Weighty Wednesday -- Good and Bad Choices

As the title suggests, I made good and bad choices last week. Post weigh-in the week started off AWESOME! I was doing WW Simply Filling--the most basic of food choices. I had plenty of water, protein and fruits and veggies (no sugar or flour), and by Friday morning, I had managed to drop four pounds.

WooHoo!

And then Friday night happened (Whataburger Jr. A-1 Thick and Hardy burger and fries).

And then Saturday night after the swim meet (Chuy's Tacos al Carbon)

And then Sunday at the swim meet a healthy food-fest, but still a food fest, pizza from Savastano's for dinner, and then to top it off, Pretzel Caramel Crunch from Andy's. *YUM*

And with Monday being a holiday and my kidlet was home from school that meant quesadilla for lunch, homemade cookies for afternoon snack.

Ugh, just looking at this list is making me gain weight!

This list looks horrible. I should have gained pounds, right?

Well, I might not have eaten the best, but I was able to control my portion size, and I only ate until I wasn't hungry.

This is one of the big lessons you have to learn when you are losing weight: 

Eat only until you are not hungry any longer. When you eat until you're full, you've already overeaten.

Oh, and I managed to lose 1.2 pounds. 

It might not seem like much, but it's a start. 

So let's break this down:

Friday night was a lack of communication between me and my hubs. I had taken our daughter to warm-up prior to the swim meet and went home to wait for him to get home from work. By then I was already starving (mistake #1--never NOT eat. You have less control over your food when you do get something to eat). He assumed we would just go to the meet, while I assumed we would have a quick bite someplace nearby before we went to the meet. By the time he got home, I was in complete meltdown mode and eating a salad at just wasn't going to cut it, so we went to Whataburger across from a really good place to get a salad, Schlotzsky's. 

But instead of getting a large A-1 Thick and Hearty burger and demolishing it. I got as JUNIOR sized one. Yes, my friends you can order a specialty burger in Junior sizes, which is slightly more than half of a regular sized one. If I hadn't starved to this point, I probably could have left a few bites on my plate, but I was too far gone. :-(

Okay, I did eat 3/4 of the fries, but such is life. 

Saturday was good. I walked. I ate a nice late breakfast. I didn't take any snacks to the afternoon swim meet because the hubs and I decided to treat the kiddo to Chuy's (Mexican food) after the swim meet for an early dinner. I was hungry, but I took a couple tortilla chips, broke them into pieces and shoveled the salsa fresco into my face. I also didn't order the margarita that I wanted, instead I stuck with water. I also didn't eat the creamy jalapeno dip,which is sooo good! When got my tacos, I ate only one with the flour tortilla, the other one I husked, leaving the tortilla behind. It was a decent food day.

Sunday was another beast entirely. The swim meet started at 10 AM and lasted through lunch. I brought healthy snacks (fruit, cheese, granola bars, water), but I was constantly eating stuff. I really didn't like doing it, but it was the only way to fight the misery of the bleachers! When we got home, we cleaned the house and I did laundry and some yard work, while hubby washed and dried the dog. Pizza was an easy choice. How do you make it healthier without it tasting like cardboard? Get a thin crust. I would say get veggies instead of processed meats, but I can't deny my pepperoni and sausage cravings!

And there' no excuse for the frozen custard. . . but it was really, really good. 

Monday was cave day. Kidlet and I watched movies while I painted her nails. Quesadillas and cookies seemed like a good choice . . . 

And, of course, weigh in was Tuesday, which was why I was surprised that I actually lost any weight. 

I'm focused and forging forward this week. I'll be focused until the weekend, but I hope to make good choices if we happen to go out to eat. 

I'll let you know next week. 

Remember, we all have food challenges to face. Yes, we might make a poor choice here or there, but the key is to make it only once, not the entire day. Drink lots of water, eat lots of wonderful fruits and veggies, and take a walk. It's the little things that you do right that add up in the big picture of things. 

Later, Peeps!

Swim Meet! -- again

This last weekend, the hubs and I sat in a chlorine-scented sauna for hours, where we learned to contort ours bodies into a ridiculously tiny space on uncomfortable bleacher seats.

Yes, my friends, we were at a swim meet . . . at our home pool.

Two summers ago, some school bond money went into the renovation of the pool. Even I, with no knowledge of how much something like this would cost, knew that a couple hundred thousand dollars wouldn't buy them much.  It didn't. I won't go into the other major items that weren't addressed, but I will go into the problem of ventilation.

Supposedly the ventilation system was 'fixed'. If it was fixed, then it's hard to call it a good fix.

Though it was a small swim meet, the bleachers were packed every single day.

The bleachers aren't bad if there are only a few observers, but when people are packed in like sardines, sitting in the bleachers is a miserable experience.

You couldn't walk down a row because the knees of the people in the upper row are directly in the backs of the people in the lower row. It was only when someone got up to go to the bathroom could you feel a slight breeze from the ventilation. One of the swim moms said that before the ventilation fix the temperature would be about 120 degrees, well, I guess what they did worked because it was only about 98 degrees up there. . . yeah, still not comfortable!

Griping over with for now, I have to say that my kidlet did a great job swimming considering she managed to sprain her wrist the previous Sunday while roller skating. Last Tuesday, I took her into the doc for exam and then x-rays.

It wasn't broken, but that didn't mean it didn't hurt. Luckily, since it was a medical issue, she was allowed to wear a wrap to help support it.

This is where having an animal supply place nearby comes in handy. I tried to find a Vetrap-type product at a sporting goods store, but all I found was Kineseology tape. Er, it wasn't waterproof. I made it to the animal supply place on Thursday.

Oh, what is Vetrap, you ask?

Have you ever gone into the doctor's office and had them draw blood?

I think it goes by a different name, Medrap, or something like that. Its the stretchy sticky skin tone stuff they wrap around the cotton ball they put over the needle hole.

The cool thing about Vetrap, other than the cheaper price, is the fact that it comes in a myriad of colors. I picked up hot pink, blue and purple.

. . . and for once, I could pick out my kid from the sea of similarly dressed and swim capped kids milling around waiting for their heat to start. 

Sometimes having a meet at your home pool makes it difficult to get out of 'practice' mode and into competition mode, but my daughter killed it on Friday night. So much so that I think she spent the rest of the weekend in recovery mode!

One thing to note: a swimmer might add time to their event, but they BEST time in a two year period will be used to seed them in the heat line up. 

I think that's right, but don't quote me!

Friday:
400 Medley -- no previous time -- 6:04.41 -- She killed it! She beat the OAG qualifying time by 15 seconds!
400 Free -- no previous time -- 5:39.91 -- I felt sorry for the girls who swam the 400 IM because they had to turn around and swim the 400 Free less than 10 minutes later! She was just 5 seconds off from qualifying for OAG, and totally exhausted, I might add!
Saturday:
200 Free -- 2:37.21-- previously qualified for OAG's --added 1 second.
100 Back --1:23.86 --minus 0.36 seconds
100 Fly -- 1:23.77 --added  0.35 seconds
50 Free -- 33.74 -- minus 0.95 seconds
Sunday: 
200 Back --2:55.93 -- Previously qualified for OAGs- added 4 seconds
100 Breast -- 1:35.60 -- minus 2.00
100 Free -- 1:13.07 -- added 0.18 seconds
200 Fly -- 3:05.86 -- no previous time

All in all, the kidlet had a great meet--especially competing with a bunged up wrist!

Later, Peeps!

Foodie Friday -- Cream Cheese Pound Cake

For those of you who dabble in social media, you might have seen me post this picture last Friday.

The point of this picture is to show you that boo-boos happen to the best bakers, but most of them can't laugh at themselves enough to post it on social media.

I have no problem embarrassing myself.

But after I took the cake out, let it cool and popped it out of the pan. It looked like this. Purty, huh?

Let's just say that the cleanup took a bit longer than expected since I had to clean the oven racks, the bottom of the oven, the counters I managed to get crumby, but Maggie (the dog) took care of the crumbs on the floor.

Though this is a simple recipe with few ingredients, I will warn you that it is extremely TIME intensive--from the 10 minutes required to cream the butter and sugar together to baking it in a cold oven and increasing the temp every 20 minutes until it bakes for an hour.

So if you have a couple hours to spare then this is a fabulous recipe! I'm sorry, but I have no idea where I found this recipe. It might be Bon Appetit, but I could be wrong. Sorry!

*Before you even start, if you don't want your cake to look like the first picture make sure that your Bundt pan is a 12-cup one! I didn't measure my fancy-schmancy pan and look what happened!*

Cream Cheese Pound Cake

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, room temperature
1 8-ounce package cream cheese, room temperature
3 cups sugar
1 tsp. salt
6 large eggs, room temperature
4 tsp. vanilla extract
3 cups sifted all purpose flour

Butter and flour 12-cup Bundt pan. Using electric mixer, beat butter and cream cheese in large bowl until fluffy, about 4 minutes. Add sugar and salt; beat 10 minutes, occasionally scraping down sides of bowl. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating until blended after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Beat in flour at low speed until batter is smooth (do not overbeat). Transfer batter to pan.

Place pan in cold oven. Set temperature at 200 degrees F; bake 20 minutes. Increase temperature to 250 degrees F; bake 20 minutes. Increase temperature to 275 degrees F; bake 10 minutes. Increase temperature to 300 degrees F, bake cake until tester inserted near center comes out clean, about 1 hour longer. Cool cake on rack 15 minutes. Turn cake out onto rack; cool completely.

Can be made 3 days ahead. Wrap in plastic and store at room temperature.

Tips & Tricks: 

• When it says room temperature, it means room temperature. If you plan to make this in the morning, then set the ingredients on the counter before you go to bed. 
• You know my feelings about fat free or 1/3 less fat or off brand cream cheese--don't cheat! Use the real stuff. It's not you'll be eating the whole thing alone. This is called a "special occasion cake". Don't mess with a good thing.
• Oops, I forgot to sift the flour. Cake turned out great! I used Gold Medal flour if that helps your decision to sift, or not to sift, . . . plus there's less flour all over the place if you don't sift. 
• If you don't have a standing mixer, be prepared to hold the mixer for 4 minutes, 10 minutes and then when you add an egg at a time, and then when you add the flour in small increment...unless you want to see the flour fly all over the kitchen. By any standards, that's a freaking long time!
• I used butter flavored spray to coat the Bundt pan before flouring.
• If the batter fills the pan more than 1/2 to 2/3 full, you might have the same problem I did. Set the pan on a large cookie sheet so you only have one messy pan to clean up instead of the oven. Just saying. 
• Though my Bundt pan is non-stick and I butter and floured it, the overflow made it stick a little around the top edge and it didn't immediately release. . . so I cut away the overflow and beat on the pan with a wooden spoon to encourage the cake to release. 

We had company and enjoyed the cake with berries mixed with a little Grand Marnier. It was yummy!

Enjoy!
Later, Peeps!

Weighty Wednesday -- Do Over!

I'm calling a "do over" and scrubbing all thoughts of last week from my mind.

Needless to say, I managed to gain 0.2 of a pound. . . it  might have had something to do with drinking 3 glasses of water on my walk or the banana I ate before weigh in.

No matter what it was. I have to say that, in the big picture, Simple Start didn't work for me.

Don't get me wrong, it's a GREAT concept, it's just that it didn't work with my lifestyle/family/etc.

I think I'll need to do a combination of Simple Start, Simply Filling, portion control, counting points and tracking . . .

Yep, the whole enchilada.

mmmm . . . .enchiladas . . ...

That's the frustrating part of the weight loss journey, what works for one person won't necessarily work for another person. . . and it won't necessarily work the second time around.

You have to figure out what works for YOU! But you have to give time. As easy as it is to gain weight, plan triple that time to lose it.

When I reached my goal weight and started maintenance, I let one random person's comment derail my entire life. I had tracking down. I had portion control down. I was happy with all the fruits and veggies, and lack of bread products in my life. I should have stuck with the way I was doing things and trusted my body enough to know when to stop losing weight.

But I listened to this person, and look where it got me. Not quite back to square one, but I definitely have to get my weight loss mojo back because I don't want to do this yo-yo crap any longer!

Don't let someone's false concern that you are losing too much weight derail you. I did. It isn't a good place to be when I realized all it took was just a little bit their negativity to send me spiraling out of control.

Yes, it's my fault. I'm not blaming them. That's the way saboteurs work. They get into your head just enough to mess you up.

Don't let it happen to you.

Now, I have to focus and buckle down to lose the weight I gained.

Wish me luck!

Later, Peeps!

Foodie Friday -- Quick and Easy Stir Fry

I'll admit that I'm not the most inventive cook ever. I need a recipe or a picture to get my mind thinking about alternate possibilities. The handbook for Weight Watcher's Simple Start did that for me. It had a picture of a stir fry shrimp and veggies sitting next to a pile of rice.

So yesterday I posted this picture on Facebook.

And bragged that even my non-cooking friends can make this. Sorry, but there are more than three ingredients. And I did some chopping, but it was quick and easy to make for lunch.

*The KEY thing to remember when making stir fry -- have all your ingredients next to your skillet or wok ready to cook because it cooks very quickly over high heat*

Stir Fry Shrimp

Please read the tips and tricks at the bottom of the recipe. This is where I share all my secrets . . . to the recipe, people!

Shrimp
Garlic, chopped
Shredded cabbage
Broccoli slaw
Onion, thin slices
Sliced mushrooms
Baby Spinach leaves
Teriyaki sauce
Soy Sauce
Worcestershire sauce
Olive oil cooking spray

Place wok over high heat. Spray with olive oil. When hot, add chopped garlic, spray with more olive oil if looks too dry. Place frozen shrimp in skillet. They will sizzle and steam. IF shrimp or garlic is browning too quickly add just a little water. After about a minute, flip them over to brown on the other side. Toss in sliced onion, and a handful or two of cabbage and broccoli slaw. Let it steam for a minute. Toss around.  Let the veggies cook. Drizzle teriyaki sauce around the skillet. Repeat with soy sauce and Worcestershire sauce. Add mushrooms and spinach, toss around. Taste for flavor. Place in bowl. Enjoy!

Tips & Tricks: 

• Use a flat-bottom wok or large skillet
• Use a flat edged wooden spoon to toss cooking ingredients
• I used 7 pre-cooked frozen large shrimp for a single serving
• Can use chopped garlic from a jar, as little or as much as you like. I used about a heaping teaspoon as I like garlic
• Do NOT use powdered garlic. I tried this the previous day. It didn't do much for the dish. 
• The veggies will cook down so use more than you think you'll need. It's just veggies so remember they are ZERO points plus Weight Watcher values! More is better.
• Broccoli slaw and cabbage are bagged, ready to cook, in the fresh food area
• I had some freeze dried mushrooms on hand, but you can find fresh sliced mushrooms in the fresh food section
• I sliced some white onion that I had in the fridge. You can also buy chopped green onion in the fresh food area if you're like me and green onions go funky in your fridge.
• Stack spinach leaves in a pile and slice thinly into strips. This knife cut is called Julienne.
• If you want to use another meat instead of shrimp, then cut it in thin strips for quick cooking. Cut firm tofu into cubes.
• I drizzled the liquid ingredients around the wok a couple of time. 
• Soy sauce can be very salty. Taste test the veggies before you add more.
• I meant to buy bean sprouts, but forgot.
• I meant to add some red pepper flakes for more heat, but the Worchestershire added an unexpected bite. 
• If you have never eaten shrimp with a little shell on the tail. Pinch above the tail and pull on the meat. It will slide right out of the rest of the shell. 

I think that's it. If you have questions, please ask.
Enjoy!

Later, Peeps!

Shadow Dreams

I'm plotting my next four stories. I have no choice because each story overlaps and interweaves within the other stories.

I might have mentioned this before . . . once or five times.

In other words, I'm staring, and walking, and thinking; and talking out loud to myself, and randomly blurting out words at inopportune times, and dreaming. And then I run to my random pieces of paper and scribble something down on the appropriate page.

Lather, rinse, repeat.

I woke up at 4 AM, with my hands twisted under my neck, supporting it (which was actually very comfortable). I was warm and toasty. And I had an amazing dream that could help point me the right direction on the Earth elemental plot problem I was having.

Except I couldn't remember the dream . . . at all. Nothing, nada, zip-a-rooni, not a clue.

And the dream gave me such a happy and glowing feeling.

I lay there or a minute or two and tried to remember. But it wasn't coming back to me. . .

Yet.

How many times have you been in a conversation and you can't recall a particular word, or name, or whatever? Then ten minutes later, you're driving away and blurt it out?

Yeah, like that.

The mind is a wonderful thing. I know my sub-conscience is working on the problem and sometimes the answer comes to a problem when we aren't focused on that particular issue.

So today I plan to figure out the theme of these stories. It will be a little difficult because they are their own story but have to link into this greater conspiracy theory issue. . . .

wait a second . . .

So THAT's what these stories are all about . . .

Time to go. I have to jot this down before I forget it!

Later, Peeps!

Weighty Wednesday -- New Year, New Attitude

Good Morning!

I have to admit that over the holidays I took a mental break on my weight loss journey.

I had a HORRIBLE weigh-in. I knew I would because I weigh myself at home. I knew what was happening because I weigh myself at home, plus I could feel my size 6 jeans getting tighter and tighter . . . and tighter. So tight and uncomfortable, I moved into my 'emergency' size 8 jeans.

I don't like wearing my size 8's.

When I went to my first Weight Watcher meeting of the year, I decided to wear my HEAVIEST clothes.

Why did you do that, you lunatic?

So the weight loss would be that much sweeter next week. :-)

My previous weigh-in was in early December and I only gained 3 pounds over the Christmas/New Year holidays, BUT the problem started as far back as in July.

So what did I weigh?

146.6 pounds. EEEEEEeeeeeeekkkkkkk!!

Remember my goal weight is 130 pounds with a +/- 2 pound wiggle room. 

This needs to be fixed, and fixed now!

And I wasn't the only one in the room with this issue. Oh, no, my friends, there were at least 10 other ladies at this particular meeting who had been at goal and had wandered from the path. Remember a year or so ago, when I said the journey continues even though one reaches a goal weight. It's true. We will be challenged our entire life with making the right choices.

The key is to realize when you have to wake up, be accountable, and start making those right choices again.

Into this scenario comes Weight Watcher's Simple Start.

Simple start is an expansion on the idea of Simple Filling--a technique that I LOVE--but with the added advantage of meal suggestions.

As I tended to get into a rut while on Simply Filling, the simply, easy menu suggestions really help to get the ideas flowing and gave me the excitement to jump into the program again! I went to the store and bought a bunch of awesome food products and I'm happy to start!

Along with the Simple Start program, my hubby bought a Fit Bit for my daughter and myself---and let me tell you, she is kicking our A$$'s with all the swimming that she does!!

So did I give up my Weight Watcher's ActiveLink?

Yep, totally.

The problem with the ActiveLink is that it was limited in its use. It calculates how many WW Activity Points I earned. I tend to follow a set walking agenda and after a year and a half of use, I knew exactly how many activity points I did or didn't earn in a day. But now I wanted to know my pace and my distance. ActiveLink couldn't provide the information. So I started using Map My Walk (a GPS based tracker). This gave me the info I needed for my walks, but I can't leave it on all the time to get my daily steps because it would suck my phone battery dry. Pedometer's are old school and bulky. I like the Fit Bit, but I'm still fine tuneing my walking pace, since it's calculated according to your height and sex. I KNOW I have a longer stride than someone else my height. So I entered my 'calculated stride length into the equation. It still isn't quite right (in other words, matching the GPS distances, but I'm getting it closer to the 4.25 miles that I walk. Actually the FitBit calculated 3.15 miles, so being off by over a mile is a big deal!

ActiveLink is a tool. Map My Walk app is a tool. FitBit is a tool.

The key is to use a tool to get the result you want, but if that particular tool doesn't work for you it's time to switch it up.

My Fit Bit tracks my steps, activity level and sleep patterns. Do I need all this info?

At this point in my journey--Yes. Will I need to know about my sleep patterns a month from now? Not really, unless I'm having some issues with my sleeping patterns.

Use the tools available that work for you. Not every tool will work for everyone, so be open to change.

Remember, New Year, New Attitude. I'm excited about this new year, are you??

Later, Peeps!