Miss Me?

Long time, no see y’all! I hope your past two weeks have been great. I am just going to jump right in. I weighed this morning. I knew that it wouldn’t be great. Over the past few weeks, I have been to New Orleans, experienced a week of calorie and fat soaked lunches provided at my teaching orientation, and at least 3-5 pieces of cake scattered over the days. I wanted to use this week to not only recover, but prove to myself that I could still be strict several days in a row. I succeeded because since Monday morning, I’ve been flawless. I am going to be a bit bad tonight because I am going on something called a Brews Cruise with my Dad but after that, there is no reason to cheat until Halloween. When I got on the scale this morning, I thought I was up almost 4 pounds. When I looked at my weight tracker though, I realized my lowest weight was a little higher than I thought so after all the food and a week of damage control, I’m up 2.2 pounds. I am glad it’s not almost 4 but I’m kind of bummed that my lowest weight was more than I thought, lol. Oh well. I know it’s not great to be up 2.2 pounds but it’s pretty good considering and I’m back in diet mode so I should be OK.



After my week of strenuous orientating at the University of Alabama, I felt ready to teach. I learned a lot at the orientation and I was able to get access to some great resources. My first day of class was on Wednesday. I got there before the students did and laid out everything. I made sure no one was looking and then I took a picture. I didn’t want the students to know it was my first class and that I was nervous but I was. I love all of them already and I felt at home in the classroom. I am so happy to have this opportunity and I can’t wait to see how the rest of the semester goes.



I know by now everyone has probably heard of the book and now, movie, The Help. I just wanted to throw in my two cents and recommend that everyone read this book and see the movie. It’s one of those things where you will laugh, cry (A LOT) and become inspired.



The recipe this week is Lemon Cheesecake Yogurt Cups. These tasty little treats use reduced fat Vanilla Wafers as the crust and all you do is whip together the ingredients, put the wafer in the bottom of a baking cup and pour the batter over the top. The batter included cream cheese, Greek yogurt and lemon juice…all in reduced fat. I got the recipe from skinnytaste.com if you want the specifics. You can add berries, mini chocolate chips or whatever you want. They are low in calories/points and a nice light dessert to have.





Again, I’m not sure why I punish myself by posting some of these pictures but after getting back in line this week, these pictures are certainly motivational. I am doing my version of dancing in both of these. To my credit, I was obviously not ready for a picture in the old version. I have always stuck my tongue out of my mouth and/or let my mouth hang open…since I was a kid…bless my heart…it’s not very attractive. I wish people would alert me to this when they catch me doing it.

That was all I had for the week!

I hope you enjoy your weekend and I will blog next week!

Bye!

“The other day when someone asked me
"are you living your dream?"
I didn't know what to say,
I honestly had to think.
I try to be so many places at the same time
Every day a million things cluttering up my mind.
Another feather falling off my wings
I climb so high it gets hard to breathe
forget to remember, what I really need.” What Means the Most-Colbie Caillat

Too much of a good thing...

Afternoon y’all! I hope everyone is well. I am doing OK. I went to New Orleans last weekend and had a great time but that in addition to the two pieces of cake I had at random this week has me up 3 pounds. I mean, I know WHY I gained but it still rubs me the wrong way that I can work my butt off 75% of the time and instead of even maintaining, I gain 3 flippin’ pounds?! Whatever.

I have my orientation next week that will help me before I start the class I’m teaching and they sent out a menu of the food they are providing which includes but is not limited to: pastries, snacks, barbecue, local diner food, pizza and sandwiches. Since I know that I won’t lose next week, I’m not going to weigh again until the 26th to give myself a week to try and get some of this extra poundage off. After that, I need to do better. I have a goal to reach by January 15th and I need to get in gear. Because of my orientation, I won’t be able to blog next week so my next blog won’t be until August 26th. So, on that day, I will have to report about my weight, my orientation, my first class teaching at the University of Alabama and many other things. I know you will miss me terribly.



This is a group shot from the girls trip to New Orleans. We all had an absolute blast! That place is one of my favorite cities. Sometimes, when I go to these places, it makes it feel like Tuscaloosa is so small. It feels nice to branch out every once in awhile. I would go to New Orleans anytime!



This isn’t really a set recipe but one of those things that I throw together that tastes yummy and takes less than 5 minutes to make. It’s just a grilled chicken sandwich with bacon and barbecue sauce with a side salad. I use the pre-made chicken fajita strips and pre-cooked bacon that you can get from Oscar Meyer. I think 2 pieces is less than 40 calories and anytime you add bacon to a sandwich…it makes it feel more filling. I also love having an entire plate of food for 6 or 7 points. The more food the better!





This before and after is timely. The first one is of me in New Orleans a few years ago and the second is from this past weekend. The one from last weekend isn’t that great of a picture but it was the only full length one I found acceptable and I think it’s only fair to try and put full body pictures on here. I have got to remember these pictures when I have bad mornings on the scale. I need to get motivated!

If everyone could please send me good vibes and pray that I have wisdom and confidence as I embark on this teaching journey. I’m super nervous and this weekend I’m going to be preparing my syllabus and having to work at my regular job a bit to make up for lost time so I’m kind of stressed. I know it will all work out…if I could just get organized and get into a routine…I will feel much better.

I’m not doing much this weekend…I hope you have fun plans!

Talk to y’all in two weeks!

Bye!

“There’s something, something about this place…” You and I-Lady Gaga

Empty Chest Syndrome

Welcome to August everyone! It’s been a revolting 100 degrees every day this week and it has felt even hotter. I can NOT WAIT until fall. So, I got on the scale and due to my strict behavior over the last week, I was down 2.2 pounds bringing my total loss to 107.4!!! I am proud and feel like I earned that drop in weight. The bad news is, I probably won’t move much from that amount over the next couple of weeks because I’m going out of town this weekend and then the 15th-19th, I have orientation for the class I’m teaching and I received an email that they would be feeding us breakfast, morning snack, lunch and an afternoon snack. I don’t necessarily have to overeat during these times so I will do my best to stay in line but it’s easier said than done, especially when it’s in your face. The good news is that I lost weight, I know that if I still stick to my guns exactly I can lose and I also go down a point which will help me maintain through all the potential for screw ups the next couple of weeks. I am so pleased!





These are pictures of BLT Macaroni Salad. Obviously, this is not macaroni but the recipe called for multi-grain elbow macaroni and I didn’t have that so I used the whole grain linguini I had in the pantry and broke it up. This has GOT to be one of my favorite recipes in awhile. Anytime I get to eat pasta, I am happy and because there wasn’t much to it, I got to eat a good bit. Basically, you just toss the pasta with a wee bit of reduced fat mayonnaise, a little bacon, spinach and tomatoes. I am getting more and more OK with tomatoes but I discovered I still don’t enjoy a big hunk of cold, chopped tomatoes. I think next time I make it, I will definitely use sun dried or much tinier pieces of green tomato instead. I also added some chopped onion in mine for more flavor. It was quite tasty.

So, I know this is too much information and while I am happy with the results of my weight loss, I could stand to get a few pounds back in my chest area. In all seriousness, when I was at my biggest, I couldn’t lay on my back or my side because my breasts were so big they would literally choke me, I couldn’t breathe. Things have gotten much better now and that’s because, well, I no longer have any breasts to obstruct my airways. I saw this commercial once…it was a cartoon. A husband and wife went on a diet together and it showed his before and after in a few weeks and he was all skinny…her before and after showed her the same size with a much smaller chest. This is SO TRUE! I’m not really complaining but it is frustrating because I feel like I can never find a bra to fit right and the ones I have, they puddle around in there as if they are trying to stretch as thin as possible so they can cover as much room as they can. I have briefly contemplated “fixing” this problem with some sort of elective surgery but I think I’ll wait until I “fix” my financial problems before I do that…so it could be awhile. I think what I need to do is go to Victoria Secret and spend a ridiculous amount on bras so I can at least pretend. I apologize for the overload of impertinent and personal information but I feel like I’m not the only female weight loss boob victim out there. We should start a club.





This before and after picture for this week isn’t really fair because the before picture is bigger than the after. I’m bigger and the picture is bigger but it’s a bit distorted. I’m running out of full length pictures of myself from recent times. I’m hoping to take some this weekend. I took this picture a few years back with my friend Whitney. I remember we were at the playground near my parents house. We used to go there all the time and swing. I miss doing that…I may have to bring that back at some point. Anyway, I’ve come a long way…I bet my butt would fit a little better in the swings now!

I am headed to New Orleans this weekend for a girls trip! I will go ahead and give a pre-shout out to my roommate and bestie Cassandra. Her birthday is on Tuesday which is partially the reason we are going…so Happy Birthday Cassandra! I hope to have fun…New Orleans is one of my favorite cities.

I hope everyone has a great weekend.

I also ask that you keep my extended family in your prayers. My dad’s cousin Connie lost her battle with cancer this week so I hope that her close family and friends can somehow find peace.

Bye everyone!


“When I'm alone in my dark dark room,
I have to tell myself to,

Think good thoughts,
Think good thoughts,
Imagine what the world would be if we would just,
Think good thoughts,
Stop the bad from feeding,

I won't let the negativity turn me into my enemy,
Promise to myself that I won't let it get the best of me,
That's how I want to be
Na, na, na, na

I'm not saying that it's easy,
Especially when I'm moody,
I might be cursing like a sailor till I remind myself I'm better,

Cause words can be like weapons,
Oh and you use them, you regret them,
Oh but I'm not gonna let them take away my heaven

And when I start feeling blue,
I remember to tell myself to,

Think good thoughts,
Think good thoughts,
Imagine what the world would be if we would just,
Think good thoughts,
Stop the bad from feeding…” Think Good Thoughts-Colbie Caillat