bad feelings

Mmm, I'm a little nervous about tomorrow's weigh in. I wasn't TOO naughty, but most definitely not quite as nice as I should have been this week. Lots of drinks on Saturday night lead to some brownie consumption and I may or may not have also enjoyed one of my biggest weaknesses - Nutella!! And no, not spread on anything, straight off the spoon (the very best way, in my opinion).

And I'm still in a terrible rut with my work outs. I've been working earlier hours and I'm so exhausted by the end of the day that I can't even fathom hitting the gym.

Maybe I'll get lucky again and stay about the same? I guess we'll see tomorrow. Wish me luck!

Another week, another weigh in.

Hey all! Back again for my weekly weigh in.

I've been failing pretty miserably at getting back into my 3 day a week work out pattern that I had before leaving for vacation. At that point I was doing a weight lifting class once a week and at least 2 days of cardio, usually one class and then on my own on the elliptical. I've slowed since then. This week I managed to do my weight class for the first time in two weeks, and have been taking walks after work. I know that's not much compared to the activity I was doing before, but it's better than just sitting around isn't it?

Anyway, I must be doing something right because I still managed to have another small loss this week.

Starting weight: 

226.4

Last week's weight

210.8

This week's weight:

209.8

Total loss:

-16.6lbs

It is so exciting to look at these numbers and see myself in the single digits of 200lbs! I am about the weight I was freshman year of college, and in another -9lbs, I'll be about where I was when I graduated high school! My (hopefully) very easy goal is to be at 200 by the end of the year. I HOPE that I will be down much more than that in 3+ months, but I hope to be at that point at the very, very least.

How did you all do this week?

Friday recap

Late again to post about this Friday's weigh in.

Last week's weight: 

211.6 lbs

This week's weight: 

210.8 lbs

Loss:

-.8 lbs

Another .8 lbs down. I'm not at all complaining about these small losses the last few weeks because I've been a bit out of the groove. I've not been tracking as precisely as I was before I went away for vacation, and my workouts have slacked off in a major way - as in I haven't worked out once in the past two weeks. I mentioned to my boyfriend that hopefully the fact that I'm still losing is because I've learned better eating habits and correct portion sizes, which is definitely true, but he suggested that some of the loss might be coming from losing muscle mass since I haven't been doing my usual weight lifting. I wonder if he's right? 

I need to get back on the work out train. Time to get off my lazy ass! I'm going to ease myself in today with a long, brisk walk on my local bike trail.

How did you all do this week?

No sense was made.

For realsies, my body is SO WEIRD.

Last week, when I did a lot of walking and one night of Body Pump, I gained .8lbs.

This week, I did NO physical activity. None. I also binged on food and drink at a wedding, and snacked my way through the days. I was completely resigned to seeing the scale go up at least 2 lbs this morning.

But I lost .4lbs.

I DON'T GET IT!!

I mean, I'm not complaining, I juuuuuust don't get it!

Last week's weight:

212 lbs

This week's weight:

211.6

Total loss: 

-14.8 lbs

Dinner last night was practically a three course meal, but healthy and delicious! Of course, I turned to Skinnytaste and here's what I chose:

Broiled or Grilled Pollo Sabroso
Servings: 6 • Serving Size: 1 thigh • Old Points: 4 pts • Points+: 4 pts
Calories: 154.1 • Fat: 9.5 g • Protein: 15.5 g • Carb: 0.4 g • Fiber: 0.1 g 

Ingredients:

• 6 medium chicken thighs
• 1 tbsp vinegar
• 2 tsp soy sauce
• 1 packet Sazon *(I left out the sazon, didn't have any!)
• Adobo (in Spanish aisle)
• garlic powder
• oregano
• a drop of agave

Directions:

Season chicken with vinegar, agave and soy sauce. Add sazon, a generous amount of adobo, garlic powder, oregano and mix well. (Don't use your hands or they will turn orange) Let chicken marinade at least 20 minutes. Broil or grill on low until chicken is cooked through, careful not to burn. (I broiled them about 7 minutes, flipped, then broiled another 5-6).

Scallion Cilantro Rice with Habaneros and Lime
Gina's Weight Watcher Recipes
Servings: 4 • Size: 3/4 cup • Calories: 192 • Old Points: 4 pts • Points+: 5 pts

• 1 cup uncooked long grain rice (I used regular Uncle Ben's)
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 habanero pepper, diced  (No thanks, too hot for me!)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 cups water
• 2 scallions, diced
• 1/4 cup fresh chopped cilantro
• 2 tbsp fresh lime juice (I used the juice of an entire lime, not sure how much it is)

In a small heavy pot add oil and saute pepper on medium heat (I sauteed some of the scallion whites instead). Add rice, water and salt. Boil on high until most of the water evaporates. When the water just skims the top of the rice, reduce flame to low and cover about 15 minutes. Shut off stove and keep covered an additional 5 minute.

In a medium bowl, combine chopped scallions, cilantro, lime juice, rice and toss until completely mixed. Makes approx 3 cups.

Cuban Style Black Beans
Gina's Weight Watcher Recipes
Servings: 4 • Size: 1/2 cup • Old Points: 2 pts • Points+: 3 pts
Calories: 113.9 • Fat: 2.9 g • Protein: 6.8 g • Carb: 19.9 g • Fiber: 6.0 g 

• 2 tsp olive oil
• 1/2 onion
• 2 cloves garlic
• 2 scallions
• 2 tbsp red bell pepper
• 3 tbsp cilantro
• 15 oz can black bean, do not drain
• 1/2 cup water (or more if needed)
• 1 bay leaf
• few pinches cumin (to taste)
• pinch oregano
• 1 tsp red wine vinegar
• salt and black pepper to taste
• Chili powder to taste

Chop onion, garlic, scallions, red pepper, and cilantro in a mini chopper of food processor.

Add oil to a medium-sized pot on medium heat. Add vegetables to the pot and saute until soft, about 3 minutes. Add beans, water, bay leaf, cumin, oregano, red wine vinegar, salt and black pepper and bring to a boil. Lower heat and cover, simmer about 15 minutes stirring occasionally (Mine had a lot of liquid, so I simmered it. Taste for salt and serve.
*My edits.

Dinner Point total:
Chicken, 2 pieces: 8pp
Rice, 3/4 cups: 5 pp
Beans, 1 cup: 6pp
                     19 pp

Souper low fat mushroom soup

Get it?? Souper...super...

....well, I giggled!

Here's a recipe I made last night from Skinnytaste - creamy mushroom soup! This soup is so so so delicious, I'm still in disbelief that it's only ONE POINT for a 1 1/4 cups of soup!! And it's super easy to make! This soup has become a staple in my house.

Low Fat Creamy Mushroom Soup
Gina's Weight Watcher Recipes 
Servings: 5 • Serving Size: 1 1/4 cup • Old Points: 1 pts • Points+: 1 pts
Calories: 49 • Fat: 1.8 g • Carb: 6.6 g • Fiber: 1.1 g • Protein: 3.2 g

• 3 tbsp flour
• 4 cups water
• 2 chicken bullion cubes
• 5 oz shitake mushrooms, sliced
• 8 oz baby bella, sliced
• 1 celery stalk, whole with leaves removed
• 1 tbsp light butter

Place cold water and flour in a blender and blend until smooth, pour into a medium pot and set heat to medium. Add celery, mushrooms, chicken bullion and butter and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer until vegetables are soft, about 20 minutes. Remove celery and a cup of soup, blend, then return back to the pot.

 Ta da!! Quick and easy and so tasty!! I didn't bother to blend the celery, my soup was creamy enough so I simply discarded the stalk and served. I had 2 cups for dinner, and plan on a cup for lunch to go with my salad :)

Here's whats up with me

Hello there everyone.

So I'm a little behind the times here. To summarize the last few days quickly: I weighed in a day late last week, and ended up gaining .8lbs. I wasn't too surprised as I found myself snacking a lot that week.

This week is looking to go the same way - I'm finding it difficult to get motivated to get to the gym and have been tracking only half heartedly, not as precisely as I was before vacation. I'm in a rut! The rainy weather we've been having all week has done nothing to help either - All I want to do is get under the covers and sleep when it's dreary like this out!

Hopefully it clears up soon because I started taking long walks down a local bike path near my house before the weather turned, and I was really enjoying it! It's about a four mile path down a river and through a pretty wooded area, and though I'm not running it (SO not there yet), walking it is way better than sitting on my ass!

I'm going to continue trying to eat as well as I can this week but I don't expect to drop any lbs by Friday. I went to a wedding on Sunday and ate and drank tons. But, there was a LOT of Greek dancing going on, and if you've ever Greek danced before you know it's a real workout! So hopefully I'll only do a tiny bit damage.

Paycheck comes tomorrow and I'm going to hit Trader Joe's and stock up on food so I can make myself healthy lunches and dinners for whole week to come.

See ya on Friday!