New Recipe

I don't have a lot of time today, but wanted to share this great meal with you.... See you tomorrow for the weekly report.

Portobello "Philly Cheese Steak" & Baked Fries

Confessions of a Slacker....

Ok, so I have been slacking a little on this blog and commenting on the blogs I follow . Mind you, it has not been intentional, things have just been crazy busy this week. I am still trying to figure out if I a coming or going at this point. I think that this summer is going to be quite full of busy, so what I need to do is sit down and figure out how to fit every little thing I want to do into 24 little hours. Seriously as much as I will probably regret saying this, I kind of wish that the day was a little longer just so that I could do everything. It seems the older I get, the shorter the days become. Does anyone else feel this way?? Today I will commit to blogging at least 3 days a week, and commenting on the blogs I follow the same 3 days.

I have also been slacking in regard to exercise. I haven't done my Zumba in about 2 or 3 weeks, gosh that's bad I can't even remember. I have been doing plenty to stay active, but I really need to get back to the on purpose exercise. I felt so much better when I was doing it. Really there is no excuse, just my lack of motivation. Time is only a small piece because honestly I could probably make time. Today I will commit to making time for Zumba, or any other form of on purpose exercise at least 3 days a week.

I have been slacking a tad on my nutrition, I am still within my calorie range but am not eating the things that I know are the best for me. Especially where snacks are concerned. Too much on the go, and being above 100 degrees lately I have fallen victim to the Ice Cream Monster. Today I will commit to only eating Ice Cream on the weekends, instead I will eat my much more nutritious yogurt creamies when I am craving the monster.

Whew.... now that I got that all out on the table, I feel much better, and feel it is time to move on. I had the best experience on Friday.  We were shopping at a local thrift shop for some work shoes my hubby needed. I decided that I would just go see what they had on the rack for me (usually nothing). To my surprise I found some jeans that were a size 26, decided to try them on not thinking I would have any luck... Well, they fit!!! This excited me so, because my clothes are getting too big at such an alarming rate, the thought of spending $30 on a pair of jeans that would only fit for a month or two was kind of frightening. I have decided that from now on (at least until I can get 6 months out of my clothes) I am going to buy my pants at the thrift store. They look brand new and are only a fraction of the cost. I got 2 pair for $9. This is not the most exciting part though... When we were checking out, the woman at the register looks at me and says "I don't mean to be rude, but how much weight have you lost?" I was shocked that she knew and wondered how she knew, but proudly I told her 174 pounds. Her eyes welled up with tears and she told me that I was beautiful and so inspiring to her. She asked how I did it because she has been trying without any luck. I talked to her for a few minutes and then gave her my phone number. This is exactly what I hoped being open about my journey would accomplish. I want to give hope to those who feel that it is not possible, to let them know that they are not alone. I really hope that she uses that phone number, I am looking forward to supporting her in any way that I can. On the downside, I now know that other people can see my sagging skin, that is the only way I can figure that she knew I lost weight. (you can't see it but I am frowning at that thought).

Okay, so to not overwhelm you with all the thoughts floating through my head, I am going to end here for now. As promised though, I have another tasty recipe to share with you.... Anyone craving a healthier Asian dish???

Asian Beef & Peas
So So Good

285.8 - Weekly Report

Woo Hoo! 285.8 this morning, only 35.8 pounds away from reaching my first major goal! This brings my total to -174.2 pounds. I am so excited, this week was definitely kind to me, I was only expecting about a 1.8 pound loss. I am not going to question it though, my mamma taught me to never question a blessing, just accept and appreciate it!

This week was a good week all in all, though I feel a little like I have lacked motivation, at least for exercise. I am glad that it was not reflected in my weight loss. I need to dig deep again and find the motivation I had for Zumba. I have decided to take on the 5 day challenge again, alternating between Zumba and calisthenics. I will begin this on Monday. I am proud of how the 4th of July celebration at the park went though. I had planned out my menu the night before. It was really hard watching everyone walk around with nachos, cotton candy, fries, kettle corn, and stuff like that. But I did it, I stayed at the park for nearly 12 hours and only ate what I had planned. The fireworks were amazing, and we had fun hanging out.

I promised another recipe, we fixed it up last night, and it was really good... Here's what we had:

Chili Garlic Glazed Salmon
This whole meal under 200 calories and very filling!

New Recipe.... Yum

Hello everyone, just checking in to share a new recipe with you guys. Will be back tomorrow with my weekly update, weigh in, and a new recipe. Hope y'all had a great 4th of July.

Mexican Beef & Bean Stuffed Peppers

Rub A Dub Dub, I Finally Fit In The Tub.... Another Small Milestone

Mini Mile-Stone

I know this doesn't seem like a big deal to a lot of people but for me it is huge. I have not been able to take a bath in my own tub for so long I can not remember. Getting in and out of any tub was a major feat. I love baths and this was hard. I am happy to say that I was able to take a lovely bath and getting out was a cinch! Showers are fine and dandy but there is nothing like relaxing in a nice tub of hot water.... Calgon, you can take me away now! P.S. The tub in the picture is not mine, but I wish it were.
Since we are on the subject of fitting into things, I also took a trip through a clothes box (ones that were too small) and found that one of my favorite pairs of shorts fit now. They are a size 26 and I have been hanging on to them for at least 6 years. You heard me right, lol, I have hung on to these bad boys for a very long time. Thankfully they did not dry rot like my swim suits. Now I just got to get up the nerve to wear shorts again.

Lately I have been thinking a lot about how I can change my perception of myself. I know I have talked about it before, but even though I have lost 170 pounds, I find that I still think about myself as being 460 pounds. Being over weight for so long has forced me to adapt to and avoid certain situations. This is turning out to be somewhat of a bravery test for me. I worry very much about fitting in chairs, even though I fit in most now. I worry about going to restaurants and theaters for fear that their seating will not be adequate. I worry about trying on clothes that look smaller than the clothes I wore before. I worry about what people might say if the "fat girl" goes walking by, even though most people don't look at me the way they used to. I worry about wearing those shorts, even though I've been told that they look nice. In the past few days I have caught glimpses of myself in the mirror and stupidly had to ask... Is that me?? It can't be. It is... Oh wow! I worry most of all about identifying myself as a smaller person, especially when I reach goal. Will I know how to act... Is this normal?? I looked this skewed idea up on the internet, hoping to make myself feel better and I succeeded. I found a piece on MSNBC on just that, a story of a lady who is going through the same thing. Apparently it is pretty common to have this distorted self image after losing a lot of weight. I don't feel so alone now. I need to find some way of changing that perception. I have not made it that far in the thought process yet, so any suggestions would be great.

I will leave you now with a picture of our very first tomato (from our garden).... It was sooo yummy and sweet. I have a new recipe that I will post on Thursday. Hope you all have a wonderful and amazing 4th of July Holiday!

289.4 - Weekly Report

     Oh my... Surprise, surprise... I weighed in this morning at 289.4, much to my surprise losing 2.8 pounds this week. I really didn't think that much would come off after last weekend. I couldn't be happier about this!
     This all being said, I do think some calorie adjustments are in order. My BMR is currentyly 2,092 calories. This is the amount of calories I would burn if I stayed in bed ALL day. Obviously I do not stay in bed all day so that number is probably greater. Right now my Daily Calorie Target is 1,784 (this is also if I am sedentary, meaning if I stayed in bed all day). Now, I have eaten under this nearly the whole time (my beginning calorie target was over 2,000). Under the advice of my doctor I was consuming 1,500 calories a day, allowing for maximum SAFE weight loss. When everything slowed down I figured that because the 1,500 was given to me at still over 400 pounds that I could safely move that number down to 1,400 and be ok. My body is telling me otherwise. I have never felt so hungry during this journey. My stomach talks to me (growls) nearly all day, and I find that I am craving things I normally wouldn't. I never would have thought that 100 calories would make such a difference. I will be moving back to 1,500 where I felt satisfied. Yes this means that weight loss may be slower, but a growling tummy all the time means I am potentially doing more harm than good. For once in my life I think I can trust my body.

Today I am 170 pounds lighter than I was 10 months ago, I am 29.4 pounds away from losing 200 pounds, 39.4 pounds away from my next goal, and only 89.4 pounds away from my final goal. Today, I am happy!

         An average car tire weighs 20 pounds
        I have lost 8 1/2 car tires!



     Good morning! I am slow at getting an update in, shame on me :( . So my anniversary dates went amazingly. I do have to admit, while I did well the night we went out to dinner, I decided that I was in need of a true cheat weekend. Normally on my cheat days, I do not go over my calorie limit and I always log, the cheat consists of a non healthy food and that is about the extent. On a true cheat weekend, I do not log and most likely go over my calorie limit. I have not had one of these since New Year's Eve. I did not suffer any grave consequences as it was only for a day. Saturday and Sunday I ate with reckless abandon and though I am sure I did not eat over my BMR, I am positive that I exceeded my calorie limit and blew the sodium and fats out of the water. Needless to say I do not expect big losses on Friday, just hoping for no gain. I will not be surprised either way. Now that I have it out of my system, I am back on track this week. I will be sharing some new recipes over the next month or so. I am really excited because July's calendar is full of new things for dinner. Here is what we had last night:

Sweet & Sour Pork 335 Calories

     Now, to tell you about my dates.... Friday night we ate at the Outback Steakhouse, it was really good, and I love lobster! My only complaint was their silverware, it was HUGE. I know, silly thing to not like, but I felt a little like Alice In Wonderland. After dinner we went to a place called Boondocks and played miniature golf, I lost LOL. We also hit the arcade area of this place and let me tell you, I don't remember ever having such a good time on a date. We were total kids, played things like ski ball, and air hockey. When we were done there ,it was off to Dairy Queen to have Ice Cream. We took that to a local park (this was like 10 at night). The childish playing continued as we played on the playground. This experience reminded us of the importance of laughter. On Saturday, we attended my family reunion. It was so great to see everyone. Later that night, Daniel and I went to the Drive In and watched a couple of movies. What a great way to close out a great weekend. Daniel must have also enjoyed our time because Sunday morning he says: "What do you think about a date for every year we are married, to celebrate our anniversary."... I love this idea though I must admit that when we get up in the double digits it will be interesting. LOL.
     I guess that will be enough rambling for today, stay tuned for tomorrow, where I will talk about..... something else. LOL  Have a great day yall!