I'm down another 2.2 at weigh in this morning! That's a total of 17.6 now and I couldn't be prouder! We are on our way to Orange Beach for a wedding!

I will be a Weekend Warrior!

Due to my impending trip to the beach in which we are leaving on Thursday (I am in my friend Courtland's wedding), I have had to temporarily change my weigh in day to Thursday.  So alas, I will have no update for you on Monday.  Because Weight Watchers requires you to have at least 7 days between weigh-ins, I have to figure it out where I don't have two weeks between weigh-in, because it's easier to get off track without weighing in.  So...I will weigh in Thursday morning on our way out and then will return to my Saturday schedule on 5/8.  Hope this doesn't throw you devoted followers for a loop!

That being said, I don't have my normal Saturday morning weigh in to keep me accountable this weekend so I really have to suck it up and do my best!  Bring on the motivation, please!  : )

Here is your meal for the day:

(btw - I'm listing the points as if I had eaten the whole chicken breast and then listing what it was since I cut it in half in parentheses)
Boneless, skinless chicken breast - 3 Points (1.5)
Half a pack of dry zesty Italian dressing mix - 1 Point (0.5)
2 Tbsp of Kroger brand shaved Parmesan cheese - 1 Point (1)
1/2 c. instant brown rice - 1 Point
1 c. steamed broccoli - 0 Points
TOTAL = 6 Points (4 Points)

So...here's how you make the chicken (using a 3-pack of chicken breasts):
Wash and trim all visible fat from chicken breasts (cut out all the arteries and red vein places, too)
In a small baking dish, combine 2 small packets of dry Zesty Italian with 6 tbsp of shaved or shredded Parmesan and mix together.  Coat each side of each chicken breast with the mixture and place in a Pyrex dish that is lightly sprayed with non-stick cooking spray.  Bake at 350 for 45-50 minutes or until completely cooked through.  That's it!

I will hopefully post via my Blackberry on Thursday morning while in route to the beach with the latest weight loss update!

Have a happy weekend and those in Huntsville...be wary of the tornadoes tomorrow!

New Look - Exciting!

Welcome to the new blog!
New name, new look!

I decided since the blog kind of veered away from the musings of my married life to more about my Weight Watchers journey, I thought a new look was in order...as well as a new name!  So this has been about a week in coming together.  I'm still not 100% there on how I want this blog to look, but it's getting there.  I really wanted a look that was fun and really captured who I am as a person and a blogger.  My quest in this has always been to write posts that are entertaining, uplifting, motivational, funny, and also helpful to others on a weight loss journey.  I want the blog to be relevant to all readers - not just those on Weight Watchers.  So be aware some changes will be taking place...some subtle, some not so. 

Please encourage friends and others to check it out and let me know what you all think!

Milestones and Grilling Out...

Good afternoon! Down .6 this week and while that may not sound like a lot...it is over half a pound! The more I lose, the harder it will be to continue losing. The more you weight, the faster it comes off. More importantly...I hit a major "me" milestone this week. My total loss is 15.4 and I am officially only 10 pounds away from my wedding day weight! Here are some of my milestones I plan to accomplish:
The "10% of Starting Weight" Milestone - 18 pounds lost total
The "Half Way There" Milestone - 23 pounds lost total
The "Wedding Weight" Milestone - 25.5 pounds lost total
The "Big 3-0" Milestone - 30 pounds lost total
The "Three Quarters Way There" Milestone - 34.5 pounds lost total
The "Graduated from College Weighing This" Milestone - 41 pounds lost total
The "GOAL!" Milestone - 46 pounds lost total

For each milestone, I'm going to let myself have a non-food reward. I learned about these in one of my meetings. You treat yourself to something totally unrelated to food. For example - most of my milestones have a clothing award attached to them! Another non-food reward I'm giving myself is a mani/pedi at the Heavenly Spa by Westin. My GOAL reward...a new Lilly Pulitzer dress! Extravagant, yes, but I don't care! I love me some Lilly! I really think these are better motivators than food! Of course...one of my rewards is a real margarita (which are totally NOT good on WW...about 12-17 points EACH - for only 10oz).

Give it a try...make a milestone list like I have and set a specific non-food reward for each one. I promise you will see yourself striving even more to reach non-food items than food ones!
I spent the better part of ALL DAY after church yesterday cleaning our house. I'm talking DEEP clean...I dusted every square inch with not only a duster, but also furniture polish, vacuumed every single blind in the house, vacuumed and scrubbed baseboards, scrubbed tubs and toilets, laundry, the works! It was about 6 hours of cleaning and guess what? I earned 5 activity points for all of it! I probably will try not to use them, but it felt great to get my spring cleaning done and get a good work out in the process! Think lots of squats and lots of vacuuming using those arm muscles...

Finally - after all that cleaning, we had worked up an appetite! I had a good amount of Points left for the day and so we cooked up a great dinner that is perfect for grilling out and staying on track! Here it is...(btw - that is my finger pulling back the cheese to reveal the chicken)

3 oz grilled chicken breast (boneless and skinless) - 3 Points
BBQ sauce marinade - 1/2 Point
Healthy Life Light Wheat Bun - 1 Point
Sargento Reduced Fat Provolone - 1 Point
Corn on the cob (boiled with garlic salt sprinkled on it) - 1 Point
1 cup of fresh cut cantaloupe and watermelon - 1 Point
TOTAL DINNER - 7.5 Points and so filling. Loved it!

2.4 down...31.2 to go!

Good afternoon!
I'm late today...busy Monday at work!

I have exciting news...I lost 2.4 pounds last week! That's a total weight loss of 14.8, people! What an exciting Saturday I had knowing my hard work is paying off...it may be slow some weeks, but others show great improvement to make up for it! The best part is I am 3.2 pounds away from losing 10% of my original body weight - WOW! I'm still in the "Overweight" category on the BMI scale, but that's OK...every little pound and tenth of a pound gets me that much closer to the "Normal" range - 17.2 pounds away from that.

That paragraph brings to the "why" of this weight loss journey. Don't get me wrong, I want to look great again like I used to, I want to fit back in to a particular size that I used to fit into, I want to have more energy and more self confidence (of course, that last one has to come from within, but I already see myself so much confident in my appearance now than 8 weeks ago!). But I started the whole thing February 6th because the week before I had to go to the doctor for something and of course, they take your weight blood pressure. I was mortified to see the number flash up there in front of the nurse. To make matters worse, my blood pressure was 170/96 - YIKES! They told me to get it down or I was going to the hospital. Those who know me know I don't do needles...I mean, I fainted when I got my ears pierced at age 8 and still to this day I cry every single year when I have to get my flu shot. Yes, I'm 27 and I cry in front of everyone when getting a flu shot. So now you know the background on my journey isn't purely for looks, but more for my own health. It scared me to know my b/p was that high and that it was my fault it got that way. You know the best part? My acid reflux is pretty much non-existent now. Gone! What an amazing feeling!

I encourage everyone who is struggling with how to get started to give Weight Watchers a try. Everyone is different and everyone's body is different, I can only say what I know works for me! And it becomes like a game or challenge...each week someone is seeing my weight (privately, of course!) and I'm obligated to not let myself down in front of them.

Thanks for all the comments, emails, tweets, etc. with questions/comments/encouragement. I love it and hope to continue to give great advice and even great recipe, meal, and product ideas.

Here's what I'm giving you this week...a 0 Point drink mix company! YES - 0 POINTS!
Baja Bob's is the name of the company and they make a plethora of mixes you use to make drinks such as Margaritas, Mai Tais, Hurricanes, even Mud Slides! All you do is add the liquor to the mix and enjoy! I have yet to try them yet, but plan to have an order coming my way shortly! Click the Baja Bob's above to go to the site and be amazed! I'll do a post on the drinks once I've tried them. Of course...please drink responsibly!

Protein. Boring? I Think Not...

Shocking, I know...another post two days after my last one! I've been meaning to do a quick post on protein for a while now, and I'll try to make it as interesting as possible! I wish someone had told me about this sooner...
When I first started this second round at Weight Watcher on February 6, I was confident. I mean, I had lost 20+ pounds when I did it back in 2008. I was FIRED UP! I knew what I could do and I was ready to go. Big girl gonna get her slim on, yeah-ya. However, this time, I started out 7.2 pounds heavier. Ugh. I cringe. I noticed my body was still trying to tell me it was hungry by that annoying little pain you get when you aren't quite full enough. That's when I learned about protein and how it and fiber are what keep you feeling full and satisfied longer. Then I found these:
Special K Protein Bars. They actually have other varieties, this is just the one I happened to eat this morning. Excuse the shiny/dirty desk. So these bars are only 3 Points and come in this flavor, chocolate peanut butter, and also in chocolate and strawberry (sorry, but a strawberry granola bar kinds of makes me dry heave...). PLUS - 10 grams (yes, 10!!!) of protein and 5 grams of fiber make for a very happy me come 11:30 because I'm not starving. Letting yourself get too hungry is what makes you gorge (followed by a miserable bloat) and therefore, eat too much.


My favorite of the meal replacement products is actually the protein shake in chocolate. It is like a Slim Fast shake in that it is a meal replacement, however, these taste WAY better. And again, 3 Points. Yes, you do have to get over the fact that you are drinking a milk product (I guess it's milk...?) that has been sitting on a shelf in the grocery store and not originally refrigerated (PUH-LEASE - of course I refrigerate mine a minimum of 12 hours before I consume. Warm, thick chocolate milk? Uh, no thanks).


Now, on to the oh-so-delightful chocolate peanut snack bar. I am not kidding when I say this thing is almost better than a Snickers. So freaking good. These get snatched up at my grocery store so fast, so when they re-stock, I try to get 2-3 boxes at a time. The good thing about these is, they are perfect for the 3:00 sluggish feeling. 5 grams of protein, some fiber, all YUM! 2 Points.


Lastly, the K20 Protein Water mix. You just dumb the powder from one packet into a bottle of water, shake, and drink! It is a protein boost with some fiber that helps take the edge off of hunger and they really are great! Here's my tip - the powder clumps really bad at first. You have to initially shake it pretty hard for a good 15-20 seconds. Notice the clumps at the bottom. LET IT SIT FOR 5 MINUTES. Then shake it up for another 15-20 seconds and let it sit again for a few minutes. Shake one more time and you should be clump free! Also, it helps if there is a little air at the top of the bottle, so take a quick sip before you put the powder in. My favorite flavors are Strawberry Kiwi and Pink Lemonade, but they also have Lemonade and Tea flavors. Ready for the best part? 0 Points! Yeah...you're running out the door to store right now, aren't you?

You'll find all of these products on the aisle in the store with the Atkins, South Beach, Slim Fast products. At Wal-Mart, they are near the pharmacy section. At Kroger, they are in different places. At Publix they are in the pharmacy section as well. Now go eat your protein so you can grow up to be big (wait...aren't I trying to get AWAY from the word BIG?)and strong.

Easter

First thing - I actually got up and went to a WW in Atlanta this weekend while we were visiting my parents for Easter. I had lost .8 for a grand total of 12.4 so I'm pretty happy. I would like to lose another 5 before being in my friend's wedding May 1. I can do this!

It was so wonderful to spend time with my family this weekend. We just hung out and played LOTS of Corn Hole! If you don't know that game, you need to! It is all sorts of fun so click that link and go order a board. Yes, they're a tad pricey, but with spring here and summer knocking at our doors, you NEED this game. You will get so much enjoyment out of it!

I want to reflect on what Easter means to my family and me. Yeah, weight loss was nice this weekend and so was playing Corn Hole with the fam. But I was sick Saturday night with an upset stomach and missed Sunrise Service at church. And I felt really bad about this. But I'm thinking about it now, that I don't need to. Because I know in my heart of hearts what this holiday is about. It wasn't about the food or the games, but about celebrating the fact that our Lord forgives us for everything and he is Risen on this day! He did the impossible and came back from the dead in order to be the light of the world. We are saved by His grace and His alone. We do not gain entry into Heaven by sitting in church once a week. You can't "earn" your way or "buy" your way in. It is by the grace of God and our belief that Jesus Chris is the Son of God that came to take away the sin of the world that we are forgiven and given the chance at life everlasting. That is the ONLY way. He is Risen Indeed!!!

Quick family portrait Sunday afternoon after eating lunch enjoying the amazing weather. Our family portrait:
P.S. - I'm going to be an AUNT!!! My sister-in-law, Haley, is pregnant and will be 17 weeks on Wednesday. We found out Friday it is a BOY! So much fun! My nephew is due September 15 and I couldn't be more excited! Praise God that He is blessing us all with this new addition!

Attack of the Starburst Jelly Beans

Like seriously...these little buggers are so stinking good. So good! They're fat free, which is fine, but they are 150 calories for a quarter cup. That's nothing. That's one hand full. I've been good to just have a couple every once in a while when I sweet craving pops up. But today I had an ATTACK and ate two massive handfuls before I even looked up. I'm so bad...someone stop me from myself!

1/2 c. of Starburst Jelly Beans:6 Points (GAG!!!)
The damage...