Alright, alright, alright!

It's not like I need to announce it, but I am anyways. So, I've been gone for a month now. I know, you couldn't tell, right?! Riiiight ;-) Anyways.. the reason I was gone is well, I had a bad week (cheating, sneaking and not exercising will do that to you) And I didn't want to fess up to it. On top of that I was feeling a little discouraged from that and well, the lack of comments, I suppose.

You see, sometimes I feel like I need people to read and comment on my blog for it to make a difference. When it got to a point where people weren't commenting anymore I thought maybe it was useless. I like to use my blog as an outlet. A way to keep myself on track, motivated and "someone" to check in with on my journey. Last night I had the realization that I'd rather write my blog for me to get things out and even if there is someone out there reading that maybe the one thing I said helped them, then that's great! 

I know I don't need to write for you, you or heck, even you, but I like to. I like writing for me, but I also like writing for you! I like the tapping of the keyboard, the words appearing on the screen. Sometimes I even wish I had a reason to type letters because I just like the way it feels. So, I'm back again. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know it's like the twelve-millionth time I've said that, but it's permanent this time. Just know, if you're reading, I'm glad you're interested. And if not, that's cool too. I like my blog in all of it's little glory and that's OK with me.

Flashbacks

Another week, another weigh-in. I followed my points 100% and I even got 4 workouts in last week. All of my hard work is paying off - I lost 2.5 pounds!! I've now lost 17.5 pounds since my return! I weighed in at 195.3 this morning. This is a number I haven't seen since right after Graycen was born (3.5 years ago) I actually think this is what I weighed at my 6 week post-partum check. I can't believe how well I am doing and how good it's making me feel. I'm finding it to be so much easier to get up off of the floor, bed, etc.. My knees aren't cracking and popping as much as they had been, my clothes are getting too big. I really could go on and on, but I won't. I feel good!
I totally meant it when I said I was doing it this time!! Yay me!

I'm in love with lemon

I don't know if you love lemon, but I sure do. I have been on the hunt for a WW friendly recipe for lemon bars and was STOKED when I saw there was one in the Hungry Girl book. Well, I made the recipe and let me tell you - it was GROSS. I'm not even going to bother posting the recipe, but just know if you come across it, it's not good and don't even try it.

Ma found a recipe for me on About.com in the Low Fat Cooking area and I wasn't hesitant to try it at all. I'm so glad I made it because these lemon bars rock!

Cook Time: 25 minutes

Total Time: 25 minutesIngredients:

For the Base:

•1 cup all-purpose flour

•1/4 cup sugar

•1/2 cup quick oats

•3 tbsp butter

For theTopping:

•1 egg

•1 egg white

•1 cup sugar

•3 tbs flour

•1/4 tsp baking powder

•Pinch of salt

•Juice and zest of 1 large lemon (I used the zest of a lemon, and then about 5tb of juice from the bottle)

•Confectioner's sugar, sifted, for sprinkling

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat an 8-inch square baking pan with nonstick cooking spray.

Combine flour, oats and sugar in a medium bowl. Using a pastry blender, add butter and blend until the mixture is crumbly.

Press crumbs into the bottom of the baking pan. Bake for 10 minutes until edges are golden.

Meanwhile, whisk egg and egg white. Add sugar and beat until creamy. Add flour, baking powder, salt and lemon; whisk until smooth.

Pour lemon mixture over pre-baked base. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until center is set.

Cool in pan for 15 minutes, then transfer to wire rack to cool completely.

Makes 16 squares.

Per Serving: Calories 133, Total Fat 2.8g, Fiber 0.1g

Point value:: 3

It's weigh in time again!

I know, I know... I skipped last week's weigh-in. I don't know if it was a lack of ambition with wanting to write (this weather has been crappy) or if it was the fact that my weight just was not budging and I was staying within a 1.5 pound slump which resulted in me only losing 0.2lbs at last week's weigh-in. I was damn near ready to just give up since I wasn't moving the scale like I knew I should have been. I was sticking with my points 100%, working out and not even eating my extra points for the week.

I thought about it a little bit and decided I was going to take myself down 2 points (which is what you do when your weight changes) even though it wasn't time yet. Well, sure enough, cutting out 2 points was the trick. I lost 2.6 pounds over the last week. I have now lost 15 pounds since re-starting Weight Watchers and I am just thrilled about it. My weight is 197.8 and that is lower than it was when I stopped WW last time. Yay me! I officially have less than 50 pounds to lose now and that makes it seem way more attainable than ever before! I'm definitely a wanna-be prior fat girl. ;-)

I quit

I hate to admit it, but I have given up on the C25K program. You see, back in jr high I hurt my knee playing basketball. When I was running I started having really bad pains in my knee and the pain would only be dulled with ibuprofen. So, I am no longer running, but just working out instead. I am upset that I couldn't do it and I even tried to find excuses as to why I COULDN'T stop, but common sense kicked in and it made me realize I was doing the right thing by stopping. I am excited to see everyone else continue on and I will still cheer you all on. I'll totally walk a 5k any day (a 3 mile walk is a cake walk for me - I could walk for ages.. ) Thanks for the support you did give me. I appreciate it!

Product Review:: Ronzoni Smart Taste Thin Spaghetti

Recently I discovered Ronzoni's Smart Taste Thin Spaghetti and was VERY pleased. I had been buying whole wheat spaghetti and was satisfied, but decided to try this since I had a coupon for $1.00 off and that made it only $0.58 - what a deal! Turns out, nutritionally, this pasta is a lot better for you than the whole wheat pasta I had been buying. It has the calcium equal to an 8oz glass of milk! I think this is a great pasta for kids to be eating as well.

It's very filling, has a nice texture to eat and the flavor is good as well. I will continue to buy it!

Points value:: 3 (for 1 cup)

What happened?

I'm not exactly sure what happened the past few days. I have been feeling pretty crappy with some chest/throat thing so I haven't been working out, but I have been sticking to my points. Yesterday was the first day I have felt like myself and not like crap so I worked out to one of my old faves - Crunch Fat Burning Pilates and followed it up with W2D1 of the C25k (which I had to stop after 18 minutes because I couldn't breathe very well) I weighed myself this morning and I am only down 0.1 pounds from last week. I know it's 1/10 of a pound, but still. I have been 100% on with my points and then even got 2 sorts of workouts in last night. Hmmmm... Could it be because I haven't even be doing my normal activity of walking around, cleaning house, taking care of kids? I've pretty much been stuck in bed or just lounging around with a little tiny bit of activity in here and there. Is that my problem? Any insight?

Recipe Review:: MY Weight Watchers friendly pizza

If you're on Weight Watchers or just want a low-cal/low-fat pizza I have a recipe for you!!

I've made this pizza one time before and it wasn't as good, but I made it again last night and have now learned how to make it better. I'll list the ingredients I used, but obviously you can make it to suit your likes!

Ingredients:

• Multi Grain with Flax Flat Out

-For sauce:

• 1/3 cup tomato sauce
• Italian seasonings
• Garlic powder
• Minced garlic
• Garlic salt

-Toppings:

• About 2-3tb chopped mushrooms
• About 2-3tb chopped green peppers
• About 2-3tb chopped onions
• 17 slices of turkey pepperoni
• 7 medium black olives, sliced
• 1/3 cup Weight Watchers shredded cheese
• 2 tb low-fat mozzarella cheese

Directions:

• Heat oven to 350 degrees.
• Heat the flat out on a non-stick cookie sheet for 7 minutes
• While the flat out is heating, chop your veggies and create your sauce!
• Remove flat out from oven, spread sauce and pile on toppings!
• Cook in oven for 15 minutes or until the cheese is melted.
• Remove from oven, cut and enjoy (THE WHOLE THING!)

Points value: 7

Recipe Review:: Hungry Girl's Sassy Veggie Egg Rolls

Have you heard of Hungry Girl? Well, if you haven't, you should go check her out here! She's a girl that likes food and doesn't want to feel deprived of her nummy food so she has found ways to make super delish recipes in a low-fat/low-cal way.

I sure love me some egg rolls so you can bet when I saw this recipe in HG's book I HAD to make them. They took a while to make, but I pretty much expected that with all of the chopped and shredded veggies that were included. They were super yummy worth my time! The only modification I made was leaving out the pineapple. 
As a side note: These egg rolls don't get crunchy like your regular egg rolls since you don't fry them. Because of this, when you reheat them you should heat them up in the oven instead of the microwave otherwise you'll get soggy egg rolls. :-(
Oh! And don't blame me if you're upset and confused with trying to figure out what the crap I'm talking about with rolling the egg rolls, that was the direction from the book, not mine! Good luck.

Hungry Girl's Sassy Veggie Egg Rolls

Ingredients:

• 12 large sqaure egg roll wrappers
• 2 cups shredded cabbage
• 1 cup chopped onions
• 1/2 cup shredded carrots
• 1/2 cup chopped bean sprouts
• 1/2 cup chopped celery
• 1/2 cup pineapple in juice, chopped
• 1/2 cup canned sliced water chestnuts, chopped
• 1/4 cup light or low-sodium soy sauce
• 1 tablesppons minced garlic
• salt & pepper, to taste

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Place cabbage in a microwave-safe dish with 2 tablesppons of water and microwave for 3 minutes. Drain water and transfer to a large bowl.
• Add all other ingredients to the bowl, except for the warppers, and mix well. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Set aside.
• Place two egg roll wrappers on a clean, dry surface. Evenly place 2 heaping spoonfuls of the veggie mixture (1/12th of the mixture) onto each wrapper, in rwos a little below the center of each square. Moisten all four edges of each wrapper with watter by dabbing your fingers in water and going over the edges smoothly.
• Fold the sides of each wrapper about three-quarters of an inch toward the middle to keep the mixture from falling out of the sides. The roll the bottome of each wrapper up arounf the mixture and continue rolling until you reach the top. Seal the outside edge once more witha dab of water.
• Repeat process with all other wrappers, making sure you have a clean, dry surface each time. Place all of the egg rolls onto a large baking pan sprayed with nonstick spray.
• Lightly spray the tops of the egg rolls with nonstick spray. Bake in the oven for about 25 minutes, until golden brown. Allow to cool slightly and then cut each egg roll in half.

Per serving (2 pieces): 82 calories, 0.5g fat, 1.5g fiber.

Points Value:: 1 (4 pieces equal 3)

Recipe Review:: Hungry Girl's Crazy-Good Turkey Taco Meatloaf

Have you heard of Hungry Girl? Well, if you haven't, you should go check her out here! She's a girl that likes food and doesn't want to feel deprived of her nummy food so she has found ways to make super delish recipes in a low-fat/low-cal way.

I'll tell you straight out: I am an odd one - I LOVE meatloaf. I came across this HG recipe for a taco meatloaf and decided to give it a shot. It was really easy to make, didn't take a million years and tasted nummy. The only downfall I found was in reheating it. It was pretty dry in that area. My mother in law recommended I put some water in with it and cover with aluminum foil (I reheated in the oven) to help prevent that. I will certainly make it again!

I will say, I did stretch it and served myself 2 pieces and found that I was overly full since I also steamed some asparagus and ate that along with it. So 1 piece is sufficient as long as you eat something with it.

Hungry Girl's Crazy-Good Turkey Taco Meatloaf

Ingredients:

• 1 pound raw extra-lean ground turkey
• 2 slices fat-free cheddar cheese
• 1/2 cup shredded fat-free cheddar cheese
• 1/2 cup canned sweet corn kernels
• 1/4 cup chopped green bell peppers
• 1/4 cup chopped onions
• 1/2 cup salsa
• 1/2 packet of taco seasoning mix, dry

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
• Cook peppers and onions for 3 minutes over medium heat in a pan sprayed with nonstick spray.
• In a largw bowl, combine onions and peppers with turkey, corn and seasoning mix. Spread half the mixture evenly into the bottom of a loaf pan sprayed with nonstick spray.
• Layer the two slices of fat-free cheese on top of the mixture (try to keep if away from the pan's edges) Evenly top with the remaining meat mixture.
• Pour the salsa over the top of the load. Cook in the oven for 30 minutes.
• Top loaf with shredded cheese. Return loaf to the oven and cook for another 15 minutes.

Per serving (1/6th of loaf): 127 calories, 1g fat, 0.5g fiber

Points Value:: 3

Recipe Review:: Hungry Girl's Creamy Hot Apple B-fast with Brown Sugar Crunch

Have you heard of Hungry Girl? Well, if you haven't, you should go check her out here! She's a girl that likes food and doesn't want to feel deprived of her nummy food so she has found ways to make super delish recipes in a low-fat/low-cal way.

One morning I wanted apple oatmeal for breakfast but wasn't willing to sacrifice 2 points for one measly little packet of oatmeal that would only leaving me feeling hungry in a while. Thankfully, I have the Hungry Girl books and remembered there was something in there that I had bought the ingredients for. I wasn't looking forward to the prep time (cutting the apples up and crumbling the granola bar) since I was ready to eat NOW! Surprisingly it all went fast. It was maybe a 5-6 minute timeframe between prep and cooking. Not bad.

I'm so glad I tried this recipe. The apple/cinnamon flavor is perfect and the crunchiness that you get from the granola bar is great. This recipe lef tme feeling satisfied. I did need to drink some milk with it though, since it is on the sweet side. I think this could even make a wonderful dessert with a little fat-free cool whip!

Hungry Girl's Creamy Hot Apple B-fast with Brown Sugar Crunch

Ingredients:

• 1 cup peeled apple chunks (any sweet, not tart, variety)
• 1 Nature Valley Maple Brown Sugar Crunchy Granola Bar (half a 2-bar package)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar-free fat-free vanilla instant pudding mix
• 2 no-calorie sweetener packets
• 1 1/2 teaspoons cornstrach
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• Dash of salt

Directions:

• in a medium-large microwave-safe bowl, place pudding mix, sweetener, cornstrach, cinnmon and salt. Add 1/3 cup cols water and mix until blended.
• Add apple chunks and toss them in the liquid mixture. Cover bow and microwave for 2 1/2 minutes. Allow mixture to thicken and cool for a few minutes before removing from microwave.
• While waiting for it cool some, place the granola bar in a sealable plastic bag. Place on a flat surface and use can or rolling pin to crush the bar until you have small crumbles.
• Once apple mix is cool enough to handle, stir in granola pieces. Eat it up before it gets cold!

Per serving (entire recipe) 189 calories, 3g fat, 3g fiber.

**Points Value:: 3

It's been a little bit..

I'ts been a couple of weeks since I have weighed in. That's because I was in Vegas from the 5th to the 9th (just missing weigh-in by one day) and then I didn't have a weigh-in again at Weight Watchers until the 15th. When I went in I was expecting the scales to be up quite a bit, but to my surprise, I was only up 1.6lbs. The receptionist asked if I had a really hard week and I explained I had been in Vegas but I started right back up the day after we came home and she cheered me on!
I've been sticking to my guns with my points (not in Vegas, of course) and I got a couple workouts in as well as my 3 - C25K runs in and even a couple of family walks. So I've gotten my fitness in. I'm now happy to say I am actually .6lbs lighter than I was the day we left for Vegas! Woooooo-hooooo! I weighed in at 201.1lbs - sooo close to getting out of the two hundreds FOR GOOD! I don't think it will happen by Thursday, but I sure will try!

Couch to 5k - Week 1

Alright, I finished the first week of C25K and let me tell you, it was a lot easier than I expected it to be. Don't get me wrong, it was hard, but easier than I thought.

My goal for the week was to finish week 1 without giving up. Sadly, I finished BUT I did give up (at the end of my 3rd run) I did my first run on Monday, my second on Wednesday and then my 3rd actually didn't happen until last night. I know, I had 3 days in between runs 1 and 3, but I seriously couldn't breathe well enough to do it on Friday or Saturday. Oh well, I got it done and that's all that matters.

You see, somewhere around day (run) 2 I developed some sort of respiratory issue. My chest has been tight, I have a cough, can't breathe very well - it's not cute. I ran despite it last night and told myself I would stop if it got to be too hard. Well, it got to be too hard and I stopped. I actually lasted almost 21 of the 29 minutes the first week is and I even beat my personal best for pace! Yay me. Here's my progress for the week - reported by Nike+. You can be my friend or see my profile by clicking here.

My goals for this week:

• Totally conquer week 2! 
• Keep or beat my pace from week 1.

Want to join in on the fun? Head over to Liz's blog and write up your own post! You can do it!

And we're off!

Ok, if I didn't lose you over the last week or so then you should know what I'm talking about when I ask if you remember me talking about starting the Couch to 5K (C25K) with Liz and a bunch of other cool people. Well, do you remember me talking about that? Would you believe that I kept my word and actually started today as I had planned?! I can't!

Now let me tell you - I have had the (old) podcasts for the C25K in my iPod for quite some time now (and when I say quite some time, I mean like 6+ months) with every intention of starting it and just never did. I had a newfound motivation to get my butt in gear when my friend Liz said she was going to start this and she was challenging other people to start it as well. I used to be a runner. Liz never has been. She is on a journey to do this, to accomplish this, to DEMOLISH this! She can do it and I think she knows that with all of us other bloggers behind her, she can push herself to do it too. Well Liz, I, too, accept your challenge!

Here is my first post about it.

• Goal for the week: Finish week 1 without giving up. 
• I have to say - this was easier than I expected it to be, but still a butt kicker. I honestly thought I would have stopped running before the minute of running was up, but I DID NOT!
• I ran on an actual track and I found that when it was time to run and knowing that my run would end when I was about halfway around the track (from wherever I started) helped me to keep on running.
• My butt hurts - a lot.
•  I need help with knowing what to do about these damn shin splints. I've heard about them in running and coincidentally, I didn't get them while running, only while doing the walking in between.
• My end goal is to also run the Liz Logelin Foundation 5k along with Liz and I'm sure many more!

I have to say - with the recommendation from my friend Missy to check out Carli's podcast, I am so happy I did. I LOVE IT! Thanks girl!

A day late, 5% body weight short!

So I'm a day late in posting my weigh-in, but that's ok. Since rejoining WW 4 weeks ago I am down 5%! Last week I lost 2.1 pounds, which put me at 201.7 and bringing my total weight loss to 11.1 pounds. Yay me!

I was in a funk the week before last and I think the reason I only dropped 0.2 pounds was because I wasn't being 100% honest with myself in measuring, etc. I stuck to my guns and got a few workouts in. I attempted a 1 mile run, but the wind and cold were so bad that my lungs were burning and my ears were popping. It sucked. I made it a half of a mile in 6'59" and was bummed that I just couldn't continue. BUT I plan on starting the Couch to 5K (C25K) program along with Liz and many more bloggers the week after next (they're all starting next week, but we'll be in Vegas). I'm pretty excited. David is going to start it with me.  I've been wanting to start it and I actually have had the podcasts on the iPod for quite some time now, I just haven't done it. This should be fun!

I'm so close to being under 200 pounds and am worried about what next week will bring for me with being on vacation in Vegas. Yikes! I won't aimlessly eat, but I sure as heck won't deny myself. Maybe I'll see what it's like to live in the "real world" and not measure everything exactly, but instead making better choices and stopping when I'm full. We'll see. I really don't know how it will go, but the best I can do is try.

Recipe Review:: Hungry Girl's Yum Yum Brownie Muffins

Have you heard of Hungry Girl? Well, if you haven't, you should go check her out here! She's a girl that likes food and doesn't want to feel deprived of her nummy food so she has found ways to make super delish recipes in a low-fat/low-cal way.

The other night I decided to go for it and whip these up. Here's another one of the ones I was apprehensive about because of the pumpkin. You see, the only part of the pumpkin I like to eat is the seeds (baked up, of course) so I wasn't too sure of what I would think of these.

Well, I put my dislike of pumpkin aside and tried them. They are delicious! I could tast a hint of pumpkin, but ma said she couldn't (but she also likes pumpkin) Maybe I was looking for it? I don't know. Either way, I like them, the kids like them, ma likes them. I guess they turned out pretty well. I would definitely make them again!

Yum Yum Brownie Muffins

Ingredients:

• 1 box devil’s food cake mix (approx. 18oz)
• 1 can pure pumpkin (15 oz.)

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
• Mix the two ingredients together. Don't add anything else that may be mentioned on the box, such as eggs, oil, or water. The mixture will be very thick and you will be tempted to add in other things to make the batter smoother. DO NOT DO THIS AS IT WILL RUIN EVERYTHING!
• Place batter into muffin tins (or mini muffin tins) lined with paper, or sprayed with non-stick spray. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes.

Per Serving (1 muffin or 3 minis): 181 calories, 3.5g fat, 2g fiber

**Points Value - 4

Recipe Review:: Hungry Girl's Cinnamon-vanilla French Toast Nuggets

Have you heard of Hungry Girl? Well, if you haven't, you should go check her out here! She's a girl that likes food and doesn't want to feel deprived of her nummy food so she has found ways to make super delish recipes in a low-fat/low-cal way.

The other morning I made these for breakfast. It was easy, fast and super tasty. My kids even loved devoured them! I would definitely make them again in the future and when doing so, I would probably either stick the other 8 in the fridge and reheat in the oven the next morning or just toss 'em over to the kids.

While the 16 were very filling, I'm not about to sacrifice 6 points for these in the future. I would probably pair it with a Fiber One Yogurt (1 point) or something.

Hungry Girl's Cinnamon-vanilla French Toast Nuggets

 

Ingredients:

• 2 hot dog buns
• 1/3 cup fat free liquid egg substitute
• 1 tsp Coffee-Mate Sugar Free French Vanilla powdered creamer
• 2 dashes cinnamon
• Optional topping: sugar-free pacake syrup (I only dipped mine in the syrup, rather than pouring over them)

Directions:

• Split each bun in half, cut each of those halves into 4 pieces, leaving you with 16 pieces of bread.
• In a small bowl, dissolve powedered creamer n 1 tablespoon warm water. Add egg substitute and 1 dash of cinnamon, stirring until mixed well.
• Bring a large pan sprayed with nonstick spray to medium-high heat. Dip or soak bread pieces in egg mixture, covering them completely. Place egg-dipped bread pieces in the pan and cook for 3-5 minutes, flipping occasionally to cook all sides.
• Remove from heat and plate your nuggets Sprinkle with another dash of cinnamon. If you like, top with some sugar-free pancake syrup.

Makes 2 servings (I didn't see this when I made them and thought 'man, this is a lot!' No wonder!)

Per Serving (8 nuggets): 151 calories, 2.25g fat, 1.5g fiber.

**Points Value - 3

**NOTE** I added a little bit of vanilla extract to the egg mix to give it some more flavor. Not changing the point value of it.

Week 3 of the weigh-ins

Ok, I'll admit it - I was wrong.
I was wrong about the amount of weight I thought I might lose this last week.
I was wrong about my measurements.
I was wrong thinking I would actually workout last week.
I was wrong in eating things I shouldn't have before bed - even though they were still within my point allotment for the day.
I was just plain old wrong.

Last week was going to be a good week, or so I thought. I didn't work out - even though I told David, ma and myself that I would. I counted and tracked my points, but I was giving myself too much slack (is what I'm thinking) I was letting myself have real sugar in my coffee instead of sweetener, not measuring my creamer in my coffee, not finishing my water... The list goes on and on and on.

I only lost 0.2 pounds last week. Bringing me down to 203.8lbs. I know any loss is a good loss, but I know better. I know this isn't a good loss. So I have recommitted myself this week. I have been measuring every single tiny little thing already (and it's only day one) I'm writing everything individually in my tracking book instead of grouping it all together. For example: 1/4c egg beaters - 1pt, 1/4 ff shredded cheddar cheese - 1pt, 2tb of green peppers and onions - 0pt, 2pcs lean turkey bacon - 1pt VS what I was writing: omelet - 3pts.)

We'll see if this helps me this week.

Another week, another weigh in

Well, I am sad to say, I didn't work out at all this week. No butt kickings from Jillian. Ugh. Anyways. I stuck to my points and it still paid off. I lost 3.8 pounds this week - bringing my total loss to 8.8pounds and bringing my weight to 204.

I only have 5 pounds to lose and then I'm under 200 again. It frustrates me because this was a milestone I met last year and then went above it. I can't wait for it to happen and I'm afraid it's going to happen RIGHT before Vegas and that will bring me back up. Oh well, I guess you just have to deal with the punches as they come, right?

First weigh-in back!

I just realized I never came over to post the results of my first weigh-in back! I weighed in at 207.8 - which means I'm down exactly 5 pounds! I know the first week (and sometimes second week) is the high losing week since you lose water weight first, but it's a nice jump start for me. I am resisting all temptation of weighing myself at all this week and waiting until the end of the week. See, I get so obsessive and become a daily weigher and it just messes with my head when I do it. So that's how I made the decision to wait until Friday to weigh myself again. We'll see how it goes! For now, I will celebrate my 5lb weight loss!!

Product Review:: Pop Secret Snack Size 94% Fat Free Butter Popcorn

This popcorn has definitely become a lifesaver for me! There are so many times when all I want to do is snack on something and I've made popcorn. I'm not a huge fan of butter on my popcorn (call me crazy) so this is perfect for me since it's lightly buttered. I just add a little popcorn salt and we're ready to go.

Besides the taste, the best part of about this bag of popcorn is YOU GET TO EAT THE WHOLE BAG! Yeah, I know it's only a little bag, but still.... ;-) I eat one bag daily!

*Points value: 1

Product Review:: The Laughing Cow Light Original Swiss Cheese Wedges

I have to admit, I only bought these because they were used in a few Hungry Girl recipes I wanted to try. There's just something about spreadable cheese wedges that kinda rubs me the wrong way. I came to the realization that I would never know if I liked something if I wasn't willing to give it a chance (real scholarly of me, eh?) DUH!

Well, I was definitely judging a book by its cover here! These are super nummy! So far I've only used them for one recipe, but they serve their purpose and are nothing like I thought they would be. I'm so willing to try more recipes using them now!

You get 8 in a package for about $3.50. That was a little spendy to me, but then I realized I wouldn't be using more than 1 at time and that the cost was almost $.45/wedge. It became ok since I knew it would last me 8 recipes!

*Points value: 1 (per wedge)

Product Review:: Yoplait Smoothies

First of all, YUM-O! I decided to buy this because I love smoothies, I saw it on The Biggest Loser (yeah, I know I'm a sucker for endorsements) and because at Target my $1.00 off coupon made it only $1.50. I'm so glad I bought them cause now I'm hooked!
All you do is dump the contents in the blender with 1 cup of skim milk (or 1 1/2 if you want it thinner) and blend. Voila! I actually made mine with 1 1/4c. of milk since I didn't want it too incredibly thin and I was still able to drink it through a straw as well as eat it with a spoon. It was a nice creamy, sweet, fruity snack to end my night! I'd totally buy more and think you should try it!

It does make 2 servings so be willing to do one of the following: share, tuck it in the fridge for later or eat it all up! I chose to use the points and eat it all up!

*Points value: 2 (for half the mix)

Recipe Review:: Hungry Girl's Big Bad Burger Wrap

Have you heard of Hungry Girl? Well, if you haven't, you should go check her out here! She's a girl that likes food and doesn't want to feel deprived of her nummy food so she has found ways to make super delish recipes in a low-fat/low-cal way.

Today for lunch I tried her Big Bad Burger Wrap and it was so tasty! I was a little apprehensive at first based on one of the ingredients I had to use. See, I get a little weird about new things sometimes, but I have learned I need to try new things to not be so bored with my food.

I decided not to post the picture that has been supplied by HG because it really doesn't look all that appetizing. I didn't think to take a picture until I was done. Oh well, trust me - it was good! Next time I have it (probably tomorrow!) I will take a pic of it.

I added a Just for 1 broccoli & cheese dish (0 points) and I was stuffed!

Hungry Girl's Big Bad Burger Wrap

Ingredients:

• 1 large La Tortilla Factory Smart & Delicious Low Carb/High Fiber tortilla
• 1 Boca Original Meatless Burger
• 1 wedge The Laughing Cow Light Original Swiss Cheese
• 1 pickle spear, chopped
• 1 teaspoon mustard
• 1 teaspoon ketchup
• 2 dashes Frank's RedHot Original Cayenne Pepper Sauce

Directions:

• Prepare Boca patty according to box directions. Chop patty into bite-sized pieces. Set aside.
• To make sauce, combine mustard, ketchup and hot sauce in a small dish. Set aside.
• Warm tortilla in the microwave for 10 seconds. Lay tortilla flat and spread cheese wedge on top.
• Place chopped burger and pickle in the center of the tortilla. Top with sauce. Roll it up and eat!

Per serving (entire recipe): 199 calories, 5.5g fat, 1,368mg sodium, 27.5g carbs, 16.5g fiber, 4.5g sugars, 23.5g protein. !

**Points Value - 4

**NOTE** I made a couple modifications that actually still kept it at a value of 4 WW points. It changed the nutrition value listed above, but not in a way to modify it's value.
I couldn't find the tortillas called for so I actually bought the Multi-Grain FlatOut Pita Wraps, which have the same point value of 1. I also added some lettuce and tomato to mine - again, not changing the point value since they aren't worth anything in such a small amount.

And I'm back...

So, I'm back on the weight loss journey. I fell off the wagon a little while ago and have since restarted (with lack of serious commitment) a few times. It's now time to FINISH the journey I have already started.

These are all things I have done in preparation of finishing this:

• I rejoined Weight Watchers today.
• I purchased the EA Sports Active for the Wii.
• I upgraded my heart rate monitor to a Polar F6 - with recommendation of my niece, Katie.
• I bought a new pair of workout capris and a pair of workout shorts.
• I took my measurements (blech!)
• I had David take some before pictures of me (yuck!)

I've already done Weight Watchers and I know it works. I just need to keep my commitment and motivation and we should be just fine!

I weighed in at 212.8 pounds this morning. I've gained 10 pounds back from what I'd already lost, but that's to be expected without watching what I eat and not exercising. I have 62.8 pounds to lose. I CAN DO THIS! It's very feasible to say I can do this by the end of the year. If I were to lose an average of 1.5# per week that means I can lose it in 43 weeks. That takes me to December 31st. I will surely welcome it before then, but this is my goal date!
I'm going to continue using my ticker at the top, but I'm keeping it at what my starting weight was initially since it is important for me to know that's where I originally started.

 I CAN DO THIS!