Monday morning tales from the scale….

I have to admit, when I know the scale isn’t going down, it’s not too exciting to step on them first thing Monday morning.

It’s samo-samo here.  The scales haven’t budged since July 8th, haven’t gone up, haven’t gone down.  I’m stuck!  Am I surprised?  No, not at all.  Hooterville was here this week, and while I didn’t go over points, I hovered in the high range, 18-20, ate too many sandwiches, no salad, not many veggies.  I should be thrilled that I’m at least treading water.

So it’s back to it this morning, I took a break from tweeting what I ate this past weekend, time to regroup, move forward and concentrate on losing another five pounds.  Mini goals seem to work the best for me now, it will be slow going, getting through these next 5-10 lbs., but I keep reminding myself, it’s not a diet, it’s a lifestyle.

One thing that I am pleased with, is that lately when I eat, I reign myself in, regardless of how good it tastes, I just eat a few bites, push away and quit.  It’s getting easier, too, I hate to go out on a limb and say that I’m forming a “habit” doing this, but hey, I’m trying, and that’s all I can do, is try, day, after day, after day, after day…..

Weight Watchers Health Salad

This recipe got great reviews, keeps for days in the fridge, too…

Health Salad
Servings: 16
Preparation Time: 14 min
Cooking Time: 0 min
Level of Difficulty: Easy
Like slaw, but better. This recipe is wonderful with burgers, chicken kabobs and grilled fish. A fantastic side dish for a summer crowd.
Ingredients
4 cup(s) shredded red cabbage, or green cabbage
1/2 medium English cucumber, thinly sliced
1/2 medium red onion(s), thinly sliced
1 large garlic clove(s), thinly sliced
1 medium green pepper(s), thinly sliced
1 medium carrot(s), thickly shredded
1/2 tsp table salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
2 1/2 tbsp Splenda
2 1/2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp water
1 tbsp fresh dill, chopped (optional)
Instructions
In a large bowl, combine cabbage, cucumber, onion, garlic, green pepper and carrot; set aside.
In a small bowl, combine remaining ingredients; pour over vegetables and toss to mix and coat. Chill in refrigerator, tossing once or twice, for about 1 hour. Yields about 1/2 cup per serving.

Its Monday morning, tales from the scale…

Nothing new to report here, weight hasn’t changed.   It’s to be expected, though, I can’t lose every week.  I struggled last week, ate too many carbs over the weekend, yeah, they were complex carbs, but still….  Stella will get her groove back this week…

I did make yummy pinto beans in my electric pressure cooker.  A bag of pinto’s, six cups of water, a slice of bacon, lots of garlic and onion, salt and pepper, and I pressured them for an hour and fifteen minutes.  They were much better the next day with lots of chopped jalapenos.  Good stuff….

Monday weigh-in, tales from the scale…

Yeah, yeah, I know it’s Wednesday… Okay, I admit it, Monday was not good, nor was Tuesday.  Even though I didn’t go above points on the 4th, I ate a lot of carbs, I was retaining water, but, after two days of eating healthy, I’m FINALLY into those new digits.  Yep, I AM!!!!!

Weight loss is sitting at 18 lbs. now!  The slowdown is happening, which is to be expected, it always slows drastically as I get closer to my target weight.

John said last weekend, “Mom, I think another ten pounds will do it for you.” “You will always be thick thru the middle, you never did have a little waist.”  He’s right on, of course, I never did. 

Will I stop at another ten pounds?  I’m barely into twelves now, and another ten pounds will have me wearing them really comfortably, and that’s where I’ve always said I would stop now that I’m older.  Of course, there is a huge part of me that wants to be a size ten again.  I know, it’s vain, but “Vanity thy name is Woman,” even when you’re fast approaching the big 6-0!  It just depends on how gaunt I look in the face.  I’ll have to just see how it plays out.  But first I have to lose those ten pounds!!!

Am I still motivated?  Is a horse a horse?  You damn betcha I am!!!  This old energizer bunny just keeps on going…  I’m looking forward to passing the twenty pound loss, that will be huge for me.

My newest mini goal is 4.5 pounds more by Labor Day.  Maybe I’ll make it, maybe not, but I’m not racing, I’m just eating healthy….

Snaps for me….

I weighed on the garage scale this morning, the old fashioned penny scale that never waivers in it’s accuracy.  I’ve cursed that scale more times than I care to think about, but it gives me a true reading, and from now on, that’s the scale I’m going to use for my weekly weigh-ins.

Sooooooooo, according to the garage scale, I have now lost 17 lbs.  Yep, I’m only half a pound from breaking into the new digits.  Life is good again, sez Jan, tooting her own horn. 

Hey, I deserve a toot today…..  I’ve worked hard for this!

How much more do I want to lose???  10 more lbs. and then I reevaluate, see where I’m at, how comfortable the size 12’s are, decide if I’m going to go for the 10’s. or if I’m looking too haggard to lose more.  I can diet until I’m a twig and I’ll still have a thick middle.  Such is life when you’re my age…

Monday morning tales from the scale :0(

Despite the fact that I jumped up and down on one foot, exhaled, and moved the scale to a different location, despite that I was totally naked and peed numerous times this morning in a desperate attempt to rid my body of any infinitesimal amount of extra weight, and despite the fact that I have stayed within my point range, every single day, my weight is up a half a pound from last week.  Arughhhhhhhhhhh

I’ve been spoiled, I haven’t gained, the weight has dropped steadily,  even though my last serious attempt at dieting found me gaining several times.  Have I cheated????  Have you read my tweets??? If you have, you will realize that I haven’t cheated, at all, I’ve even held down the carbs! 

But shit happens, and even though I know I’m eating right and my clothes are fitting so much better, and despite the fact that I’ve cracked open a few pairs of size 12 and have been able to fit into them, I’m bummed.

Silly me, looking at that number on the scale and letting it dictate my mood.  I know I’m not really gaining, it’s fluid, yadayadayada, but I’m still almost two pounds from where I wanted to be July 4th.

It was a bad week for me, I was not satisfied with what I ate.  And even though I didn’t cheat, I wasn’t a happy camper for most of the time.  I need to go back, look at what I ate that worked well for me, duplicate some menus, stay focused.

I will be okay, next week will be a better report, despite the fact that it’s the 4th and family are coming home, I will eat healthy and stay focused. Pinky swear, I will…  And if I happen to get on the scale this week and it has moved downward, you betcha I will be on here talking about it, so check back…

Seana’s Cinnamon Roll Protein Shake

Seana just sent me this recipe, she says it’s just fabulous – can’ wait to try it!!!!

Cinnamon Roll Protein Shake

8 oz. water or low fat/nonfat soy milk (vanilla is best)
1 scoop protein (vanilla flavored) powder
2 Tb sugar-free/fat-free vanilla pudding mix powder
1/4 tsp (or to taste) ground cinnamon

a scoop of ice if you desire

Whir it up, and enjoy!

Monday weigh-in, tales from the scale….

I’m now down 16.1 lbs. and still going strong.  I’ll be into another set of digits in a couple of weeks.  My capris are baggy now, no muffin top when I wear them, the weight loss is starting to be really obvious.

Every week I tell you that I’m still pumped, and I am.  It’s astounding how effortless this is for me.  This week’s food find isn’t a recipe exactly, but something I’m really enjoying.

I’m buying the faux crab and lobster at the grocery store, you know the ones, the sticks and chunks in the refrigerated seafood department.  It’s inexpensive, and always in the past I’ve made it into crab salad, but instead I’m now just putting chunks of it into mixed greens, adding red onion, radishes and cherry tomatoes and drizzling it with my wonderful Ramona’s Poppyseed Dressing.  It’s absolutely perfect for a hot summer evening.

If you haven’t made Ramona’s Poppyseed Dressing yet, you’re missing out on the best salad dressing you’ve ever tasted.  My friends adore it, here’s a click to the recipe, just substitute Splenda for the sugar, I use a heaping half cup of Splenda, that’s just the right amount, and I limit myself to 1 tablespoon of dressing.  That’s plenty if you stir it well. 

I’ll never buy diet dressings again, homemade ones are so much better, take just a few minutes to prepare and a little bit of the real stuff is so much better than a whole lot of  bland diet dressing.

I had an absolutely AWESOME dinner…

I adore Mexican food, it’s so good, and you can fix it with relatively low points by using healthy ingredients.  My dinner tonight was quasi  Mexican, I used low mozzarella cheese instead of jack, added mushrooms, which isn’t Mexican, but it was really great!

Pork Quesadillas

2 La Prefidera Low Carb Tortillas [2]

Leftover lean pork roast, shredded [3]

1/2 cup black beans, rinsed and drained [1]

1/4 cup low fat mozzarella cheese [1]

onions

mushrooms

taco sauce

I sprayed a skillet with Pam, put down a tortilla, topped it with taco sauce, then started layering, pork roast, onions, mushrooms, black beans, cheese, another few squirts of taco sauce, and grilled it.  It was SO good. 

How could it have been better?  Green salsa, sour cream, more cheese, green chiles, but then that adds more points… 

This is definitely a keeper, a huge meal for [7] points.  If you’re really hungry, and love Mexican, this is for you…  You could easily substitute shredded cooked chicken breast for the pork, or even better lean ground beef.  Good stuff!!!!

Jan’s Yummy Black Bean Salsa

1 can Rotel tomatoes, original, drained

1 can green chilies

2 cloves crushed garlic

1 can Black Beans (Bush) rinsed and drained

1 cup whole kernel corn

green onions/or red onions are good, too

1 teaspoon chili powder

red pepper flakes, a few shakes

1/2 tsp. cumin

dash of salt

juice of a lemon

juice of a lime

Mix all and marinade.  Adjust seasonings to taste

It’s colorful, it’s so yummy and so healthy.  You can add a tablespoon of olive oil if you don’t worry about the calories.  Good with pita chips, cucumbers, cherry tomatoes or carrot and celery sticks for dipping…  Baked Doritoes work, too… Calories add up really fast with Doritoes, tho… 

You can bake your own corn tortillas in the oven for this, spray with Pam, sprinkle with salt and bake.  Add garlic salt or cumin or chili powder if you want flavor.  I’ve browned tortillas in the toaster, but it works better baking them on the oven rack.  Set the oven at 375-400, watch closely and flip with tongs, they brown really quickly, just 5 minutes or less…

You can add avocado to this, also cherry tomatoes and cilantro, I detest cilantro, so I leave it out…

Monday morning, tales from the scale….

I’ve stayed on program all week, eating below points some days.  I’ve lost 14.5 lbs. now, down from 14.1 last Thursday.  I’m due for a pound or so drop soon.  Maybe next week.

My mood?  Fantastic, still excited, and I made the most wonderful black bean salsa this week.  I’ve been busy, I get in a rut eating the same foods, if you follow my Tweets you realize this, but it’s okay, I like what I eat.  That black bean salsa was wonderful with a salmon burger.   My friend Janet eats black bean salsa on a hot dog with a bun, like a relish.

I’m eating a lot of hummus, too and have found that I like the traditional hummus best.  I prefer it over the garlic, or roasted red pepper, the original has a bit of garlic, and lemon juice, it’s wonderful.  I’m buying it at Aldi’s for $1.69.  I pick up their English cucumbers for $1.00 (English cukes are long and skinny with no seeds, my buddy V loves them, so I tried them and think they are amazing, too).  So I cut slices of cukes and dip in the hummus along with a few cherry tomatoes from my garden, good stuff, filling low calorie, a high protein snack!  I also bought great whole wheat pita chips at Trader Joe’s when I was in Nashville, sometimes I eat those with it, also, with the M&M’s dancing circles for a bite.  They love pita chips!

I have an easy week ahead, just a day trip to Louisville on Wednesday, it’s easy for me to stay on program when I’m home.  I hope to try a couple of new things this week, that’s my goal, just one or two new dishes a week.

Life is good, just for today, it’s working…

Monday morning review…

Yeah, I know it’s Thursday, but we’ve been at John’s this week, no time to update.  Scales continue to steadily move down, I’ve now lost 14.1 lbs. since April 1.  Slow, yep, but it’s not a horse race, it’s a lifestyle…

Even  though we were in Nashville, and I ate more than I regularly do, I was extremely conscious of what I was doing, and reigned it in.  John and Deanna made monster cookies, a family fave, oatmeal/chocolate chips/nuts/M&M’s– i had 1/3 of a cookie over a two day period.  I choose to taste, not eat, and I made myself  strawberry smoothies to indulge in while the others were eating cookies.

I would love to lose another 3.6 lbs. by July 4th, that would put me down into another set of scale numbers.  I don’t know if I can do it. but I’m going to try.  It’s all about trying, I try every day, and I’m still not fighting what I can’t have, but embracing what I can…  This morning it was homemade whole wheat pancakes, Morningstar Farms Soy Bacon and coffee.  It tasted as good to me as any pancakes I’ve ever eaten.  And yes, I’ll share the recipe with you all, later today.

My family are all good sports, they run by Chick Filet for me, because they know I won’t eat what they do.  Tuesday night John grilled burgers, he had a Boca Burger for me, we went to our favorite Mexican restaurant in Nashville, I took my own Doritoes to dip into the salsa, then had a chicken taco salad without the shell.  It worked.  Was it as good as the others, of course not, but it worked, and I made a Weight Watcher chocolate smoothie when I got home.  1 point, 10 grams of protein, you buy them at Weight Watcher centers, and nope you don’t have to be a member to buy them.  They’re spendy, $7.50 for 7 of them, but that’s not a lot really.  A cup of Starbucks is $4.00…  I looked forward to the Smoothie I was going to have instead of feeling sorry for myself that I couldn’t eat the gooey mexican food.  I can fix WW mexican at home if I’m hungry for it, I have great recipes.

And so  my journey continues, I’m much happier with myself this summer than I was last, because I’m taking control of my life, one day at a time…

 

Roni’s Banana Pancake Tweaks….

 

This recipe for Banana Pancakes is absolutely, positively wonderful, you would never know you’re eating Healthy.

Here’s my tweaks – I add  1/4 teaspoon of salt, a splash of vanilla and use 8th Continent Light Vanilla Soy Milk (30 calories per half cup) instead of skim milk.  Ang told me about 8thContinent Light Vanilla Soy Milk, it’s so much better than Silk and lower in calories, too.  The only place I can find it is at WalMart.  It comes in chocolate, too, but I haven’t tried it yet.

I let my bananas get really ripe, until the skins start to blacken, then I put them, unpeeled in their skins, in a ziploc baggie and freeze them.  Then I remove one, let it thaw until the skin peels off, or if you’re in a hurry, put it in the wave for 15 seconds, then peel it, cut it into chunks and it will thaw in just a few minutes.  This works great, and you can always have bananas for recipes.

The batter keeps great in a covered tupperware in the fridge.  The top turn a bit dark, but just stir it, it works fine.  You may need to add a bit more soy milk, as it tends to thicken as it sets. 

I pour Mrs. Butterworth’s 35 calorie no sugar syrup on these.  It’s a wonderful breakfast!  If I want added protein, I nuke a couple of pieces of Morningstar Farms Soy Bacon, [1 point]. 

These pancakes are only 1 point each, and they are a great size!  The whole wheat flour gives them a dense, nutty flavor. 

I use a  1/4 cup to scoop the batter in a  skillet sprayed with Pam, to cook.

Roni has another whole wheat version without the bananas.  I haven’t tried it, but all of her recipes are wonderful, so I’m sure it’s good also.  Here’s the click.

If you go to her site to access the banana pancakes, scroll down to the comments.  People have substituted applesauce for the bananas with successful results.  I want to try them using pumpkin and pumpkin pie spice, soon!  I love pumpkin pancakes…

Dreamsicle Smoothie – 1 point!

I’m turning into a real Smoothie lover this summer, thanks to my Bella Cucina bullet blender.  Yesterday I made a great Dreamsicle Smoothie for 1 point, yes, dear hearts, one point!!!!

I’m a Dreamsicle lover, have loved the orangy ice cream on a stick since I was a child, so for me, this is just mind blowing!!!!!

3/4 cup Dannon Lite & Fit Fat Free Vanilla Yogurt

3/4 cup Crystal Light Orange Sunrise Beverage

Splenda to taste

Healthy splash of Fat Free Half & Half

dash of vanilla

crushed ice (about 1/3 cup)

Put everything into the blender and process until slushy.

Here’s how it breaks down – 1 cup of Dannon yogurt is 110 calories, but I only used 3/4 cup, so that coupled with the splash of FFree Half &” Half was only a point – that’s it, no points for anything else.

The flavor was wonderful, but I’m always tweeking, so the next tub of Crystal Lite OrangeSunrise that I make, I’m going to just use half the water it calls for, that way the orange flavor will be even more intense and still no calories.

Whoohoo, works for me!

Monday Morning Review…

I’m doing so well, sez Jan, patting herself on back. Hey, I’ve really been diligent, I deserve a pat. I’m down 13.3 lbs. now. You betcha I’m counting every ounce!!!!!

Instead of just making do, eating anything that’s low points to lose weight on a “diet” I’m really trying here to embrace a new lifestyle. I’m trying new recipes, finding healthy choices and enjoying the taste.

I made the most AWESOME banana pancakes, thanks to Roni, who has the most amazing recipes, they are 1 point a pancake, hearty, and filling. I made them exactly like her recipe, except I substituted cinnamon for the nutmeg, and instead of using skim milk I used 8th Continent Soy Milk (Wally World) which is even lower in calories than skim milk, and works great! I ate them with Mrs. Butterworth Sugar Free Syrup and a slice of Morningstar Farms Soy Bacon and it was fantastic, seriously. I think I will add just a bit of salt to the recipe the next time I make it, but other than that, it’s perfect! I love whole wheat flour, love the density of the pancakes, but if you like them a bit lighter, you could use Whole Wheat Pastry Flour – it’s whole grain but not as heavy. I’m a big fan of King Arthur Flour, that’s the brand of whole wheat flour I always use.

My latest trick with bananas, is that I let them get really ripe, until they are black in spots on the skin, and then I put them in a ziploc bag, leave the skin on them and freeze them whole. I take them out of the freezer, let them thaw for a few minutes so I can peel them, or if I’m in a hubby I wave them for 10 seconds, then cut in chunks, they thaw almost instantly. That’s what I did with the banana pancakes and it worked GREAT!

I know, you all want the recipe – here’s Roni’s click…

And so another week begins. And I’m so excited, still. Clothes fit so much better already, another ten pounds and I’ll see a major body change.

Two years ago I lost weight, and I looked at my stats this week. It took me three months two years ago to lose 13 lbs., and that was with daily walking. This year it has taken me just two months to lose 13 lbs., and I haven’t been walking. Isn’t that awesome? I’m two years older and losing faster and eating more. Why? I’m sure it’s because I’ve cut out the junk. I don’t eat processed foods, as I’ve said, a little but not much, as opposed to two years ago when I enhaled frozen diet meals, diet cookies, diet ice cream and ate white bread. And, I’m mixing up those points. I’ll eat 18-20, even 22 for a few days, then kick it back down to 14-6. My body isn’t going into starvation mode and holding onto the fat. I’m losing steadily.

Why am I not walking? Prosthetics aren’t fitting well enough right now for me to do it. It’s complicated, but it’s all about how I’m losing weight in my legs and trying to adjust my fit. So I’m not walking until I’m sure the fit is good. Sore legs or blisters are not fun!

Now I know better, and I’m doing better…