I love days like these.......

I took Fischer to school and came back and put Amelia down for a nap (she was up all night apparently thinking it was play time). She's fast asleep and I have NOTHING to do put read and surf the web. Well, I have things to do, but I'm choosing to chill out a bit.

Last night was Knit Night at my house- though it's now turned into a bunch of mom's playing Rockband on the XBox. LOL I did well point wise. I had used my points up to eat chips, salsa and cheese dip as my dinner at our favorite restaurant Salsa. I planned on not eating anything later that night but after we played Rockband for a while I wanted a glass of wine. Then a piece of chocolate. Then I saw the ritz crackers and cheese I set out for everyone else and wanted to devour it. I ate two ritz and then a miracle happened. I stopped! I didn't put anything else into my mouth. And it's a good thing because I'm out of Flex. I probably went 8 pts over, but it could have been worse and I'm going to focus forward and not let those points ruin my week.

So, I've been sort of quiet about this, even though I've been seriously thinking about it for months now. Really, years.... Next Tuesday I have a consult to speak with a plastic surgeon about a tummy tuck. I'm not rushing into anything, but I want to at least talk to some surgeons and get a feel for what is involved. I've batted around the idea seriously since Amelia was born. But I wasn't sure if I wanted more kids. Ed and I talked it over and now we're about 85% sure we're done. But everyone who knows me knows that I could easily change my mind in two days so we'll see... Needless to say, Ed will be having a little out patient procedure of his own before I'd go under. We do not want any surprises! :)

Anyway, it's a hard decision for me because I struggle with guilt. Part of my job as a doula is to teach women about risks and unnecessary interventions in birth. And here I am putting myself at unnecessary risk for vanity's sake. But, if I'm totally honest with myself, I know that my gut and skin is on my mind every hour of the day. I've poured so much work into being healthy and fit and wearing Spanx when I want to wear a fitted shirt is just not something I want to do for the rest of my life. It's important to me to feel good. And I just don't know if I'll ever come to a point where I can embrace the chicken skin that is now my stomach. And, statistically I'm a the best candidate for the procedure. I'm at an ideal weight, I'm active and I have a good potential to see real results. In other words, I've got good muscle tone underneath the skin. Which means my tummy will actually look ripped!

So now I'll do something even more gutsy...I'm going to post pics I took in the mirror this morning of my tummy. To give you all a view of what I'm up against.

*Deep Breaths*











So there you have it! Those jeans are a size 6. You can't see the butt, but it's saggy. I'm convinced I could wear a size 4 with a tuck. But it would only be a "muffin top" if I wore one with my gut as is.

Like I said, I'm not rushing into this. I'm going to meet with several highly recommend surgeons and see how I feel about it. I've got doula clients booked through April. SO I couldn't do anything until then anyway. The recovery would be 6 weeks. And I couldn't pick my kids up for 3 weeks. That's a lot to think about.

Here's a site I've found helpful: http://www.tuckthattummy.com/abdominoplasty_consultation.htm

I'm taking a break from intense exercise today. My shoulders are killing me. Ever since my Monday Heat class where we did a massive amount of push ups, I've been sore. So I may go on a walk, but that's it.

Mom, I want cereal. Maaaaaaahum! It's forty eight o'clock and the sun is up!

(It was 7:45am)

Mom, it's time to get up!

And that was my wake up. Then followed Amelia with her loaded diaper. Don't ya just love that early morning aroma?

I hit the ground running. Took the boys to school. Drove back to the other side of town for my Heat class at the Y. Drove back down Peachtree to my WW's meeting. Went grocery shopping. Got groceries unloaded just in time to go BACK and pick up boys.

*deep breaths*

Lost .4 lbs at weigh in! Hey....I'm happy with that. Considering I spent most of my Flex over the weekend, it's good to show a loss on Monday.

Here's my daily tracker:

Breakfast
Handful of almonds: 2 pts
Mocha: 3pts
WW's Peanut Butter Bliss bar: 1pt

Lunch
chicken breast: 3 pts
Lite chips: 1 pts
Spinach salad with tomatos and oil free mustard dressing from R. Thomas.: 0 pts

Snack:
WW's Peanut Butter Bliss bar: 1pt
Pretzels: 2 pts
apple: 1 pt

Dinner:
Low Carb Quesadilla w/ refried beans, 2 oz mozz cheese, spinach, salsa: 5 pts
2 tbsp regular sour cream: 2 pts

Activity:
Heat: +4pts

Total: 21 pts
4 AP's yields 3 extra points!

I'll probably have a WW icecream cone later tonight...

I'm peeing every 30 minutes but, by God, I'm hydrated! My water intake has drastically increased and I feel better for it. It's completely changed that icky bloated feeling I had the last few weeks. I've also been more aware of my sodium intake. It's crazy how much 'bigger' you feel when you're dehydrated and up to your eyeballs in salt.


I've been wanting to munch all day. I went to my 6am Heat class this morning and my metabolism has been in full throttle ever since. I took the kids to our play group and then came home and just wanted chips and dip. I kept trying to find something else that was "healthy" and nothing sounded as good. So...I got creative and used my WW's tool "switching." I measured out 2 oz of Lay's Lite Chips (made with Olestra- aka Anal Leakage) for 2 pts, 1 cup of plain fat free yogurt mixed with Lipton's Vegetable soup mix for 2 pts. And for good measure I sliced up some red bell pepper too. The whole snack is 4 pts (which ended up being my lunch). And it totally hit the spot! Never in a million years would I have thought I could pull off ff plain yogurt as sour cream, but it really did taste great. I also used Fage yogurt on baked potatoes too..

Here's my tracker so far for today:

Breakfast:
WW muffin= 3pts
mocha=3 pts
apple= 1pt

Heat = +4 pts

Lunch:
Pieces of Amelia's sandwich= 2 pts
Sliced red pepper= 0pts
2oz Lite Chips= 2 pts
1 cup ff yogurt w/ Veggie soup mix= 2 pts

That leaves me with 11 points for dinner and it's already 2pm. Yippee! Now, I just have to reduced too much grazing and then I can enjoy some leftover stuffed peppers with cheddar cheese for 6 pts and have a drink after dinner.

Is it bedtime yet?

I had a day full of meetings! I think having meetings all day is the key to success in diets. I grabbed my usual double tall, non fat, no whip mocha from Starbucks at 7:45am and got on 85 for my trip to Swuanee to visit a client. The meeting was 4 hours!!! Then I got back into the car and met another client at Panera Bread near Perimeter Mall. I called Ed on my way and made him look up points at Panera on www.dwlz.com. I got the low fat chicken noodle soup and a roll. But I was talking the whole time and hardly got to eat. Then an employee walked up and was cleaning up all our trays and just took it away. I wonder how much I could pay her to do that at my house when I'm overeating.....

After that I met my Dad for coffee since I was in his area and we chatted. He was paranoid the whole time that someone was going to come in and rob the Starbucks. He scans everyone that walks in the cafe. I guess that's how you become when you're a police officer for 30 something years.... Appropriately paranoid. I'm sure I'm going to go to my workout class now and wonder if my instructor is involved in the mafia.

Where was I?

Oh yeah, so I'm surprisingly low in points today which is nice because I'm having Knit Night at my house with a bunch of mommies. But what we're really going to do is play Rockband on the XBOX. The visual alone makes me laugh. I'm on the drums. Melanie (whose 7 months pregnant) is on the guitar. Jenny (whose a momma to two) is on the guitar/bass. And Margo (whose 13 weeks pregnant with her third) will more than likely sing. My world is a funny, funny place.

Anyway, I'm making some point friendly foods and I'm going to my Total Body class- so I'll have plenty to enjoy. :)

141.2 lbs

That's what the scale said today! I'm almost back in the 130 lbs. I was actually getting discouraged a few days ago because I had been around 142 and then the scale creeped back up to 144 yesterday, despite being strictly OP. Then yesterday I went to a birthday tea for my friend and my other friend Corrie said I needed to drink more water. I have been loading up on sodium and caffeine lately and little water. So I drank 2 big glasses of water before bed and 2 glasses when I woke up. I feel much better.

Today's agenda:

Stay OP (Check)

Go to my 10:45am Heat class (Did it and it nearly killed me)

Go to grocery (Check)

Do my weekly cooking today (Doing as I type)

Wash a gazillion loads of laundry (Did one)

Prep for a prenatal visit with my client tomorrow (Printer broken)


Here's my rough tracker for today:

Breakfast:
Jimmy Dean's Lite Breakfast Sandwich: 5 pts
Mocha; 3pts

Activity points:
Heat: +4 pts

Lunch:
4 pt quesadilla w/ 1 tbsp regular sour cream: 6 pts

Dinner:
Stuffed peppers: 6 pts

Total: 18 pts total
AP: 4 pts

So I have 4 pts to use for snacks or added meal sides.

I finally decided to really track my alcohol consumption. Not that I'm putting them down like crazy, but I wanted to make sure that glass of wine was actually 2 pts. Well, it's not. I poured my typical glass of wine and then used my WW scale to measure the ounces. Turns out my glass of wine is 4 pts! I'm not drinking 2 oz, I'm drinking 4 oz. Ugh. This explains a lot. The bottom line is that alcohol is point costly. I might scale back.... :)

I do have some food finds to report!

Jimmy Dean's Lite Breakfast Sandwich is 5 pts and very good! Ed let me sleep in today and I woke up craving breakfast food, but did not want to cook. I made one of these and feel very satisfied. I dipped it in ketchup because I'm a condiment addict and secretly use an ungodly amount of ketchup/hot sauce/mustard on any given food item. :)

La Tortilla Factory's Low Carb Tortillas actually taste more like flour tortillas than anything else I've tried. I'm a huge fan of Light Flat Out flatbread simply because it's 0 pts for one flatbread. But, you have to get past the taste. These low carb tortillas actually taste great and are 1 pt per tortilla. I've been making lots of quesadillas with them. I'll probably make a pizza with them tonight.

Tostitos Lite Tortilla Chips. Can you tell I'm on a Mexican kick? Granted, these do have Olestra in them, but they are only 2 pts for 6 chips. I usually break the chips up to make more. I eat them as a snack- dipping in salsa, hummus, ff ranch dressing.

I went to another Heat class yesterday and there was a sub. Not that I'm against subs, but it's just no the same. I felt like my workout wasn't as challenging. But, nonetheless, I did it. I think I'm going to try a Spin class soon. I just need to get one of those gel seat pads (per my Spin experienced friends). Apparently the hoo ha would get a beating if I don't use one. So, there ya have it!

I might try to run today. It depends on how the kids are and whether the time presents itself. I won't stress if I can't fit it in though. I woke up intending to take Fischer to the Y and swim in the indoor pool with him, but turns out we have no swim suit for him. He's outgrown everything and I gave away his summer clothes. But he lost interest in going anyway, so it wasn't a huge deal.

I used 14 of my Flex last night. We had people over and enjoyed chips and salsa and drinks. We also enjoy Rockband for the XBOX. I love it and I'm good damn it! I play the drums and I have to say I'm addicted. :) Hey, and it doesn't hurt to actually get some movement in too huh?

PSA: Starbuck's Sugar Free Mocha's taste like ass!

Yes, I said ASS! Because that's what they taste like. I was so disappointed. I found out through my WW's message board that they came out with the new SF mocha and I was anxious to try it. It's only 2 points instead of 3. Well, I woke up at 5:40am for my Heat class at the YCMA and then hit Starbucks afterwards. YUCK! I almost turned the car around to get a regular one, but I'm making myself drink it. *shiver* It really is that bad guys.....

Like I said, went to my Heat class and boy I could tell it's been 2 weeks since my last Heat. I was s l o w. At the end we did relay races with partners and I thought I was going to drop. But I did it! Earned 4 APs (though I know that class is worth at least 5 APs). It's 8am and I just want to crawl back into bed with my "ass" mocha and go back to sleep!

But......I can't. Fischer just got up and is ready for breakfast.

My Flex renew tomorrow- so one more day of OP and then I can splurge tomorrow if I want. :)

Wooooooohoooooooo! Got on the scale this morning and it said 142.5!!! I'm back in my "safe zone" and feeling really good. I've got a new zeal for the program. And why not.....2007 is gone and 2008 is a brand new slate! My mini goal is to be back in the 130's and stay there. I have a secret goal of 130 lbs. And I'm feeling close.

I feel like I haven't fully gotten back into my normal activity routine since I left for NYC. I've been able to runs a few times, but not back to my Heat classes. I lurv Heat! I showed up at the NYE at the time Heat was suppose to be and turns out it was canceled that day. So I had to *gag* run on the treadmill. I hate treadmill running. Though I did get into two episodes of "John and Kate Plus 8" which is nice. That show makes me feel like my life is really, really easy and stress free.

I'm going to do something today. I'm not sure what. Some sort of activity. Ed is having a day from hell with work, so I'm not going to count on him to be home for dinner. I may take the kids to the Y for an evening class. My kids are almost unbearable lately in the evening hours. So cranky and whiny. It's maddening. I want nothing more than to sit on the couch with them and love on them and read books and sing, but even that bores them. It's weird. Maybe it's the winter months... I could try and face the cold with the double jogger stroller and take them on a run..... That would be brave of me. Who knows... Maybe I'll just wait for bed time and put the treadmill on a steep incline and walk 3 miles. I know it's weird, but I really like walking up hill. It zaps a different muscle group than I do with running.

Here's my tracker:

WW muffin: 3 pts
Mocha: 3 pts

Apple: 1 pt

Quesadilla with 2 low carb tortillas, cheese, onion, fresh spinach: 4 pts
Lite Chips: 2 pts
Salsa for dipping: 0 pts
WW icecream cone: 2 pts

Dinner will be:
Baked pork chops: 3 pts
Steamed broccoli with lemon juice:0 pts

After dinner snack: 2 pts to spare.....plus whatever APs I earn (probably around 3-4 pts)

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

It's 2008 and there is just something so refreshing about starting a new year. We had our party last night and I'm proud to say I stayed within my points and really focused on enjoying everyone around me, not just the food. :) It did help to plan though. I made lots of point friendly appetizers that I enjoyed. Who knew you could make deviled eggs with non fat yogurt? I swear it tasted the same and I'm picky!

I haven't updated with any pics. It's been so long since I've taken a full body pic of myself. Here's me and my friend and sister in law last night. I'll update soon with another comparison.



I also wanted to post some pics of my recent food favs.....








Acorn squash bowl with roasted veggies and feta....2 points!







3 pt pizza quesadilla


Today's Tracker:

muffing: 3 pts
grande mocha: 4 pts

Quesadilla: 4 pts
Lite tortilla chips: 2 pts
Salsa: 0 pts

1/2 turkey and cheese hot sandwich: 2.5 pts
100 cal doritos: 3 pts
1 pickle: 0 pts

Total: 18.5 pts!

I'm actually 1.5 pts below my daily allowance and I'm done eating for the day! I don't think that's ever happened. LOL

Well we went to our neighbor's for dinner and I ended up eating more points than I wanted. Well, I actually ended up drinking more points than I wanted. She made this amazing drink from vodka and lemons that sit and stir in their juices for a week. It was so good. She called it Lemon Chello. Divine. But point costly. And then she had some icecream that was chocolatey heaven. I ended up usuing 18 flexies. :( But, that's ok. I have a plan. I still have 12 left for our party. My plan is to stick with veggies and water the entire day. Then indulge in my point friendly appetizers and drinks. I had to stop myself from being so damn dramatic. Like I'm going to die if I can't gorge myself! I have to laugh at myself sometimes.

I'm going to eat sensibly and have a few drinks. I'm definitely not getting drunk. I'm getting too old for that. I swear, if I have two glasses of wine I'll have a hang over. My body has changed a lot this past year. I'm in better shape than I've ever been, but I cannot hold my alcohol well. I'm on a three drink limit. :)

Our friend is brining over "rockstar" for the xbox. I'm looking forward to that! And our friends from NYC are in town and coming over too and I'm really looking forward to hanging with them some more. We hadn't seen then in 3 years until we went there to visit. We forgot how much we laugh when we're together!

Today is treadmill day. Ed has a stomach bug and I won't be able to get away for a run so I'll wait until the kids go to bed and then run. Tomorrow I'll try and get an outdoor run if Ed's up for watching the kids.

Here's my tracker so far:

WW muffin: 3 pt
mocha: 3 pt

Flat out quesadillla: 4 pts

Planning on whole wheat pizza tonight. I think once slice is 6 or 7 pts.
Salad with ff italian: 0 pts

And then maybe a Smart one's: 3 pts

Total: 20 pts
Hoping to earn 3 APs...

It's a couple days before our annual New Year's Eve party. I'm making three different appetizers. All WW recipes and all reasonably low in points. I'm making stuffed mushrooms, sweet and sour meatballs, deviled eggs and chocolate covered strawberries. All made with healthier ingredients. My goal was to avoid my trigger foods: Bready, chippy, dippy cheesy stuff. All of those lead to overeating. My other goal was to make "wholer" foods without a ton of processed junk in them. I'd like to save the bulk of my flexies on drinks! That's not to say I'm going to get hammered, but that I want to spend them on my favorite point costly alcoholic beverage: White Russian! I'm going to make it with ff half&half, but it will still be about 5 pts per drink. Sooooo worth it!

We're watching my BFF's dog for them while they're out of town. He's a lab/golden retreiver mix and his name is Arthur. I'm going to go on a 5 miler today and take him with me. I don't know what to do with a dog that can actually tolerate running. (No offfense Annie, but pugs can't really take the running) I'm looking forward to that. Then we're going over to a neighbor's house for some spicy chile!

Here's my tracker:

1 slice Light bread with 1 tbsp Naturally More peanut butter: 2.5 pts
Mocha: 3 pts

Spaghetti squash and zucchini "lasagna": 2 pts
clementine: 0 pts

Spicy Chile: 10 pts (estimating)
Crackers: 2 pts

Total: 19 pts
AP's earned: 4 pts
Points Used: 15 pts.
5 left to play with

30 flex left for tomorrow night!!!

Ok, can I just say that I love squash!?? I made Roni's Spaghetti and Zucchini Squash "Lasagna" tonight and I'm telling you, it's so good! No pasta involved at all. Just squash, tomato sauce, mozzerella, fat free ricotta and little bit of parmesean. And it's only 2 pts per serving! In addition, I had an acron squash that I needed to use so I just cooked it and ate one half. It was so yummy and 0 pts! Very filling.

I just thought I'd share because it's rare that I like low point foods and I like this.

Here's my daily tracker:

2 slices low sodium bacon: 2 pts
mocha: 3 pts

Chick-fil-A Southwest Chargrilled Chicken Salad: 4 pt
Tortilla strips: 2 pts
FF Honey Mustard: 2 pts

Coke: 3 pts

Pizza Quesadilla: 2 pts

Squash "Lasagna" : 2 pts
1/2 Acorn Squash: 0 pts

Total: 20 pts!

My Flex renew tomorrow and I can have a full week back under control! I was 143.5 this morning and I'm hoping that I can get back to under 142 before I weigh in on Monday. We'll see....

So, turns out my upset stomach was actually a stomach bug and I had it all day yesterday too. It wasn't that bad. My body does not prefer throwing up, but instead fancy's the river flow down south. I was actually grateful. I had stuffed myself so bad Christmas night that I needed a cleaning out. :) The scale said 143.5 this morning.

I feel like I've been given a second chance to get back in the 130's sooner than later!

I had every intention of going to the 6am Heat class today, but last night I had such a hard time falling asleep. I didn't get to bed until 12:30am and decided to instead go to the 4:30pm Sculpt class today instead. I like sculpt, but I always feel obligated to do cardio before or after it because it's pure strength. I think I might go at 3:30 and get some treadmill action in. That'll run me roughly 3 APs.

Hope everyone had a warm, peaceful, lovely Christmas! Our Christmas Eve dinner was a hit. Everyone loved the pork loin and I felt so proud that I cooked it. It was tender, sweet and delicious! I ate sensibly and even had dessert. I don't think my body is used to so much sugar though because I had a killer headache that night. :( The next day I basically grazed all day. We had two "dinners" to go to and with two kids in tow, there wasn't much time to sit and eat a ton. I think the real "eating" happened after we got the kids to bed and sat down to watch a couple episodes of Heroes. :) (We started watching season one during our NYC trip and we finished it last night) Anyhoo, we had so many leftovers and were so tired and just wanted comfort food. That was the point that I ate too much. But, my body signaled me and I got a really bad upset stomach the rest of the night and had a hard time leaving the bathroom. I know, TMI, but that's what happened. I woke up this morning thinking maybe the "cleaning out" was a blessing in disquise. Ha ha

I'm eager to get back into my gym routine. I ran 3 miles on Christmas Eve and I tell you what- a week off and your muscles forget. I was so sore the next day! I haven't been sore from a run (unless it's over 5 miles) in a year. I miss my Heat classes too. But I know I'm going to DIE during the first one back. But that's ok. I need it. I need to burn, burn, burn calories. I'm still determined to get that full day at the spa if I get to 135 lbs!

I'm going to start back meetings. They are my one thing I haven't been doing that I really, really need. I love my leader and I miss the people at my meetings and I'm going back. Monday nights! (Hear that Ed?? So you got the kids on Monday nights!) My sweet husband reads my blog too. :)

My new fitness goal is to focus on my tummy. It's the one thing I can't seem to tone and it's driving me mad. Gaining 65 lbs with both pregnancies and having chunky babies (one 9 lbs and one 8 lbs 7oz) has just destoryed the skin on my stomach. I've actually considered a tummy tuck, but I"m not quite sure I'm done having kids, so instead I'll focus on a less risky and less expensive method. My OB felt my abs at my annual last month and said I have really toned abs, but the skin is not going to go back. I tend to carry any extra weight on my tummy, so the only thing that's going to really make it any flatter is cardio. Zapping any extra fat underneath the surface. So, that's what I'm visualizing when I do cardio now. GET THAT TUMMY FLAT!

Today's agenda involves getting my pug Annie to the Vet. Her nails are ridiculously long and one snagged on the carpet and ripped part the way off. Poor thing. My kids are traveled out so we're going hang out at home and just take it easy. I thought about going to the gym today, but there are no classes I want to take. Only a Step class and I suck at step and end up laughing at myself the whole time because I can't get the moves right. So, I think today I'll get on my treadmill and do an uphill walk. Probably 3 miles. :)

We are back from our NYC trip and I loved every minute of it! I knew counting points would not be successful for me so, instead I decided to eat mindfully and stop when I was full. That method worked really well. I got to eat everything I wanted while in New York: Eggplant Parmesean in Little Italy, Best Burger in the World at the famous Corner Bistro, eggs with potatos and toast at the breakfast place next door to our hotel....you name it! There was a Starbucks next to our hotel and across the street! In fact our friend said there were roughly 230 Starbucks in New York City alone. Holy cow. It's like I died and went to heaven! Needless to say, I got a mocha everyday. :)

I also got in a ton of AP's because we walked everywhere. One day I believe we walked 30 blocks! I have no clue how many miles that is, but I could tell my appetite was in high gear. I was burning some serious calories walking and trying not to freeze. It was so cold. I remember reading somewhere that being cold actually causes your body to burn calories at a faster pace. So, I had a couple things going for me.

I will say the last night there I binged! I had 3 White Russians (heavy cream with vodka and kahlua). There were divine, but costly (calories). Then I had a ginormous Italian dinner with bread and pasta. I felt 6 months pregnant by the time we left. I did not stop when I was full for that meal! But it was worth it. It was my last night in NYC and we were living it up. When we arrived back in North Carolina (where my mom lives and where my kiddos were all week) I expected have gained 10 lbs alone from my Italian explosion the night before. Luckily the scale had me at 148 lbs. Which was about where I expected. I promptly got back to counting points and as of today (4 day post NYC) I'm 144 lbs. So, I'm back in my groove!

Tomorrow is Christmas Eve and we're hosting dinner with Ed's family. I'm making Baked Brie for an appetizer and a roasted Pork Loin and my new favorite side dish: cauliflower risotto for dinner. Ed's mom and sister are bringing some extra side dishes and dessert. My plan is to earn some APs (I have to check with the Y to see if my HEAT class is still on in the morning) and use my daily points and flex points wisely. I've figured out that my pitfall is not eating typical "no no" foods, but grazing on them all day long. My game plan is to fix one plate of food and one plate of dessert. And that's it. I plan on completely ingnoring the Brie because I know it's a trigger for me.

I'd like to experiment this year and turn my attention away from food and onto the people I love. For as long as I remember, Holidays have always been about food. Always. It's in my DNA. But I'm trying to take baby steps in a new direction. When I feel the urge to go back for seconds, I'm going to go sit on the floor with my kids and play. Or talk to family. Or play games! I can eat every day of my life. There's no reason to treat Holiday food like it's my last meal.

Holiday mantra:

"This is not my last meal."


My tracker for today:

Grande Mocha: 4 pts
Cinnamon Swirl cake: 3 pts (small piece)

1 cup Homemade Veggie Soup: 1 pt
1 roll: 1 pt

Sliced apple: 1 pt
Chocolate yogurt Dip: 0 pts (1/4 cup Fage 0% yogurt, 1/2 tsp unsweetened cocoa, little bit almond extract, artificial sweetner packet)

Willy's chicken salad: 7 pts
1/2 mocha: 1.5 pts

More cake: 4 pts

Total: 22.5 pts
Flex Used: 2.5 pts
APs Used: 1 pt (cleaning like crazy- sweeping, moping, etc)

Quick post, as I'm scrambling to get out of town.....

I've been very OP and writing down everything this week and it feels so good. I didn't make it to my Heat class yesterday due to a flat tire on my car, but I got a sculpting class. I have 18 Flexies left to last me through Thursday. TOday we're driving to my mom's house in NC, dropping the kids off and flying out Thursday to NYC for our 7th wedding anniversary!!!! I cannot even tell you how excited I am. Really. I cannot wait to be in a hotel room, sleeping in and ordering coffee and *gasp* reading a good book! My Flexies renew the day after I get there, so my plan is to be strict on myself until Friday. Then I can spend my flexies on something yummy. And I also plan on earning some APs in Central Park!!!

I'm planning on taking my computer, but I don't know if I'll be updating my blog or not. If I do, I'll try and post some pics!!!

Having a nice weekend here... Had a few obstacles that I managed to stay within a reasonable amount of points. Shocking...I know. We had Ed's parents over tongiht (did I mention how much I love my in laws?) and we had Thai food. Between 4 adults we split 2 Pad Thai, 2 basil rolls (cut in half), potsickers and coconut chicken soup. It was the perfect amount and there were no leftovers and no one was bloated and aching when they were done.

My mother in law was so sweet. Today is our 7th wedding anniversary (although we aren't celebrating until next week in NYC!!). So my MIL brought Extreme Moose Tracks icecream to have something decadent to eat. At first I was like: GREAT! But instead of eating it all and just saying "screw it," I measured out 1/2 cup (5 pts) and enjoyed that amount. I put it in a coffee cup and felt totally satisfied. But really, who couldn't be with moose tracks? I only dipped 3 pts into my flex and I feel good. I'm trying to save them for traveling. Then the night after we get in NYC, they renew. So, I've got a good plan..

I earned AP's every weekday this week. Yesterday I went to a body sculpting class that I expected to be sort of easy and it totally kicked my ass. My triceps are so sore! But I love working my muscles. I got out of the shower the other day and flexed. I know, totally embarassing and teenage boyish, but I have to say I have good arms! Today I just chilled. Tomorrow I'd like to run. It's been a while since I went outdoors with my ipod and just ran. I think maybe Thanksgiving was the last day I did that. My popular form of fitness has been group exercise at the Y. Which seems to get me more winded, sweaty and out of breath than a 5 mile run. Now my runs have more of a yoga effect on me. I get to be alone and just zone out. It's kinda cool.

Here's my tracker for today:

Breakfast:
Vita Muffin 1 pts
Mocha 3 pts

Lunch:
Chicken Salad 7 pts

Dinner:
1/2 cup Pad Thai 3.5 pts
1/2 Basil Roll 2 pts

Dessert:
1 almond wafer: 2 pts
1/2 cup Extreme Moose Tracks icecream 5 pts

Total: 23 pts
3 Flex Used

23 Flex left for the week

Well, I set my alarm for 5:45am and went to my Heat class. It wasn't that bad! It appears that other people actually get up before dawn and function too! In fact, it was the most crowded Heat class I've been to. She worked us hard. She knows me by name now because I stalk her and go to all her classes. Her name is Laura and she used to be in the Air Force. When she told me that, it all made sense. "So that's why all your classes are like bootcamp!" She said she felt sorry for me because I've been to all her Heat classes this week and she knows I'm exhausted. :) Not really...I'm just trying to burn this tummy off. Part of me is wondering if the tummy ain't coming off without surgery though....ugh. My babies just loved lots of space when they were in there!

I'm plotting out my meals for the day because apparently flying by the seat of my pants is not helping. :) The "checks" are what I've already eaten before posting this.

Point Plan for today:

Work out:
Heat class: +4 pts (check)
12 oz water (check)

Breakfast:
8 oz water
Mocha: 3 pts (check)
Vita Muffin: 1 pt (check)
Banana: 2 pts (check)

Lunch:
12 oz water
2 pt pizza on Flat Out flatbread: 2 pts
Salad w/ dressing: 2 pts

Snack:
12 oz water
apple: 1 pt

Dinner:
Burrito chicken salad, minus the sour cream and guacamoli (estimation) 7 pts
8 oz water

Dessert:
WW icecream cone: 2 pts

It's almost 8am and no one is up yet in my house. I made a fire and I'm sitting down with my Starbuck's mocha on my laptop. The Christmas tree is lit and I've got a quiche in the oven for Ed and the kids. Man, I've got it together! Does this mean I should get up every day at 5:45am???? No.

I was feeling good, feeling fit, feeling healthy and then I stepped on the scale......148.4 lbs!!! What the hell??? I did not expect that at all. Or did I? I've been halfway tracking lately because I haven't been to a meeting in a while and I ran out of Quick Trackers. That's the only thing I can think of. That and maybe miscalculating points here or there.

So I guess I need to get my butt to a meeting and load op on trackers. This puts me behind where I thought I was. I was 144 lbs just a couple days ago! Maybe that night of cookie eating caught up with me. Maybe it took a few days for it to "show." At any rate, what's done is done. Now I need to focus forward and make smart decisions. My points renew Friday, so I need to stay at 20 pts per day until then. That basically means I need to stay under 20 pt tomorrow. :) I can do that.

I've decided to take a Heat class tomorrow at 6AM!!!!! I don't know what's gotten into me, but I've found I do better when I work out in the beginning of the day than at the end. And Fischer has a dental appt tomorrow mid morning and then I have a client meeting in the evening. 6AM it is.... The hardest part is when the alarm goes off. Once I'm up, I'm good. I just gotta get up. I earn 4 APs each time, so it's worth it.

I'm going to right down everything that goes into my mouth this next week! I've put so much effort in preparing meals, that I've forgotton to really track the bites and portions.

I'll update my tracker tomorrow!

Here's my tracker for today:

Breakfast:
Mocha: 3 pts
Muffin: 3 pts

Lunch:
1/2 Baked Potato: 1.5 pts
Broccoli Soup: 3 pts
Roll: 1 pt
Salad w/ dressing: 2 pts

Snack:
Handful (and then some) of Annie's bunnies (like Goldfish): 3 pts

Dinner:
1 cup Wild Rice Salad: 1 pt
Sweet potato fries: 3 pts
Roll: 1 pt
Another Roll (I love bread): 1 pt

Total: 22.5

See- 2 pts over and here I thought I was under with room for dessert. ? I will start tracking again! :)

Is it Monday already?

Well last week was good. I benefited so much from all the food I had prepared for the week. We ate every last bit of food I had prepared and even had some to freeze in individual containers quick meal options. I'm just impressed by all the salad I ate. Making up individual salads really does make it easier to eat. Normally I would have had wilted romaine hanging out in the fridge until I took pity on it and threw it away.

The scale reflects my week of healhty eating. Yesterday morning it read 144.6lbs! And that's after a night of cookie eating (with my flexies ofcourse).

So, I went to the grocery and did it all again last night. Bought fresh veggies, fruits and grains to make another week of meals. Last night I made 2 Tomato-Basil Quiches and one big batch of Wild Rice with celery, onion, red pepper and mushrooms (1 cup=1 pt!). I cut up all the fruit, salads, etc and put them in easy grab individual containers. Today I'm making Creamed Broccoli Soup, Pasta with Feta and Roasted Veggies and a side dish of marinated Yellow Squash with Shallots. I can freeze the soup and we'll eat the Pasta today.

I have my Heat (aka Hell) in 2 hours. *deep breaths*

*****Update*******

Went to my Heat class. Killed me of course, but in a good way. Had another day of cooking! I even had time to whip up some Cranberry-Peanut Butter Cookies. 1 pt a cookie! Unfortunately I had 5 of them.

Here's my tracker:

mocha: 3 pts
muffin: 3 pts
grapes: 1pts
Cauliflower risotto, wild rice, roll: 7 pts
Heat class: + 4 pts
mocha: 3 pts ( I know, another)
5 cookies: 5 pts
broccoli soup:2 pts
roll: 1 pt
pasta/roasted veggies: 4 pt

= -5 pts (used 5 Flex)

I'm finding that if I get the kids outside during that 4-6pm window, I do much better on the eating front. That's my stress time and I stress eat if we're trapped inside. I took them to a park and we ran around and played. :)

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 :(

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

We've had a busy weekend so forgive me for not posting in a few days. I stuck to my points all last week and took a workout class or ran everyday. I felt so good (and earned APs). So far so good this week. I took a class Monday and Tuesday and rested today. Orginally I wanted to earn some APs today since it's Halloween and I knew candy would be around. But my body was telling me to rest. My little boogers were so cute in their costumes! Fischer was Spider Man and Amelia was a fairy. It could have been a train wreck of a day, but it wasn't. I did divert from my plan, but not too horribly. :) I used more flex than I wanted to, but that's okay. That's what they're for. I'll just need to get creative the rest of the week to keep my points in check.

We're going out to eat with some friends Friday for Mexican. I really want some chips/salsa and a taco. I'd like to play my cards right and earn some APs and eat lite in Friday. That way I have a hefty portion of daily allowance points, plus APs, plus my 9 flexies I have left over. See? Isn't Weight Watchers exciting??!!!

Here's my tracker:

Breakfast:
Muffin: 1 pt
Mocha: 3 pts

Lunch:
Blue Corn Chips: 3 pts
Refried Beans: 2 pts
Rice Crips: 2 pts
Tabouli: 1 pt

Snack:
Carrots: 0 pts (I never count carrots)
Hummus: 2 pts
Rice Crisps: 4 pts (ugh)

Dinner:
wine: 2 pts
Chili: 7 pts

Trick or Treating:
Two bites of snickers; 2 pts

Total: 29 pts
9 Flex Used

Birthday festivities has kept me from posting the last two days...

Fischer and I had our birthday yesterday. It was fun. Yesterday was more for Fischer than me. (I'll celebrate Saturday) We ran errands all day, had lunch and then got dressed up for his little Kangzoom/Spider Man party. I had a piece of pizza there and a couple bites of cake. Then we came home, got the kiddos to bed and I went out for drinks with Monica. 2 Vodka-Diet Cokes. 4 pts. :) You'd be so proud of me. I soooooo wanted to order an appetizer. I ate that piece of pizza at 5:30pm. By the time I got out for drink with Monica I was 8pm. So, I had built up an appetite. But still- I exercised self discipline. I just kept focusing on my birthday dinner Saturday night and all the food I'd like to have then. :)

Today has been busy already. I got Fischer ready to go to school and thought: "is there something I'm forgetting?" Then got out the door. When I pulled up for carpool I immediately knew what I forgot! DRESS UP DAY!!!!! Shit! Shit! Shit!!!!! Hi, I"m a loser mom. I look at Fischer who is just now noticing everyone in costumes. I told him I was going to grab his Spider Man costume and I would be right back. I dropped him off, ran to Target, ran IN Target with Amelia in my hip. Of course the Halloween section is the furthest possible points from the entrance. Boy I earned some activity points! I was in and out in 2 mins! Luckily I saw my friend Karyn with her son who was going to the school. She took the costume for me. Phew!

So, after THAT Amelia and I go to Whole Foods to get some VitaMuffins. I can't find them anywhere else and they're only 1 pt per muffin. I'm such a muffin person in the AM, so it's nice to have some low point stuff. We picked up a strawberry cake for our family celebration at our house tonight. I'm having my parents and Ed's parents over for our birthday celebration. I'm putting a lasagna in the oven and serving salad and garlic bread to go along. I also planned for this as well.... I bought the big Stoffer's lasagna for everyone else. I also bought a small Lean Cuisine lasagna for me. I'll cook it all together and throw my lasagna on a plate and no one will no I'm eating something "special." :) I'm going to skip the cake and have a Slim-a-Bear (like Klondikes, but low in points). That's my plan.

Here's my tracker for today. I'm going to start including a morning scale reading with my trackers...

Scale reading: 145.2 lbs

Breakfast:
Mocha: 3 pts
Vitamuffin: 1 pts

Lunch:
Lean Cuisine Pot Stickers: 5 pts
Salad w/ ff Ranch: 1 pt

Dinner:
Lean Cuisine Lasagna: 6 pts
roll: 1 pts

Dessert:
Slim-A-Bear: 2 pts

Total: 19 pts (with 1 pt to spare)

I'm hoping to make it over the YMCA today for a class or a date with the treadmill. Either way the goal is to earn 3 APs. So that will allow 4 extra points for wine with my lasagna tonight!

Feeling good....

Deep breath in........and exhale.......

I'm in heaven. I'm at Octane, a local coffee shop about 1.5 miles from my house and I'm on my computer and doing some doula work. What is "doula work?" you might ask. Well, it's not laboring women drinking coffee here at Octane. Doula work is research, research, research. I've been through my training and my books and 35 plus births, but if I go to a birth and get stumped by something, I usually note it and then research it afterwards. So, that's what I'm doing. I've got 2 clients coming up in November. I had October off since my one October client delivered early. :)

I have a sitter day (you know, since I'm at Octane w/o kids) and I just love Tuesdays. I use it to do my prenatals, run errands and then I meet my girls for our Total Body class at the YMCA at 4:30pm. It's just nice. Then, THEN, I get to go see one of my favorite bands, no TWO of my favorite bands play tonight. Over The Rhine and Rosie Thomas. I'm going with some of my favorite girls and I'm excited to get out and enjoy some music. I'm planning to save some points for a few drinks if I can. :)

Here's my tracker:

Breakfast:
Mocah: 3 pts
WW muffin: 3 pts

Lunch:
Octane Baked Tofu sandwich (cibaca bread, herb baked tofu, tomatos, greens, vinegarette): 7 pts (estimate)

Going to Total Body with is 4 APs.

I'll post an update later.

I do two things when I wake up in the morning. One is go straight to Amelia's room (she's my alarm clock) and pray she hasn't rubbed her shit all over her crib. I say shit because you try calling it "pooo" or another cutsy name after cleaning it up several times a week. It's freaking shit! It looks like shit. Smells like shit. And it's gross as shit to clean up. Let's just embrace the word shit, okay? My daughter has inherited my creative ability to get herself out of any pajama outfit I put her in and open her morning diaper and paint. My mom says I did the same thing. Personally I think as a child I was still grossed out, but perhaps "forged" my way through for the sake of the art. Amelia: she thoroughly enjoys it. So, anyway, that's the first thing I do. Never boring here at the Gordon's.

Second thing I do is go to people.com. I'm obsessed. If I'm home, I check it every hour, on the hour. I love the pictures. I follow their "people tracks" like a dog follows fresh meat. Seriously. I'm even willing to say I'm more obsessed with People.com than mochas! *gasp*

Why do I tell you this? Well, because it's a habit. It's a habit ingrained into me. I do it automatically, without thinking. Seriously- do you think I'd clean up shit everymorning if I "thought" about it? No. But my point is that habits stick. They do. Now technically if you do something for 3 weeks straight, it will become a habit. I've seen that happen for me with exercise. I love it. I miss it when I can't do it. It's just a part of my life. Now, in the past, staying OP has been a major habit. It stuck like glue. Now staying OP is like putting two wrong side of a magnet together. And I even react like I would if I were trying stick two wrong sides of a magnet together. I smile, wondering why it's not working and then throw in the towel. But you say: "Jen, we've been reading your blog and you did great out of town!." Um, yeah, you could say that. Up until the last day (or as I like to call it: "cope day.") This is the day that all the stress of being surrounded by food and family gets to me and I cave and start mimicing what I see and eat everything in sight. And then some. Did I post about that? No. Should I? Yes. Going to my mom's is like sending an alcoholic to a bar. Food is the entertainment, the comfort, the solution, the end all. Monica said my visit was successful simply since I waited to cave until the last day.

Anyway- that's my confession. My solution is to make staying OP a habit again. I notice that if I stay OP a whole day, the next day is easier. SO that's what I'm doing. :) And when better to start the week of my birthday? Ha! I've got little birthday gatherings sprinkled throughout the week- so this will be fun. (Not funny "ha ha", but funny "oh shit!") Geez..I'm really loving shit these days...

Anyhoo, today is going A OK so far. Got up and dressed with my offsring in tow. Carpool day. Dropped the boys off at school, went to Starbucks- got the wrong drink! They gave me a regular mocha instead of a non fat, no whip. So that's more points that I wanted! I drank it anyway because I was late and need the caffiene. Headed to my "Heat" class at the YMCA. My friend Candace met me there. 15 mins through and we both gave the knowing look to eachother: "Yes, I think I'm going to hurl and then have cardiac arrest. Just so you know." But, nonetheless, we made it through the class (aka BOOTCAMP). Earned 4 APs.

Here's my tracker:

Breakfast:
WW oatmeal: 2 pts
mocha: 5 friggin pts
apple: 1 pt

Lunch:
Chick fil A Chargrilled chicken sand: 5pts

Snack:
WW keylime pie yogurt: 1 pt
1/2 cup All Bran: 0 pt
2 tbsp ff cool whip: 1 pt
grapes: 1 pt

Dinner :
Veggie chili (aka: Pot of cans! - canned sugar free bakes beans, lite and dark kindey beans, diced tomatos, tomato sauce. Then zucchini, onion and carrots. ): 4 pts
Crackle flatbread: 4 pts

Total: 24 pts
AP's earned: 4 pts

Right on track!

Update: I went to the WW meeting tonight. Good for me. :) Though it was funny because two ladies got into it a bit over whether muscle weighs more than fat. Um.....a lb of muscle is the same as a lb of fat! A pound is a pound dudes. It was kinds amusing watching them go back and forth over it. Clearly one girl did not "get" it. "But when I work out I gain weight!" Well, honey, that's because you're eating a piece of cake that's 15 points after you'd only earned 2 pt walking 30 mins. Sorry. I'm convinced that's why people end up gaining when they workout.

Anyway, got my mojo back and feel good. Track, track, track. My mini goal is to not use my 35 Flex until Saturday (my birthday party). Wooohooo!

It's Sunday and the kids and I have packed our bags and are catching our plane later. I'm trying to down play the plane ride. The plane trip is always eventful. Amelia is....how do I say this.....a diva. She simply cannot be bothered by constrictions. She hates car rides, she hates plane rides....it just pisses her off. Now Fischer- that boy could sit in a carseat all day. Give him a chocolate milk from Starbucks and he's good to go. Different strokes for different folks.

Yesterday was fun. Earlier in the day my sister and I went to the YMCA and played raquet ball. For some reason raquet ball makes me pee in my pants every time. Not because of post baby incontinence issues (though I have to say when I work out really hard, I should probably wear Depends) But simply out of laughing my ass off. My sister and I laughed so hard while we shot the ball around like a pin ball machine. See, we suck at raquet ball really bad. What's funny is that we have to hit it and then dodge it as it comes back to get us. Both of us walked away with minor injuries. We're both fiercly competitive and think we know everything about every sport, but clearly we suck at raquet ball.

Last night we celebrated mine and Fischer's birthday. (I keep typing that and I know it's grammatically wrong) We went to a Japanese restaraunt. I got grilled shrimp, brown rice and veggies. And a big ass glass of wine. :) Then we came home and had cake . It was damn good and well worth the points! Chocolately goodness with cream cheese icing to top it off.

Lindsay and I then went to a God awful movie. I wanted to see Elizabeth: The Golden Age. Lindsay insisted on a comedy. The only comedy playing at the theatre near us was The Combacks. The cast alone was enough to make me think it couldn't be that bad. Lots of people from Best Week Ever, "Jan" from The Office, just familiar faces. Oh my God was I wrong! It was awful. So much so that Linsday walked out 1/2 way through. I was too stubborn (since I paid for the tickets) to leave. I was hoping it would get better. Not so much. It was a dumb movie with dumb sexual jokes sprinked throughout. *gag* Don't see it.

Wel, I'll be back in Atlanta tonight. Cranky, sugar laden kids in tow. (Sugar is the only thing that stops them from screaming on the plane.) It will be good to see Ed. Good to be in my own bed. Good to get back to life.

Day at the State Fair

So my mom was really excited to take the kids to the North Carolina State Fair. So we went yesterday. It was so freaking hot! Why is it hot in October????? Anyway, we all know that food at a fair is not the most WW friendly. I was starving when we got there and opted to get the chicken wrap (one of the few unfried things). It was pretty good. I ate a few of the kid's fries too. Then later we got cotton candy and candied apples. I ate a little of both. I figured..I was at the fair and it's not like I eat cotton candy and candied apples every day. :)

We came home in time for me to get changed and go to an aerobics class at the YMCA near here. Kicked. My. Butt. But it was good. I needed to burn off that cotton candy! I came home and then crashed. I was so tired from the day's events. But I wanted to write about it because I considered it a victory that I didn't binge on Fair Food. I mean, I had stome high point things, but I didn't over eat. And I even earned some APs. :)

Today I'm focusing on staying completely within my points (no flexies!) and getting in another workout. I need some new running shoes. It's amazing how quickly running can wear out your shoes. Most runners need to replace their shoes every 6 months. I'm on my third pair now!!! :) I'm going to go out and get some today. I just need to find a place that "fits" them to your running stance. We'll see.

Amelia is down for her morning nap and Fischer is playing with matchbox cars right now.... I'm sitting in a recliner with a quilt over me and my laptop. It's going to be hard to even get up. Much less get dressed! But I will. I promise!

Hola from North Carolina! I'm at my mom's house visiting. The kids and I few in this morning. I'm sure I earned 2 APs on the plane ride alone. Amelia was giving me a run for my money. Back arching, squealing..... (yes- I was THAT mom and NO it's not that easy to whip them into shape with they out number you). At least they held it together until about the last 20 mins of the flight.

Anyway, I check out the the local YMCA's website. I mapquested it and I'm going to there tomorrow morning. Hopefully I can catch a class. If not, I'll do the treadmill and pick up a class schedule. I'm determined to stay active while here. Then we're going to the State Fair. Oh joy! For some reason I absolutely dread things like this with kids. Stresses me out. Amelia is 18 months and literally wants to run around everywhere. She's not a huge fan of the stroler either- so we'll see how this goes. :)

Well, here's my tracker... Pretty "ok" for not having a lot of control over my meals today.

Breakfast:
Mocha: 3 pts
crumb cake: 7pts
cracker: 1 pt (airplane)

Lunch:
chili: 5 pts
crackers: 2 pts

Dinner:
chili: 5 pts
crackers: 2 pts

Dessert/Snack:
apple: 1 pt
ww cake: 1 pt

total: 27 pts 7 flexies used

Okay- I didn't exactly stick according to plan last night at my doula get together. Wine was there. I'm a sucker for red wine and chatty women. :) I had 3, yes three, glasses. Why? I don't know, it was just fine. We sat around for a long, long time talking and I had two large glasses (of which I'm counting it as three). Other than that- I stuck to my plan. Small portion of soup and bread. OH, and instead of eating the dessert- I had 3 small pieces of chocolate that someone brought. It was in tiny, shaven pieces, so it wasn't much. :) But I'm afraid I have to use some of my flexies for that night.

Today I woke up after a long night of both kids waking up randomly. I was exhausted, but had a postpartum visit with a client, so I needed to hit the ground running. I swung (is that a word?) by Starbucks, got my mocha and head out. Forgot breakfast (bad girl). Then I met my best friend for our weekly Tuesday lunch at Taqueria (www.taqueriadelsol.com) for some chips and tacos. I overrate on the chips and I knew exactly why- I was famished from no breakfast.

Good news is that I'm going to earn 4 APs at my Total Body class today. So I'm right on track.

I'll probably have a Progresso soup for dinner tonight. I have to pack for me and the kids. We're flying out to my mom's for the rest of the week! That will be a challenge, but I've been successful before, I can stay OP again there!

Deep Thoughts: I know I've said this before on here, but it pays when your bff is a therapist in "real life." I swear she has so much insight and really keeps me grounded. I'm so lucky to call her my bestest friend. Anyway, over lunch I was sharing how I've felt like I've lost focus lately and shared my fears of gaining all my weight back, etc, etc. She pointed out that she's noticed that I've shifted from a "winner" mindset, to a "defeated" mind set. Like, I'm expecting to fail. And it all makes since and really helped me see some things. I made goal, and accomplished my ultimate "thing." And now the "you look great" comments and new clothes are gettting old.... I've lost steam. So now I feel sort of unmotivated and slowly slipped into that "I'm feeling defeated" mentalitiy. I'm thinking like a fat girl. I'm a size 4/6 and yet I feel like a 14/16 again. ANd it really has settled in and set up camp. Monica (my bff) said I need to start thinking like a thin girl again, because that's what I am. I'm a winnner (cheezy I know), I've had great success, I've accomplished a lot. Now I need to believe it. I think deep down inside I always thought I was going to fail. Even when I clearly reached goal. So that was a revelation. I'm going to commit myself to not believe lies. To believing the truth about who I am and how far I've come. I'm thin! I'm really, truly thin. How can a size 16 fake a size 4? But more importantly, I'm a healthy person who has energy to chase my kids, run a half marathon, embrace my life. I never, ever want to lose that.

Here's my tracker:

Breakfast:
Mocha: 3 pts

Lunch:
Chicken Taco: 5 pts
Chips: 8 pts
Cheese dip: 4 pts
Guacamoli: 2 pts

22 pts used, 4 pts earned. So 4 pts left for dinner. I can do that... Hell, I've had 1 point left for dinner before and made it work!

I'm feeling the focus return...... (well, at least in the last 12 hours I wrote you) :)

I got up, got the kids fed, clothed, washed and off we went! First stop was Jack's house (Fischer's friend and school mate). I have carpool today- so we picked little Jack up. Dropped the boys off at school and Amelia and I hit Starbucks. I raced to the bank to make a deposit and then we headed over to the YMCA. I was determined to a take a class called "Heat." The name alone scared the hell out of me and I figured- that's bound to earn me some AP's....sign me up! Left Millie in the childcare and off I went! HOLY. COW! Now I go to a Total Body class that I've always called "bootcap" on Tuesday at 4:30p. It's rough, hard, but sooooooo worth it! This HEAT class was like that, but on crack. I was most certainly in bootcamp! First we pushed the bozu's (sp??) around the track with our hands. A bozu is like an exercise ball cut in half and a hard platform is on the bottom. We pushed them and when we came to a corner on the track we had to get down and do pushups. Next lap we had to kick the bozu with with inside of our foot to work the inner thigh. This time we did squats when we got to a corner. That was just a warmup.......

NEXT, we went into the studio to start cardio circuits. There were three rows of circuits. First some was made up of steps (the steps you used in step aerobics), lined up length wise to form a giant line across the studio. We stepped off and on those all the way across the room. Next circuit was the bozu's lined up in the same way to form lily pad like things to jumped across. Third set was a "ladder" that was flat on the ground, followed by stepping blocks that functioned sort of like tires that you jump around in a real bootcamp like setting. We began with a 5 minute cardio circuit. Break. Strenth training- abs. Back to Cardio- this time for 4 mins. Break. Strength- butt. Cardio- 3 mins.....and so on until we only had a 45 sec cardio round. OH and to top it off we got to do a supported squat along the wall for 60 seconds. 60 seconds? Doesn't sound bad until you consider that you're legs are already jello and convulsing....

Tough, TOUGH workout. But I was glad I came. I'm estimating I earned 4 AP's- though maybe more. I'm only using 4. :)

The only "thing" I have that will be sort of a challenge (food wise) is my bi montly Doula Get Together tonight. Good news is that it's soup. So I think I can probably get away with a small soup portion and some bread (one small piece!!!) and stay safely within my points. :)

Here's my tracker so far:

Breakfast:
Weight Control Oatmeal: 2 pts
Mocha: 3 pts

Lunch:
Chick fil A Chargrilled chicken sandwich: 5 pts
1/2 of dd's small fries: 4 pts
Large unsweet tea: 0 pts

Dinner:
Mystery soup
Bread
????

AP's earned : 4 pts

Total used so far: 14 pts (minus the 4)

10 pts to work with at dinner. :)

Man... I cannot keep my focus to save my life! It's been a really distracting week. I decided to try Core again- seemed to overeat (albeit Core foods) and scale didn't move. Then halfway through the week I decide Core doesn't work and move back to Flex. But somewhere in between that I get sidetracked and just start eating whatever, whenever, without much thought. *sigh*

I think the thing is that we eat out and have lots of "events" often. That's just our lifestyle. I made it work with WWs for over a year now. But lately I've gone back to the "Old Jen" mentality of : "well, I can't stay OP today because we have that party, so I'll start tomorrow...." Well, one event after another and I'm up a couple lbs! What is wrong with me? I've got to figure this out. I'm about to go out of town this week to visit my mom and I need to nail down some basic things that will help me NOT to compromise and lose weight. One major thing is that I have to weigh in sometime before October is over and be 142 lbs or under. Right now I think I'm around 146 lbs. :( SO, in order to maintain my lifetime status- I have to get back on the wagon. That's a motivating factor right there. So, here are some goals to achieve in the next two weeks:

1. Stay OP everyday, all day.
2. Write down everything I eat. My WW leader always says: If you bite, you write it!
3. Reserve, RESERVE!!!! my Flex points for just that: flexibility.
4. Earn APs everyday.

I always like to point out the good along with the bad, just to be balanced. The good thing I've been doing is really earning lots of APs lately. I have been going to the YMCA for classes almost everyday. And if I can't get a class in, I run on the treadmill at home. I've done that 7 days in a row! And Friday I ran 5 miles!!! I need to up my mileage in the next two weeks to fully get myself back to my half marathon status. I'm running the half marathon on Oct. 27th!!!!

So, there you have it. I must, must, must find my focus. I will. I'm accountable. I can't forget why I started this- to be a healthy mom to my kids and to live life to the fullest. I do not want to go back to where I was. Help keep me honest! LOL

On that note- I'm going to tell you what I ate today. IT was bad. I totally splurged. We had our family birthday get together (lots of us have Oct birthdays) and I just went to town.

Breakfast:
Mocha: 3 pts
Reduced Fat Cinnamon Swirl Coffee Cake: 7 pts

Lunch:
Publix Turkey SUb (no mayo, on wheat): 10 pts (estimate)
Veggies chips : 6 pts (I ate too much)
Carrot Cake: 10 pts

Dinner:
More subs (leftovers): 7 pts
More Cake: 10 pts

Ugh..... at least I came home and ran 3 miles on the treadmill.

Note to self: Chick-fil-A chicken biscuits (with grape jelly) are pretty much irresistable. *sigh*

I feel like the last few weeks have blurred together as one big "half n half." Half on program. Half off. I have excuse after excuse as to why this yields me unable to follow plan, but really it's just excuses, excuses.... I think I'm just tired and I do well all day until I'm finally alone (kids in bed) and then I want to "reward" myself. It starts with a little something like a cocoa via bar. Then I need something savory to go with the sweet....and so on. Night time is a trigger for me for sure.

And I have not been able to run or workout like I usually do, which is depressing. I've been my kid's primary caregiver for a week straight and it's just draining. Thank God things are normalizing and Ed is back in town. I really need to refocus. I do not want to gain my weight back. It's funny because I could gain 2 lbs and be convinced it's all coming back! But like my WW leader says: you got fat from weeks upon months upon years of eating badly. Don't get a two day binge throw you into the depths of despair. Pick yourself up and refocus! :)

I have a wedding to go to today. I'm looking forward to it. It's a friend that I've known since elementary school. Should be fun. :) As far as the "eating" plan. Well, I'm going to allow myself a small plate of food and one slice of cake. Maybe I'll earn some AP's dancing. :P

I'm going to take it easy today on the points an then refocus strongly tomorrow.

Monday I'll go to my meeting- though I won't weigh in for my October weigh in for a couple weeks! I need to regulate my weight!

Okay, been another crazy week. I had two births last week that lasted 24 hours+ each and were only a day apart from each other. I was exhausted and lived on whatever food I could get. Then, Ed went out of town this week and I was solo with the kids. I wasn't able to get in hardly any exercise. I went to the YMCA one day and childcare was full so I couldn't take my Total Body class. :( The lack of exercise has just thrown my "habits" off and I gotta get back into things. I think I'm on track food wise, but I haven't journaled much due to running out the door and flying by the seat of my pants. Even now I'm typing on my lap top on my bed while my kids are jumping around me. It's aready 6pm and I have no idea what dinner holds for us. I badly want to order chinese food, but I know I can come up with something in my frigde that is WW friendly if I tried. I'm just pooped and cooking sounds like running a marathon right now....

Speaking of marathons.... my half marathon is in 3 weeks! Holy @(#*(%*#!!!! I'm getting more and more scared and running less and less. Ack. I've got to get out the door and do some long runs....