I post weekly

Right. Then it got warm and sunny and I've been outside doing "stuff" with my babies, walking, learning how to Square Foot Garden, and weeding like crazy. Oh, and two different rounds of everyone being sick. That was fun. So, a million weeks later, here I am. I've continued doing weight watchers in the meantime, although I did miss 2 weeks there too, what with the vomit that I was cleaning up on the home front. I can't quite describe how much I love the eTools on weightwatchers.com! It is so helpful to type the food in, and have the computer calculate the points. I started slacking on this, and Phil and I decided to charge me a dollar extra per day that i didn't record my points. Amazing how money motivates! I've only missed 1 day since. I've found that recording my points (which I have NEVER done in any previous weight watchers experience, which may be why I have to keep having them) is a powerful tool of self discovery- I think to myself, "did I seriously eat 45 points today?" And when I make myself type in what I ate, it helps me quit eating for the day, so I won't feel stupid when I am ridiculously over my points. It's the mental game, once again, on thinking that you are not eating as much as you really are. But when you can see it in front of you, in black and white, there is no excusing it. Powerful, whether you are typing it in, writing it in, or whatever. DO IT! I am a believer!

My weight, as of last Wednesday, is:

189.4

Yes, I am excited!!!!! I am now in territory that I don't remember being in. Ever. Pants are starting to fit that I bought as "goal" pants (yes, I do that.) that I have never worn before. All I can say is, weight watchers works. Love it! I am seriously grateful for it. Anyway, enough gushing! Happy and Healthy eating to all!

week 5

Can I just say how much I love Weight Watchers? The eTools feature works! You type the food you ate, and it looks up the points for you. You put in the ingredients for a recipe you are going to cook, it figures out the points for you and stores the recipe online. I am logging EVERYTHING I eat. That itself is miraculous. The official weigh-in this week is:

194.0

Hurray! It is working! I have been falling behind on the running schedule, probably because of a whole bunch of excuses, but also because my babies have been throwing up now for two weeks straight. Can't get much done besides cloroxing everything and bathing the little ones. But, that is exercise too, right? Let's hope so! No recipe today. Benson needs me to do a puzzle with him, and so. . . till next time!

Um, Yeah. . .

So, where was week 3? In all fairness, I was out of town, where I ate high-fat, cream-soup based casseroles all week- delicious, and hugely bad for me. I've been home for many days, however, so I have no good excuse for not posting, but I do have some news. It is this: I totally broke down, bit the bullet and RE-joined WEIGHT WATCHERS! After the cream-soup week, I was feeling like I seriously needed some help (in out-of-control land) and I know weight watchers works for me. SO- for anyone that is interested, I found that the Monthly Pass is definitely the best deal. It costs $39.99 a month, which is the cheapest rate you'll find, but it also cuts out the joining-fee, AND it includes eTools. And, eTools is amazing! It is allowing me to still cook and know the points EASILY of what I am eating! LOVE LOVE LOVE!!! I can't really describe how helpful and easy it is, or how much it is working for me-even better than weight watchers worked for me before! My weight, after a crazy week, but then a couple of days on weight watchers is:

196.8

Here is a yummy and easy recipe that I got off of the Hungry Girl website. Check the site out if you've never been. It is full of awesome, healthy or changed up recipes. Some of them are full of artificial sweeteners and fat-free cheese, which I am not a huge fan of, but there are tons of good ones with more normal ingredients. A huge resource, one way or the other. I made this meal last night with some roasted potatoes, and it was really good. The barbecue sauce is on the mild side of things, which helped the 3 year old to love it. Happy and Healthy Eating to all!

Slow Cooker Pulled Chicken

1 1/2 lbs raw boneless skinless lean chicken breasts

1 cup canned tomato sauce

1/2 cup ketchup

2 tbsp plus 2 tsp brown sugar (not packed)

2 tbsp plus 2 tsp cider vinegar

2 tsp garlic powder

Optional: red pepper flakes to taste

Place all ingredients except chicken in crock pot. Stir until mixed. Add chicken adn coat well with the sauce.

Cover and ocok on high for 3-4 hours or on low for 7-8 hours until chicken is fully cooked.

Remove all the chicken adn place it in a bowl. Shred each piece using two forks. Return the shredded chicken to the crock pot, and mix well with the sauce. YIELDS: 7 servings

NUTRITION FACTS: 1/2 cup serving equals: 149 calories, 1 g fat, less than .5 g fiber, 22.5 g protein-- POINTS value: 3

Week 2

Well, after a lovely weekend of, once again, too many treats (are we seeing a theme here?) my official weigh in is:

196.9

So, at least it is down from last week. Seriously, I have had a hard time stopping the shovel towards my mouth. I have done better at planning meals, which is huge for me. My running, however, has not been so good. . . I have used the snowy weather as a great reason to not get out. So, I am going to do this week of the Couch to 5k program over. That is, the run 5 minutes, walk 3 minutes, times 3. Definitely not ready to move on yet.

I made one of my favorite crock pot recipes this week, that helps you have Cafe Rio at home, or at least a healthier version of the same thing. This recipe is totally Core, and if you choose wisely, the entire salad can be. Hope you enjoy.

Shredded Chicken, Cafe Rio Style

4-5 chicken breasts

2 cans Ro-Tel tomatoes (I use mild)

1 tsp salt

1 tsp chili powder

1 tsp black pepper

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp cayenne (or to taste- I use just a pinch)

dash Tabasco sauce (Cholula is our hot sauce of choice)

Place all ingredients in a crock pot; cook on low 5-8 hours, or for 4 hours on high. Before serving, shred chicken and put back in crock pot to soak up juices. Serve with tortillas, salsa, rice, beans (pinto, chili or black), lettuce, guacamole and grated cheese.

( I mix a can of beans with a scoop of fat free sour cream and some good salsa, mix it and heat it, and use that for the beans. It adds great flavor and moisture. Also, I just use baked tortilla scoops, to save on fat, etc. A squirt of ranch mixed with salsa does it on the top!)

Enjoy!

"Looks like you're up a bit."

This is what the guy at Weight Watchers says if you gain. He doesn't really look you in the eye, and says this nice little phrase to make you not feel too badly, although it doesn't really work. UP?!?!? I am up. And this is why I need this blog. For a week JUST like this one! My weight this morning was:

197.4

And here's why: Almost an entire bag of Cadburry Mini eggs, trying out a recipe for Applebee's Blondie (SOOO GOOD!!!), a batch of pumpkin chocolate chip cookies, two batches of homemade bread, which meant, for me, too much toast and butter and honey. Also, a whole bunch of eating way too much at meals, along with fries and grilled cheese. There's my accountability, and it's not pretty. The Costco Magazine that came yesterday asks the question for their monthly poll: Is obesity a disease? Although I know this is a heated subject, for me the answer is NO! When I choose to stuff my face with chocolate (and other delicious things) I also choose to not lose weight/ gain weight. My trickiest thing is to have one cookie and then be done. I feel like food is like alcohol would be for me if I drank it. Sometimes its better just to stay away from the stuff, rather than "just have a little." I have a hard time stopping. This doesn't mean its impossible. It just is crazy hard!

SO! If I have my meals planned, I do a lot better, and don't go crazy with quickly convenient options, which are almost always not good for me. So tonight i am going to make my FAVORITE baked chicken fajitas, recipe below. I need to plan the rest of the week, and I will report next time. In the meantime, happy, healthy eating to all!

BAKED CHICKEN FAJITAS

1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into thin strips

1 can (10 1/2 oz) diced tomatoes with green chilies (RoTel Tomatoes- mild)

1 medium onion, cut into thin strips (I always use more onion!)

1 medium green pepper and red pepper, each cut into thin strips

2 Tbls canola oil

1-2 tsp chili powder (I use one tsp- the husband doesn't like the taste so much)

2 tsp ground cumin

1/4 tsp salt

12 flour tortillas (6 inches), warmed

In a 9x13 pan coated with nonstick cooking spray, combine the chicken, tomatoes, onion and peppers. combine the oil, chili powder, cumin and salt. Drizzle over chicken mixture; toss to coat. Bake, uncovered. at 400 degrees for 25-40 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink and vegetables are tender. Spoon onto tortillas; fold in sides. YIELD: 6 servings

NUTRITION FACTS:two fajitas equlas: 350 calories, 8 g fat, 5 g fiber, 27 g protein

Note: The original recipe says to drain tomatoes, which does make for a less liquidy final product, but I've found the liquid from the tomatoes really adds to the roasted flavor. Just use a slotted spoon to serve, and its not a big deal. Hope you like these!

March 24 Weight

Okay, here it is. My first weigh in to help me feel accountable in this journey, so I won't go eat all of the Chips Ahoy Cookies that are in our cupboard right now. And the number is. . .

195.7

My weight is now under 200 lbs. It hasn't been for a very long time. I topped the scale at 225 lbs when I was 12- 13 years old. I remember walking home from 7th grade, wondering if I should just eat cookies the rest of my life, because I was just so large anyway. What would it matter? But I believe in agency, and I knew my choices made a huge difference in who and what I became. So, I brought a sandwich, carrots and an apple to school everyday, and slowly maintained my weight, rather than gaining any more. I managed to get down to 194 lbs in my last two years of college, through Weight Watchers and running, and I haven't been lower since. After I got married, I hardly exercised and made way too much fattening food, and over 1 year gained all the way back to 225 lbs. Talk about fluctuation!

THEN came preganncy. I don't count that time period in my mental statistics,. Since its the only time in life when you are actually encouraged to gain weight, and your body does crazy stuff throughout that period, it seems very separate to me. Maybe it shouldn't. Anyway, I got up to 259 lbs. Post baby, I couldn't get under 239 to save my life, and so I joined Weight Watchers again.

This time, through the Core plan, I truly started to change. I changed the way I cook, which was the most powerful part of the Core Foods for me. Over a year's time, I lost 40 lbs, so when I got pregnant with our second baby, I weighed 199 lbs. This was awesome for me! Not as low as I had hoped for, but under that 200 lb. mark. With this baby, I only gained 30 pounds. I have been losing the weight on my own this time, and am down lower than where I started before baby #2.

The mental game for me start here, because I literally don't remember when I've been lower than this weight. Thus, in my head, I wonder if I CAN get lower. Logically I know I can, but mentally, it's completely new territory. Thus the blog. I need to record my weight, thoughts, and successes/ failures to help me do something I haven't done before. Just like in all things, I will trust that as I take care of my body and eat healthful foods, the fruits of my labor will come. I totally believe in the Law of the Harvest, so let work begin!

Couch to 5K

I love the idea of being a runner, and I have been in various points of becoming one for the past 10 years. I ran a half marathon in 2004, with my honey, and since I had trained up to around 9 miles, that is all I could muster. I painfully walked the remainder of the race, learning about the value of training correctly as I staggered in. Two babies later, I am determined to be a runner again. I am currently following a great 5K training plan, called "The Couch to 5K Running Plan". I have never followed it completely, trying to push ahead and go faster instead of letting my body adjust slowly. This time I am using the entire plan as a Personal Progress Project for the Knowledge value. ( I am working on Personal Progress as a Young Woman leader.) It will definitely take over 10 hours:-)

I am currently on week 4 of the training program. Today, after a 5 minute warm-up walk, I jogged 3 minutes, walked 90 seconds, jogged 5 minutes, walked 2 1/2 minutes, jogged 3 minutes, walked 90 seconds, and finished with a 5 minute jog. Each week brings more jogging, less walking, and I wasn't sure how today would go, jumping from 9 minutes of running last week, to 16 minutes this week. It went great. I felt good. I am running faster because of this training schedule. My philosophy before, on every race I have ever run, is to just slow down and go. I could probably run the entire 5K right now, with a 14 minute mile. But I am using my BOB and the bike computer my husband attached to it to monitor distance and speed, and I am pushing myself to run between a 10 and 11 minute mile. This is hard for me, but today I did it. And that is why I run. Because we can do hard things. Running is hard, and I can do it. Not always great, and not always far, but I can run.

May 15th is 5K race day. 32 minutes is the goal.