Item of the Week

My item of the week is salad. Yep, plain old salad. But it doesn't have to be boring. I have a few tips to make it a little tastier than just eating plain lettuce.

First off, I don't make my salads by chopping up a head of lettuce, grating carrots, and wedging tomatoes. I cheat by buying bags of salad. Yes, they can be a little expensive, but it saves me time and I actually eat the salad. If I had to make my salad each morning by chopping up a head of lettuce, well, I wouldn't eat any salad. I've tried making a huge bag of salad myself ahead of time, but honestly, it gets icky FAST. So, I just buy a bag of salad every few days in one of my couponing trips.

I prefer the Romaine Salad mix. It has romaine lettuce, carrots, and cabbage.


Nutritional Stats:
3 oz has
30 calories
0g fat
2 g fiber

I add to this about 2 ounces of cherry tomatoes (no dicing or wedging needed), and 2 oz of sliced mushrooms (I buy them pre-sliced), I use the salad spritzers and can usually get a away with a nice sized salad for under 80 calories. I pair a salad with most frozen lunches, soups, and entrees. It helps fill me up, but I am able to control my portion size of higher calorie foods-- which means I get to eat what I want in moderation!!

Weekly Update

Hi!!! I am proud to say that this week was better then last week. I joined the gym last Wednesday & went for an hour each day on Thursday, Saturday, & Monday. I did cardio only on those days. On Tuesday I was at the gym for about 2 hours doing cardio & weights. My plan is to do cardio on Mondays, Wednesdays, & Fridays. On Tuesday, Thursday & Saturday I will do a little cardio & the weights.

I am even prouder to tell you that I finally hit the 20 lb lost mark! As of Tuesday, I am down 20.1 lbs to 217. It took me about 2 months to lose 20 lbs, and in that was 3 pretty ugly weeks lol. Hopefully the gym will continue to help me on my goal to be at 199.9 by June 18th!

I got some new gym stuff (workout clothes, gloves and SHOES!) Here are a few pics (from google, not my pics)

Update

I haven't posted in a few weeks because I've been busy. Ok let's be honest, I've been bad :(

I struggled last week and ended up gaining 2 lbs. I was quite upset, but needed the reality check. I had been slipping and eating bad but not gaining. I'd either lose or maintain. Having the mentality that I can eat what I want AND lose weight, is not the mentality I want to have. So thank you scale for giving me that reality check.

I had done well the last few days and have gotten that 2 lbs off. I am back to 218 :) My goal is to be at 215 within the next 2 weeks. Honestly, I'd love to be there by the 18th, but that is a little unrealistic and I don't want to set myself up to be disappointed.

I have plans to join the gym this week. My goal is to eventually go 6 days a week, but I will start off slow. My plan is to go 3 days during the first week, 4 days during the second week, 5 days during the third week & 6 days during the fourth week. I made a workout mix on my Ipod, can't wait to use it.

I want to thank all my friends for providing me the support that I need when I do well, and most importantly, when I slip. Thank you all :)

Now, for my favorite Item of the Week. I am going to post two because I skipped last week.

Item #1: Thomas Mini Bagels. My preferred flavor is Brown Sugar Cinnamon


Nutritional Stats for one bagel:
120 Calories
.5 g of Fat
24g Carbs
4g Protein
2g Fiber
150 mg Sodium

I pair this with Item #2: Weight Watchers Cream Cheese Spread (Individual Tubs)


Nutritional Stats for one tub:
60 Calories
.5 g of Fat
4g Carbs
2g Protein
3g Fiber
80 mg Sodium


I love this pair! I eat it almost every morning for breakfast, sometimes paired with a piece of fruit. I love tht the cream cheese tubs are already pre-measured, so I don't have to pull out the scale or worry that I am putting too much cream cheese on my bagel. This fills me up and I get bagels and cream cheese- but in a much smaller portion. Did you know that a plain regular bagel has usually at least 300 calories in it?? And then once you slab on cream cheese- that could be easily 500 calories total for breakfast?! Yikes!!!

Well, that's all for now folks. I'll be back soon!

Favorite Item of the Week

This week's favorite item of the week:



They also make a Ranch one that is not pictured here. These salad dressing sprays are low calorie (10 to 15 calories per every 10 sprays). I usually use between 20-30 sprays and that is more then enough. You can throw them in your purse to go along with you when you go out to eat, or to work.

I don't really buy salad dressing any longer, I only use these for my salads.

Weekly Weigh In (3/28/2010)

I weigh in on every Monday. I honestly step on the scale each day to check in. I know people can say this can be discouraging but it helps me to notify the trends with my weight loss. I have noticed that I tend to lose weight for every 2-3 days of eating healthy.

I ate crap last week. Mellow Mushroom (though I did eat smaller portions and ended up throwing away 1.5 slices), Bonefish Grill's Bang Bang Shrimp, tacos, chips & Salsa, taco salad, more pizza. If I would have stopped at just the Mellow Mushroom, I would have been fine- I actually was down a lb after that rendevouz. But, I kept indulging so it was no suprise that all week I maintained and then on Monday morning (weigh in day) BAM! Up .4 of a lb.

It was a wake up call. I knew that if I ate right for the next few days I would be back to the weight from the previous Monday. I resisted chinese food on Tuesday and cake and icecream, too. I was happy when the scale showed this morning : 222.4 lbs, which is down 1.7 since 3/21. Overall weight loss is now 14.7 lbs.

I met my first goal of being under 223, just two days later than I had set for myself.

Next weigh in is Monday, April 4th. Here's to a good week!

Favorite Item of the Week

I am going to share a favorite item each week that I enjoy. It will be an item that promotes my healthy lifestyle.

This week's item is:



Nutritonal Stats:
100 calories
1.5g fat
 9g fiber
4g protein


You can purchase these in the freezer section at Harris Teeter or Target, or order online here. These come in a variety of flavors, but I have only tried the Deep Chocolate ones. I AM IN LOVE WITH THESE! They are like eating chocolate cake. I take one out of the freezer in the morning, put it in my lunchbox and by lunch, it is thawed out and room temperature. You can also thaw via the microwave and it is even more incredible! Melted gooey chocolate goodness!

I started my journey in December 2010 but was detoured by life. *smile* I have been back on track since February 20, 2011. By that time, though, I had gained the weight back and then some. So, here are my new stats:
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Starting Weight: 237.1 lbs (2/20/2011)
Goal Weight: 140 lbs by February 2012

Current Weight: 227.2 lbs (as of 3/14/2011)
****************************************

I've been doing a lot better this time, and it seems more easier and natural for some reason. I have been couponing and eating at home a lot more... I think the lack of temptation is making it somewhat easier. Don't get me wrong..  I have been tempted. Just from afar lol. It's easy to turn down ordering chinese at work, or deciding to NOT go eat pizza when it's NOT in front of you.

I'm excited about the new recipes we are trying. I wanted chinese last Sunday, so I made it at home using ingredients I already had on hand. With some tweaks, I think this could become a regular meal. Yesterday I cooked out on the grill with lime and garlic shrimp and chicken skewers. They were sooo good! I have leftover chicken and shrimp, so I'm going to make fajitas tonight. Yummy!

I do need to get in some regular exercise. I took a 2.7 mile walk last Sunday, but outside of that I don't have a routine. My friend has inspired me with her 8 week fitness challenge where she takes the stairs at work & works out in the gym twice a day. I work on the 4th floor and I can find the time to take the stairs up and down at least twice a day. I am going to start this tomorrow. No excuses about too much to carry or running late for work. My plan is to join the gym but I do have some workout videos I can do until then.

I had a great week this past week, I was able to fit into jeans that I haven't even thought about trying on since last summer. That was a non-scale victory for sure, but the victories on the scale are just as meaningful!

Weigh in day is tomorrow :)