I wrote a little while ago that I was working on getting back on track and I have done just that. For the past two weeks I have lost 1.6 pounds each week. Which may seem like a small amount but in one week it is a healthy amount to lose and an exciting thing for me since I had been gaining for weeks and it was getting extremely frustrating. I am also very proud of my husbands success because he just finished losing his first 10 pounds!!! So proud of him, it helps me to stay on track to know he's there doing it with me.
Our move is coming up soon and I'm doing my best to stay healthy in that process. When much of my cookware is packed and I'm trying to empty the pantry as much as possible it is difficult to stay on track but the recent losses keep me motivated when I want to go the wrong way.
Speaking of our move there was some recent excitement!! I just got called for a job interview in Virginia. It makes the move so much more exciting and less stressful to know there is an honest and very real possibility of work for at least one of us in Virginia. I'm praying and trusting God to provide in any way he sees fit. I am just thrilled to have a possibility.
Friday, May 20, 2011
Friday, May 13, 2011
Personal Success
Sometimes a personal victory is all you need to keep you on track. Tonight was one of those very small moments in time when I felt successful in my weight loss journey.
My husband got home late from work and we went to grab something quick and easy for dinner, we ended up at a nearby grocery store with a good selection of salad bar items, chinese food, pizza, and fried chicken. It is always so tempting for me to get chinese because I love it and theirs is pretty good. However, I steered clear and ended up with some pulled barbecue chicken. I asked what the ingredients were and they told me it is just chicken with barbecue sauce, nothing else, meaning it rates pretty low on the points scale. I got the pork without a bun and I got green beans and a small scoop of mashed potatoes of which I ate half.
It is a difficult thing sometimes to say no to unhealthy options and tonight was a personal victory. I struggle a lot with eating only as much as I need and making good health conscious choices. So celebrate those little victories. I came out under points for the day giving me the opportunity to have a granola bar or something sweet that I enjoy later in the evening.
If you have ever struggled with overeating or being over weight you can probably understand the feelings I described, and the feeling of overcoming that, if even for one night was awesome! Good luck on your healthy journey, I hope you have similar victories in your future!
My husband got home late from work and we went to grab something quick and easy for dinner, we ended up at a nearby grocery store with a good selection of salad bar items, chinese food, pizza, and fried chicken. It is always so tempting for me to get chinese because I love it and theirs is pretty good. However, I steered clear and ended up with some pulled barbecue chicken. I asked what the ingredients were and they told me it is just chicken with barbecue sauce, nothing else, meaning it rates pretty low on the points scale. I got the pork without a bun and I got green beans and a small scoop of mashed potatoes of which I ate half.
It is a difficult thing sometimes to say no to unhealthy options and tonight was a personal victory. I struggle a lot with eating only as much as I need and making good health conscious choices. So celebrate those little victories. I came out under points for the day giving me the opportunity to have a granola bar or something sweet that I enjoy later in the evening.
If you have ever struggled with overeating or being over weight you can probably understand the feelings I described, and the feeling of overcoming that, if even for one night was awesome! Good luck on your healthy journey, I hope you have similar victories in your future!
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Stressed=Dessert
It has been a long time since my last post, mostly because I've been off the health band wagon which isn't an easy thing to admit. I have been having a very hard time with eating healthy and exercising regularly but I am doing the best that I can at this point.
With moving and working and packing it is easy for me to take the easy way out and eat fast food or something quick. And while fruit is quick and delicious I can only eat so much fruit and then I can't take it any more.
So I'm trying some new things that I found on some other blogs that might make snacking easier for me. I found a recipe for homemade granola bars that I'm going to try and will post the recipe after I have made them and tried them. I'm also trying to work out 4 days a week.
Working out is hard for me as it is and the rising temperatures make it even more difficult for me to want to go outside for a long walk. I have decided I need to start with a reasonable number of days per week. I always feel like I have to do all or nothing and that is absolutely not the case. I hope that by the end of summer I will be up to 5 or 6 days a week but at this point 4 is what I feel is reasonable and I'm trying not to feel guilty for not doing more.
I'm also in the process of job hunting and waiting to hear back which is incredibly difficult, and there comes the name of this post. I just want to eat delicious food which isn't necessarily healthy, or is almost never healthy. I'm working hard to make eating healthy as delicious as possible and I will continue to blog about my weight loss and keep you posted on pounds lost or gained per week and any workouts that I find that I really enjoy!
With moving and working and packing it is easy for me to take the easy way out and eat fast food or something quick. And while fruit is quick and delicious I can only eat so much fruit and then I can't take it any more.
So I'm trying some new things that I found on some other blogs that might make snacking easier for me. I found a recipe for homemade granola bars that I'm going to try and will post the recipe after I have made them and tried them. I'm also trying to work out 4 days a week.
Working out is hard for me as it is and the rising temperatures make it even more difficult for me to want to go outside for a long walk. I have decided I need to start with a reasonable number of days per week. I always feel like I have to do all or nothing and that is absolutely not the case. I hope that by the end of summer I will be up to 5 or 6 days a week but at this point 4 is what I feel is reasonable and I'm trying not to feel guilty for not doing more.
I'm also in the process of job hunting and waiting to hear back which is incredibly difficult, and there comes the name of this post. I just want to eat delicious food which isn't necessarily healthy, or is almost never healthy. I'm working hard to make eating healthy as delicious as possible and I will continue to blog about my weight loss and keep you posted on pounds lost or gained per week and any workouts that I find that I really enjoy!
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Back on Track
It has been a busy and stressful few weeks with traveling and getting back into a routine. Getting back on track with eating healthy and living healthy after taking any amount of a break can be very difficult. With my ankle sprain and physical therapy I have been unable to workout as regularly as I would like, this makes it difficult to stay on track with weight loss.
However, today Matt and I went back to Weight Watchers for the first time in a few weeks to get back on track no matter how difficult it might be. I am back to working tomorrow and it will be a busy weekend which should help me to stay on track with my eating habits. When I am bored I eat so keeping busy and working is essential to my weight loss.
I will be posting my weekly triumphs and weight loss failures to help keep me accountable and to encourage all of those who are on this journey as well. It is hard and frustrating at times and sometimes I want to quit, but then I remember how good it felt to be healthy and I want to keep working for it.
If you are struggling with your weight loss or if you just wish you could be at a different weight I know where you are. It will happen if you are willing to work for it! Do what you can and let it go if you have a bad day. Just don't let one bad day turn into 20 like I sometimes do! Good luck!
However, today Matt and I went back to Weight Watchers for the first time in a few weeks to get back on track no matter how difficult it might be. I am back to working tomorrow and it will be a busy weekend which should help me to stay on track with my eating habits. When I am bored I eat so keeping busy and working is essential to my weight loss.
I will be posting my weekly triumphs and weight loss failures to help keep me accountable and to encourage all of those who are on this journey as well. It is hard and frustrating at times and sometimes I want to quit, but then I remember how good it felt to be healthy and I want to keep working for it.
If you are struggling with your weight loss or if you just wish you could be at a different weight I know where you are. It will happen if you are willing to work for it! Do what you can and let it go if you have a bad day. Just don't let one bad day turn into 20 like I sometimes do! Good luck!
Friday, April 1, 2011
Portion Control of things I love
Portion control is one of the biggest problems we have as Americans and that I have in my own life. Culturally we are given more and told that bigger is better and we always want more. So in this process of changing to a healthier lifestlye I have to work really hard to have better portion control. Here are a few recipes where eating the right portion is delicious and truly filling enough.
2 nights ago we had homemade chicken noodle soup with homemade whole wheat egg noodles. The recipes are as follows:
Egg Noodles:
2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
a dash of salt
2 eggs beaten
1 tbsp of butter
1/2 cup skim milk
Mix dry ingredients, add liquids, knead for 5 minutes, cover and let rest for 10 minutes, then roll out to a 1/4 of an inch thick, let them sit and dry for an hour or two. The noodles in my photo are large. This was my first attempt at using whole wheat flour and they are MUCH denser than the ones I make with white flour. So cut your noodles much thinner and smaller than these because they will double in size once you add them to the water. Also for an entire pot of soup you probably need about half of the noodles you make so you can half this recipe or make a very large batch.
The chicken soup recipe is as follows:
32 oz. of chicken broth (or more)
6 cups water
6 tsp. of chicken boullion
3-4 shakes of garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste
I use a whole chicken leftovers, my husband and I eat one meal and I use what's left to make soup.
1 1/2 cups carrots
1/2 cup minced celery (or diced if you like larger pieces)
Combine all of the ingredients and let boil. About 20 minutes before you are ready to eat add the noodles and let boil. Dish it up and enjoy!
One bowl is a serving and it is very filling!
Today for lunch I had one of my favorite meals.... Salad. I love salad and could eat one every day and be happy. Now there are a few things that I won't give up in my quest for health and one of them is regular ranch dressing.
Here is how I make my salad.
2 cups of lettuce
8 carrots diced
6 croutons
2 tbsp ranch dressing (of which I use half)
1/2 oz. of Cabbot 50% of the fat Light Cheddar Cheese (which i buy at Sam's Club)
I sometimes add cucumber and tomato when I have them on hand.
The best way to portion control this meal that I love is to abundantly add healthy ingredients like lettuce and limit the less healthy ingredients like croutons, cheese, and dressing.
I have a scale, which is a great investment for weighing and measuring the ingredients you love but want to eat in smaller portions.
I put my dressing in a small cup like that instead of pouring it over my salad because I use less when I dip my fork into the dressing instead of pouring it over top and I still get the dressing taste that I love with a lot fewer calories.
Also, while I know that 1 oz. of cheese is a serving, cheese is high in fat and I get my dairy servings in other ways throughout the day that are a little healthier.
I hope that these ideas can help you with portion control in your quest for healthier habits. It is difficult at first but eventually you will be used to it and it won't be difficult!
2 nights ago we had homemade chicken noodle soup with homemade whole wheat egg noodles. The recipes are as follows:Egg Noodles:
2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
a dash of salt
2 eggs beaten
1 tbsp of butter
1/2 cup skim milk
Mix dry ingredients, add liquids, knead for 5 minutes, cover and let rest for 10 minutes, then roll out to a 1/4 of an inch thick, let them sit and dry for an hour or two. The noodles in my photo are large. This was my first attempt at using whole wheat flour and they are MUCH denser than the ones I make with white flour. So cut your noodles much thinner and smaller than these because they will double in size once you add them to the water. Also for an entire pot of soup you probably need about half of the noodles you make so you can half this recipe or make a very large batch.
The chicken soup recipe is as follows:
32 oz. of chicken broth (or more)
6 cups water
6 tsp. of chicken boullion
3-4 shakes of garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste
I use a whole chicken leftovers, my husband and I eat one meal and I use what's left to make soup.
1 1/2 cups carrots
1/2 cup minced celery (or diced if you like larger pieces)
Combine all of the ingredients and let boil. About 20 minutes before you are ready to eat add the noodles and let boil. Dish it up and enjoy!
Today for lunch I had one of my favorite meals.... Salad. I love salad and could eat one every day and be happy. Now there are a few things that I won't give up in my quest for health and one of them is regular ranch dressing.
Here is how I make my salad.
2 cups of lettuce
8 carrots diced
6 croutons
2 tbsp ranch dressing (of which I use half)
1/2 oz. of Cabbot 50% of the fat Light Cheddar Cheese (which i buy at Sam's Club)
I sometimes add cucumber and tomato when I have them on hand.
The best way to portion control this meal that I love is to abundantly add healthy ingredients like lettuce and limit the less healthy ingredients like croutons, cheese, and dressing.
I have a scale, which is a great investment for weighing and measuring the ingredients you love but want to eat in smaller portions.
I put my dressing in a small cup like that instead of pouring it over my salad because I use less when I dip my fork into the dressing instead of pouring it over top and I still get the dressing taste that I love with a lot fewer calories.
Also, while I know that 1 oz. of cheese is a serving, cheese is high in fat and I get my dairy servings in other ways throughout the day that are a little healthier.
I hope that these ideas can help you with portion control in your quest for healthier habits. It is difficult at first but eventually you will be used to it and it won't be difficult!
Saturday, March 26, 2011
Traveling!
Sorry it has been a while since my last post. I am in Virginia right now interviewing, job hunting, and testing to help prepare for our potential move. It has been difficult to maintain the healthy lifestyle on my trip because there are so many things I only get when I'm here. However, my mom helps to keep me in check with meals around the house. Today we had oatmeal pancakes for breakfast with Light V8 Fusion juice, for lunch I had Chik-fil-A which isn't healthy but is delicious and I only get it when I'm visiting my hometown because there are no locations where I live. Finally for dinner we had multi-grain pasta and baked chicken parmesan which is a delicious substitute for a deep fried restaurant favorite.
My most difficult thing with traveling is working out. The weather here has been different than expected and I didn't plan on working out in 40 degree weather so I only have shorts. I did make one trip to the gym and it was a very good workout, but I will be working extra hard to get back on the health food track when I return home in a few days. I still feel deprived sometimes instead of knowing that what I have is just as good and even better for me. I still feel like I'm missing out when I don't get french fries at a restaurant even though I know I will feel better if I eat a salad or mashed potatoes as an alternative to something fried.
If you're better than I am about working out and eating healthy on your vacations I hope that I can develop your discipline, if not, I recommend setting some ground rules for yourself. Like one meal a day or one meal every two days can be a little less healthy, but try to keep breakfast and dinner healthy. If you deprive yourself completely it will lead to worse things down the road. Everything's ok in moderation! Have a great rest of the week, I will return with some more recipes in the next few days!
My most difficult thing with traveling is working out. The weather here has been different than expected and I didn't plan on working out in 40 degree weather so I only have shorts. I did make one trip to the gym and it was a very good workout, but I will be working extra hard to get back on the health food track when I return home in a few days. I still feel deprived sometimes instead of knowing that what I have is just as good and even better for me. I still feel like I'm missing out when I don't get french fries at a restaurant even though I know I will feel better if I eat a salad or mashed potatoes as an alternative to something fried.
If you're better than I am about working out and eating healthy on your vacations I hope that I can develop your discipline, if not, I recommend setting some ground rules for yourself. Like one meal a day or one meal every two days can be a little less healthy, but try to keep breakfast and dinner healthy. If you deprive yourself completely it will lead to worse things down the road. Everything's ok in moderation! Have a great rest of the week, I will return with some more recipes in the next few days!
Saturday, March 19, 2011
Banana Zuchinni Muffins
Today I was trying to figure out a way to use some of the bananas that were in my freezer. Which is a great way to keep bananas from going bad and they can easily be used in baking afterwords!
So I decided on Banana Zuchinni Muffins and the recipe is as follows:
1 1/2 Cups Whole Wheat Flour
1 cup oatmeal
3/4 cup splenda or other low calorie sweetener
3/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. vanilla
1 large banana
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups grated zuchinni (i chop mine in my food processor so that it is very small)
- If you don't have enough zuchinni you can do 3/4 cup of zuchinni and an additional small banana
Instructions:
Mix together applesauce and splenda until smooth. Then add eggs and blend well. Add zuchinni, banana, vanilla, cinnamon, and salt.
Mix together dry ingredients in a separate bowl. Oatmeal, flour, and baking powder. Add slowly to the wet ingredients.
Spray two muffin pans with olive oil non stick spray or with baking liners. Fill muffin tins 1/3 of the way to 1/2 of the way. It will only make 20 muffins so you only need to spray or line 20 muffin tins.
Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes depending on the oven. Make sure you check them regularly so that they don't burn.
It makes 20 individual servings and they are 2-3 points each on Weight Watchers Points Plus. The points difference depends on whether you use more zuchinni or more banana. If you use 2 bananas count 3 points.
Let cool and enjoy!
These muffins are not going to be a breakfast cake. They are a little sweet but not nearly as sweet as most cake like muffins. But they are still delicious!
So I decided on Banana Zuchinni Muffins and the recipe is as follows:
1 1/2 Cups Whole Wheat Flour
1 cup oatmeal
3/4 cup splenda or other low calorie sweetener
3/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. vanilla
1 large banana
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups grated zuchinni (i chop mine in my food processor so that it is very small)
- If you don't have enough zuchinni you can do 3/4 cup of zuchinni and an additional small banana
Instructions:
Mix together applesauce and splenda until smooth. Then add eggs and blend well. Add zuchinni, banana, vanilla, cinnamon, and salt.
Mix together dry ingredients in a separate bowl. Oatmeal, flour, and baking powder. Add slowly to the wet ingredients.
Spray two muffin pans with olive oil non stick spray or with baking liners. Fill muffin tins 1/3 of the way to 1/2 of the way. It will only make 20 muffins so you only need to spray or line 20 muffin tins.
Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes depending on the oven. Make sure you check them regularly so that they don't burn.
It makes 20 individual servings and they are 2-3 points each on Weight Watchers Points Plus. The points difference depends on whether you use more zuchinni or more banana. If you use 2 bananas count 3 points.
Let cool and enjoy!
These muffins are not going to be a breakfast cake. They are a little sweet but not nearly as sweet as most cake like muffins. But they are still delicious!
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