A Million Excuses

Don't you always have a million and one excuses to not exercise, or to eat crap?

I do.

So, during a trip to Goodwill last weekend (there's a point to what I said a minute ago) I found this book titled "Secrets of a Former Fat Girl" by Lisa Delaney.  I figured for some pocket change, it might be a good read.  I'm not usually into self-help books, but this one had a catchy title.  It's actually a pretty good book, a little older (2007) and makes me laugh.  Her "trick" to sticking with an exercise/dieting plan is a bit different--start exercising regularly before making dietary changes.

The part I read last night was interesting to me because she talked about excuses and how to make yourself exercise.  She started talking to herself.  Crazy, right?  Right up my alley!  She would tell herself "It's not an option" or INO for short.  If she didn't feel like getting up to go to the gym, INO.  If it was too cold to go for a walk, INO.  I have a ton of excuses on a daily basis for not getting up and getting moving, which are all pretty lame.  Before I know it, the day has passed and I've sat on my butt all day.  It's going to take baby steps, but I'm going to try to implement "INO"...

...starting tomorrow.

You can read more about "Secrets of a Former Fat Girl" here:  http://www.formerfatgirl.com/author.html

Crock Pot Chicken Taco Chili

If that isn't a mouthful, I don't know what is!

This is dinner for us tonight (pulled from skinnytaste.com):

Crock Pot Chicken Taco Chili
 Gina's Weight Watcher Recipes
Servings: 10 • Size: 1 1/4 cups • Old Points: 3 pts • Points+: 5 pts
Calories: 203.7 • Fat: 1.4 g • Carb: 33.3 g • Fiber: 10.0 g  • Protein: 16.9 g

Ingredients: 

• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 16-oz can black beans
• 1 16-oz can kidney beans
• 1 8-oz can tomato sauce
• 10 oz package frozen corn kernels
• 2 14.5-oz cans diced tomatoes w/chilies
• 1 packet taco seasoning
• 1 tbsp cumin
• 1 tbsp chili powder
• 24 oz (3-4) boneless skinless chicken breasts
• chili peppers, chopped (optional)
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Directions: 

Combine beans, onion, chili peppers, corn, tomato sauce, cumin, chili powder and taco seasoning in a slow cooker. Place chicken on top and cover. Cook on low for 10 hours or on high for 6 hours. Half hour before serving, remove chicken and shred. Return chicken to slow cooker and stir in. Top with fresh cilantro. Also try it with low fat cheese and sour cream (extra points).


The link to the recipe on Skinny Taste is here: http://www.skinnytaste.com/2008/11/crock-pot-chicken-taco-chili-4-pts.html


She has some amazing recipes, so take a look around!  For our recipe tonight, we only did one pound of chicken, and modified accordingly.

Creamy Mexican Dip

*courtesy Weight Watchers


Creamy Mexican Dip
1 PointsPlus *TM value  |  8 servings

Perfect for a party. Serve with fresh vegetables as well as chips for a
total crowd pleaser.

1 cup plain Fat-Free greek yogurt

½ cup salsa, hot chipotle variety suggested  
¾ cup avocado, diced
⅓ cup cilantro, fresh, chopped  
s¼ cup red onion, chopped  
½ tsp ground cumin  
½ tsp table salt, or more to taste

Garnish  
¼ cup avocado, diced  
1 Tbsp cilantro, fresh, chopped  
1 Tbsp red onion, chopped
  

In a medium bowl, stir together yogurt and salsa until blended; stir in remaining
ingredients except garnishes. Cover and refrigerate up to 1 day.

When ready to serve, transfer to a serving bowl and sprinkle with garnishes.

Yields about ¼ cup per serving.    

NOTES: This dip combines all those favorite Mexican flavors like salsa, avocado and cilantro using
fat-free Greek yogurt instead of sour cream.

It also makes a wonderful topping for tacos or other Mexican foods — and then you don't have
to set out separate bowls of salsa, sour cream, avocado, cilantro and onion

Back to the grind

The last few days, weeks and months have been a blur for me.  My oldest turned 3, I started a new flex schedule at work, my oldest landed herself in the hospital for a couple of days...the list goes on and on.  In other words, more excuses not to exercise or eat right. 

For the most part, I do eat very healthily at work.  It's the home part and running around that always does me in.  I do walk sometimes at work with my coworker, but I seem to rarely make time for it at home.  I went jogging the other evening and was surprised at how well I did considering the recent lack of exercise.

My doctor tested me this week for a thyroid disorder, so it'll be interesting to see what the results are.  My labs in the last few months have pointed to a possible hypothyroid.  If that's the case, I'll get on some meds and hopefully they'll help speed me up a bit!

In the meantime, Troy's work just started a perk where they'll pay half of a gym membership for him, up to $50.00.  That means we can re-join the Y, because we'll be able to afford it!  I really enjoyed going to the morning exercise classes when we briefly joined earlier this year.

So, hopefully things will start to look up soon.  I've got to get my booty in gear!  We're going on a cruise to Bermuda in less than 4 months.  Oh, and I'm running the 8k in November with Angie!  Fun times.

First Official WW Weigh In

So Monday is my designated weigh-in day.  I have been weighing myself almost daily because sometimes I need that extra boost of encouragement to keep going--keep doing what I'm doing.

Yesterday, I hit the 5 pound loss mark.  I was so excited, and I couldn't believe that I hit it that fast!  I know every week won't be like this, but wow, it really goes a long way and reinforces what I'm doing.

I get on the scale for my official weigh-in this morning, and what do I see?  That number has changed--I'm now officially down 6.5 pounds!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  *insert crazy hyper happy dance*

Yesterday was the first day I was able to incorporate some "real" exercise into my day.  I went out and got Just Dance 2 for our Wii and tried it out.  It's awesome!  I didn't even realize how sore my arms were until each song ended.  With a normal workout, I would've noticed and would have been counting down the seconds until the workout was over.  I love that I can just turn it on and go, no shoes, no special equipment needed at all.

Dinner last night was whole grain wheat spaghetti with veggie sauce and extra lean ground turkey sausage.  I made it all then put it in a casserole dish and topped with cut up pieces of WW string cheese and baked.  It was yummy!!!  And I must say, I think that's the first time ever I've eaten spaghetti without garlic bread.  As much as I was dreading it, it wasn't that bad.  I'm a bread freak, and I knew that if I made the bread, I wouldn't be able to keep it at just one piece, so I decided to skip it all together--and I survived!!!!

Here's to hoping that this week goes as well.  The first week can be fun and adventurous.  I'm determined to make this week just as much fun and exciting!

Yummylicious Goodness!

I finally decided to try a new "recipe" from Vittoria over at The Pie Hole.  Her cheese crisps sounded easy enough, and I already had some Weight Watchers string cheese in the fridge.  What's not to love?  Cheese AND garlic!

Cheese Crisps

Try them out--super quick and easy to make.  Everyone in my house gobbled them up last night (except the baby, of course).  Today I made a batch for myself as a snack, since two sticks are only 2 points, and I sprinkled them with garlic salt and Italian seasonings.  Tasted just like pizza!

Day 6, Week 1

Well, I've almost made it through the first week!  I am very proud of myself.  I've managed to create this new way of thinking about how I eat.  In the past I've always been really down on myself--calling myself disgusting and fat.  This week, I've tried to be more positive.  I did eat "badly" yesterday/last night, but I made sure I tracked every single thing I ate.  Surprisingly, I didn't go over my weekly points!

Another check of the scale this morning revealed another loss--a total of 4 pounds this week!

I absolutely love the Weight Watchers cheese wedges.  They are very good--I got the Jalapeno Pepper ones and ate them with pretzel crisps.  A low point snack, but very tasty.  I couldn't find the cheese at Martin's last night, so I ended up getting the Babybel wedges in Herb and Garlic.  I hope they're as good!