Greetings!

The week has flown by...... As you know Monday was my cook day. That has paid off big time! I've had easy, healthy meals every night so far. Last night was Plant Sale soup with lean ground beef and tons of fresh veggies. Very flavorful and hit the spot. Tonight is Acorn squash stuffed with quinoa with cranberries, cinnamon, butter and pecans. 6 pts! I've been eating salad and fresh fruit all day every day. This is going to be my key to success I think. Plan, plan, plan......

I got on the scale this morning and it read 145.6! That's good news considering I was 149 on Sunday evening after my binge fest at Thanksgiving. I'm very encouraged. And I can't wait until that full day at the Spa! *drool* I went to my Total Body class yesterday and my Heat class instructor was subbing. "Oh Great!" is what I told her when I walked in. She laughed because she knew that I KNEW that she was going to kick our butts just like she did to me on Monday at HEAT. She did. I survived and was glad. The more calories I can burn the better!

I get to sort of endulge tomorrow night though... My friend is a massage therapist and gave me a massage gift certificate for my birthday. So I get to have a massage Thursday night! I. Can't. Wait. I've stayed strictly OP since Monday and I have to maintain that (with no flexies) until Friday. Thursday would be my breaking point, so its good to know I have something special to do that night besides snack.

I opted not to workout today. I usually work out at least every week day but I just wanted to sit on my ass today. I would normally go to a step class at 9:30am, but I just couldn't bring myself to leave my PJs and blanket and coffee and Regis and Kelly and go. So I gave myself a free day. Unfortunatelty that means I don't have extra points to eat . :( But I did rake leaves in the yard with the kids today for about an hour. I figure that earned me 1 AP.??

I'm making some WW friendly appetizers for our Book Club that's meeting at my house Friday. I need to keep my points in check. I'll probably spend some flexies on wine, but I WILL NOT go overboard and blow all of them in one day like I've been doing the past few weeks. It's technically "ok" to do that, but I think it reinforces that binge mentality in me and that's not healthy. Then Saturday we're doing the Christmas tree and Ed really wants to have the whole shabang with eggnog and cookies. Ugh... So that will be a challenge. Not really with the Eggnog, but definitely the cookies. I'll need to come up with something. Perhaps those Splenda sweetened premade ones? We'll see..

Meal Makin' Monday!

After I went to my Heat class at the Y, I went to the grocery and spent an ungodly amount of money on food. But its okay, cause I went with a mission. What's the mission you ask? To prepare as many meals for this week that are made of fresh ingredients. I made "easy grab salads" with romaine, spinach, celery, and cherry tomatos. I put them in Glad Ware containers already to go. In addition to that, I got a ton of fresh fruit and washed, cut up and dispersed into more cute litte containers. I'm so Martha.

Here's the meal list for this week:

Chicken Goulash
Vegetable Beef Soup
Tomato Basil Quiche
Acorn Squash stuffed with quinoa and walnuts
Fresh Asparagus Dip
Cauliflower Risotto
Black Bean Orzo

I did this back in the day when Amelia was a newborn and I needed to lose some 65 lbs. I knew I wouldn't have time to prepare healthy stuff, so I'd just take one day and make everything ahead. So I figure I have even LESS time, so why not start that habit again? Man, I was in the kitchen for 3 hours straight cooking. I looked up at the clock and it was 5pm already! But I'm so glad I did it because the meals are going to be so yummy and point friendly. Here's some pics of my adventures...














And of course, a glass of wine to finish!

You know what they say about the best laid plans.....

I'm home from a 4 day binge on Thanksgiving food. Meal after meal, drink after drink, pecan pie after pecan pie.....It was shameful. I was downing food like a line backer. We celebrated Thanksgiving for the THIRD time this week. This time at my aunt's house in Knoxville. There was so much food there, I could barely look anywhere without an appetizer of some sort or brownies, or calorie laden holiday cocktails or CASSEROLES looking me back at me. At one point I even played "beer pong" with my sister and cousins. I don't even like beer, much less Bud Lite. But I guess I was swept away with the holiday spirit and laughed, ate and drank like a merry old winch! LOL One good this I did was go running/walking on the hilly paths of my aunt's neighborhood. I went Saturday, in the midst of my binging. It made me feel sane again...

I cannot even bring myself to step on the scale. Really, I think I'll panic if I see the damage right now. I need one good day OP before I step on. One good day OP and buck naked, rather. I need the best scale reading I can get.

Tomorrow is a new day! *deep breathe* I'm going to my weekly HEAT class. That should kick my butt! And I'm sure she'll make it especially hard since it's the first class since Thanksgiving. Oh joy!

So, I've set a new prize for myself. I talked with Ed and we agreed that if I can get downt o 135 lbs then I can schedule myself a full day at the spa of my choice! Holy. Cow. I'm back on the motivation wagon..

Thanksgiving Challenge Numero Uno!

Today is just one of the Thanksgiving celebrations I'll be attending in the next week. *deep breaths* I've resorted to my best tool: plan, plan, plan!

It's 11:30am and the dinner is at 1pm. My Grandma asked me to bring something so I made a point friendly broccoli casserole (http://tinyurl.com/yqmoee). 1/2 a cup of broccoli casserole is only 3 pts! So, that's one item on my plate that I know I have the point value of. I kept breakfast lite. 1 tall non fat, no whip mocha with a WW's mini cake (4 pts total). Here's what my Thanksgiving plate is going to be:

1/2 cup stuffing/dressing: 4 pts
1/2 cup broccoli casserole: 3 pts
Small slice of turkey: 2 pts
Cranberry sauce (just a dab): 1 pt
Small slice of pumpkin pie: 5 pts

My breakfast, plus my planned Thanksgiving plate and pie leaves me with only 1 pt for the day! Luckily I have 12 Flexies. However, I really need to keep dinner low in points. Maybe a Progresso soup or something. If I can earn some APs, even better. I may have a date with the treadmill once the kids are in bed tonight.

I WILL have a successful day today!!! :)

Just checking in to say hi and that I'm doing well. I spent half of my flexies last night at dinner. Well spent! This next week will be busy, as I'm sure all of you will experience with Thanksgiving. I'm doing my preparation now to ensure I don't over do it. I'm also sharing a list of common Thanksgiving items and their point values. :) I've got 3 different Thanksgivings to go to on all different days!!!! One is tomorrow. Then Thursday. Then Friday through Sunday at my aunt's house in Knoxville. I say Friday through Sunday because my family will literally eat Friday through Sunday. Ya know that movie "My Big Fat Greek Wedding?" Well, that's like my family. Lots of wine and lots of food. That will be my biggest challenge since I won't be able to leave and go home. But I did it last year without blowing plan, and I can do it again!!!

I'm planning on creating my Thanksgiving plate from the items below and planning them into my weekly track for those days. Hopefully I can get in some cardio to help counteract it all. :)

Thanksgiving Points Plan

Turkey (1 oz) light or dark meat (without skin) = 1
Ham (1 slice)= 3
Stuffing... homemade (1/2 cup)= 4
Stuffing... Stove Top, all kinds, prepared(1/2 cup)= 4
Mashed Potatoes, homemade (1/2 cup)= 2
Green Bean Casserole, 1 cup= 5
Sweet Potato Casserole, 1/2 cup= 4
Brown gravy, homemade (1/4 cup)= 2
Corn, cream-style, canned (1 cup or 6 oz)= 2
Dinner roll any type (2 oz) = 3
Apple Pie, homemade (1/8 of pie)= 8
Pumpkin Pie, homemade (1/8 of pie)= 8

Morning scale reading: 144.5 lbs!

Slowly but surely working my way back down to my safe 140 range. I've done well eating wise. Amelia was sick last night. 104 temp! I thought we might need an ER visit, but after I tortured her with a luke warm bath, it dropped to 101. A dose of motrin did the trick and she slept all night. Poor baby.

So, due to sick babies, I missed my Total Body class yesterday. :( My bff Monica went though and said it was like bootcamp on crack, so maybe it was good I missed it. I did a Body Sculpting class today. Abs were worked like crazy. That's ok, cause that's my problem area! Tomorrow is my Step class and then I'm headed to mom's group at the park. Kids will hopefully be feeling better and ready to have some outside time.

I'm tired, so I'll just post my tracker. I'm going to try and include water since that's my weak point.

Breakfast:
WW muffin: 3 pts
10 oz water

Lunch:
Almond butter and jelly sandwich on high fiber bread: 4 pts
Lite Cheddar and Sour Cream chips: 1 pt
Glass of water

Snack:
Mocha: 3 pts

Dinner:
Lean ground beef stirfry: 3 pts
3 dinner rolls!!!: 6 pts
Water

Dessert:
Cherry Coke zero with some whiskey: 2 pts
Coco Via bar: 2 pts

Total: 24 pt
APs earned: 2 pts (drank 16 oz water at my workout)

Right on target...

Okay, so it's hard to do a detox juice fast when you're kids get sick and you literally can't eat or sleep. :( Maybe fasting is not cut out for mom's of young ones.... I mean this in the best way possible but fuck it- I'm eating. :) I haven't eaten yet (it's 11am here), but I'm going to. Probably a fresh veggie salad. Nothing crazy. I need energy to keep up with my sick puppies. So, out of pure embarassment of my last two 100% enthusiatic, detox, juicing posts- I deleted them. Mainly because my wimpy ass did not last 24 hours. I'm so cool...

I'm sitting here on my bed with my laptop AND my limp little girl who is sick. :( She's passed out right now sleeping, but she's so pitiful. :( Her fever just broke and she's all sweaty. I hate when my kids are sick. I get so upset about it that I can't eat. Hey, maybe that's the secret. Sick kids=skinny mom. Just kidding...

I usually host "Mom's Night" at my house tonight, but canceled due to sick germies being around. Sucks cause I want some friend "down" time, but oh well. Probably best. We always make this Cheesy Beer Dip with yummy cream and cheddar cheese, 1/2 a bottle of beer and some garlic powder. Mix it up and bake it in a sourdough bread bowl and you have yourself a little piece of cardiac arrest heaven. Divine......

I'm doing well on the food front. Seeing as I didn't eat anything yesterday but juice and some hummus. Today will be a more food friendly, but low point day. :)

Can I just say how nice it is to get out of bed, put a robe on and just wake up slowly? Amelia woke me up with her morning babble. I was so relieved to not have something to do first thing. We woke up and went down stairs for her "baba." She's very particular about her baba. It's a sippy cuy with whole milk, microwaved for exactly 39 seconds. It's like her mocha. When she doesn't get it, she's cranky! We settled in to our spot on the couch and played. Ed and Fischer had apparently wandered over next door looking for coffee and were invited to eat biscuits and gravy. We have that kinda relationship with our neighbors-they happen to be our best friends too. My husband and son finally came back and now Ed took Amelia to Starbucks for me to get me my fix! That's a good man my friends.

So I used A LOT of flex last night. I logged everything, but I don't feel like writing all out here. It was a munch fest, lets put it that way. It was good though. My friend and I went to a place here in Atlanta called The Local. They have the best tator tots! We munched and got drinks. Then I hit a wall and was exhausted. I climbed into bed and was so glad to go to sleep.

So I edited this because my plan was to go to my Cardio Funk class today but I'm just down right tired. I figure 4 days of a cold and hard workouts is enough under my belt to take this Saturday off. Instead Amelia and I are going to eat lunch with my bff Monica and wander around Atlantic Station here in Atlanta. It's like an "eat, play, live" type of community where there are shops, apartments and restaurants all over the place. Should be fun. We already know we're going to California Pizza Kitchen- so I went to Dotti's Weight Loss Zone and looked the menu and points. I'm going to get the pea and barely soup for 4 pts. I need to be conservation and this is a great way to go out and have fun, but still stay OP!

:)

So I show up to my Heat class at the YMCA gym this morning. Feeling good. Feeling proud of how quickly I got out of the house. Made the kids eggs and chicken sausage for breakfast, Fischer's school lunch packed, both kids dressed.....I'm off! We start with our warm up of 5 laps around the gym. I start off......shit! I forgot my sports bra. I mean, I'm flying solo under there! I was so layered up from the cold that I forgot my freaking bra! I took one lap (holding my boobs in close with my forearms) and stopped. I walked over to the instructor nervously and laughed and said I forgot my bra and could NOT do the class with the flappin' bobsie twins. She reached into her gym bag and pulled out a sports bra! I grabbed it, ran into the utility room and made it back out in time to finish the warm up! Wow....women can really get your back sometimes.. LOL

My points renewed today. I love this Friday point renewal thing. I'm going to go get drinks with my BFF tonight and have a yummy appetizer of sorts. We usually go to Six Feet Under near us. It's a seafood place, but low key and they have this really cool roof top deck over looking the city. They have the BEST homemade chips with some sort of creamy dip to go with. I may save up for that!

I'll post tracker later. So far just a muffin and mocha. And I earned 4 pts for the Heat class!

Maintain dont gain! That's the name of the "challenged" I signed up for at the Y. It's centered over the Holidays. We weigh in next week and then weigh in again the first week of January. I think everyone gets a T shirt and a certificate (LOL), but the top three "maintainers" get special prizes. What if, just what if I make the top 3???!!!! I'm so competitive, I need this. :) Last year I did so well Thanksgiving and Christmas. I was motivated because I was still focused on goal. Now that I'm at goal (well, maybe 2 lbs over), I need a new focus. So, instead of thinking and thinking and thinking about it, I decided to be proactive and create a goal! I love challenges. So, wish me luck!!

I'm still fighting a cold that seems to be lingering. The cold medicine I took last night was divine. I got the best night's sleep I"e had in a while. I'm the type of person that would stay up until 1am every night just because I savor alone time. I could be down right exhausted and still not be able to go to bed early. Last night I went to bed at 9pm and slept until 8am!! Ah.....

Then I hit the ground running. The Step class I've been wanting to take (the easier one, not the same one as last night) was at 9:30am so I had to get the kids dressed, fed and out the door quickly. We made it there and halfway through the warm up I realized I had not had anything to eat or drink yet. I felt my tummy rumble the whole time, but finished. Stupid, stupid! My poor body was shaking by the time the class was over. I grabbed the kids and we went to Starbucks for my usual mocha and this time a reduced fat coffee cake. Don't let the "reduced fat" fool you- it's stil 7 pts! THEN we head over to the church for mom's group. The kids played and I sat and chatted with my friends.

Now I'm home and both kids are napping. I can't remember when the last time both kids slept at the same time.....

Here's my tracker:

Workout: Step: + 4pts

Breakfast:
Mocha 3 pts
Coffee Cake 7pts

Lunch:
Hummus: 1 pt
Blue Corn chips: 3 pts
100 cookies: 2 pts

16 pts used, 4 pts earned. 8 pts left for dinner. We'll probably have leftovers. I requested that my husband and I sit on our butts and watch a movie together tonight. Maybe we'll feed the kids the leftovers and order chinese or something after they go to bed. Hot and Sour Soup and sushi is only 6 pts! We'll see......

Good evening ladies and gents!

I'm coming off 3 days of intense busi-ness. I had a doula workshop Monday, a birth Monday night, then another workshop Tuesday. A nasty cold has kept me in a fog through it all. Luckily I got in two hard workouts in the middle of all that. Though, I'm wondering if I should have laid low because of my cold. I was really sluggish during the class at the YMCA.

I took a Power Step class tonight. Man, I've totally lost all coordination. I wanted to mix it up and do a different type class. This was complicated, to say the least. I enjoy dance-style stuff, but I just could not hit the step in the coordinating pattern the teacher wanted. I felt like a dumb ass to be honest. :) But, hey, at least I went and tried. And I came out covered in sweat! I'm now sitting in my bed, watching "The Antiques Road Show" on PBS. I just took a Sudafed Nighttime pill to help to get rid of this goop I have and it's hitting me now. *yawn*

Here's my trackers for today:

Breakfast:
Mocha: 3 pts
1 hardboiled egg; 2 pts

Lunch:
Salad with romaine, spinach, tomatos, carrtos and some of the kid's chicken nuggets. Gorganzola raspberry vinegarette. 7 pts

Snack
carrots: 0 pts
hummus: 2 pts
100 Cheezits: 2 pts

Dinner:
Spagetti Squash-Chicken Cacciatore: 3 pts (I'll post recipe below)

Snack:
Slim A Bear Klondike: 2 pts

Total: 23 pts
APs earned: 3 pts

Right on Target!

Cacciatore Recipe:

3 Bonelss, skinless chicken breast in crockpot all day until falling apart. Add: 2 cans diced tomatos, can of tomato paste, mushrooms, 1/2 large onioin, fresh garlic, oregano. Cook another few hours on low.

Half Spaghetti squash and cook flat side down in a baking dish with 1/2 inch of water. (350 @ 40 mins) When done, scrape out speghetti squash into a bowl. Use squash as "speghetti" and top with Chicken Cacciatore. Only 3 pts for one bowl (roughly 1/5 cups).

:)

There is an old lady in our neighborhood that was probably born in the hosue she lives in. Our neighborhood had been around since 1890 and there are lots of old folks that have been around for a long, long time. Anyway, this old lady sweeps her porch, steps and sidewalk every single day. EVERY SINGLE DAY! And when you see her, she's not very friendly. I pass her on my runs in the neighborhood and she almost never acknowleges my waves. Just sweeps, sweeps, sweeps. It's kinda funny. She's outside everyday, but doesn't appear to enjoy it or even stop to live in it. Just sweeps. It made me think of "dieting" and how monotonous it all gets. We think that "staying focused" means we live this bland, limited lifestyle in regards to food. We plan our meals, workout and, like zombies, we watch the scale. I think I've been in that mode the last few months, which explains why I rebel and over eat in certain atmospheres. When I went to my mom's, I was like a 16 year old on spring break for pete's sake! But in the last 2 weeks my mojo is back and I'm enjoying the plan. I've planned meals, but not in a militant way. I"ve planned for treats too. It's been nice. :)

It's funny...weekends are always my downfall because I've already spent my Flex points earlier in the week. It's always beeen such a struggle. It never occured to me that I could adjust what day I wanted my Flex to renew! So I offically changed it to Fridays. :) I weighed in Friday at Weight Watchers (though I really consider my Monday night meetings to be "my meeting.") I weighed in at 145.0. Not too bad considering how out of control I had been for the last month. Just 3 lbs to shed off to maintain my Lifetime status for November.


Last night I did as planned, enjoyed Mexican food with friends. It was yummy! After dinner we ordered a fancy pants tequilla in a sipping glass. It was so strong I had to give it to Ed. The flavor was so intense! It wasn't worth the points. :) I felt good about spedning my flex there because I planned and knew exactly how many points I spent (25 pt). normally I would have thrown in the towl on tracking them and ended up eating more. But now I feel good. I have 10 more flex to work without until next Friday. Not too bad. Today I earned 4 pts at my Cardio Funk class. I've got 10 pts left and it's 6pm! How cool is that??!! We're having some friends over for burgers. I planned my burger already and even have enough for drinks. :)

Here's my tracker:

Breakfast:
Special K with skim: 3 pt

Lunch:
Subway turkey sub with ff sweet onion teriyaki sauce (no cheese or mayo): 6 pts
Lite Chips: 1 pt

Snack:
Mocha 3 pts

Dinner:
Trader Joe's Chicken Lime burger: 3 pts
High Fiber Bread: 1 pts
Lite chips: 1 pt
2 drinks: 4 pts

2 pts to play with.....

Total: 22 pts
APs earned 4 pts

Busy day. Took kids to the park for play group, then grocery store, then naps....you know how it goes. Then I met my doula friend Melanie for dinner before seeing a documentary called The Business of Being Born. GO SEE THIS FILM! Google with your city and go see it. It's about the history of American birth. If you consider youself a women's right kinda person (shouldn't we all?) then see it. ***stepping off soap box*** Anyway, I was unable to get some APs in. One annoying thing happened: I ordered the Teriyaki Shrimp Skewers (4 pts) for dinner at Applebee's. Well, when it came out there was steak on the plate. I thought I misread and that it was all 4 pts (or maybe I was in denial). Anyway- ended up being 7 pts. SO I went 3 pts over what I planned. Details, people, details!!!!

Tomorrow is my day to eat Mexican with friends. I'm planning on taking a class at the YMCA and eating lite. Then usuing the rest of my flex to eat dinner with. :)

Anyway, here's my tracker:

Breakfast:
Mocha 3 pts
Muffin: 3 pts

Lunch (nibbles here and there at the park of random food I packed for the kids)
PB&J : 4 pts
apple: 1 pt
1/2 banana: 1 pt
carrots: 0 pts (remember how I don't count carrots?)

Snack:
2 laughing cow wedges: 2 pts
Lite Crisp bread: 1 pt

Dinner:
Teriyaki Steak and Shrimp Skewers: 7 pts

Total: 22 pts
2 accidental Flex used :(