It's been going well.

I'm lost about 1lb every week. It's great! Today, instead of walking the trail, I ran it. It's been so long since I've been able to run.. and I didn't jog.. I RAN! It was FUN!

Haven't been updating lately. Been so busy..

Another chance

We've decided to give Chloe another chance. She is lucky she's so darn adorable.

I'm going to continue walking her twice a day, if she goes a day without pooping, in the crate she goes. We've also moved the crate away from walls and furniture and we're securing it with extra locks so that she can't break out again. Eventually, I'd like to install an invisible fence around our yard.

Chloe (..continued)

I can't bring myself to do it.

Chloe

Today, Jason and I are giving Chloe to the local humane society to be adopted. I’ve been praying about this since we moved to PA. I don’t want to give up my little girl, but I feel that I don’t have a choice. I’ve been working with her for 5 months, walking her twice a day, praising her with treats, giving her commands, but she is still going potty in our house. I feel like I’m living in “Chloe’s House of Poo”. I could understand if it were an accident, but it’s not. She’s doing it on purpose. I take her outside, sometimes we walk for miles, then I bring her in the house and she hides behind the couch or in another room.
The final straw came the other night when I brought her inside and she snuck away to poop, then I put her in her crate for the night, and I was woken up at 3:00am to find our couch had been torn up, and she pooped again in the dining room. Somehow she had escaped and decided to leave a path of destruction through the house.
Moving to PA was supposed to be a fresh start for us. Nice new house, new carpet, new furniture (hand me down from his parents, but very new and nice to us.) and in 5 short months, Chloe has defintely left her “mark” on things. Jason and I want to have children in the very near future and I had to ask myself, “Do I want a baby crawling around on a poop floor?” No!
So today, we are taking her to the humane society. I hope that she will be adopted to another family, maybe they will have a back yard where she can run and play, maybe they will have the patience to work through her behavioral issues. That’s my prayer. I love her so much, this was not an easy decision.

I'm sabotaging myself..

It's Tuesday and I ate leftover Easter ham and mashed potatoes for lunch AND dinner, and then Jason brought me home some beef and broccoli chinese food after he went golfing today and I ate that TOO! Ugh! (And I ate that while watching The Biggest Loser, what is wrong with me?) This week is going to be bad. I really need to exercise hard this week and drink as much water as I possibly can. I'm pissed off at myself.

I do have great news though, Jason has been consistently losing weight every week. He's down 1 pant size and all his pants are baggy in the back side. We're gonna need to get him some new dress slacks and belts soon.

Setbacks

I was expecting a 2lb weight loss on Monday morning, instead I got a 2lb GAIN! Ugh! I think it's just water weight because of the salty Easter ham on Sunday. I've been doing pretty good.

It's time to get back to basics. More tracking, less procrastinating.

In other news, I walked a 5K yesterday! It felt amazing and completely exhausting! It was a gorgeous day though, and I couldn't pass up the opportunity. Trying to stick with the exercise motivation I've got going on, I woke up this morning and took a walk at sunrise with my girls.

Here's some pictures from my 5K walk yesterday:

15 pounds

I lost 1.6 last week and I think I will be close to two pounds this week as well. I cheated and weighed myself and i'm down a pound in 4 days. So, I've lost a total of 15lbs on Weight Watchers so far. I'm thrilled ;-)

5K? Heck yeah!

My friend Cara tells me that Weight Watchers is pushing for people to get in shape and walk a 5K in the month of May. I missed out on that cause I haven't been going to meetings but I know I can do it. So, the next really nice day we have, I'm doing it! =)

Thanks Cara!

It saddens me

Two posts in one day, I just can't help myself.

Jason and I have been going to church for two months, and about 1 month ago, something very special happened. I accepted Jesus Christ. I am saved. I feel reborn, I honestly feel completely different. I'm different in my actions, the way I think, the way I feel, the way I handle my relationships with others. Everything is different. I have a great new outlook on life and it feels amazing.

Here's the thing... my friends have disappeared. I don't get e-mails anymore, I don't receive little messages on facebook. I know that doesn't exactly equal friendship, but since we moved so far away, those little things mean a lot to me. I have friends who are atheists. I've never shunned them or completely ignored them for their beliefs. I'm not being preachy and it's not like I've joined a cult.. I'M A CHRISTIAN! DEAL WITH IT! That's all for my little rant this morning.

If any of my friends are reading this, I love you. Please don't shut me out. But if you do, that's okay.. With Jesus, I have all I need.

How did that happen?

Last Wednesday the dogs got sick with diahrreah after our walk, it wasn't pretty! In the past, I've always been quick to take them to a vet, spend hundreds of dollars just to find out nothing was wrong, it was just a stomach bug. So, I decided to wait and see if they got better. I was up all night Wednesday with them, NO SLEEP. Thursday they seemed to get a little better so I figured we could skip on the vet. Then Friday morning things got much worse and I pretty much had to stand outside in the rain with them ALL DAY. Jason got home and we rushed to the vet. Thankfully, they just seemed to have a virus or something. The medication has stopped everything and I'm a happy camper. Why am I telling you all of this?

Well, since I didn't sleep at all Wed-Fri, I didn't feel like cooking, so we basically threw Weight Watchers out the window the entire weekend. I decided I would start over today, so I got on the scale and by some MIRACLE, I'm down 2lbs. How did that happen?? I had pizza, we had Red Robin yesterday, etc. At least I can say I didn't go crazy with snacks or anything, but I thought I completely blew it and would have to make up for this weekend over several weeks. Maybe the stress played a factor? Either way, I'm glad to be down 2lbs and I've decided to start weighing myself on Mondays because I think it will be a good start to my week.

Pain

I went to the dentist this morning to finish up a root canal that I started 2 weeks ago. I made the mistake of going in there with a headache and it just got progressively worse while I was there. My dentist decided to stop and finish up next week. So, now the whole side of my face is swollen, and I'm in a lot of pain. At least she gave me percocet this time. The tylenol 3 I got last week sucked.

Not very motivated

I haven't been feeling motivated lately. Maybe quitting the Weight Watchers meetings was a mistake? I'm not sure. I'm still eating my daily points and not going over, but i'm slacking off on eating fruits and I can feel that my metabolism has taken a dive. I'm not hungry every 2 hours like normal. Tomorrow is a new day and I'm going to start by eating a piece of fruit or a veggie with every meal.

Lately I've been having whole wheat toast with Weight Watchers cream cheese, a fat free yogurt, and a banana. That is pretty filling but I think I'm getting burned out. I feel burned out on eggs tho too. Breakfast is a hard meal for me.

Jason suggested I come up with a Jalapeno Cheddar Turkey Burger, so after church today I put some together and they were amazing! I ate 3! Each burger was 8 points (which includes the wheat bun) I can't believe I ate that much, couldn't help myself though. Afterward, I passed out on the couch for a couple hours. I haven't eaten in 7 hours and I'm still full from lunch.

So, goal for tomorrow: EAT FRUIT!

Chicken Creole

This is my very own recipe. I've been perfecting it over the last year and I think I got it to the best it can be. It seems like a lot of ingridients, but it's just a lot of common spices. Warning: This is very spicy! Great for cold days/nights, also great if you've got a cold.

Chicken Creole - Weight Watchers Pointsplus value: 5 per serving.

Cooking Spray
12 ounces of boneless skinless chicken breast cut into small chunks (an average breast is 3 to 4oz)
Salt and Pepper to Taste
2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
1 onion chopped
1 red bell pepper chopped
4 celery ribs chopped
2 handfuls of baby carrots chopped
2 cans of tomato sauce
2 cans of water
2 tablespoons of chili powder
2 tablespoons of cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon of tabasco or any other kind of hot sauce
1 tablespoon of garlic powder
1 tablespoon of oregano
1 tablespoon of season salt
2 cups of uncooked instant white rice

Start by spraying a skillet with cooking spray and adding chicken chunks (Medium-High Heat). Season with Salt & Pepper to taste. Should take about 7 minutes to brown all pieces. Turn off heat and set aside.
Heat 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil in a large pot, over medium-high heat. Add the chopped onions, red bell pepper, celery, and baby carrots. Stir occassionaly until onions are transluscent.
Add 2 cans of tomato sauce and 2 cans of water, bring to a boil. Add all the seasonings, hot sauce, instant rice, and chicken and let it cook for approx 15 minutes.
Yield: About 6 servings. Each serving is approx 2 cups. I haven't measured it exactly but it's two soup ladles.

Deep-Dish Pizza Casserole

This is the most amazing pizza I've ever had. It's absolutely incredible! My friend Cara sent it to me, believe me, you must try it! This is a 6 serving pizza, so the "slices" are really big, and each serving has a Points Plus value of 7.

Deep-Dish Pizza Casserole

• 1 pound of ground round (I used ground turkey)
• 1 (15 ounce) can chunky crushed tomatoes
• Cooking Spray
• 1 (10 ounce) can refrigerated pizza crust dough
• 1.5 cups preshredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
• Veggie Toppings (I use red pepper, onions, garlic, and mushrooms but you can use whatever.)
• Oregano (to taste)
• Basil (to taste)

Preheat Oven to 425 degrees

Cook meat in a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until browned, stirring until it crumbles. Drain, if necessary. Remove from skillet.

Brown veggies

Return meat to skillet and add Oregano and Basil (to taste) and the can of chunky crushed tomatoes.

Coat a 13 x 9-inch baking dish with cooking spray. Unroll pizza crust dough, and press into bottom and halfway up sides of baking dish. Top with meat and veggie mixture.

Bake, uncovered, at 425 degrees for 12 minutes. Top with cheese and bake 5 minutes or until crust is browned and cheese melts. Cool 5 minutes before serving.
Yield: 6 servings

I gained :(

Weighed in yesterday.. I gained .6
I can only blame myself. I wasn't tracking points, I was kind of summing them up in my head so I know I probably went over on a lot of days. I also indulged in McDonalds one day, and we had pizza at Church last week. I've learned my lesson, MUST TRACK EVERYTHING! The good news is, Jason lost .6! Yay! =)

It's been very cold and rainy the last couple weeks so I'm not walking the dogs every day. I know that's no excuse for not exercising. I haven't been going to the gym like I was before. I guess you could say I'm being lazy.

Since moving to Lancaster, I haven't made any friends. My neighbor is 60, she's nice and.. okay, I guess she's my friend. But I haven't met anyone my own age. Well, today I am getting together for lunch with a woman from Church. I'm excited! And a little nervous, does that make sense? I feel socially inept lately.

Church and Religion

I haven't updated in awhile. I haven't felt like writing much. My life has taken a huge turn over the last few weeks. Jason and I have been attending church for a little over a month. It's a completely new experience for us. Although we've each been to church a handful of times in the past, this is the first time we've actually wanted to go and are enjoying it.

What is strange to me, is that I become very overwhelmed in church. I can't explain it, but I'm brought to tears almost every sermon. Not tears of sadness, not happiness either. I just become overwhelmed with emotion because the words our Pastor is saying really seem to strike a chord in my heart and mind. I feel that this is what has been missing my whole life.

Since going to church, I've been trying to become a better person in my thoughts and actions. I've been reading the bible almost every night and I'm now praying regularly. I feel that God has blessed us. Jason has a wonderful job, we have a beautiful home, and we are genuinely happy.

I still question a lot of things about religion, one of my biggest struggles was trying to wrap my head around "every sin is equal" How can one person murder someone, and another person lie to someone and it's considered to be the same in God's eyes? Then my brother said something that made it click, "Think of Jesus as your lawyer." Because in the end, on judgement day, it is He that died for our sins. Who am I to say what is right and wrong in God's eyes? How can I be so foolish as to think my opinion of what sin is worse than another sin actually matters in His brilliant plan?

In other news, got my first root canal this morning. The pain was minimal, but now.. 10 hours later.. i'm hurting pretty bad. Time for some Tylenol, then off to bed.

Down 2lbs this week!

I'm down 2lbs this week. YAY! I feel so great about that! :)
I was also able to fit into a pair of capris I bought last summer. They were too tight when I bought them, but I didn't want to go up another size, so I just dealt with being uncomfortable. I've only worn them twice and I put them on the other day and they were kinda loose! I feel so great about that! I haven't been keeping track of measurements, but I know I've lost inches. Woot!

Online Vs. Meetings

Weight Watchers Online VS. Weight Watchers Meetings? In the state of Pennsylvania, Weight Watchers is a franchise and you end up paying $50.00 a month for meetings, but if you want to access the etools and online forums, it's $17.95 a month. They don't have a package deal (which blows!) Anyway.. at a Weight Watchers meeting, you go in, get weighed, talk to the leader for 1-2 minutes. This usually consists of her asking you, "How did it go this week?" "You lost weight, that's wonderful!" "Keep up the good work!" Then, you sit down and wait for the meeting to start, unfortunately, my group doesn't participate much. The leader asks a question and everyone just sits there in silence. I feel for her, it's like pulling teeth with this crowd. The only time anyone ever wants to share anything is when she asks about any new recipes people have found. During our last meeting, one woman went on and on about cauliflower.

So, I'm thinking of cancelling my monthly meeting subscription and signing up for Weight Watchers Online. I figure, people are more open about their struggles and strengths when they are sitting behind the computer. And I think our scale is pretty accurate. Another thing that concerns me is that my Weight Watchers meetings take place in the evening and your weight can fluctuate during the day between 1-3lbs based on what your wearing, what you've eaten and how much water you've consumed. Last week I lost .8, but the next morning, the scale showed I lost 3lbs.

Any thoughts?

Another Loss

I lost .8 this week. Hmm.. I was expecting more, but at least it's not a gain, right?

Motivation

It was hard to find the motivation to go walking today, but I mustered up the energy and I'm really glad I did! Even though it's super cold and windy outside, I walked the trail with Chloe and I feel really good about it. Taking two days off really put me in a foul mood. The next time I want to skip out on a walk, I'm going to read this blog post and just DO IT!

Blah!

I feel so crappy this week. Yesterday I skipped out on exercising all together. I just wasn't feeling well, maybe I have a stomach flu? Or maybe the people at Applebee's spit in my food on Sunday? (Long story, probably not going back there tho!) I feel like a lump! I could barely get myself moving today. After Jason leaves for work, I usually make the bed, start laundry, do the dishes, vacuum. I'm finding it hard to get the energy and willpower to do it. I hate feeling sick.

I got an e-mail today from an old friend who saw my wedding pictures and he asked me, "Are you pregnant or are you just practicing?" What a fucking douche bag! How can you call yourself my "friend", yet be completely inconsiderate of my feelings? What the fuck? I'm really trying to make an effort not to swear as much, but in this instance, I feel it is warranted.

I wanna go crawl back in bed and hide.

Mixing it up!

We did our bi-weekly grocery shopping over the weekend. I'm mixing it up with fresh strawberries and cantalope! I also bought Fiber One breakfast cereal (Carmel flavor!) It's incredible.

I forgot my WW calculator, and I was surprised to find out that the Flatbread Crackers that I bought are only 2 points a serving. They are really good, especially with chunks of string cheese over them! Quick 3 point snack!

Also bought some WW chocolate chip cookies and South Beach protein bars. I realized after I bought the cookies, they are worth two points, and the Betty Crocker peanut butter cookie mix i have in my pantry is 3 points per cookie and it's way cheaper. Sorry WW, your food is over priced!

Also found a generic brand nonfat yogurt that I really like with flavors such as cappucino, pina coloda, and cheesecake. I think these next two weeks are going to be awesome!

Things I've Noticed..

I have been exercising every day since starting Weight Watchers. (18 days!) That's the most consistent exercise I've ever done in my entire adult life. And here's what I've noticed..

• When I wake up in the morning, I don't feel 6 inches shorter.
• I used to have horrible back pain and I never felt like I could fully stand up straight, I felt weighed down and sluggish.
• I have more energy.
• I look forward to exercising and being active, I purposely park in the back of the lot just so I can do a little extra walking.
• I'm in a better mood.
• Just in general, I feel happier.

Life is good!

Saturday

Today we slept in, didn't eat breakfast until 10:00am, went to run errands, got side tracked and spontaneously took a drive through Amish country. Gosh, it's gorgeous here! I'm so happy we decided to move to Lancaster. I absolutely love it! It was 60 degrees today, a little overcast, but not too much. Such a beautiful day!

We picked up a Gentle Leader collar for CooCoo. She pulls so hard on the leash that sometimes I end up flat on my face. She's just got so much energy. I put the Gentle Leader on her this evening and we went for a walk, it was like she was a different dog. I can't wait to walk her every day now. :)

*Here's some pictures from our drive today*

 

Smoothie Time!

I bought a bag of frozen berries for .99¢ents, and a bag of oranges cost about $3.00 for 10 oranges. This smoothie cost me .63¢ents to make

CHEAPEST SMOOTHIE IN THE WORLD!
Ingredients:

• Juice of 1 Orange
• 1/2 cup of frozen mixed berries
• A tiny bit of water

Directions:
Blend!

So yummy and good for you! And the best part is, it's 0 points on Weight Watchers.
P.S. - I love my Magic Bullet blender!

Elliptical Machine

It kicked my butt today! I decided I was going to tackle that beast, so instead of warming up on the bike or treadmill like I usually do, I went straight for the elliptical and did 10 minutes, which was my goal! YAY! But, I was so worn out and tired, I didn't have the strength to finish the rest of the work out. I only did about 7 minutes on the bike, lifted some weights and then I was done. LESSON LEARNED: Warm up first!

I have no doubt that I will be able to ramp up to 30 minutes on that elliptical by the end of the month.

As far as Weight Watchers, here are some tips:
A BLT, even with turkey bacon, is really high in points when you add mayo. Yeesh!
Also, Mac & Cheese is a good way to go over your points.

*A few pictures of Chloe from our walk today*

Venison

Our friend John gave us some Venison and it's been in our freezer for almost 2 months. I ran out of food last night, so I decided to cook it up. It wasn't bad. I was a little afraid because I've heard it can be "gamey". I put it in a crock pot with an onion, vegetable soup mix, a can of cream of mushroom soup, and 2 cups of water. It was really salty but other than that, pretty good.

Jason and I worked out last night when he got home from work. When he exercises, he pours sweat. I barely break a sweat, even though I'm working just as hard. It makes me feel like I need to do more. So today, I'm going to try to do 10 whole minutes on the eliptical instead of my normal 5. I usually do 10 on the bike, 10 on the treadmill, and then 5 minutes of weights and 5 minutes of eliptical. Maybe I can stretch out my routine a little every day and eventually ramp up to an hour. (hopefully some time this month)

At our Weight Watchers meetings, we usually have a topic of discussion. My first week, it was getting rid of foods in the house that don't help you achieve your goal. (ie: The Klondike bars I had in the freezer, which Jason graciously finished off.) The next week, we talked about portion control and measuring everything out instead of eyeballing. This week, we talked about getting bored. I must admit, I'm starting week 3 and I'm becoming bored with the fruits and veggies. They are very expensive right now, so I'm just getting apples & oranges to snack on. I really need to mix it up. My dilemna is, bananas go bad really fast, so do berries (and a plastic tub of strawberries is $4.99 right now! EEK!) and I don't like raw carrots. So I'm thinking I'll try celery sticks and I'm going to look at the price of melons. Maybe I can find some cheap honeydew or cantalope.

2nd Week Weight In!

I'm down another 1.4 at my second weigh in. I'm a tad disappointed. I thought with all the extra exercise I would have lost more, but I'm not discouraged in any way. I know that in order for this program to work, I need to drink lots of water, and eat at least 5 servings of fruits and veggies a day. I've only been drinking 2 glasses of water a day, and 3 servings of fruits and veggies. The first week I did really good, the second week I found myself getting burned out on apples and oranges. I'm going to look at other fruits when we go to the store this weekend. Maybe some strawberries or grapes? My problem with fruit is that I really dislike sweet things. I'm extremely picky about yogurt for this same reason! The first week we had Yoplait Light, it's not overwhelmingly sweet and I had one a day. This time we picked up Light N' Fit because it was on sale, and it's extremely sweet. I've had one. lol
It's a learning process. But, week two ended last night and I've lost a total of 5.6lbs. I'm pretty happy about that!
I finally tried Yoga last night and it was wonderful for my sore muscles. It made me feel incredible! I felt like I had just been to the chiropractor. Unfortunately, I can't get into all the poses that they do, but it was nice to stretch my muscles after two days of really good work outs. I decided not to work out this morning, Juanita isn't available today, and Jason wants to work out with me this evening, so I'm going to walk the dogs today and do some house cleaning/laundry.

I figured I'd share this picture I took last night. I don't normally let the dogs on the sofa, but Chloe crawled up there when I wasn't looking and was watching TV with me. Notice our cat Buddy sprawled out on the dining room table. *Ridiculous*! No matter how many times I shoo him down, he gets back up there 5 minutes later.

Solid

I had a solid work out this morning. I did 10 minutes on the bike, 10 minutes on the treadmill, and 5 minutes on the eliptical. I can't believe I did 5 minutes on the eliptical. That thing kills! I much prefer the bike.

Also walked the trail with Chloe. I'm enjoying all this exercise. I never thought I'd say that.

Weighing in 3 hours from now. Hopefully this is all paying off.

I did it!

So, after my blog post, I put on my sneakers and headed to the gym to work out. I was the only one there, and I did 5 minutes on the bike, and a couple minutes on the eliptical and the stair master. It was all I could take. All in all, I probably did about 15 minutes. Then I ran some errands and walked the trail with Chloe, and while I was walking her, my neighbor Juanita called and asked if I wanted to go to the gym. I wanted to decline, and I kind of tried to get out of it by saying, "Oh, well I'm walking Chloe right now." So she said, "That's okay, you can meet me there when you're done." I wasn't thrilled at the idea of working out again because my legs are still sore from this morning, but I did it. I did about 10 minutes on the bike, 10 minutes on the treadmill, I lifted some weights. I feel good!
Juanita and I are going to work out again tomorrow morning at 6:00am. And she's off all next week, so she's going to be joining me on my walks with Chloe. I'm glad I went with her today, even though I'm really sore.
I'm going to do yoga tomorrow morning after our work out to stretch out my muscles.

Weight Watchers 2 week weigh-in is tomorrow night! I can't wait to see what I've lost. My eating habits haven't been that great this week. As I type this, I'm having hunger pain. I skipped lunch, so I had an apple and a yogurt about 30 minutes ago. I'm gonna go cook dinner.

Motivation

I walk Chloe every day. Even yesterday when it was raining, we walked the trail by our house. Chloe loves the water, I thought I'd be safe with my "Dollar Store" umbrella, but it broke and I got a little wet. lol
Anyway, our community has a fitness/work out room with an eliptical machine, a bike, weights, treadmill, etc. I need to start going there and I think I'm going to do that today. I'm still going to walk Chloe, but maybe some time on the exercise bike will help me lose more weight. I have this thing about people watching me work out though, it makes me uncomfortable. I know I just need to get over it, I shouldn't let my low self image and embarassment keep me from reaching my goals, right?
So, I'm going to work out today.. I'll eat some breakfast and then get ready. (can you tell that I'm talking myself into this as I type?) The hardest part of exercise is actually getting the motivation to do it.

.. I hope no one is there this early in the morning.

WHOA! Big Points!

After church today, we went to Applebee's. Jason is frustrated with the amount of points he must consume in a day and how often he needs to eat, so he ordered a Southwest Jalapeno Burger with no fries, but a house salad instead. That was 31 points! Insanity!!! I ordered a Weight Watchers Steak and Potato Salad with a bowl of French Onion Soup. It was delicious.

We got home from church and I crashed! I don't know why, but that happened last Sunday too. I took a big long nap and forgot to get the fish out of the freezer, by the time I woke up and remembered it was too late, hence, nothing for dinner. I calculated our points for the day and we decided to be bad and went to McDonalds for Chicken Nuggets, and we split a large french fry. Surprisingly, Jason only went over his points by 6, and I went over by 10. But, I'm allowed to go over 49 points per week. I try not to ever go over, so in reality, I shouldn't gain weight because of it. I hope not, anyway!

Walked the trail with Chloe again. I've really started to enjoy our walks, and I actually look forward to them most of the time. The forecast tomorrow is calling for rain, but it's supposed to be 61 degrees. Oh well! I have an umbrella and towels to wipe off Chloe. She loves the water, it should be fun!

Exercise

My dog Chloe is making me exercise. It's true! She's literally forcing me to walk. I love her for it!

When we were living in Arizona, we rarely walked the dogs because we had a huge backyard. They played together outside and got lots of exercise. Since we moved to PA, we don't have a fenced yard, so we have to take the dogs out on leashes every couple hours so they can do their "business."

We've had a lot of problems with Chloe. She has been pottying in the house, and then she will go 4-5 days without pooping, and then she'll go again in the house. I tried calling our dog trainer, I tried punishing her in the crate, I tried staying out in the yard with her for long periods of time, I tried treats. Nothing worked. She would just look around and come sit next to me and stare at bushes looking for rabbits.

Well, since joining Weight Watchers, I've been walking every day. And every day, Chloe has been going potty on our walks. I think she's just one of those dogs that needs some exercise in order to get things moving. So, every day, we walk about 2 miles, and she doesn't usually potty until the end of the walk, so she forces me to do the whole trail. What a blessing. I love her!

*Below is a picture of Chloe*

*And while I was trying to get a picture of Chloe, I noticed my cat Buddy, aka: "The Budster" crawled up on a pillow, so I had to share the cuteness.*

Very GOOD recipe!

I made this last night and it's under 10 points. It is so flavorful and delicious! If I had to describe it, I'd say it's like Italian fajitas without a tortilla. I served it with a salad and it was incredible!

Chicken and Peppers with Balsamic Vinegar

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup olive oil, divided
• 4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cut into strips
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
• 1 yellow bell pepper, thinly sliced
• 1 orange bell pepper, thinly sliced
• 1 medium onion, thinly sliced
• 4 large cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon dried basil
• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar, divided

Directions

1. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Place the chicken in the skillet, season with salt and pepper, and brown on both sides. Remove from heat, and set aside.
2. Heat remaining oil in the skillet over medium heat, and stir in the red bell pepper, yellow bell pepper, orange bell pepper, and onion. Cook about 5 minutes, until tender. Mix in the garlic, and cook and stir about 1 minute. Mix in the basil and 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar.
3. Return the chicken to the skillet. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer 20 minutes, or until chicken is no longer pink and juices run clear. Stir in remaining balsamic vinegar just before serving.

I found this on allrecipes.com. Here's the link:
http://allrecipes.com//Recipe/chicken-and-peppers-with-balsamic-vinegar/Detail.aspx
The nutrition information is included.

The BEST thing about Weight Watchers...

The BEST thing about Weight Watchers, is that you can literally eat whatever you want, and you don't have to feel guilty about it. The only thing I've changed about my eating habits is the portions, and I've started eating a lot more fruit. During the last week I've been skeptical, thinking.. "How can I eat a piece of cheesy Lasagna for lunch and be on a diet?" or.. "How can I eat a greasy pretzel with cheese from Auntie Anne's in the mall and still lose weight?"

I usually don't last very long on "diets" because I feel so deprived. But this doesn't feel like deprivation at all! I hope I keep losing weight and I'm hoping I can stay this motivated *fingers crossed*

Going for a walk now with Chloe. :)

Turkey Bacon

I tried some Turkey bacon with breakfast this morning. I've never had it before. I burned it, but it was still edible. I've decided that I'd rather spend my points for 3 slices of regular bacon, than deal with that Turkey stuff again. It was weird.

I keep forgetting to mention something on this blog, I recently quit smoking! It's been 19 days and I feel great :)

Day 7 - The End of Week 1

I had my first week weigh-in at Weight Watchers tonight and I lost 4.2lbs! YAY!! I'm so excited! I can't even contain myself to write a complete blog post.

4.2 ! ! !

That may not seem like a big number, but for me, that's amazing. Especially after being on medication that makes me gain weight, I was afraid the scale would be mean to me.

Day 6

Tonight I made Indian-Spiced Turkey Burgers from the Weight Watchers PointsPlus Cookbook. They were decent. I won't be making them again. It called for Greek Yogurt, mixed with lime juice and cabbage, then you stuff a pita with that mixture and add a Turkey Burger. The burgers were good, but the yogurt part wasn't.

My goal today was to drink more water, and I didn't. So, I figure I'll drink tons more water tomorrow, but then.. tomorrow is my weigh in at Weight Watchers and I don't want to stuff myself with water. Hmm.. tricky.

I was thinking about an old co-worker of mine today. She used to keep a fake fat replica on her desk as motivation to stick to her diet. I got to thinking about that, and how every pound makes a difference! One pound of fat is about the size of a coffee mug. Here's an example:

So, no matter what my weigh in is tomorrow, I refuse to let it get me down. Cause every pound counts.

Day 5

After receiving some really good advice from my friend Cara, I am not going to weigh myself anymore throughout the week. It's just torture and it puts me in a bad mood! I'm going to share what she wrote me on Facebook and I hope she doesn't mind:

1. Always weigh in just once a week. Preferably on the same day, same time. (My mom and I even wear the same type of clothes, lightweight cotton - no jeans)

2. Always weigh in on WW scales, not your own scale. Since Jason isn't going to the meetings, but is still following the program, he can use your scale. But, again, only once a week.

3. Normal weight loss (that you will be able to keep off) is 1-2 lbs a week. So a .2 weight loss is still better than nuthin' Also, imagine rubbing a pound of butter all over your body. Disgusting, right? Well, that's a visual for every one pound of fat that you lose. Then, we move on to things like 5 lbs of sugar, 10 lbs of flour, 20 lbs of sugar, etc. Nice visuals huh?

4. If you choose to torture yourself by weighing in mid-week, this is what's happening inside your body. Your water retension and weight fluctuate depending on time of day, what you've recently eaten, salt intake, activity level, etc. So, you cannot get a true reading of what your weight really is, unless you have consistency on your weigh in times.

5. The first month of your weight loss journey (and Jason's) is referred to as the honeymoon period. You both should lose between 10-30 pounds in the next month to six weeks. Yes, the weight will stay off if you keep to the WW meal plan.

This is really good advice!

I noticed during day 5, that I'm getting hungry every 2 hours. That must mean my metabolism is finally working, and let me tell you, it feels great!

Breakfast:

• English Muffin with 1 tbsp of Peanut Butter
• Coffee with Cream & Sugar
• Fat Free Yogurt
• 3 slices of bacon

Lunch:

• Grilled Pork Chop leftover
• 20 mini pretzels
• Diet Coke

Dinner:

• Cheese-Stuffed Turkey Meatballs (Got this out of the Weight Watchers cookbook and it was fantastic!)
• Salad

Snacks:

• Apple Slices
• Cucumber Slices
• Orange Slices

I break up my snacks in between meals, because, like I said, I'm getting hungry every 2 hours. So, I have a snack between breakfast and lunch, and 2 snacks between lunch and dinner, and last night I had half of a Hershey's Chocolate Candy Bar for a small treat and to make up for the rest of my points. I feel good about Day 5. I met all my points, ate all my power foods, and got my healthy oils and dairy.

GOAL FOR DAY 6:
DRINK MORE WATER!

Day 4

I made the mistake of getting on the scale this morning and I've lost .2lbs (POINT 2?) in 4 days? Is that right? I've been exercising and following the point system. I think my metabolism is increasing because I get hungrier a lot quicker and I actually look forward to my small snacks during the day. My brother said that if you wake up in the morning and you're not hungry for breakfast, that means your metabolism isn't very high. Well the past couple mornings I've been hungry for breakfast. What gives?

My Weight Watchers leader said in the meeting last week, "This isn't the "Biggest Loser" it's about healthy weight loss. I understand it's about "healthy weight loss" but what does that really mean? Does that mean losing 1 pound a week, 2 pounds a week?

My husband is doing Weight Watchers with me. He's not paying for meetings, but I bought the PointsPlus calculator and we figured out his points are 57 a day. He needs to get 2 dairy and 5 "Power Foods" a day. He is 14 points short after dinner, so now he's eating an apple, an orange, a piece of banana bread, and 5 saltine crackers to meet his 14 points. He's not even hungry, it feels weird to eat when you're not hungry. I just don't understand how you're supposed to eat all those points AND your 0 point Power Foods in 1 day. I almost think it would be easier to eat a greasy McDonalds Cheeseburger and Fries for lunch, then you wouldn't have to worry about all these extra points.

*HUGE plate of food.. That's a huge after dinner snack.*

Well, it's bed time now. Expecting snow over night and a couple of really cold days this week. Looks like I'll be working out indoors. I can't wait for my meeting on Wednesday. I have lots of questions.

Day 3

I think I'm finally getting the hang of this points thing. It's the end of the evening and I have 3 points to use. I can do that easy with a small snack or yogurt.

We did some grocery shopping today and I was surprised to find out that my grocery list really didn't differ much since joining Weight Watchers. There is a bit more dairy and some more fruits and vegetables, but other than that, it's pretty much the same. The staples are:
Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts
Ground Turkey
Bacon (I'm trying Turkey Bacon this time)
Low Fat Cheese
Non Fat Milk
Coffee
Some sort of cracker or pretzel
Fresh Veggies and Fruit

That's it! Grocery bill came to just over $100 and I can make that last 2 weeks.

We went to Park City Mall today because the shoes I bought at Target last week are killing my toes, so I got some good quality walking shoes and then we stopped by Auntie Anne's Pretzels. (OMG! So Good!) The Pretzel with cheese was worth 12 points, but it was worth it and so yummy! I don't regret it one bit!

I have to say, it's fantastic to be on a diet where I can eat anything I want as long as I "point" for it. It's truly amazing!

Dinner: Rosemary Chicken with Balsamic-Glazed Onions
I decided to try this recipe because my friend Cara said it was really good, she was right! It was amazing and only 6 points! I don't want to get in copyright trouble by typing out the recipe here, but someone else felt so inclined. Here is that link:
http://www.wcnc.com/charlotte-today/recipe-archives/Rosemary-Chicken-with-Balsamic--Glazed-onions-111780329.html

Tomorrow we are going to church in the morning and then we're going to have one of the Weight Watchers lunches at Applebee's.

In off topic news, the weather dropped to 40 degrees today. It wouldn't be so bad but the wind gusts are 50mph and it feels like 25 out there. Needless to say, I didn't go out walking with the dogs. It's just too cold! I can't wait for spring.

Day 2

I had another great day, and I wonder if that has anything to do with the unseasonably warm weather here in PA, or the Weight Watchers and exercise. I'd say it's a mix of both!

I decided that I would have bigger portions today to help meet my point allowance, because yesterday I was 19 points short.

Breakfast:

• 2 eggs
• 2 slices of wheat toast
• 3 slices of bacon
• Coffee with CREAM & SUGAR! (I just can't choke down the black tar without C&S)

I slept really late today, so I ended up eating breakfast at 11:00am, which threw off my schedule. So I didn't have lunch and I didn't have any snacks. I really need to not get into this routine of skipping meals. I'm notorious for it. I'm surprised that I weigh what I do, considering I don't eat very often.

Dinner:

• Grilled Pork Chops
• Knorr Garlic Butter Rice
• Boiled Vegetables

It's 6:00pm and I've reached 26 points, I have 14 more points to use. DAMN! If I'd had lunch today, I'd be in great shape! I haven't decided how to use those 14 remaining points. I'm not much of a dessert person. I still have that Banana bread tho.. hmm.. :)

P.S. - I walked 2 miles today, it was an incredibly beautiful day. You couldn't kick the smile off my face.
UPDATE: Thanks to my buddy Cara, I got some really good advice on meeting my points everyday. PEANUT BUTTER! I was 14 points short, so I had some peanut butter and an apple. BOOM! DONE! 40 points!

*Pictures Of Dinner Tonight*

It was 72 degrees in Lancaster, PA today.. and it's February! What a fantastic day! I decided to grill pork chops, and I did it barefoot :) What's better than that?

Good Lord! That looks like a huge heaping of rice but I actually measured it out, it's only 1 cup which is the suggested serving size.

Day 1

It's been an amazing day!
I woke up at 5:00am and made breakfast for my hubby and then saw him off to work. I did a little points research and decided I would have a 6 point breakfast which consisted of:

• 1 egg
• 1 slice of wheat toast with "I Can't Believe It's Not Butter - Light!"
• 3 slices of bacon
• 1 cup of black coffee

I'm a huge coffee lover and I realized today that it's not the caffeine that keeps me coming back for cup after cup, it's the flavor.. the cream and sugar! It's like candy! I could barely choke down my black coffee this morning, needless to say, I did not crave more.

After breakfast, I worked out for about 10 minutes with my Biggest Loser Cardio Max DVD. It's a 30 minute workout and I lasted 10 minutes. I'm not discouraged though, at least I got up and did it. I've been staring at that darn video since Sunday and today is the first day I put it in. I'm proud of myself.

Around Noon, I started to feel hungry so I made a 6 point lunch:

• Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast with Marinara
• Watermelon slices
• Orange slices
• Light String Cheese

It was a beautiful day outside today, (60 degrees! That's the warmest it's been since we moved to PA!) So, after lunch, I decided to take CooCoo on a walk. We did a mile which included some stairs and some uphill areas. I was feeling tired when I got home, but then my neighbor came outside and asked if I wanted to go for a walk. I said, "SURE!" So I grabbed the other dog, Chloe.. and headed out again. This time it was an even longer walk with more uphill climbs. I'd estimate that I walked about 2.5 miles today. That's very major for me.

I've been staring at brown bananas on my counter for a couple days. I knew I'd have to throw them out or make banana bread with them. Not wanting to be wasteful, I made the banana bread with Splenda Brown Sugar substitute. Since I've been struggling to meet my PointsPlus Value for the day, I had a slice. (5 points) *Edit: Found out tonight I calculated the Banana Bread wrong, it's 12 points a slice.*

Then for dinner, it was a 4 point meal:

• Baked Chicken with Lemon Slices and Garlic
• Broccoli

I have 19 more points to eat today and I have no idea how I'm going to do that unless I bust out with some cookies and chips. (Which I'm not going to do)
I think this whole thing will be easier once I can go grocery shopping next week and pick out specific foods for weight watchers instead of scrounging through the things I bought almost two weeks ago. (We shop every pay day.)

So that was my day, how was yours?

An Introduction

I've always been a big girl. I don't ever remember a time in my life that I didn't struggle with weight loss. When I was a kid, my mother used to say to me, "You have such a pretty face, if you could just lose some weight..." (You've heard that before, right?) Those words always broke my heart. I know she didn't mean to make me feel bad, but the words did sting.

Between the ages of 14-18 is when I really started to pack on pounds. I was 5'3'' and I topped out at 220lbs. I've stayed around that size for most of my adult life. 220 lbs, size 22 jeans. I think my body is shaped kinda odd. I have large breasts, and even LARGER hips.. but my legs and arms are somewhat slender.

In March of 2008, I was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism. My doctor felt it was best to zap my thyroid and put me on pills for the rest of my life. In 1 year, I gained 56lbs, I topped the scales at 276lbs. I tried to keep the weight off, I got more active, even tried vegetarianism. Nothing could keep me from packing the weight on. It was incredibly disappointing and I've become really depressed. I'm not myself anymore and I feel hopeless. I married the love of my life in October 2010, and a month before the wedding I didn't even fit into my wedding dress that I had purchased 3 months earlier. I had to get the zipper ripped out of the back and a corset put in, so that in case I gained anymore weight before the wedding, I'd still be able to get laced into this thing. I remember standing there in David's Bridal, crying my eyes out with my maid of honor. It was one of the worst days of my life.

With the love and support of my soon-to-be husband, I kept my head up and tried to make the best of it. We were married in Vegas on 10/10/10, it was a beautiful wedding, my only regret is that I was the largest I had ever been in my whole life.

We honeymooned on a Mexican cruise to Cabo San Lucas, and when we arrived home, I started making changes. I started making home cooked meals every night. I tried my best to eat breakfast (but that has always been a big struggle) The holidays came around and of course, I faultered.. as always. But in early December, my husband Jason accepted a job in Pennsylvania. So, in 1 months time, we packed up everything we could fit in a truck and drove 2000 miles from Phoenix, AZ to Lancaster, PA. We arrived here on January 5th.

Since moving to Pennsylvania, I no longer have to work. I've become a housewife and I like it a lot. I get up every morning at 5:00am to make my hubby breakfast. I take the dogs for walks, clean the house, plan meals, do laundry.. I finally have time to do all the things I put off in the past. When we were both working, we rolled out of a bed that was never made, barely made it to work on time, drank gallons of coffee just to make it through the day, and once we got home, we were so exhausted we got into bad habits of eating junk food and processed meals. We never cleaned the house and more often than not, we bought new clothes instead of washing our old ones. It was pathetic.

Since I'm home all the time now, I've been seeing the Weight Watchers commercials with Jennifer Hudson, and then I saw her on Oprah and I've decided to give this a shot! I attended my first WW meeting last night. I was surprised to find out that my weight has gone down! The last time I got on a scale was November 2010 and I weighed 276lbs.. Today, February 17th, I weigh 262.8. That's 14lbs of weight loss and I didn't even try! I'm sure the stress of moving and home cooked meals probably attributed to this weight loss, but now I'm even more pumped! I feel like I got a head start.

Valentine's Day was 3 days ago, and my hubby bought me small hand weights, a Biggest Loser Cardio DVD, and an introduction to Yoga.

DAY 1: HERE I COME!

*Below are pictures of me at my highest weight. I'll update with more pictures as I make my way along this journey.*

Wedding Reception

Wedding Reception

Night of my Bachelorette Party

Wedding Day with my Bridesmaids

My sister inlaw Joyce and I