all back. All 30 lbs. Its so frustrating. I look at pictures now and get soooo mad at how gross I look and feel. I can't put into words how upsetting it is to me to be feeling this way again. I don't know why food is so hard to give to God. Some sin is so easy to hand over, but food??? No way. I am really working on that. See even though I started SB again yesterday, I am still way sinning over food. I think way too much about it. Its on my mind. What can I have? What can't I have? What should I eat next? AAHHH! SO that is what I have to work on the most. Trusting God to help me with my over eating! Gosh, if I gave him all the time I give thinking about what I am going to eat, I would be one godly woman. Gotta work on that. Thanks for listening.
Yesterday I was good about what I ate and today we are going to some friends house for dinner. I plan to do very well there too! I have to. I really like how great I felt when I was under control.

Day 3

I stuck with it today, although I do feel like I overate. Let's see . . .

FOOD:
Brunch: 5 Bean Salad (I was sick of eggs. On only the 3rd day. Not a good sign . . . ), a few raw celery sticks & baby carrots
Snack #1: Fuji Apple
Snack #2: DanActive Light Yogurt drink with some ground flaxseed I added in
Snack #3 while cooking dinner: 2 slices of mozzarella and 6 small slices of pepperoni (since I ate the pepperoni while cooking, I didn't add it to my portabella mushroom!)
Dinner: One Portabella Pizzetta with salad on the side. I did add a spoonful of the Italian sausage mixture I made for my parents and I'm proud to say I didn't even eat one piece of the spiral pasta I made to go with it! That was tough! Oh, to the portabella mixture I added some garlic powder (a about 3/4 teaspoon) and a few dashes of crushed red pepper. It was YUM-MO! But the mixture, IMO, does not make enough for the 12 mushrooms as it suggests. I figured I'd mix it all up and then freeze it to use later. Turns out I prob won't need to freeze it, just buy about four more mushrooms in the next week or so. And just the one serving of mushroom was very filling, especially since I had the salad to go with it.
Indulgence: serving of cherries & 2 spoonfuls of Chocolate Cool-Whip

EXERCISE:
250 leg lifts (not in the pool this time)
4 sets (of 15) free weight exercises (don't know what they're called)
5 min on the stair stepper (it nearly killed me but I only stopped twice! (do i get more sympathy if i tell you we keep the stair stepper outside (which is why it was squeaky) so i'm using it in 100 degree weather???))
70 laps in the pool

I never write down what I drink, but I mostly drink water with fresh lemon juice. I probably have one glass of tea or Splenda-sweetened coke a day. I haven't even been drinking much coffee these days! ::GASP::

I'll be out all day tomorrow. I'm going to my friend Becca's house for a late birthday lunch with her and her mom. They're grilling fish but I don't know what else to go along with it. Then later in the afternoon we're meeting some of Becca's friends for a movie and dinner. No idea where they'll choose to go for dinner and I hope I'm able to resist the movie theater popcorn!

Days 1 & 2

I think SB Phase 1 is always the hardest for me, so I'll (hopefully) be posting my daily stats these first two weeks. We'll see what happens after that. I'm just writing what I'm eating, not counting calories since I was born with a math block and I'm not mentally capable of it!


DAY 1
FOOD:
Brunch: 3 eggs Polish style (fried with a bit of sour cream added towards the end and topped with chives; my Polish friend Justyna introduced me to them and they're quite yummy!)
Snack: DanActive Light Strawberry yogurt drink
Dinner: bowl of my homemade Charro Beans; small serving of ground beef topped with a pinch of cheddar
Indulgence: One scoop of sugar-free chocolate ice cream topped with 2 spoons of chocolate Cool-Whip

EXERCISE: NONE, since I had a migraine all day!


DAY 2
FOOD:
Brunch: Kalyn's Feta Cheese & Avocado Mini-Frittata for Two It was yummy! Since I was making it for myself I actually used 3 eggs (since I woke up late and it served as both breakfast AND lunch) and half an avocado. I also didn't have spike seasoning so I threw a lot of random seasonings in.
Snack: Celery sticks & Hummus (a recipe from All-Recipes; I added a dash of cumin, a little less tahini, and no parsley since apparently weevils like dried parsley. Yuck!)
Indulgence: 6 cherries (yeah, I know -- no fruit on phase 1, but I'm not being extremely strict with that one)
Very late lunch/snack: 1 cup of 5 been salad (my invention; I can post the recipe if anyone is interested)
Dinner: Hamburger patty topped with a slice of mozzarella & grilled onions and mushrooms; sliced tomato & cucumbers on the side.

EXERCISE:
Roughly 5 min on squeaky stair stepper (I told myself 5 min to start since yesterday's migraine stayed with me 'til halfway through today. Turns out I'm so outta shape I couldn't even do 5 min straight! I had to stop every so often. Sad sad sad!)
Roughly 25 min swimming laps (I did 70 total. Don't be too impressed, it's one of those modern peanut shaped pools, not the huge Olympic-sized pool!)
200 leg lifts (I kinda cheated and did them in the pool)

Hello? Anyone out there?

Anyone who remembers me, at least???

My apologies for completely disappearing from the blogosphere, especially this site! Life just got busy and then I got lazy and wasn't even bothering with keeping track of my weight. Well, I'm hoping to change all that now!

A brief update of where I've been: I spent 6 months working/volunteering at The Nightshelter, a ministry of The King's Arms Church in Bedford, UK. It was something I had been hoping to do for years and was very happy to finally make it over! Unfortunately, when I tried to go back for my second 6 month stint I was turned away at the border. Unbeknownst to me the Brit's changed their entry clearance guidelines for charity workers, so I was not allowed into the country since I didn't have the proper visa and my previous visa had expired. I was devastated and didn't have the means to reapply and buy a new plane ticket, so I've been home and working on my next step. It's still up in the air, but hopefully things will come together soon!

So I've been wallowing at home, not doing much of anything for over two months now. And because money is beyond tight, I've used it as an excuse to eat an obscene amount of JUNK. Not a good combination. So yesterday I started phase 1 of South Beach. I'm just going slow and steady and setting small goals for myself.

I don't expect a dramatic weightloss since it's so very difficult for me to lose weight. I know some of it is physical/hormonal problems but with no insurance I'm not going to the doctor to get checked out anytime soon (and even if I did go I probably couldn't afford the meds nor really want to take them!). So I'm working on changing my lifestyle -- exercising regularly, making healthy food choices and taking whatever vitamins and supplements my body needs. I always tend to do one or two of those things but NEVER all three at the same time.

I need some accountablitiy to do this, so I plan to start blogging here again. I figure if I check in everyday and let y'all know what I eat and if I've exercised then that will give me the kick in the bum that I need! So, I hope that's ok with all of you!

what's your number? (again)

Apparently we've had that title before. Anyway, it's Monday, weigh in!

Monday - nearly a new month

Hello there. Tell me your numbers today and when you're done, go and see my exciting news!

Monday - weigh day

It's Monday again (just about).
What are those numbers saying today?

15 Week Challenge

Anyone interested in a 15 week challenge to loose to weight?

If so, check out this blog.

Another monday

Weigh in!

sing it out!

It's been a very musical Monday for me. I went to a friend's recital exam in the afternoon and saw some other friends singing in a gospel choir this evening.

Whether this has been a good week, or a bad week weightwise, sing out those numbers and tell me what you're thankful for today.

Looking for a Challenge

If you're looking for a challenge or an incentive to motivate you to get those numbers on the scale moving back south, check out this new challenge that is getting ready to start on Wednesday over at Sisterhood of the Shrinking Jeans.

I just ran across this site a couple of days ago and decided to sign myself up for the challenge. It's a biggest loser type of challenge but in teams...can't let your team down right...so, go check it out.

Welcome to June

It's Monday. You know what to do!

hey, it's Monday again

That came around quick!
Who's weighing in today?

How are we doing?

How is everyone doing this week with staying on track? I know its only Wednesday, but have you been making the effort to lose??? Also, what is everyone planning for the weekend to keep loosing and not gain back what you lost earlier in the week? Keep movin'!

Who's weighing in this week?

It's almost Monday, so I'm posting a weigh-in post.
I'm once again not weighing in (well I don't currently have any scales, for one thing, because I left them with Elly when I got married!). But I will be trying to keep accountable with y'all about eating well and exercising.
My exciting news for this week is that I have a scan today (Monday). It's the 20 week scan where they check everything is going according to plan with the baby's growth, and also the one where we choose not to find out the sex of our baby because we want a surprise!

What is your plan?

Just wondering what everyone is planning to stay on track this week??? We can do this people. Its our last chance to get in better shape before the summer is here. I want to drink TONS of water and move for at least 30 mins today and everyday this week. How about all of you???

Monday's weigh in post

Hey everyone! I know it's not actually Monday yet, but I thought of putting up a weigh in post, so I figured I'd go ahead and do it.

How has your weekend been? We had lots of people over for lunch today - a 'bring and share' type thing. But we've got so much stuff left over, and it's all cakes and crisps (chips) and stuff, so I think I need to take some of it in to work tomorrow to get rid of it!

My aim for this week is to keep up the exercise and try to stay more in control of my eating.

Staying on track?

It's Thursday...getting closer to the weekend.

How is everyone doing? Managing to stay on track?

Elly, Nikki, Christy F? Anyone else want to share?

My week has been good. Yesterday I deviated a bit and was hungry, so I had a serving of almonds and a serving of peanut butter, so those 2 things added calories and fat pretty quickly but at least it was the healthy kind, right?

Today is going to be tough getting my exercise in. I usually get some cardio in the morning and then weights over the lunch hour but we're having some work done at home, so even though I'm working from home, I have to be home to let the workers in...so there goes my morning cardio. The workers will still be here over the lunch hour so I could go get my workout in but then I have to pick up my daughter at 2 for a Dr's appt, so I wouldn't have time to get ready...so I'm going to play that workout by ear...and then to top it off, I have to go in to work tonight around 5-6 for a software release that we're doing and we have to be in the office for...so even if I don't get my exercise in...my eating will stay on track!!!

So, how is everyone's week going?

Its Monday...Weigh yourself!

I hope nobody is bothered that I put this up. Just thought I would help out. I am not trying to step on any toes here. How is everyone doing with weight loss? How about exercise and water intake. Why don't we all set goals for ourselves for the week. Tell us you personal goal and we can all check in on each other.
Lets not spend the summer fat and frumpy friends. Won't we have more fun in the sun if we are taking care of ourselves?!!! I am sure that I will! I hate being all self conscious wearing shorts. I actually haven't worn shorts in years (except with a bathing suit) cause I am always worried about my legs. I am a capri girl, but it would be nice to add in some shorts this year! Lets get healthy! NOW!!!

How's your weekend?

Nikki, just checking in on you...how is your weekend going?

Weekends are always tough, well, at least for me they are. I haven't THE hardest time sticking to eating healthy on the weekends. I think it's my frame of my mind, weekend is here, the hard week is over, time to relax, eat good, etc. That's just not the right way to think and I know I need to change that.

Elly, how's it going on phase 1?

Anyone else want to share how your weekend is going?

Bird, I don't think we've heard from you in a couple of weeks, how are you doing?

Here we go again...

Ok, here I start on my dieting yet again. I have a little motivation this time. I also have a goal. We are going to Idaho in June to see my brother in-law race in some huge triathlon. I want to be 170 when we leave. That is a 16 lb loss by June 12th I think. I know that is going to be hard, but I don't care. I don't want to be fat this summer, and I don't want to be fat when we are there. I realize that 170 is hardly "skinny" but it will make a good size difference to me. So here we go again. Anyone with me??? I need some help staying with it, so some accountability would be great. Thanks.

catch it before it goes

We're running out of Monday rapidly (especially in the UK) but there's still time to weigh in!

Weigh Day!

So, I didn't weigh this morning, but I thought I post this just in case anyone else remembered too. :-) Hope you all have a great day!

Hey everyone

Can't remember the last time I stepped on a scale, but I'm sure that will catch up with me when I have an appointment with the midwife next week.
Life is good. Still working on getting internet in our new place, so I'm not online much at the moment (we've popped back to my parents house to pick up some of my stuff - we're still moving things in to the new place).
How are things with you? Why not weigh in.

Here I Am -- Week 3

I neglected to report last week. I lost another half pound last week, and another half this week. It's slow moving, but I'll keep posting my minuscule progress. :-)

MONDAY, MONDAY!

With Debs and family having so much going on...(Congrats Debs and Menard), I thought I would put up today's weigh in post. So ladies and gent...post your numbers. I am flying to Minnesota for work in the morning. The staff meetings are always hard for eating(lots of food..good food). Hopefully I can just say no to the desserts. Have a good week!!

It's nearly Monday

So thought I'd put up a weigh-in post ready :)
I'm getting married next Sunday, so life is pretty hectic right now, but we're surviving!
What's going on with you?

Week one

Week one ended for me yesterday morning. I lost half a pound. Actually, I lost 2.5 pounds but I spotted the first 2 pounds because I figured it was liquid retention from all the fast food I had eaten recently. 

My current weight is 195.5. 

Weigh In

It's that day again...Monday...time to weigh in.

My Personal 8-Week Challenge

A year ago I weighed roughly 177 pounds. I weighed in this morning at 198. Yep. I started this journey over two years ago at 233, dropped down to 177, and then shot back up to 198. I'm happy I haven't eclipsed 200, but the increase has been buggin'.

I decided to do a personal challenge for 8 weeks. I'm going to try my darndest to get down to the 170s again by May 14. If I lose at least 2 pounds a week I can get close, and that's sort of my realistic goal, to get to the low 180s by May 14.

Here I go!

what's your number?

It's Monday morning. Time to get on those scales and see what they're saying today. Up or down? Don't despair! Tell me something you're looking forward to this week.

weigh in! weigh in!

Good morning all! Debs is busy at work, so she asked me to put up the weigh in post.

So, how was your week? How are you doing? What are you looking forward to this week?

Jessica

I'm not really sure if you're still around much. Anyway, i just tried to email you and it bounced back. Could you leave me an up to date email address, so I can get in touch?
Thanks :)

Weigh In Day

Step on those scales and report those numbers. :)

Debs, I thought you might be at work, so I thought I'd put up a post.

Game Plan

I really do have a game plan. It's not the best but it's a plan.

So, I didn't weigh in this week. I meant to but I really forgot and now I'm afraid. I've been eating terribly and it's mainly because I found out that my gym is having a Biggest Loser competition and I'm going to sign up.

The contest starts this Sunday, March 1st. Everyone that is entering, has to get their measurements done between March 1st and March 14th. So I plan on weighing in and having my measurements taken this Sunday...the sooner, the better.

So, since I'm planning on taking on this challenge, my healthy eating has gone out the window. I know I shouldn't look at it that way but...well, no excuses...

Anyways, this coming Monday I'll do weigh in and you all keep tabs on me...I will be dropping pounds every week...I want to win!

Oh...not sure who partakes in giving up something for Lent BUT I decided to give up chocolate!!!! God help me. :) Actually, help my husband...ha!

Monday's weigh-in post

I'm putting it up now because I start a new job tomorrow and won't get online until later.
I could post-date it, but I'm too tired to fiddle with that right now.
See you all then

C'mon In...Let's Weigh In

Good Morning All! I hope you had a wonderful weekend and are ready to start this week off right.

I didn't see a post out here for our Monday weigh in, so I thought I'd help out and get one in.

Let's weigh in and see how we did!

Blueberry Apple Pancake Shake-Up

I fixed a recipe out of the Hungry-Girl cookbook last night, a blueberry apple pancake recipe, and they were pretty good.

I was craving pancakes for dinner so I decided to try those out and I was pleased.

I posted the recipe on my blog, check it out.

Thursday's Challenge

Share with the group a favourite verse from scripture (I put it like that rather than saying the Bible because I know Jessica is Jewish :) ) It doesn't have to be very long, but just tell us why it's significant to you

Friday
will be to do with how much water you drink (once I've tracked down the site that helps you calculate how much you should be drinking)

Wednesday's challenge

To exercise for at least half an hour today.

Thursday's challenge
Share with the group a favourite verse from scripture (I put it like that rather than saying the Bible because I know Jessica is Jewish :) ) It doesn't have to be very long, but just tell us why it's significant to you

I think I confused some people. You don't have to set yourself a personal challenge, although you can if you want to. What I was trying to say was, set yourself a personal reward, so that if you complete all (or the majority) of the mini-challenges, you can treat yourself (in a non-food related way!)

Tuesday's mini challenge

Challenge for the day:
Eat at least 5 servings of fruit, vegetables and salad today.

I've realised that it would be usful to post the challenge a day early, so Wednesday's challenge will be:
Exercise for at least half an hour

Let's shake it up around here

Good morning, and once again welcome to Monday.

It's been pretty quiet around here the last few weeks, and I'm sorry I haven't been around very much. Anyway, I dreamt the following idea last night, and I thought I'd give it a go.
I don't have the mental energy to organise a big competition or challenge right now, but I thought we could give some mini challenges a go...

What I'll do is each day for the next week or so I'll post a mini challenge. If you're feeling organised you can do the challenge on the day it's posted, or you can do it the next day, which gives you a chance to think about how to fit it into your schedule. If you do the challenge, come back and leave a comment on the post for that challenge, and let us know how you did. Does that make any sense at all?!

I haven't really thought about anything like prizes. I'm not sure it would work to have prizes, as I don't plan on checking up on anyone, or recording whether or not you complete the challenges (although I will obviously be reading the comments if you leave them). What I'd like to suggest is that if you'd like to, you could think of some sort of non-food related treat that you could work towards, and set yourself a personal goal - for example, if I complete 5 of the challenges this week I will xyz.

I promise that the challenges won't be too hard, or time consuming. My idea is just that they help us to keep our focus on being fit and healthy, and on our relationships with God.

Today's challenge:
(This may take a little bit of extra time, but it's just an excuse for me to be a bit nosey, I guess!)
Weigh in, and tell me what you're currently doing with regards to food-plan/diet-plan/exercise/any or all of the above. Also, think about whether you'd like to set yourself a challenge goal.

(Does that all make sense? My brain feels a littlew mushy today, so if you have any questions, or something isn't clear, please ask!)

Yummy Low-Fat Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Muffins

The other day I made an oatmeal chocolate chip loaf for a sick friend. As it was cooling, Bird looked longingly at it and asked, "is that for us?" Not only was it not for us, but he has been following Weight Watchers lately and even if I did make a loaf for us, it would cost him a dear 6 pts. per slice! So I decided to look for a recipe that would be a little bit more "points friendly."

This recipe has no oil so I was skeptical. But these muffins are surprisingly moist and very satisfying. I also like the fact that they are made with whole grains. The only change I made to the original recipe was to use a whole egg in place of 2 egg whites and to add 1/2 C chocolate chips at the end. With chocolate chips, I believe that each muffin is 3 pts. I totally thought I would leave these for him; assuming that I would not be crazy about them. (I usually don't care too much for low-fat stuff.) But I love these. Enjoy!

The original recipe is here.

Monday morning is here again

We have snow here. Great big snow (well, I say great big - it's a few inches, but enough to bring London to a standstill, almost! And with more to come)
What's the weather like where you are?

I feel like my weight loss is a bit stuck at the moment. I need to do something to kick start it again. I guess I need to get strict with myself again, it feels like things have got a bit too relaxed.

Midweek check in

How's everyone doing? It's the superbowl soon, right? How do you plan to deal with all the junk food that that seems to generate? (Thanks Christina for sharing some recipes)
How's your spiritual life? When did you last read your bible? Are you getting spiritual food as well as physical?

Jalapeno Swappers

Ingredients
5 fresh whole jalapenos
1/2 cup Fiber One bran cereal (original)
1/4 cup fat free liquid egg substitute
1/4 cup fat free cream cheese
1/4 cup shredded fat free cheddar cheese
Optional: salt, black pepper, garlic powder

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Halve the jalapenos lengthwise and remove the seeds, stems, and membranes. Be very careful when handling jalapenos. Wash your hands frequently and well, and avoid touching your face and eyes. Wash halves and dry them very well. Set aside.

Stir together cream cheese and shredded cheese. If you like, season cheese mixture with salt, black pepper, and/or garlic powder.

Using a blender or food processor, grind Fiber One to a breadcrumb-like consistency. If you like, season crumbs with salt, black pepper, and/or garlic powder. Place crumbs in one small dish and egg substitute in another.

Stuff each jalapeno with the cheese mixture. Next, carefully coat both sides of each jalapeno half, fist with egg substitute and then with Fiber One crumbs.

Place jalapenos on a baking pan sprayed with nonstick spray and place in the oven. Cook for 25 minutes (for very spicy poppers) to 30 minutes (medium-hot poppers).

Makes 2 servings.

PER SERVING (5 poppers):
126 calories, 1g fat, 425mg sodium, 22g carbs, 8g fiber, 4g sugars, 14g protein
POINTS®value 2

hg's de-pudged pigs in a blanket

Here's a recipe you can use for Super Bowl Sunday. You can check out what it looks like here.

NOTE: For those of you needing some healthy recipes for Superbowl Sunday, check out the rest of the recipe pics on the Hungry-Girl website. If you find one you'd like the recipe for, leave a comment under here and I'll post the recipe for you.

Ingredients
8 fat-free or nearly fat-free hot dogs (40 to 50 calories each)
1 can (8 servings) Pillsbury Reduced Fat Crescent Rolls refrigerated dough

Directions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Cut each dog into 4 even pieces.

Take 1 of the 8 triangle-shaped portions of the dough and stretch or roll it out slightly, making it into a larger triangle. Then cut this piece of dough into 4 long, narrow triangles. Beginning at the base of each of these triangles, roll 1 hot dog piece up in each triangle until the point of the triangle wraps around the center. Place your blanketed pigs on a large, ungreased baking pan and repeat entire process 7 more times with remaining dough and hot dog pieces. Be sure to evenly space them, as the dough will expand while baking.
Place pan in the oven and cook for about 12 minutes, until dough appears slightly browned and crip.
Enjoy!
Makes 8 servings.

PER SERVING (4 pigs in a blanket):
134 calories, 5g fat, 652mg sodium, 16g carbs, 0g fiber, 3g sugars, 8g protein
POINTS® value 3

WW Chocolate Chip Cookies

I got this recipe from a friend of mine and they are oh soooo yummmmy!

1 c. brown sugar
1 c. reduced fat creamy peanut butter
1 c. chocolate chips
1 egg
1 tsp. baking powder


Mix all the ingredients. Makes 24 cookies, 2 pts each. Bake at 325 degrees for 6-8 minutes.

Monday's here again!

Wherever did that week go? What did you do last week? Did you do anything exciting. I was away over the weekend on a church weekend away. (I tried to re-phrase that last sentence to not contain the words 'away' and 'weekend' twice, but kiddo* will only sleep for so long, and there are more important things in life!)

Why not weigh-in and share something that you did last week, or have planned for this week.

* One of the lovely children that I child-mind.

Banana Oatmeal Muffins

I ran across this recipe on this blog and tried it; these muffins are pretty good tasting. They're actually pretty similar to another recipe on our OWOA recipe archive. I posted the recipe on my blog and I thought I'd post on here as well. Enjoy!

Ingredients -
1 cup oats
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
2 large bananas, mashed
1/2 cup unsweetened apple sauce
2 egg whites
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp ground flaxseed
1 tbsp chopped walnuts
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1/4 cup water

Directions -
1. Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees

2. Line muffin tray

3. Combine mashed bananas, apple sauce, egg whites, vanilla extract, ground flaxseed and walnuts in medium sized bowl. Stir in cinnamon and nutmeg. Set aside.

4. In large bowl combine oats, flour, baking powder, baking soda and brown sugar. Add wet ingrediants to dry and combine well. Stir in 1/4 cup of water.

5. Pour mixture in muffin tray.

6. Baked for 20 mins.

7. Remove muffins from tray and place on cooling rack.

Servings: 12
Points Value: 2

Check-in

Just off to my treadmill. Yay!
What do you have planned for today? How's your week going? Check-in and tell us!

Failed at the second hurdle

I haven't been on the treadmill today. It's 9.50pm (or so) and I'm about to go to bed.

However, this evening I completed two job applications (with lots of help from my lovely mummy). That may not sound a lot, but for me it was a hurdle crossed. Since being depressed and out of 'proper' work (I child-mind two days a week at the moment) for a long time, it had become a big mental block to me to even start looking for jobs, let alone applying.
I have no idea if anything will come of these applications, but in a way, I feel like a winner already.

Tomorrow morning I look forward to a great session on the treadmill :)

In my dream last night

I came up with this awesomely wonderful original title for this week's weigh-in, and now I can't remember it, so you got this instead.

Nikki, thanks for persevering with the site, despite not liking seeing your own posts at the top! I've had a hectic-ly busy few days, but hopefully things will calm down a bit this week.

How's everyone? It was great to find out a bit more about some of you (I'll go back and add a bit about me too, I promise!)
This week I've made the decision that I need to be really strict with myself. Boot Camp like, in fact. Today, and every day for the next five days I will be going on my treadmill. Whether I feel like it or not. We're going away at the weekend, but I will endeavour to exercise while I'm away, and then once I'm home again it's back to exercising. I'm gonna try to create a habit, and exercise every day for the rest of the month. Anyone want to join me?

Um, I'll say that I have to do at least 15 minutes on my treadmill for it to count. I now have a small child sitting on my lap helping me type, so I'm going to end this post here.
Weigh-in!

What do you think?

I was thinking of switching plans to Weight Watchers. Does anyone have any helpful advise or words of wisdom. My thinking is that I am eating too much food and this will get me used to eating a reasonable amount of food. Maybe? I have had success on the program before and my beloved husband was thinking he would try it again. Perhaps it would be fun to do together and cheer each other on. (Not that we couldn't being on different plans.) I was thinking it would be great to get other opinions. Thanks.

Oh and someone else really needs to be writing on here sometimes. I am sick of seeing my own posts.

Tell me about yourself...

So I feel like I kinda know you gals/guy, but I would love to know more about you. Tell us all something about yourself we all don't know. It can be diet/not diet related. I just thought it would be fun for everyone to get to know each other a little better?! Maybe you all have done something like this while I was ignoring the fact that I was getting fat again? Tell us something anyway.

New Recipe

I found this recipe for Cannellini Bean and Sausage Stew with Tomatoes and Basil over on Kalyn's Kitchen and I'm going to be trying it today. I'll let you know what I think, but having oohed and ahhed over the pictures and description, I reckon I'm going to like it!

Have you tried any new recipes lately? Care to share?

WHY???

Why? Why am I not losing any weight? I don't get it. I have been good, really good. I don't understand why nothing is coming off. I am getting really frustrated! Why bother suffering on the beach if nothing is going to come off?
I know I am not drinking enough water, that could be PART of the problem, but I don't think that is all of it. What the heck is going on? Its not near "that time" either. AAAHHHHHH!!!
Ok, I feel better now. How are you all doing today?

Weigh-in

Hello, and welcome to Monday.
People, I'm feeling a bit stale here on OWOA at the moment. I need some inspiration for the site. What can I/we do to help inspire you? Would you like me to post daily check-ins again? Bible study? Jokes? Real life stories? What do you guys want here? At the moment it feels like the blog is just ticking over, but not really doing anything. (A bit like my weight loss which goes up and down, but doesn't really change much, or if anything has an upward trend).

I need to shame myself and give myself a big kick to get out of this rut. This morning I weighed in at 225.2. That's up several on last week. Which is stupid since I told myself I was going back on phase one, and then even on the days I was doing phase one, I ate too much, and I didn't exercise, and then by the weekend it all went out the window.
Anyone out there? Please help!

Thankful Thursday

(the slightly late in the day version)
I was just driving home from our church prayer meeting this evening and suddenly realised that if we were to have a Thankful Thursday post this week, it should have gone up today. So here it is, slightly delayed, but luckily most of you are in a later time zone than me and still have plenty of day left for being thankful in!

Now I will stop rambling on and let you get on with it! Goodnight.

Quick Check-in

How's your week going? Are you staying on plan with your eating? Are you moving your body?
Any New years resolutions you'd like to share?

My little sister is getting married in the summer and I'm going to be one of her bridesmaids, so I'm resolving to get in shape for that :)

Facebook

Hey, I know a lot of you are on facebook. I just got on there and I was wondering how I can find you all???

January 5th 2009* - A day we've not had before, and won't see again. Let's make the most of it

Good morning, Happy New Year and Hurrah for Mondays.

I feel a bit like I've let this blog lie fallow a while too long, and that's also been reflected in my weight-loss (I haven't lost!). So I'm here, I'm back. Get ready for Debs' revitalised return!

I just want to publicly say thank you to Tami for all that she's put in to One Weigh or Another over the last couple of years. I treasure her as a friend, and I've been so blessed by her commitment. I pray that God will bless her and her family in this decision.

Right then, let's get weighing in!

* oh the irony of getting the year wrong!

New Year, time for changes

Hi all. I wanted to come and let everyone know that I will be leaving OWOA. I'm leaving blog world all together and this time for good. I've gone back and forth with blogging over the last 3 years. Sometimes on, sometimes off. I've always struggled spiritually with it. I find myself spending time on the computer when I should be doing so many other things. I need to give my complete focus and heart to the Lord, my husband and our children.

I have done away with all of my saved links to blogs I enjoy visiting (with the exception of 3 that inspire the crafty side of me). I have also deleted my personal blog. I'm not sure if this post will be done away with once I delete my info from blogger so I will be sending this on to Debs in hopes that she'll post it.
I just wanted you all to know where I'm going and why I won't be here anymore. Thanks for a fun couple of years.
Oh, Nikki, Power 90 is an exercise routine. I'm sure you can find info by googling it.

~Tami

Quick Check in

Hi all! I just wanted to pop in real fast. We went to a dear friends farm on Wednesday evening to ring in the new year. While we planned on only staying Wednesday night, we were invited to spend the weekend. Unfortunately we didn't have our Power 90 videos so we'll have to pick up on Monday. With that said, it has been wonderful to have the kids on the farm and visit with our family (family through Christ).
See you all Monday morning (although I'm not looking forward to the scale)

Knock knock

Hello??? Is anyone out there? I am tired of seeing my own post people!!! How is everyone handling the weekend? Any difficulties?

I DID IT!!!

Oh, I am so happy to report to you all that I was able to resist the temptation last night. We had some friends over and had tacos for dinner...I had taco salad. We also had chocolate cake and ice cream...I had sugar-free jello. I did it! I hated it, but I did it. It was very hard. I kept having to talk myself out of having just one taste of frosting, or one bite of the kids cake, or one lick off the ice cream scooper. I didn't do it. NOT ONE TASTE!!! I am certainly not bragging here. I was sooooo tempted! But I felt like it was a really good step forward for me. See when I fall, its often cause we are with friends and everyone is having yummy food. Well this time I just decided to deal with it. I have 8 more days on phase 1 (unless I feel like I need to do it a little longer) I doubt I will need to, but you never know. So that is my check in...how are you all hanging in there?