Weigh In Wednesday

It’s weigh in Wednesday, I stayed the same weight this week. I suspected that this would happen since I had such a big weight loss last week. I did workout 6 days a week as I normally do but I struggled to do it.

Support is a big factor in weight loss; at least it is for me.  I’m very lucky, my fiance is eating healthier as well, some of my friends are working on their own weight loss journeys, and my other friends and family that are not trying to lose weight are very supportive and excited for me.

If I’m struggling to work out I’ve found if I call a friend it helps a ton! The other day I did not want to work out at all, so I called my friend. We live 3 hours away from each other so we can’t work out together but what we did do was set up a time where we were both going to do a work out video online (I’m obsessed with www.blogilates.com). After we were done working out we called each other back. It sounds kind of silly but it works, it holds you accountable and you know you’re not the only one working out. For me that makes a workout easier.  If you have a friend nearby that also enjoys working out, set up work out dates. You won’t want to cancel on your friend, thus you won’t cancel on your work out either. It doesn’t have to be some crazy gym session, and you and your friend could go for a walk.

I also call or message my friends if I want to eat junk food or overeat. A lot of the time when I’m having those cravings it’s not because I actually want that food it’s because I’m bored or stressed. By calling a friend I’m able to get over that feeling, instead of eating the feeling. Which when I eat the feeling I end up feeling worse and then want to eat more and then I feel even worse.

Next time you are feeling down, don’t want to work out or you want to eat unhealthy foods call or message a friend. If you feel like you don’t have a friend that would understand, you could join an online community or comment me here!

Hope you’re all having a great day today!

Mental Illness Awareness Week

 

October 7^th marked the beginning of Mental Illness Awareness Week. 

I’ve known four people who took their lives, that’s four too many. Two of them died Columbus day weekend. It will be 6 years since my friend died, he was such a fun loving guy, and friends with everyone. I don’t think many people saw it coming, I think in most cases no one sees it coming until its too late, hind sight is 20/20. I hope none of you have had to experience this kind of loss in your life, or ever will.
Here is a link to a site that I think has a lot good information www.save.org including warning signs, and how to get help.

 

Please listen and take someones cries for help seriously, you could save a life.

Remember mental illness is an ILLNESS! I think there is still a big stigma about mental illness out there, about having it, or getting treatment for it whether it be medication or therapy. Would you think less of someone if they had

Peanut Butter and "Jelly" Oatmeal

Here is another oatmeal creation for you! I'm all about PB&Js, such an easy classic. I was inspired to make this recipe the other morning when we were out of jelly! I hope you like it, I found it really filling.

Peanut Butter and “Jelly” Oatmeal

Ingredients:

½ cup Oatmeal (whatever kind you have)
1 cup water
½ tbsp. peanut butter
½ cup strawberries (I used frozen)
1tbsp. your choice of sweetener

First I defrosted the strawberries since I used frozen, then I made my oatmeal (follow the directions the package). For the oatmeal I used its ½ cup of oatmeal to 1 cup of water. When your oatmeal is almost done add ½ tbsp. peanut butter to the oatmeal and cook for about 30 seconds so that the peanut butter melts.   Once done add your strawberries and sweetener, mix well. Enjoy your big bowl of oatmeal for only 5 points.

Now depending on your peanut butter, and if you use more than ½ tbsp. of peanut butter the points for the Peanut Butter and “Jelly” Oatmeal may be higher. I suggest double checking the points of your peanut butter first.

Blueberry Muffin Oatmeal

I've been on an oatmeal kick recently, only 4 points, it fills me up and there is so much you can add to it to make the oatmeal different each day.

Blueberry Muffin Oatmeal

Ingredients:

½ cup Oatmeal (whatever kind you have)

1 cup water

1tsp vanilla extract

½ cup blueberries (I used frozen)

1tbsp. your choice of sweetener

 

First I defrosted my blueberries since I used frozen, then I made my oatmeal (follow the directions the package). For the oatmeal I used its ½ cup of oatmeal to 1 cup of water. While that is in the microwave I mixed the vanilla extract, sweetener and the blueberries. When your oatmeal is done cooking add it to your blueberry/vanilla extract/sweetener mixture. Enjoy your big bowl of oatmeal for only 4 points.

I used Stevia in the Raw as my sweetener, however personally I like Splenda better, but since I bought a big bag of Stevia in the Raw I need to use it up. Stevia in the Raw has an almost bitter taste to it, while Splenda tastes more like real sugar to me.

 

Weigh-in Day!

Weigh-in Day!!!! I lost 3 lbs. from last week, I’m 171lbs!!! I’m so excited.

 

So far I have lost 29lbs since starting Weight Watchers this May. I have lost 92lbs since January 2010! I can’t believe I have been able to lose this much and keep it off.

It hasn’t always been easy, there are days when I want to pig out and say forget about points, I’m not counting today. I haven’t done that yet, and I don’t plan on it. When I am struggling with not overeating or not eating candy (I haven’t had more than 12g of sugar per serving since April 2012) I have a list of reasons why I need to stay on track that I go through in my head…

• I have come so far, it was so hard the first few days, if I have candy now I’m going to have to start all over! (I told myself this when I had first started limiting sugar).
• I don’t want to get diabetes. Diabetes is a very scary disease, so many complications. Just reading this overview of the complications of diabetes makes me want to go workout and put down any unhealthy food.
• I want to be a good role model for my daughter. I want her to have a healthy relationship with food.
• I want to be able to run and play with my daughter and keep up with her. Yesterday we ran a lot and I didn’t get winded.
• If I do overeat or eat very unhealthy food, how am I going to feel after? Gross, my stomach will hurt, I’ll feel tired and rundown, and I’ll feel guilty. Not worth it!
• I want to live a long, happy, healthy life with my family. This is probably the reason that works the best.
• I don’t want food to control me.
• If I’m really, really struggling I’ll make myself do something else for 20 minutes, usually by then the craving has passed.
• Another technique I use is instead of saying “I can’t have that” I say “I choose not have that right now”, it gives me a sense of control and is not labeling any food as “bad”. I don’t know about you but when I label something as “bad” or “off limits” it makes me want it even more!

What are some things you tell yourself when you want to overeat or make an unhealthy food choice?

Chili

I have been trying to figure out different ways to save money; I realized I should be shopping my cabinets before deciding what meals to make for the week. That is how I decided to make chili; we had all of the ingredients already even the chili seasoning!

The seasoning is super easy.

Chili Seasoning

Ingredients:
2 tbsp. chili powder
2 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. oregano
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. onion powder
1/2 tsp. garlic powder

Just mix all the ingredients and put it in an air tight container.  I used about a tablespoon of it for the chili.

Now for the Chili…this is also super easy!

 



Low Cost Low Point Chili

Ingredients:

15 oz. can Kidney Beans (rinsed)
15 oz. can Black Beans (rinsed)
28oz can diced tomatoes
10z can of Rotel (or generic equivalent)
1Tbsp. chili seasoning

Put it all in your crock pot on the low setting for 6-8 hours. Then enjoy! 3 points per cup!!

Sorry I forgot to take pictures when I was done.

You can make many variations of this recipe... add ground meat, or add more veggies. If you try anything different with this let me know how it comes out.

Rainy Weekend

It’s been a rainy weekend here; I had plans to do some garage sale shopping, but I didn’t feel like walking around in the rain with a 2 year old, I didn’t need a deal that badly.

So I organized (with the help of my super organized friend, thank you!!) and cooked… a lot. I’m thinking it must be the change of seasons; I’ve wanted to cook all the time.

This weekend I’ve made rotisserie style chicken in the crock pot! It is amazing! So good! Thank you Pinterest and busy-mommy.com. With the leftover chicken I made homemade chicken soup, like my Dad’s although it was good it was not as good as my Dad’s.

I made Mexican Lasagna with Zucchini instead of tortillas, Mexican Lasagna is a recipe my Mom has always made, it’s delicious but not so good on points. I changed some ingredients up to make it healthier and just as tasty.

I made chili with my own homemade chili seasonings. I’ll put up the recipes for the Chili, Chili Seasoning and Mexican Lasagna soon.

I also attempted to make my own fruit snacks with Jell-O (from this blog). KBeaner really likes them, I’m not a fan they have just enough of the Jell-O texture to gross me out.  I don’t plan on making them again unless KBeaner asks for them. However I really love the site that the recipe came from, lots of good idea at Six Sisters Stuff.