The First Week’s Success!!!

There it is in Technicolor–I’m down 3 pounds this week!!

This week in review….

a) I started to drink water with gusto
b) I signed up for a Pilates class that meets 2x per week
c) I planned my menus
d) I wore a pedometer for a few days–and if I work, I hit 10000 no problem! If it’s the weekend, I averaged less than 5,000. That’s something to improve upon!

I also enjoyed a slice of deep-dish, Chicago style pizza and tried, for the first time, ColdStone Creamery Ice Cream Cake. Both times, I enjoyed every bite, and made other choices to counter balance the fat and calories in both. I didn’t calculate exactly what each contained (knowing, IMO, would take out some of the pleasure), but I can honestly say that those were my two treats for the week.

So in this coming week, I will

a) post another menu outline
b) work on increasing my weekend steps
c) come up with a fun, cheap reward for myself!!! (ideas welcome)

Peace, Love and Shopping

I had a lovely Mother’s Day weekend, complete with outlet mall shopping. We went north (as is our custom) for the weekend and the Babe and I hung out with my family while BgK went further north to photograph a wedding.

Saturday morning, Mom, the Babe and I hit the local outlet mall. I needed jeans, and was hoping to score a pair of white leggings for the Babe. What happened was possibly the BEST shopping trip of my life.

The first store we entered was the Vanity Fair outlet, which carries Healthex, Lee. Wrangler, Vanity Fair and a few other brands. Their stuff is always 1/2 off the lowest price, or about as cheap as they can give it away. Saturday was no exception. The first pair of jeans I grabbed not only FIT, but were a whopping $8. The second pair (capris)? $14. And what was nice is that they were both size 14, but that they fit in a loose sort of way. Not the I’m-squeezing-into-a-14-because-I-refuse-to-buy-a-16 which I’ve been known to do. $22 for two pairs of pants I’m planning on wearing for a few weeks (a month or two at the most, I hope)–not a bad deal. While I was shopping, Mom was strolling around with the Babe….and she fell asleep!!! Which made our shopping that much more the leisurely.

We wandered into Hanna Andersson–ahhhh my dream store. Sitting on the table there, as we entered the little girls section–white capri leggings. It was destiny. Also on the clearance rack? Black biker shorts (for the babe, not me!)

My last retail stop (lest I break the proverbial bank) was the Clarks outlet. Black clogs with a patent leather flower for $19.99. No, not $119.99. $19.99. For both shoes, total. After shopping, it was nap time for the Babe and myself, then out to a yummy dinner.

Sunday my Dad made us breakfast, BgK and the Babe surprised me with beautiful earrings and a new MP3 player, the Babe was an angel during Mass and then we had a fun family cookout til it was time to drive home.

Pretty much, the perfect weekend.

It’s TIME!!

Ok, I’ve never been so flipping excited NOT to eat!!! Seriously. I think the cyber-energy is going to my own brain, because things are starting to happen already. Honest to God, I wore pants that I got 3 years ago for the first time in 3 years today AND THEY FIT. (Around the waist. The butt, not so much, but I wore a long shirt.) I buttoned the top button and in my head, “I FEEL GOOD” by James Brown started playing.

I’m aiming to lose 10lbs this summer and make some changes to KEEP IT OFF FOR GOOD…such as drinking my water, menu planning and making exercise a priority it once was.

Le Menu:

I have tons of cookbooks, most of which are just crammed in my pantry, collecting grease and dust from the kitchen. This weekend I pulled out my WW “Take Out ” cookbook, which is divided by types of cuisines, and it gives recipes to make your “take out favorites” at home. Not a bad a idea. In the preface to one of the recipes, it says that it’s easy to make this dish the night before and just pop it in the oven the next night. A light bulb went off–I can cook after the Babe goes down for the night. I may not sit down til after 9pm, but I wanted to log 10,000 steps anyway. So I made a big huge shopping list and last night set out on a mission I haven’t embarked on since before the Babe was born: serious menu planning .

Breakfast: I sort of like having a “breakfast of the week” where I eat the same thing everyday til it’s gone. So this week I’m eating:

1 whole wheat TJ’s british muffin (2pts)
1 tbsp peanut butter (1pt)
1/2 grapefruit (free!)
2tbsp cream in my coffee (1pt)
Breakfast: 4pts

Lunch: I made a great chicken salad last night, and then cut up extras of all the veggies and will add it to tuna later this week–so two days of chicken, two days of tuna.

WW crunchy chicken salad wraps

6 oz cooked cubed chicken breast (6pts)
1/4 cup diced English (or regular) cucumber
1/4 cup minced celery
2 scallions
1 tbsp finely chopped fresh flat leaf parsley (i used dried)
1/4 c. ff mayo (4pts) WAY TOO MUCH MAYO
2 tbsp lemon juice
salt and pepper
4 fat free tortilla (I used Auntie Millie’s low-carb wraps–1pt each)
4 lettuce leaves (I used Boston)

Combine first 8 ingredients. Lay lettuce leaf on top of tortilla, spread salad on lettuce and roll!!!

This is supposed to serve 4. I feel it serves 2. So each serving, using 1/2 the salad and 1 tortilla is worth 6 points. I had it for lunch today–totally filling. Next time, I’m cutting the mayo in half and saving a point!!!

Dinners: I haven’t tried these recipes yet, so I’m not posting them till I know they are good, but here’s the list:

Tues: Linquine Carbonara
Weds: Turkey Enchilada Casserole
Thurs: Chicken Saltimbocca

Then everday I have a few points for snacks–usually 2-4 points a piece.

Ok, must go—here’s to a healthy week!!!