Everybody Gets High, Everybody Gets Low

The theme for this week is high and low.  I have a high calorie recipe to share and a low cal one.  The number was up on the scale which was a low point but I was SUCH a good girl this weekend and that was a high point.  There are highs and lows in life and there are certainly highs and lows in dieting.  I knew that the scale wouldn’t be my friend because the prior weekend and the appreciation luncheon we had at work on Wednesday were not great.  However, one plus is that the number wasn’t up a terrible amount, a pound or so.  Another was that I only weighed once the whole weekend and I was fine.  I am still in the process of mitigating my obsession with the scale.  The best part is that I was a picture of perfection this weekend.  I was bound and determined to have a flawless weekend.  Friday, Saturday & Sunday are by far the most difficult days for me.  I managed to follow my plan quite nicely and had no regrets about my well-earned cheat meal last night.

My regular figure friendly recipe this week is a turkey meat loaf.  I didn’t think we had a loaf pan so it was more of a turkey pie then a loaf I guess but it turned out great.  I eat a lot of turkey.  It’s a lean, white meat and it’s a great friend to the Weight Watchers program.  The problem with turkey is that if it’s not cooked correctly, it can be very dry.  In fact, when I make turkey burgers or turkey breasts, they tend to dry out.  I haven’t mastered the art of moist turkey.  So, I was a bit nervous about the meatloaf.  Much to my surprise, it wasn’t too dry and tasted awesome.  The taco seasoning made the meat have a ton of flavor and adding the cheese and salsa on top kept it moist.  I even gave some to my roommate and she liked it too.  It’s super simple to make and would be a nice family dinner recipe for during the week.

I have a complete obsession with Pinterest.  I spend a lot of time pinning.  I mostly pin food and crafts but I rarely make anything.  Well, that’s going to change.  I’ve decided to create something Pinterest inspired about once a month.  If you are in a place where you aren’t ever  cheating and you see a picture of a dish that looks way too good to be healthy in the corner of a paragraph in my blog from time to time, you may want to skip over it.  I am calling it my Pinterest corner.  For this edition of the Pinterest Corner, I made a dessert for the cheat meal I had at my parents.  It’s a Peanut Butter Brownie Trifle.  Basically, you layer the ingredients you see in the picture and top with whipped cream.  It’s divine. 

The layers of brownie and Reese’s cup are easy because you basically toss them in.  The other layer, also simple but involves a little more work, includes vanilla pudding, vanilla extract, whipped cream, and peanut butter all mixed together.  It’s decadent to say the least.  As I’ve mentioned before, I love the combination of peanut butter and chocolate so this was music to my taste buds.  You will want to stay away if you are in a super strict place, but if you aren’t, let me know and I’ll pass along the recipe to you.

I hope you all have a fantastic week and if you are having a low point, remember the high points and hopefully there will be another one right around the corner! Bye!

“Get a life, get a grip

Get away somewhere, take a trip

Take a break, take control  

Take advice from someone you know…” Come On Over-Shania Twain

Fill Me Up Butter Cup!

Hey y’all.  It took me an abnormal amount of time to decide how to open the first paragraph of the blog this week.  As a writer (I hate the way the phrase “as a writer” sounds as much as you do, by the way), there is a tremendous amount of pressure in the beginning and ending of anything that you write, even if it’s as insignificant as a weekly update on a weight loss journal.  I feel like I often take the easy way out in this blog.  I have got to force myself to make anything I write as dynamic and interesting as possible.  In life, you have to find what you are good at and math and science are out for me.  I can’t talk details about political campaigns or weather patterns.  I can’t sell things.  What I can do, at times, is put words on a page and I want to continue putting words on the page as much as possible.  I’m not just on a weight loss trek; becoming healthy has been a life transformation as well.  Sure, that sounds dramatic but it’s one of the things about my current life that I am absolutely sure of.  My health and weight has played a pivotal part in my motivation in other areas.  It affects everything, including my writing.  So, I’m resolving to be better.  It’s unclear to me whether you had to know that or not but I wanted to tell you.

I started this trend where in addition to my Saturday weigh ins, I also weigh on Friday mornings.  I have decided to stop doing this.  For some reason, I always weigh more on Friday morning than Saturday morning.  Because of this, I spend my Fridays discouraged.  This obsession with the scale is unhealthy.  It turns out that there wasn’t any lasting damage from Six Flags, I’m still around 5 pounds from my lowest weight.  I had some sort of junk/fast food meltdown this weekend so that’s unfortunate but I’m not worried about it.  I think my focus is on the bigger picture at this point.  I need a system that’s right for me.  While I’m figuring that out, I need to do my best. 

I had my high school reunion this weekend which is part of the reason I wasn’t 100%.  I wanted to let loose.  It’s been 10 years since I graduated. I didn’t like high school.  I would even say that I hated it.  It wasn’t the people, necessarily.  Sure, there were a handful of people that made it their goal to make others miserable but I would say there were more good folks than bad.  I just wanted so badly to see what was next.  I always knew that high school wouldn’t be the prime of my life.  If you’ve never been to a high school reunion, just know that they are quite a bizarre experience.  I felt like I was in some sort of alternate world.  On the other hand though, I had a great time.  I got to see genuine change in people and then I got to see some of the same characteristics people had 10 years ago.  Obviously, a major part of my decision to go had to do with the changes that I’ve made physically.  It would be silly for me to pretend that I didn’t want people to get a good look at the new me.  I was called fat a lot in school.  I remember every instance.  It’s funny because looking back, I wasn’t huge and I was possibly a lower weight then but I gained a lot of weight in college and many of these people have seen me regularly since then.  I am also far more confident than I was then.  When it comes to seeing myself nekkid (I spell it that way because it feels right), I get nauseated at the thought and I clearly need to work on that but when I’m all dazzled up and everything is tucked into the appropriate places, I feel pretty dang good about how far I’ve come.  Who knows? Maybe I will even keep in touch with some of the people that I caught up with? Or, maybe I won’t.  Either way, I’m proud of who I am and I am happy to know many of the people that helped shape my adult self.

This week, I am sharing my new obsession, Hungry Girl’s peanut butter milk shake.  If you have a blender, you have to make this.  I insist.  The combination of peanut butter and chocolate is one that has brought me through a lot of tough times.  Obviously, there isn’t much room for those two ingredients when you’re on a diet.  Also, when I see a blender in a recipe, I usually disregard it because I’m lazy.  I don’t want to get it out and then clean it but I’ve done it over ten times since the first time I made it.  It has also inspired me to try other low fat shakes and if I ever do, I’ll let you know how those turn out.  I would prefer it to have more peanut butter but since that is fattening, the little bit that does go in there gives it enough of a trace of peanut butter to taste.  I always say that if you can find something that makes you feel like you’re cheating, that’s great.  That’s all I have today.  Have a great week! Adios!

“I don’t wanna be the girl that has to fill the silence

The quiet scares me ‘cause it screams the truth

Please don’t tell me that we had that conversation…” Sober-Pink (I love Pink)

Pizza, Pizza

Hi Everyone! I hope you all had a nice weekend and an even better Monday.  I had a great time this weekend and I’ll share a couple pictures below.  I weighed on Thursday and Friday which is a little earlier than usual because I knew I was headed out of town.  I was actually down a pound which made a little closer to my lowest weight.  I am less than five pounds away so that was good that I didn’t go up.  I am still stuck in my plateau and I don’t anticipate much change at the end of the week when I weigh again because of the weekend I had.  I’m on board again though and I’m still coming up with diet/exercise plans that can get me out of the funk I’m in.

I don’t have much time today so I wanted to get right to it and show you my recipe for the week.  It’s extremely simple but sometimes the most simple recipes can taste the best.  Obviously, pizza is one of the hardest concessions while dieting so this recipe from the Hungry Girl not only provided a tasty snack but also some tips on having pizza while on a diet. I had actual, bad for you pizza this weekend so  I can’t imagine a pizza without cheese but maybe you all can.  The recipe was pretty yummy.  If you haven’t tried turkey pepperoni, I recommend giving it a try.  I put it on sandwiches, salads and now my new English Muffin Pizza.  The light English Muffins are also great and loaded with fiber.

David, his girlfriend Lisa and I headed to Atlanta this weekend.  We went to Six Flags, the Hard Rock and the Coke Museum and had a blast.  We got a Flash Pass (which is TOTALLY worth the money) and rode pretty much every roller coaster including the one in the video above.  It was nice to get to spend time with my brother who will be starting school shortly so I know he’ll be extra busy.

Sorry to lack in too many details today…I’m playing catch up from my busy weekend.  Have a great week and I will let you know next Monday what the damage was in terms of numbers. Bye!

“An' here I go again on my own 

Goin' down the only road I've ever known, 
Like a drifter I was born to walk alone 
'Cos I know what it means 
To walk along the lonely street of dreams.”  Here I Go Again-Whitesnake

Stuck

It’s Monday y’all and today, it feels like a Monday.  I think work is harder in the summer time.  Maybe it’s because while you are sitting in your office or at your job reminiscing about the times when you couldn’t wait for summer, there are still people out there enjoying the sun and time off.  That’s all part of being a grown up though.  In weight news, there’s isn’t any.  Unfortunately, I have no inspiring reports of loss.  I’m about the same which is about 6 pounds above my smallest weight.  I’m still researching ways to break the funk I’m in.  I was having a perfectly normal weekend but things got rocky on Saturday night and weren’t perfect Sunday either but trust me when I tell you, I’ve had worse weekends.  The only time I ever get into trouble is when I say, I’m just going to have one of these or if I’ve decided to cheat for that meal/day.  I am really considering looking into some sort of meeting which may include Weight Watchers again or Overeater’s Anonymous because I am a classic binge eater.  Sure, I am great during the week but not so much on the weekend.  Anyway, I’m still stuck in a rut.  I’ll let you know my process of climbing my way out.  The good news is, I am back on track which is my usual shtick…Monday through Friday aren’t the problem.  I will weigh this week and next but I don’t expect much change.  I’m going to Six Flags this weekend so I’m just going to try to maintain the next couple of weeks.

This week, I want to brag on the mushroom.  Mushrooms are a tasty, filling and healthy food.  Portabello mushrooms, if cooked well, have a meaty texture and take on the flavor of any marinade so you could easily grill one up and substitute for meat for the night (not every night because nothing can truly replace a steak).  These giant caps of goodness can be cooked many ways.  I chose this recipe which stuffs the mushroom cap.  The recipe called for turkey bacon but I had turkey sausage and so I used that instead.  Honestly, I think if I made it again, I would use sausage then too…it’s quite good and adds a lot of flavor.  Mushrooms may not be the prettiest food in the world but they are one of my favorite things to have on hand or out to eat (though watch out for mushrooms with cream and cheese sauces) while I’m being good.  They are extremely versatile.  I would definitely make this recipe again. *As an aside, I am sorry, again for the sometimes blurry pics of the recipes but I do want you to have access to the whole recipe.  If you can't see it and click directly on the picture, it will take you to a larger, more clear version of the pic.

My Dad turned 50 on July the 3^rd and we all tried to make his birthday memorable.  Hopefully you can see the picture and video of the way we decorated his office.  We also went in and got him a golf GPS thing which I think he liked and last night my Mom let him pick the dinner menu.  She worked her butt off and made an AMAZING meal! Happy Birthday again, Dad.  I hope it was great.

I don’t have too much else to share today.  I’m busy as usual.  I’m excited because David, Lisa and I are going to Six Flags and the Coke Museum this weekend.  It should be a blast.  I’m sure I’ll take pictures.  I haven’t been to Six Flags since high school so it should be fun. I hope everyone has a fantastic week. Bye!

“Ever since this old world began 

A woman found out if she shook it
She could shake up a man 
And so I’m gonna shake and shimmy it 
The best that i can today

Cause you can’t stop
The motion of the ocean
Or the sun in the sky
You can wonder if you wanna
But I never ask why
And if you try to hold me down 
I'm gonna spit in your eye and say 
That you can’t stop the beat!” You Can’t Stop The Beat-Hairspray

Independence Weigh

Good Monday To All Of You!!! This week is special for a lot of reasons.  I’m happy to get a day off in the middle of the week  and celebrate a few different occasions.  First, I must tell you that I am mostly recovered from the meltdown that I had due to my scale experience this week.  I knew that I would be in bad shape because I had eaten too much while I was away for work.  However, when I got on the scale Friday morning, I was up almost 10 pounds from my lowest weight.  I lost it.  I am so tired.  I work incredibly hard when it comes to exercise and this was a huge blow to my already faltering confidence. 

If you have ever lost a large amount of weight, you know how terrifying it is to think about gaining it back.  I am especially sensitive because I have lost and gained many times in my life…but I’ve never been down over 100 pounds.  By the end of the weekend, my weight had smoothed out a bit and I was less than 7 pounds up which is still bad but certainly better than 10 pounds.  I have never been more scared this weekend of what path I was headed down in terms of my weight loss.  I am still worried and at sort of a loss.  I am trying something new this week where I eat every 2 hours.  My goal is to eat even tinier portions but spaced out every couple hours so my stomach shrinks and I don’t go hungry.  It’s so important to eat and not starve yourself. I have heard it’s important to have food in your belly when you exercise and I rarely do so I’m going to be changing that as well.   I am also going to have to work on not binging when I am cheating.  This is by far my worst trait.  I am finding it hard to break a 28 year habit of not only finishing my plate but making another and finishing that too.  I am going to do some research on plateau tips.  Certainly, if anyone has words of wisdom or advice, I’d love to take it.  I have come way too far but I don’t like my attitude.  I haven’t waivered at all in exercise but when I gain, it makes it that much harder to put on my workout clothes.  I am not giving up.  Other than the pounds I’m up, I have lost 115 pounds.  This is probably my greatest accomplishment in life.  I need help, though.  So, if nothing else, send good vibes.  I know I’m not the only one going through this and I know there are way worse things in life but when I turn down hanging out with my friends or say no to holiday food or I walk 4 miles on a Saturday after a week of running and the scale keeps going up, up, up, discouraged doesn’t even begin to really describe how I feel.

Now that I’ve sufficiently provided a nice, uplifting, pity party to start your Monday off, I thought the least I could do is give you a recipe.  This is a no frills, simple but yummy idea for lunch or dinner.  Sometimes, simplicity is nice.  If you want a little something different from a plain turkey sandwich for lunch or something quick to throw together with a salad for dinner, this turkey wrap works nicely.  I like making sandwiches with low fat, high fiber tortillas.  It’s a little bit of a change and I love sandwiches.  I used the bacon that you can buy pre-cooked to make it even easier.  I enjoyed this and make variations of it all the time.

As you all know, this Wednesday is July the 4^th and I wanted to take this opportunity to thank the men and women of the armed services past and present for what they do! I hope everyone enjoys their time off and makes sure to take a moment to think about the sacrifices that soldiers and their families make on a daily basis.

Another major event taking place this week (tomorrow) is my Dad’s 50^th birthday!  Happy Birthday, Dad! I hope you have an amazing day!

I am hoping for a much better report next week from the scale.  At the very least, I don’t want the number going up.  My head may explode soon if I don’t see better results.  I had a good weekend and I plan on having a an even better week.  There should be no cheating in my future until the weekend of the 14^th when I go to Six Flags with my brother.  Until then, I’m hoping the heat, the exercise and the eating habits make for a nice return on the scale.

Have an awesome week!

Bye!

“It’s bad when you annoy yourself…” Don’t Let Me Get Me-Pink