Back on track...

Weekends always tend to just throw me off eating wise. We've always got something going on and it's just difficult to plan. You know the days when you set the chicken out to thaw and you keep pushing it off until you eventually have to throw the chicken out because it's been 3 days? That was my weekend. We pretty much ate out every night. Unfortunately (and fortunately) I got a weird stomach bug and ended up with diarrea after every meal. Good times! You guys know by now that my TMI level is way above the average person.

Today Ed and Fischer were off to meet my step dad half way (they live in NC) so Fischer can have a week visit with them. Give us a break and give them everything they want: to spoil their grandchild. Then Thursday we are driving up to their mountain house to meet up with them and my sister for the 4th. Should be fun. I'm not sure what I'll do with only one child. Lots of naps I think!

Amelia and I went to the YMCA this morning. I did 20 mins on the treadmill and then a Body Sculpt class. Burned roughly 350 calories (3 APs). I noticed in the mirror that my hips are widening. It was a definite change from last week. I suppose it's about that time. I'm about half way through this pregnancy. I was just hoping to keep my smaller hips a bit longer.... Oh well. I'll get them back after they give birth. :)

I made some Monkey Munch today. As you all know I watch Jon and Kate Plus 8 religiously and I saw her make it and it just sounded so good! So I made some today for me and Amelia. She enjoyed it. I need to figure out the points for it. I'm thinking 1/2 cup would be 4 or 5 pts. Oy! Maybe not. My Calorie King account expired and I need to renew it. It's so easy to figure points up with that site.

Here's my tracker:

Breakfast:
Mocha: 2 pts (didn't drink it all)
3/4 Bagel: 4 pts
Lite Cream Cheese: 2 pts

Lunch:
1/2 Whole wheat publix turkey sub (shared with Amelia): 7 pts
Baked Lays: 2 pts

Snack:
Milk: 2 pts
7 Oreos (ahem): 5 pts

Dinner:
Thinking ground beef stirfry with veggies and cous cous: 7-8 pts

Daily: 32
APs: -3

Total: 29 pts

It's the WEEKEND!!!

My mother in law called me this morning the bestest surprise evah! She wanted to take the kids tonight for a spend the night. Sweet! I love spontaneous childcare like that. So this means Ed and I are going out to dinner with some friends and get to sleep in tomorrow. THEN my stepdad (who lives 6 hours away) is surprising my mom by meeting Ed halfway and taking Fischer for a full week to NC! My mom has been wanting Fischer to come up for a week this summer, so she'll be thrilled. Then Ed, me and Amelia will drive up to their mountain house July 4th weekend to hang out and pick little man up. Should be fun.

I met a friend of mine and her fur baby at a local park to walk this morning. Did 2 miles. Then ran all over town running errands before I needed to bring the kids to their grandparents. We ended up eating lunch at this great place in our neighborhood called Carvers. I always forget it's there. Southern soul food. I sort of chose wisely. Chicken pot pie, mashed potatoes and green beans. And a biscuit. And a sweet tea. So maybe not. It was one of those "I'm been running around and I'm famished so I go with the first suggestion Ed makes that is easiest." Plan to fail.....yada yada yada. To put a positive spin on it I've had this weird stomach thing the last 24 hours. Not feeling ill, just that my food goes right through me. Is that TMI? LIke I care.. So after I made it to my mother in laws house I had a bathroom visit that might have undid the all the damage I inhaled at lunch. Good times.....

Now I'm about to take a heavenly nap because there is no one here to need me. (Other than my pup Penny who is snuggling up with me now) Then I'll shower and have a nice, uninterrupted dinner with my sweet husband and friends. Ah....the life! I think I might just have a glass of wine tonight.

*yawn*

My tracker minus dinner because I have no clue where I'm going. But I promise to make a smart choice!

Breakfast:
1 hardboiled egg: 2 pts
1 WWs muffin: 3 pts

Snack:
Mocha: 3 pts

Lunch:
Chicken Pot Pie: 9 pts
Mashed potatoes: 4 pts
Green Beans: 2 pts (butter)
Biscuit: 4 pts
Sweet tea: 3 pts

Total so far: 30 (Yikes!)
Minus APs: 2 pts

So, 28 pts.

Guess I'll be dipping into Flex for dinner.

17 weeks

Look! I look relatively normal from the front. And then there's the profile shot.....

175 people?

That's the tally on today's stat counter. And that's not page loads. That's unique visits!

Okay lurkers. Fess up! LOL

Mornings are not going well for me...

For some reason the kids are complete monsters in the mornings now. I think it's because they share a room and are rising too early (7am) after talking and giggling too late at night. Anyway, there are at least 5 tantrums thrown by Miss Amelia by the time I get out the door. Very nerve wracking. I was so distracted by the stress of getting out the door for my play group today and I completely forgot to pack our lunch or even eat breakfast! And the last thing you do as a pregnant woman is walk out the door with two crazy kids on an empty stomach.

So... we went to Chick-Fil-A and I got a chicken biscuit and a coffee and the kids got the mini biscuits. I opted to leave out the hashbrowns and just eat the biscuit. Well of course when we got to the park and settled, they had given me an order of hashbrowns with my meal. And OF COURSE I ate them! I was so frazzled it's like I just kept putting things in my mouth. I even ate a few leftover mini biscuits and ate a cookie that someone brought. *sigh* Plan, plan ,plan. That, my friends is what I failed to do. And well know...if you fail to plan, you plan to fail.

So I have 10 pts left for the day. I'm going to a Body Sculpt class at 4:30 so that will earn me roughly 3 APs. So I'll have 13 pts to work with. Tonight might have to be a soup/ salad night. I'm unmotivated to cook anyway....

Here's my tracker:

Breakfast/Lunch:
Chick-fil-A biscuit: 10 pts
Hashbrowns: 5 pts

Snack:
Left over mini biscuits: 3 pts
Cookie: 2 pts

Late snack before class for energy:
Probably a mocha: 3 pts
Bran Muffin: 3 pts

Dinner:
Progresso Chicken and Rice soup: 4 pts
1 roll: 1pt

Total:
Daily used 31 pts
APs: -3 pts
=28 pts

So 2 pts to spare. I'll probably use that on an extra roll or something. Not that I *have* to get those extra points in. Oh and would it kill me to eat some fruit?

Wow....am I popular?

103 unique visits to my blog today! I love Stat Counter...it's like you get to stalk your own blog.

Who are? How did you find this blog? How often do you read it??

I'm so interested in who reads it. :)

Jen

Reading while walking....

I was sitting around on my lap top after putting the kids down and feeling lazy but had all the excuses in the world not to exercise. I looked at my treadmill and tried to ignore it. I've had this nagging headache for the last few days and I kept falling back on that as an excuse to not work out. Then I looked at the treadmill again. It was like the beating heart in Poe's The Tell-Tale Heart. The treadmill got bigger and bigger and I finally gave in. "All right!" I wiped the dust off it and started it up. I grabbed my book and hopped on. I put it on an inclined and began my workout. I have to say, I've always seen women at the gym reading while on the treadmill. To me, that seemed like it would make you sick. I easily get car sick and can rarely read while in motion. But I thought I'd give this a try. It worked. I was able to read and didn't get sick at all. Not only that but I was in a full sweat and 3/4 a way through the chapter in my book when I realized I had already been on the treadmill 20 mins. Time flew by.

Fischer got my camera and took a pic of me. Then I grabbed it and took a pic of my book.



Glad I did it. Now I don't feel so lazy.

I went to my ww's center and picked up some 3 month trackers. I need to get back to writing things down.

Here's my tracker today so far:

Breakfast:
Lowfat Yogurt: 2 pts
Granola: 2 pts
Strawberries: 1 pt

Snack:
Mocha: 3 pts

Lunch:
BLT: whole wheat bread, tomato, lite mayo, turkey bacon and avacado (so maybe a BAT): 9 pts
1 cup whole wheat mac-n-cheese: 5 pts
grapes: 1 pt

Dinner:
ff Hebrew Nat'l Hot dog:1 pts
Bun: 2 pts
Baked Lays: 3 pts
Sugar free baked beans: 3 pts

APs: Walked- burned 200 calories: +2 pts

Total points: 32 pts
Total APs: -2 pts
So 30 pts!

Right on tracker..

Total:

Yikes....

Here's a list of things I've consumed today. Not a good day. Wretched headache all day and I think I thought food would make me feel better. Didn't help that I went grocery shopping with two crazy kids to really push myself over the stress edge. Excuses, excuses....

almonds
mocha
watermelon
veggie chile
1/2 avacado
sourcream
spaghetti O's (yikes)
4, yes, FOUR pieces of pizza

*hurl*

At least I went on a mini walk this evening with the dogs.

Quitting is not an option, so tomorrow I get serious.

Weekend in Sugar....I mean the Mountains!

It was so nice to get away this weekend. Just a change of scenery can do wonders. Unfortunately it involved lots of eating out which usually results in me thinking I'm never ever going to get *this food* again so I might as well live it up. You get the picture. It wasn't all bad, but the last day I basically gorged. You know the drill: club sandwiches, fries, potato skins, ice cream, kettle corn......ahem. The good news is that I got in a 2.5 mile walk on this beautiful trail that circled a lake. The air was so crisp. I have forgotten what its like to breath real oxygen. Not the stale, city air we get here. We passed two groups of people horseback riding. The foliage was robust and bursting with green. It was so nice to be outdoors. Made me want to abandon ship here and move there.

I'm on a peach kick lately. I ate so many peaches this weekend that I'm jonesing to get to the Farmer's Market for more. And strawberries. And blueberries. And.....and,......and. I have a prenatal appt tomorrow and then maybe I'll get my bum to the store and get some fruit. There's a Latin Core class at the Y that I've been wanting to try. I might do that tomorrow. Shall I wear a flowy skirt and bear my belly?

On that note. Here's some pics from this weekend.

Breathtaking view. But you know pictures never give it justice....

Me and the husband

Me, Millie and My mom

Ready for the weekend...

It's Thursday and I'm (as usual) ready for the weekend. We're headed up to Boone, NC for the weekend to see my parent's new mountain house. Should be fun. I'm hoping to get some walking in. Those hills will zap my pregnant ass.

I made it to Total Body Tuesday and really pushed myself. It felt good though. I took my neighbor with me and she basically said she wanted to throw up during the class. LOL I actually thought it was easier than usual. Maybe I'm not a wimp afterall... I did, however, wake up Wednesday intent on doing NOTHING physical. I was wiped out and my muscles were aching.

This morning I woke up early and decided to take the kids and the new dog to a local park and walk while it was still fairly cool. I did about 2 miles. Nothing crazy, but still some activity. The poor dog was beat by the end. Afterwards we hung out at the playground and then I did a Starbucks run.

I met my dad for Sushi (Thank you Corrie for graciously watching my rugrats) for a late Father's Day lunch. I've already got chicken marinading in the frig for dinner.

Here's my tracker so far today:

Breakfast:
Banana: 2 pts
granola bar: 3 pts

Snack:
Mocha: 3 pts

Lunch:
Sushi!: 7 pts
Little fried rice: 2 pt
Tea: 2 pts

Random Blow Pop: 1pts

Dinner:
Grilled Chicken: 3 pts
Broccoli: 0
brown rice: 3 pts

Total: 26 pts
APs: -2 pts

24 pts!

I counted that twice. Yep, 24 pts! So I have 4 pt to work with. I need to stay under 28 pts today. I've been a piggy lately. Looks like I need to get some fruit in. Maybe a smoothie this afternoon...

Off to pack for our weekend!

What are you doing this weekend all you lurking blog readers?

Quick post....

Tracker:

Breakfast:
Lowfat yogurt: 3 pts
Cereal: 3 pts

Snack:
Mocha: 3 pts
1/2 bagel with lite cream cheese: 3 pts

Lunch:
Spinach salad with grilled shrimp: 4 pts
Dressing: 2 pts
Sweet tea: 3 pts

Snack: (I was starving again??!!)
Grilled cheese with tomato on whole grain bread: 6pt
Orange: 1 pt

AP: total body +4 pts

.....24 pts so far (subtracting the APs I'm going to earn in an hour at Total Body)

Dinner:
Not sure yet. Maybe pasta with marinara: 4 pts

Wish me luck in Total Body!

Pumping Iron

Made it to a Body Sculpting class at the YMCA. There were two other pregnant gals in there. I learned some good modifications from them on some of the stuff I thought I had to skip. (Plank, sit ups, push ups, etc) Working out is finally feeling "normal" to me again since the second trimester energy. I'm finding myself focusing more heavily on the sculpting.
Building healthy muscle can help you burn more calories doing everyday things. Fortunately I've been able to maintain the weights I lift. No major modifications. On the other hand, cardio is more difficult for me to maintain. I've slowed down. But I'm listening to my body. No need to push myself if my body doesn't want to do it. I figure between walking and cardio classes, I'm doing some good things for my heart. But man I miss my Heat class! I wish I could go, but I'd seriously be modifying everything and it would just be silly.

Back to counting. Don't you love how back and forth I am??? I'm not a fan of how quickly the scale is creeping up. (Ahem...156 lbs) I'm still trying to find my rhythm with food in this pregnancy. It hasn't been as black and white as it was before I was pregnant, so it's been a whole new learning process. Different stages of pregnancy lead to different hunger levels and preferences. I guess that's why Weight Watchers doesn't have a pregnancy plan anymore. I'm so hormone driven that it's been challenging to just "stay OP." But I can feel a shift in my body and my hormones. Things are stabilizing and I'm feeling much more rational and all kinds of foods are sounding good again. (As opposed to "I need a taco right now. It's all I can imagine eating.") Avoiding mass quantities of processed foods and sugar is still high on my priority list, but keeping a more careful eye on the amount I'm eating. I'm also focusing on getting in some good protein at every meal. That makes all the difference in my hunger and energy level.

Anyhoo, I'm still trying to figure out the right amount of daily points. I'm thinking roughly 28 pts is the magic number. Plus Flex and Activity points. Today I'm going to run by my WW's center and buy some trackers. I need to get back actually righting this all down everyday.

Tracker:

Breakfast:
Handful of almonds: 3 pts
Mocha: 3 pts

Lunch:
Tuna fish salad (made with Lite Mayo) and crackers: 5 pts
Strawberries: 1 pts

Snack: (the plan)
**another change**
mocha: 3 pts
pizza: 7 pts

Dinner: (the plan)
***change**** I forgot I was going out to eat for my good friend's birthday dinner
Chips: 8 pt
Salsa: 0 pts
Cheese dip: 5 pts

Total: 24 pts

Activity Points:
Body Sculpting class: +3 pts


That totals 33 pts (including subtracting my APs).
Used 5 Flex
30 Flex left

Long day

I'll spare you the ugly details, but I had to show up to court to pay a ticket that turned into an all day fiasco. But the good news is that I walked 3 miles from the Municipal Court house to the Dept of Driving Services!! Joy!

Here's my tracker:

Breakfast:
Organic granola bar
Non fat Latte

Snack:
Trail mix of pecans, dried cranberries and dried apples

Lunch:
Salad
Slice of pizza

Dinner:
Grilled cheese on whole grain bread
Steamed broccoli

Snack:
Glass of white wine

Today was great!

Ed gave me an extra hour to sleep and then I loaded the kids up and went (take a wild guess) to the Y! I did a Sculpting class with one of my favorite instructors and it was great. I worked really hard and broke out into a sweat within the first 5 minutes. I can definitely tell my stamina is back up. I know I'm going to be sore tomorrow. I'm itching to go on a run soon. I hate running on a treadmill, but it's been so hot here that I haven't gone outside to exercise. Maybe one evening this week...

So far so good on the food front. I've been very careful to avoid processed foods and stick to the good stuff. We took the kids to Kangazoom this evening then to Willy's for a burrito. I got half a burrtio and steered clear of the cheese dip. I did get an unsweet tea with a splash of sweet. I've been drinking so much water I wanted something different without going the soda (or diet soda) route.

Here's my tracker:

Breakfast:
Organic blueberry lowfat yogurt
Granola
Blueberries

Lunch:
Whole wheat pasta with homemade marinara
Steamed broccoli on top

Snack:
Trail mix of pecans, dried cranberries and dried apples
3/4 a Mocha from Starbucks (Ed treated me before Kangazoom!)

Dinner:
1/2 chicken burrito
Some chips
Tea

Slow moving day today. Wallowed around until I had my mocha then like a crack addict, off I went! Cleaned my bathroom (even used a tooth brush in the tub jets) and did several loads of laundry. Then like a miracle, my neighbor friend called to see if Fischer wanted to go to the pool. Amelia was down for a nap and I had the house to myself. I took the liberty of taking a bath. Blow dried my hair AND straightened it. Now I'm sitting on my computer while little girl is still napping.

Damn it feels good to be a gansta...


Tracker:

Breakfast:
Purely O's with skim milk and blueberries

Snack:
Mocha

Lunch:
Polenta with veggies
Carrots and hummus
Orange

Snack:(didn't eat much at lunch)
Turkey sandwich on whole wheat with lite mayo, mustard and lettuce
Yogurt with blueberries and granola

Dinner:
Something take out only because we're having some work friends over and the plan is to order out. My goal is to make the healthiest choice I can.

:)

Bundles O' Food

The kids had a a dental cleaning appointment today first thing and then we headed to Costco. I really wish the Farmer's Market was closer. I really wanted to go there, but it's 35 mins away and I just wasn't up for it. I needed paper products and diapers and fruit, veggies and meat, so I figured I'd load up. I've come to realize it's really easy to eat processed foods. And boy have I been. And I come to this realization every now and then when life gets busy and I can't think of the last time I ate a piece of fruit. So I went to Costco with the intentions of seeking out some organic stuff and avoiding all the packaged crap. I did find some Bare Naked trail mix and granola. Which is all organic and no preservations. The kids love that stuff and I'm beginning to really enjoy granola and yogurt, which I never have before. I came away with organic cereal, yogurt, yogurt smoothies and whole wheat pasta. And fruits, veggies and chicken ("all natural," but not organic).

Pregnancy wise I'm trying to focus on protein. I've noticed I feel awful when I don't get enough protein. So included that in every meal and snack is something I'm prioritizing. I'm also loosely giving up refined sugar. The occasional mocha will be the exception. I'm following these guidelines. My rough rule is eating whole foods. Things that are not overly processed.

Here's today's tracker:

Breakfast:
Cascade Farm's cranberry and almond granola bar
mocha

Snack:
Trail mix

Lunch:
Black bean and cheese quesadilla on two corn tortillas over a bed of lettuce. Topped with salsa and 1 tbsp reduced fat sour cream

Dinner: (already planned)
Grilled chicken
Grilled veggies-red onion, yellow pepper, mushrooms, and cherry tomatoes
Foil pockets with diced potatoes and carrots-drizzled with olive oil and salt and pepper

I'm headed to the YMCA here in a bit after Amelia wakes from her nap. My plan is to do 30 mins on the treadmill or elliptical and then weights.

Dang it's hot!

The kids and I have lived at the pool this week. Our YMCA has the best pool that has that "beach" decline. It's so easy to sit there in the shallow area with Amelia, throw a float vest on Fischer and just relax. Fischer and I have become so brown that Ed says he's enjoying his new African American wife! :) I love getting dark. I think dark skins is so smooth and beautiful. Plus, we all know fat looks better tan.

I made it to what I thought was a Sculpt class this morning. Turns out it was a Step class. What is happening to me? It's the second time this week I mixed up the classes. It was a good thing though. I got a good cardio workout. One full hour! I was dripping sweat by the end. And the endorphines were great afterwards.

This week has been off kilter. Due to pool fun, I've neglected most of my household duties and we're all currently drowning in laundry and I feel the pull towards take out the last few days. Planning is everything and I've failed to plan. Tonight is pizza night. And not because Thursdays are "Pizza Night," but only because I'm craving Pizza Hut pizza and I have not thawed anything out in the freezer. Remember that fail to plan part?

Here's my tracker:

Breakfast:
Bowl of Purely O's: 3 pts
Skim milk: 1 pt

Lunch:
Chick-fil-A biscuit: 10 pts
Tea: 3 pts

Snack: (I was starving!)
Orange: 1pt
Some leftover Layered chicken Lasagna: 6 pts

Dinner:
Pizza: 10 pts

Total: 34 pts
AP: +3 pts

31 pts

I'm on a yogurt and granola kick lately. Never in my life have I desired yogurt and granola. I've always had to force myself to eat yogurt. But I'm diggin Stoneyfield Farm's Lowfat Vanilla yogurt. I top it with the Farmer's Market granola that has walnuts and cranberries. It's soooooo good! And keeps me full until lunch which is hard these days.

I wanted to share a recipe I made last night that I loved! I made hotwings for dinner and they were AMAZING! You start them in the crockpot and then we finished them on the grill to give them a "crispier" feel. It was seriously some of the best wings I've ever had. I have no clue on the points, but they weren't fried and weren't made with the buttery hot sauce stuff, so I'm thinking they're lower in points than traditional hot wings.
Here's the recipe:

Slow Cooker Chicken Wings

INGREDIENTS
• 5 1/2 pounds chicken wings, split and tips discarded
• 1 (12 fluid ounce) can or bottle chile sauce
• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1/4 cup molasses
• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 3 drops hot pepper sauce
• 1 tablespoon salsa
• 2 1/2 teaspoons chili powder
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 2 teaspoons salt

DIRECTIONS
Place chicken in slow cooker. In a medium bowl combine the chile sauce, lemon juice, molasses, Worcestershire sauce, hot pepper sauce, salsa, chili powder, garlic powder and salt. Mix together and pour mixture over chicken. Cook in slow cooker on Medium Low setting for 5 hours.


I made it to the YMCA this morning. I flaked and looked at the Monday schedule and thought there was a 9:30am Sculpt class. Turns out it's Tuesday and there was a spin class instead. I was not brave enough to try my first Spin class pregnant, so I walked over to the dreaded machines. I walked 2miles (running for a little bit of that) on the treadmill at an incline and at a 4.0 pace (whatever that means). I worked up a good sweat. Then I hit the weights. Felt good.

Here's today's tracker so far:

Breakfast:
Lowfat yogurt: 3 pts
Granola: 3 pts
homemade mocha: 2 pts

Lunch:
1/2 quesadilla with mozzerella, black beans and salsa. Had some chips and non fat greek yogurt on the side. 7 pts
A little Coke: 2 pts

Dinner:
Mexican Layered Lasagna: 6 pts (WW's recipe)
Probably a salad: 2 pts


Oh what the hay, here's the Lasagna recipe:

Layered Mexican Chicken

1 sprays olive oil cooking spray
2 pound uncooked boneless, skinless chicken breast
30 oz canned black beans, rinsed and drained
3 cup fat-free sour cream
2 cup shredded reduced-fat Mexican-style cheese, divided
8 oz chopped green chilies, two 4-oz cans
2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp black pepper
12 medium corn tortilla(s), cut into 2-inch strips
1 cup salsa, mild, medium or hot

Instructions
Preheat oven to 350ºF. Coat a lasagna pan with cooking spray.

Place chicken in medium saucepan and fill with enough cold water just to cover chicken. Set pan over high heat and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and simmer until chicken is cooked through, about 10 to 15 minutes; drain. When chicken is cool enough to handle, cut into 1-inch pieces.

Transfer chicken to a large bowl and add beans, sour cream, 1 cup of shredded cheese, chilies, cumin, and pepper; mix well and set aside.

When it rains, it pours

Last night we had our sweet friends, the Madlams over for dinner. Once again I made my three bean salad and we grilled out burgers. I also made some grilled videlia onions. I peeled and cored the onions, put butter and garlic in the core and a little Worchestershire sauce and wrapped them in foil and threw them on the grill! Corrie and I were sitting on my kitchen counters just chatting and sipping wine and I decided we should be social with our husbands and kids and join them on the porch. As I was walking out the back door I busted it! I was carrying a drink, chips and chip dip in my hand at the time and it was all thrown in the air. The glass broke, the dip smear all over the floor and I was in serious pain. I fell on my hip and knee. I spent the rest of the night with an ice pack on my knee.

After dinner (which was yummy) we were hanging out of the deck and one of the little ones had to go potty and needed help. That's when we noticed that water was pouring from the hallway light in the ceiling! It was flooding the floor and I just knew it was BAD. Turns out our toilet overflowed (unused) in our master bath and flooded through the bathroom and into our bedroom and master closet. Long story short everything is fine, but we had to rent a rug doctor and suck the water out of the carpet.

So that's what our weekend started off like.

We grilled out AGAIN tonight, this time with minimal injuries or water leaks. Chicken was on the menu this time. I used a fabulous marinade! The chicken came out so sweet and tender. I served ome brown rice and peas and BAM! Heathy dinner on the table. :)

Here's the delish marinade:


• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 3 tablespoons honey
• 2 tablespoons distilled white vinegar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 3/4 cup vegetable oil
• 2 green onions, chopped
• 1 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper

Throw it all in a zip lock bag with chicken and let it marinate for 4 hours before grilling. I'm telling you- it's GOOD!

Unfortunately I could not go walking today because I wanted to give my knee a break. I'm glad I did because it feels so much better now. Hopefully by Monday I'll be back into the AP gang.

Today's Tracker:

Breakfast:
Lowfat yogurt:3
High Protein Granola: 3

Lunch:
Slice of Veggie Pizza: 5 pts
Breadstick: 3 pts
Greek Salad: 4 pts

Snack/weird afternoon craving:
Whole grain pop tarts (notice how I try to make it healthy by including "whole grain"): 4 pts
Icecream with almonds and chocolate syrup: 10 pts

Dinner:
Chicken: 5 pts
Brown Rice: 3 pts
Peas: 0 pts

Total: 40 pts (Darn you poptarts and icecream!)

Mental Note: Don't bake cookies!

I did a bad thing. I made a batch of my favorite cookies last night. I was good last night and only ate a couple. Then today after a long morning out with the kids I came home and devoured the entire rest of them batch. ACK! See, this is why I don't bake. Because then you have extra delicious stuff laying around. Wow....haven't had one of those moments in a long, long time. Now my stomach hurts so bad from the sugar. My poor baby is probably doing flips in there, dosed up on sugar. :(

Other than that it was not a bad day food wise. The kids had a well visit with their doctor today and then playgroup afterwards. I planned well and packed healthy foods. I've been craving summery salads and came up with a three bean salad that was divine! Here's the recipe:

Three Bean Salad

1 can red kidney beans
1 can chickpeas
1 small package frozen edemame
1/2 red onion chopped
1 basket cherry tomatoes, halved
Fresh cilantro to taste

Throw those together and add olive oil, white balsamic vinegar, rice vinegar and regular balsamic vinegar. I know, lots of vinegar. I just splashed it on until it tasted right. Then I sprinkled a little bit of sugar to help the vinegars mix. Little salt and pepper and you're done! Very tasty and lots of fiber and protein.

Here's my tracker:

Breakfast:
Alternative Bagel: 2 pts
WW's cream cheese: 1 pt
Mocha: 3 pts

Lunch:
Bean Salad: 5 pts

Um, Snack:
A gazillion cookies......who the hell knows! (smacking head)

Dinner:
Spaghetti: 5 pts
Broccoli Slaw: 4 pts

I need to get in some fruit. Maybe sliced strawberries after dinner during LOST!

152 lbs...

Had my prenatal today and that was my weight. Good deal. I mean I'm not thrilled to gain 10 lbs in 13 weeks, but it's not out of the norm. She double checked the heartbeat to reassure there was just one. Just one. I don't know if I wanted two to feel better about looking 6 months pregnant at 3 months or what. But I've had this weird fear all along I"d have twins. I mean, of course it would be great and I'd be thrilled. But it's still twins.

I made it to Total Body yesterday! Woooohooo! BIG accomplishment. I wasn't too shabby either. Kept up rather nicely if I do say so myself. I got a little cramping in my legs during the cardio circuits, but I think it was due to needing more water. More water. It's my perpetual problem....I need to drink more water! My ass is sore today. And my arms. I did lots of push ups and squats. I just kept thinking about labor and strengthening my body for that process. It felt good.

Today my plan is to walk 2-3 miles. I'll go after the kids are up from their naps.

Thankfully the nausea has been absent the last few days, with the exception of late night nausea. So I'm feeling much better and have more energy (hence going to Total Body). This thrills me because I've been eager to resume my normal activity level. My goal is to be active 5 days a week. Weekends off. That always worked well before. I figure a few classes at the Y and then some walking the other days. I'm afraid running is not working. :( My hip starts aching and gets worse. It creeps up when I'm walking too, but not as sharp. I'm hoping my chiropracter can help with that one.

Okay, I'm off to get a short nap in before the kids wake from theirs.

Tracker later...

Holy Energy Batman!

I woke up today (after only 7 hours of sleep which is usually not enough these days) and I hit the ground running! I was out the door to Target to get diapers. The kids and I picked up our usual at the Starbucks at Target. Then we hit IKEA to get these great potty seats they have that look just like the Baby Bjorn ones except they're $3.99. I found some book shelves that Ed has been wanting in a dark wood got those two. I came home, did lunch, put receptive nappers down to nap and then proceeded to put together both shelves and surprise Ed with a new office upstairs in our room. It's about time we get things together and at least pretend we're organized.

THEN I cleaned up our back yard from the BBQ. Phew! Washed dishes, cleaned the kitchen and now I'm on my way to Total Body! LOL I'm on a roll.....

Here's my tracker so far:

Breakfast:
Lowfat yogurt: 3pts
High protein granola: 2 pts
Mocha: 4 pts

Lunch:
Picked at some leaf over bean dip: 5pt
Chips: 4 pts

Dinner:
We're going to Salsa for dinner. I'll probably get chips, salsa and a salad of some sort. I'll update when I get home.

TOtal Body: +4 pts

Reasons To Eat

Memorial Day involved some yummy steak (I think my body is craving iron), hot dogs and hamburgers and all the fixin's. Baked beans, slaw, potato salad, sodas. We had fun and grilled out with some neighbors and now I'm really tired.

Here's a pic of my best friend Monica and I at the cookout. She's due in Sept with her little girl. We didn't think we'd ever end up pregnant together. But here we are. Me, 3 months. Her, 6 months. Our bellies look the same size though. Grrrrrrrrr.....


My day was quite interesting as far as food goes, but I've got the balls to post what I actually ate:

Breakfast:
Alternative Bagel: 2 pts
WW cream cheese: 1 pt
Mocha: 3 pts

Lunch:
Ham Bean Soup: 4 pts
Roll: 1 pt

Snack:
Quacker granola bar: 2 pts
Mango: 1 pt

Dinner:
Hot Dog: 6 pts
Baked Beans: 4pts
Broccoli Slaw: 2 pts

Dessert:
Chocolate ice cream cone: 7 pts

2nd Dinner (ahem):
1/3 piece of steak: 4 pts (I was craving the meat like crazy)

Tomorrow is a new day! I WILL walk tomorrow!

300th Post!

That's pretty cool! I started this blog in June of 2006 and have remained faithful to my weight loss journey ever since. :) Feels good to see that "300" for some reason. Reminds me of how far I've come. 2 years on plan! There have definitely been bad days and I have not been perfect, but I've made changes that have changed my life forever.


I started at 225 lbs after the delivery of Amelia. I did one month of Jenny Craig (it was a special) and lost 15 lbs. Then I could not fathom eating anymore frozen meals. I immediately joined Weight Watchers and have been on it ever since. I know it's the plan I'll do the rest of my life. :) It's funny but I'm already looking forward to the breastfeeding points I get when this peanut is born. LOL I lose so quickly when I breastfeed. It's like a fun game.

It's been a hectic week. My aunt had a heart attack (at 47). Luckily she's okay and is being released today from the hospital. She going to have to drastically change her diet according to her doctor. She's been hit with the reality that her eating has not only caused her to be overweight, but jeopardized her life. Her eyes are open. Mine were too as I sat in the hospital room visiting her. There is so much incentive to eat healthy. Our youth is stolen from us when we let years go by and feed our bodies junk. All the more reason to find balance and start now. Not Monday.

My mom has been in town because of my aunt and we've been eating out a lot. Luckily I've made healthy choices. Lost of salads, soups and protein. I craved a burger last night and ordered one. I ended up eating 1/4 of it (if that), most of my fries (shared some with Amelia) and all my ceasar salad. I figure that's gotta be SOME progress right? LOL I very well could have skipped a salad and just ate the burger and fries.

I'm really trying to avoid diet drinks. I have a weakness for diet coke or coke zero on certain occasions. I'd prefer a real coke over anything, but sometimes I don't want to give up the points for one. And even thought it seems easy to substitute a diet soda, they are soooooooo bad for you. Especially when you're pregnant. So I'm really trying to avoid it all together. With an occasional coke. I've been drinking a lot of sparkling water. All flavors. I'm really starting to like it! It has taken some practice for me. An acquired taste if you will. My favorite is LaCroix. I've been buying it two cases at a time. No aspartame, bubbly and fresh! Perfect beverage.

Here's my tracker for today:

Breakfast:
WW's muffin: 3 pts
Mocha: 3 pts

Lunch:
Bean soup: 4 pts
Ceasar salad: 4 pts
roll: 1 pts

Morning weight: 149 lbs

Not sure about dinner yet as my step dad is coming into town this afternoon and we're not sure if we're going to go out to eat or eat in. Either way I'll be making healthy choices!

Back to life...

We just got back from a much needed family trip to the beach. It was divine! Warm sun, sand, ocean...couldn't ask for anything more. We ate some friggin yummy food! Fried shrimp, oysters, scallops, hushpuppies...... Good eats. I let myself indulge and just stopped when I was full. Worked well. I didn't gain this week.

I was able to take one long walk on the beach while I was there. My nausea was kicking in and the only thing that felt good was sitting in the shade on my chair. Walking in the sun was not something my body was willing to do. :) But one day I felt good and did it. So only a few APs earned at the beach.

I was able to hit the grocery store to get some fresh fruit and veggies in this house. I feel like we've been living on processed junk and take out. Blech. I need something with nutritional value! I keep waiting for the morning sickness to run it's course but it keeps popping back up. I think I'm going to have to push through it and cook my meals anyway. There is just something about feeling pukey and preparing meals that do not go hand in hand. Does not make for an easy way to stay on plan. But I gotta force myself to say no to chinese, pizza, and mexican. Those have been the running rotation for a while now. But my body and baby deserve better. And it's not like I can't have those things and still eat healthy. They just need to be the exception, not the standard.

Same with exercise. Nausea has kept me from my favorite place. The YMCA. I miss, miss miss the classes. I miss having energy and feeling strong. It's the polar opposite of the first trimester. But again, I think it's time that I set the pace and get myself back into the routine. Even when I don't feel like it. Exercise will only do me good. Fresh, oxygenated blood to the placenta and my brain. Energy. Better sleep at night. Can't lose right? Right. So I gotta pull myself up by the boot straps and get my pregnant ass to the gym! LOL

Morning scale reading: 150 lbs. (Never thought I'd see those again!)

Tracker:

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

Lunch:
1/2 Publix Sub: 6 pts
Chips: 6 pts (had more of those than the sub)
8oz water

Snack:
Orange: 1 pt
Alternative bagel with WW's cream cheese: 2 pts

Dinner:
2 Slices Homemade Whole Wheat pizza with mozz cheese, pepperoni and broccoli: 10 pts
Fresh expresses Asian salad: 3 pts
Coca Cola: 3 pts

Walked 3 miles at the river with the kids: +3 pts

Total:33 pts
Flex Used: 5 pts

30 Flex left

Birth Hangover...

I had a sweet friend give birth last night and was invited to be a part of it. I love me some birthin'. But anytime I attend a birth I end up with a "hangover" of sorts. I got home (along with some other friends that went) at 1am. Ed let me sleep until 9:30am. You'd think that would be a great night of sleep. But I still woke up feeling tired.

I took the kids to Starbucks (of course), then the park, then Chick-fil-A, then home for naps. Phew! Eating was okay. I left the house forgetting to eat breakfast so I got a higher point breakfast than usual and that put me into Flex by the end of the day.

Here's my tracker:

Breakfast:
Starbucks Reduced Fat Blueberry Coffee Cake: 7 pts
Mocha: 3 pts

Lunch:
1/2 Spicy Chargrilled Chicken Wrap: 3 pts
1/4 Spicy dressing: 2 pts
Large Fry: 6 pts

Snack:
Blue Corn Tortilla Chips: 3 pts
Fresh Guacamoli: 3 pts
Salsa: 0 pts

Dinner:
Spaghetti: 4 pts

Total: 31 pts
Flex Used: 3 pts

18 Flex Left for the week!!!

Happy Mother's Day!

Today was a sweet day. My babies brought me a mocha and cards in bed. They were so proud. Amelia kept handing me the card she did over and over saying "I lub boo!" I took a bath ALONE and had time to actually shave and soak. LOL I got dressed all purty and we went to church. Lunch followed at my favorite breakfast place- The Flying Biscuit. Eggs Benedict with grits! Can't get better than that my friends!

Later in the afternoon I went to the mall to look for some maternity jeans. There is a new kind of maternity jean out there that I was determined to get. I have some under the belly kind, but with this being my third pregnancy, I've got a bit of a "lip." For lack of a better word. Let's just say my belly skin hasn't quite filled out yet. Makes for an awkward belly shape. That and all my old maternity doesn't fit. I have some hand me downs, but they still don't fit well. Anyway, I found the ones I wanted and bought them! SO much more comfortable. Buying a small still doesn't get old....

Afterwards I went to the river trail and walked 3 miles. Half way through my left hip was dying. I walked with a limp the rest of the way. I've got to get to a chiropracter here soon. I know it's a misalignment issue. Pregnancy does a doozy on my hips. And the only time I have the pain is when I try and walk or run. But I don't want to not walk or run, so I need to get it worked out.

It's offical

I'm 3 days shy of 11 weeks and I've popped. Not only popped, but full on popped. Like I need maternity clothes over night. *deep breaths*

I keep telling myself: 'This is what your body does Jen. Don't panic. The weight will come off again. You're starting out 30 lbs lighter than you did with your last pregnancy.' Yet I still sort of panic when I become aware of how much my belly is poking right out there. According to my scale I've gained 6 lbs. Which isn't bad for me. but certainly more than average. Oh well.....


It probably didn't help that I ate 4 pieces of pizza tonight. I can't recall the last time I ate 4 pieces of pizza. I was famished. I could not get the full signal. And now I'm paying the price. I feel like crap. Icky, stomach ache and feeling like it would feel GREAT to throw up.

Sorry, don't mean to be Debbie Downer. Just feeling icky. I was doing so good the last few days following Core and eating well. Now I feel yucky. Just need vent. Tomorrow is a new day...

Loading up on the freshness...

Went to the local Farmer's Market this morning. My God I love that place! Yesterday I didn't have lick of nausea, so I was really eager to go to the Market and even got excited. (It's been hard to go grocery shopping when I'm sick) I got lots of fresh fruit. Bananas, a huge flat of strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, oranges, avacados, apples. I got some soft tofu too, so I see some fresh smoothies with added protein in my future. I also got the coveted hummus that the market makes. I love that stuff! I ate that with some carrots and blue corn chips for lunch. So did Amelia. We just camped out on the couch and devoured it. LOL

I made it to Total Body yesterday. I was sooooooo disappointed to see a sub. And not only a sub, but THIS sub. I swear I don't know why she subs. She's sweet and I'm sure she's a great person, but she's not a good instructor. The class was supposed to be an hour and by the time we were done with cardio and doing abs it had only been 35 mins. Every class I've been to that she's subbed in has been like this. The real instructor (my fav evah!) is gone on her wedding and honeymoon. So I suppose I can have some grace for it, but it was the first time I was up for Total Body in a LONG time. Anyway, pushed myself and worked up a good sweat. :)

I got on the scale (I know) and it read 147.5 lbs. *deep breaths* I think despite my efforts (which in all honesty has not been the best) I've still managed to put on some weight. Oh well. Yesterday was the first time I felt the fog lift and didn't feel nausea until 11pm. So maybe I'm turning a corner. I'm 10 weeks. My goal is to eat Core foods and use my 35 Flex to eat any non Core. ANd now that I don't feel pukey, I think that it will be much more realistic to follow through.

Here's today's tracker. I have dinner planned too!

Breakfast:
Steal Cut Oatmeal with a little SF syrup
Mocha: 1 pt of flex

Lunch:
Hummus: 1 pts for oil
carrots
Blue corn chips: 3 pts

Snack:
Tofu smoothie

Dinner:
Grilled chicken
broccoli
baked potato

5 Flex used.

Planning to earn 3 APs. So I'll only have to count 2 Flexies.

Life is busy!

Just pushing along. Having a hard time updating this blog lately. I think by the time I get on the computer at night I'm usually brain dead. :)

So far so good. I'm coasting on the wave of of the first trimester and trying to make healthier choices. Junk food is so tempting and I have to admit I've given in a lot. But I do think that even when I do chose the junk food, I don't eat it like I used to. I usually stop if I get full and I only really eat when I'm truly hungry. Overeating just doesn't suit me well these days. It makes me more sick than if I didn't eat at all.

Here's my daily tracker:

Oatmeal: 3 pts
Mocha: 3 pts

TJ's Veg chili: 6 pts
Salad with cherry tomatoes and avacado and dressing: 4 pts

3 hershey kisses: 3 pts
raisen brand/milk: 4 pts

Chicken stew: 5 pts

Activity points: 3 pts (walk 3 miles)

I'll probably have another 3 pt snack before bed.

Total: 28 pts

Ran 3 miles!

And I felt okay through most of it! My left hip is sort of wony though. It felt bad at first and then warmed up. But now it's raging (2 hours post run). But I don't care. At least I can say I ran 3 miles pregnant, right? I'll do some hip stretches tonight and maybe put a rice sock on my lower back. Pregnancy leaves my joints all loosely goosey. Maybe I should include a yoga session once a week.....

It's 8pm and I'm about ready to fall dead asleep. But I've got some lady friends coming over for some girl time and I equally want to do that too. Must....make it.....through......

Did I say I may give Core a try? Yes, once again, I'm going to try Core. It's basically in line with what my midwife recommended eating so hey...

We've got a heartbeat....

Had my first prenatal appointment today. Heard peanut's heartbeat. Nice and strong. Made my day! My due date is now estimated to be Dec 4th. So I'm roughly 8 weeks, 4 days.

My midwife and I talked lot about my previous pregnancies and births. I talked with her about my weight gains and then eventual weight loss after Amelia. She seemed to think I can easily gain 30-35 lbs and limit it to that. That encouraged me. I guess there's something in me that thinks if you gained 50 + lbs with each pregnancy that you're just genetically predisposed to gain it again with each one. I weighed in at 145 lbs. I told her I was 140 when I peed on that stick so that means I gained 5 lbs. She said that's okay-first trimester usually renders junk food which she understand. She said she'd consider my "start weight" at 145. My "rules" are to eat protein with every meal. Include lots of fresh fruits and veggies. No processed junk. And only water or milk as my beverage. No liquids with calories. Does that mean I can still get my decaf mocha?????? I think so....


I did 30 mins on the elliptical yesterday. I showed up at the YMCA for what I thought was the Body Sculpting class at 4:30. It ended up being a belly dancing class. The Body Sculpt was at 5:30pm. I was not up for belly dancing so I headed to the gym and hopped on the machine. Worked my inner thighs like mad! Today I have high hopes of going to Total Body. I need some cardio/strength mix.

Riding the Old Wave

I feel like I'm just on this pregnancy ride and I basically have to ride it out until I can get my head above water. I swear, everyday I plan to eat better. And every day my meals and snacks get progressively worse as the day goes on. As does my morning sickness. By dinner time I have the most bizarre feeling of nausea and hunger. But the only thing I can even think about putting in my mouth is always the most unhealthy option available. What is it about the first trimester?? I *think* I'm at 144 lbs. So, there ya go. I guess you can say I broke out the scale again. The good news is that about half way through a meal I become ill and can't finish. So the unhealthy options are only being eaten in half portions. That's good right?

*sigh*

I took Fischer this afternoon to Trader Joes and was determined to get some healthier, quick grab options. It's hard to go grocery shopping when you feel sick. Nothing is appealing and you just want to stop looking at food. But I forced myself to put my big girl pants on and just get it done. I got some steel cut oatmeal, granola bars, edemame, fruit, cheese, pre-packaged meals for lunch time, frozen stuff and lots of veggies. I HAVE to snap out of this fog and get some whole foods in me. I guess all I can do is keep trying. I'll be 9 weeks this week so hopefully just a few more weeks of this fog and I'll be back to my old self, but with a gut.

I'm going to take Amelia tomorrow to the Ymca and get a class in. Not sure what yet. I've been itching to run lately. I ran 3 miles last week (with some walking mixed in). And then I ran 1 mile on the treadmill before a Sculpt Class too. It felt fine. So I think I'm going to revisit a more frequent cardio workout this week. Taking that one week off for morning sickness has really slowed my momentum.

Good Outdoors...

Went to a river trail today with the kids. Walked the whole 3 mile trail. Felt good! Kids loved it! We got to see a snake swim in the water over a bridge. :)

I'm pooped. I stopped by Taco Bell (mistake #1) and ordered 5 tacos and a mexican pizza (mistake #2) for me and the kids. I ate two tacos and 1/2 the pizza. Ahem..... Well, there's 15 pts. I tracked them and used some flex. Next time I'll try Subway.

Hoping to walk again tomorrow. My goal is to get exercise back into my regime this week. :)

More later!

It's been a whirlwind weekend of birthday festivities for my baby girl. She had so much fun at her Princess Birthday Party. She got a massive stash of dress up gear and has been talking about "peensesses" ever since.

I'm still in that nausea "fog." I had a brief lifting of it this morning. I felt great until 2 pm. In fact, I felt so great I got a little worried. :) But sure enough, it kicked in! But while I was feeling well I ate an apple and a salad. LOL I hate the idea of veggies or fruit right now, so I just scarfed it down quickly before I felt sick!

I've got my Doula dinner tonight. I'm looking forward to it. I haven't gotten together with them in a while. It's a cookout with baked beans. That's about all you have to say and I'm sold.

Here's my tracker so far. I'm CRAVING like a mad woman and chocolate milkshake. I have some chocolate frozen yogurt. I may make a lighter version to satisfy my craving.

Breakfast:
Jimmy Dean Lite Breakfast Sandwich: 4 pts
Apple: 1 pts

Lunch:
Chicken Noodle Soup: 3 pts
Salad with Lite Italian: 1 pts
Lots of crackers: 5 pts

Snack:
Milkshake (lite version): 4 pts

Dinner:
Cookout with BAKED BEANS!

Zofran= sanity

I cannot tell you what a lifesaver Zofran is. It's an anti-nausea medication and it works! I've been really, really sick for 5 days now. I just took a Zofran (thanks to my friend who had hers left over from her pregnancy) a hour ago and I feel like human again. Yesterday was a good day and a bad day. A good day in the sense that we got our new minivan. My husband took our wagon up to a dealership and lied to me and said they offered too little. Little did I know he was buying me my new van! He surprise me and I'm just over the moon.

The bad part was my on going nausea. I'm sure it gets a bit old listening to someone complain about morning sickness. I have many friends that have or are struggling to get pregnant. So let me say that when I'm complaining, I'm doing so in a very "bloggy" type way. My general outlook is not one of me being "cursed" or "oh poor Jen." It's just my experience at the moment. And I will say the nausea took away my fear of miscarriage that I was struggling with- so for that I'm so grateful. And yes I'm grateful to be able to have this peanut in me growing. :) BUT, being in the midst of nausea is all consuming. And that's where I was (well, up to an hour ago). And the weird part is that I crave total shit! I just want fried food, coke, chips, JUNK. It's the only thing I can stomach. And my stomach was growing quite rapidly. The last week has been a shift of eating wisely to eating frantically and poorly. Not to mention the fact that I have not worked out in a full week. I cannot remember the last time I did that.

So I woke up today (after feeling depressed at how extremely I had abandoned my healthy eating) and decided I was going to draw a line in the sand. I was not going to do this to myself again. Sure, I can lose the weight while nursing. But do I really want to feed my body this JUNK while I"m growing a baby? No. I was not going to let the sickness cause me to throw in the towel. I can't. After all, this blog is titled: "Quitting is Not an Option."

So here is what I had today so far. My mom is coming in town tonight so I can plan dinner with that. I could get a Lean Cuisine lasagna (the big kind) and make that. Yep, that's what I'll do. With garlic bread and salad. Easy!

Breakfast:
WW muffin:3 pt

Snack:
Mocha: 3 pts

Lunch:
Lean Cuisine pizza : 6 pts
Salad with Ceasar: 2 pts
Littel mac'n cheese: 2 pts

Snack:
Apple

Dinner:
Lasagna: 6 pts
Salad w/ ff dressing: 0 pts

Total: 22 points


And as much as I don't like packaged foods....for now I think that's about all I can do. I'm going to try and pair it with fresh salads and fruit though. And once I'm up for cooking again, I"ll be making fresher meals. But for now, this is my plan. I'm hoping that the zofran will enable me to get back into my workouts. I may go to a body sculpt this after noon if I'm up for it. Or a walk...

Coping....

I'm sort of in survival mode here. In fact, I'm only writing at the moment because I actually don't feel sick at this exact moment in time. I'm in bed and already took my B6 vitamin and 1/2 a tab of Unisom. Praying that helps me feel better.

I was terribly spoiled with the other pregnancies. I never experienced this kind of sickness. I don't recommend it. The weird thing is that I have to eat because I feel hungry. But then 2 mins after I'm done with my meal I'm feeling sick again. My food choices have been odd and probably not the best. But like I said, I'm in survival mode.

Here's my lovely mix of foods today:

WW's muffin
Cookie
1/2 Mocha
1 McDonald's Chicken Ranch wrap
1 Small Fry
1 sleeve Saltienes
4 grahm crackers
2 chicken tacos

Lots of gingerale and water...

Back in control

I woke up this morning and wanted to hurl if I even thought too much about peanut butter and jelly. Yesterday I couldn't get enough and today I'm disgusted by it. Trying to ignore or just fight off the sick feeling. It's creeping in at random moments. This pregnancy thing is all coming back to me...

Today I've made healthy choices so far. Amelia woke up extra early (6:30am) and I made waffles. I used the word "made" loosely, as all I did was toast the frozen Kashi Waffles. We played and then Fischer's ride to school came. Amelia and I headed off to Starbucks and then the Library. We got some good books and swung by Chick-fil-A on the way home. It was soooooooo tempting to get a chick-fil-a sandwich with fries. I mean REALLY tempting. But instead I got a Southwest Chargrilled salad and a diet lemonade. And it was darn good! I allowed myself to have 2 of Amelia's fries and I was satisfied. Not bingeing for me!!

We're going out to eat with some friends tonight (kid free!) and I need to make a plan. It's at the same place we ate at a while back. Great food! Lots of choices. I'm thinking about the shrimp boil plate. We'll see. I know myself better than to actually log it here. If I write it down, then I'm bound to change my mind. :)

I'm just thrilled I don't have to cook. Cooking sort of makes me want to puke.

Here's the official trackers so far:

Breakfast:
2 Kashi Waffles with ICBINB and SF Syrup: 3 pts

Snack:
1/2 an Alternative Bagel and 1 pt cream cheese: 2 pts
Mocha: 3 pts

Lunch:
Southwest Chargrilled Chicken Salad (with tortilla strips): 6 pts
Light Italian: 1 pt

15 used so far
9 Left
35 Flex remain

The cravings have hit full force...

Ed let me sleep in until 10am! It felt soooooooo good. It just doesn't get better than that folks! I woke up for the first time in this pregnancy famished. I quickly got ready for church (Ed already had the kids ready- Thank God!) and ran downstairs to eat. Then we were off!

I was fine until halfway through the service. I started getting jittery and had that "empty" feeling. Left the protein out of breakfast. I guess an Alternative Bagel with 1 pt WW's cream cheese just didn't cut it. By the time we got home I was feeling ill. I devoured 2 pieces of a thin crust veggie pizza and still felt absolutely famished. So I had a bowl of Special K with skim milk. Okay....that hit the spot. 18 pts put away like a pro!

I'm just getting started....



After my lunch digested, I was jonesin' again. I had experienced some icky morning sickness, but felt like I needed to eat. I craved a milk shake. I NEVER crave milk shakes! I blended a banana and some chocolate frozen yogurt and it was the best thing evah! Another 4 pts....

Then came the PB&J's......This, my friends, is where I went ape shit. I had taken a nap and woke up hungry. I couldn't stomach cooking anything or eating any meat or veggies. I went straight for the peanut butter. Made one sandwich. Ate it. Made another sandwich. Ate it. Made ANOTHER half sandwich. Ate it. Granted, I did share some of that with Amelia, but still... I was like a crack addict wanting more and more...

Needless to say, I'm glad today is over. I feel yucky and my belly is even more so poking out. I don't plan to repeat the PB&J incident, but I think I'll keep the milkshake. It was darn good for 4 pts. And I get a banana in there! That's justified, right?

Oy!

Coming to terms...

Last scale reading: 142.6 lbs

I don't know what my body is doing but I have fluctuated all over the place the last week. My belly has popped. I'm so not kidding. POPPED! Wednesday night I felt so bloated and icky and I made the mistake of getting on the scale. 146.3! I nearly fell over. It made me feel down the rest of the week. Of course my body adjusted and my weight went back down, but it just slimmed me....

So, I've made the decision to rid myself of the scale. I fully believe in daily weigh ins when you're trying lose or maintain your weight. For me, it was encouraging and kept me focused. I was never obsessive and it was a positive tool for helping me stay OP. But pregnancy is just weird. There's no exact science to it and I'm finding myself becoming obsessed with numbers, which is not healthy. A few good friends have talked sense into me and convinced me that my body will do what it's going to do. All I can do is eat healthy and stay active and the rest is God's design.

This week I worked out 5 days in a row! And I felt great. I did water aerobics 3 days, Total Body 1 day and a step class one day. I think that's the perfect combo. 2 more intense days and then 3 days of lower impact. I'm also going to start walking after dinner with the kids. It's so pretty out at night and still light outside after dinner. My rough goal is to be active 5 days out of 7.

I've found my ideal balance to be 24 points. I was gaining too rapidly with 28 pts. 24 seems to work. I eat that, plus APs, plus Flex. I also eat all my Flex.

It's Saturday and I've sorted my laundry and I have a total of 10 piles to wash. Dang it's been a while....

I just took some pics this morning. I tend to get bigger as the day goes on. I'm almost 7 weeks according to my last monthly period. Though I estimate I'm only 6 weeks since my ovulation day is later than most women. I think I'll embrace the earlier date for now so at least I feel justified in showing somewhat. :)

143.2 lbs

Ugh. That's what I saw this morning. That and I'm so bloated and my belly has popped. Yes, popped. At only 6 weeks. *eyeroll* This is so ....me. Anyway, I have a feeling this is a result of some salty foods consumed yesterday. I hope...

I woke up today and went to the Deep Water class again. I brought Monica and Candace with me this time. :) Good work out. Probably 3 APs earned.

Here's my tracker so far:

Breakfast:
WW's Muffin: 3 pts

Snack:
Mocha: 3 pts
1 slice cinnamon toast: 2 pts

Lunch:
Probably a Quesadilla with chicken, mozz cheese and spinach.
20 oz of water (need to hydrate!)

Dinner:
Don't know yet....

Deep Water...

I went to a water aerobics class called Deep Water today. I wasn't really intimidated at all about it, other than having not ideally touched up my "kudzu." I had "touched" it up a couple days ago, but we all know what kudzu can do in a matter of days....

Ahem...

Well I showed up and thought: "This is going to be easy!" There were only two of us there under the age of 60. The instructor was late 60's I believe. I hopped in the pool and just started treading. The instructor was so sweet and gave me the run down on all the moves before we started. She said I'd need a noodle to wear b/w my legs since I've not done this before. I took it and planned to abandon it eventually. Most of the women didn't use one. I thought: "Sweetie, I do Heat. I do not need a stupid noodle!" We started.

I was served a piece of humble pie.

It was hard! Very challenging. Very good workout! Your in the water, so your cool and don't feel any sweat, but you're working hard!!! It felt really good. And now I'm tired. The class in MWF at 9am. That's perfect for me. I hope to make it at least two days a week. The other days I'll catch a Heat, Total Body or Body Sculpt class. It's nice to change things up.

So far today:

Breakfast:
Lender's Whole Wheat Bagel: 3 pts
WW 1 pt cream cheese serving: 1 pt

Snack:
Mocha: 3 pts

Lunch:
Whole Wheat Fettucine with roasted peppers and feta sauce (homemade!): 5 pts
Salad with romaine, artichokes and tomatoes with pesto vinegarette.: 3 pts
Brussle sprouts: 0 pts
1 Slice whole wheat sourdough bread: 2 pts


I'm thawing a whole chicken out tonight for dinner. I'll probably roast it with some veggies and salad.

Oh! Morning scale reading: 140.8

5 Weeks.....

Just for fun...Here's a comparison shot of me today and me about 6 months (yes, only 6 months) pregnant with Amelia. I probably weighed about 180 ish. And as I've said- my goal for this pregnancy is 165 lbs. 170 lbs at the max. I hope that at 9 months I look like I do in this 6 month pic. That would be ideal. And just for good ole fun I threw in a pic of me at 9 months (with weeks left). *sigh*

Moving and Grooving...

Despite a week of fitful sleep (this sinus/cold/allergy thing is overstaying its welcome), I got my butt out of bed and into workout clothes! All I wanted to do was sit in my PJs until 11am or so, sipping coffee and reading my book. But who am I kidding? That wouldn't happen anyway with my kids. So if I'm up, I'm might as well burn some calories. Fischer went to school and Amelia and I went to the ymca.

I showed up early for a Body Sculpt class and I was shocked to see 40 women lined up to get into the studio. The class didn't start until 9:25 and it was 9:15. This was ridiculous. I thought about going on a machine, but we all know how much I hate machines.....HEAT! There's a 9:15 Heat class in the gym!! I didn't feel up for Heat, but I was not going to fight for a step and weight with these women so I headed downstairs to the gym. I was surprised that I actually kept up well. We finished the circuits with 4 mins of Fartlek's. These are jog/sprint drills. You're running the whole time, but when the instructor yells "Sprint!" you have to run as fast as you can and then slow down to a normal pace when she tells you. That just about kicked my butt. But it felt good. I'm glad I ended up in the Heat class.

We've had a busy week. I really can't fathom that it's already Friday. I felt like it was just Monday. In the busyness I did have one bad meal. Well, one GOOD meal- just too much of it! Our friends had us over for fish tacos and they were seriously the best fish tacos I have ever eaten. I had two. Which isn't bad, but you have to consider the amount of tortilla chips, cheese dip, guacamole and salsa I had before the tacos. Ugh. I felt stuffed. Not a good feeling. Because of this I made a deliberate point not to get on the scale this morning. :) I figured I'd give myself a day of good eating and exercise before I see the damage.

Here's my tracker:

Breakfast:
Whole Wheat Toasted Oat w/ skim: 3 pts
1 hardboiled egg: 2 pts

Snack:
Mocha: 3 pts

Lunch:
Taco Salad: 8 pts
Romaine, spinach, tomatoes, cucumbers, avacado, salsa, non fat yogurt, black beans and a few blue corn tortilla chips crumbled on top. Delish! So delish and filling that I couldn't finish it all.

Snack: some fruit (1-2 pts)

Dinner: I'm dethawing some Tilapia. I'll pair that with a veggie and maybe some whole wheat sourdough bread. 6-7 pts

Total: 24ish points. Room for some snacks.
APs: +4 pts
So really only 20 pts used/planned so far.

Birthing....

I was at a birth all day yesterday. 13 hour shift! I did my best on the eating front. I'm trying to stick mostly to Core foods, but still be aware of my points. I got on the scale and it was back down to 140.2 lbs. Yah!! My goal is to roughly maintain this weight through the first trimester.

Here's my tracker from Yesterday. Not perfect, but food choices were limited to hospital cafeteria.

Breakfast:
2 hardboiled eggs: 4 pts
mocha: 3 pts

Lunch:
1/2 a turkey sandwich on whole wheat (with cheese and mayo): 6 pts
Chips (ahem): 5 pts

Snack:
Kashi granola bar: 4 pts
apple: 0 pts ( I don't count apples)

Dinner:
Chicken Parmesean: 6 pts
Collard greens: 0 pts

Snack:
Breadstick: 3 pts

Total: 31 pts

I know I earned some APs. I was constantly on my feet doing massage all day and running back and forth.

Anyway, today is a much more controlled environment. :) I'm going to stick to core today. We do have dinner plans at a friend's house. They'll be making fish tacos!!! My job is to bring cheese dip and chips. But I'm going to have to be very limited on that. Chips and cheese dip are my downfall. LOL I'll probably make some guacamole too. I can put that on the tacos.

Here's my rough draft tracker for today:

Breakfast:
2 hardboiled eggs: 4 pts
apple: 1 pts

Snack:
FF popcorn: 3 pts for bag

Lunch: (don't know yet-probably a salad with chicken)

Dinner:
2 Fish Tacos: 10 pts
Chips: 3 pts
Guacamole: 3 pts

Projected total: 28 ish

Dude...

Kicked my own butt out the door and went to the Total Body class. It's not that it was particularly hard...but that I felt like I was moving in slow motion. And of course now I'm beat. I'm starting to bloat which is NOT fun. I feel like my tummy is sticking out and I'm only 5 weeks! Ugh. But it's all good. Just pushing through. Determined to eat healthy foods and stay active. That's all I can do. If my body chooses to metamorphisize (did I spell that right?) then so be at. As long as my weight doesn't sky rocket, I'm okay.

142.2!

Ack! Okay, maybe I need to reevaluated my points. I do not want to gain that rapidly. :) It's hard because I have a normal 2 lb weight fluctuation, but I think I've just been over doing it on eating. It also doesn't help that I've been stuck indoors since Sunday. No activity at all.

So, Let's say 25 pts a day. I don't want to lose, I want to maintain. I think that'll be enough.

I'm going to try and make it to Total Body today. My kids appear better and I feel much better. So we'll see. I need some activity. I'm craving it. I feel like a slug. I didn't end up going to the Y yesterday because Amelia was still coughing and I don't want to bring a sick kid into the Y. Then I though about getting on the treadmill and then just felt tired. Figured I'd listen to my body and take a break.

Unfortunately I had a big ass blueberry bagel this morning for breakfast. Then I smothered it in what I thought was ff cream cheese. Um, no. I was Light cream cheese. So 5 pts for the bagel, 2 pts for the cream cheese- that's a 7 pt breakfast. Ugh. Oh well. It'll keep me full for a while. I always struggled with getting truly full at breakfast. I'm usually starving by lunch. My meals tend to be: Breakfast at 8am. Lunch at 11am. And dinner at 4:45 ish. No joke! I'm an early eater. I might as well join the old farts at Picadilly. My neighbors make fun of me. "Jen, you're eating at 5pm and your kids are in bed by 7pm!" I can't help it, that's just our natural cycle.

Okay.....I'm off!

Chocolate Frozen Yogurt is in the freezer...

But I'm not going have any. I really want some, but I've begun a new week and ate all my points plus 8 flex today. Plus, I'm still full from dinner. So I can't even claim that good old pregnant hunger.

Here's my tracker:

Breakfast:
All Bran cereal w/ skim milk: 3 pts
Mocha: 3 pts

Lunch:
Moe's Homewrecker Burrito with the works: 15 pts
Chips/salsa: 4 pts

Dinner:
Chili: 6 pts
Two slices whole wheat sourdough bread: 4 pts
1 dark chocolate dove egg: 2 pts

Total: 37 pts
Used 9 Flex

No work out today. Still getting over this cold.

Revamp Exercise!

I was thinking today that I needed to mix up my exercise routine a bit. I'm getting a little bored and I think I'm taking classes that are too much alike. I was looking the Aerobic Schedule at my YMCA and thinking I'm going to try some water aerobics and some more yoga. Normally I take Heat on Mondays. But I read an article in Fit Pregnancy that "jolting" exercising in early pregnancy have been linked with miscarriage. Now, those who know me, know that I'm usually laid back about all the "your not suppose to's" with pregnancy. But for some reason this stood out to me. I'm not going to back off on the intensity level, but just the type of activity.

So I think I'm going to try the Deep Water class tomorrow at 9am. It's a "more challenging" version of regular water aerobics according to the class descriptions. So, I'll check that out and see what it's like. I hope it's not a bunch of old ladies that kick my ass in water aerobics! LOL

This means I have to shave......

Today I slept late because I was up all night sick. :( My throat is killing me and I just couldn't get to sleep. I woke up and wanted a little bit of sf,ff chocolate pudding that I made. Just seemed like it would feel good on my throat. Then Ed ordered Papa John's pizza for lunch. He got the whole wheat veggie pizza. It was good! I had two slices since I didn't really have breakfast. I'll have some salad and some left over Pilaf for dinner I think.

Here's my tracker:

Breakfast:
Pudding: 1 pt

Lunch:
2 Slices Whole Wheat Veggie Pizza: 10 pts
Coke: 3 pts

Dinner:
Bulgur Chickpea Pilaf: 4 pts
Salad w/ dressing: 2 pts
Veggies (zucchini): 0 pts

Total: 20 pts

I have 6 more pts to eat. I'm sure I'll manage to find something.

Weekend Update

Today I have the privilege of sleeping until 9am!!! My dad kept the kids last night and we didn't have to be at Fischer's soccer game until 10am. Good times....

Poor Millie kept my step mom Sandy up all night. She has an ear infection. Luckily my doc friend called in some antibiotics for her so I didn't have to go sit in an emergency room for 5 hours with a screaming 2 year old. It's been 5 hours since her dose of antibiotics and she's already feeling better. I, on the other hand, am feeling yucky. My throat hurts and it's that itchy feeling where you need to cough a lot. I'm counting down the minute to bedtime.

Here's my tracker for today:

Breakfast:
WW Yogurt: 1 pt
Mocha: 3 pts

Lunch:
Grits: 2 pts
Biscuits (yes, 2): 6 pts
Chicken sausage: 2 pts
Egg: 2 pts

Dinner:
Bulgur Chickpea Pilaf: 4 pts
Sauteed Mushrooms: 0 pts
Salad with romaine, cucumbers, tomatos and TJ's Raspberry Vinegarrete dressing: 2 pts
Steamed Broccoli: 0 pt

Snack:
Cadburry Egg (ahem) 4 pts

Total: 26 pts

It's FRIDAY!!!!

Oh thank God!!! I woke up today wide awake at 7am. Then I crashed at 8am. :) At least I got the kids fed and dressed in my "springy" mode. Fischer's at school and Amelia is napping. In an hour I'll wake Amelia up and we'll head off to pick up Fischer and then I'm meeting my dad to drop the kids off!!! He and my stepmom are taking them for the night.

And that means Ed and I are having a date night. We're going out to eat with another couple and I'm so looking forward to it. I need some awake childless time. :) We're going to Six Feet Under and I still haven't pinned down what I'm going to have. They have a lot of unique things. I LOVE the homemade fries with horseraddish dip. And the salads. And the burgers. Mmmmmmmm....

After I drop the kids off I'm headed to the YMCA and I plan to do 30 mins of cardio and a body sculpt class. It's been two days since I've been able to work out and I need it! It's tough when your kids are sick because even if your up for something, you can't take them there and infect everyone else. I had a cold too, but I think I passed the worst of it. Today I feel good.

Morning scale: 139.6lbs

Here's my tracker so far:

Breakfast:
All Bran ceareal/skim milk: 3 pts
1/2 banana: 1 pt

Snack:
Mocha: 3 pts
Rice cake w/ a little peanut butter: 2 pts

Lunch:
Quesadiila on low carb tortillas, mozz cheese and fresh mushrooms: 5 pts
Salad with romaine, tomatoes, cucumbers, carrots and Lite Sweet Onion dressing: 2 pts

So I have 10 pts left and 15 Flex. You bet I'll be spending the Flex while I'm out tonight. But I'll be sensible. :)

How to do Weight Watchers while pregnant..

I have been all over the internet researching how many points a pregnant woman should eat daily while pregnant. Weight Watcher's used to have a pregnancy plan but don't anymore. Really the whole thing is silly. Everyone is over concerned about the baby not getting enough. In reality- anyone on WW's surely struggles with eating too much. And if that's the case, the most healthy thing to do in a pregnancy is to gain appropriately. You put your baby to more risk of Diabetes or Pre-eclampisa if you gain too much.

Anyway, I'm setting a goal weight for the end of my pregnancy. 165lbs! I was 165 lbs when I got pregnant with Amelia!! Oy! I'm 140 lbs now. That gives me a nice 25 lb gain. That might seem too little to some, but seeing that I gained 60 lbs with both my pregnancies, I think I can stand to hold back a little. :) Plus, I was miserable at the end of my pregnancies from all the gain. And I developed high blood pressure at the end of Amelia's. If I get up to 170 lbs I won't cry. :)

So, after scanning multiple blogs and message boards, I've come to the conclusion that I need to eat about 30 pts per day (plus Flex, plus APs) to gain wisely. In order to maintain my weight I'd need to eat roughly 24 points. When you're pregnant you only need an extra 300 calories per day. Each WW point is roughly 50 calories. So that's 6 pts. 24+6=30 pts! And there you have it!

Now, in the first trimester I've read that you don't necessarily need those extra 300 calories yet. Which lines up with what my midwife recommends- only a 5 lb gain by 20 weeks. Mainly because your body packs it on the second half of pregnancy. So my goal for the next 7 weeks (I'm roughly 5 weeks) is to eat 24 pts per day+Flex+APs. If I feel hungry, I'll eat more. Then from 12 weeks on-30 pts per day!

How's that sound?

Morning scale read 141. I ate some mexican food last night which involves chips, which involves bloating for me. So I expect the scale to read 140 tomorrow morning.

Daily Tracker:

Breakfast:
1/2 banan: 1 pt
Mocha (decaf): 3 pts

Lunch:
1 avacado: 5 pts
Chips: 3 pts
Left over Chicken Ranch Pasta: 4 pts

Snack:
Clementines: 1 pt

Dinner:
Honely Glazed Pork Chops with non fat garlic mashed potatoes, asparagus: 7 pts

Total: 24 pts!

Amelia and I have a nasty cold today. :(

Some good news....

So now this blog is going to have a new twist! Is it still going to be about Weight Watcher's? You bet! I'm going to do a modified point system all the way through!

I'll be back later to share my plan.

I had a dream last night that I was in the army and it was Spring time but it was snowing. Me and a bunch of other women were running up a hill, doing drills where we sprint up a hill and jog down over and over again. My chest was burning and I could barely breath.

Wait....that wasn't a dream. That was my Heat class this morning! I'm still weezing... That was by far the hardest Heat class I've been too! Oh my God I thought I was going to die. Phew! I pushed myself though because I needed to counteract some Cadburry Egg eaten that I did this weekend.

Well, once again, I try something new and realize that it's not for me. I really focused on eating consciously this weekend and I think I overeat even when I try to think about it. :( It's frustrating. But, it's okay. Because I can have whatever I want on WW's, I just have to plan it. I sat down last night and made a meal plan for this week. I'm doing Core this week. I've got to get my cravings under control and if I keep allowing myself processed foods, I'll only keep craving them. My plan is to follow Core and spend my Flex on what I want!

After my heat class I drove to the farmer's market near the kid's school. When you go to the farmer's market it's like the Bermuda Triangle. You truly lose track of time and space. It's sort of a cross between roaming the streets of NYC and a jungle all at the same time. I had this list with all this stuff categorized to make the trip easy and quick. Before I knew it I needed to leave and I hadn't got any of the meats I needed. And the meat area had lines of people so I knew it wasn't going to happen. Luckily I got all the fresh produce and dairy. So I left. Picked up the kids. Got home and unloaded it all. Got the kids down for a nap and I took a bath.

For dinner, of course, we skip all the food I just bought and went out to eat! Our fav place Salsa with our fav friends! I had chips, salsa and cheese dip and then a Sante Fe Flyer. I though it was just a chicken breast with cheddar, avacado and cheese on it. I got it and turns out it was a sandwich. I ate half of it. It was massive!

So here's my tracker for today:

B: 2 hardboiled eggs, 1 cup strawberries (Core)

S: Mocha: (Core +1 pt)

L: Carrots with Hummus (Core)

AP: Heat: +4 pts

S: Hot chocolate (Courtesy of my neighbor Jen- 3 pts)

D. Sante Fe Flyer: 7 pts
Chips/salsa/cheese dip: 9 pts
***AND WINE!!!!! 4 pts***

Used 20 Flex!!