Chicken Cordon Bleu

Yay for school today! I had some delicious and filling oatmeal for breakfast. 4 points.

I missed lunch today, so instead of eating late, I just had a Special K cereal bar for 2 points.

Dinner was scrumptious!! I had a new recipe for Chicken Cordon Bleu (7 points) and it was so good! Pound thin as many 4 oz chicken breasts as you need for number of servings. Place 1 oz of deli smoked ham on top of each breast fillet, then top with 1 thin slice of swiss cheese broken in half. Roll up and secure with toothpicks. Brush with light mayonaise (2 T for all chicken is plenty) and then roll in Italian bread crumbs. Brown chicken rolls in nonstick pan (I sprayed with canola oil) until brown. Add 2/3 cup Fat Free Chicken broth, bring to boil, and simmer for about 10 minutes. Delish! I paired it with chicken flavored rice (4 points, but I ate very little, so I'm only counting 3 points)and sweet kernel corn (2 points). 12 point dinner that was better than any restaurant.



I had a square from a Hershey's special dark bar while waiting on my SmartOnes Strawberry Shortcake to thaw. . 1 point The shortcake was 5 points and only okay. I only took a few bites, so I'm counting 3 points.

Fudgeslide

I had brunch today instead of a breakfast or a lunch. I had 1/2 cup of scrambled eggbeaters with salt & pepper (1 point), 4 slices of ready-made bacon (2 points) and a biscuit with ICBINB (5 points). 8 points

Dinner was leftover braised steak from the other night. It was very good leftover. I put it over a cup of rice this time and only had 1 steak instead of 2, so I'm counting 5 points for the steak mixture (kind of like stew really) and 5 points for the cup of white rice. 10 points for dinner. When I make this dish next time I think I'm going to make it with stew beef instead of cubed steak. It's a very hearty meal. Great for winter.

For dessert tonight I had a Nutter Butter Fudgeslide that I brought home from Logan's yesterday. It's 5 points. I still have 6 points left for the day.

Weigh In - Week 4

Weigh in day! Weigh in day!! I love weigh in day!! (as long as the numbers keep going down, that is) :)

Drum roll, please... down 2.2 pounds this week!! Woo hoo! That's 11.2 total pounds lost! That's awesome! I also broke a decade, which is very exciting!!(You know, like if you weighed 132, which I don't, and you made it into the 120's... that's breaking a decade.) This week I ate 169 points out of an available 203, which was 83% and fewer points than any week thus far (by total points and by percentage). I didn't go into my flex points at all.

I had a banana for breakfast and then went to the Y and did 20 minutes on the elliptical and 3 reps on one of the upper body weight machines. I think I'm going to be sore tomorrow.

Well, I almost had a mid-day disaster. We had decided that we would go to Logan's for lunch after we picked the kids up from their NASA class. Then we realized that their 2-for-1 deal was only between the hours of 3 and 6 PM. But I was starving! And we also needed to go to Wal-Mart. Eating out twice in one day is just not acceptable and I was becoming disappointed thinking I was about to ruin my good weigh-in. In the end we decided to go home for lunch and go back out at 5:00 for dinner at Logan's and then go to WM afterwards. Whew!

I had a Lean Cuisine Spinach and Mushroom pizza (9 points)and a salad with light raspberry dressing (1 point) for lunch. 10 points

So dinner was at Logan's. I had the mesquite grilled chicken with broccoli and a side salad. According to the nutritional value online, that was 6 points. I took my own salad dressing and it was 2 points, so I'm counting that extra. I also had one roll (the smallest one in the basket) with a thin layer of butter, 6 points. 14 points for dinner. No dessert tonight.

Comfort Food Does Not Have To Be Off Limits!

Snow Day! Yippee!!! I was really hoping the kids would go to school today. This is their 14th snow day, which means 14 days of missed instruction. They say they built 7 snow days into the calendar, so that means 7 days of missed instruction. That's still more than a week. An extra Spring Break, if you will. I'm so over it.

The scale is being nice to me though. I hope it carries over to tomorrow when I can actually record my weigh in!

Lunch was my Lean Cuisine favorite, Chicken Poblano. 7 points I mean, just look at all the yummy goodness in there.


I had a 2 point cup of tea after lunch. India Spice Chai with 1T of white sugar, and 2T of vanilla latte creamer. What a nice treat it was!

Dinner was pure comfort food. It was called Braised steak and vegetables and was very good. The steak could have been more tender, but the taste was great. I browned some cube steaks in a pan, then removed them. I sprayed the pan with canola oil and added sliced onions. My onions stuck a little, so I added just a dash of olive oil and that took care of it, but that part wasn't in the recipe. Then you add 3 T of flour that has been mixed with 1t of pepper and stir it until the flour is brown. Then add a can of Italian diced tomatoes, 3/4 cup fat free beef broth, thinly sliced carrots and sliced or chunked mushrooms, and the steaks back in. Bring to a boil and allow to simmer for 30-40 minutes. It was like a cross between Swiss Steak and Pot Roast. 6 points for a 4 oz piece of steak. I served it with instant mashed potatoes (3 points for 1/2 cup) and I had a biscuit since I was indulging (5 points with 1T ICBINB). 14 points for a fabulous hearty dinner.


Since I only have 6 points left for the day and weigh in is tomorrow, I think I'm going to have my 1 point chocolate bananas for dessert around 7:00. Okay, I added some diced apples. I think I like it better with just bananas. :)

It's a Wendy's kind of night

Snow Day again today. sigh... You know what that means, no breakfast cause I'm a late sleeper if given the opportunity.

So lunch was a Lean Cuisine meal - Chicken Pecan. 8 points It was different. Lots of different textures, which I like. It could have used a tadbit more flavor, but it wasn't bad. 3.5 stars

I made a 2 point cup of coffee this afternoon, but I only drank half of it so I'll count 1 point. I also had a snack of 2 sesame Melba Toasts. 1 point

Well, my dinner plans didn't quite work out so I had Wendy's instead. I still stayed within my points for the day though! I had a Jr. Bacon Cheeseburger (9 points) and a small chili (5 points). So 14 points total. Not too bad. I think I'll have my last chunk of Godiva chocolate for 2 points and call it a night.

Snow Day #12

Snow Day! No breakfast! lol

The scale was really nice to me this morning and I'm hoping that by Saturday I can report that I finally broke through one of the barriers I've been trying to break since I started this journey! Keep on keeping on!

Lunch was a Lean Cuisine Chicken Alfredo meal. 7 points

Then I had a snack of melba toast sesame with french onion Laughing Cow cheese. 3 points

It's cold and we have about 4 inches of snow with more falling, so I broke down and had a 2 point cup of coffee this afternoon. I wish I liked black coffee because then it would be free. I tried to only have creamer (1 point), but I ended up having to add the 1 T of sugar, which made it 2 points. Mmmmmm.

Dinner was delicious and so so easy! I used individually wrapped Kroger brand tilapia (2 points), brushed it with melted ICBINB (1 point), then sprinkled it with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and Tony Chachere's. I baked it at 425 for 13 minutes. I paired it with the leftover Sides Plus rice from the other night (4 points), a side salad with lite raspberry dressing (1 point) and some raw carrots. 8 points total.


I don't know if dinner just filled me up or if the carrots took care of my sweet tooth, but I didn't go for dessert tonight. So that means I'm going to bed with 9 points left.

It's Freeeeeeeeeee!

How about a FREE banana for breakfast? Sounds good to me.

I wanted to go work out this morning, but I just hate mornings. If I could sleep until 9:00 every day I would be a happy woman. After getting a couple more hours of sleep after dropping the kids at school I then went to the Y and did 25 minutes on the elliptical. I find that I like it better and want to go longer if CMT is playing music videos instead of Redneck Weddings. Just saying. :) So that got my day off to a much better start!

I then enjoyed a tuna sandwich on double fiber wheat bread (6 points) and 17 Lay's sour cream & onion chips (4 points) for lunch. Yum! 10 points is more than I usually spend on lunch, but I had a free banana for breakfast, so it evens out. That's my Coke Zero beside my plate. :)



For dinner I spent a lot of points also. I had honey mustard chicken (5 points), 1/2cup white rice (3 points), a salad with 1 T lite raspberry vinigairette dressing (1 point), and a roll with ICBINB (3 points). 12 points total.

For dessert I had a SmartOnes fudge brownie sundae. It's so good. 5 points

Olive Garden at home

I didn't feel like cooking this morning (Monday anyone??) so I had a Special K cereal bar. 2 points

For lunch I used the leftover steak from the other night to make a rollup. I heated it in a pan with some beef broth, added some ground red pepper, and then rolled it up in a flatbread pita lined with lite sour cream and added lettuce and salsa on top. It was just okay. 8 points

I had an apple at 5:00 PM, before figuring out what's for dinner.

For dinner I had an Olive Garden experience. :) I had an appetizer of bruschetta (4 points) and then my main course was a Lean Cuisine lasagne (8 points). Delicious!

I attempted a SmartOnes double fudge cake for dessert, but it wasn't very good. I didn't even eat half of it, but I'll count it as 2 points. I went to my tried and true chunk of Godiva dark chocolate instead. It was also 2 points.

Sunday Sunday

I slept in today, but I still had breakfast, which was oatmeal with half of a banana cut up on top. 4 points

Since I had a late breakfast I decided to just have melba toast with Laughing Cow cheese for a late lunch/snack. I had 8 melbas (3 points) and 2 wedges of cheese (2 points). So 5 point snack.

I was pretty hungry by the time dinner rolled around tonight. We had greek pork chops (4 pts), Knorr SidesPlus Roasted chicken rice w/veggies (4 pts), sauteed zucchini, a crescent roll w/ICBINB (4 pts) and fresh tomatoes. 12 points for dinner, which leaves 8 for the rest of the evening.

Dinner was at 5:30, so those extra points are going to come in handy. I'm really jonesing for a chunk of that dark chocolate Godiva bar in my kitchen. That'll take care of 2 of those points. Yep, there they went. Man, that godiva is good stuff!

Weigh In - Week 3

2.2 pounds down this week! Woo Hoo!! I was hoping to break a decade at this weigh in, but that didn't happen. That's okay though because the scale was not a friend to me most of the week, so I was really just happy to break 2 pounds. That's 9 pounds total loss, so I'm excited about that.

I had bacon and eggs this morning. Yum! I bought the pre-cooked bacon yesterday and the points figured at 2 points for 4 slices. Can't beat that. Then I had 1/2 cup of eggbeaters scrambled with salt and pepper. Nice and hearty breakfast for 3 points.

After breakfast Charles and I went to the YMCA and worked out on the elliptical machines. We thought our free membership (miliatry) had expired, but we got in, so...YAY! I'll definitely be going back. I did 25 minutes while watching CMT on my own personal TV. I feel really good about that and hope I can keep up the initiative to go after dropping the kids off at school in the mornings.


Lunch was my yummy Lean Cuisine Chicken Poblano. Mmmmmm 7 points
I had a snack of bruschetta at around 2 PM. I had 8 pieces of melba toast with the bruschetta on them. 4 points (3 for the toast and 1 for the dash of olive oil)

Dinner was delicious tonight. 4 oz of grilled steak (5 pts), Lipton Chicken flavored rice (3 points), and green beans with mushrooms. 8 points total. Then a 4 point SmartOnes dessert.

Hungry Day

Snow Day #11 around here. Sigh... I love the snow!! But the children really need to be in school. So, surprise surprise, no breakfast this morning.

Lunch was a Lean Cuisine Grilled Chicken and Penne pasta meal. This one came with a caramel apple dessert. I had never had one with a dessert before. I was hesitant, thinking I wouldn't like the apples, but they were delicious! 8 points total. By the way, Kroger has the Lean Cuisine meals on sale again. $1.60 each when you buy 10. That's a great deal!

Around 2:00 PM I had Active Lifestyle Raisin, Apple, & Walnut oatmeal for a snack. 4 points It was the first time I tried this oatmeal and while it smelled wonderful, it was just okay in the taste department. It was hot and filling though. After my snack I did a 12 minute workout with Denise Austin. I had not worked out any this week. I'm hoping this will help with my weigh-in tomorrow. ;)

At 3:30 I had another snack. This time it was carrots and a laughing cow cheese wedge. 1 point

I was starving all afternoon, even after 2 snacks. I was tempted to go out to eat for dinner because I really wanted a steak, but, in the end, I cooked and was happier for it. I had baked chicken tenderloin marinated in a mesquite Lime marinade (2 points). The marinade was only okay; I won't buy it again. I found an instant mashed potato made by Idahoan though that was very good. They're Loaded Baked potato flavored and were 3 points per 1/2cup serving. I also had steamed broccoli and 2 dinner rolls with 1 T ICBINB split between them. 5 points total for the rolls and totally worth it. 10 points total for dinner.


I had a Dark Chocolate Godiva bar leftover from Christmas. I figured the points and divided it by 4 (it broke into 4 pieces) and each chunk is 2 points, so I had 1 chunk after dinner. What a wonderful treat!! Perfect for an after dinner treat.

Breakfast was oatmeal. Nothing too exciting. 4 points

For lunch I had a Lean Cuisine Sweet Ginger Chicken meal. It was just okay, a little spicy. 7 points Okay, I just looked at the bag again and it says "Sweet and Spicy Ginger Chicken". I was missing that "spicy" part all along. LOL

For dinner I had 2 chicken rollups with sour cream, salsa, and mexican cheese. 3 points for the pitas, 2 points for the chicken, 3 points for the cheese, and 1 point for the sour cream. 9 points total, but I didn't eat all of teh 2nd one. It didn't taste as good as it did the last time I made them.



Since I wasn't espcially satisfied with my dinner I had a snack of melba snacks and Laughing Cow cheese. I got a new flavor of cheese today. It's mozzerella sun-dried tomato basil and is very good! 3 points

And finally, I couldn't go to bed without something sweet, so I went with the tried and true 1 point banana sundae. Sliced bananas with 1 T Hershey's syrup. 1 point

Shout it to the rooftops! "I love Bruschetta!!!"

I made a new concoction for breafast and it was quite good. I'll call it "Kathy's frittata". I looked up the difference between an omelet and a frittata and this more closely resembled the latter. It was an open faced egg sandwich with sauteed onions and mushrooms inside, with 2 slices of tomato folded into the finished product. My first 2 bites were just okay, but then the tomato fell out. It was much better without the tomato. I love tomatoes though, so I ate them separately. I had to use real eggs instead of the eggbeaters, so that upped my points value from 2 to 5 points, but look at this beauty of a breakfast.


Lunch was a Mediterranean Chicken Lean Pocket, which was just okay. 8 points and not worth it. BUT, I made bruschetta to go with it (chopped tomatoes with salt, garlic powder, dried basil, and a dash of olive oil mixed together and placed on top of melba toast) and it was perfect! 4 points for the bruschetta + 8 points for the Lean Pocket = a 12 point lunch, which is kind of high. I should have just had twice as many pieces of bruschetta and no Lean Pocket. YUM!


We went out to buy shoes for Chad at 4:00 this afternoon and the restaurants smelled divine. I was hungry, too, but I came on home and cooked dinner because I knew I was kind of high on points today. I wanted to have a low point dinner. Another small victory. :)

Dinner was nothing special tonight, but only 5 points! YAY! Baked chicken tenderloins seasoned with garlic powder and black pepper, canned green beans, Uncle Ben's rice, and raw carrots. 2 points for the chicken and 3 for the rice.

Yum. I had a SmartOnes Fudge Brownie Sundae for dessert. So so good! 4 points

This is my year!

I just read an article about how successful people have been with weight loss when they blogged about it. Awesome!! Cause I'm *going* to be successful. I just feel it. It's like it's not even an option to stop trying. You know what may have helped me get in that mindset, I mean besides the being unhealthy and just deciding it was time? I decided to start this program early in December. I bought the materials on ebay, looked through them, got familiar with my calculator, and started a list of foods I eat regularly all BEFORE I actually started putting it into practice. January 1st was my day and I didn't start a second before that. I had probably 3 weeks to prepare mentally and it seems that once 1-1-11 came, that's it. This is what I'm doing, no qualms, no regrets, no arguing with myself or having to constantly have an inner dialogue about how I *need* to keep doing it. I just am. No questions asked. It's different from anytime I've ever "dieted" before. Like, for instance, drinking soda or sweet tea. Always before I'd have one every now and then or at my favorite tea-drinking restaurants. This time I really don't even miss it. I went cold turkey and I haven't even mourned for it. Sure, I've had a sip a couple of times, but really and truly only a couple, and it wasn't even as satisfying as I remember. I know this year is the year. I WILL get the weight off!

Breakfast this morning was a Special K chocolately pretzel cereal bar. 2 points.

Lunch was a Lean Cuisine cheese cannelloni meal. It was good, we'll go with 3.5 stars. 6 points.

For dinner I had the hamburgers and chips I had wanted yesterday. I had a 3 ounce 93% lean hamburger patty with some dry ranch seasoning mixed in(3 points) with ketchup, mustard, lettuce & tomato (all free) on a Sara Lee Soft & Smooth Whole Grain White bun (3 points) with 17 Lay's Sour Cream & Onion chips on the side (4 points). 10 points for a dinner that seemed sinful. It's all about portions. I also had Coke Zero to drink, which is zero points.

We ate early because we have Cub Scouts tonight, so I'm glad that I have 12 points left because I'm sure I'll be hungry later. I'll just try not to eat after 7:30 or 8:00.

At 8 PM I had a snack of 4 sea salt melba toasts (2 points) and 1 wedge of The Laughing Cow cheese, garlic and herb flavor (1 point). Even if I had doubled it and had 8 crackers and 2 wedges of cheese it only would have been 4 points total because of the way the calculator figures the rounding, etc. So, 3 points for my snack tonight and I still have 9 points left. I'll probably just go to bed though and leave them out there in Weight Watchers limbo.

*I did end up having a pear at 9 PM. It doesn't count as any points, but I probably shouldn't have eaten it so late. Oh well.

McDonald's is so unappetizing

I slept late again today. I get so much more done during the day when I sleep in. :) For lunch I had a Lean Cuisine Sun-dried tomato pesto chicken. I'll give it 3.5 stars. 7 points.

I made stove-top popcorn for the first time today and it was quite a funny scene. Wish you could have been here. There was popcorn everywhere, as I put in more kernels than my pot could handle. Anyway, 3 cups was 4 points. I sprinkled it with dry butter topping and salt.

Well, I had grilled hamburgers & chips planned for dinner, but it required me to go grocery shopping. By the time I went out it would have been 7 PM before we started the grill, so we just stopped at McDonald's instead. I had my dining companion book in the car, so I was able to figure out what I could get and still be within a reasonable amount of points. I had 19 left since I knew burgers & chips wouldn't exactly be a low point dinner. I ended up getting 6 chicken nuggets (7 points) and a small order of fries (6 points), and then 1 point for the sweet & sour sauce. 14 points to eat at McDonald's isn't too bad I guess. I did have 2 sips of Coke that I didn't count. Shhhhh. Here is a picture of my dinner. Doesn't it look AWFUL compared to the other colorful dinners I have shared with you? Ick. I couldn't even eat all of the fries because they were so salty and that is usually just the way I like them.

The good news though is that I had enough points leftover to still have a dessert. They had a new one at Wal-Mart tonight called Peanut Butter Cup Sundae and it is delicious!! 4 points

I love dieting!

Whew! The scale was still going in the right direction this morning, so eating out yesterday didn't hurt me, at least not yet.

I had a Special K cereal bar for breakfast this morning. 2 points I got a new flavor yesterday, chocolate chip cookie. I don't know what it tasted like, but it's not a chocolate chip cookie. It wasn't a 'bad' flavor, but it wasn't great either.

For lunch I had a Lean Cuisine lasagne with meat sauce and it was YUMMY! 5 stars, 8 points.

Dinner: 4 oz greek pork chop - 4 points, 1/2 cup Stovetop stuffing - 4 points, corn - 2 points, & birdseye frozen peas with mushrooms. The peas probably would have been a point or 2, but I didn't like them and only had 1 bite, so I didn't bother looking it up. Otherwise, everything was delish and 10 points total, which leaves me with 10 and I will certainly have either a dessert or popcorn in a little bit...or maybe dessert AND popcorn. LOL


My final decision was just a dessert and I opted for the SmartOnes Brownie a la mode, and oh boy, was it good! I give it 5 stars. 5 points. With desserts like this, I love dieting!

You're not supposed to be able to indulge in yummy goodness like this when you're trying to lose weight. That's why I love Weight Watchers.

Weigh In - Week 2

As long as the scale keeps going down and isn't static or going up, then I am happy. This week's loss...2.4 pounds!! For a total loss of 6.8! I'm very happy with that. I really can't complain since I did no exercise this week. And, you know, all those desserts. Ha ha ha. This week's percentages: 185/210 points; 88% of available points used with no extras.

Breakfast this morning was 3/4 Special K cinnamon & pecan cereal with 1/2 cup of milk. Now this is my favorite cereal, but 3/4 cup (1 serving) is barely enough to get me started. LOL At 3 points for the cereal and 2 points for the milk (5 total points), I'm not sure it's the best morning choice. Oatmeal is only 4 points and more filling. I would say the Special K could be seen as a treat some mornings, but that would only be so if I had 2 servings! Oh well. I'll just have an apple or a pear to round it out.

Mid-Morning snack: honeycrisp apple

Lunch was a disaster. I saw that Chili's was in my dining out companion book, but once we got there I realized that there really weren't that many entrees listed. Chicken fajitas were 8 points (9 in the book, but when I calculated the nutrition info I got 8, so I'm going with that), but you had to add 10 if you ate the tortillas (3 of them) and 6 if you ate the condiments (lettuce, tomato, sour cream, quacomole, & cheese). I ate only 1 tortilla and I did break down and eat the condiments, so I counted 17 points for lunch. Ouch!! Charles and I got the 2 for $20 deal and that came with an appetizer. They got the Texas Cheese fries! Excuse me while I drool. Apparently Mommy gets quite irritable when there is food on the table that she can't eat. I was snapping at Chad and directing Charles as to what needed to be eaten next. I mean seriously, GET THAT GLOB OF CHEESE before I lose my mind!!! It was pretty funny. But then my food came and the day was saved. It wasn't worth it though. I should have just come home and had something to eat.

Dinner was sauteed shrimp and the leftover rice and green beans from the other day. 7 points total. I ate very little of the rice that I served myself because I just didn't like it with the tomatoes in it (so I counted 2 points instead of the 3). That's 6 ounces of shrimp and a fairly large serving of green beans. That leaves me with 1 point leftover for the day. What can I eat that is only 1 point? 16 pretzel sticks or 1/2 of a Swiss Miss fudge bar. Hmmmm...


Okay, I had to edit after I published this post just so I could show you this picture. Apparently 1 T of Hershey's syrup is 1 point. Perfect, right? Well, guess what's free...BANANAS! What goes better with bananas than chocolate? YUM!

Oh, the guilt!

It's a snow day today, but I still got up at 8:30. Yay me! I had oatmeal for breakfast, Quaker High Fiber Maple & Brown Sugar. 4 points. At about 11:30 I had a cup of coffee - 2 points (1 for the creamer and 1 for the 1T of sugar).

Lunch was a creation of my own that included a flatbread pita slathered with light sour cream, sauteed chicken on top of that, with salsa on top of the chicken, rolled up like a burrito. Yum! 5 points - 2 points for the pita/flatbread, 1 point for the sour cream, and 2 points for the chicken. The salsa is free.
Here it is before being rolled up. I put salt, pepper, & ground red pepper on the chicken as it cooked.


I've been feeling guilty about having a SmartOnes dessert the last 2 or 3 nights in the evening, but I have to remember that they're less than 200 calories and I have the points available AND I try not to eat it too late. AND, most importantly, the scale is still going down, slowly but surely. I can't beat myself up over having dessert just because I expect everything to happen all at once. It's just so good that it feels so wrong. ;)

Afternoon snack: Special K cereal bar, Vanilla Crisp - 2 points

Beef! It's what's for dinner. I originally served myself a 5 oz piece of sirloin steak, but it wasn't as good as I'd hoped, so I cut off 2 oz, which left me with 3 oz. 5 points. I had mashed potatoes - 3 points for 1/2 cup, corn - 2 points, and carrots - free. I'll add an extra point for the ICBINB in the potatoes and corn. 11 points total for dinner.


No dessert tonight. I let the guilt get to me.

Sigh...these snow days are not good for my diet. I slept in again this morning. Ahhh, I love sleeping in. But it messes with my breakfast. I ended up not eating anything until noon. I didn't sleep until noon!!! But I went to play in the snow before eating. So, lunch at noon. I had a Lean Cuisine Chicken Margherita meal. 8 points. A juicy pear for dessert. Have I mentioned that I love pears?



Afternoon snack: 1/4 cup almonds. 5 points

Dinner was just okay tonight. I had salmon, which is usually good, but tonight it was kind of spongy. Cooked too long? 7 points. I mixed my brown rice with garlic powder, salt, Italian seasoning, and chopped tomatoes. 3 points (normally 2, but I added some I can't Believe It's Not Butter, so I'll count an extra point) I also sauteed green beans and mushrooms in 1T ICBINB - 1 point. 11 points total for dinner.


Dessert: SmartOnes Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Sundae - 4 points. It was just okay, so I didn't eat it all.

Snow Day!

Today was a snow day, so I missed breakfast again. Whaddayagonnado?

We have looked high and low for the Lean Cuisine Chicken Poblano meal and couldn't find it anywhere! I was beginning to think I was crazy and it wasn't really a Lean Cuisine meal. But, last night Charles found 3 in a Wal-Mart that we had already checked, so he bought all 3 of them. Yay!! That was my lunch today. The corn is what makes that meal special. It's such a nice burst of roasted sweet flavor. Yum. 7 points. 5 stars!

At 2:30 I had a leftover fajita for an afternoon snack. 4 points

Dinner was BBQ chicken. Yum! 2 chicken tenderloins - 2 points. I also had a roll with I Can't Believe It's Not Butter and it was worth every last bit of those 3 points. 1/2 cup of white rice with the drippings from the BBQ chicken over it, oven roasted tomatoes, and sauteed zucchini rounded out my meal. The BBQ sauce was 2 points for 2T, which was surprising. I thought it would be 1 point. I didn't eat 2T worth, but I counted it all anyway. White rice was 3 points for 1/2 cup. So, 10 points total for a delicious meal.


For dessert I had a SmartOnes Fudge brownie sundae. 140 calories, 4 points, and unlimited yumminess.

Fajitas...Take Two

Had some yummy oatmeal for breakfast today. I get the Active Lifestyle brand, Maple brown sugar & pecan. 4 points

I was dissatisfied after dinner again last night. I wasn't really hungry, but I wanted something to eat. I didn't even know what it was that I wanted. I persevered though and woke up ready to keep trudging. The scale was at least down from yesterday this morning, but not down as far as it was on Sunday. Oh well. I have to just keep in mind that my weight will still fluctuate and "official" weigh ins are on Saturdays. Surely there will still be a loss this week. I need to do more exercising. I did 2 days of the 12 minute workout last week, which isn't much, but at least it's something. I haven't done any this week yet. Not to mention that last week I was taking the detox & cleanse pills and this week I'm not. I'll just keep pushing on and hopefully will continue to be encouraged by the scale.

Lunch: Lean Cuisine Chicken Alfredo. 7 points. 4 out of 5 stars

Okay, can I just take a break to say that I'm pretty stoked to see that Suburban Turmoil commented on my blog?! lol Here is a link to one of her most recent hilarious blog posts. http://suburbanturmoil.blogspot.com/2011/01/when-wildebeests-attack.html

I attempted to have some popcorn as an afternoon snack, but the PopSmart popcorn just doesn't taste good to me. I even got the supposed "butter" flavored. Ick. Not worth it. The mini bag would have been 3 points, but since I barely ate any, I'm just counting 1 point. I had a banana instead. I later had a Special K cereal bar - 2 points. Then a few hours later, I had a serving of pretzels - 2 points. I'm hungry today.

I wanted to have fajitas for dinner again before my flatbread goes bad, so I had that for dinner tonight. I added cut up zucchini and mushrooms to the pan though. And I spread light sour cream on the flatbread (1 point for 2 T). I added salt, pepper, garlic powder, & ground red pepper for seasoning this time. The red pepper made the difference. They had just enough kick for me. So, 2 points for the chicken, 3 points for the 2 flatbreads, 1 point for the sour cream, and I'll count 1 point for the olive oil I used to sautee the chicken. Total: 7 points. Awesome!

That leaves me with 7 points. I was going to make some popcorn on the stove with coconut oil (someone suggested it to me. I've never made stove-top popcorn before), but the longer I waited, the fuller I became, so I don't think I'll have a snack tonight. It's 9:00 already, so I may just go read and go to bed. I'll let you know tomorrow if I changed my mind. I really wanted to try it.

Last night I was craving regular old fried eggs, so that's what I had for breakfast this morning. That and half a piece of toast (only half because I was full and I didn't want to eat it just because I had made it). 5 points total

For lunch I had a Lean Cuisine meal called "Chicken Tuscan". It had a sun dried tomato sauce over linguine and chicken, which sounded really good to me. It was good, but not spectacular like I was hoping for. I'd give it 3 out of 5 stars. It was 7 points.



And, by the way, when I give point values they are ALL from the NEW Weight Watchers point system called "PointsPlus". You put in a food's protein, fat, carbs, & fiber (into the calculator) and it tells you the point value. Some things like snack foods are higher in points than they were under the old system, but things like fruits and vegetables are free.

Afternoon snack: a nice juicy D'anjou pear! YUM! I had forgotten how much I love pears. Have I said that already on here? I've had 3 pears since I started this program and I am delightfully surprised at their juicy sweetness every time. What a treat!

Dinner tonight was spaghetti! I made it the same way I normally do and my serving was 10 points. I also had the coveted piece of garlic bread for 5 points. :) I added an apple for dessert because dinner wasn't completely filling. I have 3 points left, but I think I'm going to leave them because the scale didn't smile upon me this morning.

Now I'm off to watch the National Championship game.

Delicious Day

I slept in today, so no breakfast.

Lunch was delish! I had a hot roast beef sandwich with mushrooms and gouda cheese. I sauteed some sliced mushrooms in a pan with the spray "I Can't Believe It's Not butter" and then added 6 slices of deli roast beef. I toasted my double fiber wheat bread in the oven and then put it all together with 1/2 T of mayonaise (8 points total). It was like eating in a restaurant!

We went out to Grandview park today to take some pictures and the kids hadn't eaten lunch, so we stopped at Subway. It was 3:00 and watching them eat made me hungry so I had a sandwich - 6" subway club with provolone & lite mayo (10 points). So I still had 12 points left for a late dinner.

Wow! As a non-cooking person I continue to amaze myself. LOL I had a scrumptious dinner tonight that was only 6 points and took only about 15 minutes to prepare! Fajitas! I sauteed 2 frozen chicken breast tenderloins (2 points) in a tsp of olive oil (1 point), cut them lengthwise as they were cooking, then added a bag of Kroger brand frozen 3 pepper & onion blend (free). I wrapped them in a flatbread (warmed in a pan on the stove, each side for 10-15 seconds) called "Joseph's Flax, Oat, Bran, & Whole Wheat pita bread" (3 points for 2 pitas). 2 HUGE fajitas for 6 points! The only problem was that it needed more seasoning. I only put salt, pepper, and garlic powder on it. I'll have to find some kind of mexican seasoning for it, because I will definitely be making it again. It was SUPER easy!! Here it is in the pan. Isn't it beautiful? And I ate all of it! Well, except for 2 bites. I was full.


I ended the day with a Weight Watchers dessert I bought at Wal-Mart. It's called "SmartOnes Chocolate Fudge Brownie Sundae", is 4 points, and tastes SO delicious! It's 'real' dessert. It doesn't taste diet at all. YUM!

WEIGH IN DAY

We had a busy morning today, but I didn't let it deter me. I had oatmeal for breakfast which, by the way, is something I ate often even before I started this program. 4 points

The boys started a NASA program today, so that put us out all morning. On the way home they wanted Pizza Hut. Pizza Hut is my all time favorite pizza and competes for my favorite food overall. AND I had to go inside the restaurant because Carter had a paper snowflake hanging inside that we wanted to see, although they didn't eat inside. The aroma was divine. But I was strong. They got their pizza and I came home and had a Lean Cuisine Flatbread Melts - Sun-Dried Tomato Basil Chicken. It was very good, especially to be a microwave meal, but it was 9 points, which is more than the other Lean Cuisine meals I've tried. But, it is a very nice alternative to pizza if that's what the family is having. Here are our meals side by side. Can you believe they tortured me like that?! Oh, and it's a picture of the BOX and not the pizza because they devoured it in no time. I guess that was good for me, huh? LOL


I had a fun size snickers for an afternoon snack: 3 points

Dinner was quick and easy. I had a Garlic Chicken Lean Cuisine frozen bag meal (7 points)with sauteed mushrooms and green beans (I'll count 2 points for the olive oil I cooked it in). So 9 points for dinner and look at all this food! I couldn't eat it all.


The thing that I am really enjoying about doing Weight Watchers is that it's real food. I don't feel like I'm eating diet food at all. The Lean Cuisine meals are really good. Dinner most of the time is just a normal dinner, minus bread or maybe a few slight changes in preparation. It hasn't been difficult and that's important to me, because if it's too much trouble I won't stick with it.

So...weigh in...

I LOST 4.4 POUNDS THIS WEEK!! Woo hoo! Honestly, I expected to lose about 5, but I am VERY happy with 4.4. What an encouragement. It really gives me incentive to keep going and make these changes in my eating habits because it will be SO worth it in the end. And, yes, when I was in Pizza Hut today it smelled good and I would have liked to have had a piece. BUT, it wasn't an overwhelming feeling. The main problem was that it was 1:00 PM and I was hungry. I knew that I could get home and have a reasonable lunch. And I did. I am so proud of myself for that! Overall, this week I used 183 out of 217 available points, that's 84% of points used and no extra points. After losing 4.4 pounds I also lose a point each day, so now I'll get 30 points to use each day instead of 31. It's funny how there was a very slight twinge of fear when I saw that, even though I never even got close to using all my points. I want them there...just in case. Ahhhh, the psychology of weight loss.

I like eggs

Now this is a beautiful 4 points right here:

Mushroom & cheese omelet with tomatoes on top. I have to remember to buy Plum tomatoes though, as they are more flavorful and easier to de-seed. Today is a school snow day, so I was able to sleep in, so this was really an early lunch rather than breakfast. I may still try one of my Lean Cuisine meals later though. I was really looking forward to it.

I had a Lean Cuisine panini at about 3:00. I wish I had taken a picture of it, but I guess it just looked TOO good. It was quite tasty. 8 points

Dinner was baked pork chops with Greek seasoning (4 points), Rice a Roni Teriyaki rice, 1/2 cup (3 points), and frozen, steam in the bag, spring vegetables (free). I love that Greek seasoning. I didn't realize how versatile it is. I've been using it a lot lately, that and Italian seasoning.


I still have 12 points left...again! Sigh...I don't know what to do. I even had that panini at 3 o'clock. I guess I'm an all or nothing kind of girl. I either go all out and eat horribly or I pay attention to what I eat and then don't eat all my points. Surely it can't be bad to leave points at the end of the day. I feel like I'm eating plenty. And when I *do* feel hungry, it makes me feel good cause that means my body is burning calories. It seems I remember hearing on Oprah once that feeling hungry is a sign that your body is working and your metabolism is revving. Although my memory is shot these days, so I could be making that up. LOL

I did a 12 minute workout tonight. It was a lower body/abs focused one. I learned a few things. 1) Abs? What abs? 2) I can't hold my body up in a regular pushup position and I used to kind of pride myself on being able to do pushups. 3) I really need an exercise mat and I need to find my hand weights. But I did it! Yay me!!

Tomorrow is weigh in day. Stay tuned!

Oh, and just FYI, Kroger has their Lean Cuisine meals on sale right now for $2.15 AND if you buy 5 you get 2 FREE with your Kroger card. That makes them only $1.54 each! What a great price and I haven't had one yet that I didn't like. Stock up! Sale ends tomorrow.

Thursday

So I wanted to use my points more wisely today and I guess that happened, but I don't feel happy about it. I feel like I ate "bad". I had oatmeal for breakfast - 4points. Then I had a glass of chocolate milk for a mid-morning snack. Very satisfying - 6 points. Lunch was a roast beef sandwich - 6 points. I didn't feel like cooking dinner, so we went to Bob Evans. Luckily, this restaurant is in my dining out guide, so I didn't do too bad, but I ended up wishing I had just cooked at home. I got a grilled chicken breast, green beans, & cornbread dressing - 13 points total, which isn't too bad point-wise, but the chicken wasn't very flavorful. So I have 2 points left and I'm a little disappointed in my dinner. I used a LOT of points and didn't really enjoy it. I still haven't delved into my extra points for the week and I'm trying not to. If any day would have been the day to do it, it would have been today.

I went to Kroger after dinner and got several more Lean Cuisine meals, but they didn't have the Chicken Poblano. I guess I'll have to go to Wal-Mart to get that one. They were buy 5, get 2 free and on sale on top of that, so I got several to try. I hope I like them. I had a pear for dessert (zero points), so I'm done for the day. Hopefully the scale does not revolt against me tomorrow. I guess because I ate at a restaurant I feel like I didn't have a good day, but according to the points, I still didn't go over. I just don't see how a serving of green beans can only be 1 point, as it says in the book, because I'm sure they're cooked in something yummy and they had bits of bacon in them. Oh well. They were the only thing at dinner that I really enjoyed. LOL See y'all tomorrow!

Lean Cuisine inspired post

I wasn't going to post today, but I have to tell you about the Lean Cuisine meal I had for lunch! It's called Chicken Poblano and comes in a bag that you steam in the microwave. It was delicious! If you are craving Mexican food, it's perfect. It has corn in it, which provides a nice little burst of sweet every now and then. I will be buying more of these. It was 7 points.

I have, of course, been weighing myself every day, but I'm not going to post any numbers until weigh-in day, which is Saturday. I will say this though, "I am happy with what's happening." :) I have more energy already and, while I was craving a gravy biscuit last night, I mostly am not feeling deprived or frustrated at what I am not eating. And if I break down and have something I shouldn't, that's ok. I'll figure out the points, put it in my calculator, and move on. It's not the end of the world. I have 49 EXTRA points each week! I don't know how I would lose weight if I actually USE all those points, but they're there. I think it's just psychological, knowing they're there if I want them makes me feel better. Psychological or not, I like it.

Dinner was very good again tonight. This cooking healthy thing really isn't that hard. And the best part is that I'm saving money by not eating out and the whole family is eating healthier, even if they don't eat exactly what I do. Tonight Carter and I had Salmon (from Sam's already seasoned - 7 points), 1/2 cup brown rice with garlic powder and Italian seasonings (2 points), sauteed mushrooms and baby spinach (I counted 1 point for the dash of olive oil I used), and steamed carrots (zero points. I had nothing on them at all and they are actually very good that way). Dinner total: 10 points and it was a lot of food. Chad and Charles don't like salmon, so Chad had pizza and Charles was on his own. But Carter had exactly what I had, only he prefers his carrots and spinach raw.

Here is a picture for your viewing pleasure:

I should have put the spinach in between the fish and rice to make the colors alternate. I'll have to think of that next time. :)

That leaves me with 12 points and I'm not sure what I'm going to do with them. I hate eating, especially in the evening, when I'm really not starving, but it seems they encourage you to try to eat all of your points for the day. The most common answer I've found to "Do I have to eat all my points?" is "You should try to get all of your points in each day, but it's okay if you don't." What kind of answer is that? Is it going to affect me negatively if I don't? If not, then why should I "try" to get them all in? I mean, I know my body needs a certain amount of 'fuel' each day, but I feel like I'm giving it plenty. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner is already way more than I'm used to eating. I'm just used to eating terrible food when I do eat. I feel like I want to eat some type of dessert just to get my points in, but that can't be good. What to do, what to do.

I ended up having a 2 point Swiss Miss frozen fudge bar. It was quite good. I guess I'll end my day with 10 points left. I can't see eating junk just to eat and fruit is free, so that wouldn't even count against my points. With fruit and vegetables being free I think having points left at the end of the day is going to be a trend with me. That can't be bad, can it?

Feed me...If you dare!

Again with the insanely painful headache last night, only this time I couldn't get to sleep and it was making me nauseous. Now I don't know what is causing it. I had Coke Zero for dinner and with my popcorn last night. Could it be the reintroduction of caffeine to cause it now? Geez! I can't win for losing.

I love this Scene in Shrek 4 and it's been on my mind a lot lately. "Feed me...if you dare!" LOL



Now this is dieting!! An omelet made with eggbeaters, sauteed mushrooms, real cheddar cheese (real as in not low fat), with tomatoes on top - 4 points!

Sure, it took a little time, but I have nothing but time. Very filling breakfast and well worth it.

I did a Denise Austin video today called "Get Fit Daily Dozen." It's a 12 minute workout for each day of the week. 12 minutes doesn't sound like a lot, but it's just what I needed to get started. It definitely got my blood pumping, but I was able to do it all. Yay!! I said I wasn't going to start exercising until next week, but I just felt like doing it today, so I did. No need to let that motivation go to waste.

Lunch was kind of high in points today because I had mayo on my sandwich. I didn't think about how much it would up the point value until after I had eaten and was putting it in the calculator. Oh well. I had a turkey sandwich with 1T mayo and sliced tomatoes - 7 points, and a can of Progresso Light Chicken Noodle Soup - 4 points.

Afternoon snack: Special K cereal bar - 2 points

Dinner was good again tonight. I marinated chicken breast tenderloins in a teriyaki sauce. 2 tenderloins with the sauce figured in was 3 points. Then I had brown rice again and steamed carrots and green beans. I indulged in a yeast roll with I Can't Believe It's Not Butter spread (6 points for the roll & butter), and I really couldn't believe it wasn't butter. :) Dinner total: 13 points. I have one point left and I probably won't use it.

I entered a weight loss competition today and I intend to win it! I have until March 15th to lose the highest percentage of body weight out of 11 people. The prize is almost $200!! Like I needed more motivation!

To be 3 oz. or not to be 3 oz...that is the question

Yawn! The kids went back to school today and I was so worried about oversleeping that I woke up several times in the night and was up for good at 6:30. And they were STILL almost late because we couldn't find shoes and school folders. Oh well. It's Monday. :)

Breakfast this morning was a piece of toast with crunchy peanut butter on it (6 points). Very satisfying.

I met my new doctor this morning. He's quite the looker. A simple question ("So, do I see you for my pap smears also?") and a simple answer ("If you want.") kind of made me giggle inside. LOL I didn't get my labs done this morning because I ate breakfast and we'd rather have them done on a fast, so I'll go back tomorrow just for that.

I had a hard time deciding what I'd have for lunch: a turkey sandwich? a tuna sandwich? a frozen meal? soup? I finally went with a Healthy Choice frozen meal, Chicken Alfredo Florentine. It was very good and only 5 points. It wasn't completely filling though, so I had a pear for dessert (0 points). Wow! I had forgotten how utterly delicious a good pear can be. It was very refreshing.

Dinner tonight was Sauteed shrimp ( 3 oz, 2 points), brown rice with slivered almonds ( 2 points for rice, 3 points for almonds), and green beans with mushrooms (free). It was very good and I don't feel deprived at all. I have 12 points left and will probably have popcorn and 1 reese's cup in a bit (8 points total). Here is a picture of my dinner. I dropped my kitchen scale last night and I'm just not sure if it is measuring correctly now. Does that look like 3 oz of shrimp to you?

Well, I had a HORRIBLE headache last night, I'm guessing from lack of caffeine, so I took a Tylenol PM and went to bed early. Those always knock me out, so I slept until 11 today, so no breakfast. I had a grilled cheese (on double fiber wheat w/ I can't believe it's not butter spread - 5 points) and a can of soup for lunch - 8 points total.

Dinner last night was okay. I was wrong about the points, it was actually 8 points per serving. I had 2 servings and was still hungry. I later had half of a bagel spread with fat free cream cheese (3 points) and still wasn't satisfied. I don't know what I wanted. It was probably just psychological. I went to bed with 2 points left last night.

I am enjoying keeping up with the points. That kind of thing is right up my alley. I have a chart of the foods I eat most often and their point values and also a chart of my weight loss and health numbers (glucose, b/p, cholesterol). I love charts.

So, I am sitting here after dinner with 13 points left. Weird. I had a delicious dinner that, according to my calculations, was only 10 points: 6 oz sirloin steak, grilled (6 pts), 1/2 cup brown rice with garlic powder and italian seasoning mixed in (2 pts), sauteed zucchini & mushrooms (veg. are free, 2 points for the olive oil). Delish! So, is it okay to NOT eat all my points for the day? I'm sure I'll have a snack in a bit, but not 13 points worth! I know I messed up my day by sleeping late and missing breakfast. Oh well. I go to the doctor tomorrow so I'll get my health numbers all updated. I know it's weird that I find that exciting, but I don't like having blanks on my chart.

Snack: 1 cup of chocolate milk - 6 points.

Day one

Today I start my diet. I'm not completely sure what direction I'm going to take on this blog, but I think I'm just going to write about my journey - my triumphs and my struggles. It may be boring to you or it may be inspiring, I don't know. I'm writing it for me, but I'm willing to share it with others just in case it might help someone else.

I will be following the weight watchers plan. At my height/weight/age I get 31 points right now. It kind of sounds like a lot, but I guess we'll see about that. My reason for wanting to lose weight is my health. Plain and simple. Sure, I would like to LOOK better and FEEL better and be SEXY, but none of that has pushed me hard enough to do anything about it in the last 10 years. But last year I was diagnosed with diabetes and borderline high blood pressure. I don't want to die young. I don't want to have a heart attack. I am ready to take action and make myself healthy. I know it's not going to be easy, but I look forward to the end result. My overall goal is 70 pounds. My short term goal is 25 pounds by April 1st. That's 13 weeks @ almost 2 pounds per week. I can do that. I SO can do that!

I am kickstarting my plan with a Detox & Cleanse by Jillian Michaels. I don't plan to start working out this week. I think I'll start that next week, after the cleanse is finished and I've become accustomed to the points system. I don't want to do too much at once and end up quitting.

So, how has Day 1 gone? Pretty good I guess. I'm hungry though. I had a cereal bar for breakfast, an apple for a mid-morning snack, and we had lunch at Applebee's. I had shrimp with rice and a spinach salad that was 8 points total. It was good, but I REALLY wanted one of Charles' mozzarella sticks. They didn't have the nutrtional value available, so I didn't have one. After getting home and looking it up, it looks like I could have had ONE cheese stick for 2 points. I totally could have done that. I'll know for next time. It's all about moderation. In general, I can eat a lot of cheese sticks. lol I'm making a meal from the weight watchers cookbook for dinner. It's 'chicken thighs with spinach and mushrooms' and sounds really good, and at only 6 points per serving, I think I'll have 2 servings. :)

So, here I go! Feel free to follow me on this blog if you want. I don't know how often I'll post, maybe every day, maybe once a week. I'll see how it goes. Feel free to comment and let me know what you want to hear about - more recipes? less whining? more detailed point information? more whining? more 'feelings'? I'd love to hear your feedback.

I'm off to cook dinner now. And I think I'll have enough points left for a fun size Snickers bar for dessert.