"It's Not Fair!"

Please enjoy the funniest thing I've seen in a looong time. I hope it makes you giggle as much as it did me! :) I know you'll at least agree that IT'S NOT FAIR!!

(I love the subtle Justin Timberlake video references...and you know you're going to be going around singing, "When my world revolves around food it's so hard just not to eeeeeeeat!!!!!")

Speaking of food and all that jazz, my regular readers are probably wondering why I haven't weighed in the last two weeks. Well there really hasn't been much to report. My eating has been sketchy and my workout regimen has been less that stellar. I've only gained like 1.5 pounds over these two weeks which is minimal damage so I'm OK with it. 

Now, I haven't been bingeing like mad or anything crazy. It's just been a bit hard to adjust to my new schedule and keep everything else on track at the same time. I ate out a lot last week because I didn't get my lunch ready to bring with me.  I'm also adding about 4 hours onto my day, which adds more time for cramming in calories. *haha* And I'm still trying to think up healthy snacks I can bring with me that AREN'T loaded with carbs but are still easy to pack up in the morning. (I've been eating too many granola bars recently. *haha*) 

My exercise opportunities have been cut in half to begin with, but then I've had some additional activities in the past week and a half that have limited it further. And I'm so pooped when I get home in the evenings the LAST thing I wanna do is head to the gym. I know, I know, welcome to a normal life. I guess I didn't appreciate what I had until it was gone, y'know? In hindsight, I am very grateful to have had the opportunity to do some hardcore blubber-blasting for the months I was out of work. I know it sped up my progress...and hopefully instilled some habits that I'll be able to continue once I get myself adjusted.

I Heart DietGirl

Did you see? I'm pretty much famous. Check it out.

So cool, right? When I saw this little photo gallery, I knew I needed to add my picture to the group, being the fan that I am. So I emailed Shauna (aka DietGirl) with my photo and told her how much I loved the book and blah-de-blah blah blah. Much to my excitement, she e-mailed me back! She was sooo sweet...telling me I was very color-coordinated (cause I totally am, even with my wall! *haha* It wasn't on purpose...this is just the result of being constantly surrounded by bright colors - everything eventually coordinates!) and that she liked my glasses. She also said she'd tracked down my blog, since I'd neglected to add the link *oops* and had read my review about her book! *IPE!* And here I'd called her a potty-mouth! I was so embarrassed. *haha* But she couldn't have been kinder. Just as nice as can be. I think I'll print out her e-mail and scrapbook it. (I have such lofty ambitions for all the things in my life I plan to scrapbook. Anyone else notice that?) Well, at the very least I'll print it out and put it somewhere...special. :)

Plus, now this blog is linked from that page, so I've been getting visitors from new places! I think it's so neat to see different flags on my Traffic Feed. So hello out there! Nice to have you. :)

(OH! And can I also say how amused I am by the amount of visitors I get because they're searching for calories in a Famous Dave's cornbread muffin, or something to that effect? It's UNREAL! I get 4 or 5 hits a day because of that topic alone!  A lot of us calorie counters must be falling pray to those evil, buttery delights.)

I read a book!

Yeah, so? I read a book. Big deal! But you don't understand...I NEVER read books! Well, that's not entirely true. I read devotional and Christian living books and my Bible...but I can't remember the last time I sat down to read a regular ol' book. So c'mon! Celebrate with me! *haha*

The book? The Amazing Adventures of DietGirl. 

It's written by Shauna Reid, an Australian woman who weighed 351lbs by the time she was just 21. She started Weight Watchers in 2001 and decided to blog about her journey (dietgirl.org). (I actually first discovered her blog and that's how I found out she'd written this book.) She ended up losing half her body weight: 175lbs! 

Things I Loved About "DietGirl"

1. It's completely real. She's open and honest about her struggles and anxieties and obsessions. I may have never been as heavy, but I completely identified with almost everything about her. This whole unhealthy preoccupation with food...what can I eat, when I can eat it, I want more than that, when can I have seconds, is there any left, can I have some of yours, why isn't he finishing his, I think there's some chips still in the cabinet, ooh that ice cream on TV looks good I think I'll go get some...you probably get the point. 

Or the fact that with every approaching special occasion or vacation, the only thoughts in her head were of whatever foods were associated with that event or place. 

I also deal with the same insecurities and ridiculous self-loathing body image. ("After all this time, the days in which I like me and feel attractive are starting to outnumber the DIE You Fat Ugly Cow! days. I don't know what happened. I think I just decided to stop telling myself such rot all the time. I've wasted so much time convincing myself I am the rolypoly incarnation of the devil.")

I also particularly liked the part where she was explaining to someone that she didn't have a "sweet tooth" or a "savory tooth," but instead she had both. "I've got many teeth." *haha*

2. It shows the ups & downs. She didn't lose it all on the first attempt. She didn't even lose it all with Weight Watchers. It took many tries and there were a few times when she had to "restart" after gaining back some weight. 

3. Because she's Australian, she uses lot's of cute, unfamiliar words. I find myself wanting to use them too. (If you watch this clip of her on the Early Show, it's even more fun to read what she writes because you've got the accent in your head. I think she's just adorable.) She talks about clearing the cabinets of the "dodgy foods" that were tempting her, or feeling like "rubbish." And of course there's "bloody" this and "bloody" that. 

4. She has a wonderful writing style. SO easy to read that I was half-way through the book before I even knew what'd hit me. She makes every page come alive with her funny descriptions of things, like trying new classes at her gym or struggling to squeeze into those "serious undergarments" in order to "achieve maximum foxiness."

5. She overcame. Through the course of the book you get to watch her completely transform. Not just because she loses the weight or wears smaller sizes...but because she gains confidence, tries new things and really starts to experience her life. And she's learned how to live healthily without being obsessed about the scale or constant calorie counting. I want to get to that place. It's all very inspiring. I wanted to cry with pride for this real life superhero. And look at her! She's stinkin' adorable!

Pretty much the only negative thing I could think to say about this book (or her blog) is that she tends to have a bit of a potty mouth. (I know some of you think I'm a prude for even mentioning that.) Wish she would have used ALL Australian-born slang. *haha*

Overall I'd definitely recommend you take a look at this book. Especially those of you who are on a similar journey. You'll be inspired!! 

P.S. I want to thank all of you for the wonderfully encouraging comments and e-mails since my last post!! I can't convey how much they helped. I think I'll print them out and make a scrapbook page to carry around with me...or maybe post it on the cereal cabinet to keep me focused. You're the BESTEST!

Wake Up Call

Well this morning's weigh-in wasn't good, but it also wasn't really a surprise. I was up 2lbs. Not terrible, but definitely enough to get my attention. 

For the past week I've let a lot of things slip. Portion sizes have gotten a little sloppy...just taking "handfuls" of things instead of actually counting them. Sneaking extra little nibbles here and there...Oh I think I'll have some banana chips...or some grapes...or a few crackers...and then not counting them into my calories. It's little things like that, but they add up. Then there was Jeremy's Birthday dinner on Wednesday night where I ate more (and naughtier) than I'd planned. And that popcorn I had at the concert on Saturday night. And I'd rather not get into last night. *sigh*

It's kind of a pattern I've had in the past, too. This is usually where it starts, but then eventually I start cheating here and there in other ways. Rationalizing, fudging, bingeing. It snowballs. But this time I really can't let it! This time I need to get myself under control before it's too late.  And if the scales have already noticed that I'm not trying very hard, then I need to get back to taking this seriously again. 

So there...that's my personal pep-talk for the week. It's a new week...a new month...a new start. I'm ready to give it my all again and see a better result next Monday.  :^/

(P.S. Anybody out there in Blogger land: Is it possible to go back and add labels to old posts without screwing up the order of the posts? Like, I don't want it to tell my "followers" that I've added a new post, when all I've done is added a label. Has anyone tried this? Thanks!)

A-weigh down south in Dixie!

(Have you figured out that I find it necessary to give all my weigh-in posts punny names? Wonder how many plays on "weigh" and "weight" I can come up with...)

I skipped last Monday's weigh-in since I was in Minneapolis indulging beyond my dieting limits. So today's lost pounds are from a two-week period (that included way too many calories and several skipped workouts.) So I'm quite pleased to tell you I'm down 3lbs!  I don't know if I gained after our Valentine's romp...I didn't weigh myself afterwards. So this loss could include a gain, but I'm not complaining!! No siree! 

I sometimes feel like it's coming off too slow...like maybe there's something I could do, or something I could deprive myself of, to get faster results. But then I think, y'know, I am getting results this way and it's not torture. The occasional treat (I had about a handful of peanut butter M&M's and several Twizzlers at Saturday night's crop) not cutting anything out entirely... (I mean, I had pancakes for breakfast again this morning. What kind of diet IS THIS? *haha* They were Fiber One pancakes of course, but golly they're so good they taste sinful!!) The odds of me sustaining this long enough to reach my goal are much higher than if I were eating nothing but tuna and lettuce. (I don't even like tuna!) So I'll just plod along, doin' what I'm doin'. Slow and steady wins the race, right? If I stop losing weight, I guess I'll reevaluate the situation.

Hey I have some other news! My blog got an award!! I know, right? Who would've seen that coming?  :) But it's true. (I would also like to note that I now have 22 followers! I am beyond boggled by that...thanks for reading, folks!) Etta from over at Adventures In Holy Matrimony deemed me worthy of this cute little bloggy award:

TaDa!

I am quite flattered! Thanks Etta! And now, because this honor has been bestowed on me, I get to pass it on! Here are the rules of selection:

“These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers. Deliver this award to eight bloggers who must choose eight more and include this cleverly-written text into the body of their award."

So in no particular order, here are my nominees!!

1. Michelle's My Little Crazy Corner of the World

2. Toni's Creative Impressions

3. Samantha's And Then I Said... 

4. Kim's Don't Bother Me I'm Scrapping

5. Mary's Scrapper's Unite!

6. Nikki's A Scrappy Chick

7. Krissy's A Window To Who I Am

8. Ginny's Chris & Ginny

Due to the "Friend" nature of this award, I chose to give it to the bloggers I do know in "real life." But I couldn't even fit all of you in, since I'm limited to 8. (I have way too much guilt over this. *haha*) 

"Weight" just a minute!

*singing* "It's just another weigh-in Monday! I wish it was Sunday! Cause that's my fun-day." :)

But what am I whining about? Today is a GREAT weigh-in day! Because today, my purdy new scale is telling me I've lost 2 pounds! Woohoo!!! That brings my overall total since I started in January to 9 pounds. (Plus I kept off 5 of the pounds I lost when I was sick all December, but I've decided not to count those since I didn't WORK for them, y'know? They were a "gift." *haha*)  

I have bad news about my body fat percentage, though. The other day Jeremy calculated his own percentage on the scale and we were comparing our numbers. Mine was lower than his, so of course I felt inclined to gloat a little. Just a little. "Women's body fat is supposed to be higher than a man's...we just carry more fat, y'know, in "those" places. Blah blah blah, mine is lower than yours, so I rock." Then he retorted with something like, "Well your number is only lower because you're taller than me." Indeed. This is a fact we shlink around, though, and try to ignore. He doesn't bring it up and I certainly don't rub it in his face, but I AM taller. ;) Everyone knows it. 

So then he pulls me into the bathroom and makes me stand back to back with him in front of the mirror. I insisted that because of the shape and SIZE of my immense head, the results of this test were bound to be skewed. :) So then he makes me stand up against the door jam, like a growing child, and makes a mark above my head. And then I do the same for him. When he pulled out the tape measurer, we were both in for a surprise. 

I've been telling people for YEARS that I'm 5'6". For YEARS! Come to find out, I'm barely 5'5"! *haha* And Jeremy was indignantly sure that he was 5'5" but in reality he's right at 5'4". And this meant that we had entered the wrong proportions into our smart li'l scale, so our body fat was measured wrong. So we were arguing about it for nothing. And we're both shorter and fatter than we thought. *hahaha* Oh well. Such is life.

On the diet front, this morning I made the most AMAZING pancakes! Pancakes, you say? Pancakes aren't for DIETS! Well, my friend, you are mistaken. Because these pancakes were made with Fiber One's pancake mix! (I'm beginning to think FiberOne is destined to take over the entire diet market...even more so than Special K! It's insane how many products they make.) 

As you can see, this mix has fiber, whole grain, calcium, blah blah blah. Plus you get three pancakes for 180 calories.  And they're so delicious! Light and fluffy, simply scrumptious. If I were a better pancake-flipper, they would have been pretty too, I'm sure. But I can never seem to get them turned over without them skidding across the pan, leaving little batter entrails splattered all over. Which doesn't make for a pretty pancake. 

I was so excited about eating them that I forgot to take a picture before my first bite, sorry. :) 

Ok, here's one from the other side which was still in-tact. *haha*

Now, you may be thinking, "Sarah, this looks like a complete rerun of the waffle breakfast." But I assure you it was a completely different taste experience. :)  

The boys got to enjoy one of the cast-offs that got a little too done. They enjoyed it and wanted more, see?

Sadly, there was a casualty in my kitchen this morning. I don't know if any of you do this, but I often get the burners on my stove mixed up, turning on the wrong one. Normally it's not a problem because my stovetop is cleared. But today an unsuspecting oven mitt met it's untimely doom. And my kitchen still smells like burnt cotton.

"Cel-e-brate good times, COME ON!"

Guess who was able to fit into her "skinny" jeans today?!?! That's right, ME! (Clarification: There's really nothing skinny about these jeans. They're still a size bigger than the smallest I've worn. BUT, these were the jeans I bought last Spring after dieting and working out, but then quickly grew back out of. THESE jeans:)

Two weeks ago, I tried these on and I couldn't even get them up past my...erm...hindquarters. They stopped at just above the knee and wouldn't go any further. But not today! I got them all the way up aaaaand with a little sucking in, I even  got'em buttoned! *haha* Oh yeah! Woohoo! :) I'm especially psyched, because last year it took me January through mid March to get into this size. Well, after gaining all that weight back (and a smidge more *phooey*), I was starting completely over this January. And here it is, EARLY February and I've gotten into these jeans already! Talk about encouragement. I am so, so happy.

Something else fun happened today. Jeremy told me that he was looking at Priceline.com and found an excellent travel package for Valentine's Day weekend. You know, one of those plane, rental car + hotel deals where they name when you leave and where you stay and you save like 60% or something crazy? Well, he's taking me to Minneapolis! I know, I know. Minnesota in February? Going to be a tad more than chilly. But I've got three little words for you: Mall Of America. We'll never even have to go outside! *haha* I'm very excited! We went there as a family when I was younger, but true to my family's vacation style (due to my Dad's gung-ho leadership) we saw the entire mall in a single day! I hope this time we'll get to spend a little more time browsing (SCRAPBOOK STORES!) and eating (SPLURGE!) and riding some rides (MOTION SICKNESS!). Yay!

You bought me a WHAT?!?

My hubby brought home a "gift" for me yesterday that probably would have gotten most men smacked: A new scale. But don't worry, I didn't hurt him. Instead I was totally psyched! I've been saying that I wanted a new scale. Ours is missing one of its "feet," so I didn't believe it could really be giving me an accurate reading in that condition. Plus, I wanted one that would measure my body fat.

Well when he was at Target he happened to remember my request and ended up finding one that was majorly on sale! Oowah oowah! Isn't it purdy? Ok, so yeah, it's still a scale meaning "woman's worst enemy." But I'm going to put this thing to work. (It won't cry "OH!" when I step on it like the Wii Fit, will it? *haha*) 

I was anxious to see what my body fat percentage was, since I'm always CLAIMING to be a "dense" or "thick" person that builds muscle really easily. That's how rationalize I how much I weigh. *haha* But seriously folks, I've been watching this show on Fine Living Network called "Last 10lbs Bootcamp" and all of these girls look about what I think I look like, but weigh a lot less than me! So I was relieved, nay, GIDDY, to see my body fat percentage was at a much lower number than those gals. In fact, it matched the number that some of them ended with! So THERE! ;) But I looked up what a woman should average and my number is still too high...so I'm just excited to see that number go down as I continue to build muscle...and I hope that will make up for when the other number stops moving. We'll see how it goes.

Ok, let's talk about something else, shall we? I discovered a bit of a miracle product and I feel the need to share. You already know I love Kashi, right? Well I just discovered (at Super Target) that they make rice! Did you know I also love rice? (Love really isn't the word. I have a bit of an obsession with rice. I could eat it at every meal, which would negate all of its healthiness.)  I picked up a package of the "Original" to try.

Ok so if you don't like wild rice, you won't like this. I'm describing it as a "wilder" wild rice with lot's of texture. But I thought it was really, really good! The miracle, however, lies in the nutritional info. You get a whole cup for 220 calories (I only ate 1/2 cup and it was PLENTY!). Plus, there's 7 grams of fiber in a serving and 8 grams of protein! PROTEIN! In a "carb" side!!! I could do backflips. What a concept. 

So last night I came home from sweatin' it up at the gym and I was ravenously hungry, but way too tired to really want to stand around in the kitchen cooking. So I threw together the easiest peasiest dinner that was delicious and healthy! (It involved the Kashi rice, in case you're thinking I didn't even bother transitioning. I don't NEED TO! Same topic here! *haha*) Want the recipe? HA! 

1/2 cup Kashi Original 7 Whole Grain Pilaf

1 cup Birds Eye (steam-in-the-bag) Asian Medly (my FAVE! So yummy!)

1 chicken breast (which I'd baked earlier and just had to reheat.)

And voila! So satisfying.

I need to tell you about my workout last night. I decided at some point yesterday that I was going to take TWO back to back classes at my gym. This sounded like a super idea...untill after I was done with the first class! *haha* It's called TurboKick, and guess who teaches it! You got it, the teeny tiny firecracker of energy! I was pooped by the end of it and was really considering leaving before the next class started. But I told myself, "No, just stay at least for a little while and see how far you can go." So I did. It's called Cardio/Core and I really like the instructor. I took some classes from him last year and enjoyed them...until I fell off the wagon but that's another story. :^P Anyway, he's very athletic but not in a body builder "We're going to pump you up!" kinda way, more like a coach. He's really funny and energetic, and for some reason he doesn't get on my nerves like the super peppy female instructors do. He says things like, "How we doin' athletes?!?" and encourages us to yell "HEY!" with every kick. He doesn't just stay at the front of the room, he comes around and works in all sections of the group. It's all very energizing. I even start to think, "Yeah! I AM an athlete!" when that couldn't be further from the truth.

Ok, I digress. So I stayed for the class and at one point he was showing us the high intensity version of a move and I decided to try it. I was dying, but it felt really good to push that hard. And then suddenly I got like a second wind and wasn't tired anymore! It was like an adrenaline rush, I guess, and it felt SO GOOD!! I was jumpin' and kickin' and huffin' and puffin' but loving every minute of it. Then, of course, I crashed hard right around the time we were moving into the "core" portion of the class, but I still tried that part. I was SO proud of myself when I got home and it's inspired me to push myself harder every time. You know on shows like The Biggest Loser, when they have the contestants do something really hard, like hike up a mountain or carry someone on their back? The trainer usually says something like, "Now that you know what you're capable of, you can never make excuses again. Look back to this moment and know what you can achieve." Well I never really understood that but now I think I kinda do. Normally in a class, if I was feeling tired I would just stick to the lower intensity using the rationalization "well I don't wanna make my heart explode!" But now I've seen that my body really is capable of carrying me that extra mile or working at that higher level! No more excuses!!

Super Duper Snack

I made up a couple Hungry Girl recipes for our Super Bowl celebration yesterday. The first, which I was most excited about trying, was a cheese dip that ended up very disappointing. In fact, it is the first time I've disliked anything that HG has created or recommended. It was just really....bleh. Not nearly cheesy enough for my tastes. Oh well!

Good thing I also whipped up some Krispymallow Treats from the cookbook. THEY were good! Think Rice Krispy Treat except with good stuff, like fiber and whole grains. And they're only 47 calories per SQUARE! (Well, since I can't cut straight, I think mine range from 40-60 calories per lop-sided trapezoid.) Can't beat that! They're sweet enough to be considered a treat, plus they're crunchy and chewy at the same time. Bonus! I had one this morning with my fruit & yogurt breakfast (I've run out of waffles!! Waaah!) and found they were even better today. They seem to hold together more now that they sat for the night. Don't know how long it will be before they go stale, though. (They likely won't last that long!)

They're really easy to make, too. In fact, I got brave and did some substituting since I ran out of one kind of cereal. (I know that's not really "brave" to most of you...but I'm a kitchen coward, remember?) It CALLS for Fiber One, puffed wheat, light butter (or butter spread) and marshmallows, but mine had Fiber One, Kashi GoLean and a little bit of Fiber One Caramel Delight. Delish! 

Super Booty-Kick Weekend!!

Note to self:

When a gym advertises that they're having "Special Super Bowl Weekend Classes" they probably don't mean "special" in a "there will be chips and salsa!" kind of way. 

I got the crazy notion to take this "special" class this morning, since I'm trying hard to infuse my routine with some variety. I've been taking classes off and on for a couple weeks and while none of them have been a breeze, this one was KILLER! 

And not only was it torturous, it was led by the teeny tiniest instructor at the gym, who is always super peppy and excited about doing 8 more reps of anything. I really wanna like her...and in any other setting, like if I ran into her at Wal-Mart or a church picnic, I'd probably love her! But when she's up there going, "Come on! We got this! Oh yeah! Can ya feel it? WOOOOH!" with that huge smile on her face, barely even breaking a sweat...well it's just kinda hard to not hate her. Especially because in a past class I took from her she mentioned she has three kids! (Note: I could fit her entire body in my right leg. Smooshed up and rearranged, of course, but the point is that her entire "mass," if you can even call it that, equals my thigh.) She said she stays fit by dancing. Well, I dunno what her definition of dancing is, but she ain't doin' the hokey pokey to get that body. *haha*

Anyway...where was I? Oh yeah, the class. So she said that the class director, whoever that is, told her to amp it up a notch with "hardcore cardio" and include "football style drills." Um, hello, we're all women! What makes you think we wanna do FOOTBALL drills?!? I probably couldn't really pinpoint what was football related and what wasn't. But it was all really, really difficult. The only balls we used were those ginormous bouncy balance balls. I really hate those things. I feel like a fat walrus playing with a ball for the amusement of onlookers. Seriously, SO ungraceful! 

(Can you believe I found a picture of a Walrus with a ball?!? I love the internet.)

She had us roll over on top of it, y'know, belly down, and then expected us to roll all the way out to where just our feet were on it, then pull our knees into our chests. HA! So like this:

...now pull your knees to your chest. (Couldn't find a picture of anyone doing the whole move...guess I should just be grateful I found that walrus!) Well I kept on falling over to the left or the right. I have no balance, my Wii Fit tells me that every day. (Oh I have a bone to pick with my Wii Fit...remind me to blog about that sometime. *haha*) It wasn't pretty. And for some reason, I seemed to be the only person having trouble with this. Even the granny next to me, who had been my "low-impact" cardio buddy during the first half-hour, was rollin' and squeezin' along with the rest of them! Trader. 

Oh well, I survived to be sore for another day. Seriously, when WILL the soreness ever go away? 

Top of the waffle to ya!

I broke out of my breakfast rut this morning. Not that the rut was bad (some kind of Kashi cereal + banana + sometimes yogurt), but I've recently been inspired by those Eggo commercials. Y'know, the ones with the precocious children that have supposedly created their own special (and surprisingly healthy) "signature" waffle? "I'm Elle, and this is MY eggo!" Sure, sure it is. Why don't any of these waffle creations include M&M's or marshmallows? Now that's something a kid would come up with. *haha*

Anyway, apparently Eggo sponsors a lot of things I watch, because I kept seeing those commercials and finally, yesterday when I was at Target, the thought, "WAFFLES! MUST HAVE WAFFLES!" crept into my head.  Just that subtly! But alas, Eggo's commercials backfired on them because I bought Kashi brand waffles instead. Sorry, Eggo. They're a lot healthier (more fiber, fewer calories) and let's face it, just buying something by Kashi makes me feel all cool and backpacker-ish. I got the Honey Oat flavored ones.

To top my own special waffle creation I picked up some strawberries and blackberries. Originally bananas were going to go in the mix, but I've had bad luck with Target bananas. They're always very green on the shelf...but they seem to go straight from too green to BLACK. Yuck! So I stuck with the berry blend. Then, to kick it up a notch (BAM! Anyone watch Emeril? Nevermind...) I got some sugar free honey! How exciting! 

This morning as I was chopping up and mixing the berries, I was really struck by how beautiful they are. Such rich color! It made me feel very Springy. :) I dusted them with a little Splenda to tone the tartness down a bit and Voila!

So, let's do this right.

"I'm SARAH! And this is MY Kashi Honey Oat waffle!" *hehe*

Pretty, isn't it? Drizzled in honey with those lovely berries on it. And DELICIOUS! Scrumptious, even! Guess someone who gets this excited about a waffle should break out of their rut more often. ;) (Gotta tell ya, I'd highly recommend these waffles! They're a little sweet and have a nice texture. Yum!)

Motivation

I decided that maybe I should start "weighing in" on my blog every Monday. I guess I was inspired by the weigh-ins on The Biggest Loser and thought maybe it would give me some extra motivation and accountability, knowing I have to fess up to you fine people. (Although as my friends, I trust you won't beat me up about it...so maybe you won't be the best for accountability after all. *haha* And these weigh-ins will NOT include photos of me wearing a sports bra & bike shorts. Sorry, you must be so disappointed.) 

Last Monday I obviously didn't have the "opportunity" to blog about my weight, since I was on that fantastic road trip, buying scrapbook supplies and eating cheesecake...oh to do that every Monday. *haha* But I did weigh myself that morning so I am proud to tell you that in week one I lost 5 lbs! Mind you, some of those pounds had been bouncing back and forth already, but I'm counting them anyway. :)

And today I weighed in and can tell you that the weight loss for week two is: 2 lbs! So that makes a total of 7 in two weeks, which I'll take! Pretty happy with that...but I do expect the numbers to slow waaaaaay down, due to previous experience. We'll have to wait and see.

My Apple Dumpling Gang

I'm proud to say that I've been eating really healthy the last two weeks (with the exception of "Cheesecake Day," but let's look past that.) I've been tracking all my meals and snacks at Spark People, a nifty little diet site that's absolutely free! I've used it in previous diet attempts and found it really helpful (well, apparently not helpful ENOUGH! *wink*) since it adds up the calories, fat, sodium, y'know EVERYTHING for you...and you can also log how many hours you spend exercising to see how many calories you're burning. There's also lot's of different message boards and support groups you can join if you want. See? Nifty.

On the page where you track your meals, there's a spot at the top where you say how many glasses of water you've had (something I have NO problem with...chug chug chug) and how many fruit and veggie servings you've had (something I have...well...a little more of a problem with.) It's very eye opening to look at a day where you thought you were eating pretty healthy, but realize you didn't come close to the fruit and veggie quota you're supposed to reach. So I've been trying much harder to keep up with that.

But I digress...the entire point of this post is that I've been eating lot's of apples. Probably "an apple a day" which, though cliche, must be a good thing. I love, love, LOVE golden delicious apples, so I bought a bag of small ones and have been going through them like crazy. 

Well, I'm a dog-mom that likes to share with her dogs. I let them lick my plate (Yes,all you haters, plates that I wash and then use again. If you don't like that, bring your own dishes when you come to my house. *haha*), yogurt cups, ice cream bowls....whatever I was eating as long as it's not harmful to them. So the other day I had the random thought, that I would let them taste the apple core after I was done. Not totally EAT it, they're not really garbage disposals, I am aware of that. But y'know, lick it and maybe chew a piece off. What a discovery that was. They LOVED it!! It was hilarious though, because as each dog took his turn, they would first latch onto it like, "Great thanks, I'm gonna go eat this over there..." but then realizing I wasn't going to let go of it, they'd release their grip and just kinda lick it. They've gotten better at this as time has gone on, and today I got such a kick out of them (and my camera "happened" to be right there) so I took some pictures. MoJo was being camera shy, I guess, because he never came and took a bite while I had the thing out.

The last one is my favorite...Wrigley's scrunched up face just cracks me up. He was really serious about it!

Turkey Taco Meatloaf...Soup?

*sigh* This is why I don't cook.

I decided last night that I would pull out my Hungry Girl cookbook and find something yummy to make. I wrote down the list of ingredients I would need and picked them up on my grocery store run today.

My recipe of choice? "Crazy Good Turkey Taco Meatloaf." I like tacos and I like meatloaf...and I LOVE things that are "crazy good" so it seemed like the one to try. *hehe* The recipe was simple enough, but I, the queen of kitchen blunders, found a way to screw it up. 

The recipe called for (or at least I thought it did) 1/2 can of corn. When I went back and read it again, it said "1/2 cup canned corn KERNELS." *sigh* Hungry Girl, you let me down. You've got to S-P-E-L-L it out for me! "DRAIN the corn, Sarah! DRAIN IT!" But no, I dumped half a can, liquid and all, into the mixture. It didn't look runny...but after I pulled it out of the oven 30 minutes later...oooh dear. My meatloaf was floating in a pool. I freaked a little, angry that I'd spent the time and wasted the money. But after draining off the excess moisture, it tasted ok. I'm excited to try it again because the flavor was really good so I know if I do it right it will be amazing. 

Alas, I had spongey meatloaf for lunch. You think I was gonna go through the effort the make something ELSE after that? *haha*

Just a Big ol' Loser!

Is anyone else watching The Biggest Loser this season? I admit I missed last season, but I really do like this show when I get into it. And this season is really interesting because they have some of the heaviest contestants ever who are in need of more help than any others before. I'm psyched to see how much weight they'll be able to lose. Inspirational! If they can do it, anyone can do it! Right? I think that's probably the idea behind this show.  It's either that or the heavier the contestant the more viewers they get, but I'd hate to be that skeptical. ;)

Last night one of the contestants (is her name Joelle? I don't know how to spell it) got her head ripped right off by trainer Bob. She was the one who almost dropped out of the competition when the $$$ temptation was offered so of course everyone was questioning how much she really wanted to be there. So then in the last-chance-workout, Bob wanted everyone to run 30 second increments and Joelle kept stopping after about 20. He got SOOOO mad at her! It was pretty crazy. If someone had yelled at me like that I probably (make that definitely) would have started bawling! But she kept pretty calm, telling him she was TOO pushing herself. But she almost struck me as aloof, like his anger wasn't even phasing her. 

And though it was easy for me to jump on the bandwagon, thinking, "Wow, she's really pathetic. So many people would kill to be where she is, having that opportunity. How dare she not push herself harder?" But in reality, how many times have I started cooling down before a song is over? Or hopped off the elliptical with 1 minute or so left on the clock? I'm SO guilty of saying, "Eh, that's good enough," and calling it a day. And I'm in better shape than any of the contestants on that show, so who am I to judge them for being tired and wanting to quit?

So today at the gym I had that thought in my mind and even caught myself thinking, "Oh, I'll just do 45 minutes...what's that extra 15 minutes really gonna do?" But I stuck it out for the full 60 and felt really good about myself when I walked out of that gym. I've gotta get better at sticking with it and seeing it through to the end, not just settling for "good enough." 

On the diet front, I've discovered something really yummy that I wanted to let y'all know about. The folks at Special K decided long ago that conquering the world of cereal just wasn't enough and have branched out into many other kinds of foods, much of which I've tried and enjoyed. At Wal-Mart the other day I picked up a box of their new crackers (so new, apparently, that the things aren't even listen on their website yet!). I got the multi-grain ones but they do have other flavors. These things are good! You can have 17 of them for 90 calories...which, if you're a carb-nut like me you know that this is a much larger portion than other crackers, even "light" Wheat Thins. And that's kinda what they taste like...a Wheat Thin. I had a handful today with my vegetable soup and they were extremely satisfying. Yummalicious! :)

We've Got the Beat

Seems like every January (and usually again after I've fallen back into bad habits in like, eh, April *haha*) I resolve to get back into the gym and start eating right. I haven't made a specific New Year's resolution in years, but there's always an unspoken feeling that I need to do SOMETHING. 

Remember the weight I lost before our trip to NYC? (And the extra weight I lost due to the God-given colon cleanse I endured for about a month? I'm kicking myself for complaining about that now, it made it so easy to shed pounds! *HAHA* I'm kidding, people. Calm down.) Well, miraculously I've only gained back about 5lbs of it. Yet apparently it was an important 5lbs because I FEEL and LOOK fatter. So they need to come back off and bring more of their friends with them. :)

This morning I managed to muster up enough gusto to get myself to the gym. (Had a great gab session last night with my friends Courtney & Angie involving many topics, but our discussion about weight loss and working out must have particularly inspired me. Thanks girlies!)  It felt good! Not so much the working out part, but the being there in the gym finally was good. ;) Well I shouldn't say I completely despise working out. It gives me a chance to listen and groove to my awesome workout playlist. I do enjoy hearing the songs and moving to them. I do not, however, enjoy the shade of red my face becomes or wringing out my ponytail when I'm finished. Ewww.

Have I ever told you that I'm a beat-driven person? I get it from my Mom. We try crediting the miniscule amount of Cherokee in our family tree. Y'know, the "hai yai yai yai, hai yai yai yai!" rain dances and stuff. Those ancestors must be the ones we got it from. We hear a beat and we need to move to it. If we don't hear a beat, we have trouble moving at all. Now I'm not saying we're GOOD at moving to the beat (well from stories my Mom tells she used to be, but I can't claim that gene.) I'm just saying that we appreciate a good rhythm and it makes us wanna DANCE! :) 

I know that not everyone in this world is driven by beats. My Dad, for instance, watches the news while he walks on the treadmill. This is something I could never do. I need a rhythm to move me. What am I supposed to do, walk to the news anchor's syntax? No no. And Jeremy is definitely not beat-driven. I knew this for sure when he mentioned putting Billy Joel's "Piano Man" on his running playlist. WHA'???? I would have to sit down on the curb and take a nap! That would never do.

Those of you who have lofty ideas about my taste in music would probably be surprised at some of the songs on my playlist. (Or maybe not, since my tastes were attacked when I called Phil Collin's apparent genius into question...*tsk tsk* Boy did I ever hear about that one!) But really, as long as it's not raunchy or crass, anything with a hard-hitting beat can make the cut. This includes rap, rock, R&B, pop...and yes Angie, even the Jonas Bros and Hannah Montana.  Today, for example, I spent my half hour on the elliptical with:

Damaged - Danity Kane 

I'm not a fan of this group, but this song is one of my all-time favorites for working out. It's sassy, which helps me push through any lung incapacities I might be suffering from. 

I Play Chicken With A Train - Cowboy Troy

Technically country, I guess. First heard this one during a line-dancing-waitstaff moment at Texas Roadhouse. I knew I needed it immediately.

Hey Hey - Superchick

OH YEAH! This song rocks. 

Don't Stop The Music - Rihanna

I discovered this one in an aerobics class last year. Another one that keeps me moving despite myself. This one gives me dancing delusions though, so it's a little dangerous. ;)

SexyBack - Justin Timberlake

Yes, I love this song. I WILL say, just to keep my goody-two-shoes persona in tact, that I have the "Clean" version so there's some bleepage going on. But I find this song inspiring. Doesn't everyone wanna bring their own sexy back? *hehe* 

Girls & Boys - Good Charlotte

Yup, a little more rock. I like the pace of these guys' songs...they're all pretty hyper which is good for a high-energy moment. 

Lady - Lenny Kravitz

One of the best walking beats EVA. I could walk all day to this song. BUM-BUM-BUM-BUM-BUM...I'd be in Winfield before I even looked up! ;)

Oh and P.S.

Don't you LOVE my new blog background? It's my favorite one yet! 

The Weight Update

I am down 13 pounds, thanks partially to a "miracle 3 day diet" I participated in last week and have started again this week. You basically stick to this fairly strict (but not torturous) plan for three days of the week, and they don't even have to be in consecutive order. Then the rest of the week you should eat sensibly, but my three pounds I lost last week included pigging out at Olive Garden (I told myself to leave more in that bowl...but DANG that pasta was yummy!) and Sunday night's early Thanksgiving feast.  I had "plateaued" at 10 pounds almost a month ago, so it was nice to see the scale move again.  I won't go into the diet's specifics (unless you want 'em) but my Mom did the diet with me last week and she lost TEN POUNDS in the first three days! Pretty impressive, I must say!

Honestly, in the back of my mind, I don't know why I'm bothering at all. When you look at our itinerary for New York City, about 60% of the places we're going involve FOOD! *haha* And not just food but an excessive amount of pancakes and desserts and chocolate and cheeeeeesecake...(New York style baby! I am drooling just thinking about it.) So the plan is this: I'm going to do this miracle 3 day diet right before we go and right after we get back, so I'm hoping that will stave off any ridiculous weight gain. I mean, seriously, the menus we have planned could rival any cruise ship, and don't people usually gain weight on cruises? So that's what I'm sayin! *haha* And not to mention the Food Eating Holiday of the year is in two days and I don't plan on holding back...so basically by the end of all this we'll see just how big of a miracle this diet really is?!? :) 

Yum Yum Brownie Muffins and Easy-Peasy Lemon Cake!

Last night our Young Married's group from church had our annual Thanksgiving Potluck. They're always a lot of fun because it's an extra chance to eat all the favorites of the Holiday AND chat with a bunch of great friends. We had a great turnout and lot's of yummy food.

I signed up to bring dessert because I wanted to try a couple of recipes from my Hungry Girl cookbook. The baking began early enough in the afternoon that if they didn't turn out, I still had time to run to Dillon's and pick up a backup. *haha* But as luck would have it, everything turned out completely delicious! And they were so EEEEEASY!! You'll never believe it.

The Yum Yum Brownie Muffins baked up big and fluffy and incredibly moist. Here's the "recipe"

1 box Devil's Food cake mix

1 can pure pumpkin

Mix these ingredients together, spoon into muffin cups or muffin tin sprayed with no-stick spray and bake at 350 for 20 minutes. 

AND THAT'S IT!

The dough is a little sticky and hard to work with, but other than that everything was easy-peasy.  They have 170 calories per muffin (and they're good-sized) plus they have the fiber from the pumpkin which is a dieting bonus.

I dusted mine with some powdered sugar to make them a little prettier.  They're more of a muffin than a cupcake so they don't really need frosting. 

They were  a big hit! When I revealed the ingredients, everyone was shocked. PUMPKIN? You really can't taste it. Well, Jeremy said HE could, of course, Mr. Picky Pants. *haha* 

I also made a lemon cake using a tip I found on Hungry Girl's website. It's equally as simple.

1 box cake mix (I used lemon) 

1 can of diet pop (I used Diet 7-up)

Mix ingredients together and follow the baking instructions on the box!

It's amazing to me that a can of pop (or pumpkin, for that matter) can do the same job as eggs and oil. Weird, right? But it turned out great too!!  So you have no added calories or fat. The flavor was really nice and the texture was moist...although a teensy bit crumbly. I sprinkled powdered sugar on that too and they tasted like yummy lemon bars.

And you know what I'm gonna say...if I can do it - YOU CAN DO IT! *haha*