Wordless Wednesday

Source: moveyourbooty.tumblr.com via Hilary on Pinterest

Planning Does Not Equal Failure

Tomorrow I have a plan in place.  I've literally written down almost my entire day's worth of meals (with the exception of 5 PointsPlus that I don't know what I'll do with just yet). 

I know this works for me. 

I cannot keep failing.  I simply cannot afford it, or I'll find myself right back in 260s hell in no time.  Failing sucks.  I don't want to be in the 230s.. I want to move beyond this nonsense and get my momentum back. 

Sure, the sugar challenge is going well, my exercise is en pointe, but eating still sucks.  I know why.  It's because I never have a true day-to-day plan. 

Well, tomorrow I have one and I'm going to execute it beautifully and finish the day successfully!  I'm going to do this!

Recipe: Potato Torta with Romesco Sauce

Doesn't the name of this recipe sound super fancy?  Well guess what?  It's not!

I made this breakfast dish last week and it was simple to prepare with easy on-hand ingredients (at least in my kitchen). 

This recipe comes to you from the Power Foods Cookbook by Weight Watchers.  I've loved the few recipes I have made out of this book thus far.

Unfortunately the picture doesn't quite do it justice! 

I've included the recipe in it's entirety below.  I will say this - it's an extremely versatile dish that can really go many directions.  I left mine as-is but next time I will add some spinach and protein into it to bulk it up, but you could get really creative with your add in's.

Potato Torta with Romesco Sauce - 4 PointsPlus

Ingredients:

• 12 oz small red potatoes, sliced
• 1/2 c chopped roasted red bell peppers, drained (not oil packed)
• 1 small tomato, quartered
• 2 Tbsp slivered almonds
• 2 Tbsp orange juice
• 1 small garlic clove, chopped
• 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
• 1/4 tsp ground cumin
• 1 c Egg Beaters
• 1 Tbsp minced fresh chives
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/8 tsp black pepper
• 1 Tbsp olive oil

Directions:
1. Bring potatoes and enough cold water to cover to boil in medium saucepan.  Reduce heat; partially cover and simmer until potatoes are fork tender, about 6 minutes. Drain.

2. To make the sauce, combine roasted peppers, tomato, almonds, orange juice, garlic, paprika and cumin in food processor and process until smooth.  Set aside.

3. Whisk together Egg Beaters, chives, salt, and black pepper in medium bowl.

4. Heat oil in 12 inch nonstick skillet over medium heat.  Add potatoes, spreading them in a single layer, and cook until lightly browned, about 5 minutes (do not stir).  Turn potatoes, keeping them in a single layer, and cook until lightly browned 3-4 minutes.

5. Pour egg mixture evenly over potatoes.  Reduce heat and cook, covered, lifting edges with spatula once or twice until eggs are set 4-5 minutes.  Cut into wedges and serve with sauce.

Serves 4 (cut into 4 wedges)

I actually loved the potato "pie", but didn't much care for the Romesco sauce.  Now, I also don't like tomatoes, which is a base for that sauce.  Joel, however, loves tomatoes, and also didn't care for it.  We both thought it tasted too garden-y fresh.  Yes, apparently this can be a bad thing. 

Next time I would add in some vegetable (a 0 PointsPlus one) and perhaps some turkey bacon or turkey sausage.  It would certainly affect the PointsPlus value depending on how much you added in, but I think it would make this dish even better!

Enjoy!

Video Blog: No Sugar Challenge Update #1

Well, let's just say I learned quite a bit about myself during this self-video shoot.

1. I rarely smile (I'm chalking this up to nerves - I get told I'm smiley all the time!).

2. Charles is annoying!

3. I might have edited this out, but I do a lot of playing with my hair.  Didn't realize I was so girly - ugh.

4. Charles is so annoying.

5. I have a hard time with eye contact - and this is definitely true in real life!

6. Did I mention how annoying Charles is?

 So, without further adieu... my first ever video blog (please, don't all applaud at once):



You'll find this out the video, but you are looking at the proud owner of these pink gold bracelets from Tarjay!

Now, because I cannot say this enough - thanks for watching and reading!

{Please don't leave me now that you've 'seen' me.} haha

Weight Loss Rewards

It's been since February that I've reached a weight loss goal.  In fact, I've digressed quite a bit (this shouldn't be news!).  Well, the other day I was in Target and I found these super cute rose gold bangles that I want.

Naturally, I cannot find a picture of them anywhere to share.  I have to have them.  Rose gold is my color.  They would go perfectly with that new watch Joel gave me for my 28th birthday, or my wedding rings, or my cross necklace!

Can you sense the urgency through your computer screen for how much I desire those bracelets??  Well, they will be mine tomorrow if I have a loss - any loss (well, more than a pound)!

If there is no loss, then I will reward myself next week if there is a loss.  I haven't been perfect all week, given the travel to Pennsylvania and various opportunities to eat out with the holiday.  However, I feel that I still had a fairly decent week overall, especially with the lack of sweet treats. 

I am going to get back to my next real goal soon.  I am. 

I will lose another 30 lbs by March 2013.  I will. 

*************************************

Yesterday, our wedding license came in the mail!  I am so excited to get to the Social Security Office and get my name legally changed once and for all.  It's no fun still signing my maiden name on everything.  I think marriage will feel even more real once the legal stuff is done.

Then, Joel surprised me with a wedding gift!  He couldn't wait until I had his gift ready (which hasn't even shipped yet), he just had to give me mine :).  

Kindle Fire!

This could not be any more of a perfect gift for this girl.  First, I love reading,  Second, I love technology gadgets!  While we already have the iPad2, it is technically Joel's that I often like to pretend is mine :).  Now, I have my very own reader!  But the glory is, it's not just a reader - it can do almost everything the iPad can do, just in a smaller size!  

I never thought I would want an eReader, until we got the iPad and I installed the Kindle app.  I always enjoy the smell of a new book.  Though I have to admit, it was pretty nice not having to balance the crease of a book between your thumb. 

Naturally, I had to go out and buy a cover for it straight away :).  I pretty much ran to the closest Vera Bradley retailer for this.

This is one of VB's newest colors (Indigo Pop) for the Fall 2012 collection.  It's my favorite from this collection.

droopy Droid pics

It also happens to be the perfect size for the Kindle (as well as other eReaders).

I. LOVE. IT.

While I still have this to dive through...

ALL of these are unread!

I plan to alternate between the Kindle and my bookshelf from now til those books are done!

Do you have an eReader?  What do you think of eReaders? 

Thank you my darling Joel for the lovely wedding gift!  You sure do know the key to my heart :).

Review: PointsPlus Fitness Series

I am so proud to report that I have been consistently working out for almost a year and a half now... quickly approaching 2 years in November.  I have not consistently stuck to working out this long ever in my life.  Sure, I might be a 230ish pound female, but I work out every week!  Clearly, I have that part of my healthiness journey down.  Consistency with eating well is lacking, but I'm working on improving it.

Over the last several weeks, Weight Watchers has been sponsoring a get-active event called LiveLifeActive.  Beginning in June, if you record your activity within eTools, somehow you're eligible to win prizes.  They've also offered discounts on all of their fitness products, for which I took full advantage.  (Sidenote: Last year WW hosted a 5K walk called the Weight Watchers Walk-it Day Challenge - I thought this was soooo much better!)

While I'm not a huge yogi - I'm not opposed to it - I do enjoy my Gaiam Yoga for Weight Loss DVD.  I've never had a yoga mat before so I picked up the WW version, which boasts a bit larger size than your average yoga mat.  I also purchased the WW activity DVD that offers 5 DVDs with 5 different styles of workouts. 

Source.

I mistakenly thought that because these were WW workout DVDs, the intensity of them would probably be on the low side.  Well, I'm sure they're no comparison to Jillian's Shred, but these DVDs are tough!  So far I've done them all at least once, but have done the Core Cardio DVD twice.  Every single time I have walked away sore.  The length of the workouts range from 30 min to just under 40 minutes.  Each of them offer an express workout option as well. 

The 5 workouts are:

1. Total Body Cardio Stretch: yoga-like
2. Upper Body Boot Camp: lots of weight moves
3. Lower Body Interval Training
4. Core Cardio
5. Cardio Basic

This is the basic layout of every DVD.  Imagine a little timer bar in the lower right corner of the screen.  The girl on our right is always doing the lower intensity modifications.

The things I enjoy about these workouts are:

• Cool little timer bar that runs across the bottom, showing you how long you have left.
• The modifications of the workouts that tailor to someone who is more advanced to someone just beginning.
• The length of the total workout.
• The soreness afterward!
• The moves are not difficult to grasp.  So, if you don't feel very coordinated, like myself, the moves are not complex and are easy to follow along with.

The things I don't enjoy about these workouts:

• The moves are too repetitive.  For example, you might be lunging for 2-3 solid minutes on the same leg before you switch.  I find that's a long time to remain with the same exercise, especially if you're trying to keep up with them - I get really tired.  Not only that, but it gets boring.  Now, since results are what we're going for, the challenge is appreciated.  However, it does make me dread the workouts a bit because I know I'll be doing lunges (or whatever exercise) for what seems an endless amount of time.  Other exercise DVDs are really great about keeping things moving (The Wave, for example).
• One particular move in some of the DVD's is sort of like a plank, but you walk yourself into a plank position.  These are extremely tough!  I also get very lightheaded when doing them, so I only do one and try to do a different move while the trainers proceed with those moves.  

What's your favorite workout DVD and why?

All I Want is Chocolate!

Our first 4th of July as a married couple was spent in the back of a GMC Acadia with a scant view of the fireworks through the trees.  Sadly, the town got a thunderstorm right before the fireworks began.  I would have loved to see the kids' reaction to the fireworks had we been able to sit outside with the view we were originally going to have. 

What a better way to cap off a very hot day and a night of fireworks with icecream, right?  Well, everyone else was enjoying the icecream but I just tried to focus on something else, like catching up on my Google Reader.  It was tough. 

I'm trying to be cognizant of how I'm feeling or what I'm doing when I crave a sweet.  I think it's important to understand what makes me suddenly want to eat them.  So far, it's rather obvious that when there is so much downtime, then I really want a sweet.  Couple that with any amount of boredom or minor stress and the craving is amplified.  

While I'm only focusing on your typical, easily identifiable sweets, I'm sure many of us would be surprised to find discover where else sugar is hiding in non-typical "sweets".  I read in a Women's Health article that even a McDonald's Sesame seed bun contains sugar.  How necessary is that really?  I'm not ready to be that strict with the elimination of sugar from my diet, but it's something to consider and be mindful of when selecting certain foods.  Should you venture to that article, be sure to check out that fun quiz at the bottom of page one - the questions/answers are interesting!  For example, between a Yoo-hoo and an Ocean Spray Light Cranberry Juice - which do you think has the least amount of sugar?  It's the Yoohoo!  Granted, it's not by much, but I was still surprised yet again of the marketing schemes surrounding juices.... it's all about that health halo.

Have you ever quit eating sweets?  What was the biggest difference you felt/saw as a result?

Two Days Without Sugar

I'm so grateful  to Missy for writing the post she did.  This 'no sugar' thing is really shaking things up from what I'm used to and I love it!

Monday went really well.  I had no real cravings and I was able to make it through the day with no problem.

Yesterday, however, was a different story.  We drove from Virginia to Pennsylvania for 4th of July and I found myself multiple times wanting a sweet on the long drive.  I'm sure I only wanted one because of boredom/minor stress of the drive.

As the day wore on, I wanted sweets more and more.  It's funny how often my mind wondered to having a sweet.  As a result, I've been eating a lot of berries.  Right now, the sweetness of the berries isn't quite satisfying the yearning for chocolate, but I suspect it will eventually.

I have to confess, I did have a slight mess up this morning at breakfast.  I'm at my sister's and my brother-in-law made pancakes.  So, I did consume some pancake syrup this morning.   My original thought was if I made pancakes on my own, I would make a fruit compote or something like that to put over them.  Still, it's not a huge deal.  I was mindful of it and put only as much on it as I needed. 

Here's to making it through the 4th of July without any sweets...... ohhhhh the s'mores I want soooo badly!

Sugary Foods I'm Leaving Behind for July

I need to give myself some guidelines around what constitutes "sugar" for July's challenge.

Hilary, for the month of July, you are not to consume any of the following:

• Starbucks tea lattes (chai and Earl Grey)
• granola bars (Kashi cherry vanilla, Fiber One, Special K, etc)
• chocolate or anything containing chocolate
• icecream
• chocolate milk
• pancake syrup
• smoothies made with sugary add-ins
• baked goods (cupcakes, brownies, cake, donuts, cookies, pies)
• candy and candy bars 
• pudding/Jell-o 
• sugary cereal

When I find myself tempted, I need to do one of the following to distract myself from the cravings:

• call a friend
• read a book
• eat some fruit
• drink some water
• play with the cats
• when at work, get up and talk with a coworker or take a short walk
• remind yourself why you want to lose weight

Have I left off any sweets that you can think of?  How do you distract yourself from cravings (of any kind really)?

Cutting Back on Sugar for July

If one of Weight Watchers' requirements was to eat 5-7 (or 20) servings of sweets per day, I'd be killing it at this program!  Very sadly, we all know that immense amounts of sugar doesn't really do a body good.  I cannot stress the word 'sadly' enough in that statement.

I've been constantly trying to find areas of improvement (there are many!) in my weight loss journey, especially since I've been stagnant for months.  After reading Missy's post about cutting out sugar for the month of July, I decided to follow suit.  She's right, sugar is an addiction.  Sugar is my drug.  Sugar is my alcohol.  Sugar is my cigarette (that's for you Joel!).

Essentially, this is all about trying to find what works for me.  Right now, the phrase "everything in moderation" isn't really working.  In fact, I don't even know what moderation means anymore.  That can be both a challenge and benefit to following Weight Watchers.  Essentially, WW allows you to eat whatever you want.  That's great if you're a picky eater like me.  However, sometimes that flexibility is exactly what shoots me in the foot.  Right now, I almost need to be put on a strict, detox diet to remind myself of the types of foods that truly are beneficial to my body.  If I had the PointsPlus for the day, given the choice between my favorite meal from McDonald's and a more well-balanced lower PointsPlus home-cooked meal, I'm honestly going to choose McDonald's every single time.  This isn't okay with me.

I'm doing a lot of "writing to think" here.. so just bare with me.

I've always tried to view this journey as a lifestyle change, and not a temporary diet.  To me, when I hear the word "diet", I automatically think of a person who is eating from a list of specific foods for a short period of time.  With WW, and with a "lifestyle change", I have currently been of the mindset of not changing my poor eating habits, but simply downsizing them.  I know from past diets I've been on, I don't do well with strict food lists.  I know this is because when I would ask myself, "Can you do this diet long term?" the answer would always be "No way! I feel deprived!"  The "good" thing about WW is that you can still have your cake and it eat too.  I don't have to cut out any "bad" foods - i.e. fast food, sweets, junk food, etc - because I know I can manage to fit those foods into my life using WW.   I do this by ordering smaller portions (like a kid's meal) or even ordering the regular size portion, but just counting it. 

Still, I cannot help but wonder, if I truly cut out those "bad" foods, even if for a short period of time to detox, then perhaps that would be the jump start I need.  Right now, in this moment, I'm essentially not doing anything different than I was when I started this journey, except eating a little bit less.  Yes, that's good.  It helped me lose 30 lbs.  But it's not enough. 

So for now, I'm going to cut out sugar for the month of July and see where that takes me.  Eventually, I'll reintroduce it back into my life in smaller portions, but for now, it needs to go entirely.   

For those WW readers, did you cut out any food groups/restaurants/etc when you started your journey? Or did you just do what I've done - cut back the portion size?

**special thanks to Missy for the inspiration behind this post and this challenge :)