TGIF and weekly weigh in

Thank GOD it's Friday!

This morning was weigh in time and I was weirdly a little bit excited about it. I did well all week and I definitely expected the scale to move down, it was just a question of how much.

Short recap since Tuesday:

I went to my usual Body Pump class on Wednesday night. I always say it but I really can't say enough how much I enjoy that classes. It's definitely a challenge but it's a great atmosphere and I always feel great coming out of it.

Yesterday (Thursday) I was planning to give Body Attack a second try. Cardio classes are obviously more of a challenge, and though I remember wanting to give up halfway through the first time, I made it to the end and I want to try again. Circumstances were not on my side unfortunately. I'm having 20somthing people over for a barbecue on Saturday, so Thursday was spent running around non stop to the grocery story for all the food, then doing my best to clean the house as much as possible.

I had to do all that last night because tonight I'm heading to the Bronx for a Yankee game! Yay! I made sure to pack a light lunch so I have enough points to enjoy the hot dog and beer that I believe is required at a baseball game!

So that's two days past that I won't have worked out. Now that I'm in the groove I really don't like going longer than that without exercising. Who would have ever thought that I, Ariana, would ever say that? I have tons of  last minute things to do Saturday morning for this barbecue, but I'm going to go to the gym early to at least do a bit of elliptical.

Back to the point; I got in three workouts this week and did very well with points, only used 2 of my weekly allowance. Results:

Starting weight:

226.4

Last week's weight:

218

This week's weight:

216.8

This week's loss:

-1.2

Total loss:

-9.6

-1.2 is not bad. Not what I was hoping for but still not bad. It's so frustrating to be dancing around this -10 mark and not to have hit it yet. I'm only -.4 away and I am determined to hit it next Friday! It'll be a great victory to send me off on vacation the next day!

How did you do this week?

Well, hi!

I maybe have been a lazy blogger these last few days, but I was not all around lazy!

It's only Tuesday and I've already got in two workouts and am planning a third, my usual Tuesday Body Pump, tonight. Jen of Prior Fat Girl had a Eureka! moment recently, and it really got me thinking about my own habits and body signals. Jen realized that working out on Sunday gave her the momentum to continue working out through the week. I notice myself that it's always hard to get back in the groove after the weekend, when plans with friends and Sunday family obligations usually stop me from hitting the gym (ok, maybe I just don't want to go because it's the weekend!). So Saturday morning I got up earlier than I normally would and headed to the gym to spend some time with my old friend, the elliptical.

The elliptical and I go way back. We've had an on and off relationship for years, but I always get bored with it, and that's when my gym-going end up at a screeching halt. This time around, I hope things will be different. I'm not using the elliptical as my primacy source of exercise as I have in the past. I'm enjoying the fitness classes I've been taking much more, and I'm planning to use the elliptical as a sort of supplement to those classes, on days when my schedule is out of sync with the gym's.

Both Saturday morning and Monday evening I ran about 2.5 miles in 28 minutes on the "weightloss" setting of my gym's ellipticals, which is just 4 minute intervals of lower and higher resistance. I feel good afterward, and burned over 300 calories (and earned 7 activity points) each run!

 As Jen says, "Sweat is beautiful!"

I've been doing good with food too. Sunday dinner with my grandparents usually sets me a little bit over my points, but this week I've managed to only use 2 of my 49 weekly point allowance since Friday. Yay for small victories!

Speaking of food, here's a quick easy salad recipe I came up with (Trader Joe's helped!) that I've been chowing down on nonstop.

                   

1 1/2 cups green of your choice; I've been using Trader Joe's Champs Elysees Green Leap Lettuce
1/2 cup Broccoli Slaw (not with mayo and all, just the dry broccoli blend - TJ's sells it bagged)
5 oz (one can) Tuna, drained; I used Trader Joe's Solid White Tuna in Water (half salt)
4tbsp Trader Joe's Corn & Chile Salsa
6pp

The salsa is sweet and tangy enough that you don't need any dressing, and the broccoli slaw gives this salad an awesome crunch. I know the tuna sounds kind of weird, believe me, I was skeptical, but I've been loving this salad for the past few days. Low in points but delicious, very filling, and a great source of protein :)

Weigh In 7/22

I wrote a whole blog post yesterday about my experience at Body Attack, a new cardio class I tried out. Blogger ate it so suffice it to say it was a killer, but I made it out alive.

So, Friday weigh in day. I really wasn't sure what the scale would say this morning. I went out with friends last Saturday and did some drinking, but I also had two intense workouts during the week. Thursday night was dinner with the girls, where I surely ate more than I would have had I stayed home (as well as a beer and a glass of wine that I wouldn't have drank), but I did order off the diet menu to try to stay on the good side.

Starting weight: 

226.4

Last week's weight:

217.8

This week's weight: 

218.0

So I gained .8lbs.

Of course I'm not happy, but this is part of the process. I have to be realistic and realize that I can't go out and have 5-6 drinks without doing some extra workouts and expect to lose.

Tomorrow could have potentially been another drinking night - I have a surprise birthday party for a friend about an hour away. The plan was for the girls to split a hotel so we wouldn't have to drive. Instead, I'm volunteering as DD - great way to keep the alcohol points to a minimum. And I plan to get a lot of dancing in to!

Here's to a better weigh in next week.

How did you do this week?

Pizza Bites

I almost forgot! As promised, here's my recipe for Pizza bites!

Pizza Bites
1 pp each

8 wonton wrappers - 4pp
1/4 cup low fat Mexican blend cheese (I use WW brand) - 2pp
2 Tbsp tomato sauce (plain canned or seasoned jar sauce)
Cooking spray

If using unseasoned canned sauce, season to taste with
Oregano
Salt
Pepper
Garlic powder
any other spices you desire
Grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 425 F

Spray a baking pan with cooking spray (I use Pam Olive Oil spray).

Mix cheese, sauce and seasonings in a bowl. Drop a spoonful of the mixture onto a wonton wrapper. Use your finger to wet two edges of the wrapper with water and fold into a triangle. Press down on the edges to seal - the water acts as glue to seal the wrapper.

Arrange on your baking pan and spray the tops of the bites with cooking spray. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

Bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown.

Enjoy!



These also freeze really well (pre-baking)! I made an extra batch, froze them on a pan to keep their shape, and then put them in a plastic baggie to store once they were good and hard. Pop them on a sprayed pan, spray them and sprinkle with parm and they'll be ready to bake!

Today, happiness is...

Sore muscles and a bargain.

I had a few hours between work and 7pm Body Pump yesterday, so I decided to swing by my local Talbots. I haven't shopped there before, but had been eyeing up a few pairs of pants online on clearance and I wanted to go in to get an idea of the sizing. I'm usually between a 16/18 the pants I wanted to order were on final sale so I didn't want to risk them not fitting. To my delight, I pulled on every pair of 16s, including non-stretch denim (which never fits), without a problem! Can we say positive reinforcement! I browsed around and left with some amazing deals - a $115 dress for $39, a $60 top for $15, and an $88 top for $44!

I'd bought the rewards, so I was determined to do the work. I ran home to change, popped three Advil to conquer the cramps and backaches that were creeping up because of my lovely visitor, and made my way over to the gym.

I really love this Body Pump weight training class I've been taking. Eileen, the instructor, is just phenomenal - so much energy, so enthusiastic, and so motivational! I finally introduced myself and got signed up to my Gym's Facebook group - I'll be glad to see Eileen's motivational messages come through my newsfeed everyday!

Last night's dinner was the last remaining turkey burger, and I decided to add the side of Skinny Chipotle Sweet Potato Fries since I had lots of points to spare. Yum!

So, today -  that's happiness. Wearing one of my awesome bargain deals, and feeling those sore muscles!

Yesterday's food tracking:

Breakfast:
Ricotta Cheese Muffin - 5pp
Coffee - 1pp

Lunch:
Turkey Burger - 4pp
Ciabatta bread - 3pp
BBQ sauce - 1pp

Dinner:
Turkey Burger - 4pp

Ciabatta bread - 3pp

BBQ sauce - 1pp
Ketchup - 1pp
Sweet potato fries (2 servings)  - 6pp

Snacks:
Nectarine - 0pp
String Cheese - 2pp
1oz Fudge (thanks to my brother for bringing it back from the shore to torture me with) - 3pp

Total: 34pp
1pp left over!
+5 activity Points

A bust

Yesterday's workout was a bust. As in, I didn't do it. Why? I really couldn't tell you. The majority of my day was spent in a positive mood, but walking out of work I felt myself sink slowly and surely into a surly and negative mood, where all I wanted to do was go home, laze around, and eat a bunch of snacks.

Instead, I made my way to Trader Joe's to pick up ingredients for my turkey burger dinner. I had planned to pick up a bag of their pre-cut sweet potato fries to save some time, but a quick check on my WW nutrition calculator showed me they were more points and less quantity than the real thing. I was really jonesing for a snack so I decided to nix both the fries and side salad from dinner and use the points (and a few of my last 5 points for the day) to make one of my favorite snacks - pizza bites!

Recipe to come tomorrow!

So not a total bust. I still ate healthy and stayed within my points, but I didn't earn the activity points I was hoping to. Oh, and the answer to my moodiness and lack on energy revealed itself this morning - Aunt Flo, if you will.

Body Pump is tonight at 7, and I really hope I'm feeling up to it and cramps don't keep me from it. Wish me luck!

Chewy, chocolately breakfast

Skinnytaste to the rescue again! I was looking for a sweet and satisfying breakfast to go with my morning coffee and I found it in these Ricotta Cheese Chocolate Chip Muffins. Low in points, high in delicious.

Ricotta Cheese Chocolate Chip Muffins

Gina's Weight Watcher Recipes
Servings: 12 • Size: 1 muffin • Old Points: 4 pts • Points+: 5 pts
Calories: 195.4 • Fat: 4.7 g • Carb: 34.2 g • Fiber: 0 g • Protein: 4.9 g • Sugar: 19.2
Sodium: 324.2

Ingredients:

• 2 cups self rising cake flour (Presto)
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 cup I Can't Believe It's Not Butter Light
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 3 large egg whites
• 8 oz fat free ricotta cheese
• 1/2 tbsp vanilla
• 9 tbsp mini semi-sweet chocolate chip morsels

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375°.

Mix flour and baking soda. Mix and cream butter and sugar. Beat egg whites and add to butter/sugar mixture. Mix in ricotta cheese, then flour mixture and vanilla. Fold in chocolate chips and spoon into lined muffin tins about 3/4 filled.

Bake at 375° for 15-16 minutes and let cool.

Makes 12 muffins.

Monday, Monday

A bright sunshiney Monday morning seems like the perfect time to really get this project going, doesn't it!

So let me talk about my routine a bit. For almost three months I've been doing the online Weight Watchers program. This means no meetings or weigh-ins for me, I just log into Weight Watchers (or more often, open up their app on my iPhone) to track my food. I like the fact that you can do everything on your phone because it make it easy to look up point values and track on the go. After a few weeks of experimenting I've settled on Friday mornings as my weigh in day. It works for me because I usually have weekend plans that involve dinner or drinks (or both if I'm really naughty). When I used to weigh in Monday mornings I would stress out all weekend about my points, to the point where I would rather stay home rather than risk going over points. Weighing in Friday allows me to enjoy myself (in moderation of course) because I know that I have all week to eat right and work off those extra points.

The first month after I started the program I have to say that I was not as dedicated as I am now. I was not working out regularly or making an effort to change the quality of the food I was eating, just the portion to fit into my points limit. Now, I work out 2-3 a week, and I pre-plan wholesome homemade meals for dinner (which gives me leftovers for lunch!). Skinnytaste.com has been a lifesaver for me. If you haven't before, you need to check out Gina's site. Her meals are amazing and so low in points! You'll be seeing a lot of her recipes make appearances on here.

Here's what's on the menu for today:

Breakfast:
Yoplait Light fat free Boston Creme Pie: 3pp

Coffee with regular milk and Splenda: 1pp

Snack:
3 Clementines: 0pp
Snack size bag of Pirate's Booty: 4pp

Lunch: 
Leftover Orecchiette with Chicken Sausage and Broccoli Rabe: 9pp (I added a ton more broccoli rabe to the recipe so my points and serving size are a bit different than Gina's original recipe)

Yum!

Dinner:
Turkey Burgers With Zucchini (4pp), plus bun: (2pp), plus avocado: (2pp): 8pp
Side salad with Basil Green Goddess Dressing: 2pp
Baked Chipotle Sweet Potato Fries: 3pp

That brings me to 30pp with 5pp left over for a pre-gym snack and a light dessert :)

Today's activity:
1 hour of Zumba earns 5pp

What's on your menu today?

It's not a diet, it's a lifestyle.

Well, hi!

I'm Ariana.  

Welcome!

I've been a big girl all my life. Voluptuous, I like to say. Which is funny because I was a stick up until the third grade. I blame grandma ("Do you want ice cream honey? Did you have dinner? Here, have another helping!"), while my mom blames my discovering the joy of reading...and eating while reading.

Lets not point fingers, hey? I'm here to make a change. Once and for all. That's why I joined Weight Watchers, and I don't plan to stop anytime soon. This is not a diet people, it's a lifestyle.

I hope you'll join me on my journey to better health, fitness, spirit, and probably most exciting and motivational for me, cuter clothes (Oh, you didn't know I'm a plus size style blogger too?)!! I'll share my workouts, recipes, losses, gains, and much more. I could really use your tips and encouragement! Here's to putting it all out there:

Starting weight: 

226.4 lbs

This week's loss:

-2.4 lbs
Current weght:
217.2

Total loss:

-9.2 lbs

Measurements as of 6/1
Bust: 47"
Waist: 38"
Hips: 49"
Dress size: 16/18

So, so close to -10 lbs! My goal for next week to break open the -10lb mark with a -2 lbs loss. Hopefully a combination of healthy but satisfying food and at least 3 workouts this week will get me there! Once I hit -10lbs I'm going to take my measurements again and see how much has changed.  Wish me luck!