Where's the wagon I keep falling off of?

I really feel like a broken record here. I start writing on the blog, watching how I eat & exercising, keep it up for a little while, and then I quit. I've fallen off this wagon so many times that I think I may have a broken butt. Ha ha.

I've never felt so unmotivated before. I will feel inspiration to get my act together to get healthy and lose this weight and then I snap my fingers and its gone before I've even started. I'm an expert with the delay excuses and it's time I call myself out on them.
I know when I blog and journal with WW I actually stick to it - or at least I have in the past. I have to give it another go around, but instead of this only being my weight loss journey, I plan on making it my regular blog - kind of like I had before. I figured if I'm only writing about food and exercise then I may never face the reasons I keep setting myself back and by doing this... I'm keeping it honest and real. 

My weight is back up after not tracking my points or working out. I'm at 222.0. I checked back on my weight tracker and when I weighed myself in July 2008 (after Parker was born) I was 225. I only weigh 3 pounds less than I was 1 month post-partum .. 4 YEARS AGO! I'm going to be honest and tell you I definitely had tears in my eyes when I realized that. I'm mad at myself over the fact that I also gained 9lbs since January. What am I doing to myself?!

Last night I took the time to make my week's meal plan. I've started the WW Points Plus this time so it's harder for me to just whip up a meal plan really quick. You see, I used to know my point values so well that it was very rare that I actually had to look up the values of food so it took me all of like 20 mins to make a week's meal plan. Last night was different - it took me just over an hour, but I made the time for myself to get it done. I'm important enough to spend that time on if it helps better my self. 

So, with all of that said... feel like taking the journey with me again?

Recipe Review :: Gina's Skinny Recipes Chicken, Shiitake and Wild Rice Soup

I happened to stumble upon a new (to me) site that was chock full of tasty, healthy low-cal/low-fat meals and haven't been able to get off the dang site since. I have found so many recipes that I can make for my whole family, some that I can make just for myself and freeze leftovers and some that even just my husband and kids might like. The site is Gina's Skinny Recipes (Skinnytaste).

I'm so glad I found this recipe. I love soup - especially a thick soup with rice, but they are always so high in points that I feel too guilty enjoying them. This is a nice, hearty soup that tastes delicious! A huge advantage is that David loves it - huge score!

Chicken, Shiitake and Wild Rice Soup

One thing to note is the rice expands the longer it sits, so you may need to add more water to adjust the correct thickness. This reheats fine the next day with a little added water. For the wild rice combo I used Rice a Roni Long Grain and Wild Rice.

• 1 tbsp butter
• 1 small onion; chopped
• 1 tbsp flour
• 8 cups (64 oz) fat free low sodium chicken broth
• 1 cups water
• 2 carrots; chopped
• 3 garlic cloves; chopped
• 2 celery ribs; chopped
• 4 skinless chicken thighs
• 4.5 oz long grain rice and wild rice combo 
• 1/2 cup long grain white rice
• 4 oz. shiitake mushrooms, sliced (I chopped)
• 2 tbsp light sour cream 
• salt and fresh pepper

Melt butter in a large pot on medium heat, add onion and saute until soft but 

not browned, about 3-4 minutes. Add flour and saute another minute.
Add chicken broth, water, carrots, garlic, celery, and chicken thighs, cover

and simmer 20 minutes. Add wild rice mix along with it's seasoning, long

grain rice, mushrooms, salt and pepper to taste and simmer on low, covered

25 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Remove chicken from pot and shred with two forks, return to pot, add sour

cream and more water if too thick, adjust salt and pepper to taste and serve.

As a side note: I added about 1/2 cup of canned corn to it - for a little added texture.

Makes 6 servingsPer serving (1 1/2 cups): 237 calories, 4g fat, 2g fiber 

**Points Value - 5
**Points+ Value - 6

Recipe Review :: Gina's Skinny Recipes Lemon Blueberry Scones

I happened to stumble upon a new (to me) site that was chock full of tasty, healthy low-cal/low-fat meals and haven't been able to get off the dang site since. I have found so many recipes that I can make for my whole family, some that I can make just for myself and freeze leftovers and some that even just my husband and kids might like. The site is Gina's Skinny Recipes (Skinnytaste)

I absolutely love Caribou's lemon blueberry scone and get them any chance I have. Now that I am on Weight Watchers I can't just have one any old time, so I am in desperate need of finding a recipe I can enjoy enough to not crave the deliciousness from Caribou. I made these and they are incredibly tasty. My only complaint is that they taste a little too much like shortbread for my liking, but the cumbly-ness they have is perfect.

The recipe is actually for lemon cranberry scones, but I used blueberries instead (I have a supreme love for lemon blueberry baked goods) I've modified the recipe to reflect what I made. No nutritional value changed. You can see it on her site here. Since it is a lower point value for just the 1 item, I paired it with a Greek yogurt (my faves are Yoplait Greek and Chobani) and added a cup of coffee (with creamer and Splenda, of course)

Lemon Blueberry Scones

For perfect scones, be careful not to over-knead the dough and be sure your
butter is chilled. Leftovers can be stored in air-tight containers for up to two
days. I've tried these using all whole wheat flour but I prefer to use a blend of
whole wheat and white. Enjoy!


Lemon Blueberry Scones

• 2 tbsp sugar
• 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice, divided

• 1/2 cup low fat buttermilk (I didn't have buttermilk so I went the backup 

           way 1/2 tbsp of lemon juice, 1% milk to the 1/2 cup line)

• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 tbsp lemon zest
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 large egg
• 2 cups Ultra grain flour (or 1 cup white, 1 cup whole wheat) 
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3 tbsp chilled butter (must be cold) cut into small pieces (I grated it 

          with a cheese grater)

• 3/4 cup dried blueberries

Position rack in top third of oven; Preheat oven to 375°. Line baking sheet
with parchment paper. Make glaze by combining 2 tbsp sugar and 1 tbsp lemon
juice. Combine buttermilk, remaining lemon juice, sugar, lemon zest, vanilla,
and egg in a medium bowl, stirring with a whisk.Combine flour, baking powder,
salt, in a large bowl, stirring with a whisk. Cut in chilled butter with a pastry
blender, or you could use 2 knives, until the mixture resembles coarse meal.
Gently fold in blueberries. Add buttermilk mixture, stirring just until moist.
(dough will be sticky)

Place dough onto a floured surface and knead lightly four times with floured
hands. Form dough into an 8-inch circle onto baking sheet, about 3/4" thick.
Using a knife, cut dough into 10 wedges (do not cut all the way through).
Brush lemon glaze over dough. Bake until golden, about 18-20 minutes, or
until a tester comes out clean. Serve warm or room temperature.

If you leave out the dried fruit, the scones are 4 points plus each.


Makes 10 servings


**Points Value - 4    
**Points+ Value - 5

Goals

I just realized I never shared what my current goal is. Since I officially weighed myself yesterday and realized I had 3 pounds more to lose than I had previously thought, I had to change my ticker that's right up at the top. My goal is 63 pounds - which means my goal weight is 150. I am going to try my hardest to make this goal happen by December 20, 2012. What's the importance of this date? I turn 30 that day. I want to make sure I enter the new decade of my life in the best shape I've ever been. I understand there is a long road ahead of me in this healthiness journey (it's a lifestyle change, not a temporary "fix") but this is the first road I have to take. Turning 30 will be a fork in the road and I am the only one that can decide the way I will take.

This is when it becomes not okay.

This morning I took a necessary step that I've been dreading - I weighed myself. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't sad. I weighed 213 on the nose. The last time I was this heavy was when I was pregnant with Parker. When I started my healthiness journey last time I weighed in at 212.8. Now, that means I gained all 30 pounds back PLUS 0.2. I know that 0.2 might not seem bad to you, but when it means I gained more than what I lost back - it becomes a problem.

The scale doesn't lie. (p.s. why can't I turn this picture around?)

I'm back on Weight Watchers as of today and plan on hitting up a meeting some time soon so I can get the new materials. I use the program from like 6 years ago (when I joined before we had Graycen) and am sort of interested in seeing what the Points Plus is all about - even though I hear it is changing again. 

I considered starting my membership at Snap Fitness up again, but decided it's not cost effective for me (read: I never go) I decided to buy an exercise bike instead. I am a person that loves using the gym machines and if I had one at home then I have no excuse not to use it. I plan on following the workout program that David is doing but would like this for some added cardio. I'm a cardio girl.

Alright, I better go. Time for me to start getting in my water so I can get this dang workout done for the day. 

Sticking to a plan is easy... when you make one

I'm such a ridiculous planner. I've noticed when I need to track my eating and water I have to plan everything. I open up my handy dandy Excel spreadsheet and start filling in the foods for the day (including their point value) - down to the snacks. If I make my meal plan I stick with it - 99% of the time! If I don't make a plan I have too many options and find it's very easy for me to veer off path.
This behavior happened this week already. I was making my meal plan on Tuesday and got side tracked by a super awesome website - SkinnyTaste - have you heard of it? I spent a good 1.5-2 hours on the site looking through all of the "normal" foods writing down titles so I could go back later and pull up recipes to make my meal plan off of it. There are so many meals and snacks on there that my whole family would eat - how wonderful!!!

Anyways... I didn't end up making my meal plan and have found myself aimlessly eating. No good. Now, here we sit on Saturday night and I have a cup of coffee that I'm finishing up, we just ordered some wings and cheesy bread from Domino's and the Vodka and Orange, Pineapple, Banana juice are waiting on the counter for me. Tomorrow is the ever-indulgent Christmas. I make Christmas breakfast and since we aren't going anywhere this year David requested chicken strips for dinner.

I guess I should finish up that damn meal plan so I can actually use it on Monday. That's when we go back to our regularly scheduled program since we have no plans for New Year's Eve.

28 going on 70

I have been telling myself that I'm going to start my healthiness journey again for quite some time, but I keep making excuses to halt the start-up.
I have some pretty important reasons to get it done this time. I have officially gained all 30 of the pounds I lost in 2009-2010 back; my knee is hurting way more than it ever has. Side note: I'm setting an appointment for a visit with an orthopedist as we speak; my clothes don't fit; I feel like crap; I'm beginning to notice how much harder of a time I have breathing when I'm going up the stairs - this is all just unnecessary.

My cousin and I are partners in our healthiness journey - which we agreed upon starting today. Well, she sent me a message on Facebook this morning telling me how she started already and made her meal plan. I made an excuse of how I was going to wait until Wednesday to start because I get a free entree at Noodles and free coffee at Caribou in celebration of my birthday tomorrow and I was taking advantage of them. If I keep starting 'tomorrow' I'll never do it. I just got pissed at myself and realized I need to do it now. So what I didn't measure my bowl of cereal this morning- I can still make the rest of the day happen. I am in control of my actions!

David has been supporting me and trying to cheer me on for so long and I keep falling short on my word. We bought a 90 day workout system from Best Buy a couple of weeks ago (totally a rip-off of P90X) for a super awesome mega deal (it came down to less than $7 with my discount) and we agreed we would both start it. He's gotten 13 days in and I have yet to pop it in. I owe it to him to keep my word and do it with him; I owe it to myself to keep my word and do it FOR me!

I saw this on Pinterest recently and it spoke to yelled at me. I'm tired of being in pain. I'm only 28 (ok, I'll be 29 tomorrow) I shouldn't hurt like this.